baltimoresun.com news blog

Joe's Crab Shack and Cycle Gear open sites [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-24T14:14:00-07:00

Joe's Crab Shack will open its fourth Maryland restaurant at Hunt Valley Towne Center, the mall's developer, Greenberg Gibbons, said Thursday.

Maryland offers tax relief on debt forgiveness [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-23T08:00:00-07:00

For a long time, you had to pay income tax on debt that your mortgage lender forgave. During the height of the housing crisis, the federal government offered a reprieve — it stopped collecting income tax on up to $2 million of forgiven mortgage debt on a primary residence.

Eileen Fisher to open first Baltimore area store [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-23T06:00:00-07:00

It's a busy time for store openings for some Baltimore-area malls.

CFPB takes first step toward regulating prepaid cards [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-23T04:00:00-07:00

Prepaid debit cards have been called the Wild West because of their rapid growth, uncontrollable fees and little regulation.

The Best of Luck Candy & Gifts moving to Power Plant [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-22T12:19:00-07:00

Candy retailer The Best of Luck Candy & Gifts has moved to larger quarters at Power Plant in downtown Baltimore, next to Phillips Seafood.

Candy shop moves to Power Plant [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-22T12:19:00-07:00

Candy retailer The Best of Luck Candy & Gifts has moved to larger quarters at Power Plant in downtown Baltimore, next to Phillips Seafood.

IRS says it's becoming even more kind and gentle to struggling taxpayers [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-22T04:03:00-07:00

The IRS has been granting more leniency to struggling taxpayers through a program called Fresh Start.

Dog bites are "inherently dangerous" to finances [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-21T05:59:00-07:00

Maryland dog lovers are upset by a ruling in the highest court in the state that says pit bulls are “inherently dangerous,” which means owners and landlords can be liable for the first bite a pit bull makes.

White Marsh Mall renovations starting Sunday [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-18T10:36:00-07:00

Managers of White Marsh Mall offered more details today about mall upgrades, a day after announcing that Boscov's department store will return to the shopping center in October.

Best Buy and Cooking.com launch website [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-18T08:52:00-07:00

Need a new paella pan or a souffle dish?

White Marsh Mall Boscov's returns after four-year absence [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-17T06:59:00-07:00

Store was one of three that closed in 2008

Nearly four years after closing, Boscov's department store will reopen at White Marsh Mall in November, shopping center owner General Growth Properties announced Thursday.

Consumers to receive up to $40 million in refunds from Skechers USA [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-16T14:36:00-07:00

Skechers USA, which claimed its shoes could make you thinner and tone your muscles, agreed to pay $40 million to consumers in more than 40 states, including Maryland.

Giant Food to open store in Perry Hall [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-16T11:58:00-07:00

Maryland-based Giant Food says it will be moving into a Perry Hall shopping center at Belair Road and Hannon Court. Construction workers are now turning a 57,000-square-foot retail site, formerly occupied by Super Fresh, into a Giant Food store. The new store will open later this year.

FTC says it settled with debt collector that posed as Ed McMahon [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-15T09:43:00-07:00

The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on businesses that try to collect debts from consumers that they don’t even owe.

Myths about credit scores, and signs that a date has a great score [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-15T06:58:00-07:00

The Consumer Federation of America released its second annual survey of our credit score knowledge.

Baltimore running store owner stars in national retail campaign [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-14T11:44:00-07:00

'I'm Jim Adams... and This is Retail'

If you've never heard of Baltimorean Jim Adams, the National Retail Federation is hoping you will soon, thanks to a promotional campaign by the trade group.

Singing in the aisles at Wegmans [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-11T12:37:00-07:00

Update: In an email Friday, drama teacher Maura Morrison said Thursday night’s show was standing room only with people turned away from the 900-seat auditorium.

Domino's offers new gluten-free pizza [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-10T07:15:00-07:00

Domino’s became the nation’s largest pizza chain this week to offer a gluten-free pizza crust, a step to meet the needs of gluten-sensitive customers, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.

Free stuff for Mom on Mother's Day [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-09T06:29:00-07:00

Mom wouldn’t want you to spend your scarce dollars on her. But you can spend the day with her and enjoy some free events.

