Don't take it personally. Our "mayor" can't be bothered to speak to anyone or speak about any major issues. She's really just a figurehead that uses her position to funnel money to her friends and boyfriends and get some back in return.

Mr Hughes, thank you for spending some time with us! Be aware that most of us are deeply ashamed of our mayor, and I hope that your interactions with other Baltimoreans have been much more courteous. Most of us love this city, flaws and all, and someday, we will have leadership at the top that is just as passionate about making this city better as its citizens are.

Mark, grow a pair and learn to get in the face of public officials. Just because the Mayor's spokesman didn't come through for you, and the mayor was being her usual oblivious self doesn't mean you can't go up and ask her something. If you were near enough to hear what she said to her flack, weren't you also near enough to throw a question or two at her? I mean, this is the mayor of Baltimore, not some murderous dictator who'll have you carted away for insolence.

Dearest Mark,
I and probably everyone else in town extend our apologies for the "mayor". She leaves much to be desired in many areas, including graciousness and diplomacy. Hope you had a lovely time in Fells, and please come back soon.
P.S. I enjoyed your writing immensely.

Mark,

Forget our scoundrel of a mayor. She's on trial today for allegedly stealing gift cards from Baltimore's poorest of the poor.

If you study Baltimore history, you'll find that in 1728 or so, some of your former countrymen tried to design this city based on their home, London. Many of the first houses and streets were imitations of your fair city.

You are welcome here by the people of Mobtown like me and I am truly sorry that our so-called mayor was so ill mannered.

She has always been this way. She appears to bristle at the concept that public officials should be questioned by the free press.

They fear the light and scatter for the darkness.

Mark, take heart, not all public officials in Baltimore are like Ms. Dixon. But she does represent a growing trend of individuals who believe they are above questioning and about the law.

Thanks for coming to our town and all the best in your journalist career.

Look at it this way, you snub by our Madame Mayor should be a "Badge of Courage" for you to wear proudly.

Mr. Hughes, thanks for your comments. I do not live in Baltimore, but elsewhere in the state of Maryland, but have found your work here to be informative and insightful, and I love your writing style.

Please come back sometime (soon)!

I understand you could not get a verbal from the Mayor of Baltimore, however, many during your visit could address the same information for you. Crime is prevelant in Baltimore City, but living still continues. I am glad you also got to see some of that. Official comments are not always at the ready. Sorry.

I am a native Baltimorean, and I love my city. It is for this reason that I feel compelled to defend our Mayor. She may not be gracious or a particularly inspiring public speaker, but she has done a lot of good for this city since she's been Mayor. She has appointed the best, most competent people for important positions, not her cronies. The murder rate, while still high, is the lowest it's been in 20 years. And her Cleaner Greener Baltimore campaign has unquestionably made Baltimore cleaner than it's been in 20 years. For all of her lack of grace, and considering she's been dealing with a legal witch hunt for the last four years, she has still been good for Baltimore. It would be wonderful to have everything one wants in a politician, but I will take someone who is effective over someone who is a smooth talker any day.

In the future, the defendants table at the federal courthouse, is the best place to catch our Mayor, if you need to schedule an interview.

Meekrat,

I join you in apologizing for the actions of our mayor; I'm sure she's more than a bit preoccupied these days!!

However, I take umbrage at your reference to Baltimore's oldest neighborhood as "Fells". At least Mark Hughes got the name right in his article.

I guess that I'm not cool or young enough to appreciate the popular new contraction. "Fell's Point" has been around since 1726, lets leave well enough alone!

What's next, "Locust", or maybe "Sparrows"?

Mark

Yesterday was Sunday!

During you're stay did you request an interview, did you seek an appointment in The Office of the Mayor?

I've know the lady since 1968 and I can not walk up on her in the street and simply open a conversation.

Go home and see if you can walk up on the leader of your city and open a dialog!

When you get home google "Homicide Life on the Streets" another crime drama set in Baltimore remember The Wire and Homicide are only T.V. shows.

