The Top Baltimore Fishbowl Stories of 2021: Editors’ Picks

Baltimore Fishbowl strives to share stories you can’t find anywhere else, highlighting the people and places that make this a great place to live.

Our talented writers captured those stories, day in and day out, throughout 2021.

Executive Editor David Nitkin and Senior Editor Marcus Dieterle collected their top choices into one post so you can take a look at again. Here are our Fishbowl Editor’s Top Picks for 2021, in order of publication date:

Taking root: How community gardens are feeding and teaching Marylanders during the pandemic. 

This story on the region’s community gardens by Marcus Dieterle ran on March 21, and explored how local residents turn underused patches of dirt into treasured and productive resources.

Photo: Janssen Evelyn stands amid the rows of crops at a community garden in Columbia, Maryland. Evelyn said community gardens have not only provided food to people in need during the pandemic, but have also taught valuable skills and helped fulfill social needs. Photo by David Hobby.

A year after George Floyd’s murder, how are we doing?

Writer Tiffanie Drayton explored the progress and stalled promises in Baltimore on the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s death in late May.

Walking, biking and riding to Druid Park: “Complete Streets planning gets underway

This Adam DeRose story ran on June 28, and updated us on an important project for neighborhoods around Druid Hill Park and beyond.

Image: Baltimore transportation officials are working on a series of Complete Streets projects around Druid Hill Park.

‘Sailing is for everyone’: Baltimore-area sailors strive to make sport more equitable and accessible

On July 8, Marcus Dieterle told us about efforts in Baltimore to make sailing the most inclusive activity it can be, and the advocates who are bringing the sport to new enthusiasts.

Photo: Michael Campbell co-founded the Universal Sailing Club in 2001 with Marcus Asante after Asante told him about his idea to create a space where Black people could be comfortable exploring the sport of sailing. Photo courtesy of Universal Sailing Club. 

All or nothing: Two-thirds of Baltimore restaurants get zilch from federal relief fund

Adam DeRose dug into the data and on Aug. 10 revealed huge inconsistencies in which Baltimore-area restaurants received federal relief funds during the pandemic, and which got nothing.

Photo: Faidley’s restaurant in Lexington Market was shut out of federal restaurant relief funds, while Phillip’s Seafood received $5 million.

Downhill all the way: 9 1/2 Hours on the Gwynns Falls Trail

Karen and David Nitkin took their bikes on the entire path of the Gwynns Falls Trail, and explored the poor conditions plaguing one of Baltimore’s jewels in this August 20 column.

Photo: A giant wheel once pumped water to the Crimea Estate, now part of Leakin Park.

How do you earn a spot in the White Castle Hall of Fame? For this Howard County woman, it was 400 sliders at her wedding.

Walinda West had fun telling us on Sept. 2 about the Howard County woman whose heartwarming essay earned her family a spot in the White Castle Hall of Fame.

Photo: Barbara Smole of Clarksville has been inducted in the White Castle Cravers Hall of Fame, along with her son Sean and father, Dick Sorenson.

Solar-powered oyster barge seeks to improve Chesapeake Bay restoration, aquaculture

This Oct. 25 story from Marcus Dieterle explored a new way to grow oysters on the Chesapeake Bay.

Photo: Staff from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Solar Oysters loaded oysters into cages and onto a new solar-powered oyster barge on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2021. Photo by Marcus Dieterle.

Food as a love language: Community Fridge gets an upgrade

After vandalism damaged a community-built food hub in Greenmount North, the Community Fridge came roaring back to life, and Rudy Malcom told the story on Oct. 29.

Photo: The organizers of B’More Community Fridge, from left, Christina Calhoun, Abbey Franklin and Clara Leverenz.

“Worthy of monumentalization”: Black Arts District preserves cultural memory of Pennsylvania Avenue

An effort to preserve the legacy of Black artists performing in West Baltimore, featuring the striking photos of Webster Philips and others, and online oral histories, was chronicled by Rudy Malcom on Nov. 19.

Photo: Billie Holiday on Pennsylvania Avenue. Credit: Irving Henry Phillips Sr., courtesy of Webster Phillips.

Energy supplier choice aimed to lower Marylanders’ bills, but some customers are left feeling powerless

Marcus Dieterle ended the year on Dec. 28 with a compelling analysis of the unfulfilled promises of energy deregulation in Maryland, and the damage being done to residents who fall victim to questionable business practices.

Photo by Marcus Dieterle.