One of the top questions in this year’s mayoral race is how to lower the city’s residential property tax rate, the highest in Maryland at $2.268 per $100 of assessed value.

All of the candidates have a plan.

And those plans are repeatedly bashed on the campaign trail by the candidates in a round robin game that resembles something out of the grade-school playground.

It’s enough to make the average voter want to cringe in confusion. Most say they want the tax rate lowered so they can afford to remain in Baltimore, but it’s hard to figure out which plan is best without wiping out basic services.

Enter the Maryland Public Policy Institute.

On Sept. 7, the nonprofit group is holding a free public forum on lowering the property tax rate from 1:30 to 3: 30 p.m. at the tony Center Club at 100 Light St.

All candidates will be there to explain their plan and debate the issue. Except for one: Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

And her upcoming absence has created quite a stir.

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Maryland endured an earthquake this week, and is getting ready for a hurricane. And all just days before the city of Baltimore is set to host its inaugural Grand Prix. See what stories made the top 5 this week.

1. Earthquake: Baltimore shaken, but not stirred – by Nicholas Sohr

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake sent office workers streaming out of high-rise buildings Tuesday afternoon and clogged Baltimore’s streets with an early rush hour as many decided to call it a day after the tremors began just before 2 p.m.

The quake was centered in Virginia and appeared to cause little damage in Maryland, according to public safety officials. Inspectors scrambled to assess bridges, roads, public buildings, stadiums, tunnels and utility lines.

2. Maryland Mortgage Program rate at record low – by Daily Record Staff

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development said Monday the interest rate for the state’s flagship mortgage financing program, the Maryland Mortgage Program, has dropped to 3.5 percent, the lowest level in its history.

The program is primarily targeted to first-time homebuyers and purchasers of foreclosed and short-sale homes.

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One of the targets at a Democratic mayoral forum sponsored by BUILD Thursday night was giving public subsidies to wealthy developers to help in local economic development.

You know, like the subsidies given or promised to developers John Paterakis, William C. “Bill” Struever and Patrick Turner, to name a few, for projects including the Marriott Waterfront, Clipper Mill and Westport, respectively.

All are located in chic and shabby chic parts of town – and have gotten millions of dollars in tax breaks.

Paterakis, for example, cut a deal with the Baltimore Development Corp. to pay just $1 in property taxes on the glittering waterfront hotel property for 25 years.

Those who packed the pews of stately St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church wanted answers on the use of tax increment financing, or TIF, and payments in lieu of taxes, commonly known as a PILOT.

“When are we going to hear about the TIF that will spur uptown development?” asked Rev. Andrew Foster-Connors, pastor of Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church and a co-chair of the grassroots, clergy-led group, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development.

BUILD sought pledges from the four candidates who attended its “accountability session,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Joseph T. “Jody” Landers III, Catherine Pugh and Otis Rolley III.

They pinned them down on a proposal to form a community investment fund if elected that would match dollar for dollar all public subsidies spent on downtown development in a neighborhood growth fund for the city’s communities, many impoverished and pockmarked by blight and vacancies.

All said they would.

But how?

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Ladies and gentlemen, this is my final Getaways post.

Yes, that’s right. I’m taking a job in D.C. and leaving Baltimore. I decided to ignore that silly WaPo article about Baltimore being better than the District. But hopefully “Getaways” itself won’t be going away.

And so it seems that the Hurricane Irene found it fitting to demolish any real kind of Getaway plans this weekend.

Personally, I had to cancel a two-night hotel stay in Chincoteague Island for the weekend. Ocean City is being evacuated. Ports up and down the East Coast are expecting landfall within 72 hours. BGE’s gearing up for the worst. The Maryland Insurance Administration even sent out some advice Thursday on checking out your homeowners’ insurance policy.

So your best Getaway bet for this weekend: don’t get away. Maybe stay in your basement (so long as it doesn’t flood…).

And if you still have power, you can make the most of it and catch up on movies.

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When you think of Baltimore, you don’t necessarily think “fashion destination” along the lines of New York, Paris, Milan, etc.

But apparently someone wants to try to change that. On Sept. 8, a “Fashion’s Night Out” celebration of sorts will be held in Baltimore, along with 100 other cities in 17 countries participating in the same extravaganza.

The event celebrates the industry with a combination of shopping, entertainment, special events, extended business hours and other types of festivities around a city.

The concept was developed by Anna Wintour of Vogue Magazine fame in 2008, to boost the industry and support retailers. Baltimore’s event is sponsored by the Baltimore Fashion Alliance, a nonprofit created earlier this year.

Retailers and boutiques in Mt. Vernon, Hampden, Clipper Mill, Kenilworth, Greenspring Station, Harbor East and other areas will be extending business hours into the evening and planning in-store events.

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Just weeks before Baltimore hosts its first ever Grand Prix, two of its investors have filed suit against the race’s organizer, and the Charm City Circulator is being expanded to Fort McHenry. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Baltimore Grand Prix sued by its founder – by Rachel Bernstein

Steven Wehner, the man responsible for the original idea to bring auto racing to the streets of downtown Baltimore, has filed a nearly $750,000 complaint against the organizers of the Baltimore Grand Prix.

According to the complaint, Baltimore Racing Development LLC was to have paid Wehner $575,000 over five years to purchase his 10.2 percent interest in the organization. But the filing claims that BRD has defaulted on its payments. Attached to the filing is an exhibit of the agreement between BRD and Wehner from May 12, 2010.

