The head of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts once pledged publicly to “dim the lights a little” on Baltimore’s beloved outdoor arts festivals. City residents will find out next month what that means for Artscape, a supersized extravaganza that has been the centerpiece of the city’s festival season for four decades. When Donna Drew Sawyer, BOPA’s chief executive director, unveils the details of the 2023 Artscape at an Oct. 20 news conference, it will cap an at-times intense battle over the future of the festivals that has been fought in government offices, at public meetings and behind the scenes for the past six months.

As of Sept. 14, the Baltimore Police Department had confiscated 323 “ghost guns” so far this year. These are firearms assembled from parts that are potentially untraceable; they have become the preferred weapon for those seeking to avoid federal and state gun regulations. Last year, the city had confiscated 231 such weapons by Sept. 14, which means there’s been a 33% increase. And that’s just over the last year: In 2020, the city confiscated 126 ghost guns and in 2019, just 29. Recognizing this rising threat, the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year passed a law banning anyone from buying a gun or even its major component, an “unfinished frame or receiver,” unless it included a serial number or similar personal identification code.

Austin Voth’s time with the Orioles has taught him a great deal about who he is as a pitcher. Last week, he headed to Bel Air to see if the organization could help to answer another question. “Am I being the best version of myself,” Voth wondered, “or is there another version of me that I can be?” On the third floor of MedStar Health’s Bel Air campus, he took the first steps toward finding out. Instead of performing his between-starts bullpen session at Camden Yards, Voth worked through each of his pitches off the mound at the Orioles’ new pitching lab. Opened this summer in partnership with MedStar Health, the lab will help the team optimize its pitchers’ deliveries, for both performance and injury prevention, through the use of motion capture video and other tools.

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland will have new leadership when the 2023 General Assembly session begins in January. Two of its longstanding leaders — Del. Darryl Barnes (D-Prince George’s), the chair, and Del. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County), the treasurer — submitted letters to their caucus colleagues Monday saying they will resign their leadership posts in December. Both have served in the House of Delegates since 2015. Barnes, who’s chaired the caucus for an unusually long tenure of 5½ years, will step down Dec. 5, which he said will allow the caucus to choose a new leader before the legislation session convenes Jan. 11.

One Monday night, my freshly showered, rambunctious almost-3-year-old did not want to put on his pajamas and threw them off his changing table. As I leaned over to grab them, he threw himself off the table next. Four hours later, we were back from the emergency room, with three new stickers, two X-rays, one red Popsicle and a newly splinted broken leg. When we met the pediatric orthopedic surgeon a few days later, I had two questions for him: First, how long would my son need to wear a cast? And second, what advice did he have for bathing him? One month, he said, and the cast was waterproof. I was pleased. “Wow,” I said. “The miracles of modern medicine, huh?”

Under Armour Inc. released Tuesday its 2021 Sustainability & Impact Report, outlining a new sustainability framework, goals and targets that will guide the company’s work to reduce the environmental footprint associated with its products and operations while accelerating its social and community impact. Aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainable Accounting Standard Board (SASB) industry standards, the report outlines 23 goals and targets designed to drive company progress across three key pillars – Products, Home Field, and Team – and underscore Under Armour’s core values, including “Act Sustainably” and “Stand for Equality.”

 

Maryland has removed a pre-employment drug testing requirement for cannabis businesses, leaving it up to individual dispensaries and growers to decide whether to test employees for illegal drugs. The change was one of several approved by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission at its Sept. 22 meeting with the goal of alleviating red tape for small business owners. The removal of the drug testing requirement has been praised by some business owners, who believe it will open the door for more job candidates to enter the industry.

Repurpose Aggregates opened a state-of-the-art industrial recycling wash plant Sept. 21 in Joppatowne, the first of its kind in the region. Repurpose Aggregates will supply high-grade, reliable materials to the local region, including the first recycled sand available in the mid-Atlantic region. Its 80-acre campus is dedicated to supporting the circular economy by providing a one-stop facility for local construction companies to both responsibly dispose of CDE waste and also back-load their fleet with valuable recycled materials that can be reintroduced to the construction industry for use in various applications. As the plant can be adjusted, the final product output can be fine-tuned to meet the market’s needs and customers’ own specifications.

The business side of sports can be a rich source of instruction on what to do and not to do in negotiation. Contract terms for athletes, trades between teams, labor negotiations, broadcast licensing, etc., are in the news regularly. Dig into the details of a particular deal and you might find some interesting lessons that can inform your own negotiations. Consider Franco Harris, the famous running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. For those of us old enough to remember, Harris was very close to breaking the all-time pro football rushing record when his contract was up for renewal.

Seventeen candidates who applied for a position on the Prince George’s County police accountability board offered similar attributes Tuesday, which they say are needed for service: integrity, experience and love for community. Each was allowed to speak for three minutes during a County Council virtual information session; they range from community leaders, a retired sociology faculty member from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a paralegal. One of the main goals, according to county legislation, will be for the board and an administrative charging committee to “reflect the racial, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation and cultural diversity of the county…and include members with a range of professional or lived experiences.”