from: William Hughes

On Thursday morning, March 4, 2010, a spirited protest action was held in front of the “Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center,” on north Gay Street, not far from the City Hall, in Baltimore. The demonstrators demanded “$100 million [in Maryland’s state budget] be converted from youth jails to youth jobs and education,” according to their press release. Students, teachers and community activists joined in the social justice action. About 13 of the activists made their way into the lobby of the building, where they engaged in a civil disobedience-like protest. As I left the event to cover another assignment, the students in front of the building were continuing to chant: “Arrest O’Malley!” They even printed out a flyer, with O’Malley’s mug on it, which stated: “Wanted for Incarcerating Youth!” It appeared the police were prepared to simply “wait out” the protesters inside the building. For any updates, go to this web site: http://bailoutpeople.org/