Downtown

A 7-Eleven that recently opened on the west side of Baltimore's downtown is celebrating Friday with 11 cent Slurpees, coffees and Big Gulp drinks. The store is located at 301 N. Howard St., in a part of downtown long targeted for revitalization. It's expected to add as many as 20 jobs to the local economy. The grand opening event, including entertainment, discounted drinks and an appearance by the Oriole Bird, is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. The store is the 44th 7-Eleven in Baltimore City, which is the convenience store chain's top market for hot pizza sales nationwide, chain officials said.

The downtown of the 21st century distinguishes itself by its in-town residents - by the very fact that they exist. Unlike 50 years ago, when people mainly worked and shopped downtown, today's city centers are becoming the place to live, and by that measure, Baltimore rates. It's happening here and elsewhere to such an extent that a recent Brookings Institution study cites the increase in downtown residents as a hallmark of downtown America's evolution. And Baltimore is on the right track.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has established a 19-member working group to recommend ways to reduce the high office vacancy rate downtown, the mayor's office announced Monday. The mayor said she wants the group of business leaders and public officials to suggest measures to fill vacant office space throughout the central business district. Real estate developers and others say the office vacancy rate in downtown Baltimore is approaching 25 percent, the highest level in years, as a result of the recession and other factors, such as companies' decisions to move from downtown to newer areas such as Harbor East.

Baltimore firefighters were working to control a massive fire downtown on The Block, the city's main hub of strip clubs near City Hall. Thick, black smoke could be seen rising over the city as firetrucks raced down Interstate 83. Initial reports indicated that the fire was based at 404 E. Baltimore St., the location of the Gayety Show World.

It was good to see the mayor of Baltimore walking around the downtown as reported recently in The Sun ("Mayor has a look as police presence rises in downtown," May 20). But once the photo opportunities were done, then what? It might behoove the mayor to spend a bit more unannounced walking time downtown with her family. Hopefully, she won't encounter what Dan Rodricks did on a walk, as reported in a recent column by him ("Knuckleheads not wanted," May 20). He was almost run down by some children on bicycles racing through the Inner Harbor area.

In previous issues I read the comments of the Charles Street Association, which explained the need of improvement in downtown section of Charles St. ("More Charles Street TLC," Readers Respond, Aug. 22). But I wished to hear some comments of Johns Hopkins University, which lies on very north Charles Street and receives students and parents from all over the U.S. and the world. Anyone who drives from south to north on North Charles Street after 29th Street will be sorry that he took this what city officials call scenic drive, because of its potholes and poor surface, especially in front of Hopkins University.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will hold a rally in support of the Orioles' playoff effort Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The rally will take place at City Hall and feature free giveaways. "Tomorrow we are gathering together in support of our home-town Orioles," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "This weekend, Camden Yards was packed with Oriole fans who cheered through the cold and the rain. We are going to send a message up I-95 that Baltimore is still cheering for them, and is excited to watch them beat the Yankees on their own turf.

A group of commercial property owners in downtown Baltimore filed suit Friday against two state agencies and others, alleging that public officials did not follow Maryland procurement laws and seeking to stop work on the $1.5 billion State Center redevelopment project. The Baltimore Circuit Court lawsuit contends that state officials never sought competitive bids from downtown property owners and others before deciding to lease office space for three public agencies in the redeveloped State Center.

The Baltimore Grand Prix lurched toward its starting line Thursday as downtown was consumed by the chaos of last-minute preparations for the three-day event. Wide-scale road closings began to take effect, preparing the race course along downtown streets for high-speed practice runs. And that forced businesses, schools and residents to adjust routines to cope with the blocked roads and walkways, public transit changes and increased traffic near the track. But getting downtown Baltimore to grind to a halt was no easy task.

The ongoing debate over youth crime in downtown Baltimore has sparked a war of words over race — overshadowing a debate over the police response to disturbances and objections from city politicians who say the issue is vastly overblown. Since a state delegate introduced the term "black youth mobs" in reference to hundreds of teenagers mobbing downtown on St. Patrick's Day, discussions from living rooms to online forums have been dominated by race. That has left little room for discussion of the real issues, all sides agree.