Around Maryland

For a few thousand dollars, avid concertgoers or corporate buyers can have the right to purchase concert tickets in reserved club seats at the newly renovated CFG Bank Arena. Los Angeles-based developer Oak View Group plans to officially reopen the arena this spring with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performing on April 7. For those looking to attend multiple concerts in the arena throughout the year, Oak View Group will be offering an annual concert membership program. The membership, which costs between $2,000 and $7,000 per seat, will give members priority access to three new clubs along with a right to purchase — for an additional cost — lower-level tickets within a 48-hour window, said Ryan Coyle, Oak View Group’s senior vice president of premium sales. Members can lease a seat each year, which includes access to the club with private bathrooms, concessions and VIP parking in the garage attached to the arena.

The town of Friendsville has declared its opposition to building a durable bike trail through one of the most pristine areas of the Youghiogheny River, dealing a potentially fatal blow to a controversial project that had already lined up millions in state funding. Friendsville Mayor Spencer R. Schlosnagle and its town council urged state lawmakers to consider an alternative route that would keep the funds in Garrett County but avoid a stretch of the river that has been designated wild and scenic since 1976. “We cannot in good faith destroy this wilderness area which is unlike any other to be found,” Schlosnagle wrote. Friendsville’s letter caught supporters of the bike trail off guard, with some saying the town has done a turnabout.

In 2018, Angela Banks received bad news from her landlord: Baltimore officials were buying her family’s home of four decades, planning to demolish the three-story brick row house to make room for a beleaguered urban renewal project aimed at transforming a historically Black neighborhood. Banks and her children became homeless almost overnight. With nowhere else to go, they spent months sleeping in her aging Ford Explorer.

A store owner in Baltimore City accused an African American shopper, who was with his children, of theft and called the police. A security tape showed no theft and the parties later agreed to a monetary settlement. In neighboring Baltimore County, a man claimed his employer fired him after he failed a physical. Both parties agreed to settle the dispute for $75,000.

A young Colombian woman was told being an au pair was a “wonderful opportunity” in the United States — she could take classes and improve her English skills while working as a live-in nanny for an American family. However, after being matched with a family in Prince George’s County, the couple forced her to work long hours doing heavy housework, she alleged. She said they also gave her only cheap, mostly processed foods without permission to eat fresh fruits and vegetables they had purchased for themselves, and monitored her every move through a network of surveillance cameras throughout the house.

Just hours after family members gathered at a news conference to support an investigation into the murder of 16-year-old Deanta Dorsey, someone shot up their home in Baltimore early Saturday, their attorney said. Thiru Vignarajah, the family’s attorney, said four or five gunshots were fired into the home after midnight. No one was hurt, but several children were inside. Within hours, the family moved into police protection, Vignarajah said. It’s not immediately known whether the shooting was an attempt to silence the family as police search for additional suspects.

A new academic building on the University of Maryland campus will be named in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The college’s School of Public Policy will go by “Thurgood Marshall Hall” following a naming ceremony to be held later this month. The name pays homage to the civil rights advocate and litigator who successfully argued that segregation was unconstitutional in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. “This recognition serves as a testament to his legacy as an unapologetic trailblazer for justice and equality,” the Marshall family said in a statement shared by the university. “The inspiring work the school does every day to create the next generation of students embodies what was at his core —ensuring a more just and equitable world for all.”

A new audio-visual exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Industry is shining a light on the work of Baltimore City schools’ food service workers. The “Food for Thought” exhibit is a collaborative effort between The Office of Food & Nutrition Services for Baltimore City Public Schools and The Baltimore Museum of Industry, who teamed up with WYPR producer Aaron Henkin and award-winning photographer J.M. Giordano. At an opening reception last week, folks munch on free samples of actual cafeteria food like chicken teriyaki, mini PB&J sandwiches and cookies – all welcome departures from the Cold War frozen patties of yesteryear that many remember from their childhood lunches.