As the Maryland Crab Cake Tour made its way back into District 45, it was important to discuss crime, jobs and education with the State Senator and the urgency of the work being done in Annapolis to improve East Baltimore.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
crab cake, years, baltimore, people, maryland, 45th, annapolis, piece, standpoint, give, coco, young, learned, ingenuity, folks, wife, tour, city, school, thinking
SPEAKERS
Cory McCray, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:00
What about w n s t, Towson, Baltimore, Baltimore positive or positively in beautiful Lara Ville in Baltimore in the 45th. We’re Coco’s pub salt brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery get instant lottery scratch offs here. It’s been a lucky batch. I’m gonna give some away here to the friends and staff here Coco’s we’re going to be celebrating 25 years it cost is two weeks from now, on August 3, and then drug city on the fourth next week. We’re in the county at the Beaumont, in Gainesville. All of it, of course, brought to you by our friends when donation, the sloppy floppy hat, but wife washed it and got it all stiff. It’s nice. So it fits nice, it looks nice. It’s all good. And Senator, Cory McCray, is our guest. It’s hard to take me seriously. And as I know, since I look like Gilligan a little bit in the Oreos, get back there floppies as well. So, you know, from from the standpoint of what you do, and I would ask you this, when you go down, and you’re chairing this or sitting on this, and I mean, take take us back to the first year, your delegate down there just waters, you know, triggered from the fire hose right now. You’ve been elected a couple of times, people are clearly pleased with the work enough people are pleased with the work you’re doing. I’m sure there’s a complaint department for you, at the end of this segment as well. But for you to go down to Annapolis, see these changes and be involved with it. I’m gonna give you the two questions that are the tough questions, right. What are we doing about crime? Let’s start with what are we doing?
Cory McCray 01:22
The first thing is making sure that we can support our current state’s attorney. I think that folks think that he’s doing a good job, Ivan Bates and making sure that we’re supporting our police commissioner next interim Commissioner Richard Worley, I’ve known rich, because he was the police commander in the northeastern district for a significant amount of time, and feel very confident and what he’s going to be bringing to the city in that position. And then I think about like our new state’s attorney. And this is important, because when we went down there two people overwhelmingly elected oven beats. And one of the things is, is that Ivan Bates isn’t like a traditional or this or this or this known, elected official, he came in and he hadn’t been elected. So he didn’t really know the legislature. He came in with a bill this past session, that basically said that he wanted to align the penalty for current illegal handguns. For those that are 18 to 20. were receiving five years as the sentence and those that were 21 and older, were receiving three years, we all know what the Justice Reinvestment Act that you’re not doing that entire five years necessary. You’re not doing the entire three years of photos, penalties, you know, what about 25 30% of that time, so that’s about 18 months, or maybe three years,
Nestor Aparicio 02:33
all of these people are coming back home.
Cory McCray 02:36
So they’re coming back home from that standpoint. So he wanted to align every
Nestor Aparicio 02:38
time I talk to somebody like you This is almost the first thing you bring up is we could put people way And shame on them and try to educate and try to rehabilitate whatever the word would be for all that. But at some point, they come back and there needs to be a better, something better, better path for a better it has to be
Cory McCray 02:56
so wanted. So one of the things is is that he couldn’t find a bill sponsor. And I was like, What do you mean, you can’t find a bill sponsor, your your agency, anybody can put in a bill by the request of that respective agency. So when he said that I said, I’m not for theatrics. I’m not for this. Let’s just get it done. And his bill went across. So we got it done. Everybody pushed a green button for it. And we’re thinking about that. So you had your stick, but you also have to have the current piece of it. We’re working on education from the blueprint for Merlin we’re working on
Nestor Aparicio 03:25
that’s my next question. By the way, I’m glad you tackle that, because crimes first, then education. And that’s if I’m a citizen, if I’m voting for you not voting for you, I’d say we got 20 minutes talking about anything other than the Orioles or summer weather how good the crab cakes are. But like the crime piece of this is the glaring piece that haunts every murder rate crime. And so when
Cory McCray 03:47
you think about that, and that’s the young folks want to have fun. So you got a young population that’s going to be in fed Hill cat and things of that nature. But when you’re thinking about having the family, and when you’re settling now the two things that you think about is are my kids safe? And are they going to be well educated from that standpoint? So that’s what I think about each and every day that I wake up as a father who live here as a father for and I live here. Yes. So I’m thinking about the eight year old, the nine year old, my 14 year old, my 16 year old, what is the education that they’re going to receive in our school system, whether it’s public or private minds go to a poly just got one that’s already 11th grader poly, and one that’s going to the ninth grade at Poly, but one of the things that I thought about me and my wife had this tough conversation. She’s a teacher also. But she teaches she teaches third grade. So she’s teaching third grade for the last two decades. Third
Nestor Aparicio 04:34
grade is my fifth did he still do planets and dinosaurs and third, they have fun in third grade. Third grade is my favorite class.
