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When a doctor found that Kenicer Carty's 1-year-old daughter had a dangerously high level of lead last year, it triggered an alarm of sorts. Officials sent an inspector to Carty's 1930 row house in northeast Baltimore. It turned out that every single window had hazardous chipping lead paint. ... Baltimore banned lead paint in 1950, nearly 30 years before the rest of the country. Grassroots activism emerged early here, with a volunteer effort among parents in 1986. That became the national Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, which spawned the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative. Baltimore has seen a dramatic decline in cases of lead poisoning, down 86 percent since 2002. But despite these decades of effort, hundreds of Baltimore children are still poisoned every year. (Ludden, 3/21)

Michigan's government on Monday released goals to help the city of Flint recover from a health crisis caused by the lead contamination of its drinking water. The plan, involving several state agencies, is meant to address water infrastructure shortcomings and the health of children who have tested for high lead levels in their blood, expand support in Flint schools and boost economic development for the city, Governor Rick Snyder said. (3/22)

Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday he wants Flint and the entire state to have more stringent lead-level regulations than what federal rules require, following the city’s water contamination crisis. In the long term, Michigan will comply with a “much higher standard,” according to a state document laying out the next steps in Flint in four areas — water supply and infrastructure, health and human services, education, and economic development. (Eggert, 3/21)