City Hall

E veryone at City Hall claims to be back to work after that pesky corruption trial. And what a relief! For a minute there, it looked like it wouldn't be business as usual. Shortly after 12 jurors decided someone smart enough to run a city couldn't confuse $1,000 in gift cards with a long-dead flower arrangement, one of Mayor Sheila Dixon 's staunchest backers seemed to bail. "I don't think she can continue to be mayor," Councilwoman Rikki Spector told reporters Tuesday.

Baltimore First Deputy Mayor Andrew B. Frank leaves City Hall this spring after three years of handling economic development, one of the most crucial issues in a city with chronic high unemployment, widespread poverty and sky-high property tax rates. He has served as a crucial bridge between the city's business community and its government and has made important contributions, such as his effort to help push through an affordable-housing law. But he almost certainly won't be around long enough to see through the most important item in his portfolio: slots.

Kim Washington, a top aide to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore's chief lobbyist, will leave her post early in the coming General Assembly session, city officials announced Monday. Washington, a friend of Rawlings-Blake's since childhood, will take a post in the city housing department, where she worked previously. Del. Curt Anderson, head of the city's House delegation in Annapolis, said Washington informed him over the weekend that she would be leaving in early February.

The next City Hall in the Park is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24 at Sturgis-Moore Park, adjacent to McCullough Field at Eighth and Montgomery streets. Mayor Craig Moe and city management staff hold the outdoor meetings as an informal opportunity to update residents on city activities and allow residents to meet one-on-one with elected officials and senior staff. The meeting begins with an update by Moe, followed by a brief question and answer period. After the meeting, city management staff will meet individually with residents regarding their specific questions, concerns and suggestions.

The police union and City Hall are preparing for arbitration after attempts to reach an agreement to trim $5.1 million from the police budget failed. "Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a consensus," said Scott Peterson, a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon. The Fraternal Order of Police submitted a final offer this week, which city officials say does not meet the targeted cuts. But union President Robert Cherry disagreed, saying, "We've given them a number of offers that would not only meet the $5.1 million goal but exceed it."

Stricter security measures have been implemented at Annapolis City Hall following a review of procedures after a theft earlier this year from the city's Finance Department, city officials said Tuesday. The first phase of stepped-up security, which will include requiring City Hall visitors to sign in during business hours, began last week. A security guard has been posted at the front entrance of City Hall and all other access to the building has been closed. Employees are also now required to wear city-issued identification badges.

A frequent critic of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration was arrested and jailed Wednesday morning when she tried to enter City Hall to attend a public meeting. Officers told the activist, Kim A. Trueheart, 55, of Baltimore, that she had been banned from the building. Trueheart was held at Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Facility on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct until Thursday morning, when she was released, the facility confirmed. "I'm home ... Thank you lord!

City Hall is considering selling or leasing 15 historic Baltimore landmarks, including the iconic Shot Tower and stately War Memorial building, which officials believe are underused and could bring the city sorely needed cash. The idea has excited those who say the sites have been neglected and allowed to fall into disrepair. But some preservationists are worried about an uncertain future for buildings they hold dear. "I've never heard about them thinking about anything like this," said Richard S.B. Smith Sr., director of the Friends of Orianda House in Leakin Park, one of the properties to be evaluated.

I believe to this day that I accepted the job I was offered at the Evening Sun in 1981 because of the Bromo Seltzer clock. The route from the airport took us right past the downtown tower that (at the time) still defined the Charm City skyline, and I was immediately taken by it. It was retro. It was kitschy. And it seemed real. Just like Baltimore in 1981. Although I'd come to town for an interview at the morning paper, Bob Keller, then the editor of the afternoon paper, was clever enough to snatch me up at the airport.

Homeless advocates and a city councilwoman sharply criticized Monday a Rawlings-Blake administration plan to remove an encampment of about a dozen homeless people this week from under the Interstate 83 overpass in central Baltimore. But administration officials defended the move as a safety measure, designed to protect homeless men and women from a camp they say is overrun by drugs, alcohol and violence. "I'm concerned about the safety of the individuals in the encampment," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday.