Maryland enterprise and religion reporter

Jonathan M. Pitts

Jonathan Pitts is an enterprise and religion reporter for the Baltimore Sun. In 25 years at the paper, he has covered everything from racial inequality and sex abuse scandals to jam band fandom and international oyster shucking. A native of St. Louis, he's a former English teacher, a University of Missouri journalism graduate, the co-author of a book on St. Louis Cardinals baseball legend Whitey Herzog and a Haverford College alum. You can reach him at jonpitts@baltsun.com.

Margaret Innes, the general curator of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, and Samson, an 18-year-old African elephant. His mother, Felix, was recently moved to the Seneca Park Zoo allowing The Maryland Zoo to create a “bachelor herd” of bull elephants. (Kim Hairston/staff)

A fond farewell to Felix the elephant

August 30, 2026 at 7:15 a.m.

Felix the elephant arrived in Baltimore more than 18 years ago. Her inquisitive, intelligent ways endeared her to generations of zoo patrons.

Photos of James "Bo" Roderick, Jr. that were on display at a family memorial in his honor at Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont on July 11. Roderick, 56, was killed by a train after a six-week journey through a health-care system that could not find a place for an individual with a mental disorder due to a severe brain injury. (Roderick/Douglas family/Courtesy)

2 trains hit him weeks apart. His family says Maryland’s system failed him

August 24, 2026 at 12:48 p.m.

After a train left James “Bo” Roderick with a severe brain injury, his family fought to keep him safe. Six weeks later, another train killed him.

Evan Woodard, founder of Baltimore’s Magnet Fishing Club, holds a 10-pound forged iron shipping hook he recovered from the waters of Fells Point during a magnet fishing event. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

How Inner Harbor holds Baltimore’s past, with sunken ships and live ammo

August 7, 2026 at 3:46 p.m.

From a Victorian-era bench to sunken ships and live ammunition, discoveries beneath the water reveal layers of Baltimore’s past.

Father Michael Murphy, pastor at Saint Joseph's Monastery Parish, speaks during during an earlier Archdiocese of Baltimore gun buyback event. Murphy is behind the effort to get people to turn in weapons. They will get up to $300 for firearms this year.

Baltimore priest leads gun buyback that removed 1,056 firearms

August 1, 2026 at 5:49 p.m.

I remember one person saying, ‘I’ve had these in my home a long time, but I’ve got great grandkids now; I don’t want them in the house.’

Shane Lanham sits near the memorial be built for his son, Shane Lanham, Jr., who was serving time for second-degree assault at ECI prison in Somerset County when he was brutally murdered by his cellmate. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Maryland prison officials ignored son’s pleas for protection from gangs before fatal attack, father says

July 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

"I know my son wasn't an angel, but he was serving a five-year sentence for second-degree assault, and that isn't supposed to be a death penalty," he said.

The Hillbilly Thomists, American's only bluegrass band consisting entirely of Dominican friars, perform at St. Francis Hall in Washington, D.C., in 2024. The group will perform at St. Philip & James Catholic Church in Charles Village on July 29 in support of their forthcoming album, "Strange Land." (Photo by William Melancon)

Baltimore native helps lead Hillbilly Thomists, bluegrass band of Dominican friars

July 20, 2026 at 5:01 a.m.

The group has placed three albums in Billboard's bluegrass top ten, their recording of "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" has drawn 1.5 million streams, and they've performed at country music's most storied...

Adam Lindquist, co-creator of Mr. Trash Wheel and the Waterfront Partnership vice president, stands with the original googly eyes he created from insulation foam for the trash interceptor. Mr. Trash Wheel, the first of four in Baltimore, collects debris floating down the Jones Falls stream from its position at the Pier 6 Pavilion. (Kim Hairston/staff)

Mr. Trash Wheel keeps cleaning up Baltimore’s messes

July 13, 2026 at 8:42 a.m.

"We found a pair of Balenciaga sneakers valued at about $1,000. You're not going to clean those up! Most famously, we got a live python snake," said Adam Lindquist, who...

Owen Lourie, a senior research archivist at the Maryland State Archives, reviews historical documents. Lourie spent 13 years researching and writing “Finding the Maryland 400,” the first book about Maryland’s earliest Revolutionary War soldiers who fought the British at the Battle of Brooklyn and helped save George Washington’s Continental Army. (Kim Hairston/staff)

The Maryland 400 helped save Washington’s army. Now their stories are finally known.

July 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

But Owen Lourie, a historian and research archivist at the Maryland State Archives, has brought many of those soldiers to life in his book, "Finding the Maryland 400," set for...

Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1981. (Associated Press)

Near-record throngs packed downtown for fireworks on rainy day 45 years ago

June 27, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

The Baltimore Sun revisits the Fourth of July in 1981, the first year of Ronald Reagan's presidency, as part of America's 250th birthday celebration. In keeping with that era's patriotic...

The Baltimore Sun newspaper from July 5, 1970 and the July 4th coverage.

Flag seen as source of pride, ‘piece of cloth,’ on Independence Day, 1970

June 28, 2026 at 4:21 p.m.

As part of America's 250th birthday celebration, The Baltimore Sun travels back to the Fourth of July in 1970.

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