Cory McCray 04:40
But we had hard conversations when we got to middle school because you’re thinking I need my child to have the most robust, rigorous academic experience within our school system, whatever they are going to, and I was lucky because we have the ingenuity program. I think that that’s one of the best things that Baltimore City Public Schools has going on is this ingenuity program. Unfortunately, it’s only For schools in Roland Park, it’s in Hamilton. It’s over and oh my god, I can’t think we have to qualify you have to qualify for this program. So that was one of the things that I think about from that piece of it and we’ve been blessed because we’ve had to matriculate through the process they in poly now but they’re in the ingenuity part of Polly from that piece of it. So that is that is covered but how she knew it i like how do we make sure that every young scholar is getting that same experience as ingenuity? How do we make sure that parents feel the confidence that they’re doing? We have to make sure that our and this is one of the things I’m proud of first the place that they are going to in any urban jurisdiction across the country. You will not see them building buildings as fast as the city of Baltimore doing in the last five years. We put 23 online brand new school buildings that’s not happening across the country in Detroit, Philly, New York.
Nestor Aparicio 05:53
I feel that went on doc I was at the Heritage fair a couple of weeks ago. The Heritage fair is sits on Dundalk Elementary. I played Pop Warner Football there, John Rollo bunch, we’ll practice there. And it’s a brand new school. I went to Colgate Elementary was built 100 years ago, brand new school took Johnny Oh little while by the way, Johnny is gonna be at my anniversary drug city on the fourth but and Dundalk High School as well, which was you know, old and falling apart. Completely new. I mean, this is something I that I would say that you would go to other places I might be in LA next week screwing around just seeing like, are they built the squat not like not like the city was always Howard County build new schools, Harford County build some school. I don’t know I don’t spend any time to go MRI kid.
Cory McCray 06:42
But but at the end of the day, like that’s one of the pluses that
Nestor Aparicio 06:45
sound like a guy that goes to Annapolis now.
Cory McCray 06:48
Like, that’s one of the pieces to the puzzle. But then you think about like the inside of the school, making sure that we can raise teacher pay, and what are we thinking about from the folks that are educating our young folks, making sure that school is not the traditional way that may you see it, or went through it at one point. It’s not a blackboard and notebooks not not at all. It’s also having to make sure that you have the mental health piece of it, because a lot of our young folks are going through things at the home. And we need to make sure that that’s explored and make sure that that’s thought about when they’re attending school. Also thinking about from a food standpoint, as we talked about the food deserts with some of these young folks, if they’re hungry, how are they actually use their minds to be able to learn from that standpoint. So these are some of the things that we’re doing and we’re partnering with our EDS and meds. So when you think about Hopkins University of Maryland, being able to partner and think about the health aspect within our schools, that’s an important piece to this puzzle. And so some of the things that we’re working on each and every day in the city of Baltimore, and when we go to Annapolis, we tend
Nestor Aparicio 07:43
to Kerwin and the impact of that, because I spent a lot of time before it happened. And obviously the governor fought at the time, tooth and nail was about a year and a half. I mean, obviously COVID was a big part of the mess. And your wife’s an educator, talk to me about Kerwin and this money and what you hear about the things in Annapolis because, you know, it wasn’t popular everywhere because it came at a price tag. Oh, all things cost money. All good things cost money included Coco’s crabcake.
Cory McCray 08:13
So I’m laughing at you because you gave me a hard time by my water on this carpet, but now I see yours over there too. So
08:19
when he talked with water, the water I got a little you got a sippy cup. Okay, okay. Okay.
Nestor Aparicio 08:25
water all over my equipment at the Super Bowl 10 years ago in New York,
Cory McCray 08:29
and we give it everybody
Nestor Aparicio 08:32
just over the top bad guy about anybody having liquids in your mind computer.
