Ron Cassie's picture
December, 7th 2012

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: Maryland Live Casino Goes 24/7

Photo credit: Ron Cassie

Two days after Christmas, Maryland Live Casino at Arundel Mills will become a year-round, seven-days-a-week, 24-hour gambling operation.

The Dec. 27 move to 24/7 gaming became possible with the passage of Question 7 on election day — it also means the casino will be able to serve alcohol around-the-clock as well, according to Maryland Live spokeswoman Carmen Gonzales.

The passage of Question 7 also means table games, such as poker, blackjack, roulette and craps will soon be available at Maryland Live around-the-clock as well and the casino is preparing for that eventuality. Currently, Maryland Live and the state’s other casinos, Hollywood Casino in Perryville and Ocean Downs, are awaiting for the state’s finalization of table game regulations.

The ...

Ron Cassie's picture
December, 6th 2012

Red Emma’s on the Move

Courtesy: Facebook page of Red Emma's

The collectively owned radical bookstore and café in Mount Vernon known as Red Emma’s is moving to Station North.

In an email blast Thursday afternoon, Red Emma’s announced it will be leaving its cozy 800 St. Paul St. location in September 2013 for more space at 30 West North Ave., next door to Liam Flynn’s Ale House (itself launched by founding Red Emma’s collective member, the email noted.)

The move will allow the bookstore to increase its offering six-fold, expand the amount of café seating, and include meeting and classroom space coordinated by the Baltimore Free School. Red Emma’s also announced that new local roaster Thread Coffee will be a partner on the project in Station North.

Red Emma’s opened in 2004 and by the end of this month will have hosted 1,000 events...

Ron Cassie's picture
December, 3rd 2012

Soultrain: Urban Legend Car Club of Maryland

Photo credit: Ron Cassie

Spotted on Orleans Street in East Baltimore late Sunday afternoon amid a bevy of classic, colorful, lowrider Monte Carlos, Impalas, Lincolns and Fleetwoods — and some thumping music. This "Soultrn" plate belongs to a white '85 Caprice and a member of the Urban Legend Car Club of Maryland. Looking through the windshield, I believe that might be a pink Cadillac in front of the Caprice.

(The 7 Day Theory decal references the first Tupac Shakur album released after his death.)

According to their website, "Urban Legends is a group of individuals bound together by the art, culture and lifestyle of Low Riding!"

Their Facebook page can be found here.

 

 

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 29th 2012

Unveiling: The Proposed Towson Bike Beltway

Courtesy: Baltimore County

Baltimore County will officially unveil its proposed Towson "Bike Beltway" at an upcoming Department of Public Works meeting.

The much-anticipated project will circie downtown Towson, developing bicycle routes and access to Towson University, Goucher College, the Towsontown Center and goverment center.

The meeting, scheduled for Dec. 17 in Room 118 of the historic Towson courthouse, is open to the public and will include opportunities for review and input.

According to a press release from the county, the Bike Beltway "is the brain child of the area’s growing bicycle community, together with the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Bikeways Program which has invested $100,000 into the preliminary proposal."

“We have limited road capacity in Towson and need to focus on...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 29th 2012

Mapping History: The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay

Wagner Point: Courtesy of UMBC

South Baltimore’s Polish Home Hall will host UMBC’s Departments of American Studies and Visual Arts this Saturday for an event celebrating the culture and history of waterfront, industrial neighborhoods of Curtis Bay and Brooklyn.

American Studies professor Nicole King, and Visual Arts professor Steve Bradley have been working with UMBC students on a collaborative project, “Mapping Baybrook: From Main Street to the Harbor,” that combines research and digital mapping technologies to capture the history and stories of Curtis Bay and Brooklyn, together referred to as Baybrook.

The event, Dec. 1, will also mark the launch of the Mapping Baybrook website, which was designed in collaboration with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center. 

