Buzz

Dogs Gain a Home at Robert E. Lee Park

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Robert E. Lee park has long been a destination for dog owners, occasionally to the chagrin of non-canine inclined individuals. Recent developments should go a long way to resolving the disconnect.

From the source:

Dogs have run free — amok, some would say — in Robert E. Lee park for years. Residents complained the park had been "hijacked" by dog people. Even the county's parks director knew folks referred to the wooded, lakeside retreat as "Dog Poop Park."

The spot, hovering on the city/county line, had become the area's favorite dog park — never mind it wasn't one.

But that's all about to change.

After a $6.1 million renovation and a two-year closure, Robert E. Lee will re-opening Friday, boasting all sorts of refinements — the centerpiece being a legal, fenced dog run that people will have to pay to use. Additionally, the park will become the county's first to hire a small corps of rangers charged with ticketing people whosedogs are caught off leash anywhere else.

Here's the full story.

Walters Museum's Archimedes Exhibit Gets National Coverage

New York Times Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Work being done at the Walters Museum on "The Archimedes Palimpsest" has drawn the attention of the New York Times.

From the source:

The Archimedes Palimpsest has precisely this history. It really does begin with a 10th-century copy of Archimedes’ third-century B.C. writings. Three centuries later they were scraped off the parchment, which was reused — creating a “palimpsest.” And while there aren’t enough dead bodies or secret cabals to support a full-fledged thriller, there really is a sense of excitement in the account of the book’s history, restoration and meanings, at an exhibition at the Walters Art Museum here: “Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes.”

Almost nothing about the tale is banal or ordinary. In a companion book, “The Archimedes Codex” (Da Capo), William Noel, the museum’s curator of manuscripts, describes how the saga was brought to its conclusion. In 1998, after reading about the Palimpsest’s sale at a Christie’s auction to an anonymous purchaser for $2 million, the museum’s director, Gary Vikan, suggested to Mr. Noel that he discover who bought it and whether it might be exhibited at the Walters.

Read the full story here.

Maryland to Get New Area Code

Washington Post Tuesday, October 18, 2011

If you happen to be old enough, you might remember a time when the 443 area code was a brand new thing in Maryland. Now, 667 is coming as well.

From the source:

Maryland is getting a new 667 area code.

The Public Service Commission says the remaining numbers in the 410 and 443 area codes are expected to be exhausted by early next year and the new 667 area code will begin in March.

More here.

Sun Paywall Goes Up

paidContent Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Baltimore Sun's paywall is officially up.

From paidContent:

The Baltimore Sun is the latest newspaper to add a metered paywall, for both print and non-print subscribers. A digital subscription will cost $2.49 per week or $49.99 for 26 weeks (which works out to $99.84 per year) for non-print subscribers, and $0.75 per week or $29.99 per year for print subscribers. An introductory rate of $0.99 per week for four weeks is available now for a “limited time.”

Read the rest here.

Centric Business Systems Growing, Hiring

Baltimore Business Journal Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Owings Mills-based Centric Business Systems is growing and hiring.

From the source:

Centric Business Systems has nearly doubled the size of its corporate offices in Owings Mills. Now, the company is looking for more workers to fill the space.

The office technology company was to unveil Wednesday afternoon its new 40,000-square-foot digs along Red Run Boulevard. Before cutting the ceremonial ribbon (you know there’s going to be a ribbon), Centric’s Rick Bastinelli, the company’s president, told me he has plans to hire another 30 employees by the end of this year.

Read the full article here.

VEEP Filming Begins

Washington Post Tuesday, October 11, 2011

VEEP, the new HBO series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has begun filming here in Maryland.

From the source:

VEEP, a new HBO series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is starting production in Maryland this week, according to the governor’s office.

Local production of the show — a political satire about a fictional former senator, played by Louis-Dreyfus, who becomes vice president — began Monday in the Baltimore area, Gov. Martin O’Malley said in a statement.

Read more here.

Long Range Winter Forecast Released

WBAL TV Tuesday, October 11, 2011

If the long range forecast from Accuweather for winter in Baltimore is right, we could see some early snow.

From WBAL:

Are you ready for some snow?

This winter, expect a "front loaded" season, with cold and snow starting in earnest in the early part of the winter, but letting up by mid- to late winter. That's the prediction from Accuweather, which offered up a picture that includes what's expected to be average or slightly above normal snow totals south and east of the mountains from Virginia to Maine.

Read the full story here.

Get Ready For Baltimore Beer Week

BaltimoreBeerWeek.com Tuesday, October 04, 2011

A host of events are on tap for the 2011 edition of Baltimore Beer Week, which begins October 6.

A sample:

So what’s in store this year? When queried, founder Joe Gold said many of the events are still evolving. However, plans are underway to have the first "Star Spangled Banger" parade of sorts starting at noon on October 6th at Baltimore’s historic Fort McHenry whereupon the fabled mallet will weave its way through some of Baltimore’s storied neighborhoods, visit various landmarks and taverns and ultimately end at Rams Head Live which will be the host venue for this year’s expanded Opening Tap Celebration. The hand-crafted mallet, used to tap the ceremonial first firkin, was crafted by wood expert John Gasparine and actually uses wood from Maryland’s famous fallen Wye Oak tree.

In addition to the Opening Tap Celebration, this year promises some great events like the 10th Anniversary of the Maryland Oktoberfest at Timonium Fairgrounds on October 8th, The Chesapeake Real Ale Festival featuring over 40 one of a kind firkins on October 15th and a Women-Centric event at Max’s Taphouse on October 13th. October 9th will feature a Historic Walking Pub Tour called a “Bar on Every Corner”.

