Third, in West Baltimore there is precious little else to fill the days of those who try against the odds to remain clean.

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From there, Williams knew he wanted to tell more stories like those in and around West Baltimore, where the "The Wire" was filmed.

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When the baby's grandfather was knee high to a cricket, at least according to memories that may be skewed by nostalgia, it was still possible for residents of West Baltimore to remain relatively untouched by the drug life.

ECONOMIST: American slums

In Maryland, Michael Pugh donned a wool coat, knit cap, waterproof pants and heavy boots to trudge more than a mile through four inches of wet snow to his bank in downtown Hagerstown, about 70 miles west of Baltimore.

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Sheffield-born West appeared in critically acclaimed Baltimore crime drama The Wire between 2002 and 2008.

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