A blog post about the project by a UMBC student, whose ancestors immigrated from Poland to Curtis Bay, can be found...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 27th 2012

Today: ‘Giving Tuesday’ Follows Holiday Shopping Celebrations

Courtesy: Facebook page of givingtuesday

You’ve eaten the turkey and given thanks. You’ve competed for Black Friday deals and yesterday, searched for Cyber Monday bargains online.

With that, comes “Giving Tuesday,” an effort to boost charitable giving. 

New York City’s well-known 92nd Street Y served as the “catalyst and incubator” for the latest attempt to brand a special post-Thanksgiving day — partnering with the United Nations Foundation — this one dedicated to giving back, according www.givingtuesday.org.

"We have two days that are good for the economy. Here is a new day that is good for the soul," Henry Timms, deputy executive director of strategy, innovation and content of the 92nd Street Y, told USA Today.

According to USA Today there are 800 Giving Tuesday partners, including non-profits and corporations, such as Microsoft and...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 26th 2012

'Hey Diddle Diddle, Ray Rice Up the Middle' T-shirt to Benefit Foundation

Courtesy of Ray Rice's Facebook page

Ray Rice is awfully quick. Not only was his incredible agility on display during his game-saving scamper on 4th and 29 yesterday afternoon against the San Diego Chargers, but the running back has already turned the season's highlight into a commemorative T-shirt to benefit his foundation, the Ray Rice Charitable Fund.

After the game, when asked about the play, Rice told reporters it was just, "Check Down, Hey Diddle Diddle, Ray Rice Up the Middle."

On his Facebook page, Rice reports that purple-designed T-shirt, which features a silhoutte of the back making a sharp cut, will be available soon — and to stay tuned for the details.

More information on Rice and his community work can be found here.

...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 19th 2012

Breaking News: Terps Ditch ACC for Big Ten

 

According to reporting by the Big Ten Network and others, the University of Maryland will announce that they are leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Big Ten this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Rumors of the move began circulating last week.

Rutgers University is expected to follow suit, according to the Big Ten Network, and leave the Big East to join the Big Ten as well, growing the Big Ten to 14 schools.

Live online coverage of the Maryland press conference can be found here.

Maryland's Board of Regents voted unanimously to accept the Big Ten's invitation Monday and leave the ACC, according to ESPN. The Terps are a founding member of the ACC, launched in 1953, and will have to negotiate their way through a $50 million penalty fee to leave the conference. 

The move is expected to increase the revenue...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 14th 2012

All In: Maryland Live! Opening Free Dealer School

Courtesy: Maryland Live! Casino

The Maryland Live! Casino says it's “looking for a few good dealers.” To be exact: 800.

Supporters of Question 7, the state’s expanded gambling measure, promised jobs. Well, a week after the referendum’s passage, here are some of the first: Maryland Live! Casino announced Wednesday that with the addition of 150 now-legal tables games — blackjack, poker, roulette, and the like  — they’re launching a free school for would-be dealers.

At a press event today, David Cordish (pictured above in a red tie), owner of the Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills, and Robert Norton (pictured above in a red shirt), general manager of the facility, said they’ll start their dealer school this January in association with Anne Arundel Community College. 

Overall, Maryland Live! says they will add 1,200 new jobs with...

Ron Cassie's picture
November, 9th 2012

City to Gay Couples: Get Married Here!

Courtesty Wikipedia

Less than 24 hours after Maryland voters approved same-sex marriages, Visit Baltimore, the city’s tourism bureau, announced that Charm City is “ready to welcome happy couples for weddings, receptions and honeymoons," in a press release Wednesday.

Almost ready. Officially, same-sex couples have to wait until Jan. 1, 2013, to obtain a civil marriage license from the state.

With the passage of Question 6, the same-sex civil marriage referendum, Visit Baltimore added a new micro website — www.baltimore.org/lgbt-weddings — with information on everything same-sex  couples need to know  to get married in Baltimore, from how to obtain a state marriage license to unique wedding venues and vendors, as well as Baltimore’s TAG-approved (Travel Alternatives Group) accommodations.

Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG,...

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