Federal Hill

Baltimore police are warning elderly residents about a Social Security scheme. The police say that seniors living in and around Federal Hill in late April received a call from someone claiming to be a Social Security representative. Victims are told that they received more money in their Social Security checks than they should have, and they must make a partial repayment if they want to continue receiving their checks, police say. A con artist then shows up at their door to collect the money.

Wedding Day: December 1, 2012 Her story: Faith Deutschle, 28, grew up in Dublin, Ohio, and now lives in Federal Hill. Her father, Jean Deutschle, is senior sales manager at Abbott Laboratories. Her mother, Marianne Deutschle is a pre-kindergarten teacher in Dublin. Deutschle is senior marketing consultant for LivingSocial. His story: Jason Albert, 35, grew up in Manchester, Maryland, and now lives in Federal Hill. He is general manager at the Delia Foley's pub in Federal Hill.

"Trendy" neighborhoods with bars are not the lone sufferers of the public drinking problem ("Council chief calls for higher fines to curb public drunkenness," April 19). Anyone who lives within 10 miles of a college/university along Charles Street or York Road is all too painfully aware of the problems associated with mass drinking and neighborhood disturbances. Curbing rowdy drinkers should be standard public policy. Why is Baltimore always so behind the curve? Let's get smart like D.C. and Philly and adopt legislation that benefits tax-paying residents for a change.

Blue Agave has new owners, Brian Acquavella and Nicole Callender. They closed the Federal Hill restaurant right after Cinco De Mayo for renovations. They plan to have it back open on May 17. In the meantime, they're asking the dining public to weigh in on what the new Blue Agave should be like. A message on the restaurant's website says: "We plan on making some changes, but want to make the right ones. Please send us a message via email, Facebook , Twitter , or if you're feeling adventurous stop by in person to give us your feedback.

Porter's , the Federal Hill corner restaurant and bar once known as Ransome's , is back in business. Now known as Porters , the place has apparently lost an apostrophe but regained a lot of customers from the old days, the neighborhood folks who missed having a reliable place closer to their homes than Light Street. The new Porters is off to a good start, according to co-owner Kevin Cooper, who says that the folks living on the east side of Federal Hill were "extremely excited about the reopening of Porters in any form at all."

Federal Hill will get another beer bar before the end of the year. Called the Brewer's Cask, it will take up Muggsys' old space on Light Street. With 20 beers on tap, the bar is unapologetically going after a specific crowd: "Beer snobbies!" as it says on its website. Its motto is "Love Thy Beer. " Cask's owner Jason Stevens said he started leasing the business after another beer haven, Muggsys's, closed in June. He and a partner " have touched just about every inch of the interior by refinishing floors, bar, kitchen, tables, chairs and just about everything else you can think of," he said in an e-mail.

Grilled Cheese & Co. opened in Federal Hill last Friday. The new restaurant takes over the Dangerously Delicious Pies space on the block of Light Street just north of Cross Street Market -- you know, right where those two banking machines are. This makes three, including the original in Catonsville and a second store in Sykesville. Grilled Cheese & Co. is also Ravens Walk at M&T Bank Stadium on Ravens home games. The new Grilled Cheese & Co. is open Sunday through Wednesday, from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. until 2:30 a.m.  You're reading that right -- 2:30 a.m. Grilled Cheese and Co. is located at 1036 Light Street.

Everything about Byblos seems cute and simple, almost effortlessly so. The food and decor at Federal Hill's new Lebanese eatery go hand-in-hand; both are charming and down to earth, with shades of the Middle East, and neither assumes too much. It's the kind of restaurant you didn't know you needed until it opened about three months ago, amid the neighborhood's plentiful pubs and sushi spots. Named after the Lebanese city, Byblos is run by the husband-and-wife team of Sami and Hala Tabet.

Blue Agave has new owners, Brian Acquavella and Nicole Callender. They closed the Federal Hill restaurant right after Cinco De Mayo for renovations. They plan to have it back open on May 17. In the meantime, they're asking the dining public to weigh in on what the new Blue Agave should be like. A message on the restaurant's website says: "We plan on making some changes, but want to make the right ones. Please send us a message via email, Facebook , Twitter , or if you're feeling adventurous stop by in person to give us your feedback.

A fatal shooting is rare along the tree-lined streets that lead to historic Federal Hill park, where residents and tourists take in sweeping views of the Inner Harbor. So it was especially unusual when two people were killed there on consecutive days in the summer of 2008. There hasn't been another such incident since then. Four years later, police say they've solved one of the murders, arresting 32-year-old Dundalk resident Jason Hamel for the June 20, 2008 killing of 35-year-old Keyva Bluitt.  Bluitt was sitting in a vehicle at about 9:15 p.m. when witnesses said they saw several people jump into a blue Toyota and then heard a shot fired.

