Steve Fogleman's Twitter bio identifies him as "Baltimorean, Ravens Fan, Democrat, Attorney, Chairman of the Liquor Board."
He left out Early Adopter.
When he challenged Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy in the Democratic primary three years ago, Fogleman turned to YouTube. All the pols are on YouTube these days, but Fogleman was ahead of many when he posted an offbeat campaign ad on the site.
These days, Fogleman has found another way to mix business with Internet fun: twittering live from Baltimore City liquor board hearings.
Fogleman tried it out for the first time at a hearing last week, giving real-time Tweets on board votes to anyone who cared to follow.
It was more entertaining than it sounds, if only because the Tweets could be read as a road map for a weekend out.
"da mimmo little italy live ent granted."
"della roses granted outdoor and live ent."
"saute hudson st granted outdoor tables after contested hrg."
Fogleman, who gained about 60 followers during the three-hour hearing, intends to keep Tweeting meetings.
"It wasn't too much extra work in the name of instant communications and transparency," said Fogleman, who Tweets between agenda items, so people who come before the board have his full attention.
"You don't want to go before a judge and see a BlackBerry in his hand."
Besides, he added, "I've got to have a gavel in one hand."
Can't keep 'em home
Governors and mayors hungry for development head to Vegas every year to try their luck with retailers and developers. Not this year.
The International Council of Shopping Centers meeting got under way Sunday with 27,000 attendees, down from 50,000 last year.
With budgets tight, traveling on the public dime increasingly taboo, and prospects for landing big developments slim, lots of politicians stayed home this year.
Unless home is Baltimore.
The city sent a five-person delegation to the conference, led by Mayor Sheila Dixon and City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The Downtown Partnership and the quasi-public Baltimore Development Corporation sent four more.
The cost to the city should not be as expensive as, say, Dixon's $17,000 jaunt to Egypt last fall. The full tab wasn't yet available, but the Board of Estimates recently agreed to spend a total of $2,496.43 to send Rawlings-Blake and her Deputy Chief of Staff Kaliope Parthemos to the conference. Friends since childhood, they were cutting corners by sharing a hotel room.
