Buzz

Senator Theatre Plans Move Forward

North Baltimore Patch Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Plans to expand Baltimore's legendary Senator Theatre by adding a wine bar and new screens have been approved.

From the source:

The Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation approved proposed renovations to the Senator Theatre on Tuesday, according to the Baltimore Sun.

As previously reported, James "Buzz" Cusack and Kathleen Cusack, the Senator's operators, are seeking to add a wine bar and three more theaters to the building.

Read the full story.

City Paper Surveys Baltimore's Online News Scene

City Paper Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Fresh on the heels of the conclusion of the NewsTrust project, the Baltimore City Paper has published an in-depth feature surveying Baltimore's online news landscape.

From the source:

Right now, Baltimore has around eight steady sources of online news, far more than that depending on how you broaden the definition. Some are corporately fed, such as North Baltimore Patch, Charm City Current, Bmore Media, or Baltimore Examiner, and some are independent, such as the Baltimore Brew and Investigative Voice.

For six months, Baltimore was fortunate enough to have an organization here dedicated solely to analyzing the city's journalistic output, NewsTrust Baltimore (the local pilot project of the larger NewsTrust organization). It was a bit like Yelp crossed with the Columbia Journalism Review. The project ceased operations on July 31 (it was always intended as a six-month pilot), leaving behind a collection of reports, one of which is a final comprehensive analysis of sorts. It eventually concludes, "The local news scene is in a state of flux with more than a little creative chaos. But patterns are emerging. As news startups and impassioned individuals become more rigorous and as traditional news organizations become more open and responsive to the public, there is a growing opportunity for collaboration across the local journalistic community."

Read the whole feature here.

Further reading: Bmore's February, 2011 feature on emerging news sites.

BBC News Visits Lexington Market

BBC News Tuesday, August 09, 2011

In one of the more out-of-left-field examples you'll see of an "outsider's view" of Baltimore, BBC News recently visited Lexington Market to get a sense of how the US budget crisis is hitting home in Baltimore.

From the source:

This gritty, former port city is less than an hour away from the US capital by train.

But it feels a world apart from the glitz and power of the White House and Capitol Hill.

After weeks of partisan wrangling, Congress approved a plan that lifts the ceiling on how much money the US government is allowed to borrow in return for a likely 2.4 trillion dollars (£1.47tn) of spending cuts over ten years.

The worry for Baltimore is the debt deal heralds an era of government austerity that could reduce the flow of Federal funds to an already struggling local economy.

Read the full article here.

Poe House Faces Continuing Difficulty

Washington Post Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Funding woes persist at Baltimore's Edgar Allan Poe House, as the Washington Post recently reported.

From the source:

For a second year city leaders have chosen not to subsidize a museum in the tiny house where the impoverished Poe lived from around 1833 to 1835, a decision that means it may have to close soon.

Since the city cut off its $85,000 in annual support last year, the house has been operating on reserve funds, which are expected to run out as early as next summer. In the coming months consultants hired by the city will try to come up with a business plan to make the Edgar Allan Poe House financially self-sufficient, possibly by updating its exhibits to draw more visitors.

But the museum sits amid a housing project, far off this city's tourist beaten path, and attracts only 5,000 visitors a year.

Read the full story.

BWI Setting Records

Washington Post Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Even in a down economy, traffic through BWI remains robust.

From the source:

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is reaching passenger records despite the rough economy.

Data released Wednesday showed the airport marked its best first half of the year and 12-month period in its history.

BWI chief executive Paul Wiedefeld says 10.9 million travelers used the airport during the first half of the year, setting it on a path to exceed 22.5 million passengers this year. The airport has set monthly records in 13 of the past 14 months.

Read the whole story here.

Fairfax Times Offers High Praise For a Visit to Baltimore

Fairfax Times Tuesday, August 02, 2011

For those of us who live here in Baltimore it's no secret that the city offers a wide variety of interesting and entertaining activities. But what does the view look like to an outsider? Elaine Jean, writing for the Fairfax Times, visited the city to find out -- and she liked what she saw.

From the source:

If you're in town to see the Orioles play, Charm City is one hometown host that knows how to please. Side trips illustrate the local history of our national pastime, and a stop at the Heavy Seas Brewery will give you a chance to toast to its good health.

Read the full story here.

Turns Out This Really Was the Hottest July Ever

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, August 02, 2011

July in Baltimore is hot. This much is not news. But the July we've just endured, it turns out, is the hottest ever. Surprised?

From Frank Roylance at the Sun:

Through Saturday, the average temperature for the month at BWI-Marshall Airport in July was 81.6 degrees. If that holds, it will place this month ahead of the current three-way tie for the hottest July - 81.5 degrees - set in 1872 and matched in 1995 and 2010. Third place would go to 1934 and 1949, at 81.4 degrees.

July 2011 is ending with a streak of 90-plus weather that has lasted 15 days, the third-longest such streak on record for Baltimore. The long-range forecast calls for a high of 89 next Saturday. If it proves accurate, that would end the streek at 20 consecutive days in the 90s, just short of the second-longest on record - 21 days.

Read the whole, grim story here.

MICA Gets $10 Million, Largest Gift In School History

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, August 02, 2011

MICA has found itself on the receiving end of a $10 million gift, its largest ever.