Cory McCray 08:38
Yeah. But back back to Carol, when I think that that’s one of the most important things that we can do as a legislature and thinking about like, what does what does the economy look like? What does it look like? 1020 30 years from now I keep talking about setting that foundation, especially as an entrepreneur, so we’re making sure that our teachers are well taken care of. We’re making sure that we think about careers that they’re going to be entering into as an electrician. That’s one of the things that I think about apprenticeships and everybody not going to one of our distinguished electrician. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 09:07
what went into that? Did you did you have a shop class? Where’d you go to high school
Cory McCray 09:12
next, I went to a couple of high school so I was had a couple challenges, but I ended up graduating and coming out of family hospital, Harford and 25th. But I tell folks, I found out about an act by accident. My mom reached out to the Maryland Department of Labor. She said send me every apprenticeship in the state of Maryland. She said Cory go fill out applications. I went to fill out applications that Dobie W local 24 and ended up getting lucky and I was accepted into it. I didn’t have to know anything about electrical so I didn’t know how to know what Black White green is. I didn’t know anything from that standpoint. As long as
Nestor Aparicio 09:41
I know anything about like ohms and all things love the man I took a class and I’m like I would if some electric in my house is screwed up. I’m calling you.
Cory McCray 09:53
I was gonna say but so from there, being able to not just be used to the four block So what I was used to in the city and being able to work around other folks that were doing things productive. That’s how I actually started buying houses up and down Belair road, it was some journeyman electricians that I was working around, I had some rental property and had had property. And I said, I can do the same thing he don’t he no smarter than I am, it started a model rat in the space that I was in. But like minds as you just needed to have a good attitude, wanted to come and learn some of the basic functions of coming to work on time and things of that nature. And I learned everything else on the job while getting paid.
Nestor Aparicio 10:27
I had a business partner of mine say to me recently, trying to hire local people to run a cash register, and he can’t make change. Because the math skills of their being taught or they learn that there’s just this real basic to your point, like showing up on time and what a job is, and what a commitment is and what your word is. And you know, and you said something right off the bat that tells me a lot about who you you’re like I had some challenges, but my mother blanked, you my mother got involved. She said, My mother got involved. Well, if the mother doesn’t get involved, you know, you’re gonna have a challenge to begin with, right? So like having that, that foundation of somebody saying you, you can do better than this, you should expect more from yourself, right? And I just think
Cory McCray 11:15
about, like some of the basic skills we take for granted. So I think about getting to work on time, every day might I was supposed to show up at seven o’clock. Well, one day, I actually did get a flat tire and I get there at 715 and the general Foreman’s come down. Why are you late? And I’m like, Well, I’m never late. But he said, You didn’t pay attention to the parking lot. People are here 1520 minutes early. And from there, I’ve always come 1520 minutes early, because that’s what I learned at that moment. From that experience from that stand. It’s a
Nestor Aparicio 11:44
football coaching thing, you know, early for me and you’re late, not five minutes early. You’re late. Yeah,
Cory McCray 11:48
exactly. So like, that was something that I learned. And I’ve never, I’ve always come and practice that behavior ever since then. But I learned it or what and I’ll tell you the job that I learned in one was Patapsco. on Seventh Avenue. We built the courthouse right there. So that was probably 20 Some years ago when I had that experience. And then I think about
Nestor Aparicio 12:05
an engineer earlier electrician. It began with a knee. My wife’s an engineer, sorry about that.
Cory McCray 12:09
Then I think about like, some of some folks may not always know about the banking piece of it. I forgot that early on in my career, I was actually cashing my check at the check cashing spot. And then I actually had a young lady. A lot of our companies will hire out young folks. So I look for some of the high schools where they have 11 for 12th graders that may be looking or interested in this. And she was in Emerson village, she was attendant Emerson high school, but she was cashing her check at the check cashing spot. So we had to redirect that piece of it or that thinking and say, Hey, you’re paying them to 3% by time you get your check. From that standpoint, why don’t we hit some of the other things that we need to put in place to make sure so I forgot that that was what I was understanding banking, you understand and banking from that. But but but some of those same behaviors that we do, we forget that we’ve done it and now young people are modeling, modeling or going through the same things we have to break that cycle.
Nestor Aparicio 13:02
Senator Cory McRae’s here we’re at KOKO saw brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery. Give him some lottery scratch offs away here today and beautiful Oroville will be Catonsville next week at the Beaumont then on the Dundalk for the 25th anniversary. We’re in the 45th year he goes down to Annapolis when he’s not doing ohms and amps, amps and ohms. Right.