Walmart beats Target in online shopping satisfaction [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-09T05:43:00-07:00

Online shoppers prefer Walmart to Target.

Do credit bureaus have constitutional right to report negative information about customers -- forever? [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-08T09:39:00-07:00

Interesting case going on in a federal district court in eastern district of Pennsylvania.

FTC: Myspace agrees to live up to privacy promises to consumers [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-08T09:01:00-07:00

The FTC announced it has reached a settlement with Myspace, which was accused of sharing consumers’ personal information with advertisers when it promised it wouldn’t do so.

Buy a Mother's Day meal or gift and support a favorite cause [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-08T04:00:00-07:00

Here’s a twist on buying Mother’s Day gifts, whether a meal out or a box of chocolates.

It's Happy Hour! Frappuccino Happy Hour, that is [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-04T11:35:00-07:00

Starbucks is offering half-off any flavor and size of its blended beverages starting Friday and running through May 13, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The blends, mixes of syrup, coffee, milk and ice, include flavors such as Mocha Cookie Crumble, Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème and Mocha Coconut.

Gifts from the heart for Mother's Day [Consuming Interests]

2012-05-04T09:46:17-07:00

Remember that you have many ways to spend less and add more meaning for a special Mother's Day

Somewhere along the way, honoring mom came to mean a fancy brunch or extravagant flower bouquet, an oddly transactional approach that manages to be both generic and pricey at a time many household budgets are tight.

InsideEd moves to new platform [InsideEd]

2012-03-01T09:07:47-08:00

Hello Inside Ed Family, As many of you may have noticed, there are some changes to InsideEd. We have moved to a new platform, that can be reached here [ ...

Moving! Follow the Real Estate Wonk to new home [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-29T05:37:00-08:00

The Real Estate Wonk has moved -- fitting, for a blog about housing. You can tag along to the new location by going to baltimoresun.com/realestatewonk. The new ...

New blogger and new blog home [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-28T03:19:00-08:00

This week Scott Dance joins The Baltimore Sun as its new weather blogger. As other Sun blogs have moved over to a new platform, it's time for Maryland ...

Realtors to rally against proposed change affecting Md. mortgage-interest deduction [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-28T03:00:00-08:00

Realtors have kicked off a campaign to keep legislators from approving a budget proposal that would reduce the amount of itemized deductions higher-income Maryl A taxpayer with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 and $24,000 in itemized deductions would pay $191 extra in Maryland taxes under the proposal, Gui ...

Hot days in February [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-26T03:03:00-08:00

From the Sun's print edition:Baltimore Sun librarian Paul McCardell offers this post: "Warmer In Baltimore Than In Miami” was the headline ...

Wind advisory in effect for Saturday for Baltimore region [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-25T08:34:47-08:00

The National Weather Service has a wind advisory in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday for the Baltimore area.A wind advisory means that wind gusts over 45 ...

Mild winter a bad sign for maple sugar [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-25T04:01:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporters Candus Thomson and Steve Kilar offers this guest post: Mild winter weather cou ...

Some celesital wonders coming up [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-24T13:50:15-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: If the weather cooperates, Saturday and Sunday nig ...

Learn to be a weather spotter [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-23T03:05:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: How does the National Weather Service ga ...

La Nina and tornadoes [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-22T03:49:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: Last year was the fourth deadliest year ...

Signs of spring this week [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-20T11:58:01-08:00

So the Baltimore area missed out on the holiday weekend snow, which hit Virginia and southern Maryland on Sunday. Weather spotters in Saint Mary ...

9 months of housing-market supply -- for now [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-20T03:00:00-08:00

It would take nine months to sell all the homes on the market in the Baltimore region at the pace people are buying these days, in case you were wondering.That' And on top of that, you've got both would-be buyers and would-be sellers sitting things out for now. When they choose to get off the sidelines will af ...

50th anniversary of John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-19T03:19:00-08:00

From the Sun's print edition:Baltimore Sun librarian Paul McCardell offers this post: "Godspeed, John G ...

