Ravens, WR Zay Flowers agree to lucrative 4-year extension: source — The Baltimore Sun

Black Aggie, Black Aggie, come back to Pikesville! — The Baltimore Banner

Former WNBA player to lead upstart Baltimore women’s basketball team — Baltimore Business Journal

$3,000 payments offered to drivers with cars trapped in unsafe Glen Burnie, Maryland parking garage — WJZ

Towering at 7-foot-1, basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is reaching new heights as he expands his Big Chicken empire to the Baltimore area.

Baltimore customers have enjoyed Shaq’s chicken sandwiches and tenders among the concessions at CFG Bank Arena.

Soon, they won’t need the excuse of a concert to get their snack on as Big Chicken opens its first standalone Maryland restaurant this weekend at The Villages at Waugh Chapel in Gambrills.

Located at 1407 South Main Chapel Way, the restaurant will have a grand opening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 8.

The first 100 guests in line will receive three free tenders and four signature dipping sauces in honor of Shaq’s No. 34 jersey number. Other guests can purchase that meal for $5.

The grand opening celebration will also feature giveaways, entertainment and surprises.

Big Chicken’s menu includes an array of chicken sandwiches, like The Ultimate, which is topped with mac n’ cheese and onion rings, and The Shaq Attack, dripping with chipotle BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese, and cole slaw. The eatery also serves Shaq Snacks, either grilled or crispy chicken served on garlic toast with various toppings and sauces; chicken tenders, boneless chicken bites called Dunks, milkshakes, and other items.

The company will also be launching limited-time dips each month, including their latest sauce, Root Beer BBQ.

Big Chicken has more than 40 locations open and dozens more in development across North America.

“I instantly connected with Big Chicken’s larger-than-life personality and its mission to bring people together through BIG Flavor,” said Pratik Patel, operator of Anne Arundel County’s new Big Chicken location. “Gambrills is a special place, and it is the right fit to bring something new that matches its energy. We can’t wait to serve BIG Smiles to guests experiencing Big Chicken for the first time beyond the arena.”

Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern said the company set its sights on Maryland after finding success among Baltimore’s arena-goers.

“After launching at CFG Bank Arena, we saw firsthand how Maryland showed up for this brand,” said Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken. “Bringing Big Chicken into Gambrills with a partner like Pratik, who brings deep local experience and knows how to run a great restaurant, is how we grow. The right place, the right partner and a whole lot of BIG Flavor.”

Looks like the Orioles won’t be going to the World Series in October. That will make 43 years since the last one. 

In the 18 seasons from 1966 to 1983, the Orioles reached the World Series six times, winning three of them. Baltimore was spoiled with consistently contending teams back then.

But, in baseball, that’s ancient history.

There has been a lot of dreary failure since those days — 21 losing seasons in one 30-year span — and long-time Orioles fans long ago grew sick of the organization’s bobble-headed commemorations of the good ole days.

“Nostalgia is death,” Dylan said.

This season, even as the team teeter-tottered along, there was still hope the Birds might be able to scratch out a post-season wild-card spot. Just the other day, after Gunnar Henderson snapped his malaise with a triple in a win over the Phillies, I thought about buying a few tickets for upcoming games. This might be interesting, I thought.

But then came two bad losses to the Phillies, then the trade deadline, and the Orioles general manager Mike Elias sent the face of the franchise, All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman, to the division rival Red Sox for some of Boston’s top prospects.

I defer to baseball geeks as to whether this was a good, bad or mediocre idea.

ESPN rated the Rutschman-Red Sox trade a C-plus for Boston and A for Baltimore. 

CBS Sports, on the other hand, gave the surging Red Sox an A for the deal while giving Baltimore a C.

Both ESPN and CBS gave Elias an F for what they said the Rutschman trade and others Elias made represent: Either “a deep sell despite being very close to playoff position” or “the end of an era that has ended in disappointment.”

Either case shows disregard for Orioles fans. 

The “deep sell” look of Elias’s actions is a strong signal that, despite the hopes of fans, the GM considers the 2026 season to be over. (But hey, August 22 is Pete Alonso Bobblehead Night!)

The “end of the era” refers to the disappointing end of the team rebuild Elias was hired to undertake after the awful 2018 season. 

