Downtown Baltimore

Forecasters are watching an expected outbreak of severe weather from Illinois to Maryland that some are likening to last June's derecho; one meteorologist predicted it would be a "multi billion dollar storm" causing massive power outages. Storms were developing in Illinois and Wisconsin early Wednesday evening, bringing tornado threats from there through Indiana and into Ohio. Meteorologists say conditions could be conducive for those storms to strengthen into a massive squall line packing up to 70 mph winds, large hail and heavy rain.

The prior owner planned to convert a 37-story hotel towering over St. Paul Street into apartment and long-term stay suites, but a new owner decided to invest $14 million in a renovation and keep it a hotel. The Tremont Plaza Hotel, which has been called the Tremont Suites Hotel since new owners took over last June, is to be rebranded this month as an Embassy Suites, a Hilton product known for spacious rooms with kitchenettes, cook-to-order breakfasts and complimentary cocktails. "From our perspective, that little niche area has a good balance of demand," said Matthew Cox, vice president of asset management for the Chartres Lodging Group LLC, a lodging investment and consulting firm based in San Francisco, that bought the Tremont property last June with a New York firm called Garrison Investment Group LP. Baltimore's new Embassy Suites is in a prime location, near the intersection of St. Paul and East Saratoga streets, to serve Mercy Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital, as well as visitors to the Inner Harbor and Mount Vernon, Cox said.

The prior owner planned to convert a 37-story hotel towering over St. Paul Street into apartment and long-term stay suites, but a new owner decided to invest $14 million in a renovation and keep it a hotel. The Tremont Plaza Hotel, which has been called the Tremont Suites Hotel since new owners took over last June, is to be rebranded this month as an Embassy Suites, a Hilton product known for spacious rooms with kitchenettes, cook-to-order breakfasts and complimentary cocktails. "From our perspective, that little niche area has a good balance of demand," said Matthew Cox, vice president of asset management for the Chartres Lodging Group LLC, a lodging investment and consulting firm based in San Francisco, that bought the Tremont property last June with a New York firm called Garrison Investment Group LP. Baltimore's new Embassy Suites is in a prime location, near the intersection of St. Paul and East Saratoga streets, to serve Mercy Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital, as well as visitors to the Inner Harbor and Mount Vernon, Cox said.

Wounded veterans are getting free gym memberships and home exercise equipment, thanks to a nonprofit group founded by a Homeland woman, whose brother was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Lynn Coffland's shoestring organization, the Catch A Lift Fund, has helped about 125 veterans so far, but lacks the funding to accommodate hundreds more applications that it has on file, she said. “It's been a struggle,” said Coffland, an interior decorator, who is organizing a fundraiser Sept.

John Houser III reviews Cazbar in Friday's Live section. Someone spread it around that Cazbar, an "authentic Turkish taverna" in Downtown Baltimore, had closed. It was I, Richard Gorelick. I'd feel much less guilty about that whole ugly episode if you read John's review of Cazbar . It includes a revelatory moment, the sure feeling of eating the best version possible of a thing. Find out what what it was.  

A large group of teenagers were involved in a fight near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore on Monday afternoon, with several of the teens taken into custody, police said. One police officer was injured responding to the brawl when she fell after chasing one of the teenagers, scraping her legs and knees on the ground, Baltimore Police spokesman Detective Vernon Davis said. Witnesses said dozens of teens were involved in the fight, which started about 3:15 p.m. on the plaza in front of the Gallery on Pratt Street.

Downtown Baltimore gained 10,000 jobs in 2012 — after losing the same number of jobs in 2011, according to the annual State of Downtown report to be released Thursday by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. "At the very least, this is a correction," said Kirby Fowler, the organization's president, who was skeptical of the loss reported in 2011. The same firm, Nielsen Co. LLC, calculated both this year's and last year's job numbers for the Downtown Partnership. There are 113,100 workers within a one-mile radius of the intersection of Pratt and Light streets, according to the report.

Rightly or wrongly, Kurt L. Schmoke has been suspected of not being the same kind of "bricks and mortar" mayor as William Donald Schaefer. For that reason alone, his response to a strategy recommendation for downtown that landed on his desk yesterday will be closely watched.If Mr. Schmoke wins re-election this year, "The Renaissance Continues: a 20-year strategy for downtown Baltimore" offers guide posts for him to put his stamp on the city during the next four years. The question is whether he has the imagination and inventiveness to seize the momentum that the opening of a new baseball stadium and light-rail line will bring to Baltimore in 1992.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. crews repaired a gas leak at the corner of West Baltimore and Eutaw Streets last night after a paramedic reported a strong odor of gas at the downtown intersection.Fire officials said the paramedic was responding to a call about 9 p.m. when he noticed the odor. BG&E crews found a small leak in a pipe below the Community Blood and Plasma Service at 335 W. Baltimore St. They made a temporary repair and were set to return today.BG&E spokesman Art Slusark said the utility had received more than the usual number of gas odor reports following Monday's explosion in Irvington that killed an elderly woman.

