Baltimore Region

Baltimore-area home buyers picked up the pace in February ahead of the important spring selling season, helped along by unseasonably mild weather. Real estate agents say they're seeing more activity and hope it's a good sign for spring, rather than simply an early start that will come with an early end. Buyers signed contracts on nearly 2,500 homes in the Baltimore region in February, up 16 percent from a year ago, according to numbers released Monday...

Zillow says nearly a third of mortgaged homes in the Baltimore region are worth less than the loan amount -- far more underwater homeowners than other estimates suggest. The most frequently quoted figures, from real estate data firm CoreLogic, put the underwater crowd in the region at just under 20 percent . The big spread between the two companies' estimates are national, not just local. Zillow, a real estate site, says it worked with credit bureau TransUnion to get the exact loan balance for mortgaged homes -- including home equity lines -- so it didn't have to start with the original loan balance and estimate the amount paid off. Both companies estimate home values, Zillow with its Zestimate . Nationally, Zillow says 31 percent of mortgaged homes were underwater during the first three months of the year, same as its estimate for the Baltimore metro area.

A survey by the Innovation Alliance found that a vast majority of participants in Baltimore's technology community are interested in a "hub" — akin to similar spaces in New York City and San Diego — that could be used for meetings, conferences and continuous education and networking for entrepreneurs. That and other findings in a report released Monday are among the early results of an effort by the Innovation Alliance, funded with a $75,000 grant from the philanthropic Abell Foundation, to improve the environment for new-business formation in Baltimore.

Sporadic rains have helped moderate drought conditions that had spread across most of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . As of May 22, all of the Baltimore region was considered “abnormally dry” except for southern Anne Arundel County. It had previously been under moderate drought conditions. Most of the Eastern Shore remains under moderate drought conditions, however. Five days out of every seven in May, at least a trace of rain has fallen at BWI Marshall Airport.

More homeowners are slipping below the waterline. About 125,000 homes in the Baltimore region were worth less than what their owners owed on the mortgages at the end of last year, up from nearly 120,000 last summer, according to estimates from real estate data firm CoreLogic. All told, close to 20 percent of borrowers are upside down on their mortgages, the company said. The underwater phenomenon grew nationally as well , engulfing an additional 400,000 homes and inching up to nearly 23 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage.

A new report being released today calls on the Baltimore region to rethink economic development, pointing to a worrying trend: a mounting share of low-wage jobs shutting more and more residents out of the middle class. The number of jobs in largely low-paying industries such as retail and food service grew more than 60 percent in the region between 1980 and 2007, while jobs increased 36 percent in middle-wage fields and just under 10 percent in high-wage fields, according to the Brookings Institution study.

The National Weather Service has a wind advisory in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday for the Baltimore area. A wind advisory means that wind gusts over 45 mph are expected, and can make driving difficult, especially for "high-profile" vehicles. The weather service is forecasting winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. Forecasters say the strongest winds will be Saturday morning and afternoon. They advise motorists to use extra caution. Otherwise, the weather service is calling for Saturday to be mostly sunny, with a high near 49. There is a slight chance of showers before 2 p.m., then a chance of scattered showers and snow showers between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.

The notion that poor students are less likely to have access to high-quality educational options isn't new, but a report released today by the Brookings Institution sheds light on a factor that hasn't yet been highlighted as a driver of the achievement gap. The report examined test scores and housing costs in 100 of the largest metropolitan regions in the nation, including the Baltimore-Towson area, and found that  stringent zoning...

Brace yourself, Baltimore. The storm that was coming — then wasn't — is back to full strength, heading our way with a major coating of snow predicted for Sunday and blizzard-like conditions in the Northeast. Meteorologists anticipate between six and 10 inches of snow falling across the region before the system passes, and the storm could curtail shopping for the day after Christmas if families hunker in their homes and delay gift returns and new purchases until skies clear.

Hiring will likely continue at a slow pace through the end of the year, the job placement firm Manpower reported in its latest quarterly survey. Of the 18,000 employers who participated in the study, only 7 percent plan to expand their workforces. But in the Baltimore region, Manpower says, the outlook is brighter. Andrew Francis, branch manager of Manpower's new Baltimore office, talked recently with The Baltimore Sun about hiring expectations locally and what sets the region apart from much of the nation.

