Puerto Rico Maria Updates, now a thriving Facebook community, was started by Patricia Pichardo after Hurricane Maria.
Hurricane victims from Puerto Rico get help resettling in Baltimore
BALTIMORE – The Tavarez family struggled through a harrowing month and a half after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, living in their San Juan neighborhood without power, scrambling to buy necessities and driving in streets without functioning traffic lights. After…
Baltimore charity takes aid to Puerto Rico
BALTIMORE — Janet Arce arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport before 5 a.m. last Thursday. She wore rain boots and carted a pile of suitcases full of donations for a humanitarian trip to Puerto Rico. “I’m going to be…
Raskin calls for tougher federal law on campus religious discrimination
WASHINGTON – Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Kensington, proposed Tuesday that religious discrimination on college campuses should be prohibited under the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law already bars religious discrimination in hiring, but the congressman said the law’s…
Puerto Rican couple among many living at least temporarily in Maryland
SILVER SPRING, Maryland – Elizabeth Vázquez’s house has a basement apartment, specially built for her parents, Nicolás Vázquez and Priscila Rodríguez. For the past four years, they stayed there during the summer and went back to Puerto Rico for the…
#HandsoffmyBC gains traction — online and off — after Trump announces new birth control rule
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland — On October 6th, the Trump administration announced its decision to roll back a federal rule, established under the Affordable Care Act, that required most employers to provide employees with birth control coverage without a co-pay. The…
Responding to Trump threat, Van Hollen urges more, “not less,” Puerto Rico aid
WASHINGTON – Responding to President Donald Trump’s threat to withdraw federal disaster aid to Puerto Rico, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, said the government should be doing more to help the devastated territory, “not less.” Van Hollen said that three…
#MakeRentAffordable tweetstorm garners national attention
On Wednesday night, the hashtag #MakeRentAffordable became a trending topic on Twitter thanks to Make Room, an organization dedicated to advocating for renters’ rights in the United States. The group organized the tweetstorm in an attempt to raise awareness about…
Samantha’s journey: Rehabilitation center houses mothers and their children
CROWNSVILLE, Maryland—Samantha Griebel is recovering from opioid addiction, after using heroin throughout her pregnancy. Thanks to Chrysalis House, a rehabilitation center that allows mothers to live with their children, Griebel regained custody of her daughter and could raise her child while living a life of sobriety.