Buzz

Towson Business Community Reacts to Theater Closing

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The theater at Towson Commons in Baltimore County will close this coming Sunday, leaving some uncertainty for the local business community in its wake.

"After years of declining crowds, the owner's agent, Cushman & Wakefield, has made official the widely held expectation that the movie theater at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue will be closing, and soon. The last shows of "Fast Five," "Scream 4," "Hoodwinked" and other offerings at the eight-screen theater will be Sunday, May 15. In months, crews will arrive to begin demolishing the interior of the theater, which once formed a vibrant heart of the county seat's downtown neighborhood.

David Baird of Cushman & Wakefield couldn't provide details Friday about what might be next, only that he expected work on the inside to start this summer, with the particulars of the renovations dependent on the tenants who sign up. He said discussions with Towson University about a possible lease for offices and classrooms were still going on, but he could not provide further details."

Arthur Hirsch at the Sun reports the full story.

Local Agency Fastspot Wins Webby For Gaming App

Citybizlist (Press Release) Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Chalk up some good news for local interactive agency Fastspot -- they just won a Webby.

"Fastspot, an interactive design agency headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is pleased to announce that their Jambalaya word game app has won the Games - Tablet and Other Devices category in the 15th Annual Webby Awards. In the past five years, Fastspot has received five Webby Official Nominations and five Official Honoree nods; this is Fastspot's third Webby win.

In 2010, Fastspot designed and produced Jambalaya, a fast-paced word game, for the iPad and iPhone. The game showcases lush design combined with addictive, multi-touch gameplay. Jambalaya has since been revamped in version 2.0 to allow for rotating bonuses, higher scoring, and Apple Game Center integration. Version 2.1 was recently released."

The full press release can be found here.

Constellation Energy Sale Indicative of Larger Trend

Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Andrew Maykuth at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on how Exelon Corp.'s acquisition of Baltimore's Constellation Energy is indicative of trends in the energy industry.

"As the economy improves and demand for power generation picks up, utilities and power plants are becoming more attractive to investors...The activity is being driven by pent-up demand for deals, lots of cash on balance sheets, and improving share prices.

Exelon, the Chicago utility giant that owns Peco Energy Co., agreed last week to buy Constellation for $7.9 billion in stock. Constellation is the parent company of Baltimore Gas & Electric.

Including net debt of $2.65 billion, the acquisition value of Constellation is about $10.5 billion, or slightly less than all the merger activity in the industry during the first quarter of 2010."

Read the full story here.

Postal Service Looks to Consolidate Baltimore, Frederick Facilities

Herald-Mail.com Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Kate S. Alexander at Herald-Mail.com reports that the US Postal Service is considering a plan to consolidate its Frederick and Baltimore facilities. Some in the western portion of the state fear it could harm their quality of service.

"A study of the U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Facility in Frederick, Md., has found that consolidating its operations with a Baltimore plant could save the agency more than $4 million a year.

But area postal workers are concerned that if the move takes place, service to the 217 zip code � which includes Washington County � will suffer.

"All of this handling of the mail most assuredly will result in sacrificed service for our customers," the employees of the Frederick Post Office wrote in a letter to The Herald-Mail.

The postal service will hold a public meeting Tuesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. in Frederick to share the initial results of its study and hear public response, according to a summary of the study."

Read the whole story here.

Rhode Island Officials Visit Baltimore For Development Ideas

The Providence Journal Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras recently toured Baltimore in search of economic development ideas.

"Political, business and nonprofit leaders accompanying Chafee on these trips hope to learn ways to energize Providence and generate a new kind of economy in the state by capitalizing on 19.2 acres available for development.

By midday, both agreed Baltimore is a more realistic model for Providence than Houston, which they toured with university and political leaders in February. And both agreed there must be a streamlined permitting process for the land, Chafee said by telephone from Baltimore."

The full story is at the Providence Journal.

Veteran Baltimore Waitress Publishes Memoir

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Leonora DiPietro, a veteran Baltimore waitress, has published a memoir.

"She recently released "A Peachy Life," a memoir of an Italian-American woman who lives in the modest brick rowhouse where her parents raised their four children. She has remodeled the two-story house but the echoes of the past still reverberate through walls decorated with family photos. She has written a family saga about raising two children alone while forging a livelihood from waitress tips.

"The restaurants, that's the funny parts," she said of the book, published by CityLit Press. "The family, that's the loving parts."

Mary Gail Hare at the Baltimore Sun has the full story.

Longtime WJZ Reporter Suzanne Collins Departs

TVSpy Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Viewers of Baltimore's WJZ TV have welcomed Suzanne Collins into their homes for over 25 years. Now, she's leaving for a job in government.

"Reporter Suzanne Collins, who has been with Baltimore's WJZ since 1984, is leaving the CBS O&O to become chief of staff for Nancy Jacobs, the minority leader of the Maryland state senate."

Read more.