Five summers later, the Orioles were division champs, and we all got excited. But, they didn’t win a single playoff game in 2023 or 2024, and tumbled to last place in 2025. 

This season, though close to a wild-card spot, the team has a losing record again, a fact amplified in the team’s two crushing shutout losses to the Phillies on Saturday and Sunday. The experts rate Elias’ 2018-2026 rebuild a bust: Good drafting of young players but inadequate player development, not enough solid pitching.

Sensing another rebuild afoot, Orioles fans were merciless in their comments in social media after the Rutschman trade, with many saying team owner David Rubenstein should have fired Elias instead of expressing confidence in him.

Rubenstein has taken some licks of late, too, with fans knocking him for posting on X about his new book in the midst of the Orioles’ great July 29 win over the Tigers, the team’s biggest comeback in 17 years.

“Excited to announce my new book ‘Speaking of America”’, published by @DukePress and @librarycongress, is coming out October 6, 2026. If you love history, innovation, and America you’ll love these interviews I conducted with noted historians and innovators . . .”

Rubenstein’s post hit X at 2:57 pm, just as the Orioles started to overtake the Tigers during their afternoon game at Comerica Park in Detroit. Wasn’t the boss watching? Hadn’t he caught the buzz?

This response to Rubenstein’s post was typical: “Completely tone deaf to post this in the moment. Unreal.”

When private-equity billionaire and Baltimore native Rubenstein got the team away from the Angelos family, we felt hopeful — new money, new attitude and an ambition to actually get back to the World Series. Rubenstein’s presence among fans at Oriole Park was refreshing, a far cry from the joyless John Angelos who, in the midst of the team’s 101-win 2023 season, warned us that, eventually, the Orioles would not be able to afford to keep Rutschman and other exciting young players. In other words, it was a way of saying in Baltimore we can’t have nice things.

And never mind another World Series.

With the Orioles, it’s always been wise to keep your expectations in check. But, held too long, low expectations become no expectations, and no expectations lead to perpetual mediocrity.

The Rubsenstein ownership should reverse that cycle.

I’m sick of the two-bit reality that Baltimoreans and Marylanders should maintain low expectations after footing the bills for a great ballpark and upgrades, and after putting up with higher ticket prices, so many losing seasons and a depressing fire sale and rebuild.

Maybe it varies for different age groups, but most of us are sick of waiting for the Orioles to be consistent contenders again. We are beyond impatient with rebuilds. Forty-three years is a long time.

A wild-card spot might not have meant much to Mike Elias, but it gave O’s fans a reason to keep the faith and hope for the best in the next couple of months. Pulling that possibility away, and sending a popular player to a division rival, while asking us for more patience for another rebuild — it’s exhausting, and many of us are beyond exhausted.

Dan Rodricks writes weekly for Baltimore Fishbowl. He can be reached via danrodricks.come

200 Ashland Road, Hunt Valley.

Hot House: The Original Ashland School, Loaded with Details. 5 Bedrooms/5 Bathrooms. 6,760 Square Feet. Asking price: $2.35 million.

What: This has always been one of my favorite houses because it ticks two of my biggest boxes: It is stone, and it has a Palmer & Lamdin connection. I actually wrote about it six years ago when it was on the market (and it’s been sold another time between then and now).

The former Ashland School, aka Baltimore County School No. 7, is located at the entrance of Ashland, formerly an iron mill village that operated from the mid- to late 1800s. In 2000, Ashland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It is one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival/Queen Anne architectural style in Maryland. The structure is built of rough-cut marble ashlar from the nearby Butler/Beaver Dam Quarry, approximately one mile to the west. Stone from this quarry was highly prized and was used to construct the Washington Monuments in Baltimore & DC. 

Frank E. Davis, the architect of record, was one of the founding members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The school remained in service from 1882 until 1929 when it was sold by the Baltimore County Board of School Commissioners and converted to a private residence by the notable Baltimore design firm of Palmer and Lamdin. 

The exterior reflects the influence of the Queen Anne Style, with gabled windows, elaborate cornice work, fan-shaped attic vents at the roof peak, and numerous large banks of multi-paned windows. 

