Maryland’s two highest courts have new names, as of this week: the Appellate Court of Maryland and the Supreme Court of Maryland. The new names replace the confusing names of the Court of Special Appeals and the Court of Appeals. The Court of Special Appeals was the first level of appeals court in the state, and the Court of Appeals was the highest court — not that it was easy for non-lawyers to tell which was which. Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved the name switcheroo in November’s general election. The new names went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. Along with the courts getting new names, the judges who serve on the highest court got new titles. They’ll be known as justices.
Banner political notes: New names for Maryland’s top courts; Honors for departing Mosby, Anderson; More people join the Moore administration
A developer faces off with Hampden’s beloved chimney swifts
A controversy is now roiling a part of the Hampden neighborhood. A developer wants to level a secluded 1930 industrial property and replace it with a six-story apartment house, complete with parking and a swimming pool. Added to the drama is a stout brick chimney that once served the old clothing factory’s boiler. It’s a tall smokestack where thousands of migrating chimney swifts swoop and spend the night in the late summer and again in the spring. Come morning, they take off. The show the birds make is enough to draw dozens of human onlookers to take in this semiannual ornithological show. This smokestack has achieved a real following. The building, at 3110 Elm Ave., is known as the Free State Bookbinders, a business that started operating here in 1984 but shut down about a year ago.
Maryland’s top education leaders meet up to talk Blueprint
It’s not easy to get several people together in person these days, but it happened Friday in Linthicum Heights, where two of Maryland’s major education oversight bodies held a joint meeting to discuss the state’s $3.8 billion Blueprint plan. Members of the Maryland State Board of Education and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board came together to align their visions on the comprehensive education reform plan adopted last week. It’s unknown if a similar joint session will happen in the future, but all the participants Friday agreed on one key focus: collaboration. “We’re all in to make this thing work,” said Clarence Crawford, who chairs the state Board of Education.
Many business owners didn’t get a break in 2022. And they are worried about 2023.
Many small-business owners haven’t taken a break in 2022 or longer, and 2023 is filled with potential hurdles. About 40% of small business owners surveyed by FreshBooks said they had not taken time off in more than a year. About half of small-business owners say taking time off stresses them out and 85% said that even when they do take time off from work, they continue to check in. It’s a trend that could have significant implications. A 2021 survey by the International Business Brokers Association found burnout was becoming a major factor for owners selling their businesses. But, despite concerns about burnout and mental health, signs don’t point to those metrics improving in 2023 due to recession fears and an uncertain economy. About half of small-business owners said the reason they don’t take time off is a fear of losing income, and that’s showing during the holiday season.
Hutzell: Annapolis lives with the actions of a ‘depraved heart,’ and nobody knows the cure
Standing in front of reporters and TV news camera crews, the prosecutor thundered from the lectern set up outside the red brick courthouse in downtown Annapolis. “Today, justice was served for the two attempted murder victims as well as Michelle Cummings,” State’s Attorney Anne Leitess said. As far as justice ever goes, she’s right. The 31-year-old man who shot the Texas woman as she celebrated her son’s induction into the Naval Academy with family and friends was convicted on Tuesday of first-degree murder and other charges. He will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. What about justice for Annapolis?
Hogan declares Dec. 23 a holiday for state workers; Moore family visits Government House
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Friday that state government agencies will be closed Dec. 23, the day before Christmas Eve. Hogan said in a statement that he made the decision so that those who work in these agencies “can spend more time enjoying the holidays with their loved ones.” “This is just another way to show our appreciation to our dedicated state workers who have worked tirelessly to serve their fellow Marylanders and help us to truly change Maryland for the better,” Hogan said. He added that the day will be treated like other state holidays. Dec. 23 is a state holiday in Virginia, but a spokeswoman for Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said the city’s government will be open that day.
Parkway Theatre to go dark next year as Maryland Film Festival scales back operations
The Parkway Theatre will go dark in early 2023, discontinuing screenings and other events in the renovated movie palace that is home to the Maryland Film Festival and which, according to financial documents obtained by The Sun, has been operating in the red. Struck hard like other arts organizations and businesses by the COVID pandemic, film festival officials said they are hitting the pause button to develop a new business plan and adjust to the current economic climate and “dramatic and continuing shifts” in the movie business and audiences.
Sports gambling app tied to Bingo World in Brooklyn Park makes small profit in early days of legalized wagering
Since mobile sports betting launched in Maryland before Thanksgiving, only one of the seven gambling apps that are live made a profit in the first nine days of wagering, according to a report from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control. BetRivers, the betting app tied to Bingo World in Brooklyn Park, made a profit of just over $28,000 between the formal launch at 9 a.m. Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 and eight hours of wagering allowed on Nov. 21. The other six sportsbooks, Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet, handled far more money but reported losses of around $38 million as they used promotional deals like free bets to attract new customers.
Designs revamped for two new luxury apartment towers in Port Covington
Plans for two apartment buildings set to replace the Locke Insulators plant at Port Covington were debated before a city design panel for the second time as the project moves toward a groundbreaking next year. The schematics by Baltimore-based Hord Coplan Macht show the six-story brick, glass and steel structures that together will hold 425 luxury apartments. The plans were presented Thursday to the Urban Design and Architecture Advisory Panel, or UDAAP, as revisions to original designs presented in late October that UDAAP members said had room for improvement. The UDAAP is overseen by the Department of Planning and must sign off on all design plans before the project moves into permitting.
Faidley Seafood’s move to Baltimore’s renovated Lexington Market delayed
Faidley Seafood’s move from Lexington Market’s old east building, where it’s now the last vendor standing, to the newly constructed south building of the renovated market will take several months longer than expected. The venerable seafood vendor, once scheduled to move into the newly finished downtown Baltimore market building by January, will delay its relocation until late spring, according to co-owner Damye Hahn and the market’s developer, Seawall. Faidley’s is “a full-sized restaurant within the market, and it’s complicated,” said Jon Constable, Seawall’s director of development. “We wanted to make sure we’re measuring twice and cutting once.” Constable said Seawall recently marked a “huge milestone” in Faidley’s relocation by submitting plans to Baltimore City to obtain a permit for the stall’s construction.