Maryland Business

With all sorts of online news sources coming to Baltimoreans locally, Baltimore Fishbowl is the newest fish in the sea.

Baltimore Fishbowl is a website that combines a commentary and editorial approach into a publication targeted at Fells Point, Federal Hill, North Baltimore City and Baltimore County residents.

The site covers content areas that affect schools, businesses, culture, residential real estate, family and other general interest ideas to these communities. Baltimore Fishbowl includes both fun and serious content, and will be spiced up with video and photography, as well as aggregated stories from local media outlets.

Baltimore design firm Fastspot created the site, employing bright design and easy navigation to draw in readers. The site is powered by Fastspot’s content mangement system, BigTree. It is the first time Fastspot is using BigTree as a customized platform for blog-based content with advertising.

After just four weeks of going live, the site already gained 20,000 page views, and is seeing returning visitors.

The idea was created by Susan G. Dunn, who also founded PaperDoll magazine. Baltimore writer and former PaperDoll editor Betsy Boyd is the senior editor.

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The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is hosting its first Blogger’s Night in an effort to reach out to the blogging community and connect concert-goers with the media.

The shindig is Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and will begin at 6:30 with bloggers Anne Midgette of the Washington Post, Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun and Charles Downey of ionarts.org, who will share their thoughts on the future of blogging about the arts. Others who write about the arts are encouraged to come and participate.

This forum seems to be reflective of what I heard last week when I wrote about the BSO gala. The BSO’s board chairman, Michael Bronfein, told me that during the past few years the BSO has been moving toward appealing to a younger audience and bringing the orchestra into the modern era. That started with hiring Marin Alsop as the conductor, he said.

“Marin Alsop could be the quintessential modern music director,” he said. “She appreciates that music has to be technically excellent and pleasing but also the experience has to be pleasing. I think she has brought a modern perspective to how symphony orchestras can be relevant to a changing society.”

The bloggers forum will be followed by an 8 p.m. concert.

Do you agree with Bronfein? How is the BSO doing with appealing to a modern audience? Do events like this forum keep it relevant?

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In light of Liz Farmer’s cover story, I decided that I wanted to find a Maryland company that benefits year in and year out from the back-to-school rush, even during a recession.

That’s when I received a tip that there is a textbook and paper manufacturer in Baltimore called Victor Graphics. They’ve been around for 26 years and are a major supplier of educational books for colleges and schools throughout the state.

The factory, which has 130 employees, is located in the heart of Southwest Baltimore (map below), a short walk from Carroll Park. A large portion of the employee base comes from the surrounding communities, which makes the plant one of the largest sources of jobs in the area.

One of the more fascinating moments of my time there involved observing the books being made, from start to finish. After all, I work at a newspaper and this was only my second time witnessing the mass production cycle.

All in all, it was pretty cool. Check out the video below.

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Tourist morale must have been at an all-time high yesterday. Two students from Purdue University–better known as the “Compliment Guys”–visited Baltimore as a part of their 10-city Brightside Tour, sponsored by Kodak. If you haven’t heard of these guys before, here’s their shtick…

Last year, Cameron Brown and Brett Westcott started a weekly ritual of standing outside the Purdue University chemistry building with a “Free Compliments” sign. They would dish out compliments to professors and students who walked by, and their popularity soon spread.

I wanted to see the two work their magic first-hand, so I spent some time with Cameron and Brett yesterday as they complimented almost every person who walked by outside of The Gallery.

I asked the two of them what kind of boost this could provide for Baltimore City. Their videographer Jesse Selwyn joked, “$10-12 million.”

To give you a better idea of what these guys are all about, check out the video I shot from the Inner Harbor.

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Earlier today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey hosted the 26th annual Elephant Brunch at Lexington Market. Photographers Rich Dennison and Ashley Robidoux were on hand for the festivities.

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On Monday afternoon, before the rain came pouring down, a burial service was held for Marylanders who donated their bodies to science last year.

The service is an annual occasion, held to recognize the vital donations – and unclaimed bodies – that are used by Maryland’s medical and dental students for education and research. The service was held at Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville.

A proclamation from the Governor’s Office declared June 16 to be “Anatomical Donor Appreciation Day” in Maryland.

Friends and family of the donors were invited to attend the interdenominational service, which was coordinated by the State Anatomy Board and Springfield Hospital Center’s Office of Volunteer Services.

Multimedia Reporter Richard Simon caught up with a number of medical students and family members at the service.

Click here to view a larger version of the audio slideshow.

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The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower welcomed the public to its grand re-opening last night by way of an open house. Visitors could tour the tower’s newly renovated 30+ studio spaces for artists and get a glimpse of the view from the top floors, where spaces are still available for rent.

Hundreds of people came to meet the artists and get a glimpse of the massive preservation project.

Daily Record Multimedia Reporter Richard Simon was on hand for the opening. View the larger version of the slideshow here.
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If you’ve been following Robbie Whelan’s coverage of the ICSC’s ReCon Global Real Estate Convention, then you know he just returned from Las Vegas, where he was documenting the efforts of developers and state employees to sell Maryland as a great place to do retail business.

He wrote several stories for our paper and Web site on the convention, but lucky for you, he didn’t stop there.

If you’re interested in hearing what the Downtown Partnership’s J. Kirby Fowler had to say, or how Samuel Polakoff of Cormony Development pitched the Inner Harbor to retailers, we’ve got it on video. Watch, listen, and be sure to comment below and tell us what you think.

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