One Baltimore retailer is garnering national attention for powering America’s economy.

Jim Adams, founder of Falls Road Running Store, is the Judge’s Choice Award winner for the National Retail Federation’s “This is Retail” video contest. This is the first year of the NRF’s video contest, which asked retailers to create short videos about the role their businesses play in the economy.

Adams’ son, Andrew Adams, 25, is a filmmaker in Los Angeles. When the younger Adams found out about the contest, he called his dad to encourage him to enter, offering to put together the video.

He called and asked “Would you invest in a round trip ticket to see you and mom for the weekend?” Jim Adams said.

The two worked together on the video concept and the entire process of filming and editing took four days, Jim Adams said.

But working with a professional had its unique challenges.

“It was a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be. He made me do it over and over again,” Jim Adams said, noting the various humors and more serious takes they filmed.

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Baltimore’s entrepreneurs want a helping hub, according to a study released earlier this month by the Innovation Allian ce of Baltimore.

More than 85 percent of the 170-plus people surveyed said they would use a “hub,” a communal space for meetings, mentoring and educational programs to connect the area’s entrepreneurs.

The hub would removes barriers “to community and connectivity” and “could not only fill the gaps identified in the survey, but emerge as a new model that measures itself by job generation and wealth creation that is replicable and sustainable,” the report said.

The Alliance also held a town hall meeting with entrepreneurs, investors, attorneys and other community members and professionals.

The $75,000 study was paid for by Baltimore’s Abell Foundation. Burtonsville-based Facility Logix conducted the study and provided recommendations, including how the proposed hub should operate.

You can see the full report here.

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What do Edward Miller, CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, John C. Inglis, deputy director of the National Security Agency, and Stephen Martino, director of the Maryland State Lottery, have in common?

They’re all Eagle Scouts – and your boss might be one, too.

A study by Baylor University found that men who earned the distinction of Eagle Scout, the highest ranking in the Boy Scouts of America, are about 39 percent more likely than other scouts to hold a workplace leadership position and about 55 percent more likely than non-scouts to hold such a position.

The study also analyzed the effects scouting has on other facets of life, including one’s likelihood to volunteer and donate money to charity and closeness in personal relationships.

Only about 4 percent of Boy Scouts reach the Eagle ranking, including more than 375 young men in Central Maryland annually, according to the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

See the full study here.

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AT&T will be the lead sponsor of the state’s three-year commemoration of the War of 1812, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Monday.

The deal is for three years and more than $1 million. Discussions began in the fall after AT&T sponsored a September preview of the PBS documentary “The War of 1812″, according to Ann Beegle, executive director of Star-Spangled 200 Inc., the nonprofit fundraising affiliate of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

That $10,000 sponsorship “opened up the dialogue to talk about bigger opportunities,” Beegle said.

Said J. Michael Schweder, president of AT&T Mid-Atlantic: “We are excited to work closely with the state of Maryland and the 1812 stakeholders during the next three years to commemorate the legacy of the Star-Spangled Banner and this important period in our nation’s history.”

AT&T is the second corporate sponsor of Maryland’s War of 1812 bicentennial; the first was Papa John’s, which signed up in January.

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At least Gov. Martin O’Malley hasn’t lost his sense of humor about things.

After the General Assembly ended with leftover business and a “doomsday” budget with $500 million in cuts to state services and programs, the governor suggested he may call a special session once leaders can craft a deal that would pass both the Senate and the House of Delegates.

He might be able to get some help from Martin Resnick, founder of Martin’s Caterers. The governor spoke Friday at an awards luncheon for small businesses, which was held at Martin’s West in Woodlawn.

“My goodness, you look at all the elected officials here, he really has a way of calling us together, doesn’t he?” said O’Malley, who was joined at the luncheon by Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, Reps. Steny Hoyer and John Sarabanes and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

“So, we’re going to ask Marty if he can call a special session immediately following this luncheon,” O’Malley said to a room filled with laughter and applause.

Noting the especially energetic applause from representatives of the Department of Business and Economic Development, which had its $ 8 million biotechnology investment tax credit cut this session, O’Malley said, “We will get that back on track.”

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The Baltimore Orioles held a sneak-peek event last night to show off the views from the improved Flag Court and the new Roof Deck above the batter’s eye wall in center field, and food offerings at Camden Yards.

The views will be hard to beat. For the last 20 years, only cameramen have been watching the game from above center field, and now fans will be able to join them in an area with a full-service bar and seating. The team also added a bar area to the Flag Court and lowered the out-of-town scoreboard wall in right field by about four feet.

Representatives from the team’s concessionaire, Delaware North Cos. Sportservice, served up some of the specialties of the stadium’s newest eateries: Stuggy’s, Gino’s Burgers & Chicken and Dempsey’s Brew Pub and Restaurant (including Dempsey’s Rock Fish Tacos, right).

Brian Rathbun, of Delaware North Cos. Sportservice, the Orioles' concessions partner, builds a "Birdland Dog."

Dempsey’s replaces the Bud Light Warehouse Bar that was open on Eutaw Street on game days. Though it will initially only be open with a limited menu on game days, the restaurant is slated for a full opening toward the end of April. Once that happens, Baltimoreans and visitors alike will get to bite into the beer braised ribs and rock fish tacos any day of the week. (Full disclosure: This amateur restaurant critic and fish taco connoisseur thinks Dempsey’s got it just right.)