We also have The Johns Hopkins Hospital, U of Md. Shock Trama (the first of it's kind) and The Hubble Telescope, Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Levi Watkins The National Office of the NAACP,
and not to mention Fort Mc Henry the birthplace of our national anthem.

So please go home and find the ripper.

"Because of the nature of this exchange, I spent most of my week in neighbourhoods with high crime rates.

But many people throughout my trip had urged me to make sure I also visited the good parts of Baltimore. "

I don't think that this city should be thought of as a dichotomy of high crime neighborhoods vs. the good parts. There are good and bad aspects of every neighborhood in Baltimore. Certain neighborhoods are always highlighted in Baltimore as being "good" places to go and while they are more appealing certain ways, calling them the good areas discounts every other place. Implicit in calling some areas good is that the other areas are bad. This only perpetuates fear of areas of the city. All this being said, I am not naive and know that many parts of Baltimore are overall less safe than others. I just wish people would stop thinking about the neighborhoods in such a simple way. And Mark, I do appreciate you being here this week.

I wanna come to London. Will the mayor meet with me so I can write article about Freedom of Privacy??

Seriously, if I (me) went to London and called the mayors office in my Yankee accent and asked to meet with the mayor to discuss Freedom of Privacy, would the mayor meet me?

It may be that the Mayor's refusal to speak to you was driven by her preoccupation with her current criminal trial. An ironic life imitates art situation in that innocent until proven guilty, corrupt politician's actions are brought to light.

Do visit again, and while Baltimore is a city steeped in tradition and rich in history maybe you will consider visiting some of the sights and venues that some the the surrounding counties have to offer. I venture to guess that you will find the elected officials to be a bit more accomodating.

Pgp,
Woe for lack of an apostrophe, i should have been more vigilant before posting. The "new cool" seems to be "T'Point" the t' being instead of the word "the". Even more delightful; I'm sure you'll agree.

send this guy back to where ever he comes from , we don't care what he thinks

Mark,

Please ignore the outrageous apologists for our rude Mayor Sheila Dixon, who is on trial this very day for allegedly stealing gift card from the poor!

They sound like they are plants on the Mayoral payroll to me.

One of them said you just can't expect to have an audience with Dixon because you want one.

Bull Hockey!

She is an elected official and Dixon was at a public event. You had every right to ask her any question you wanted.

Next time, do this:

Get up in her face, don't shout or act disrespectfully, but ask her the same question until she (1) says something rude; (2) does something rude or (3) gives you some smart answer designed to make you look stupid.

Then report it.

You missed you chance because there is a possibility she won't be mayor too much longer! :)

"The city, due to its high homicide rate, is inextricably linked with crime, something which has no doubt been exacerbated by The Wire. "

Crime was bad before the Wire was ever a T.V. show. that is the excuse the Liberal pols give for the high crime rate .

LOL now everyone in England will know how great our Mayor is! Anyway you can take her with you? She is not wanted here :-)

I like the project that you did. Seeing our city through fresh eyes is enlightening.

Since you are covering the crime & the criminal justice system you can get the Mayor's perspective by watching her during her jury selection process.

Glad to hear that our Mayor had “Tree Planting” prioritized of the fact that we are averaging almost 5 murders a week. Way to go!!!

Mark,
I currently live in Baltimore county and have lived in and around the city of Baltimore for 33 years. Like any city, there are dangerous areas in Baltimore and challenges.The impression I get though is that The Wire, probably one of the best series of all time, brought with it a horrible stigma, upon which people base their sole impression and understanding of this city. This is troubling because I feel the good in Baltimore far outweighs the bad. I wish you could come back one day to see this, when you aren't here to write about our crime. As for Dixon, I agree with some of the other posts in that I'm not surpised when the mayor of a city is reluctant to speak to a foreign reporter about crime when she is at a public event trying to make a positive impact, by planting trees. I've heard from some people actively involved in city politics that Dixon has done a lot of good for the city. I am curious what facts the criticism is based on and not just heresay.
Best of luck!