This'll make you all warm and fuzzy: Baltimore Gas & Electric, which last week announced a merger with Potomac Electric and the movement of its corporate headquarters out of downtown Baltimore, has pledged $50,000 to help fund the Downtown Partnership's "latest business retention and growth initiatives." In press release, a BGE veep is quoted as saying, "This award illustrates BGE's steadfast commitment to the prosperity of downtown Baltimore." YEAH, well . . . And check this out: The Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, facing complaints that its tele-marketers use high-pressure sales pitches to recruit new dues-paying members, is offering an award to recognize companies that treat their customers and employees ethically.

Traffic is slow through downtown Baltimore as University of Maryland, Baltimore County holds graduation ceremonies at the 1st Mariner Arena . At mid-day, there was congestion on inbound Interstate 95, Interstate 395 and Russell Street, said Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Transportation. "We're asking motorists to avoid the area, to use alternate routes if you don't have to travel in that stretch of downtown," she said. Barnes did not have information about how long the delays might persist.

I read yet another article in The Sun about a teen gang fight at the Inner Harbor on Monday ("Large group of teenagers fighting in downtown Baltimore," May 20). This kind of occurrence has gotten to be way too frequent. My wife and I were witness to one of these events two summers ago, and it was pretty scary. At one point our car, stopped at a red light, was entirely circled by rowdy teens, fighting and pushing against our car. When the light turned green, I had to dodge the teens in the road to get away.

A large group of teenagers were involved in a fight near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore on Monday afternoon, with several of the teens taken into custody, police said. One police officer was injured responding to the brawl when she fell after chasing one of the teenagers, scraping her legs and knees on the ground, Baltimore Police spokesman Detective Vernon Davis said. Witnesses said dozens of teens were involved in the fight, which started about 3:15 p.m. on the plaza in front of the Gallery on Pratt Street.

Wedding date: April 6, 2013 Her story: Jamie Crumpler, 33, grew up in Bel Air. She is an executive assistant for Constellation in Baltimore. Her father, James, works for BGE and her mother, Teresa, is a stay-at-home mom. His story: Chris Kalck, 36, grew up in Fallston. He is a program analyst with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Woodlawn. His parents, Lawrence and Geraldine, are recently retired. Their story: Jamie and Chris met while they were students at Fallston High School.

“Let's try that one first,” I said, pointing to the craziest wedding gown the saleswoman had selected for me. It was tight through the hips, with geometric ribbon designs that started on the bodice and trailed down through the choppy tulle skirt. It was an avant-garde kind of wedding dress you might wear if your reception was at Sidebar in Downtown Baltimore or the Renaissance Festival - a little punk, a little medieval. It wasn't remotely my style, but I wanted the first dress I tried on to be memorable and this certainly fit the bill.

Roaming the streets that encircle Pimlico Race Course , I discovered so many places that I had trouble going back to the same locale twice. Outer Northwest Baltimore is a fascinating, at times geographically bewildering, place. When the Maryland Jockey Club members built Pimlico, they must have been thinking big and distant. It was a gallop from Druid Hill Park, and if you didn't own a carriage, you would have needed a ticket on the Western Maryland Railway to spend a day at the races.

Over the past month, a series of reports has made people uneasy about the level of safety in downtown Baltimore. In truth, statistics show that both violent crime and property crime have decreased downtown by 40 percent over the last nine years and that downtown is still one of the safest areas in Baltimore. On any typical day, there are at least 160,000 residents, visitors, and employees in downtown Baltimore, going about their business without incident or interruption. The residential base continues to grow every year, outpacing most other cities and placing Baltimore seventh in the country in terms of the number of residents in a downtown area.

Magna gets loan reprieve Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, received a reprieve on loan repayments and more cash. The Canadian company had owed $180 million to parent MI Developments Inc., which has a 59 percent stake in Magna, by the end of the month, and Magna's $40 million line of credit with a bank was due Friday. The bank exteneded its deadline to July 30, and MID to Aug. 31. $550 million in construction Developers completed nearly $550 million in downtown Baltimore construction projects in the first four months of this year.

I don't know how to answer Michael Hanchard's questions, but I understand why he asks them: "If we were a middle-aged white couple, rather than a black couple, and if the group of people who surrounded us were black or Latino, rather than white, would the attackers have been treated with impunity? "Would police officers have told a middle-aged white couple there was no way to determine whether they had been … assaulted?" Before you go thinking that Michael Hanchard is a black man who plays the race card first and asks questions later, consider that the 53-year-old professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University waited a year to speak about this.

It's the little things that often leave the biggest impression, which is why your wedding should include special details that represent you as a couple. To help you in this venture, Carla David Designs and Love Life Images are hosting The Dazzling Details Wedding Bazaar this Sunday, April 7 at Hotel Monaco in downtown Baltimore. The event kicks off with a VIP brunch from 11 a.m. until 12 p.m., during which time brides-to-be can mix and mingle with industry professionals. The bazaar takes place from noon until 4 p.m. and includes vendors for everything from bridal shoes and fascinators to caketoppers and favors.