Civic Duty

“With a strong work ethic and a focus on education and skills training, Civic works continues to kindle positive change in the lives of Baltimore’s young adults and in our communities.”
-Former Mayor Martin O’Malley, City of Baltimore
A delegation from the block inaugurated the spanking-new hot weather by digging in the dirt with the Civic Works [...]

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Hawking Guns at Lexington Market

Lexington Market, the 227 year-old West Baltimore landmark famous for crab cake and local color, just lost a hunk of its tourism revenue for the year.
A federal investigation alleges that some market stands are hawking more than fish and chips. Gang members have been shopping for guns at the Utz potato chip stand.
Two Harley Davidson [...]

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Web Logs A Flurry

The malls may be shut but the bloggery is booming in Baltimore.
Baltimore Slumlord Watch points to an entire block decrepit enough to make Bubbs weep. You don’t look impressed, but the 1500 block of Brentwood is located only a few steps north and west of our hood (like, spitting distance from Midtown yoga). Not that [...]

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Raid in Mount Vernon Place!

This week, animal control officers “swooped in” to cite dog owners with pooches frolicking off-leash in Mount Vernon Place.
According to the Baltimore Sun’s Unleashed blog, officers were responding to frequent complaints about the pets romping through the park. In our experience, the pugs especially take to running up and down the elegant fountain across from [...]

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Abandoned Rowhouses to Get New Life?

There may be a silver lining to the City Paper’s story about Patterson Park Community Development Corporation going bankrupt. With this example of what a for-profit company can achieve in a few years with a modest budget, councilperson William Cole will soon introduce a measure to the City Council that aims to redevelop what is [...]

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Bragging Rights

During a 3 day work-meet bender–that is, a marathon of meetings punctuated by overcooked buffet lunches, tepid coffee breaks and bland curry dinners spilled on hideous hotel carpeting–one generously recycles personal anecdotes. Lately, I’ve been fond of rehashing three go-to subjects: mishaps of my cataract-ridden blind dog (fumbling in air for the staircase!), my recent [...]

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Postcards from the Edge

I started the Baltimore Block Blog with the intention that neighbors would keep in touch by blogging from the road. Working/studying in the international health field, we collectively accumulate a lot of air miles, exotic knick-knacks (elephant god statues, Malian necklaces, Senegalese sex beads) and premature gray hairs.
I intended to take Baltimore Block Blog on [...]

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