While the exterior has remained largely unaltered, the interior of the building was altered in 1930 from the two-room schoolhouse configuration, to that of a private residence, still incorporating the 25-foot barrel-vaulted ceilings, with exposed beams and trusses.

Attractive architectural details were added, such as a large foyer or reception hall paneled in Southern gumwood with ebony beads, with two sets of double French Doors that lead into the two main rooms. The “Great Room” (Living Room) is wainscoted with the same paneling. 

Included in the 1930 conversion was an elegant stairway with unique wood and iron railings that lead to a loft enclosed by a glazed curtain wall with an unusual wedge-shaped door. Other notable features from the 1930 period are a beautiful stone fireplace with an Inglenook seating area that together separate the Dining Room and Great Room.

The house features a pool in a private courtyard, a guest house with two beds and two baths, a carriage house-style garage and loads of beautiful landscaping.

Where: The house is just off York Road at the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Ashland Road. It is close to everything that York Road has to offer, from bagels to fine dining. It’s a short drive to I-83 to get downtown or up to Pennsylvania.

Final Appraisal: Everyone talks about a one-of-a-kind house, but this really is one! Beginning its life as a school and then being converted to a private residence, the architecture is truly unique in a home, showing off some of Palmer & Lamdin’s thoughtful and interesting details. The listing for the house is here.

All photographs from the listing.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball broke ground on the first phase of the new Elkridge Community and 50+ Center in Elkridge on Monday. Construction is expected to start in the fall and be finished by summer 2028.

“Anyone who has worked in local government knows that this not how these projects usually go,” Ball said. “A $65.5 million public facility can sit in a planning document for decades before it is realized. But this project didn’t. It moved forward because this community never stopped believing in it. You organized. You advocated. You showed up. Together, we matched that passion with the vision and determination to make it happen. Today is not the finish line. It is the next giant leap in a project that has been needed for decades.”

The first phase will include an approximately 70,000-square-foot facility for “General Recreation Program” spaces, 50+ spaces, and shared spaces. The facility will also include a satellite police station for the Howard County Police Department.

“Moving our satellite office inside this new community center is about more than an upgrade in facilities,” said Acting Police Chief Terrence O. Benn. “When a police officer works out of the same building where residents come to take a class, attend a program, or spend time with their neighbors, something shifts. We stop being a presence people call when something goes wrong and start being a familiar face.”

The General Recreation Program spaces will be overseen by the county’s Department of Recreation and Parks. It will include multiple areas for physical activity, like a 20,000-square-foot gymnasium with an indoor track, four volleyball courts, two basketball courts, four micro basketball courts, and six pickleball/badminton courts.

There will also be a fitness exercise room, a dance studio, and a full-service kitchen and culinary learning space. Despite what the “50+ Center” name implies, there will be a game room coupled with a teen-dedicated room for combined use, a pre-school and early childhood learning center, and a lactation room. The center will also have office space, workstations, and a staff breakroom.

The center is, however, primarily dedicated to those aged 50 and over. The 50+ spaces will be operated by the county’s Department of Community Resources and Services (DCRS) Office on Aging and Independence. They will have their own dedicated entry and will include a Connections Suite, a multipurpose room, classrooms, activity and meeting rooms, and office space, workstations, and a breakroom for staff. Visitors to the 50+ Center will also have access to the gymnasium, fitness exercise room, and kitchen space.

“The Elkridge Community and 50+ Center will be a gathering place for people of all generations,” said Nick Mooneyhan, director of Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. “It has been designed to bring neighbors together, strengthen community connections, and create spaces where people can celebrate life’s special moments. This new community center will allow us to offer a wide variety of recreational and enrichment programs, special events, fitness opportunities, and summer camps even closer to home for many of our residents.”

This new facility will have a shared lobby, a quiet room, and restrooms that have an adult changing station. The Elkridge Community and 50+ Center will join other County facilities featuring adult changing stations, including Recreation & Parks’ Blandair Regional Park, Centennial Park, Troy Park at Elkridge, Western Regional Park, Harriet Tubman Cultural Center, and North Laurel and Gary J. Arthur community centers, as well as DCRS’s East Columbia 50+ Center.

