If you’re not familiar with the location of The Daily Record’s office, we’re nestled right between Charles and Saint Paul Streets on E Saratoga St. Almost every weekday morning, as I walk from my garage to the office, I run into Paul “The Doorman” Wojtysiak outside of the Tremont Grand.

You can’t miss him. As I wrote in today’s paper, Wojtysiak is Baltimore’s doorman.

Maybe BACVA’s Tom Noonan summed it up best. Whether it’s helping jump start someone’s car or sweeping the steps in front of the nearby Saint Paul’s Church, “This is exactly the kind of thing that we’re trying to train people to do,” Noonan said. “Paul does it natural. We’re hoping to emulate Paul all over the city.”

As a supplement to our story, we’re asking readers to send us any questions you might have for Wojtysiak, or your impressions from bumping into him on Charles St. I know I still have a few questions for Paul up my sleeve, but we want to hear from you.

Drop us a comment below or send me an e-mail at richard.simon@mddailyrecord.com with your question and we’ll pick the best ones for a follow-up Q + A with Paul.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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Thanksgiving has passed, which means it’s the time of the year when we start fretting over the next big holiday on the calendar. Which means worries over shopping. Getting that perfect gift for that special someone — hopefully on Black Friday, so at a dramatically reduced price. But still given with all the love in the world, of course.

There are plenty of stories all across newspapers and Web sites about whether the down economy is going to affect this season’s holiday shopping. Plenty of people planning to cut back on giving so that they can… you know… afford food and heat.

Thankfully (?) for me the list of people who can tolerate my company for a sustained period of time remains short, so I can stick to my normal plan of waiting until the absolute last possible moment before giving my Christmas gifts any real thought. But I’m a rare case.

And you’re an interesting readership, according to all The Daily Record’s surveys. Our average reader is well-off, so I wonder how much — if at all — the troubling economic times will affect your holiday plans.

Cutting back on your “receive” list? Shortening that out-of-town trip? Let us know.

(If the tony crowd needs a little incentive to get out there and spend, Ruth’s Chris Steak House is offering one free Petit Filet or New York Strip Steak with the purchase of another entrée on Black Friday. That’s almost enough to get me to go outdoors. Almost.)

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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Today’s story about Black Friday and the upcoming holiday shopping season talks about how retailers and shoppers are affected by the economy, but there’s another aspect the story doesn’t address — how those on the receiving end of charitable giving are faring this season.

Times are tight, both for individuals and the corporations that make donations. But one couple at Arundel Mills Mall said that factor — more than the economy itself — is driving their spending habits this season.

“I think we’re trying to be a little bit more conscious and we’re a lot more interested in charitable organizations this year,” said Peter Rocco, who was out shopping last week with his wife Maria and their baby daughter.

The couple said the economy had not yet taken a toll on their wallets — Peter works for defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. — but they said they thought the instability was creating a greater need for charity this year, and they wanted to do their part.

The couple said they were looking for products that donated a certain amount of the proceeds to charity or were making donations in the name of a family member for a gift.

“It just makes sense to do something a little more relevant and long-lasting rather than something someone may not even need or want,” said Maria.

Are other shoppers out there keeping an eye out for charities this year? Or are you like the many others who are basing their purchases on sales and coupons?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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It seems with just about every economy-related story I’ve done this year — and there’s been quite a few — a merchant or industry promoter inevitably feeds me this line during an interview:

“People will still [fill in the blank]. They give up a couple of Starbucks lattes a week or shift their budgets and find a way.”

Why does everyone pick on Starbucks? Is it the evil empire of the coffee kingdom? Sure, the average latte costs about $4. Giving up, say, three of those a week can save someone $64 a month.

While it does add up, $64 is still about half to two-thirds the cost of a one-night stay in a hotel room, about half the cost of a one-way flight to Orlando on Southwest Airlines, or equal the cost of a two-day lift ticket for one adult at Wisp Resort in Western Maryland.

I think people might need to give up more than lattes if they are finding themselves under a tighter budget this year.

But then again, what do I know? After hovering just under $20 in January, the price of Starbucks shares has steadily decreased and today is at a little more than $8. But is it really because America is saving its latte money for vacations or holiday gifts?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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Constellation Energy Group Inc. has made another Top 10 list, but this time it’s not such an honor. The Multinational Monitor has ranked Baltimore-based Constellation in the “10 Worst Corporations of 2008,” along with corporate giants AIG, Dole, General Electric and Phillip Morris International.

The group, which tracks corporate activity with a focus on the health and safety of workers, the environment and labor union issues, cited Constellation’s desire to build more nuclear power plants as a big no-no because of the financial and safety risks associated with them.

Constellation also ruffled some feathers at the Multinational Monitor when it threatened to sue the state earlier this year. It seems as though that might be the move that landed the company on the list, because of the $187 million settlement with the state that followed.

“The deal also included regulatory changes making it easier for outside companies to invest in Constellation — a move of greater import than initially apparent. In September, with utility stock prices plummeting, Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy announced it would purchase Constellation for $4.7 billion, less than a quarter of the company’s market value in January,” the report read.

What do you think? Does Constellation deserve to sit among the 10 worst corporate offenders or has the Multinational Monitor gone overboard?

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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I had two thoughts when I woke up this morning to a sea of snow flurries outside my 14th-floor window. One – being a Florida boy, I will never get tired or bored of snow. Two – Baltimore is probably getting very close to the season’s first instance of 2 to 3 inches of snow shutting down the entire city.

