Baltimore magazine - People

What About Luke?

Jess Blumberg — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:54:44 +0000

An assistant coach for Towson University’s basketball team (alas, 0-17 at press time) also happens to be Bill Murray’s son

By Jess Blumberg

Q: When did you first get into basketball?

I’ve been playing since I was 3 years old. But, the first time I coached was for AAU as a senior in high school. They were 16 or 17 years old, so there wasn’t much of an age gap. And I coached all the way through college.

Q: This is your first year here. Did you know what a challenge it would be?

Artist to Watch

Jess Blumberg — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:50:35 +0000

A local illustrator gets his first one-man show

By Jess Blumberg

When Okan Arabacioglu came here from Turkey to attend MICA, he first saw the city via an Amtrak train. But now, 10 years later, Arabacioglu has fallen in love with Baltimore and made a name for himself as an illustrator. “When I was in Turkey, I learned a very traditional style of painting,” he says. “But my mentor at MICA, Warren Linn, showed me that it can be done in different ways.” Arabacioglu’s work is a reflection of both classical paintings and his newfound love of layering. “I love textures,” he says.

Winging It

Baltimore magazine — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:31:58 +0000

Without much training or education, Bill Bateman has turned a tiny bar into a multi-million dollar franchise.

By Mike Unger

Bill Bateman never donned a cap and gown, never shifted the tassel from one side of the mortarboard to the other, never clutched a diploma.

He’s revealing this, the regret evident in his eyes, as he sits at a table sipping a glass of HobNob Pinot Noir at the Parkville restaurant that bears his name. There are 17 other such restaurants scattered from Edgewater to southern Pennsylvania, a mini chicken empire that has rendered Bateman’s name synonymous with Buffalo wings in this city.

Social Security

Amy Mulvihill — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:24:22 +0000

Edmund Skrodzki, ex-Secret Service and current executive director of campus safety and security at The Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus

By Amy Mulvihill

I worked for 22 years with the United States Secret Service. I was going to graduate school at the time here at University of Baltimore and one of the students there was a Secret Service agent. The Secret Service intrigued me because they have dual responsibilities: They have protection, and they have criminal investigation. So, I applied.

Gay Marriage, Take Two

Baltimore magazine — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:43:13 +0000

A year after a same-sex marriage bill died in the state legislature, advocates try again.

By Justin Snow

Last year, when state legislators tried to make Maryland the sixth state to legalize gay marriage, their once rock-solid coalition fell apart one Sunday at a time.

"We found Mondays to be bad days for our vote count," says Delegate Heather Mizeur of Montgomery County, one of a handful of openly gay legislators. "Each passing Sunday, many local pastors spent entire services devoted to preaching against marriage equality and any politician willing to support it, and, each week, we'd get a couple people who lost their courage."

Requiem 2011

Baltimore magazine — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:48:01 +0000

A look back at the local luminaries we lost in the past year

By Michael Yockel

William Donald Schaefer, 89
With his lumpy physique, occasionally dour demeanor, and complete indifference to fashion, William Donald Schaefer did not exactly cut a dashing public figure. And yet, absolutely no one exerted a more profound influence on this city in modern times.

Giving Shelter

Jess Blumberg — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:29:27 +0000

A local nonprofit provides new homes for abandoned and neglected animals.

By Jess Blumberg

In 2007, Michelle Ingrodi suffered a bad breakup. So, she did what many do in that situation and decided to get a dog. After exploring a couple of adoption agencies, she discovered the option of fostering.

"I fostered a puppy and, a week later, it got adopted," she said. "I loved it and wanted to do it again."

So she took out an ad on Craigslist saying that she could foster pets. Eventually, she quit her day job at a veterinarian's office and became a full-time foster mom for animals.

Muppet Man

Evan Serpick — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:13:48 +0000

A documentary about Elmo's local creator, Kevin Clash, debuts at the Charles.

By Evan Serpick

When Being Elmo premiered at the Charles Theater on November 18, it was a homecoming of sorts.

The documentary focuses on Kevin Clash, who grew up in Baltimore County, graduated from Dundalk High School and Towson University, and honed his skills as a puppeteer at the Inner Harbor. He went on to join Jim Henson at the Children's Television Workshop, where he created Elmo, the beloved red monster on Sesame Street.