In October 2022, a new Maryland law went into effect that mandated changing facilities for the personal care needs of adults if a new public building is built or renovated. Adult-size changing tables are not required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but they increase accessibility in drastic ways for people with disabilities. The tables are motorized, adjustable in height, and provide a safe and hygienic way to meet the needs of adults who use adult diapers and need to change them when out in public.

The first phase of construction will also include three parking lots, two for the community and 50+ center and one for the future playground. The playground and additional site amenities, which are also part of Phase One, will not begin construction until fall 2027, but are also expected to be done by summer 2028.

“I’m absolutely delighted about the groundbreaking ceremony for the Elkridge Community and 50+ Center today,” said Opel Jones, chair of the Howard County Council. “Designed as a dedicated community hub, the Elkridge Community and 50+ Center will cater to future generations and older adults looking to age in place, featuring a broad spectrum of extracurricular options.”

“As the oldest settlement in Howard County, Elkridge has served as a connector since the 1700s,” said Laura Wisely, a member of the Elkridge Community Alliance. “We must not forget that our residents need connection as well. …The Elkridge Community Center and expansion of the 50+ center is welcomed and celebrated. Thank you to the Ball Administration for making today happen.  We look forward to connecting with our neighbors very soon.”

Maryland is on pace to break a morbid record this summer after seeing 31 heat-related deaths alone in July.

In total, the state recorded 38 heat-related deaths so far this year.

That’s the highest number since 2012, when there were 46 deaths, and there are still two months left in the hot weather season.

Read more at WYPR.

Baltimore’s 8 x 10 music venue has new owners.

The property’s owner Dave Rather and club operators Brian Shupe and Abigail Janssens sold the property and business to Pennsylvania-based live music entertainment group Rising Sun Presents, headed by Chris Perella.

Rather will remain in the deal along with Rising Sun Presents and Baltimore singer-songwriter Cris Jacobs.

“I’m proud to say that I’ve most likely played on the 8 X 10 stage more than anyone,” Jacobs said. “I’ve seen how special that club is to myself and the Baltimore music community. To be able to carry on its legacy and partner up with such a great team is a true honor.”

The 8 x 10 first opened in April 1983. Over the past four decades, it has hosted performances by music legends such as Nirvana, Billy Joel, Chuck Berry, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz, and more.

The venue will undergo interior renovations and upgrades that are expected to be completed by October. 

The owners plan to announce a grand reopening soon as they schedule several national touring acts to play at the revived 8 x 10.

The combined sale price for the business and property was not disclosed.

BmoreArt’s Picks: August 4-10

This Week: Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise at The Phillips Collection featuring First Prize winner Kei Ito, opening reception for Luke Farley at Alchemy of Art, Fells Point Corner Theatre’s 10x10x10 festival, Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk, reception for Lou Joseph at Hotel Indigo, Fashion Remix at The Walters, and Across Life-Worlds exhibition opening at The Jewish Museum — PLUS apply for Life in Baltimore call for entry at The Peale and more featured opportunities!

BmoreArt’s Picks presents the best weekly art openings, events, and performances happening in Baltimore and surrounding areas. For a more comprehensive perspective, check the BmoreArt Calendar page, which includes ongoing exhibits and performances, and is updated on a daily basis.

To submit your calendar event, email us at events@bmoreart.com!

Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise

Ongoing through September 20
@ The Phillips Collection

In keeping with its long-standing commitment to championing the work of living artists in the Washington, DC, area, The Phillips Collection is proud to present a major exhibition showcasing 48 artists based in the greater DC region. The result of an open call that drew 1,500 applications, the exhibition brings together an intergenerational group of artists who are grappling with the complexities of the contemporary world, while celebrating the beauty, resilience, and determination that inspires their ongoing creative practice.

Luke Farley’s Hands on Fire | Opening Reception

Thursday, August 6 :: 6-9pm
@ Alchemy of Art

Originally from New Jersey, Luke Farley has been a Baltimore-based artist since 2017. In 2019, he graduated with an MFA in Painting from the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School at MICA. Farley works primarily in painting, but also in collage, sculpture, curation, and theatrical design. He is a co-founder and producer of the interdisciplinary arts organization Truepenny Projects. His most recent roles include world builder and scenic designer for Salty (2025) and curator of A Vital Alliance(2025) at Alchemy of Art.