Baltimore may see snow, but will likely miss big accumulation [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-18T08:57:56-08:00

While Baltimore might see some snow on Sunday, the latest forecasts are calling for the area to be spared from major accumulations.According to the Na ...

First data from Cross-track Infrared Sounder [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-18T03:17:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: The newest polar-orbiting satellite that ...

WISE satellite one year later [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-17T11:14:36-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: On this date last year, NASA decommissio ...

Uncertainty surrounds weekend storm [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-17T08:19:56-08:00

Forecasters say it's much too early to determine where and how much snow will fall Sunday. But here is the speculation so far. Update 4:30 p.m. The Na ...

What the robo-signing settlement means for all borrowers [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-17T03:00:00-08:00

If you're not in trouble on a mortgage and didn't lose your home to foreclosure in the last few years, you might think the national settlement between state att o More rules about suspense accounts. When payments are put in such accounts, servicers must tell the borrower and apply money from the account to the ...

Snow still a possibility for Saturday into Sunday [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-16T20:07:16-08:00

Baltimore Sun reporter Steve Kilar offers this guest post: The National Weather Service is still predicting a decent chance of snow for Saturday ...

Goddard explanation for Snowmageddon [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-16T13:46:13-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: So, what caused Snowmageddon—the t ...

Holiday weekend snow possible [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-16T09:21:09-08:00

The latest wintry mix forecast of the season is for Saturday night. It all comes down to temperature. The National Weather Service says, "A coast ...

City schools to release school system earnings on Friday [InsideEd]

2012-02-15T14:32:56-08:00

Baltimore city school officials said this week that they will be releasing the gross earnings for its employees on Friday. If you remember, The Sun ma [The information initially provided by Baltimore City was incomplete, with school officials providing general salary scales for its positions rather ...

Crime, school and amenities data paired with real estate [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-15T03:00:00-08:00

Real estate search site Trulia now has neighborhood data on crime, schools and other things that aren't real estate but that homebuyers and prospective renters ...

Great Backyard Bird Count is Saturday [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-14T12:49:01-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: Take part in the national Great Backyard ...

Mayor, Alonso do agree on one part of school construction plan [InsideEd]

2012-02-14T09:50:38-08:00

In a story today about Mayor Stephanie-Rawlings Blake's State of the City address, our City Hall Reporter Julie Scharper touched a lot on how the mayo [ ...

Company town [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-14T03:00:00-08:00

Pete from Highlandtown, one of my favorite commenters here (though I love you all), touched on a subject this week that everyone in the region should be giving Some local economists warned for years that the rapidly increasing amount of federal contracting dollars flowing to Maryland would inevitably have to ...

Possible morning snow showers [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-13T15:03:26-08:00

The National Weather Service says there's a 40 percent of snow showers before 10 a.m. before turning to rain. Little accumulation expected. Baltimore ...

Few bedrooms, big price [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-13T03:00:00-08:00

You'd be forgiven for thinking that pricey homes always have a lot of bedrooms. They so often do. Take this seven-bedroom spread in Annapolis. Or this 12-bedroo When it comes down to it, though, how many bedrooms does a mansion really need? I mean, is anyone entertaining enough to make 30 bedrooms a must-hav ...

Memories of February storms [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-12T03:20:00-08:00

From the Sun's print edition:Baltimore Sun librarian Paul McCardell offers this post: We are entering the pa ...

High winds forecast for Sunday [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-11T16:43:38-08:00

With a night of howling winds up to 47 miles per hour and some flurries in the forecast, utility crews were preparing Saturday for potential power out ...

Accumulating snow expected Saturday [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-11T05:47:49-08:00

The Baltimore region can expect around an inch of accumulating snow Saturday, likely in the mid to late afternoon. Areas along the Pennsylvania bord ...

See the International Space Station with your sweetie on Valentine's Day [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-11T03:56:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: Get those neck muscles in shape, Interna ...

HCC Part of Student Advocacy Day [InsideEd]

2012-02-10T15:45:25-08:00

By Joe BurrisThree years ago, Ben Fischer suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident that left him with slow cognitive skills. The Howard C [“Primarily I am standing up for disabled students who are going to college at this point and time,” said Fischer, who was among 15 HCC stu ...

