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Wall Street Journal features Locust Point 'hairdo archaeologist'

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Janet Stephens makes her living as a hairdresser at Studio 921 Salon & Day Spa in Locust Point.

But her real passion is studying the ancient hairstyles of Rome and Greece, writes the Wall Street Journal in an extensive profile of Stephens, whom it dubs a "hairdo archaeologist."

"Her amateur scholarship is sticking a pin in the long-held assumptions among historians about the complicated, gravity-defying styles of ancient times," the Journal writes. "Basically, she has set out to prove that the ancients probably weren't wearing wigs after all."

Read the rest of its hair-raising feature.

Steelers' Land Shows Some Love to Charm City

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens is pretty intense — to put it mildly.

But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers' hometown newspaper, tells its readers to spend some of their time and money in a "city that abounds with great food and art."

The travel story tells readers to check out the Baltimore Museum of Art, Fort McHenry, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Little Italy restaurants and other venues. "Today, its most famous site is the landmark Inner Harbor, a historic seaport that was redeveloped from the late 1960s through the '80s," the Post-Gazette writes about Baltimore.

We'll ignore the little tidbit on picking a good Steelers bar.

Seattle Music Guru Picking Out "Aggressive" Songs for Under Armour

NPR Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Spencer Manio picks out the right music that meshes with a company's brand.

And the 39-year-old Seattle resident is picking out "aggressive electronic music" to play at Under Armour stores, Manio tells NPR.

He can't reveal the songs just yet, but NPR writes that "there will likely be mainstream songs by Skrillex and Calvin Harris, who soundtrack many a CrossFit and 'bootcamp' experience."

You could also hear Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Baauer, Lunice and TNGHT next time you're buying Under Armour workout shorts.

"If he pulls it off right, he'll communicate the brand, intrigue the consumer and expose people to extraordinary music," NPR writes. "Essentially he's trying to help Under Armour convince you, whoever you are, even if your body is not a temple, that you could be in the Olympics."

Read more about Under Armour's music guru here.

Port of Baltimore Gets Cargo Boost Due to Sandy

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Sandy has wreaked havoc on transportation all throughout the East Coast.

Last week, we featured a link to a story on how cruise operations were disrupted at the Locust Point terminal due to the superstorm.

Now, it seems that the storm has provided a temporary boost to the port, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

Cargo ships are bypassing New York and New Jersey due to Sandy. "Maersk Inc., the world's largest container-shipping company, has begun diverting its cargo to Halifax, Canada, Baltimore and Philadelphia," the Journal writes.

The story does note, however, that the Port of Virginia in Norfolk is the biggest beneficiary. You can read the entire story here. (A subscription is required.)

Hurricane Sandy Disrupts Port of Baltimore Cruise Service

MSNBC Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Maryland residents who seeking refuse from the massive Category 1 hurricane that is pummeling the East Coast were out of luck this week. Flights out of BWI were cancelled and the Maryland Transit Administration is suspending light rail, subway and bus service.

And cruise passengers leaving out of the Port of Baltimore saw their vacation plans disrupted.

"Passengers who boarded the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas at the Port of Baltimore Friday evening looked forward to a five-night cruise to Bermuda," writes WBAL TV. "Instead, they left Baltimore five hours late for a ride to the lower Chesapeake Bay near Cape Henry, Va. The excursion became a 'cruise to nowhere' making no stops," the story says. The article was picked up by MSNBC.com.

WBAL Radio Hosts Chat With BmoreMedia Writer Dara Bunjon

WBAL Radio Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Last month, local food blogger Dara Bunjon wrote an extremely popular story that highlighted dining destinations on the Charm City Circulator Banner Route.

Mary Beth Marsden of 1090 AM WBAL Radio asked Bunjon how she got the idea for the story and to name some of the highlights of her culinary tour on wheels. The journey took her from Locust Point to the Inner Harbor. You can listen to the interview here.

Bunjon authors the Dining Dish blog and is the Baltimore Dining Examiner for Examiner.com

Under Armour CEO and Ravens Owner on Forbes' Billionaire List

Forbes Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Nine Marylanders made the Forbes' list of wealthiest individuals.

With a net worth of $1.1 billion, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank made the cut for the first time. He came in at No. 1075. Steven Bisciotti, Baltimore Ravens Owner and founder of staffing firm Allegis Group, came in at No. 913 with a net worth of $1.4 billion.

Hoteliers Richard Marriott and Bill Marriott Jr. also made the list.

You can see the complete list here and a snapshot of the Marylanders on the list here.

Carnival Cruise Lines "Putting More Emphasis" on Baltimore

New York Times Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new ad campaign that touts the benefits of taking a vacation on sea versus one on land, writes the New York Times.

And its is concentrating these ads on 19 markets that have ports in or within driving distance of one of its ports, including Baltimore. That is according to Carnival Chief Marketing Officer James Berra, quoted in the Times article.

" 'Half of the United States is within a five-hour drive from one of our ports,' " Berra says in the story. " 'We’re de-emphasizing the Nebraskas and Wyomings of the world and putting more emphasis on places like D.C. and Baltimore.' "

You can read more about the ad campaign here.