Water samples from two treatment plants in Baltimore beat out samples from plants in Washington, D.C., and Delaware last week in an annual taste test, according to the city's Department of Public Works. The "Water Taste Challenge" is held each year at the joint spring meeting of the Chesapeake Water Environmental Association and the Chesapeake Section of the American Water Works Association. This year's meeting was held May 11 at Six Flags America in Bowie. Public works departments from Baltimore, Washington and Delaware competed in the taste competition.

The molten metal pouring from the foundry at Danko Arlington Inc. in Baltimore harks back to the early industrial era. But across the street in one of the company's other buildings, workers operate an X-ray machine, a laser probe and a 3D printer that seems plucked straight from science fiction. "We're trying to do pioneering things here," said John D. Danko, whose grandfather started the company 92 years ago. He's not alone. A new study suggests that manufacturers in the Baltimore region are disproportionately high-tech - and calls on leaders to build on local strengths, rather than writing the long-shrinking sector off as a dying field.

Readers might conclude that they were well served by The Sun editorial page's 1971 endorsement of City Council President William Donald Schaefer for mayor. Perhaps less so by its lament that he was "not an inspiring leader" or its prediction that the city would soon "yearn for charisma" from the mayor's office. The Sun has published editorials, usually several a day, throughout almost its entire 175-year history. That adds up to a lot of opinions about the day's news, some of which look prophetic when viewed through the prism of history, others profoundly lamentable.

I read with great interest the Brookings Institution study on job creation in the Baltimore region reported in The Sun on April 23 ("'Next economy' envisioned for Baltimore area"). The study was admirable for its call to action - a robust effort on the part of all key stakeholders to create jobs for the "next economy" and for a comprehensive inventory of education and workforce training resources to prepare our citizens for these jobs. As this collective effort gets underway, there is a segment of low income residents that cannot be neglected - the over 8,000 ex-offenders who return to Baltimore City, and many more to the greater metropolitan area, every year after their incarceration.

A survey by the Innovation Alliance found that a vast majority of participants in Baltimore's technology community are interested in a "hub" — akin to similar spaces in New York City and San Diego — that could be used for meetings, conferences and continuous education and networking for entrepreneurs. That and other findings in a report released Monday are among the early results of an effort by the Innovation Alliance, funded with a $75,000 grant from the philanthropic Abell Foundation, to improve the environment for new-business formation in Baltimore.

A new report being released today calls on the Baltimore region to rethink economic development, pointing to a worrying trend: a mounting share of low-wage jobs shutting more and more residents out of the middle class. The number of jobs in largely low-paying industries such as retail and food service grew more than 60 percent in the region between 1980 and 2007, while jobs increased 36 percent in middle-wage fields and just under 10 percent in high-wage fields, according to the Brookings Institution study.

The leaders of Baltimore City and its suburbs just accomplished something that, on a global scale, the United States and Mexico, with a vanishing NAFTA, probably won't: A consensus that neighboring political entities can succeed more by working together against their joint competitors than by wrestling against one another.The city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Carroll and Howard counties this week formed the Greater BaltimoreDevelopment Alliance. Its purpose is to market the entire region to the outside world.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for highs in the mid 60s, sunny skies and breezy conditions. There is a 40 percent chance of overnight showers, with lows in the lower 40s tonight. TRAFFIC Check our traffic map for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Werdesheim trial to go forward without a jury : Avi and Eliyahu Werdesheim, Jewish brothers accused of beating a black teen while guarding their Park Heights neighborhood, withdrew a request to change the court venue Tuesday and elected to move forward with a Baltimore trial by judge, waiving their right to be heard by a jury of their peers.

The notion that poor students are less likely to have access to high-quality educational options isn't new, but a report released today by the Brookings Institution sheds light on a factor that hasn't yet been highlighted as a driver of the achievement gap. The report examined test scores and housing costs in 100 of the largest metropolitan regions in the nation, including the Baltimore-Towson area, and found that  stringent zoning...