Louis Krauss


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I'm a writer and reporter who produces hard-hitting news stories and insightful, lively features. In Baltimore, I've written about evictions, immigration court, racism at private schools and the toll unsolved homicides take on families. In rural Washington, I wrote about wolf relocation, a needle exchange and efforts to raze a large riverfront homeless camp.

Baltimore-born and raised, I have a deep interest in race and inequality in our diverse, but polarized country. Bylines: Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Daily Beast, Daily World, Baltimore Brew, Daily Record.

Off-hours pursuits: playing the sax and improving my Japanese with an online tutor. Still reeling from reaction to my July 4th video of the tear-down of Baltimore’s Columbus statue: 7 million views and pickups by the networks, AP, NPR, etc.

Follow me: Twitter / LinkedIn

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My viral video: Christopher Columbus statue toppled by protesters 

Baltimore Brew •

Racism in Baltimore private schools: “I’m not a zoo animal!”

When Bryn Mawr School sophomore Kellsie Lewis and a couple of her friends asked a white student to help them learn a new Tik Tok dance during their English class, the response they got felt like a gut punch. “She told us to ‘move like you’re picking cotton,’” said Lewis, a 15-year-old Black student who had transferred in sixth grade from a predominantly African American city school to the private, all-girls Bryn Mawr. “I was thinking of all the analogies she could’ve used, and she picked that
Baltimore Brew •

Mayor Young poised to raze a homeless encampment amid pandemic surge

For James Trent, who lives in a tent under the I-83 overpass, being forced to leave would be the latest in a string of troubles that have made it harder for him to escape homelessness and get his life together. According to Trent and 30 others living on a city-owned parking lot at the intersection of Centre Street and Guilford Avenue, Baltimore officials recently showed up and told them they must move out by Thursday – today. Trent, 60, said he can’t believe the city is forcing homeless people

Last residents depart homeless camp, as city confirms plans to sell it

As excavators prepared to demolish the large lean-to tent he built with tarps and wooden beams, part of his riverside home at the longtime Aberdeen homeless encampment, a wistful Leonard Vervalen took a break from packing to hit some golf balls into the Chehalis River Wednesday afternoon. “It goes against everything we love and believe in,” said Vervalen. “Would you like living in a fish bowl? If I want to sit down and smoke a cigarette while looking at the river I’m going to do it.”
Baltimore Brew •

A church short on Covid-19 tests is turning away hundreds – and demands that Hogan provide more tests

Every Wednesday, between 500 and 600 people wait hours in line outside Sacred Heart of Jesus Church to receive a free Covid-19 test. But much of the time, half or more of them are sent home without getting tested. So says Rev. Bruce Lewandowski, the pastor at this southeast Baltimore church, who is facing a dire situation: His parishioners are dying – 17 out of the 3,000 who attend services there have passed away due to Covid-19-related illness – and yet he cannot get sufficient tests to meet
The Daily World •

Tiny shrimp poses big threat to oyster growers

Just last spring, Hollingsworth was able to farm on this section of mud. The oysters thrived here, growing in clusters on ropes strung between PVC pipes sticking up from the mud. But the shrimp have taken over, burrowing into the mud and turning it into a slurry. This causes the PVC pipes to sink, the oysters to drop down into the mud and die — and owner Hollingsworth to despair. “At the rate the shrimp are going, I’m done,” he said.
The Daily World •

County combats opioid overdoses with Narcan distribution

When Andy Astells saw his boyfriend overdose and collapse following a shot of heroin in the neck four years ago, he was terried that it might be the end for his companion. It wasn’t, and an increasingly popular drug called Narcan, which is being used to combat potentially fatal opioid overdoses, may have been the life or death dierence. “When he fell to the oor I could not nd a pulse, hear a heartbeat, or see him breathing. It was so very scary,” said Astells, 38. “I would say that the likelihood of him not living without receiving the Narcan would’ve been quite high.”
Baltimore Brew •