Hands on Fire

Truepenny Projects is excited to present Hands on Fire at Alchemy of Art opening in August of 2026. This solo exhibition showcases an ongoing series of large-scale paintings by Baltimore artist Luke Farley. Hands on Fire features paintings made over the course of three years, 2023–2026. In this work, Farley foregrounds gesture as metaphor, appearing both literally, through the representation of hands, and phenomenologically, through his painterly approach to image-making. Seen together as a series for the first time, these paintings form a kind of autobiography. The metaphors Farley creates are grounded in a critical engagement with his past, referencing religion as a touchstone. The show sheds light on the role of dogma, providence, and judgment within the artist’s life by asking: Where has this taken me? How does one come to terms with the hypocrisy in their own life?

10x10x10 2026 BY LOCAL PLAYWRIGHTS

Friday, August 7 :: Ongoing through August 30
@ Fells Point Corner Theatre

10 Plays

10 Minutes

10 Actors

… For the 10th time

In a time when making new theater has never been more difficult, bringing new work to life is ever more important! Fells Point Corner Theatre is immensely proud of our short play festival’s legacy and impact, having launched work that lives on in full-length plays and feature films that have gone far beyond our local stage.

This August, The 10x10x10 Play Festival is back for the 10th time with a slate of new work that will delight and surprise you. 10 local playwrights created 10 amazing works and you, our audience, will vote on your favorite piece to enter the 10x10x10 Hall of Fame.

Read more of this week’s picks at BmoreArt.

Put your local news knowledge to the test with David Conn’s Daily Dispatch Quiz.

6 questions. 90 seconds.

Today’s topics include:

• An All-Star’s unexpected Beantown journey
• Racing’s big money gamble skips Maryland
• Maryland’s vanishing health care superpower

See how you stack up against other quiz-takers on the leaderboard.

Brag – or lament – about how much you really know in the comments below.

A free DDQ coffee mug will be awarded to each month’s Leaderboard winner, as well as anyone who refers at least three people to become subscribed players.

The Daily Dispatch Quiz has an app, too. Download it by clicking the Dispatch logo at the end of the quiz.

Parkville man charged with murder for shoving man into Inner Harbor – Baltimore Banner

$3,000 payments offered to drivers with cars trapped in condemned Glen Burnie building – CBS Baltimore

Man dies in Port of Baltimore industrial accident – FOX Baltimore/WBFF-TV

Congressional redistricting plan moving forward in special legislative session – Maryland Matters

Morgan State to lead redevelopment of 44-acre Lake Clifton High School campus – WMAR-TV

Towson homicide under investigation – WBAL News Radio

Interior designer and civic leader Elizabeth Himelfarb Hurwitz has been elected chair of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. She succeeds James Thornton, who has served as chair since 2022.

A Baltimore native and resident, Hurwitz has been a BMA board member since 2020 and has taken on several leadership and volunteer roles at the museum.

Hurwitz led the board’s 2026 strategic planning initiative, which is instrumental in shaping its vision for the future. She is a past chair of the board’s Marketing and Audience Development Committee and has been a longstanding member of the Accessions Committee for the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands. She is also a trustee of the Bryn Mawr School and Baltimore Center Stage.

Hurwitz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University. Her professional career has spanned publishing, public health and innovation, with particular focus on HIV, disability, and health equity. She was a writer and editor at Archaeology Magazine. She currently heads Elizabeth Hurwitz Interior Design LLC. She and her husband, David, are the parents of two children.

“Elizabeth’s leadership, intellectual rigor and generosity of spirit make her an exceptional choice to lead our Board of Trustees,” said Asma Naeem, the BMA’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director, in a statement. “She approaches art with boundless curiosity, empathy, and a profound belief in its capacity to bring people together. Through her leadership of our strategic planning process and her longstanding commitment to the museum, Elizabeth has shown a deep understanding of the BMA’s role as both a steward of extraordinary collections and a welcoming civic space. I am thrilled to partner with her as we continue building a museum that is more relevant, responsive, and connected to our communities.”