I love being from Baltimore. It gives me street cred. When I travel abroad, especially in the UK, I can hang with any firm. I love to hang with the Chelsea Headhunters. I just tell them I'm from Baltimore and even they all take a step back. Thanks David Simon!

Meekrat,

You missed the "point" of my comment, not the apostrophe!

I am a native Baltimore, but I have been away from the city for 20 years, although my family still lives there. It's amazing to me when I travel around the country how many people think the entire city of Baltimore is like The Wire. This tv show hasn't really served Baltimore's image well at all. Yes, there are parts of Baltimore that resemble the neighborhoods on that show, but there are also neighborhoods -- still stable and viable ones -- that could grace the cover of a magazine.

Recently I returned to the city and I was shocked by West Baltimore especially ... it's looks like a bomb was dropped on it.

The City Paper said it very well in their recent Best of Baltimore issue.

Best reason to live here: You're already prepared for the collapse of society.

Hey, folks, fess up. The mean streets of Baltimore are worst than what is portrayed on the wire.

Hell, they send Army surgeons here from around the world to train in our shock trauma because Mobtown is like a mini-war zone.

Fess up people. If this is the great success crime fighter Mayor Dixon has wrought than I predict she herself might just have trouble staying out of jail!

Get real!

Mark was trying to do his job and was SNUBBED. Period -- end of story.

I love Baltimore and will stay here until I die, but man, I ain't no fool and I don't wear pink sunglasses.

"The Independent will be running articles from Justin and I throughout the week."

I guess we have reached a point where even the English can longer write proper English. Excuse me but you should have written: "The Independent will be running articles from Justin and me..."

Unbelievable.

I can already see, as I read through these comments, that a few people didn't understand what this project was about.

Yes, Will, there was the improper use of "I". Let's give Justin (It was actually Mark - Justin) the benefit of a doubt as his other pieces have been flawless. Perhaps it was a typo, and we know that The Sun can't afford to edit closely.

This series has been a joy to read. I keep thinking about the tidy streets of Manchester while in the midst of a crime wave. Why can't we at least do this? I do not suggest this in jest. Crime destroys lives; dirty, trash-filled streets destroy a sense of hope in the future.

I hope The Sun will support more exchanges like this. Why not allow these young reporters to make this an ongoing series. I'd like to know how the educational systems compare. What can they find out about dental care of children and senior citizens? And just how often do trash trucks roll through the streets of Manchester?

She is a politician what else can be expected .If you follow the money you will see Drug money elected her ........
Is Life in The Big City there will always be Organized Crime we must learn to Live with it.Maryland has a reputation for corrupt politics pure simple fact.

A note to BP and others of his ilk. . . Mark comes from a country where people have not forgotten their manners. Americans could stand to learn a few things from the likes of Mark. Thank you for being a gentleman, Mark. Obviously this wasn't a courtesy that our horrific Mayor was capable of returning.

I think maybe you should have sugarcoated your intended purpose when asking to interview her. Saying right out you want to talk about the bad parts of the city for a foreign newspaper isn't the best way to win an audience with anyone from Baltimore.

That said she should have given an interview anyway and tried to defend the people who elected her. Ugh.

So, let me get this straight, the Mayor of a city known world wide as having a crime problem is given the opportunity to speak with a reporter from the capitol of a nation that speaks the same language about what is really going on in this city and maybe change the public perception of this place, and she declines? I guess it is far more important to plant trees than it is to work towards rehabbing our image in the minds of millions of potential tourists... especially seeing as how the hotels in the inner harbor are doing such a bang up business (oh wait, you mean the hotel that the city paid for is mostly empty?).

The biggest problem in this city is how short sighted we are.

O'Malley/Dixon's crew that is running this city is just another criminal gang, period. That's why she won't talk to you. She can't talk to you about real issues because she is one of them.

To start talking about the problems in this city she'd have to open up with talking about herself.