Baltimore Checkbook

$1M study of Baltimore Convention Center expansion...

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A study that will explore a possible expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center got the last layer of approval after the city’s spending board OK’d $313,000 to fund the study Wednesday. In all, the study will cost $1 million, which will come from various city and state sources. The city’s Board of Estimates voted to approve the city’s portion of the study. The study is to begin in early 2017 and be completed later in the year. The Maryland Stadium Authority will oversee the study, which it approved…

100 S. Charles St. owner plans retail build-out,...

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Fresh off signing Morgan Stanley as an anchor tenant, the owners of the 100 S. Charles St. office tower are planning a $20 million overhaul of the building, including redoing the first floor retail space and creating a 30,000-square-foot co-working space on the second floor. Plans for a retail build-out include all-glass facades along Pratt and Charles streets and outdoor seating areas. The area also has a new suggested name — One Pratt Plaza. Abdi Mahemdi, president of the upstate New York Carlyle…

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week returns in...

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Once you recover from your Thanksgiving and Christmas food coma, more than 100 city restaurants will be waiting for your business as part of Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week. Restaurant Week will return Jan. 13-22 and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and Visit Baltimore expect more than 100 restaurants in the city to participate. The winter edition of the popular dining event that has iterations all across the country will also continue a new pricing concept that was introduced in the summer…

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber...

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The big-box stores are known for their Black Friday deals, but local companies and stores are getting in on the Thanksgiving weekend savings, too. Here’s a handful of deals:

JG Sassy, 7701 Bellona Ave. in Towson, will offer the following discounts through Monday: 30 percent off jeans; 30 percent…

Deck the halls — here's a peek at trees businesses...

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It’s billed as “Santa’s theme park” for a reason. The 27th annual Kennedy Krieger Institute Festival of Trees offers fans of all things Christmas the chance to check out hundreds of decorated trees, wreaths, a gingerbread town, gift shops and more. The annual three-day fundraiser kicks off Nov. 25 at the Timonium Fairgrounds. It’s a favorite holiday event for many Greater Baltimore families who flock to the massive celebration of the holidays each year. Festival of Trees is Kennedy Krieger’s biggest…

8 things to do over Thanksgiving weekend

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That’s right, the holidays are here. It seems to have snuck up on many of us, but we’re only a day away from Thanksgiving — and a month from the winter holidays. While many Marylanders are expected to travel long distances this weekend, if you are staying in the Baltimore area, there’s no shortage of activities, events and attractions to keep you and your family occupied while they’re home from school and work. Here are some ideas of what to do over the long weekend. Of course, with Thanksgiving…

Baltimore entrepreneur wants to get guns off the...

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Trevor Brooks was in and out of the prison system throughout his young adult years in Baltimore City. Growing up in inner city neighborhoods, it wasn’t hard for him or his friends to get their hands on guns. Brooks was convicted of his first gun crime as a teenager. “I grew up in a culture of violence in Baltimore City, and as I got older, I wanted to do something to and positively impact my community, to do something that made a difference for minority young adults like me,” Brooks said. That's…

Judge blocks Obama-backed rule extending overtime...

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A federal judge in Texas this evening blocked a U.S. Department of Labor rule extending overtime pay to more than 4 million U.S. workers. The Obama-backed rule had been scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, and many employers nationwide had changed the way they pay workers to meet the requirements of the new rule. The emergency, nationwide injunction may not permanently block the rule change, but does block its Dec. 1 mandatory implementation. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant in Sherman heard arguments…

Kevin Plank, Living Classrooms Foundation unveil...

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Kevin Plank and the Living Classrooms Foundation on Tuesday showed off the UA House at Fayette, a new community and recreation center in East Baltimore. Next, Plank, the CEO of Under Armour Inc., hopes to replicate the project about 30 times throughout the city. Flanked by government officials and business leaders, Plank described the 30,000-square-foot UA House as an accelerator for the community and said building it was like starting a fire by, “taking a tiny little match and then pouring about…

Center Cut Doughnuts to open Hampden location as...

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Josh Kowitz is moving his Center Cut Doughnuts from the street corner to a brick and mortar, taking over the B. Doughnut location in Hampden after the owners announced they were closing the store. Husband and wife Brian and Pin Chanthapanya announced on the company’s Facebook page Monday they would be closing the 3528 Chestnut Ave. location on Sunday, citing difficulties of not being able to be in the store all the time as they live in Virginia. The couple is opening a Leesburg, Va., location soon…