More rain and snow this weekend [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-10T09:20:44-08:00

The second rain and snow event of the week is upon us, but little or no accumulation is expected in the Baltimore metro area. The National Weather Ser ...

Maryland stocks trout streams, ponds [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-10T03:21:00-08:00

From The Sun's print editions: Baltimore Sun reporter Candus Thomson offers this guest post: Warm, dry weather has meant one thing fo ...

Snow totals in Maryland [Maryland Weather blog]

2012-02-09T10:20:11-08:00

Accumulations from Wednesday's snow event, such as it was, ranged from a trace at BWI to 2 inches in Frederick County, according to the National Weath ...

Ten states to get NCLB waivers [InsideEd]

2012-02-09T06:56:04-08:00

The Associated Press is reporting that the White House will soon announce that 10 states have gotten waivers to No Child Left Behind, essentially lift [ ...

Updated: After Alonso PIP letter went out, teachers' PIP stories rolled in [InsideEd]

2012-02-09T05:27:29-08:00

Just before our story about the rise in PIPs among city teachers posted last night, Baltimore city schools CEO Andres Alonso sent out a letter to teac [Update on Professional Support for Teachers February 7, 2012 Dear City Schools Teachers, Thank you for all that you have done—and ...

Md. foreclosures since 2006: Almost 50,000 [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-09T05:05:00-08:00

Mortgage firms have foreclosed on about 49,600 homes in Maryland since the final days of the inflating housing bubble in January 2006, real estate data firm Cor ...

Baltimore County school board passes budget [InsideEd]

2012-02-08T15:53:18-08:00

Baltimore County school board members voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt a $1.23 billion budget with an amendment that would add two more audito [ ...

Twenty apply for Baltimore County school superintendent job - so far [InsideEd]

2012-02-08T14:26:04-08:00

On Tuesday, the search firm hired to help find Baltimore County a new superintendent reported it has 20 applications that are either in hand [ ...

Union Leader: City principals also seeing PIP surge [InsideEd]

2012-02-08T07:30:02-08:00

On Wednesday, we ran a story about the stark increase in the number of Baltimore city teachers who received unsatisfactory ratings on their mid-year e [The district claims that it is now redefining PIPs in using them as a constructive feedback and professional development tool. In the past, they have ...

City schools boxing champion wins second national title [InsideEd]

2012-02-07T11:46:38-08:00

What a breath of fresh air I received today in a phone call from the mother of Lorenzo "Truck" Simpson, the City Springs Elementary/Middle s [ ...

Phasing in new testing for Common Core [InsideEd]

2012-02-07T06:45:11-08:00

In a story today, I look at the ramifications of moving to the Common Core standards and a new set of tests. When the state schoo [ ...

Renting by default or by choice [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-07T03:00:00-08:00

As the homeownership rate drops, the renter ranks swell. Some are renting because it's the only option, except possibly crashing with family, but others could b ...

Proposal would help state keep banks from getting homeowner tax breaks [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-06T03:00:00-08:00

A reader wrote in the other day because she discovered that her former neighbor's house, foreclosed on several years ago, is still listed in public records as i Robert E. Young, director of the assessments agency, said the department-requested SB 123 would require that foreclosing firms forward a copy of the c ...

City principal pay below average [InsideEd]

2012-02-03T07:04:50-08:00

Today, I wrote a story about principal pay in the city, which I was surprised to find was below the average for the state, and that of the other large [ ...

Where Baltimore-area residents would rather be [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-02-03T03:00:00-08:00

Real estate search site Trulia says the Baltimore region is seventh on the list of metro areas with the weakest demand among the online search crowd -- specific It's an eerily similar list. 1. The Washington area 2. The Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick area 3. The NYC area 4. The Philadelphia area 5. The Sali ...

Why we still don't know the real story about Baltimore City school system salaries [InsideEd]

2012-02-02T09:39:13-08:00

Today, The Sun published a database with the salary and overtime for every school system employee--by name and job title--dating back to 2008. I [After blowing the 30-day response deadline outlined by the Maryland Public Information Act--a law--by nearly three weeks, the city school system pro ...

