inside

David Secor and Caroline Wiernicki seine outside the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons. Secor or his grad students come out once a week to do the survey and see what kinds of fish are in the bay and how old they are. They caught a pipe fish, which is significant because pipe fish are more likely to come if the sea grass beds are healthy. (Jay Reed/Baltimore Sun )

Tragedy after tragedy

From mass shootings in Annapolis and Harford County to flooding in Ellicott City to the deaths of a Baltimore County officer and University of Maryland football player, 2018 was sorrowful. pgs 4-11

Problems with city police

Leadership turnover, cases of officer misconduct and continued high levels of violence made 2018 a year of unprecedented number of challenges for the Baltimore Police

Department. pg 12

In memoriam

The region lost a number of notable citizens such as Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and humanitarian Shoshana Cardin. pg 24

Year in images

The best images from our visual journalists pg 36

Sports, on and off the field

Despite UMBC’s upset and Ray Lewis’ hall induction, the Baltimore area sports year was defined not by games but by the complex and sometimes tragic stories that accompany them. pg 50

Arts in transition

From new leaders to new venues, from new names for old favorites to revivals looking to recapture past glories, Baltimore’s arts scene

saw many changes

in 2018. PG 58

Wasn’t all

bad news

2018 brought a few happy headlines. Cal Ripken Jr. found love, Baltimore’s Amy Sherald painted Michelle Obama, the bay got better and “Mr. Oriole”

came back. pg 22