Ending months of speculation, the National Aquarium has named John Racanelli (above) as CEO. He succeeds Dave Pittenger, who’s been CEO for the past 15 years and a steady presence at the Aquarium since 1981, the year it opened.

With nearly two decades of leadership experience at aquariums in Florida and California, as well as experience working with conservation and non-profit groups, Racanelli would seem to be a good fit for the Aquarium, which is focusing on its own conservation efforts and looking to up the profile of its second site in D.C.

“I believe the modern movement towards inspiring care for our blue planet can trace much of its origin to the National Aquarium, which set a new standard for appreciating the aquatic world 30 years ago,” said Racanelli in a press release.  “I am deeply honored to be a part of carrying this mission forward.

“This opportunity to lead and...

Last night, I had a chance to chat with R&B star Sade before she performed at 1st Mariner Arena—the first date on her first North American tour in almost ten years.

I asked her why she chose to launch the tour in Baltimore and she made clear it wasn't just a random choice.

"We’ve had good times in Baltimore in the past—I just love it here," she said. "I’ve always had a romantic memory from when I first heard Nina Simone’s 'Baltimore.'"

It's not surprising to hear the Nigerian-British singer cite Simone's 1978 version of the song (below), which was actually written and recorded by Randy Newman in 1977, since their voices share a smoky quality and emotional resonance.

I reviewed the show last night for Rolling Stone, where I used to work. You can read that here.

This news woke me up this morning. Several Maryland children were raising money for charity yesterday, but a Montgomery County inspector fined their parents $500 when they ignored warnings to shut down their lemonade stand, according to Savannah Guthrie, a news reader on NBC's Today show.

The stand, unfortunately, is located outside the U.S. Open golf tournament being held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda where vendors are drawing scrutiny from county personnel.

The parents are vowing to protest the fine and to allow their children to continue selling cold drinks, Guthrie reported.

This is not the kind of golf drama we're used to!

Photo of the children at the lemonade stand, courtesy of WUSA9. (They look dangerous.)

As we anticipated yesterday, Baltimore City police and firefighter unions today unveiled a new billboard, pictured here, slamming City Hall for perceived slights in negotiations over pensions and pay.

As we noted yesterday, the new billboard, located at the corner of Orleans St. and I-83, is timed to coincide with the National Conference of Mayors meeting in Baltimore, which begins tomorrow.

The unions were initially planning to be out protesting the meeting, but decided against it. And the tone of the new billboard is considerably tamer than the one the unions put up last year in the heat of the contract negotiations, which read "Welcome to Baltimore. Home to a Mayor & City Council who turned their backs on our Police &...