When Queen Elizabeth II visited Baltimore in 1991 to see an Orioles game, then-Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke escorted her to a reception at Memorial Stadium. As the queen entered the room, the guests — team owners, local business leaders, coach Cal Ripken Sr. and his player-sons, Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken — grew silent, intimidated by the presence of a monarch. The queen then turned to Schmoke and asked in a stage whisper, “Must one be named Ripken to be on this team?” “That broke the ice,” said Schmoke. “She had a certain lightness of spirit the public didn’t always see. She gave you the sense that you were important to her at that moment, and that’s a real gift as a leader.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s death reverberates across Baltimore, a city that played a role in her ascension to the throne
How Wes Moore is deploying his military service on the campaign trail
It’s hardly news that Wes Moore, the Democratic nominee for governor, is highlighting his military service as part of his campaign. Since entering the race over a year ago, Moore has spoken frequently about how his military career has shaped his worldview and his political philosophy. He says that serving in the Army, as a captain in Afghanistan, taught him “to leave no one behind” — a sentiment that he has adopted as a political slogan to indicate his desire to lift all Marylanders. He also recounts that when fellow soldiers were in distress, “nobody asked if they were Democrats or Republicans.”
Baltimore small-business owner: Our complaints aren’t trivial, city must address them
Crumbling sidewalks. Torn up streets perpetually under construction. Graffiti everywhere you look. Trash in alleys and accumulating around dumpsters. Homeless people sleeping on walkways. The smell of urine in doorways, with periodic signs of human and animal defecation. Drug deals going down. The aroma of marijuana hanging persistently in the air. The specter of crime around every corner. Where am I? Karachi? San Salvador? Baghdad?Nope, we are in my small business’ block of North Charles Street in the Downtown Business District of Baltimore City.
Bed Bath & Beyond names Laura Crossen as interim CFO
Bed Bath & Beyond has named its chief accounting officer, Laura Crossen, as interim chief financial officer following the death of Gustavo Arnal. The home goods retailer said in a regulatory filing that Crossen will continue as its principal accounting officer while serving in the interim role. Crossen’s base salary was raised by $200,000 and the compensation committee increased her target annual bonus opportunity to 70% of her modified base salary. The filing said the adjustments will only be effective for the period she serves as interim CFO. Arnal died on Friday.
With parts of Baltimore under boil warning, advocates push for improvements to city’s water system
One day after Baltimore officials informed residents that E. coli spread into parts of the city’s water system and issued a boil-water advisory, advocates are calling for improvements to the city’s water infrastructure. “No one in Baltimore should have to worry that their family could get sick from the water coming out of their tap,” Emily Scarr, director of the Maryland PIRG Foundation, said Tuesday. “The boil-water advisory is an all-too-often reminder that more needs to be done to protect our water.” John Rumpler with the non-profit Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center, said the millions of dollars in federal money from the infrastructure plan should be used to update the city’s water system.
Opinion: An empty State Center: Hogan’s last ‘gift’ to Baltimore
It’s always safe to assume that when elected leaders have something happy to report, they proudly announce it themselves. And when the news is not so great, or potentially controversial, the duty is handed down to an underling. That was the first clue that last week’s decision to hand over State Center to the city of Baltimore for redevelopment — as revealed by Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford at the Aug. 31 Board of Public Works meeting — was not all lemon drops and sunshine. The cancellation of the $1.5 billion State Center redevelopment project, along with the abrupt discontinuation of Baltimore’s $2.9 billion Red Line light rail project in Gov. Larry Hogan’s first term, are his chief legacy to Maryland’s largest city.
Opinion: BOE’s approach on religious expression makes sense, but there is ‘a lot of gray’
The Supreme Court is reshaping the entire landscape of the relationship between religion and the state in this country, and the Frederick County Board of Education has no choice but to follow the new rules the court is creating. The most recent decision was handed down by the court in June, supporting the right of a high school football coach to kneel and pray on the 50-yard line after games. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Joseph Kennedy, the coach. The Religion News Service, an independent news agency, noted that decades of case law forbade school employees from leading school children in prayer.
National security company opening sector HQ in Prince George’s County
Peraton Inc., a Reston, Virginia-based national security company with offices across the country, has signed a lease with St. John Properties Inc. for 18,102 square feet of space within Melford Town Center in Prince George’s County. Peraton intends to relocate its global health and financial solutions sector headquarters from McLean, Virginia to the 466-acre mixed-use business community by late fall. Bill Jautze of St. John Properties represented the landlord and Daniel Rasmussen of Cushman & Wakefield represented the client in this transaction. Peraton will occupy 16901 Melford Blvd., a four-story building containing 150,000 square feet of Class ‘A’ commercial offices space.
The Playbook: Remote workers are worried about proximity bias — and rightfully so
This time of year always takes me back to my high school football days. As I’ve noted before, my time on the gridiron yielded a number of lessons that have proven valuable in the professional world. One of those came to mind last week while editing Senior Reporter Andy Medici’s story about proximity bias. As we kicked off training camp before my junior year, a number of my best teammates — and many starters — were hundreds of miles away playing in a baseball tournament. Coaches said the situation created an opportunity for some nonstarters to capitalize on their absence and earn more playing time.
Lawrence: Sarah Palin lost her bid for Congress, but we may not have seen the last of her yet
When Fox News canceled Sarah Palin’s contributor contract in 2013, I wrote that it was “the end of an era.” I was, of course, wrong about that. Not only did Fox give her another contract six months later, her divisive brand of insults and misrepresentations became the template for Donald Trump and his flock of imitators in Congress, state governments and legislatures nationwide. This year, she figured she could easily get back into the game. But Alaskans, in a state that Mr. Trump won by 10 points in 2020, threw her over. Last Wednesday, in her first attempt to revive the political career she walked away from 13 years ago, Ms. Palin lost a special election to finish the late Don Young’s term in the House.