A full schedule, along with more information about the event, can be found at the Baltimore Beer Week website.

Carroll County Times Jumps On the Paywall Bandwagon

Carroll County Times Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Following the recently-announced lead of the Baltimore Sun, the Carroll County Times will soon join the ranks of paywall-protected newspapers.

From the site:

Starting this week, the Carroll County Times will begin charging frequent users of our website a subscription. The Times is following in the footsteps of several other media organizations around the region and nation.

Readers will be allowed 15 free article views in a 30-day period. After that they will be asked to subscribe. A 30-day subscription and a year-long subscription will be offered. Print subscribers will receive a discounted rate, but will need their subscription account number when they sign up. Customers who don't know their account number should call circulation customer service at 410-857-9413 or 410-875-0731.

Read the full story here.

Duff Goldman's Keeping (Very) Busy

Sacramento Bee Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Periodically Duff Goldman's name pops back up in the news and -- surprise! -- it's never for a story on how he's slowing down.

From the source:

Duff Goldman is sitting in a corner of the semi-secret Melrose Avenue location of his Charm City Cakes West bakery, checking the calendar on his iPhone. On the September schedule are meetings with his agent, magazine publisher Conde Nast and craft store Michael's; appearances and demos in Toronto, Buffalo, N.Y., Napa, Calif., and Beverly Hills; then it's back to New York to present a scholarship at the Culinary Institute of America. In between he's touring with his band to the National Buffalo Wing Festival, traveling to Le Mars, Iowa, to taste flavors for his namesake line of Blue Bunny Ice Cream and working on a giant cake in the shape of a sandwich for the opening of a Chick-fil-A.

"I can't believe I'm one of those people," Goldman says, "someone who flies in and then turns around the same day and flies out." He's like the James Brown of bakers - the hardest-working man in the cake business.

Read the whole story.

Baltimore Magazine Unearths Area's Creepiest Locales

Baltimore Magazine Tuesday, October 04, 2011

With Halloween just around the corner now is the time when even otherwise staid personalities start seeking frights in earnest. Baltimore Mag is here to help, as writer Justin Snow has compiled a list of the region's creepiest spots.

From the source:

Baltimore can be a pretty creepy town.

Neighborhoods like Fells Point and Mt. Vernon have hundreds of years of colorful history ripe for ghosts and other apparitions. Edgar Allan Poe gathered inspiration for his morbid tales from these streets. And the remnants of the city's once-bustling industrial core have been left to decay and descend into eeriness.

With Halloween just around the corner, we profile eight of the spookiest places in our spooky town. Explore them . . . if you dare.

Read the whole feature here.

Sun to Erect Paywall

Poynter. Tuesday, September 27, 2011

In a bold bet on its future, the Baltimore Sun will soon put up a paywall and begin offering digital subscriptions.

From the source:

The Sun tells readers that the paywall goes up October 10. “To encourage readers to sign up at launch, we will offer a special introductory rate of 99 cents for the first 4 weeks,” says publisher Tim Ryan. “After that, digital-only subscribers will have a cost of $2.49 a week or $49.99 for 26 weeks. Print subscribers will receive a special reduced rate of 75 cents a week or $29.99 a year. Non-subscribers will have free access to 15 web pages a month. The Sun is the first Tribune paper to announce digital subscriptions.

Read the whole story here.

'Diner' Headed to Broadway

New York Times Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Barry Levinson's Baltimore-based 'Diner' will soon be headed to Broadway courtesy of Levinson and Sheryl Crow.

From the source:

A singing, dancing version of “Diner,” Barry Levinson’s 1982 coming-of-age comedy about a group of friends growing up in Baltimore in 1959, is headed to Broadway next year, its press representatives said on Tuesday. Mr. Levinson, who directed the original film and earned an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay, will write the book of the “Diner” musical, and Sheryl Crow will write the music and lyrics; Kathleen Marshall, a recent Tony Award-winner for her choreography of “Anything Goes,” will direct and choreograph this production.

Read the full story here.

Easton Man Looks to Revive National Premium

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, September 27, 2011

If Easton real estate agent Tim Miller can pull it off, National Premium beer will soon make a return to area coolers.

From Erik Maza at the Sun:

For decades, National Premium has been a hazy, distant memory. Stored-away memorabilia and faded beer ads were all that remained of its once-storied legacy.

That may change next year. Tim Miller, an Easton real estate agent, has acquired the trademark and has ambitious plans to bring the beer back to the Baltimore market by next baseball season. He has secured the formula and announced a new, spiffy logo. Capital investment and brewing are next.

Read the full story.

Morgan State University Teams With Local Watermen On Innovative Program

Washington Post Tuesday, September 27, 2011

In a program believed to be the first of its kind, Morgan State University has teamed with the Calvert County Watermen's Association to help watermen make the transition to aquaculture.

From the source:

A historically black college and Maryland’s designated “Public Urban University,” 140-year-old Morgan State’s campus is in Baltimore, where about 6,000 students are enrolled. The university offers graduate and postgraduate degrees and has programs in architecture, engineering and education, and other liberal arts programs.

And since 2004, Morgan State has run a marine research facility that is working with the Calvert County Watermen’s Association to provide equipment and training to help the watermen make the transition to oyster aquaculturists while preserving the culture and heritage of the profession.

“I believe we’re the first historically black college with this kind of facility,” said Kelton Clark, director of the Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center.

Read the whole story here.