I’ve lived and worked in and around Baltimore for decades now. I have no beef with the city. 

I want the best for Baltimore — or, at the very least, I want better for the city. 

Because “Charm City” is as dysfunctional as they come. 

Consider, for instance, the 2024 mayoral race. Disgraced Mayor Sheila Dixon, who resigned from office in 2010 as part of a plea agreement, is running. Again. 

Actually, it’s the third time she’s run for mayor since she was convicted of embezzlement in 2009.

If you don’t know, Dixon spent gift cards — for personal benefit — which were donated to the Mayor’s office… for the benefit of needy Baltimore families. 

I mean, that’s just about as bottom-of-the barrel as it gets, right? Almost. 

In 2016, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh told Dixon: Hold my beer.

Like a broken record, Pugh stepped down from office in 2019 after she was convicted, this time, on federal charges. 

Her crime? Pocketing about $750,000 from the sale of “Healthy Holly” books meant to be distributed to school children. 

Courtesy: Amazon (“Buy used: $241.38”)
Amazon reviewer: “Anxiously awaiting the sequel… ‘Hard-Time Holly’”

“Instead, many of the books were double sold — or never printed — and payments [for] the illegally diverted or nonexistent books were covered up by Pugh,” explains the Baltimore Brew. 

As a result, Pugh served 18 months of a three-year sentence in a federal prison. 

I bring up the mayoral race as one example of Baltimore’s dysfunction. (See “squeegee boys”.)

But Pugh defrauding the Baltimore City Public School system might have nothing on the latest scheme… 

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Your Rundown for Wednesday, May 1, 2024...

Leave It to Baltimore 

“Baltimore City high schools will begin using AI technology to scan students for weapons, according to a letter sent to families by district operations leaders,” says an article at Baltimore Fishbowl. 

“The district expects to roll out the new Evolv technology to all high schools over the next 30 days.” 

As for the technology itself, “Evolv’s systems involve walk-through full body scanners equipped with machine learning software programmed to distinguish guns, knives, and other ‘threat’ objects from everyday items,” New York Focus says. 

Courtesy: evolvtechnology.com
Evolv Express®

But… 

The company behind the AI technology — Nasdaq-listed Evolv Technologies Holdings Inc. (EVLV) — is enmeshed in multiple lawsuits and federal investigations, including: 

• “A class action lawsuit was filed against Evolv on behalf of its investors [in March], alleging that the company made false and misleading statements about the capabilities of its technology,” says City & State New York. 

To wit: “Evolv’s own promotional materials indicate that the company’s products frequently issue false alerts, which the company has not disputed,” says New York Focus. “The exact misidentification rate is unknown, as Evolv and its competitors tightly control their data.” 

Perhaps the most damning strike against Evolv is that hapless NYC Mayor Eric Adams seems determined to contract Evolv’s weapon-detection system for the city’s subways. 

So, despite the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the company, Baltimore's embrace of Evolv's controversial technology is emblematic of a city that seems to lurch from one grift to the next. 

[Make no mistake: We’re convinced AI is a revolutionary technology. But — like every technology — certain proprietary AI will prove more useful and accurate than others. 

In the coming days, in fact, the FDA might deliver a bombshell regarding a $6-per-share AI company and its historic cancer discovery. Get the full story here.]

Market Rundown for Wednesday, May 1, 2024

The S&P 500 is down 0.20% to 5,025. 

Oil is down 1.35% to $80.81 for a barrel of WTI. 

Gold is up 0.60% to $2,300.50 per ounce. 

Bitcoin’s down 3.80% to $57,500. 

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