Cory McCray 13:21
Voltage you forgot voltage
Nestor Aparicio 13:23
forgot voltage. Well, you’re further along than me. But I have a good attitude about learning. The Oriole sport you got I mean, this is this has been a little bit of research, you know, and the one thing for me is any word down there and what they want this from the stadium. I mean, like you’re the first person your first elected, that’s a molar word effected that yeah, I’ve had on but like, I’ll get a little chap and get a little burned. I didn’t like him lying to the media about we’re gonna open up books for you. I don’t like being locked out every night where my my employees allowed in and they don’t allow me access. There’s a lot of things I don’t like about it. But I do like when they’re winning and the feeling it gives people and watching that. I mean, baseball is a great thing. I mean, I was the proponent of building this stadium. I’m a proponent of keeping the team and all that but it needs to be more of this and less of what we’ve had the last 30 years, right like this is fun.
Cory McCray 14:14
Yeah, it’s great time. It really is but
Nestor Aparicio 14:17
it should be this way every year and tip the cap to the NFL for what they do because they tend to keep teams competitive, even Cincinnati, they have a chance now right there.
Cory McCray 14:26
I think they’re the legacy that Donald Schafer set when he may show the stadiums were here we need to also make sure from that standpoint, so the legislature was able to work with Prince George’s were able to work with our surrounding jurisdiction to make sure that when we look at our budget document that we also see the stadiums as a priority. It’s an economic engine not just for the city of Baltimore, but also for the state of Maryland.
Nestor Aparicio 14:48
Well I guess we forget here I mean, it’s gonna take you long to bring up PG County or they hate it when I was gonna say don’t be doing that Prince George’s County I’m sorry about that. They freak out gorgeous person. You freak out. Michael Steele vamos a crabcake me. I
Cory McCray 15:02
do not know. Prince George’s. I let them have it. Yeah, I
Nestor Aparicio 15:08
don’t know. Okay, I’m sorry. But so Prince George’s and Montgomery County, there is an Austin them. I mean, it really is and like, I guess I don’t feel it, we don’t feel it. But if you’re in Annapolis, you feel it. And if you’re fighting, sitting at the table, same thing in Western Maryland, eastern shore where they don’t really understand larvell And they don’t get you all the density of population here, why, you know, all of the issues that they have different issues there, right. And they want money to solve different problems.
Cory McCray 15:37
Oh, and as one Maryland, we have to figure it out. Like we have to figure out all these dynamics and these other geographic jurisdictions and make sure that we come away and that budget document that 60 plus billion dollar budget document reflects it.
Nestor Aparicio 15:49
Well, the crabcake tour has been such a gift to me on so many levels. First excuse that people like you buy in, hang out with Marcel and meet nice people. But I took this thing on the road two summers ago since last time I saw you actually we were here with masks, and in the summer 21. And then again in 22. My wife and I did 30 crabcakes in 30 days. I did 31 last year for my 31st anniversary on radio. And we went to Deep Creek loan accounting, Cumberland Rocky, Rocky gap is beautiful. Easter Sure. I didn’t even know you were allowed to get off 50 I just thought you went straight. I didn’t even realize it. There’ll be suicide bridge up. I was gonna
Cory McCray 16:26
say I had to one of the best crabcakes it was suicide bread. It’s a great place. That was a nice one. It was like 10 years ago that I had that that was like 10 years ago.
