Buzz

Baltimore Grand Prix Continues to Generate Talk

Baltimore Magazine Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Tongues continue to wag about the Baltimore Grand Prix and its impact on the city. Here's Evan Serpick at Baltimore Magazine:

"Now, I'm beginning to wonder if the Grand Prix will prove to be worth all of the hassle. It's a sentiment echoed all over town, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake...who pushed hard to bring the Grand Prix to Baltimore, had better hope that that the event is truly the transcendent, lucrative experience we've been promised. Or else she'll have some tough questions to answer -- something she no doubt would like to avoid in this election year."

Read the full story.

Tickets On Sale For Dew Tour's OC Stop

Ocean City Today Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Dew Tour -- which made two stops in Baltimore before leaving due to scheduling issues -- is returning to Maryland. This time it's in Ocean City, and tickets are on sale.

From the source:

"The Dew Tour, the world's premier season-long action sports tour, announced this week that tickets are available for purchase for the Ocean City stop � the first of four events on the 2011 tour � set for July 21-24."

Read the full story.

Dining@Large Blog Rebrands

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Popular Baltimore Sun blog Dining@Large -- first helmed by Elizabeth Large and now the domain of Richard Gorelick -- is rebranding as "Baltimore Diner".

Read the full story.

US Attorney General Wants More Seasons of The Wire

New York Daily News Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Fans of The Wire, David Simon's Baltimore-based HBO series, can count among their ranks US Attorney General Eric Holder, who recently said that he'd like to see the show continue.

From the source:

"...the series, which was lauded for its accurate portrayal of the war on drugs and poverty in inner-city Baltimore, is still a favorite around the Justice Department. National Drug Control Policy czar Gil Kerlikowske said that episodes of the show are used to educate people about the plight of children caught up in the drug trade, the Washington Examiner reported.

President Obama has also previously said that he's a fan of the show."

Read the full story at the New York Daily News.

Annie E. Casey Foundation to Go to Work in Memphis

The Commercial Appeal Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation has partnered with the City of Memphis to help troubled youths.

From the source:

"Memphis' success reducing the number of youths in lockup has earned the city a coveted partnership with a multibillion-dollar private foundation.

"Yes, we're coming," Gail D. Mumford, with the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, announced Friday at a luncheon at Shelby County Juvenile Court.

Casey, one of the nation's largest private foundations, has spent more than six decades working to help disadvantaged youths, including 15 years focusing on reforming juvenile justice centers across the country."

Read more at The Commercial Appeal.

Bromo Seltzer Tower Hits Triple Digits

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Baltimore's beloved Bromo Seltzer Tower is turning 100.

From Jacques Kelly at the Sun:

"Like Baltimore, it's quirky," said artist Greg Otto, who has painted the tower numerous times and reproduced it on postcards. "The clock face is gorgeous, an extravagancy we don't see anymore. The tower itself is not particularly beautiful � an unadorned shaft with a wonderful crown. And yet, everybody knows that damn building."

Read the full story here.

Baltimore Lacrosse League Gets $15K NCAA Gift

NCAA.com Tuesday, June 07, 2011

The NCAA recently announced a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League.

From the source:

"As part of the Men's Lacrosse Championship weekend, the NCAA has made a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League (BCMSLL), an organization committed to providing additional opportunities for youth through sport. In addition to the donation, the NCAA will hold a free youth clinic with the IMLCA coaches and provided tickets to the Division II and Division III Championship games on Sunday."

Read more here.

Sophie Kerr Prize Awarded to Maryland Resident

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The prestigious Sophie Kerr Prize, a literary recognition worth more than $60 thousand, has been awarded to Maryland resident Lisa Beth Jones.

From the source:

"Lisa Beth Jones of Fork, Md., has been named the winner of the 2011 Sophie Kerr Prize.

The winner of the award, worth $61,062, was announced Tuesday night at the Poets House in New York.

Jones was on the dean's list every semester at Washington College. She finished college in December and works at the International Youth Foundation in Baltimore and as a travel writer for Examiner.com."

Read the whole story.

GM Plant in White Marsh to Produce Electric Car Parts

Motor Trend Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The groundbreaking ceremony has been held and now it's official: the GM plant in White Marsh will begin manufacturing electric motor components in 2013.