If Mexico had a St. Patrick's Day, it would be Cinco de Mayo. There's just a slight tweak to the festivities. One can always count on tequila, sombreros and Margaritas - the overly salty, overly soured kind. I have a hard time believing Cinco de Mayo is really all that Mexican anymore. Heck, even area Irish bars offer gimmicky deals in the spirit of boozing. So this year, why not shake up your usual 5th of May and expand your Latin American horizons? Skip the salt on the rim and try one of my favorite Baltimore specialties, a Mojito from Little Havana in Federal Hill.

I looked once, then twice at a Light Street building across from the Cross Street Market in Federal Hill. Was the old Epstein's department store returning to Baltimore? The answer came from its developer, Arsh Mirmiran. His new 93-unit apartment complex totally fills the site of the institution where so many South Baltimoreans shopped for decades until it closed in 1991. The apartment project so replicates the old store's facade that I was fooled. That is where the comparison ends.

"Our chef is amazing. " Checking on our table between appetizers and entrees, our waitress waxed poetic about chef Cyrus Keefer, the culinary force behind 1542 Gastropub in Federal Hill. She was nearly gushing, but she was also right: Keefer's food is top-notch. It's creative, interesting and expertly executed — a welcome addition to the Federal Hill food scene. 1542 Gastropub, owned by Sean White and Andrew Dunlap, opened in March as the new incarnation of the duo's former spot, The Reserve.

One of the Inner Harbor's seafood institutions with the greatest waterviews in the city, the Rusty Scupper, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business. The War of 1812 bicentennial also begins this summer, so the folks at the Scupper decided to give its looming neighbor, Federal Hill, its own drink: the Federal Hill Martini. A blend of VeeV Acai, Chambord and sour mix with a splash of Sprite, the cocktail is essentially a margarita served in a martini glass (it's also available over ice and with salt, natch)

Wedding Day: June 9, 2012 Her story: Carly Mistovich, 28, grew up Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. Her father, Ken Mistovich, is vice president at L&L Supply Corp., a brick company. Her mother, Lisa Mistovich, is a server and bartender for several catering companies in the area. Carly moved to Federal Hill six years ago for her job. She's the director of sales for Aramark food services at M&T Bank Stadium. His story: Greg Patronik, 29, grew up in Reisterstown. His father, Nick Patronik, owns Patron Services, Inc., a logistics company that's involved with importing and exporting cargo.

A fatal shooting is rare along the tree-lined streets that lead to historic Federal Hill park, where residents and tourists take in sweeping views of the Inner Harbor. So it was especially unusual when two people were killed there on consecutive days in the summer of 2008. There hasn't been another such incident since then. Four years later, police say they've solved one of the murders, arresting 32-year-old Dundalk resident Jason Hamel for the June 20, 2008 killing of 35-year-old Keyva Bluitt.  Bluitt was sitting in a vehicle at about 9:15 p.m. when witnesses said they saw several people jump into a blue Toyota and then heard a shot fired.

Corks, Jerry Pellegrino's long-running Federal Hill restaurant at 1026 S. Charles St., has closed. The closing appears to have been unexpected -- a promotion for New Years Eve was still posted on the restaurant's website on Wednesday evening. Corks employees caught unprepared for the closing were allowed back into the restaurant on Wednesday to collect their personal belongings, including chefs' knives. The closing was confirmed by the property's owner, Wayne Brokke. Jerry Pellegrino opened Corks at 1026 S. Charles St. in 1997.

The young woman who was held up at gunpoint last weekend in South Baltimore is certain she identified the correct two suspects for police. She focused on their faces, she said Tuesday, knowing "it would be the only thing that would get them. " But the mother of one of the men charged in Saturday's attack is just as certain that he was sitting in a Federal Hill pizzeria at the time, and the shop's manager says he has video to prove it. Tuesday evening, relatives protested the arrests outside the Southern District police station.

Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill now has its own oyster -- Avery's Pearls, named after Avery McComas, the younger daughter of the restaurant's owners, Jennifer and Brian McComas. Ryleigh's itself was named after their elder daughter, Ryleigh. Avery's Pearls are a collaboration between Ryleigh's and the Shooting Point Oyster Co., a family-owned oyster farm located in a remote stretch of Virginia's Eastern Shore. All aspects of their cultivation, from size, salinity levels, shape and overall appearance were jointly developed in what is being called a first of its kind restaurant-farm partnership.