“Art has the power to transform how we see ourselves, one another, and our city,” Hurwitz said in a statement. “I have long believed that art is a tool of civic alchemy, helping communities unlock creativity, empathy, and possibility. The BMA has been an important part of my life since childhood, and it is an extraordinary honor to serve as Board Chair. I look forward to working alongside my fellow trustees, the museum’s leadership, staff, supporters and community partners to advance the BMA’s mission and ensure that it remains a vibrant and welcoming cultural resource for all.”

Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced that as of Aug. 3, 2026, shootings and homicides in Baltimore City continue to decline, as they have for the three years before this one.

The numbers of shootings and homicides saw historic reductions in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and as of Monday, Aug. 3, Baltimore had 60 homicides and 187 non-fatal shootings. On this date in 2025, the city had 81 homicides and 191 non-fatal shootings, which makes this year’s statistics a 25.9% decrease in homicides and a slight decrease in non-fatal shootings.

There were seven homicides in July 2026, which is the fewest for any July on record and only the second time a July homicide count was in the single digits. The last time that happened was 25 years ago, in July 2001, when there were nine homicides.

“Baltimoreans know that July has historically been the most dangerous month of the year—which makes this progress all the more significant,” Scott said. “We would not be here without the dedicated work of BPD and our law enforcement partners, MONSE, prosecutors, our community violence intervention ecosystem, and most importantly, our residents. In the months and years to come, we will continue to double down on the partnerships that are saving lives in our communities, because any one life lost to violence in our city is one too many.”

Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers have also seized more than 1,189 firearms as of Aug. 1, 2026, including 123 ghost guns, and made 743 gun arrests. BPD’s homicide clearance rate is around 60% year-to-date.

Crime has dropped in other areas, too. As of Aug. 1, carjackings are down 42%, burglaries are down 16%, and total robberies are down 12% compared to the same time last year.

Many factors contribute to the continued reduction of crime rates in Baltimore City. A major player is the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), a partnership between the BPD, the Mayor’s Office, and prosecutors. GVRS focuses on violent groups to both hold them accountable and offer them help and services to move past those behaviors. It puts its efforts towards those at the highest risk of being involved in violence.

The proof is in the results. As of July 29, 2026, GVRS has led to more than 670 arrests, including 595 by BPD’s Group Violence Unit, and connected more than 406 people to life coaching and wraparound services through YAP or Roca since it was launched in 2022. More than 90% of GVRS participants have remained unvictimized after they enrolled in these services.

Safe Streets Baltimore is another flagship community violence intervention program. Five of its ten sites have reached the milestone of going over 365 days without a homicide within their respective zones. These sites include Park Heights, Woodbourne-McCabe, Sandtown, Penn North, and McElderry Park. As of Aug. 1, 2026, Safe Streets frontline intervention staff have successfully mediated over 824 potentially violent conflicts and connected 263 residents at-risk of being involved in violence with support services.

Academic research is starting to back up Scott’s approach. In June, the University of Pennsylvania’s Crime and Justice Policy Lab released a new paper that found Baltimore’s GVRS strategy played a key role in the city’s historic reduction in homicides. Closer to home, in May, the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions released research showing the Safe Streets program was associated with a sharp reduction in youth homicides.

Scott and MONSE are developing the city’s second Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan. This is a new five-year roadmap to build on the progress of the last five years, and will be released by early Fall 2026. Residents can attend listening sessions and share feedback through the public survey or by emailing MONSE. Session dates and locations will be released in the coming weeks.

Two popular Little Italy festivals will merge into one event this year, as Light Up Little Italy and the Feast of St. Gabriel join to create an expanded three-day festival the weekend of Aug. 14–16, 2026.

The Light Up Little Italy Feast of St. Gabriel Festival celebrates the heritage, culture, faith, and traditions of the historic Little Italy neighborhood. This newly combined event is an immersive experience with authentic food, live entertainment, artisan vendors, and a five-course dinner with the Chefs of Little Italy, Baltimore.

Visitors can delight in creatures in costumes at the Ferragosto Pet Pageant and other beloved traditions that have long made the Feast of St. Gabriel a community cornerstone. The pageant’s $5 entry fee will be donated to BARCS animal shelter. There will be the traditional blessing and processional of St. Gabriel, a bocce tournament, family activities, and a meatball and sausage eating contest.

