Russell Street

For a dozen years, Bill Kohlhepp has sold hot dogs off the grill and soda to hungry baseball and football fans downtown. His tent is in an ideal spot to grab the attention of spectators streaming toward Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium: on the pedestrian island of a busy intersection northwest of Oriole Park. Now that spot, between Russell Street and Washington Boulevard, is also right along the two-mile race track for theBaltimore Grand Prix. And as the Grand Prix draws near and barriers and grandstands are erected, Kohlhepp says he's watched the advantages of his location evaporate.

There needs to be a wider vision for the proposed slots parlor on Russell Street. Moving the Preakness to a new world-class facility in the Camden-Carroll industrial park would reinforce the slots parlor opposite Russell Street and feed off the success of Camden Yards. Also, adjacent to the site is the mouth of the Gwynns Falls that empties into Ridgley's Cove. This presents an opportunity to restore a natural landscape feature and demonstrate Baltimore's leadership in environment and recycling.

Some streets will be closed long before the Orioles start their home opener against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards at 3:05 p.m. today. As of 6 a.m., parking restrictions were in effect for the following streets: Pratt Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Paca Street; east side of Greene Street (northbound) from Lombard Street to Washington Boulevard; east side of Eutaw Street (northbound) from Pratt to Lombard streets; Camden Street from Howard to Russell streets; north side of Conway Street (westbound)

Baltimore city officials argued in court Friday for a quick resolution to its legal battle with the would-be developer of a downtown slots parlor, a case that threatens to further delay casino gambling in Maryland's largest city. City attorneys asked Baltimore City Circuit Judge John P. Miller to issue a summary judgment in the lawsuit filed by Baltimore City Entertainment Group, which contends that the city unlawfully terminated a land deal for the casino after the state declined to give the developer a slots license . BCEG, headed by Canadian developer Michael Moldenhauer, sued the city for breach of contract in July, seeking $100 million in damages.

The problem: A railroad crossing near M&T Bank Stadium has been closed to traffic. The back story: Occasionally, Watchdog encounters a problem resulting from a solution proposed as an answer to an entirely different problem. Take, for example, this week's quandary. Richard Jordan works in a machine shop near the intersection of Ridgely Street and West Ostend Street, near the parking lots for M&T Bank Stadium and the elevated portion of Russell Street. For about a month and a half, Jordan, who commutes from Catonsville, said he has had to go at least 10 minutes out of his way because the railroad crossing on Ridgely Street between West Ostend and Alluvion streets has been closed.

Commuters from south of Baltimore who drive to downtown on Interstate 95 could face serious delays next week when the city Department of Transportation shuts down two lanes of eastbound Conway Street between Charles and Light streets. The work will affect traffic between 6 a.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Thursday. Part of the city's preparations for next year's downtown Grand Prix race, the project will leave only the right lane of three-lane eastbound Conway open. That lane will remain open only for traffic headed south on Light.

The Maryland Stadium Authority on Thursday approved minor Russell Street modifications near Oriole Park at Camden Yards to clear the way for a deal under which downtown Baltimore would host an Indy Racing League event in 2011. The modifications are expected to include reducing the size of a median strip and making drainage improvements. The idea is to allow the stadium area to accommodate the race. A pit area is slated to be adjacent to the ballpark. The work approved Thursday is expected to cost $1.5 million to $2 million.

Commuters who drive to downtown Baltimore from the south face two weeks of excruciating backups as maintenance work on a pipeline forces the closing of one of the two main ramps leading from Interstate 95 to the heart of the city. The Maryland Transportation Authority will close the Exit 52 ramp to Russell Street from northbound I-95 from about 9 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. March 20. Most commuters who normally use that ramp will be squeezed onto the Exit 53 ramp to Interstate 395 - already the scene of backups that sometimes stretch to the Beltway.

The cash-strapped Maryland Historical Society, which recently had to trim its museum and library hours to two days a week, has appointed the head of a Towson-based firm that focuses on making history accessible to the masses as its interim head. Burton Kummerow, president of Historyworks Inc., was named to the post Tuesday. "He reeks of history, from every fiber of his being," society board president Alex G. Fisher said. "He has an undergraduate degree in history, he has a master's in history.

The cash-strapped Maryland Historical Society, which recently had to trim its museum and library hours to only two days a week, has appointed the head of a Towson-based firm that focuses on making history accessible to the masses as its interim head. Burton Kummerow, president of Historyworks, Inc., was named to the post Tuesday. "He reeks of history, from every fiber of his being," MdHS board president Alex G. Fisher said. "He has an undergraduate degree in history, he has a master's in history.