Innovation : Buzz

The New York Times featured Dr. Andres Alonso and his "mission" to fix the city's ailing school system.

Here's an excerpt:

"It's a test case for what's possible," Dr. Alonso said. "There were incredible opportunities because the troubles were so big."

The system had churned through six superintendents in six years, so Dr. Alonso's priority was to persuade people that things would be different this time. For his changes to work, he needed a lot of support, but that took some convincing.

"The community felt alienated," said Bishop Douglas I. Miles, a pastor at Koinonia Baptist Church and a major sponsor of youth programs in the city. "There was a sense that we weren't wanted except to do bake sales."

Read the entire article.

With a $50,000 grant from Constellation Energy, two local Catholic schools are planning to explore the possibilities of wind power.

Here's an excerpt:

"Students at Ellicott City's Our Lady of Perpetual Help School will soon be putting a lot more energy into their studies � literally.

The 215-student school in Howard County, in partnership with the Albright Foundation, University of Maryland Baltimore County and Federal Hill Preparatory School in Baltimore City, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Constellation Energy to study the school's use of wind as an energy resource.

OLPH and Federal Hill Prep students will participate in an applied science project to evaluate whether a wind turbine can produce enough energy to meet the power needs of the two schools. "

Read the entire article.

Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, has worked tirelessly to boost the university's reputation as an educational powerhouse in mathematics and science. He's taken his work further to help students from around the nation, as highlighted in a recent New York Times op-ed.

Here's an excerpt:

"Right now only about 6 percent of young college graduates in this country have degrees in science or engineering, as opposed to about 10 percent in many developed nations. The numbers are far worse for minorities: only 2.7 percent of young African-American college graduates and 2.2 percent of Latinos.

This is the problem that keeps Freeman Hrabowski awake at night. Mr. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, led the committee that produced "Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation," an eye-opening study issued by the National Academies, the country's leading science advisory group."

Read the entire op-ed.

Some people travel the world creating art. Others take their talents on the road to design buildings. Still others study different cultures to bring new zing to their culinary creations. For Baltimore resident Brian Strumke, it's all about beer.

Here's an excerpt:

"Love & Regret, which Strumke brewed at the 'Hofbrouwerijke brewery in Beerzel, Belgium, in February, is a saison (farmhouse-style ale) spiced with heather, chamomile, lavender and dandelion. It accompanied the first course of a beer dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso two weeks ago. (Stillwater is expanding its market to encompass 18 cities nationwide, and I caught up with Strumke in the midst of a road trip that had already taken him to Vermont, Boston and New York City.)

None of the unusual ingredients stands out by itself, but Love & Regret has a delightful floral perfume that wafts up the back of one's throat and fills the sinuses. It measures 7.2 percent alcohol by volume (reasonable by the standards of today's high-octane "imperial" beers) and offers a crisp aftertaste that perks up the appetite."

Read the entire article.

Maryland Technology Development Corporation's new head, Robert A. Rosenbaum, took a little time out to talk with The Washington Post about his plans for the agency.

Here's an excerpt:

"Rosenbaum, a former managing director of Baltimore-based Nobska Ventures, also is pushing to close a gap in how the money is handed out. Too often, early-stage companies are left gasping for funds as they mature. If funding permits, he wants Tedco to fill that gap by following up on its seed investments with a second infusion of cash to help promising companies grow."

Read the entire article.

Synergy can be a really good thing bringing together two seemingly disparate partners, Emily's Desserts and Pizzaz Tuscan Grille. Especially when the results are Baltimore's first wine and cupcake bar.

Here's the deal.

Baltimore City Public Schools and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services have launched a new program in an effort to give foster children a modicum of stability.

Here's an excerpt:

"As children around Baltimore settle into the routine of the school year, the distinct minority who enter foster care will struggle to find stability. Often, as temporary placements shift and these youngsters are jostled from placement to placement, the instability that permeates their life also seeps into their school experience.

But a novel collaboration between the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS) and Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) holds the promise of offering something to Baltimore foster children that is in wide variance across this country: the chance at educational stability."

Read the entire article.

In case you missed it, here's Baltimore's own Mario Armstrong giving out his advice on which gadgets to buy now and which you should wait to buy.

Check out the video:

There's no fat lady belting out tunes here. Baltimore Rock Opera Society is spreading its gospel through local festivals and word of mouth.

Here's an excerpt:

"On Saturday, the H Street Festival introduced me to, as a friend put it, "the greatest thing since things became good." What is this wonder of awesomeness you ask? The Baltimore Rock Opera Society, my friends."

Here's the entire article.

Washing your car. Everybody does, but few think about its impact on the environment. A local entrepreneur is on the cutting edge of the carwash industry with his green carwash in Canton.

Watch the video:

Baltimore's no longer known as a hotbed for jazz musicians, but one couple is doing what they can to showcase local talent.

Here's an excerpt:

"Jazzway 6004 rests in a tiny enclave dotted with mansion-esque dwellings just past the Baltimore city limits. A renovation in 2005 trimmed the original six bedrooms to four and created a performance space that seats 65 and houses a 6-foot Baldwin grand piano and a sound system. Matheny-Katz recalls how the couple didn't initially intend to hold concerts, but their desire to showcase local talent moved them to open their home to the public. The first concert in June 2007 sold out. "People started calling us and asking, 'When is your next concert?'" says Matheny-Katz, a vocalist who was prepping for a Billie Holiday tribute show in mid-July."

Read the entire article here.

If you're a college student, Baltimore is a pretty good place to be.

That's according to the American Institute for Economic Research, which ranked Baltimore No. 6 in its top college towns. Washington, D.C., ranked No. 3.

The nonprofit research group took a look at the city's student population, arts and leisure activities, cost of living, entrepreneurial activity and other factors to come up with its findings.

San Francisco and New York garnered the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Boston and Seattle rounded out the top five.

You can read the report here.

If you've been to the B&O American Brasserie at the Klimpton's Hotel Monaco, then you know how good the eating is there. You're in good company it seems, as Bon Appetit magazine has included one of the restaurant's flatbreads in it's September 2010 "Restaurant Issue."

Here's an excerpt:

" B&O's menu offers everything from juicy steaks to local seafood, but our money's on the brick-oven pizzas (or flatbreads, as they're called at the restaurant). Savor the arugula, asparagus, and fried egg version while taking in the scene at the restaurant's downstairs bar."

Check out the recipe here.

The Chris Bohl, architect-owner of a three-level penthouse overlooking Federal Hill Park, and his wife Barbara spent six months renovating the 1980s home.

Check out the pics from the WSJ here.

You're at the checkout counter at a local retailer and instead of pulling out a pile of greenbacks -- U.S. government issued $1s, $5s, $10s or $20s -- you hand the cashier a bunch of BNotes. That's the scenario two local entrepreneurs hope to see play out soon across Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

"Baltimore may soon have its own local currency, or scrip, if Jeff Dicken of the Baltimore Green Currency Association has his way. Next spring Dicken, with partner Michael Tew, is planning to launch the BNote, a form of money that can only be spent locally. The object, Dicken said, is to have the money stay in the local community and help the community grow economically.

"A bunch of us realized that there is a real need for economic options in Baltimore City," Dicken told the AFRO. "A local currency provides a way for residents to support their own community and their own local merchants. And it makes them think twice about where they spend their money, whether they want to support their neighbors, the local merchants, or whether they want to support national chains that may be taking the money and booking it as profit in Delaware or Texas."


Read the entire article here.