Now an expanded three-day festival, guests have more time and space to enjoy all Little Italy has to offer while honoring the neighborhood’s past and embracing its future. The festival is free, though there is a $5 fee for those over 21 who would like the required wristband to purchase alcohol.

“The combination of these two beloved events creates an incredible opportunity to celebrate everything that makes Little Italy so special,” said Russ Cipolla, chair of the Festival Committee. “By bringing together the excitement of Light Up Little Italy with the traditions of the Feast of St. Gabriel, we’re creating an even stronger community celebration that honors our heritage while welcoming new generations of visitors.”

For the complete schedule of events, entertainment lineup, parking information, and festival updates, visit the Light Up Little Italy Feast of St. Gabriel Festival website.

The Greater Baltimore Committee usually holds its annual meeting in Baltimore City, in locations such as the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel (2025 and 2022) and Baltimore Peninsula (2023). In 2024 the GBC’s annual meeting was at Tradepoint Atlantic in southeastern Baltimore County. Members gathered virtually in 2020 and 2021.

This year the GBC will have its 71^st annual meeting in a new location.

“For the first time in GBC’s history, our signature Annual Meeting will be held in Howard County,” said President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas, in an email message about the event.

Registration is now open for the event, which will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia, Md.

The meeting is expected to draw more than 500 business, government, nonprofit, education and civic leaders. It’s being held four years after the GBC, which was founded in 1955 by civic leaders James Rouse, Frances Morton, David Woods and 80 others to revitalize downtown Baltimore, merged with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore (EAGB), which included Baltimore City and surrounding counties. The theme of this year’s event is BOLD. REGIONAL. CONNECTED.

The location is “more than a change in venue,” Thomas said in his message. “It reflects the regional organization GBC has become and gives us an opportunity to celebrate the partners who helped make that transformation possible.”

“As the Baltimore Region competes for talent, investment and business growth, success increasingly depends on the ability to think – and act – beyond jurisdictional lines,” the GBC’s website states. “This year’s Annual Meeting puts regionalism at the center of that conversation, highlighting how cross-sector collaboration and alignment are driving measurable economic progress.”

Why Howard County? Thomas went on to write in his email message:

The regional collaboration we are advancing today builds on the foundation established by the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and its public- and private-sector partners.

When EAGB and GBC merged in 2022, those partners helped create a stronger regional institution with the relationships, reach and capacity to advance a shared economic agenda.

Howard County has played an especially important role in strengthening the regional alliance that emerged from that merger. Under the leadership of County Executive Calvin Ball and Economic Development Authority CEO Jennifer Jones, the county remained deeply engaged as regional partners came together through GBC to pursue a federal Tech Hub designation, develop a unified regional brand and advance other critical economic initiatives.

That collaboration helped solidify the relationships, trust and shared sense of purpose required for the new GBC to operate as a truly regional institution. Holding our Annual Meeting in Howard County gives us an opportunity to celebrate that leadership and recognize the partners who have helped turn the promise of the merger into meaningful regional action.

Through GBC, partners have aligned around a shared economic vision, a regional brand identity and a more coordinated approach to pursuing economic opportunities.

There is still significant work ahead. But this Annual Meeting will celebrate the next phase of our transformation and help build the confidence in our regional market that we need to compete more effectively.

Holding the event at Merriweather Post Pavilion is “especially fitting,” Thomas said, because it’s “one of the Baltimore Region’s most recognizable cultural assets and reflects GBC’s work to elevate the economic importance of our cultural industries.”

More than $2 billion in cultural-industry investments, he noted, are “strengthening communities, attracting talent and visitors, supporting creative businesses and contributing to a more compelling regional identity.”

More information about the annual meeting is available at: www.gbc.org.

ICE detains University of Maryland “teacher of the year” at Dallas airport — WJZ

Preakness Stakes left out of new Thoroughbred Championship Series — The Baltimore Sun

Lawsuit accuses Great Wolf Lodge in Perryville of negligence after woman hurt while riding water slide — WMAR

The Mall in Columbia rolls out paid parking for spots near the entrance — WBAL