Fresh Faces in the Principal's Office

Baltimore magazine — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:31:12 +0000

New Leaders program trains administrators to turn around failing schools

By Jennifer Mendelsohn

It's 9:00 on a Wednesday morning and Principal Stacy Place is on the move at William Paca Elementary school in East Baltimore's McElderry Park. Fresh from a meeting with the school's mental health counselor—one of Paca's students witnessed a parent being shot the previous night—the coffee-fueled administrator briskly walks the halls, making her daily checks on each classroom.

Elvis Lives!

Amy Mulvihill — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Jim Parsley, Elvis Tribute Artist

By Amy Mulvihill

"I'd say around 10 or 11 years old, a friend of mine introduced me to Elvis. He was a big Elvis fan. I'd go over to his house and just started listening to his records and thought, 'This guy is gooood.'

Elvis had everything, man. He was cool. He had the sound, the moves, the looks. He was also just a good human being. He'd give you the shirt off his back. When he had money, he loved buying people things and giving people things. How can you hate someone like that?

Sweet Truth

Jess Blumberg — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:27:28 +0000

A Lauraville writer redefines the mommy blog.

By Jess Blumberg

Tracey Gaughran-Perez has been keeping an online diary since the days of MS-DOS. "I've always loved to write," she says. "But then it started becoming more narrative and I actually gained followers."

So, in 2004, she started her own blog, Sweetney, where she is brutally honest about parenting, divorce, and life in general. She's also become an online mogul of sorts, creating three other websites for parents.

"I think I'm different than most mommy bloggers," she says. "I've always been a person who says what I really think, even if it pisses people off."

The Family That Texts Together

Baltimore magazine — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 18:38:31 +0000

As gadgets invade every aspect of our home lives, the concept of together time takes on a whole new meaning.

By Michele McFarland

Something out of the ordinary—and truly remarkable—happened to Sarah Schweizer a few months ago.

The Monkton architect had a meaningful conversation with her 16-year-old son Whit. Better yet, he initiated the chat about how best to map his high school and college goals. It was the kind of conversation mothers crave. One with give and take, depth, and resolution.

And it happened via text.

¡Bienvenidos a Baltimore!

Baltimore magazine — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:03:04 +0000

The city’s booming Latino community makes itself at home.

By Ron Cassie

Nicolás Ramos left Coahuila, Mexico to come to the United States in the '70s, when he was 16, picking broccoli and cauliflower on a Texas farm, and loading boxes of cucumber, squash, cantaloupe and watermelon into refrigerated trucks.

Ramos, his brother Carlos, and five other friends, each saved $100, enough money to buy a wood-paneled Ford station wagon from a nearby junkyard. The group of seven piled in, leaving the farm in search of better prospects. Soon, they discovered a different group of Latinos in San Antonio—established middle-class families.

Kids' Haven

Jess Blumberg — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:50:21 +0000

A new space opens for tots to play and learn.

By Jess Blumberg

Move over Chuck E. Cheese's. There's now a spot in town (sans pizza) that's specifically geared toward child development, education and a healthy dose of playtime. Charm City Kids Club (CCKC) in Lutherville was started by Lindsay Klatsky and Stacy Bekman Radz after they moved from New York City to Baltimore and couldn't find an all-in-one place for their kids. "We wanted to bring to Baltimore what many other large cities had in place," Klatsky says.

One Step At a Time

Suzanne Loudermilk — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:26:22 +0000

After his drug arrest and rehab, Keith Mills climbs back to top sportscaster status—while trying to make amends with his kids.

By Suzanne Loudermilk

In the darkest hours before dawn, Keith Mills—Baltimore's personable, ebullient sportscaster—is juggling his usual three morning gigs at WBAL on Television Hill.

He dashes into the AM-radio room on the third floor and tells early risers about the Orioles' latest loss. Then, he tosses his headset and sprints down the steps to the second-floor TV studio, where meteorologist Tony Pann greets him as "The Man" before he mic's up for home viewers, again reeling off the latest sports happenings.