In Baltimore: unemployed or “essential,” but either way afraid

At a food giveaway yesterday in northwest Baltimore, people spoke of big losses, including the death of a family member, and small daily frustrations arising from a pandemic that has thrown a monkey wrench into their lives and routines. “I do get a little stir-crazy, getting more upset with little things I expect my family members to do, which they don’t right away,” said Bruce Satterfield. “And I’m tired of repeating, ‘Wash your hands, stop putting your hands on your face,’” he said with a sig
The Daily World •

Drug users fear consequences of syringe exchange ending

With Grays Harbor County’s syringe exchange potentially ending June 30, the program and the county commission’s decision to end it has been a hot topic. Many health officials want to keep it, while two of the three county commissioners have said it’s not appropriate for the county to fund it. Among the drug users who actually rely on the local syringe exchange to turn in used needles in exchange for clean ones, some fear there will be dire consequences for the health and wellbeing of both drug
Baltimore Brew •

A “Tent City” outside City Hall to press the mayor on homelessness and more

While national media swarmed City Hall this week to cover Baltimore’s overnight removal of its Confederate monuments, Mary Scott was inside one of about 20 matching red tents in front of the building to plead for a lower profile cause: The plight of Baltimore’s homeless and struggling poor. “I was more than excited to come out here and sleep in a tent,” said Scott, explaining she just recently had to leave her East Baltimore house after her boyfriend’s cousin was killed inside.
The Oberlin Review •

College Raises Tuition, Overhauls Room and Board

College junior Hannah Sklar uses a meal swipe in Dascomb Dining Hall. Starting next semester, all first-years will be required to have a 300-meal-per-semester dining plan, unless they choose to eat in OSCA. College junior Hannah Sklar uses a meal swipe in Dascomb Dining Hall. Starting next semester, all first-years will be required to have a 300-meal-per-semester dining plan, unless they choose to eat in OSCA. Attending Oberlin College will cost $69,372 next academic year thanks to a 2.8-perce
The Oberlin Review •

Border Patrol Agents Detain Undocumented Man

Federal Border Patrol Agents arrested a man on his way to Oberlin Municipal Court April 5 after learning his visa had expired. Naranbaatar Ganbaatar, a 30-year-old Mongolian citizen, was charged with felonious assault following an incident on Feb. 15 when he allegedly attacked a bus passenger on the way to Vermillion. Upon arrival at the Oberlin courthouse for a 2 p.m. hearing, the agents arrested Ganbaatar in the parking lot and turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Attempts
The Daily Beast •

The Suitcase Murder Tearing the U.S. and Japan Apart

TOKYO — A series of horrific crimes by present and former U.S. military personnel stationed on Okinawa has triggered dramatic moves to try to reduce the American presence on the island and in Japan as a whole. In the most recent incident, former U.S. Marine postal clerk Kenneth Franklin Shinzato was arrested May 19 for the rape and murder of a 20-year-old Japanese woman who had gone missing on April 28. Shinzato reportedly admitted to the crime on May 21. Shinzato, who took his Japanese wife’s
latimes.com •

Boy missing after parents left him in a forest has been found, Japanese police say

A small boy whose disappearance in northern Japan engrossed the nation for six days and launched a discussion about what constitutes child abuse has been found unhurt, authorities said. His parents had let him out of their car on the side of a mountain road Saturday night and drove away to punish him for having thrown rocks at cars earlier that day, according to national media accounts. They reportedly returned five minutes later to find that he was gone.
baltimoresun.com •

The game is electric

One of the gamers is Daniel Rodriguez, aka ChuDat, who goes to Xanadu every week and has consistently been one of the top Smash Bros. players in the Maryland-Virginia region. However, at 27, the Falls Church, Va., resident acknowledges that his best days are behind him. “Nowadays, the top players are guys in their late teens or early 20s; it's all because they have much better reaction time,” Rodriguez said. “While us older guys definitely have more knowledge and strategy, it's hard to make up for the speed that we lack because our eyes can't adapt fast enough anymore.”