Moving on [You Don't Say]

2012-02-01T11:11:16-08:00

Today You Don’t Say relocates to a new Web address and new software. You will be able to find it at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/language-blog/, where ...

Updated: Local attorney hopes to bring international perspective to city school board [InsideEd]

2012-02-01T08:48:11-08:00

Updated on February 1: A new member has been appointed to the Baltimore city school board, after two searches have taken place in the last year [School officials confirmed the appointment after The Sun obtained board members' formal notifications last week. Board members are jointly appointed ...

Updated: Alonso's chief of staff withdraws name from superintendent search [InsideEd]

2012-02-01T07:11:16-08:00

Updated: Tisha Edwards, Alonso's chief of staff who traveled to East Baton Rouge last week to interview as a finalist for the parish's superintendent [Original Post: Tisha Edwards, right hand (wo)man and chief of staff for city schools CEO Andres Alonso, is a semifinalist for the superintendent sea ...

A spell of rough weather [You Don't Say]

2012-01-31T15:20:32-08:00

There was a mild dustup today on the Internet over, of all things, spelling.The rhubarb started when Anne Trubek flung down the gauntlet with a suggestion in Wi ...

Hiding cell phones in Uggs? [InsideEd]

2012-01-30T09:56:47-08:00

Here's a great story on the decision by one Pennsylvania school to ban the wearing of Uggs, or high top boots, that aren't snug. Students we [ ...

City school, political leaders endorse Obama dropout plan [InsideEd]

2012-01-30T08:48:04-08:00

Baltimore city is used to some radical ideas when it comes to keeping kids in school--a trademark of city schools CEO Andres Alonso--but there is one [In 2008, Pugh's efforts spurred a yearlong study by a statewide task force of educators, community leaders and legislators which recommended that, ...

Later this week ... [You Don't Say]

2012-01-30T07:34:33-08:00

This week will see some changes to this blog as it shifts to a different software, and these are the things you will want to know First, there will be a new ad ...

English majors to the fore! [You Don't Say]

2012-01-28T17:44:45-08:00

A Tribune news brief in the January 29 Baltimore Sun:Alejandrina Cabrera, a city council candidate in Arizona, is appealing a lower court decision that barred h ...

Grammarnoir 1, in audio [You Don't Say]

2012-01-27T13:39:15-08:00

Click on this link to listen to a podcast of the complete installments of the first Grammarnoir serial, first published in 2009 on the occasion of the first Nat ...

Fast home sales, slow home sales [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-27T03:00:00-08:00

Above: The homes that sold in the Baltimore region in December, organized by how quickly -- or slowly -- they went from listed to under contract.The bre To put it into perspective: 415 homes that sold in December -- not that many more than the 30-and-under group -- had been on the market more than six ...

New member appointed to the city school board [InsideEd]

2012-01-26T14:07:11-08:00

A new member has been appointed to the Baltimore city school board, after two searches have taken place in the last year to find someone to replace An [An inquiry to the governor's press secretary on Thursday was not returned. The appointment of a new member has been a long anticipated. While board ...

Comptroller Franchot launches petition for air-conditioning in Baltimore County schools [InsideEd]

2012-01-26T09:10:53-08:00

Comptroller Peter Franchot is launching a petition drive to try to help Baltimore County parents protest the failure of the county govenrment to [ ...

Rules of the game [You Don't Say]

2012-01-26T05:34:16-08:00

Yesterday I suggested that it might be profitable to consider prescriptivists as Platonists and descriptivists as Aristotelians, a conceit that garnered some ap ...

New proposal for ground-rent registry [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-26T03:30:00-08:00

For those of you with a vested interest in (or just curiosity about) ground rent: The newest twist in the saga is a bill aimed at the registry.Fourteen state de ...

'Stealing Trust' screening event in Baltimore [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-26T03:00:00-08:00

If you haven't had your recommended daily dose of outrage, here's an upcoming source: The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition is showing its "Stealing Trust ...

State board wants major reduction in suspensions [InsideEd]

2012-01-25T11:52:28-08:00

The state board took the first steps yesterday to propose a significant change in the way school districts discipline students. They want schools [ ...