Nestor Aparicio 16:37
Don’t tell anybody don’t tell more sell because I’m about to have her crab cake here because I’m not. I’m equal opportunity that crab cakes. You know, I mean, people would you like him a certain way. I like him good. I like him fresher. Like, this is how I like I like the way you make them as well. I’m probably gonna like it. But I got a tip one suicide bridge over the eastern shore. And I went over there. It was the first day of the tour and I ate it. And I’m sitting I was alone. I went down alone. I was Dennis Colossus gave me this big ol Bronco, Big Blue Broncos. Brando was the only one that had people staring at me in the truck. It was crazy. And cruise forward. I had the first crab cake and I had a beer. And I was just going to Ocean City to start the tour the Marlin open. I had the mayor on the next day, Dan and Harrison’s I mean, we had the whole thing so 30 crab cakes and 30 days, right? And I hate that crab cake. And I took two bites and I’m like, man, I’ve been eat crab cakes my whole life. And this is really, how can I go crazy for the first crab cake on the first day of the tour. I’ve gone back four times. This is true story. My wife and I are going back for anniversary two weekends, we’re going to see Tommy Conwell and a young Rumblers. And do we beach, and I promise you she’s gonna say it’s only like 14 miles. If we just go south off a 404 we can grab a crab cake. And she’s gonna want to go because she loves it that much too. And people say favorite. I’ll tell you what, if your knees are short, there’s a place called the old salties as well. It’s in Hooper’s Island. Okay, you gotta want that. You gotta want that crab cake. I mean, it’s weighed out, but it’s the most beautiful drive. Have you been? I don’t want to out you here because you can’t be everywhere in the state you are representing people to 45th But have you been down down to the swampy area below Cumberland? Have you been down at the Blackwater refuge seeing those birds and fish? It’s the most beautiful. Take your children. Okay, take your children, you get when you get to Cumberland, if you you’re going to do suicide at the age of 70. So just make go not completely Cambridge, I say Cambridge Forget it. Forget what to say Cambridge, Easter short. Okay. You want to go south out of Cambridge, toward Hooper’s Island. Okay. And you want to see the Blackwater refuge. It’s only 10 minute drive from America from 50. Get off and go see the birds see the Eagles see them?
Cory McCray 18:51
tell you we did a committee tour. We did a committee tour. So I was there when I was on TNT in the House of Delegates. And we did a committee tour over
Nestor Aparicio 18:57
there. All right. Well, I want to make sure you get over there. Again. It’s a great state. That’s all I’m saying. You know, it is representing the people in 45th. Thank you very much coming by any message for the people summer anything they could do to help you in the 45th?
Cory McCray 19:13
Just make sure just keep betting on Baltimore as the most important thing. Like I said, I think that all the pieces of the puzzle was there. I just want to lift up Nestor, thank you for coming to the 45th Thank you for picking the one of the greatest spots in the 45th. To be at Coco’s I’ll say 123 more times. But most importantly, we’re doing each and everything that we can do diligently for the citizens of Baltimore to make sure that it is a great place as walkable that safe that we can educate our young people.
Nestor Aparicio 19:38
Well, I appreciate you coming on being accountable and it’s not easy you know, talking about the stuff right and it’s harder to try to fix it
Cory McCray 19:45
right I feel good because every day I wake up to be inspired to do something I have something to do.
Nestor Aparicio 19:50
No I take kids black water, take them out to Rocky gap take them out to to Deep Creek go. Rogers took me fly fishing and On the north Potomac leg I don’t know it’s by Luke, Maryland Westernport Maryland, and I’m out in my waders fly fishing out there using lefty crazy techniques, you know, and I’m thinking to myself, this is a great state. I don’t even need to go to Montana to do this. I don’t need to go to Louisiana to have that marshy I just go over to black water and then we get Ocean City got Baltimore we got the Orioles second place soon to be in first place. Alright, I’m gonna take a break. Day shine and he’s here. He’s got his sports writer hat on. I don’t know what that is. He looks like we look like we’re going to the track is what we look like we’re doing. It’s all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery. We’re gonna let ourselves play I’m giving these out is the 25th anniversary of wn St. It is the 50th anniversary of our friends at the Maryland lottery. A lot of Lucky scratch offs or friends or window nation said that it’s out on the road. We’re going to be at the Beaumont Gainesville next Thursday. And then on the third at Costas the fourth at drug city celebrating 25 years with lots of friends lots get if you have a seat, oh suck shirt. I’m looking for that. I’m looking for anything that is a picture of something I’ve done over the last 25 years that I have forgotten. There’s been beer involved. So sometimes I have forgotten some things. So if you guys have pictures, send them over to me. NASA Baltimore. positive.com. Big thanks to Senator Cory McCray for stopping by. We got peach cake here from Fenwick. The gals are starting to get into this. I think over here. They’ve been making crap because I’ve been watching the gal make the crab cakes back here. She’s got the gloves on. And she’s like, it’s just like, she knows how to make him softball size. And they’re the biggest credit. Nobody’s ever made a crab cake that big at home. You know what I mean? It’s this big. So I’m watching the crab cakes get made here. We’re having fun. We’re Coco stay with us. It’s Baltimore positive WNS day