2. Charm City Circulator to be expanded to Fort McHenry – by Melody Simmons

Expansion of the 21-bus Charm City Circulator to include the Fort McHenry Monument and National Shrine will soon take place with the help of a $1.5 million federal transportation grant.

The Circulator will expand its territory into the city’s southern reaches — just as the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 gets underway.

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Harris Teeter’s name towers above Key Highway in Locust Point, but it will be four more months before the upscale grocery opens its doors there.

The store – and adjacent wine shop – is part of the McHenry Row complex now under construction on the city’s southern peninsula. That project adds to the $250 million mixed use development by Mark Sapperstein, a Pikesville builder.

McHenry Row – located near Hull Street and Fort Avenue just before historic Ft. McHenry – will feature 250 apartments to be managed by the Bozzuto Co. Expected to open later this year, these digs will attract a new type of tenant to the once working class area of Baltimore’s waterfront, still a shot-and-a-beer community for many with a lot of corner bars.

Many of the new So-Bo residents will work at the nearby Under Armour complex at Tide Point, now in the process of a mega expansion, observers predict.

Which brings us back to Harris Teeter.

The supermarket – another in a group of new groceries in the metro area – will no doubt add to the growing a luster of chic at the Point as organic veggies, prepared foods and freshly baked goods move into a renovated lot at the once- aging industrial center known as Chesapeake Paperboard.

An office building is also under renovation and other retailers are being lined up to follow.

***

The St. Charles Companies is offering a chance to win a restored 1966 Ford Mustang just for visiting one of the four Charles County model homes by Lennar, Ryan and Richmond American between Aug. 20 and Sept. 2.

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Next to Otakon, this may be the second most interesting weekend of the year in Baltimore.

Stan Lee will be the guest of honor at the 12th annual Comic-Con at the Baltimore Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets to the convention of costumed characters, comic book authors and artists cost $15 to $30. Children under 10 are free. And dress up — the winner of the costume contest on Saturday gets $1,000.

Bill Cosby will be at Pier Six Concert Pavilion on Saturday. The comedian and entertainer will be doing stand-up that night at 6:30. Tickets cost $60 to $85, or you can hang out along the pier and hope to hear him for free.

And Baltimore Fashion Week kicks off today at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center on N. Charles Street. Tickets range from $50 to $80 for the show that lasts until Sunday. The 4th annual show features a mix of local and not-so-local designers.

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If you’re up for a driving tour and scavenger hunt of sorts, the eighth annual Lighthouse Challenge can provide some good entertainment Sept. 17 and 18.

Challenge rules are easy, and can be found on the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s site.

Rules:

1. Get a challenge brochure, or print out the driving directions/brochure.
2. Visit nine lighthouses and one lightship noted above.
3. Get each lighthouse’s commemorative souvenir.
4. Visit the lighthouses within designated hours of 8 am to 6:00 pm both day.
5. You’ll get the “completion” souvenir once you’ve toured all the other locations.
6. Then just fill out the “Challenge Completion” form.

Chesapeake Chapter volunteers will be at each lighthouse to help visitors on their special quest.

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The biggest news on The Daily Record website this week was actually about its competitor, The Baltimore Sun, and the announcement of possible buyouts at the newspaper. That story and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Baltimore Sun looking to buy out up to 25 employees – by Rachel Bernstein

Management at The Baltimore Sun gave a buyout proposal to the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Wednesday, looking to cut from 20 to 25 positions.

“The company has initiated bargaining today with the guild over the terms of a voluntary buyout offer,” Renee Mutchnik, director of marketing for The Baltimore Sun, said in a statement.

Mutchnik wrote in an emailed response to questions that this is the first voluntary buyout offer since 2008.

2. Carnival signs 5-year extension with Port of Baltimore – by Rachel Bernstein

Carnival Cruise Lines has agreed to a five-year extension with the Port of Baltimore to run cruises from the port year round. The agreement announced Monday is effective Aug. 31, after the present two-year contract expires.

The first two years of the agreement are guaranteed, and there are three one-year options. Carnival’s weekly cruise lasts for seven days, sailing to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

3. Port moves up to 11th in U.S. in value of goods shipped – by Nicholas Sohr

The Port of Baltimore ranked 11th nationally in terms of the value of cargo shipped through its public and private terminals in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The $41.5 billion in cargo last year was a 39 percent jump over the year before and enough to nudge Maryland’s port up from the 12th spot among the 360 nationwide.

4. Community challenges new EBDI plan – by Melody Simmons

During a second contentious meeting in two weeks, a group of Middle East residents Thursday night challenged a new plan for the massive redevelopment of their community by East Baltimore Development Inc.

For more than an hour, about 50 angry residents of the area questioned the motives and intent of EBDI and Forest City-New East Baltimore Partnership in redesigning their community, part of which has been razed to make room for the redevelopment.

5. City approves $700K loan for Senator Theatre – by Rachel Bernstein

A $700,000 loan to restore and add to the historic Senator Theatre was approved Wednesday by Baltimore’s Board of Estimates.

The new operators of the theater, Kathleen Cusack and James “Buzz” Cusack, have been going through the process of being approved to renovate the historic property. They have also been looking to gain finances through state and city loans and federal and state historic tax credits.

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