Hampton Inn

More housing could be headed to the heart of Baltimore's downtown, in another sign that an area once dominated by office buildings is shifting to hotels and apartments. The city's economic development agency has asked developers to submit plans for turning much of the northwest corner of Calvert and Lombard streets into residences with built-in parking. The city seems interested in a mix of preservation and new construction, with street-level retail. The project area would cover eight buildings - which the city owns, is acquiring or has legal power to buy - that bracket the Brookshire Suites hotel, which is not part of the deal.

The city of Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are teaming up to offer the city's first guaranteed-ride-home service to encourage alternative commuting options. Called the Fare-less Cab, the program offers a safety net for Annapolis-area commuters who work at enrolled businesses and end up working late or need to get home early because of an emergency. "It's like life insurance - it's there just in case," said Paula Chase-Hyman, coordinator for the partnership, Clean Commute Annapolis.

William Longthorne managed to escape from Kuwait under the guns of the Iraqi army by crossing the desert into Saudi Arabia. Then, on Tuesday, he got mugged in the parking lot of a Linthicum hotel.The 64-year-old mechanical engineer was standing in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, in the 800 block of Elkridge Landing Road at about 10:40 p.m. when he was approached by a man who pointed a gun at him, said he was hungry and demanded all his money.Longthorne didn't have any cash on hand, so he turned over a watch worth $200.

The city of Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are teaming up to offer the city's first guaranteed-ride-home service to encourage alternative commuting options. Called the Fare-less Cab, the program offers a safety net for Annapolis-area commuters who work at enrolled businesses and end up working late or need to get home early because of an emergency. "It's like life insurance - it's there just in case," said Paula Chase-Hyman, coordinator for the partnership, Clean Commute Annapolis.

If you go The Marine Corps Historic Half takes place 7 a.m.-11 a.m. on Sunday. It is 13.1 miles long and will have 7,000 runners. More than 20,000 are expected to be in attendance. Keep an eye out for interesting entertainment like Stardust, a miniature horse, who will be on the course to cheer runners on. For more information on the Marine Corps Historic Half, go to: marinecorpshistorichalf.com. For information on Fredericksburg, go to: visitfred.com. Getting there By car: The start and end of the race take place at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.

Boating safety course to be offered in August The Friends of the Anne Arundel Trails will hold a three-part Maryland Basic Boating Safety Course from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 8, 12 and 15 at the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company on Ritchie Highway. The class provides an overview of the rules and fundamentals of safe boating and equipment. Any person born after July 1, 1972, is required to have a certificate of boating safety education before operating a documented boat on Maryland waters.

Plans to save the long-vacant USF&G Corp. building by converting it into a hotel for Hampton Inn & Suites won initial support yesterday from the city's Design Advisory Panel. The group also looked favorably on the latest revisions to the 225-room luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel planned for Federal Hill, with a few more suggestions on design. The Hampton Inn project calls for adding three stories on top of the former USF&G building, to create a total of 175 suites in the historic building, which has been empty for at least 15 years.

New positionsBello, Montgomery at Hampton InnGlen Marsh LLC announced the appointments of J. William Bello as general manager and Sophia Montgomery as director of sales for its Hampton Inn operation, scheduled to open next month in White Marsh.Bello, a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry, was formerly general manager of the Hunt Valley Inn. Montgomery, with 10 years of experience, was corporate sales manager for Holiday Inn Select before joining Hampton Inns.McCormick taps Zimmerman for AsiaMcCormick & Co. has selected Gary Zimmerman as group vice president, Asia/Pacific.

TO THE good news side of the economic ledger add a pair of major hotels on the drawing board in Annapolis. Also significant is the fact that they are being proposed far from the city's popular historic district.In planning to construct an $8 million Hampton Inn & Suites at Spruill Road and Womack Drive in the Parole area, a Pennsylvania-based hotelier hopes to attract business travelers and the budget-conscious.Because of the site's proximity to a good road network, guests would be able to use the hotel as a base for visiting the Annapolis area as well as nearby destinations around Washington, D.C., and on the Eastern Shore.

Susan MacMillan-Finlayson drove her four-wheel drive vehicle through the streets of Baltimore around 5 this morning, with an eye out for any Mercy Medical Center staffers who might be hoofing it to work. Along the way, she picked up two reporters, three University of Maryland nurses, and, finally, two Mercy employees. "It was sleeting out and I could not bear to see people out in it," she said. "I saw them on the side of road, they looked like they might be nurses, so I opened my window and said 'Get on in, and let me help you.'" Most Mercy nurses were already at the hospital or in nearby hotels, the result of early planning to ensure that the medical center stayed fully staffed even through the worst of the weather, said MacMillan-Finlayson, chief nursing officer at Mercy.