Deck

The Tiki Barge might be Baltimore's best new summer spot, but it's certainly not the only one. Baltimore gets hot and sweaty in the summer, and sometimes the only way to chill out is to sit outside with an ice-cold beverage and good company. In the past few years, more bars, clubs and lounges are offering outdoor seating, as well as decks and rum-filled drink lists. Though a waterside hangout like Bay Cafe has been around for more than two decades, the upstairs deck at Bourbon Street is only a couple of years old. Here are a few options to help take the heat off summer.

Missy Connolly loves to entertain, and she wanted her new patio and its al fresco dining space to have the look and feel of the Hamptons. But she only had a Bethany Beach budget. So the Baltimore County interior designer found the wrought-iron patio furniture she wanted at a garage sale and scooped it up for a couple of hundred dollars. She had her husband hammer together an oversized dining table from rescued wood and covered its roughness with a bright tablecloth.

For Jane and Mike Fischbeck, building a spacious new villa in the Bulle Rock development of Harford County was like a day at the beach. The couple, coming from a Ryland-built house in a waterfront community in Joppa, chose the same builder the second time around. Working with Ryland, they knew pretty much what to expect, including a focus on the details. "The builder gave us evergreen, holly and perennials for the front walk," said 59-year old Jane Fischbeck, an employee in the central office of Harford County Public Schools, who praised the accommodating sales staff.

After hundreds of nights of lane closures that have made driving the Bay Bridge a white-knuckle adventure, the work to replace the deck on the westbound span is scheduled to end this week. Unless the weather turns perverse, the work crews that have monopolized the westbound span of the bridge at night since late 2007 will pack up the tools of their trades and give the road back to drivers. Except for a little grinding and grooving, the roughly $65 million deck replacement project that has made bridge traffic an ordeal at night is complete.

I challenge Archbishop Edwin O'Brien to convene another blue ribbon committee on Catholic schools in Baltimore. Only this time, don't load it with people who have a vested interest in closing our schools -- people like Baltimore City schools CEO Andres Alonso, Baltimore County Superintendent Joe Hairston and state Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. Instead, recruit people who have a demonstrated record of supporting Catholic education in Baltimore. Recruit parents from all socio-economic backgrounds who've sent their kids through those schools, recruit principals and teachers who've accepted substandard pay for years because they're committed to serving children and the Catholic Church.

- With one week of exhibition games left to play, Orioles manager Dave Trembley said several roster uncertainties that the club had heading into camp still linger, but how he answered a few questions Sunday provided a little more clarity. Miguel Tejada will start the season as the primary cleanup hitter, Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie could share left-field duties initially, and David Hernandez has almost surely taken away the fifth-rotation spot from Chris Tillman, who looks to be headed to Triple-A Norfolk.

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Marylanders began digging out Sunday from the great blizzard of February 2010, but they face the prospect of limited mobility for at least the next day or two - and more snow on the horizon. With highways and most major thoroughfares cleared of snow, plows and salt trucks across the Baltimore area labored to open neighborhood streets, rural roads and cul-de-sacs. Local officials cautioned, though, that it might be late today or even Tuesday before they manage to reach those who are still snowbound.