Pratt Street

Will this be the year when that elusive magic touch arrives at Howard and Lexington? My eyes have glazed over while I've read stacks and more stacks of redevelopment plans for Baltimore's old downtown shopping district. Seriously. There were proposals for Lexington Street during the mayoral administration of Theodore R. McKeldin. That's a long time for a place to be ailing - 40 years and counting. And because I enjoyed so many good times in this part of Baltimore, I hope that it can make the transition to a new day. Other places have been reconstituted and recovered a lot faster.

People in big cities around the world are walking 10 percent faster than they did a decade ago, according to a study by an English psychologist that came out last week. Singaporeans were at the top of a list of 32 cities surveyed, but the pace has been picking up everywhere. The study's author, Richard Wiseman, attributes this to anxiety, a general sort of Type A impatience, and the urge toward instantaneousness let loose by the cell phone. New York was the only American city included, and it came in an unexciting eighth, just ahead of Utrecht, in the Netherlands.

THE PROBLEM -- A sign hanging from a construction fence at the site of the new Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel seems to encourage motorists driving south on Eutaw Street to take a right onto Pratt Street. That would put them going the wrong way on the one-way street. THE BACKSTORY -- Eutaw Street is "open for business" as contractors say on a sign, an attempt to remind people that they can still shop even if a large swath of property is closed north of Camden Yards to make way for the city's new publicly financed hotel.

As he gets ready to step down Tuesday after 12 years as Baltimore's mayor, Kurt L. Schmoke contends that his legacy may best be measured by driving along Pratt Street.Start on the west side, at the refurbished and rejuvenated B&O Railroad Museum, and drive east, past the burgeoning University of Maryland, Baltimore -- a job generator that has swelled into a city within a city.A stone's throw to the right, a new neighborhood is being built where Schmoke demolished the Lexington Terrace high-rise housing projects.

In Baltimore CityCity to celebrate New Year's Eve with parade Friday nightGiant papier-mache puppets, drummers and bands will parade through the streets of downtown Baltimore on Friday as part of the city's New Year's Eve Millennium Celebration.The parade will begin at 10 p.m. at the Charles Street entrance of the Baltimore Convention Center, head north on Charles, east on Pratt Street, make a U-turn at Concord Street near the Columbus Center, continue west on Pratt, then south on Charles until disbanding at the Convention Center.

THOSE WITH old memories of the Constellation -- an inspiration for Inner Harbor revitalization -- are in for a surprise.The 1854 corvette, which returns to its Pratt Street berth today after a $7.3 million restoration, has been stripped of the extraneous regalia that tried to make it look like the 1797 frigate some mistakenly thought it was.Even the story of the Constellation has been changed. The ship's glory days were once said to have included forays against pirates, battles against the British in 1812 and opening of the China trade in the 1840s.

I must down to the sea again,to the lonely sea and the sky,And all I ask is a tall shipand a star to steer her by.-- "Sea Fever" by John MasefieldWhen architect Jon Pickard set out to design an office and retail center for Baltimore's Inner Harbor, he drew inspiration from the nautical vessels all around. He carved away the top of his Pier 4 tower so its silhouette would evoke the tall ships that once plied the Chesapeake Bay. "We wanted to add to the rich visual imagery that is Baltimore," he explained.

Baltimore homicide detectives had few leads on an early Sunday morning 11 years ago when they pulled into the parking lot of a public housing high-rise and found Anthony Townes lying face down with a fatal bullet wound to the back.Witnesses told police they had seen the 41-year-old man yanked from a red Ford Bronco and shot as he ran east on Pratt Street. Police didn't know at the time that the bullet came from a fellow officer.On Monday, Robert W. Carre Jr., a former decorated veteran with 23 years police experience, broke his decade-old silence and admitted to the killing.

Still thinking about whether to go out and party on New Year's Eve? We know, we know. There's that little Y2K thing that may have some of you staying close to home and hearth. But here's a salute to the party animals among you -- and you know who you are. Let the celebration begin!Baltimore and Annapolis are both laying out the red carpet for the new year.In a change from past years, Baltimore's celebration will have no activities at the Convention Center."We decided to move it from the Convention Center because we wanted to make it available to anyone.

Safety commission reissues warning about baby beddingIn reaction to the accidental suffocations of two Maryland babies, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reissued its warning last night about the dangers of putting infants to sleep on soft bedding like comforters and quilts.The state medical examiner concluded Thursday that five-month-olds Matthew Harrison and Ian W. Denny died at the home of Stevensville day care provider Stacy Russum because a quilt used as a protective barrier fell over the upper parts of their bodies.

