Charm City

As a massive, glowing "W" flashed behind them, the alternative-rock veterans Weezer wasted little time reminding the Charm City Music Festival crowd just how long they've been together. The group kicked off its consistently uptempo, 90-minute headlining set at the first-ever event with "My Name is Jonas," the opening track from the band's 1994 debut album. After the winking nod to their longevity, bespectacled frontman Rivers Cuomo, possessing a stronger voice than I expected, and his band ran through hit-single after hit-single, with little banter in-between.

About six years ago, the Baltimore rock band Arbouretum played at a club in Chicago for an audience of almost no one. You could count the members of the crowd on one hand, singer/guitarist David Heumann recalled, but one of them happened to be Bettina Richards, the founder of indie record label Thrill Jockey. She liked what she heard. "There literally was nobody there but me," Richards said. "It was great. I totally was hooked. " Richards signed Arbouretum to Thrill Jockey.

An unattended Charm City Circulator bus hit five vehicles and a building Saturday afternoon, Baltimore police said. Shortly before 3 p.m., the bus was parked on the 1500 block of North Charles Street, which is near Penn Station, when "for whatever reason, it drifted backward into traffic," Det. Donny Moses said. The bus hit five vehicles that were stopped at the red light, he said. It also struck a light pole before hitting a building at 1420 N. Charles St. Several people had minor injuries, Moses said.

In the span of about four weeks, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff had gone from incumbent to former employee. On Sunday night, the eight-year veteran reacted via email to the organization's decision to terminate his contract earlier in the day. Here is the text: “I'm disappointed in the decision, but I'm excited about what lies ahead.  On a professional level, I had my best training camp to date and feel that I am kicking with more power...

Why are cool-looking baby clothes so hard to find? That's the question that led two local fathers of young children to launch Charm City Babies in July. The company makes and sells onesies with clever messages and vintage sensibilities, and donates one to a good cause for every one that is sold. The concept began just over a year ago, shortly after Scott Smith's son, Leyton, was born. Richie Frieman, who is married to Smith's first cousin Jamie, stopped by to see the new addition to the family, and was smitten not only with the baby, but with his onesie, which had been custom-designed by Smith.

It won't be long before racing fans in Baltimore and television viewers from around the world will once again enjoy IndyCar racing with your beautiful waterfront skyline as a backdrop. And as we experienced here last month with Milwaukee IndyFest, I'm confident Michael Andretti and the Andretti Sports Marketing team will get the job done and produce a first-class international event on Labor Day weekend. Milwaukee has a long and storied tradition in auto racing. The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest active racetrack in the world, having hosted races dating back to 1903.

The second annual Charm City Farm & Garden tour is scheduled for July 28. The tour will take participants, by bus or by bike, to community-managed green spaces. Both tours will end at the Vollmer Center at Cylburn Arboretum for a party open to tour guests and urban gardeners featuring local music, food, lawn games and more. Awards will be presented to exceptional gardens and farms throughout Baltimore. Also, a produce-judging contest will present awards for remarkable fruits, vegetables and flowers.

At an open-air studio in Rishikesh, India, Allison Korycki fell in love with yoga, participating in her first class as monkeys hung on the doors of the classroom. Now, the 25-year-old Korycki, who lives in Charles Village, is the director of operations at Charm City Yoga, where she teaches three classes a week. She took a breather to tell us her feelings about Meat Loaf and her favorite yoga pose. What's on your iPod? The Phish set list from Bonnaroo 2012. I had a blast! Song are you loving right now?

Few people, from politicians to commenters on Facebook, expressed surprise when The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday that the city's population has continued on a downward trajectory. Some did wonder, though, whether the minuscule number of people lost was worth reporting and how the U.S. Census Bureau arrived at its estimates. Baltimore's loss was teensy. Only 0.2 percent of Charm City's population - 1,500 people - departed in the 15-month period following the April 2010 Census, according to the Census Bureau's first city population estimates of the decade.