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Brenda Wintrode

Brenda

Brenda Wintrode covers state government, agencies and politics. Before joining The Baltimore Banner, Wintrode wrote an award winning series of long form investigations for Wisconsin Watch. For nearly a year, she examined wrongful child abuse allegations leveled by a nationally-recognized child abuse expert that were later rejected by juries, court officials, law enforcement and other doctors. Wintrode's work has been cited in a class-action lawsuit against the doctor. One story featuring a man convicted of killing a child in his care prompted a federal public defender to investigate his chances for an appeal. Wintrode earned a bachelor's of science in business administration from Bryant University in Rhode Island. After deciding to make a career switch, she pursued a graduate degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism where she was named outstanding master’s student of the December 2020 cohort.

Latest content by Brenda Wintrode

Gov. Wes Moore delivers his annual State of the State address in the Maryland State House in Annapolis on Wednesday.
What Gov. Moore didn’t say in his State of the State speech
Gov. Wes Moore’s sweeping State of the State address covered expansive ground — from his budget plan to public transit, from tax reforms to economic boosts and from education funding to Washington, D.C., chaos.
Maryland Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott speaks about a state grant program that will send $120 million worth of grants to organizations that provide mental and behavioral health services for kids so they can partner with schools to bring treatment and other support into schools. The program was the focus of a press conference in Annapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.
Maryland’s state health secretary to resign
Maryland’s state health secretary, Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, is resigning her position at the end of this month, Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday.
Early voters cast their ballots at the Randallstown Community Center on October 30, 2024.
Judge tosses lawsuit claiming flawed Maryland elections
The plaintiffs aimed to stop the certification of the 2024 election.
“The trials we now face — both those we inherited and those newly realized — mean that easy decisions are off the table,” Gov. Wes Moore said in his State of the State speech on Wednesday.
Gov. Moore warns of ‘difficult decisions’ over Trump, budget deficit
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pledged Wednesday to guide the state through turbulent times caused by uncertainty from the new presidential administration and a sluggish local economy.
Sen. Will Smith, a Montgomery County Democrat, wants to see fewer young defendants automatically charged as adults.
Maryland lawmakers support fewer adult charges for teens
All but the most serious charges — rape and murder, for example — would return to the juvenile court’s jurisdiction.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has already joined two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration, and is hiring staff for other potential cases.
Maryland’s AG is building a million-dollar litigation team to battle Trump
Maryland's attorney general got $1 million to dedicate to federal litigation. It's looking like that money will be increasingly important as Trump's executive orders take effect.
Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth and members of Maryland's federal delegation speak with reporters Wednesday on President Trump's hold on federal funds.
Maryland’s federal delegation is also caught in the Trump whiplash
Members of Congress are hearing the latest twists in the news.
A Trump administration order Monday night ordered a pause on federal grants and loans.
Confusion, anger as Maryland officials, nonprofits grapple with funding freeze
State officials and nonprofit leaders reported they were locked out of federal systems used to draw down federal funds for Medicaid reimbursements and financing basic needs for low-earning Marylanders.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore takes questions from reporters on the first day of the General Assembly session in the Maryland State House in Annapolis earlier this month.
Moore won’t speculate on deploying National Guard to southern border
Gov. Wes Moore this week declined to say whether he would deploy the Maryland National Guard to the southern border if asked by the federal government.
Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, a Baltimore County Republican, attends session in the Senate Chambers in Annapolis, MD on January 16, 2025.
Before Trump, a red wave washed through Dundalk
“The anger was enormous — the sense of betrayal,” said Bill Barry, who was the director of labor studies at the Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proposed a $67.3 billion budget for state government, closing a budget gap by cutting spending and raising taxes for high earners.
We reviewed Gov. Moore’s budget proposal so you don’t have to
Just because Moore introduced the budget this way, it doesn’t mean it’s going to end up like this.
Maryland would add two new tax brackets, for individuals earning more than $500,000 and $1 million, to raise more than $800 million.
Moore’s budget plan will tax Maryland’s highest earners to close deficits
Under the proposal, the state would establish two new tax brackets for individuals earning more than $500,000 and $1 million while offering relief for others.
U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s lone Republican representative in Congress, speaks at a launch for the Maryland Freedom Caucus on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis.
With Andy Harris’ advice, the Maryland General Assembly gets a Freedom Caucus
The seven members represent a fraction of House Republicans in a chamber where the Democrats hold a better than 2-to-1 majority.
Gypsy Barrientos, partner of fallen Division of Parole and Probation Agent Davis Martinez, speaks on behalf of his family at a candlelight vigil in his honor on Monday in Annapolis.
Bill named for fallen probation agent would add protections for public employees
The bill would create a new unit in the Maryland Department of Labor responsible for inspecting the safety protections for public workers while they do jobs, including those who perform their jobs outside of an office.
The Maryland House of Delegates on opening day of the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday, January 8, 2024.
General Assembly: Here’s what lawmakers say are their priorities this year
Lawmakers come to Annapolis with bills they’d like to pass on behalf of their constituents back home

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