On May 14, 2009, DICIE MAE RICHMOND. Family and friends may visit the family owned and operated Howell Funeral Home, 4600 Liberty Heights Avenue, on Friday May 22, 2009 from 3 P.M. to 7 P.M. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2009 10:00 A.M. Wake, 10:30 A.M. funeral, at Abundant Life Ministry, 1924 W. Pratt Street. Interment Kings Memorial Park Cemetery.

On May 12, 2009, ULERSEE. Visitation 2140 N. Fulton Avenue Tuesday 3 to 8 P.M. Family will receive friends Wednesday at Emmanuel Temple FBH Church, 2133 W. Pratt Street, 11 A.M. Funeral to follow at 11:30.

Baltimore police are increasing the number of officers patrolling the Inner Harbor after a disturbance Saturday night left two teenagers stabbed and forced some businesses to either close or stop admitting patrons even as a throng swarmed the city's premier tourist attraction. Police Col. John Skinner, the chief of patrol, said a combination of hot weather - the temperature surged from 72 on Friday to 90 on Saturday - and a program offering discounts for kids at stores attracted "a Fourth of July-sized" crowd, described as unprecedented for a pre-summer weekend.

Downtown drivers can expect about a year of traffic misery as city transportation officials launch an ambitious rebuilding project that will at times claim half the capacity of Lombard Street - Baltimore's principal westbound artery across the central business district. Beginning as early as May, the city will close some lanes of Lombard Street for the $2.6 million project, potentially the most disruptive downtown road work in recent years. Lombard, a block north of harbor-front Pratt Street, is one of Baltimore's busiest streets.

Body found floating in Inner Harbor The body of an unidentified man was found last night floating in the Inner Harbor off the Pratt Street Pavilion at Harborplace, authorities said. Shortly before 6:30 p.m., an employee of Harborplace called 911 and reported a man's body was seen floating in the water off the Pratt Street Pavilion in the 400 block of E. Pratt St., said Agent Donny Moses, a city Police Department spokesman. Police reported that the body bore no obvious signs of foul play.

On Marcy 3, 2009, MARY DORSEY; devoted wife of James Dorsey, Sr.; beloved mother of James E. Jr. and Marvin B. Dorsey. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue, 410-542-2400, on Monday after 11 A.M. The family will receive friends on Tuesday at Holy Temple Holiness Church, 2016 W. Pratt Street, 6 P.M. Funeral service will follow at 7 P.M.

Appeals court squelches pit bull-shooting lawsuit 2 An Edgewater woman whose pit bull was fatally shot by an Anne Arundel County police officer in 2006 will not be able to go forward with a $3 million lawsuit against the county, the state Court of Special Appeals ruled yesterday. Deborah Ransom filed the lawsuit in July 2007, alleging that the officer, Adam Hinson, had been reckless and used excessive force. The Court of Special Appeals sided with Anne Arundel Circuit Court in approving a motion by the county to dismiss the suit.

Some three decades ago, city leaders began realizing Baltimore and its waterfront had untapped potential to draw tourists en masse, paving the way for some of the biggest Inner Harbor attractions. Between 1976 and 1981, the harbor saw the construction of the Maryland Science Center, the Baltimore Convention Center, the National Aquarium, the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Harborplace, a new style of festival marketplace. The green-roofed twin pavilions on Pratt Street and Light Street, heavy on eating places and impulse buys sold by local merchants, became a catalyst for the downtown Baltimore's urban renaissance.

THE PROBLEM : The roadway behind the Power Plant lacks barriers along the Inner Harbor. THE BACKSTORY: Downtown workers got a telling demonstration of how important it is to take care when driving near the Inner Harbor. On Oct. 30, eyewitnesses say the driver of a Lincoln Navigator drove at high speed down Market Place, across Pratt Street behind the Power Plant and right off the pier. The driver got himself out of the SUV, and firefighters spent the morning removing the vehicle from the water.

Balto. County Savings parent reports profit BCSB Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Baltimore County Savings Bank, reported yesterday a profit of $461,000, or 16 cents per share, for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $307,000, or 11 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company attributed the quarterly profit to increases in net interest income and noninterest income. The earnings were partially offset by $360,000 in loan loss provisions in the quarter due to the declining real estate market.