I don’t understand this at all. Down South (I know Florida isn’t The South — I’m talking about the cardinal direction) nearly every building is equipped with ACs strong enough to cool down even the hottest day. Go North, cities have the equipment and plans to clear roads and keep themselves functioning with only the most minor of schedule blips.

But not Baltimore, it seems. In the summer, we either shut down schools or let the kids bake. In the winter, a little snow keeps us at home and turns downtown into a frozen wasteland.

So I figure it’s only a matter of time before I walk to work one morning to find most people still at home, trapped inside by iced-over roads.

Maybe it’ll be different this winter. But I doubt it. What’s your take on the city’s seeming inability to handle anything besides moderate weather conditions?

JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist

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The news that Southwest Airlines Co. wants to add flights at New York’s LaGuardia Airport got us thinking of the possibilities. Though the company hasn’t said where it’s going to fly to LaGuardia from, it doesn’t hurt to postulate a little bit. What if you could fly from BWI, where Southwest is the largest carrier?

Update (12:03 p.m.): Southwest is negotiating with the state to cut its gate space at BWI, but said Friday it is not contemplating a reduction to its flight schedule there.

Getting to New York can be convenient from Baltimore, and it can also be cheap. In my experience, it’s rarely been both. Danielle Ulman, energy and finance writer, just bought an Amtrak ticket to travel to and from the Big Apple next week for work. She paid $194, with a AAA discount. It would have otherwise been $225.

Kayak.com, a travel search Web site, showed $270 as the cheapest round trip for a random weekend I chose in January (I’m not really going). There are also buses that have round trips in the $40 range, but their schedules can be irregular, and some folks, especially business travelers, need a little more space than the motorcoach seat can afford. I’ve taken the buses before, though, and I think they’re fine.

You can always drive, but have fun with tolls, traffic, and parking. Since Southwest’s flights are often well under $100 for a one-way flight, it could be about as cheap as taking a road trip (still more than the buses).

So what do you think, would a low-fare airline be the right thing for your NYC travels?

ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

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Who knew that finding a customer could be so hard? Well, maybe car dealers these days already knew that.

Today’s story about how Maryland car dealerships are struggling because of the economic downturn talks about how there’s fewer people buying cars — but I definitely felt that truth first-hand when I set out to find some car shoppers to talk to this week.

After an hour and 15 minutes of walking into five dealerships and slowing to a crawl in front of several other lots to do a quick scan for any movement, I found a grand total of one customer.

OK, granted, a weekday morning is probably not the best time to find people out car-hunting, but the complete lack of activity is still worth noting. And the excited looks that quickly turned to disappointment on the faces of the salesmen when I told them I was not interested in buying a car is also worth mentioning.

Needless to say the thousands of cars, dozens of salesmen and the lone customer I encountered is certainly a snapshot — albeit slightly exaggerated — of what this industry is facing right now. And on top of that, attempts from industry lobbyists this week to get Congress to approve a $25 billion loan to America’s automakers were stalled this week.

Do you think the industry is in dire straits and should get federal assistance?

Or has anyone gone car shopping recently and been utterly disappointed? Or had the car financing blues? Share with us your experience!

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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I had a chance to catch up yesterday with John Maroon of Maroon PR, the agency representing Ripken Baseball. He just spent five days in Nicaragua with Cal Ripken Jr. and former O’s teammate Dennis Martinez, conducting baseball clinics for youth coaches and kids throughout the country and donating hundreds of pieces of equipment on their way.

Assisted by representatives from Ripken Baseball and the U.S. Embassy, Ripken and Martinez, a native of Nicaragua, traveled to Managua and Granada last week and worked with 300 children and 60 youth coaches. Their final clinic in Leon, scheduled for Monday, was canceled due to civil unrest in the area.

Maroon said the group was not in any danger — in fact, they spent Monday sight-seeing — but the clinic was canceled after the mayor of Leon said the kids would not be able to make it through the protestors and blocked roadways to attend.

Maroon also said the media coverage in the country of their trip was everywhere and they made the front page of regional newspapers nearly every day. But for once, it wasn’t Ripken the media and public were fawning over.

“Dennis Martinez is like Elvis down there,” Maroon said. “They couldn’t get enough of him. It was like sure, they knew who Cal was, but Dennis is a real national hero to them.”

Maroon said the group was also struck by the need for school supplies and funding. Before they left they were contacted by a Fallston High School teacher who sent them 200 pounds of school supplies, which they donated to two schools while they were there.

Ripken and Martinez plan to return to the country to further develop baseball programs. Ripken was named American Public Diplomacy Envoy for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2007. His next trip with the department is planned for Africa in 2009.

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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Today’s paper has a story about a dispute over a 7-Eleven coming to the block just south of Baltimore’s famous Mt. Vernon Place. Since posting the story online, we’ve received at least one suggestion from a reader of an alternative commercial space to put the 24-hour convenience store. Problem is, the reader’s suggestion happened to be on the same block.

The federal historic district that surrounds Mt. Vernon Place includes only the four parks surrounding the Washington Monument – although many of the buildings that front on those parks are also preserved as historic places.

What do you think of the idea of putting a 7-Eleven franchise, which won’t exactly blend in with the Victorian architecture around there, but according to zoning rules is completely legitimate for the site, at the foot of the South plaza next to the monument? Is it an appropriate use? Is it worth it for those 3 a.m. Big Gulp cravings?

ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer

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