Shovel-bearing volunteers show up to help neighborhood schools

“Community. It’s more than a word; it’s a feeling that overwhelms when people choose to spend their valuable time to help.” That’s what Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School Principal Steve Skeen said after he sent out a cry for help with shoveling snow after Baltimore City Public Schools announced the end of snow days and re-opening the schools.

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First screw of the year (It’s not what you think)

It didn’t take long to find it. I spotted it in the alley — shiny, sharp, and built to last.

Not much different from any other screw, yet special in its own way. I dropped it into a new jar.

I started this hardware jar on January 1, 2025, after a series of nails and screws on streets and driveways around Bolton Hill and the city punctured my car tires. This was the collection at the end of last year — 495 grams of near-misses and bad intentions.

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Leo Wanenchak’s music: I do it because I can’t not do it

Passing by the 1400 block of Bolton Hill, you just might catch Leo Wanenchak playing the piano by the front window of his home.

Wanenchak, an accomplished pianist, organist, composer and music teacher, is the Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Director of the Larks, a women’s vocal group, and Musical Director of the ParkinSonics choral group sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine.

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Sarah Ramirez Cross’ work is art with a message

In a recent art show at Memorial Episcopal Church, Coming of the Light II, Sarah Ramirez Cross exhibited her latest block prints. One piece, North American Endangered Species, consists of a series of postcard-size prints on canvas depicting a Black Rail (a marsh bird) and a Gopher Frog. Printed in black ink on beige canvas, the animals are elegantly composed, with curved lines that form patterns suggesting feathers and skin. Multiples of the images are stitched together to create a vibrant homage.

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Fate of housing zoning bill before the city council is unclear

Several BHCA leaders were among a citywide contingent of residents who met a few days ago with City Council President Zeke Cohen over the council’s proposed bill 25-0066. That bill would eliminate zoning restrictions that limit the cutting up of large single-unit residences into as many as four apartments as a matter of right without approval from city council or the zoning commission.

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Bolton Hill Notes

🏚️ Neglected neighborhood properties campaign gets support from MICA 🏚️
🏗️ City plans to level closed Eutaw-Marshburn elementary school🏗️
📍 Young Baltimore writers create a literary map of the city📍
🏛️Evening in Annapolis offers chance to meet our General Assembly delegation 🏛️
🌿 Greening briefing set for March 7 🌿
🏘️ City zoning agency okays more new townhouses nearby 🏘️
✍️ Lyric Theater offers prizes to student essay writers; HURRY! ✍️
🧾 State comptroller’s website offers free support for preparing tax returns 🧾

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