From the source:

"Chevy Volt fans with any lingering fears that the electric car might meet a similar fate to the GM EV1 should take comfort in General Motor's latest announcement: the automaker's plant in While Marsh, Maryland near Baltimore, is scheduled to build components for electric motors (for both plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles) starting in 2013. It will be the first of its kind for a U.S. automaker and should be a good indicator that vehicles like the Volt will be around for a long time.

GM broke ground yesterday for the planned addition to the White Marsh plant which currently builds transmissions for Heavy Duty and two-mode hybrid vehicles. GM reports a total investment of $269.5 million for the project."

Read more at Motor Trend.

Ray Lewis Talks NFL Lockout

ESPN Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Always quick with a well-considered (and well-delivered) opinion, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis spoke to ESPN about the ongoing NFL labor dispute.

From the source:

"One of the consequences of a lost NFL season will be an increase in crime, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said in a wide-raging one-on-one interview with ESPN.

"Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game," Lewis told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.

That's because, Lewis said, the NFL lockout affects "way more than us" -- the owners and the players.

"There's too many people that live through us, people live through us," he said. "Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time."

Read the full ESPN report.

Tiki Barge Sails On

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Nervous Tiki Barge fans can rest easy: the popular floating watering hole will be open this summer after all.

From the Baltimore Sun:

"The Tiki Barge, the legally waterlogged Inner Harbor party barge, will stay afloat in July after all.

The liquor board Thursday "formally reconsidered" its April 28 decision that would have suspended its liquor license for the month of July. The Tiki Barge has paid a $3,000 fine in lieu of a 14-day suspension under an agreement between the owners and some of its neighbors. The board had suspended its liquor license after saying patrons disturbed the peace and the bar's counsel gave misleading statements."

Read the whole story.

Cone Sisters of Baltimore Exhibit Reviewed at Huffington Post

Huffington Post Tuesday, May 17, 2011

On display at The Jewish Museum in New York, an exhibit called "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore" recently received a review from Howard Kissel at the Huffington Post.

From the source:

"Nowadays one can buy art and immediately lend it to a museum, with tax benefits. The Cone girls made no such moves. They bought these works to hang on their walls because they loved looking at them in their separate Baltimore apartments. Only with the death of the younger, Etta, in 1949 did the invaluable collection go to the Baltimore Museum. (Her sister predeceased her by 20 years.)

What is remarkable about the works in "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters" is how fully formed the artists already are. Nothing about the astonishing Picasso watercolor "Two Roosters" suggests the work of an experimental 25-year-old -- it is entirely masterful."

Read the full article.

New Maryland Hoops Coach Makes an Impression in Baltimore

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, May 17, 2011

New Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon wasted no time in getting to know the Baltimore area. From Matt Bracken at the Sun's Recruiting Report blog:

"[Maryland assistant] coach Bino [Ranson], he texted me and said the new coach wants to come in and meet you and talk to you. He wanted to meet all the leadership of Baltimore," Young said Friday. "He came here today, spent about 45 minutes in my office. I had somewhere to go and I'm quite sure he had other people to meet. We just talked about basketball, expectations of kids who come from Baltimore [and then go to] Maryland. I found him to be a very likeable person, a straight shooter. I like people who are straight shooters. I look forward to working with him and helping him be successful here in Maryland."

Read the full article.

Port of Baltimore Still Going Strong

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Michael Dresser at the Baltimore Sun reports on a recently released report indicating strong 2010 numbers for the Port of Baltimore.

From the source:

"From 2004 through 2008, the port handled more than 30 million tons of cargo each year, setting a record of 33 million tons just before the bottom fell out of the economy in late 2008. Tonnage fell by a third, to 22 million tons, in 2009 � the port's lowest total this century.

The downturn proved short-lived, however, as the port handled 32.8 million tons in 2010, its second-best year. And 2011 is off to a healthy start, said James J. White, executive director of the port administration."

Read the full article here.

Baltimore Market Office Vacancy Rate Increases Slightly

CoStar Group Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A report from CoStar Group indicates a slight increase in Baltimore area office vacancies in the first quarter of 2011.

From the report:

"The office vacancy rate in the Baltimore market area increased to 13.5% at the end of the first quarter 2011. The vacancy rate was 13.4% at the end of the fourth quarter 2010, 13.5% at the end of the third quarter 2010, and 13.4% at the end of the second quarter 2010."

Read more.