The rebranded $5.5 billion Port Covington development — now “Baltimore Peninsula” — will sign two tenants by the end of the year, said Tony Gross, who’s heading leasing at the sprawling development. One of those leases — CFG Bank’s plan to move into 100,000 square feet of the seven-story 2455 Banner St. building — is no longer a secret. The bank, which last month reached a deal to sponsor the Baltimore Arena, had already disclosed it was in negotiations for the space that will become the $3.2 billion-asset bank’s headquarters. The bank will join Baltimore interior design and architectural firm Chambers Co., which has already signed a 9,000-square-foot lease.
Port Covington’s ‘Baltimore Peninsula’ project expects to sign two tenants before 2023
Baltimore County groups join forces to advocate for education issues
A coalition of Baltimore County community groups met Tuesday in Randallstown to brainstorm ways to help Black students succeed and hold school leaders accountable if they fail. The inaugural Baltimore County Education Justice Table meeting at Union Bethel AME church focused on equity for Black students. It consists of members from the Randallstown NAACP, the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, also known as TABCO, the Baltimore County NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, Bridge Maryland Incorporated and St. Francis Episcopal Parish and Community Center. Its mission is to increase justice, protect and improve the quality and ensure accountability in public education.
National Aquarium in Baltimore reopens rainforest exhibit after replacing glass roof
The National Aquarium reopened its tropical rainforest exhibit Tuesday following a monthslong closure for the replacement of its massive, 684-pane glass roof. The glass panes were as old as the aquarium itself, which opened 41 years ago, and aquarium officials say the new glass brings a host of benefits for animals — both inside and outside of the aquarium. The new, etched panes will help control temperatures inside the exhibit for plants and animals and minimize the number of migrating birds that inadvertently strike the glass. Workers also added LED lights to the top of the pyramid structure, capable of turning blue to represent the aquarium, or purple and orange for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens.
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori elected VP of US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services, who oversees Catholic ministries to the U.S. armed forces, was elected Tuesday as the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Broglio, 70, was elected from a field of 10 candidates. He will succeed Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, who assumed the post in 2019. The archbishop of Baltimore, William Lori, was elected as the conference’s new vice president. Usually the election of a new USCCB leaders is a formality, with the bishops elevating the conference’s vice president to the post. But this year’s election was wide open because the incumbent VP — Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron — will turn 75 soon, making him ineligible to serve.
‘A place to begin to heal’: Fort Meade opens a resiliency center for those who bear the weight of secret, stressful missions
On one side of the Fort Meade gate, they are part of the nation’s secret-finding and -keeping apparatus. They’re on the front lines, however remotely, of global conflicts and nefarious threats. On the other side, they are just another tired worker who stops at Royal Farms for coffee — but with the weight of knowledge to which no one else in line is privy. One such Fort Meade worker told Tim O’Ferrall that he remembered thinking: “How are you all not screaming right now?” “It’s a stressor,” O’Ferrall says now, with some understatement. O’Ferrall is the general manager of the Fort Meade Alliance, a community group that supports the installation and partnered with it to create the Education and Resiliency Center that will have its grand opening Thursday.
Sperling: Archaeologists stand against digging that exploits, destroys Maryland sites
The desire to collect historical objects is as old as humanity itself, and this appetite for antiquity can be seen throughout Maryland. As professional archaeologists, my colleagues and I have recovered ancient Indigenous stone tools in a 19th century farmhouse basement and found 7,000-year-old artifacts on a 700-year-old Native American site. In both cases, people probably stumbled across these objects on the ground and marveled at the link to the past. It is important to realize, however, that archaeology is a profession that requires training and care. It is not so much what you find, but the meaning and context behind those discoveries, that is most valuable.
Al Hutchinson is Baltimore’s highest-paid ‘storyteller.’ Supporters say he’s worth every cent.
As the world started shutting down in March 2020, Al Hutchinson, CEO and president of Visit Baltimore, began to prepare for a seismic shift in the business of marketing Charm City to potential visitors. The leader of the city’s tourism arm, a quasi-governmental agency, is responsible for “heads in beds,” or attracting visitors to spend time — and money— in Baltimore. Soon enough, the destination marketing specialist realized the work had hit a historic roadblock. Like so many others during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, Hutchinson learned to pivot. Before the Baltimore Convention Center transformed into a field hospital, he and his team showed up to what events were left and distributed hand sanitizer. When stay-at-home orders went into effect, he helped connect small businesses with financial resources to keep the lights on.
Jacobs: A little freer in the Free State?
“Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” — Francis Young, Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge (1988). These words ring as true today as they did almost 35 years ago. The DEA at the time disregarded its own judges ruling on whether cannabis should be rescheduled to a less restrictive level. With the passage of Question 4 on the ballot, which passed with almost two-thirds approval, cannabis will be legal for recreational use on a limited basis. I see the disconnect between how we treat this compared to alcohol and tobacco. There is no law that I know of which limits how much alcohol or tobacco you can have if you are over the legal age limit.
Here’s what to expect in Maryland when recreational marijuana is legal in 2023
Adult use of marijuana outside of Maryland’s medical program will become legal on July 1 next year but the state’s legislative arm must still hash out rules from taxation to regulating sales from marijuana dispensaries. That means it’s unlikely that dispensaries will be able to sell marijuana to anyone at least 21 years old or older in the next seven months. The voter referendum, which passed with 66% of the vote statewide, legalizes recreational marijuana but the state legislature, known as the General Assembly, is tasked to build a framework for the industry. Details like license distribution or measuring consumer demand needs to be hammered out.
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront workers walk out to demand better wages
A crowd of unionized Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel workers participated in a work stoppage on Tuesday, taking to the sidewalks to demand higher wages they say are in line with other hotel providers. At approximately 12 p.m., a couple dozen workers at the Harbor East hotel participated in the roughly hour-long work stoppage, advocating for pay increases they say will keep up with the increased cost of living. The walkout was part of an effort by Unite Here Local 7, the union behind the workers, to address what it says has been an impasse at the bargaining table.