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As resident music nerd/real estate reporter here at The Daily Record, I sometimes feel the need to highlight examples of real estate and development-related pop music in Maryland. Last year, we alerted readers to a new electronic dance music mash-up act called Smart Growth, which is led by the drummer in a Baltimore band that’s gotten big praise for a song called “Luxury Condos for the Poor.”

Now, even though the record is a few months old, I’m urging readers to check out Merriweather Post Pavilion, the new album by Animal Collective, a band that originated in Baltimore County (Catonsville, I believe) but whose members are now spread out between America and Europe.

In addition to naming their record after the Howard County venue where they grew up seeing rock concerts, the band has recorded a new song, “My Girls,” (see the awesome video above) which is my early pick for Best Single of 2009 and is an eloquent expression of the American Dream, as construed through real estate. Here are the lyrics:

Is it much that I feel I need?
A solid soul and the blood I bleed?
With a little girl, and by my spouse
I only want a proper house.

I don’t care for fancy things,
Or to take part in a precious race.
And children cry for the one who has
A real big heart and a father’s grace.

I don’t mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status.
I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls.

Hmmm. With the housing market in what Reuters is calling “the worst downturn since the Great Depression” and the Case-Shiller index reporting nearly 20 percent drops in home prices over the last year (they’re down 19.2 percent in metro Washington, which includes the real Merriweather Post Pavillion), the guys of Animal Collective may just get what they need, at a bargain.

It can’t hurt that their upcoming U.S. tour has been almost completely sold out for two months now. That is, it can’t hurt them. Anybody have an extra ticket to the DC show?

ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer

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At a Thursday Public Service Commission hearing, commissioners were looking to get information about why customer bills have skyrocketed this winter and how to keep customers from falling behind on their payments.

Before the hearing began, Chairman Douglas R.M. Nazarian mentioned that the hearing was for utilities and advocacy groups to discuss the problem and suggest some solutions — but it was not a forum for customers to complain.

“It’s a public hearing in the sense that everybody is invited to watch, it is not a public hearing in the sense of anyone who wants to speak today is going to be allowed to speak. We’re going to hear from parties, but we’re not going to hear from the public at large,” Nazarian said.

Despite Nazarian’s insistence that the public would not be able to discuss their personal bill issues, Read the rest of this entry »

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After attracting the fewest total fans in Oriole Park’s history last year, the Orioles now also face the challenge of reinvigorating their fan base during a national recession.

The answer? A stimulus package, of course.

Not to be outdone by the U.S. government, the team — which drew less than 2 million people to the ballpark in 2008 — has announced its 2009 Birdland Stimulus Package, a bundle of discount programs all geared at bringing people back to Oriole Park.

New this year is Kids Night, where kids 10 and under get in free with a paying adult every Thursday home game. The package also includes four programs from last year, including $6 tickets for students Read the rest of this entry »

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In his speech before Congress last night, President Barack Obama promised that as part of the country’s economic recovery, an investment would be made in renewable energy.

Along with all of those solar panels and wind turbines, he said, we will build a more robust grid able to handle all of that power coursing through its lines.

“We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills,” Obama said.

It’s a plan I think many Americans — especially in this region — would agree is worthwhile, given the particular attention that’s been focused on our overworked energy infrastructure and the need to cover predicted energy shortfalls in our near future.

But not everyone feels the same way. The people who live in the communities where the president wants to lay down power lines aren’t pleased.

An editorial in Tuesday’s Loudon (Va.) Times-Mirror decried plans by Allegheny Energy to run a 10-mile line through northern Loudon as “so wrong on so many fronts that it’s difficult to know where to start.”

One main complaint is that the energy that runs through the PATH (Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline) will benefit residents of New Jersey, while leaving Virginia to deal with the greenhouse gases generated by the coal-fired plant in nearby West Virginia.

There’s also the pesky problem of NIMBY — Not In My Backyard — politics that acts as an albatross to nearly every proposed energy project. No one wants a power line interrupting their view or to risk living “under an electromagnetic field and test the theory that it doesn’t really cause cancer,” the Times-Mirror wrote.