A new taxonomy [You Don't Say]

2012-01-25T09:11:18-08:00

Are you weary of the prescriptivist/descriptivist false dichotomy? I know I am. Try a fresh taxonomy. Hard-core prescriptivists, like the members of the risib ...

Updated: Alonso's billion-dollar borrowing pitch [InsideEd]

2012-01-25T08:45:14-08:00

Updated on Monday, Jan. 30: One of the biggest questions that emerged from Alonso's recent pitch to allow the school system to borrow billions for sch [Original/Amended Posting: With the support of City council President Bernard "Jack" Young, students and education advocates, Baltimo ...

Cocking a snoot [You Don't Say]

2012-01-25T08:29:25-08:00

Please excuse my neglect of you this week, but my custom is, when I have nothing to say, to say nothing.* Today I want to explain why Bryan Garner’s twee ...

Howard school board outlines possible redistricting plans [InsideEd]

2012-01-24T12:44:44-08:00

From Howard schools reporter Joe Burris:The Howard County board of education on Tuesday briefed the County Council on possible redistricting plans for [In November, the school board voted to move approximately 1,200 elementary school students for the upcoming school year to relieve over-capacity conce ...

Bright Minds Foundation Awards Grants [InsideEd]

2012-01-24T09:18:00-08:00

Howard County public schools faculty were among several educators awarded funding to launch projects through the county’s nonprofit Bright Minds [Bright Minds was launched in 2006 by the Howard County school board to fund, among other things, initiatives that are not covered in the school’ ...

What N.Y., Del. and a few other states are doing about mortgage misconduct [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-24T05:14:27-08:00

State attorneys general gathered in Chicago or by conference call Monday to go over possible terms for a deal with large banks over foreclosure wrongdoing, but Also in December, California and Nevada's attorneys general said their offices have teamed up on civil and criminal investigations into mortgage misco ...

Best-of joke of the week: "The Remarkable Pig" [You Don't Say]

2012-01-23T06:19:15-08:00

brightcove.createExperiences(); ...

Youngest homeowners least satisfied with homeownership [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-23T03:00:00-08:00

If you're a dissatisfied homeowner, chances are you're young.That's the takeaway from real estate search site HomeGain's latest survey, which asked Americans w Setting aside age and just looking at the length of time someone has owned their home, the group with the highest share of satisfaction isn't the one ...

Rules of the road [You Don't Say]

2012-01-22T06:39:07-08:00

When I asked readers whether there are subjects they would like to see addressed here, one expressed interest in my “takes on life in and around Baltimore ...

The need not to know [You Don't Say]

2012-01-21T09:11:25-08:00

I remarked the other day on Twitter and Facebook, “I find myself operating more and more on a need-not-to-know basis.” Let me flesh that out a litt ...

Spelling errors in state education presentation [InsideEd]

2012-01-20T17:58:00-08:00

From our colleague Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog:When interim Maryland State School Superintendent Bernard J. Sadusky made a presentat [ ...

Test your wits [You Don't Say]

2012-01-20T07:25:41-08:00

The holidays past, the winter doldrums upon us, some distraction, some entertainment, some event would be welcome. Let me suggest, if you are local, Quiz Night ...

How home prices in the Baltimore area stack up [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-20T03:00:00-08:00

Home prices in the Baltimore area fell about 4 percent last year, which is either bad or good, depending on your perspective. If you take the position that it's Ninety of the 363 metro areas saw the typical price for resold homes rise between the end of 2010 and the end of last year, with a few others holdin ...

Send me a man who reads [You Don't Say]

2012-01-19T14:54:02-08:00

The more [cough] seasoned [cough] readers in the audience will recognize the headline for this post as the tag from a series the International Paper Company ran ...

Do that voodoo that who do [You Don't Say]

2012-01-19T06:12:44-08:00

A suggestion came yesterday from Heidi Landecker at the Chronicle of Higher Education that I might return to the who/whom matter. She referred me to a post at L ...

What's your pleasure? [You Don't Say]

2012-01-18T10:15:01-08:00

At Johnson, R.L.G. invites readers to suggest what he should blog about. It would be unworthy to suggest that he does this to spark some reader-generated conte ...