Baltimorean to Leave Libya Soon, Mother Says

The Baltimore Sun Tuesday, October 25, 2011

South Baltimore native Matthew VanDyke is set to leave Libya in a couple of weeks, his mother told the Baltimore Sun after the death of Libya's former leader last week. The 32-year-old who was jailed in Libya for nearly six months and then stayed on to join the rebels seeking to overthrow dictator Moammar Gadhafi — plans to come home "in a couple of weeks," said his mother, Sharon VanDyke. Read the entire post here.

Locust Point Ranks as One of "Safest Big City Neighbs"

WalletPop Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Locust Point made it onto WalletPop's list of the 29 safest big city neighborhoods in the country. The South Baltimore community came in No. 3.

Here's an excerpt:

"Using exclusive neighborhood crime data developed by Dr. Andrew Schiller's team at NeighborhoodScout.com, and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, they crunched the numbers to reveal the safest neighborhoods in every major American city. As it turns out, some big cities contain neighborhoods that are among the safest of any place in the nation, hopefully breaking stereotypes."

Read the entire article.

Baltimore named "Most Underrated City" for travelers

Shermans Travel via The Huffington Post Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Finally! We know our city is top-notch, but it often takes a backseat with travelers who head to D.C. instead. Well, the truth is out that Baltimore is the No. 1 underrated city for travelers.

Here's an excerpt:

"Native blue crabs seasoned with Old Bay are reason enough to visit Baltimore, but there's much more to experience in this waterfront town. Take, for example, this underrated city's revitalized Inner Harbor area, where you'll find Kimpton's Hotel Monaco; the upscale neighborhood of Mount Vernon, home to the nation's first large-scale Washington Monument and the..."

See the slideshow here.

Taking a staycation? Here's what out-of-towners think is cool to do in Baltimore

Washingtonian/The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's easy when you live in a city to overlook what makes it a great place for tourists. With the long Labor Day weekend approaching, here're two lists of places to see and restaurants to eat in around Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

From the Washingtonian, "It's a city of interesting neighborhoods, and here are good ones to explore�whether you like history, antiques, science, or sports."

Read the entire article here.

From The Wall Street Journal, "What to do: Historically, tourists skipped over Baltimore for Washington, D.C., its neighbor less than an hour's drive south. But this harbor city on the Chesapeake Bay is worth a visit. Baltimore has been home to curmudgeons ranging from the acerbic journalist H.L. Mencken, who died in 1956, to filmmaker John Waters, who made "Hairspray." More recently, it gained prominence as the setting for the critically acclaimed HBO crime program "The Wire." While some Baltimore neighborhoods exemplify the blight portrayed in the television series, which ran from 2002 to 2008, other parts of the city are distinctly graceful, with historic brick and brownstone houses lending visual appeal."

Read the entire article here.

How wired is Baltimore? Very wired!

Forbes.com Tuesday, March 09, 2010

While Baltimore's tech community, local business leaders, government reps and citizens make a push to be the lucky city chosen to recieve Google's ultra-highspeed broadband network, it seems our fair city is already pretty darn wired, according to Forbes' list of America's Most Wired Cities.

Out of 20 cities, Baltimore ranks no. 8 on the list just three spots behind the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia-area, the only other city in the Mid-Atlantic region to make the list. The ranking does take into account the estimated 66 percent broadband adoption rate in Baltimore, the 18 broadband providers and 10,141 people per wi-fi hot spot. It didn't count the citywide Wifi, Clear, available in Baltimore using WiMax technology.

Here's an excerpt:

"...we compiled the list by computing the percentage of Internet users with high-speed connections in a particular city and the number of companies providing high-speed Internet in that area. Since many urban residents access the Internet by wi-fi, we also measure the number of public wireless Internet hot spots."

Read the entire article here. Read the Baltimore blurb here.

Baltimore Fiber's Google project catches national attention

Business Week Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Baltimore's grassroots effort to be one of the lucky city's chosen as a test ground for Google's ultra-fast 1-gigabit per second broadband deployment is just one of several currently taking shape in city's across the country. See what the other cities competing for the prize doing...

Here's an excerpt:

"Broadband-starved cities and towns across the country are going to great lengths to grab the attention of Mountain View (Calif.)-based Google, which in February said it will set up a network that can deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second, about 20 times faster than the speediest ones sold by Verizon Communications (VZ). Google will spend "hundreds of millions" on the effort, Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News.

To set themselves apart, some municipal officials are naming cities after Google, owner of the world's largest Web search engine. The city of Greensboro, N.C., is preparing an "Operation Google" gift package for delivery to Google headquarters and has earmarked $50,000 for promoting a Google broadband effort."

Read the entire article here.

Baltimore area home sales rise -- again

Baltimore Business Journal Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Home sales in the Baltimore area rose for the second straight month, giving residents a hopeful sign that the housing market here is strengthening.

An excerpt from the article reads:

The number of homes sold in July throughout Greater Baltimore rose 10 percent to 2,240, up from 2,038 during the same month last year. That's according to Rockville market research firm Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.

Meanwhile, the median sold price in the Baltimore area � including Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties � declined by 6.5 percent to $259,950.

Both home builders and economists have said the uptick in sales could be linked to first-time buyers taking advantage of the government's $8,000 tax credit and overall better real estate prices. Units sold in June rose nearly 2 percent, marking the first year-over-year increase in Greater Baltimore in more than two years.

Read the entire article here.

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