Baltimore Comic-Con Guest List Announced

Pendragon's Post Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Thor scribe Walter Simonson is among the recently announced official guests for the Baltimore Comic-Con.

"Just in time for the release of Marvel Studio's motion picture Thor, which opens on May 6, 2011, the Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce classic Thor writer/artist Walter Simonson as a confirmed guest for this year's show. The show will take place August 20-21, 2011 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland."

The full story and guest list can be found here.

Former Sun Photographer David Hobby Profiled in Slate

Slate Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Prominent online magazine Slate has taken notice of David Hobby, a former photographer for the Baltimore Sun who reinvented himself and, in the process, made a huge impact on the photography business.

From the article:

"At first glance, David Hobby looks like just another casualty of the decline of print media: A longtime staff photographer for the Baltimore Sun, he was one of many employees who accepted a buyout in 2008 as part of broad staff reductions at the distressed newspaper.

Yet last month he embarked on a sold-out, cross-country tour that will visit 29 cities. Approximately $1 million in tickets have been sold for the privilege of hearing Hobby and famed magazine photographer Joe McNally speak about their craft. Hobby's blog, Strobist, on which he teaches amateurs the lighting techniques used by professionals, welcomed 2 million unique visitors last year. (The largest professional photography association has a membership 1 percent of that size.) Manufacturers have named lines of equipment after him, an unheard-of honor."

Read the full article here.

Baltimore Cybersecurity Program Gets National Attention

UPI Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Cync -- a new cybersecurity business incubator program -- has opened at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. UPI has more:

"A U.S. technology incubator program to cultivate companies developing products to counter cybersecurity threats has been opened in Maryland.

Northrop Grumman and the University of Maryland Baltimore County Research Park Corp. officially opened the Cync Program Thursday in the Advantage Incubator at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park in Baltimore and featured the first two companies accepted into the program -- Five Directions and Rogue Networks."

Read the full article here.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Arrive at BWI

Washington Post Tuesday, April 26, 2011

If you're headed to BWI airport with an electric car in need of juice, you're in luck: the airport recently installed new charging stations. From the Dr. Gridlock blog:

"With several dozen audience members looking on, O'Malley exited the vehicle to applause -- and then plugged it in to recharge.

The bit of political theater was designed to draw attention to eight new charging stations at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, as well as several other measures the governor is championing to bolster the emerging electric vehicle market in Maryland.

O'Malley is scheduled to sign three bills next month that lawmakers recently passed at his urging. One will provide a $400 tax credit toward installation of electric vehicle charging stations in people's home. The others establish a statewide electric vehicle planning council and directs state utility regulators to study how to encourage charging during off-peak hours."

Read the full article here.

Port of Baltimore Does Record Business

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Port of Baltimore has set a record for container traffic. Michael Dresser at the Baltimore Sun reports:

"Buoyed by an improved economy, the Port of Baltimore has set a new record in its handling of container traffic for the 12-month period that ended with March, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Thursday.

The port's public marine terminals handled the equivalent of 632,482 full-size containers between last April 1 and March 31. The best previous 12 months came between February 2006 and January 2007 � before the recent recession � when the port shipped and received the equivalent of 629,604 containers.

O'Malley attributed the surge to improved economic conditions, as well as the port's success in landing long-term container contracts with major lines such as Evergreen Marine and Mediterranean Shipping Co. He said the container business was also bolstered by a new direct container shipping service to the Far East."

Read the full article.

T. Rowe Price Nabs a Chunk of Facebook

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price thinks Facebook is a good investment. Good enough that they've claimed a bit of it for their own.

From the article:

"T. Rowe invested a total of $190.5 million in the social-networking giant, paying $25 a share for stock it distributed across nearly 20 funds, according to the filings. It isn't immediately clear what value that puts on Facebook.

The Baltimore-based mutual-fund company also disclosed an investment of $71.8 million in Zynga Inc. and a total stake of about $35.4 million in Angie's List."

Read more.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Coming to Baltimore

Huffington Post Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Seinfeld alum (among other things) Julia Louis-Dreyfus will spend some time in Baltimore soon thanks to HBO, who decided to pick up her new series, "Veep".

"The Emmy-winning "Seinfeld" and "New Adventures of Old Christine" star has just had her comedy pilot, "Veep," picked up for series by HBO, Deadline reports. Dreyfus stars as a former senator and newly elected Vice President who finds that the job isn't quite what she thought it would be when she first joined the campaign ticket."

Full story at the Huffington Post.

Capitals to Play Exhibition in Baltimore

Washington Post Tuesday, April 19, 2011

NHL fans in Baltimore will soon get their chance to see the game live without traveling to DC or Philly. For one night, anyway.

"...the Capitals will play a preseason game in Baltimore at 1st Mariner Arena on Sept. 20 against the Nashville Predators. The team formally announced the exhibition game, which will be called the 'Baltimore Hockey Classic' in a news conference Monday."

More at the Washington Post.