From the Sun:

The Maryland Institute College of Art announced Wednesday that it has received a $10 million gift, the largest in its history, which will be used to expand graduate programs and research.

The gift was bestowed by longtime college trustee George L. Bunting Jr. and his wife, Anne Bunting.

"Once again, George and Anne have redefined what true leadership can do to propel the college ahead," said Michael Franco, the college's vice president of advancement. "Not only was Mr. Bunting instrumental in helping MICA see the important role of graduate study in its future, he and his wife also stepped forward with this wonderful gift of endowment to help ensure the college will have the necessary resources to pursue this path."

Read the full story.

Profits Are Up at Under Armour

MSNBC Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Sales -- and profits -- are surging at Baltimore's Under Armour.

From the source:

Under Armour Inc.'s net income surged 77 percent in the second quarter as the company sold more athletic clothing and footwear and benefited from soaring direct-to-consumer sales and from taking its previously licensed hats and bags business in-house.

The Baltimore clothing seller also increased its full-year revenue forecast Tuesday to a range above Wall Street's expectations.

Under Armour earned $6.2 million, or 12 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $3.5 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago.

Read the full story here.

Chicago Writer Stokes War of Words With Ravens, Harbaugh

Daily Herald Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Barry Rozner, a writer for suburban Chicago's Daily Herald, has a bone to pick with Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Remember the draft day snafu that scuttled a trade between the Ravens and Bears? Harbaugh brought it up again last week, and Rozner responded in kind.

From the source:

But haven't we heard enough from the Baltimore Ravens and their draft-day debacle?

We understand the Harbaughs are intrinsically annoying, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh needs to move on already after blasting Angelo again this week.

Read the full article here.

Baltimore's Grasmick Lumber Chosen For OC Boardwalk Gig

delmarvanow.com Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Baltimore's own Grasmick Lumber has been chosen to provide wood planks for Ocean City's new boardwalk.

From the source:

The Town Council voted to heed a recommendation from City Engineer Terry McGean to contract with Baltimore-based Grasmick Lumber as the supplier of more than 56,000 pieces of wood for $602,650. The company has been supplying lumber to the resort for more than a decade.

The figure works out to 52 cents per foot of board, an amount McGean and Grasmick Executive Vice President Kirk Hammonds both called "historically low." In 2008, the town paid about 84 cents per foot for the southern yellow pine it uses on the Boardwalk.

Read the whole story at delmarvanow.com.

Snakeheads Return to Maryland

Washington Post Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Remember the snakehead scare from several years back? It's not quite a "scare" this time, but one of the nefarious creatures was recently discovered near Annapolis.

From the Post:

A mature, egg-bearing northern snakehead has been discovered by scientists in a river just south of Annapolis, raising the possibility that low salinity in the Chesapeake Bay this year may have allowed the invasive fish to escape from the Potomac River.

The 23-inch snakehead was found in the Rhode River last Thursday by biologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center taking annual fish samples by net.

Read the story here.

Sun Magazine Features Q&A With Grand Prix's Jay Davidson

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Jay Davidson, one of the main folks responsible for bringing the Baltimore Grand Prix to fruition, is featured in the Baltimore Sun's Sun Magazine.

From the source:

Jay Davidson is, admittedly, no gear-head.

But as the president of the Baltimore Grand Prix, Davidson has been living and breathing all things IndyCar the past several months.

The inaugural race will bring dozens of high-speed open-wheel cars to Baltimore on Labor Day weekend, competing on a roughly two-mile course through downtown.

To prepare, city workers have had to shut down sections of major roads for repairs, angering many commuters. But the race and the festival that surrounds it will be worth all the aggravation, Davidson promises.

Read the full story here.

Local Startup 410Labs Generates National Buzz With Shortmail

TechCrunch Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Local startup 410Labs made big news last week by announcing a round of funding for Shortmail, a new too designed to alleviate the burden of overwhelming email conversations.

From the source:

But it's not just Twitter for email. There are other interesting elements of the service too. For example, you can set any Shortmail conversation to be private or public. The latter feature I tested out yesterday with 410 Labs (the company behind Shortmail) co-founder Dave Troy. Below, find my Q&A back and forth with him. (They don't currently have embeds, so I took screen shots of it to include in this post. But you can find the thread live on the web here.)

As Troy notes below, 410 Labs has secured a $750,000 Series A round of funding. True Ventures, 500 Startups, Fortify Ventures, and The Maryland Venture Fund drove the round. Individuals including Tim O'Shaughnessy (co-founder of LivingSocial), Jeff Ganek (founder of Neustar), Abdur Chowdhury (chief scientist at Twitter), among others, participated as well.

Read the full story at TechCrunch.

U2 Guitarist Sends Letter To the Sun

Independent.ie Tuesday, July 19, 2011

U2 guitarist The Edge wouldn't seem a likely candidate to be sending a letter to the editor at the Baltimore Sun but that's exactly what happened last week.

From the source:

In the letter to the Baltimore Sun the guitarist responds to criticism of the band's controversial revenue affairs.

He defended U2's financial practices and rubbished "the possibly libelous accusation that U2 and Bono have, by moving a part of their business activities to Holland, been involved in tax evasion".

"For the record, U2 and the individual band members have a totally clean record with every jurisdiction to which they are required to pay tax and have never been and will never be involved in tax evasion," he said in the letter published on Tuesday.

Read the whole story here.