Alonso's chief of staff on short list for superintendent search [InsideEd]

2012-01-18T07:11:16-08:00

Tisha Edwards, right hand (wo)man and chief of staff for city schools CEO Andres Alonso, is a semifinalist for the superintendent seat in the East Bat [The East Baton Rough district has a website that makes public each candidates' CV and application. I poked around a bit, and it was interesting to l ...

Report: Rents increased 5% in Baltimore region in 2011 [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-18T03:00:00-08:00

The typical rent for a two-bedroom rental in the Baltimore region rose 5 percent last year, according to real estate search site HotPads.com.The company, which The increases vary a lot within the metro area, from just 0.2 percent in Baltimore's northern suburbs -- basically flat -- to more than 8 percent in t ...

And so it begins [You Don't Say]

2012-01-17T06:04:44-08:00

Today is the first day of spring term classes at Loyola. In a quarter of an hour I will walk into a classroom and once more deliver the Harangue. ...

Clear Capital: Baltimore-area home prices dropped 6% in 2011 [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-17T03:00:00-08:00

Real estate data firm Clear Capital puts the Baltimore region's price drop last year at 6.2 percent, a figure calculated from repeat sales of homes to try to ca Clear Capital also weighed in with a forecast, because everyone has 'em.The company predicts that home prices will fall 4.9 percent in the Baltimore r ...

Best-of joke of the week: "The Castaway" [You Don't Say]

2012-01-16T06:41:45-08:00

brightcove.createExperiences(); ...

The mark of scorn [You Don't Say]

2012-01-14T08:28:44-08:00

You will excuse me for not getting exercised over the decision by Waterstone’s the British bookseller, to drop the apostrophe from its name.* The Apostrop ...

2012 resolutions [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-13T03:00:00-08:00

I'm still sick, so I don't have energy for much except asking a few questions.What are you hoping to accomplish this year? Pay down debt? Save a down payment? F ...

Stay away from question heads [You Don't Say]

2012-01-12T14:57:23-08:00

One of the best reasons to avoid question headlines: They invite mischief.A Baltimore Twitter account tweeted a link to a website with this unconvincing come-on ...

What the Dickens [You Don't Say]

2012-01-12T13:51:31-08:00

It falls to my lot to write little front-page capsules for The Sun, directing readers to articles of interest inside the paper. Last night, one of the likelier- ...

When will home prices return to bubble-era levels? [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-12T03:00:00-08:00

Moody's Analytics is predicting that home prices in the Baltimore region will climb back to previous peaks in five or six years. Do you think that's likely? Wha ...

Watch this space [You Don't Say]

2012-01-11T07:44:58-08:00

I’m pleased to tell you that work has begun on “Grammarnoir 4: Final Edition.” As previously, it will appear on this blog in a series of wee ...

Baltimore-area housing market in 2011 [The Real Estate Wonk]

2012-01-11T03:00:00-08:00

Here's the early look at the 2011 housing market in the Baltimore area: table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Celia Chen, a housing economist for Moody’s Analytics, said Tuesday that homes prices in the Baltimore region are down about 22 percent from their pea ...

Gag me with a copy editor [You Don't Say]

2012-01-09T10:08:26-08:00

I think it’s fair to say that Benjamin J. Marrison, editor of The Columbus Dispatch, is forthright. Here is what he said in an article in yesterday’ ...

A little light housekeeping [You Don't Say]

2012-01-09T08:34:01-08:00

Sorry to have no video joke on offer this week. The holiday staffing schedules got in the way of recording, but the joke of the week will return next week. Th ...

A nation of immigrants hates immigration [You Don't Say]

2012-01-08T10:26:02-08:00

My colleague Steve Kilar has an article in today’s Sun about the likelihood that encouraging immigration is the only means by which Baltimore can hope to ...

How work sustains us [You Don't Say]

2012-01-07T09:25:39-08:00

A cheerful reflection to brighten your day, from one of Philip Larkin’s letters: “One wakes up wanting to cut one’s throat; one goes to work, ...