So what’s the alternative? The editorial suggests solar panels on schools and solar sheds in backyards. And, if the panels produce more energy than the home or school needs, the power will run back onto the grid — bringing us back to heart of the problem, the need for updated power lines.

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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After the Michael Phelps bong photo debacle that lead to Kellogg’s cereal dropping its sponsorship of the eight-time gold medalist, you may be wondering if there are any wholesome athletes left in the world of sports.

Well, we may have found one Tuesday afternoon at DeWalt headquarters in Towson, where the company hosted its NASCAR driver, Matt Kenseth, winner of the Daytona 500 and last weekend’s Auto Club 500, for an employee meet-and-greet. The power tools company has sponsored Kenseth for the last 12 years — longer than a lot of marriages I can think of — and according to DeWalt’s Jon Howland, it’s been an ideal relationship.

“We’ve always felt Matt represents the values and ideals of DeWalt and he really understands what it means to represent this company,” said Howland, who oversees the company’s NASCAR sponsorship. “We’ve been with him for 12 years and have always felt proud to be part of this ride.”

For his part, Kenseth said essentially that he’s always tried to act the gentlemen — no matter his role — and couldn’t see himself embarrassing one of his sponsors. (For more on Kenseth, be sure to check out our video below of the interview.)

Kenseth’s win in the Daytona 500 was fortuitous for DeWalt because he won the race in the company’s car. Being a primary sponsor of a team costs $350,000 to $500,000 per race, according to some Internet sites, and that’s not including other types of advertising sponsors opt for with NASCAR drivers. Howland said Tuesday that in even in today’s rocky economy, the company still stands by its NASCAR sponsorship expense.

“We’ve been doing it for so long at this point, we know where to get the maximum use out of our dollars,” he said. “So are we spending as much this year? No. But we’re picking and choosing where to put our expenses where they will be the most effective for us.”

Like it or not, NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the county and exposure in this arena is valuable if the product is a right fit for the audience. But with the construction and development industries laggings, demand for industrial tools is likely following suit. And, despite its popularity, attendance at races has been waning under the stress of the economy.

Do you think DeWalt’s expense is a smart one during a recession?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer 

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In response to an article published Feb. 20 in The Daily Record, a group of Fells Point community activists have sent a letter (PDF) to Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, urging her to move quickly with the city’s plan to redevelop the historic Recreation Pier.

The project has been at an impasse for over a year now as the city has tried to find a suitable temporary relocation for Moran Towing Inc., a tugboat company that is essential to the harbor’s shipping business. Read more about it here.

In the letter, which is signed by Kilpatrick Stockton LLP attorney Arthur D. Perschetz, Jason Sullivan, executive director of Fells Point Main Street Jennifer Etheridge, president of The Preservation Society, and Joanne Masopust, president, Fells Point Community Organization, the community stresses the urgency of the situation, but urges caution when the city is dealing with the situation:

“As the people who live and work in one of Baltimore’s most well-known areas, we are pleading with the city to take whatever steps are necessary to bring the parties together.… With its incredibly attractive lease, Moran has the power to literally “pull the plug” on the development of the pier. If the company doesn’t relocate now, it will have to when the pier falls down. We don’t think that it would be too much for a business that has successfully operated in the city for many years in the past to be willing to give a little at this time so that the community and the city can thrive in the future.”

The ball, it seems, is in the city’s court.

ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer

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Usually when you hear someone talking about the circus coming to town, it’s in the form of an insult. That is, unless you’re talking about the actual circus…which, by the way, is coming to town next month.

I had the chance to speak recently with Maxime Charbonneau, Cirque du Soleil’s publicist, about the troupe’s Kooza show that opens in Baltimore on March 12. The show’s tour in the last five months has taken it to Boston, Washington and now Atlanta, and Charbonneau said ticket sales have been averaging at about 85 percent sold — not bad for a recession. The show’s big top, which will be set up at an M&T Bank Stadium parking lot on the west side of Russell Street, fits 2,500 seats.

