BUSINESS
By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun | May 21, 2012
Kristina Suson's home wasn't part of the city's tax sale Monday, but it was a close call. Baltimore places liens on properties for unpaid property taxes, water bills and other municipal debts, then puts the liens up for auction every spring — allowing investors to buy them and either collect or move to foreclose. The city auctioned liens on about 10,600 properties on Monday, finding buyers for 6,545 of them and raising $20 million. Suson ended up on this year's list, to her surprise, after the state retroactively reduced a property tax credit she'd received in 2009.
SPORTS
By Hanah Cho, The Baltimore Sun | May 19, 2012
For $3 a person, you can use the bathroom of Carol Hines' home on Winner St, across from Pimlico race course. Hines decided to give entrepreneurship a try for the first time this year, one of many enterprises that pop up on Preakness day in the Park Heights and Pimlico neighborhoods. Besides offering her restroom for Preakness attendees, Hines cooked up some of her best dishes, including jerk chicken, curry chicken and barbecue ribs. ...
SPORTS
By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun | May 19, 2012
"Black-Eyed Susans! Get 'em here!" Emanuel Sabedra shouted inside the front gates, above the excited throngs and circling planes and buzzing engines of golf carts zipping by. Sabedra, dressed in maroon and gold jockey shirt, has been hawking the $9 cocktails at Preakness for 12 years. By 11 a.m., he had sold five racks of 24. Butch Hoppe, a 24-year-old trucking company owner, had his first taste of the Preakness staple. "It's alright," he said. "I got it for the souvenir cup more than the drink.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Dave Rosenthal | May 17, 2012
If you're in the market for a home with a literary heritage -- and have a few million dollars to spend -- check out this English estate that once was the home of Christopher Milne (1920-96), who was immortalized in the Winnie the Pooh books. The listing for 9.5-acre Cotchford Farm notes that the house was bought by A.A Milne in 1925 as a country retreat for himself, his wife and son, Christopher Robin. "It was here, amidst the beautiful Sussex countryside and surrounding woodland where the wonderful stories of Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh came to life, now world famous childhood classics.
NEWS
By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun | May 16, 2012
Tickets for the second Baltimore Grand Prix should be on sale by the end of the month, the latest group to organize the race announced Wednesday. Race On, a team led by two local investors that has partnered with racing champ Michael Andretti's sports marketing firm, also finalized sanctioning agreements with the IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series for the Labor Day weekend festival, organizers said Wednesday. Investors J.P. Grant III, president of Grant Capital Management, and Greg O'Neill, vice president of BMW Construction, spoke of their plans for the race at a news conference at the city-owned Hilton Baltimore hotel, hours after the city's spending board approved the contract with Race On. "I'm honored to take on this important opportunity in the city we both love," Grant said.
TRAVEL
By Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Sun reporter | May 15, 2012
Southwest Airlines is offering a flash-in-the-pan sale today only for some very specific travel dates, including July 4, and the deal has set off a frenzy that appears to have taken down booking on the airline's website. Travelers can save 35 percent off Wanna Get Away fares when they book a trip today for one of these dates: May 22, May 30-31, June 5-6 , July 4-5. Use promo code: SUMMER12 to get the discount. That's pretty good deal since you're saving off the lowest fares the airline offers online.