Game-goers can also look forward to Stuggy’s “Crab Mac ’n’ Cheese Dog” — we’ll let the name speak for itself — and the “Birdland Dog,” an all beef hot dog topped with sweet tomato jam, beef hash and fried onions.

In the hamburger corner, Gino’s is serving up the “Gino Giant,” a two-patty cheesburger, and the “Camden Giant,” a burger that sings to the hearts of locals with a crab cake resting atop a single patty.

The new grub will be awaiting the masses Friday for the Orioles’ home opener against the Minnesota Twins.

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The new – though mostly unaltered – look of the Baltimore Ravens was released Tuesday by Nike, which has taken over from Reebok as the official manufacturer of gear for all 32 NFL teams. The most visible change for Baltimore’s team is a purple ribbon along the jersey’s previously all-black collar.

At a New York City event on Tuesday, Nike presented the “Elite 51“  uniforms, which, among other things, the company says are lighter than their predecessors.

The new gear will be available for pre-order online starting April 15. The Ravens Nike jerseys will be available at the Sports Legends Museum on West Camden Street in Baltimore  starting April 26, and at other authorized retailers starting April 27, said Patrick Gleason, media relations manager for the team.

The jerseys available at the Ravens’ online store are $92, $125 and $325, depending on if the jersey is a “replica,” “premium,” or “authentic” model. If Nike’s online store is any indication, jersey prices are changing: both the lower and middle end jerseys will see a bump in price, to $100 and $135, respectively, while the highest end jersey, Nike’s “Elite” model, is $250.

But, those won’t necessarily be the costs across the board, Gleason said.

“As of right now, there will be an adjustment in price,” he said, adding that “prices can/will vary depending on the retailer, and that includes buying from Nike.com, our team stores or any official NFL-apparel retailer.”

Only the Seattle Seahawks uniform underwent a makeover.

Photos from Nikeinc.com

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After an agonizing, nail-biting wait, the search is over: Kegasus is back.

When the Maryland Jockey Club announced the headliners for this year’s Preakness InfieldFest, its officials evaded questions about the return of the beer-drinking centaur who was the mascot of last year’s event.

In February, a mysterious, anonymous campaign to replace Kegasus with the Easter Bunny or the Leprechaun launched.

Today, MJC announced that Kegasus will again be the face of the event.

But it doesn’t end there for the half-man, half-horse mythical creature: Standing tall at Kegasus’ side will be UniCarl, a “part human, part unicorn, part personal assistant and part personal trainer,” according to a statement by MJC.

“We are honored to work hand-in-hand with the Maryland Jockey Club to evolve last year’s campaign, bringing a fresh look to what’s become a fun and engaging icon,” said Jimmy Learned, president and founder of Washington, D.C.-based Elevation Ltd., the advertising company that has been running the Preakness’ campaigns for the last two years.

“We have again created a campaign that will galvanize that younger demographic. It speaks their language. We are all looking forward to yet another legendary InfieldFest.”

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When Baltimore Ravens President Dick Cass looks into the stands at M&T Bank Stadium,  he sees “a sea of screaming purple.”

His goal is to grow that sea, Cass said in a speech at the Downtown Partnership’s 2012 State of Downtown Breakfast on Thursday.

“We don’t take anything for granted,” Cass said. “We are the second youngest franchise in the NFL. We don’t know what will happen to us and to our fans if we suffer through three years straight of 5-11 football. We don’t want to find out, either.”

If that were to ever happen, Cass said he knows fans would be “angry” and “disgusted.” The hope, however, is that they won’t turn their backs on the team, regardless of what’s on the scoreboard.

“When you think about teams like the Steelers, the Eagles and the Giants, they’ve reached that status. We’re not there yet,” he said. “That’s our goal, that’s why we’re working hard to grow our fan base in any way we can.”

But that’s not to say the Ravens’ fan base is struggling: In the team’s 2000 season, an average of 18 percent of households in the Baltimore metropolitan area – the city and its five surrounding counties -  tuned into TV broadcasts of the team’s regular season games. In the 2007 season, that number jumped to25 percent, and the 2011 season saw 37.3 percent of households tuning in, Cass said.

Cass also highlighted improvements at the team’s stadium, including the completion of a 4G wireless network in December and ongoing capital upgrades.

“We’ve got 15 years left on our lease, and we always want to be the very highest and best stadium in the league,” he said.

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Have you ever gotten in line at 4:30 in the morning to apply for a job?

One person did that Saturday for a chance to work at Maryland Live! Casino, said Lynn Norris, the company’s vice president of human resources.

The casino’s job fair, which was held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and hosted in conjunction with the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, drew 1,015 people, she said.

As of Monday evening, there are 69 positions posted on the company’s website.

The casino opens in its first phase in June, at which point it will have 850 employees. At full capacity, which will happen in the fall, the casino will employ 1,500.

So far, the company has filled more than 100 positions, with a few dozen more slated to start soon, and others still who have been sent offer letters, said Carmen Gonzales, Maryland Live! Casino spokeswoman.

The casino has received about 30,000 job applications total, she said.

That’s about 25,000 applications in two months: When the casino opened its Employment Center in January, they had about 5,000 applications.

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