“We can’t complain so far with Kooza; with the economic situation, we haven’t really been hit with this show,” Charbonneau said. “I think part of it is because of the quality of [the show] and the word of mouth we get.”

As of last week, he said about 30 percent of the available tickets in Baltimore have sold, but most of those sales have been during the last two weeks and Charbonneau expects demand to kick up as the opening approaches.

“Baltimore’s been a great city so far for past two times we were here,” he said, referring to Cirque shows here in 2003 and 2005. “So I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be the same now.”

Kooza ticket prices start at $55 for adults, $38.50 for kids 12 and under and $49.50 for seniors and students.
VIP seats for adults run as high as $220 apiece.

Promoters for Kooza also note that the show is one that returns to the Cirque du Soleil’s roots of combining acrobatics with the “art of clowning.” The show features performers ranging in age from 12 to 55 years old and entertains spectators with high wire acts, trapeze artists, world-record-holding jugglers, contortionists, acrobats and other jaw dropping stunts.

But will the glitz be enough to attract Baltimoreans to the big top once more?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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These days it seems like every ethnicity, race, effort and disease has its own day, week or month to remind Americans to celebrate these various things during their designated time.

With all of the other deserved items we observe in February — Black History Month, American Heart Month and American History Month — and not so worthy — International Friendship Month or National Embroidery Month — you may have overlooked that we just entered into America Saves Week, which runs through March 1.

I understand the importance of highlighting each culture or educating folks about cardiovascular diseases, the nation’s No. 1 killer, but picking a week to remind people to save their money seems slightly ridiculous.

If people are only reminded to save their money during this week each year, will that really translate into the “financial cushion” that the Independent Community Bankers of America says every American needs?

Don’t get me wrong, the idea that Americans need to put money away to prepare for tough times or save for college tuition is right on, it just seems that the sentiment behind America Saves Week might be better for Americans if it lasted long enough for anyone to take notice.

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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Maryland is open for business.

That was the prevailing theme at the 10th annual Minority Business Summit, held through this afternoon at the Hilton in downtown Baltimore.

One of Friday’s most interesting sessions was a panel discussion on the future interests of small-business minority owners in the state.

One topic that sparked a lot of discussion was a newly created initiative administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development called the Maryland Linked Deposit Program.

Designed to stimulate opportunities for certified Minority Business Enterprises, the initiative reduces the interest rate on loans MBEs obtain from participating banks such as Bank Annapolis, The Columbia Bank and Sandy Spring Bank.

Qualified businesses could receive up to a 2% discount on loans not exceeding $1 million.

Sam Lloyd, who was one of the panelists and serves as DBED’s assistant secretary for small business, said:

“Given our focus and emphasis on contracts and the current lending process, whenever you can get 2 points written down, that’s significant.  I think it’s an under-the-radar program with high potential for the future.”

Lloyd also relayed a message from recently appointed DBED Secretary Christian Johansson, stating, “We must do anything and everything to restore business confidence in the state of Maryland.”

Judging from all of the ideas being bounced around from audience members at the panel, there is a great deal of enthusiasm from those who are aspiring to be small-business owners, even during these trying times.

RICHARD SIMON, Multimedia Reporter

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Most people know Fells Point’s Recreation Pier as the filming location for the NBC series “Homicide: Life on the Street,” which ran from 1993 to 1999.

But in 2006, the historic structure was also part of the set for “Step Up,” a fantastically teenaged guilty pleasure of a movie about competitive dance crews, and again for “Step Up 2: The Streets.”

Both were set in Baltimore, and both, curiously, involve scenes in which street dancers vandalize the Maryland School of the Arts.While reporting on today’s story about the Recreation Pier, Daily Record photographer Rich Dennison and I got a brief tour of the building and saw the leftovers of the filming sets for the Step Up films.

In the tradition of On the Record blog posts about forgotten movie sets, here’s a slideshow of interior shots of the Recreation Pier, standing in as the Maryland School of the Arts.

ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer

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