News in Brief

Don’t Forget to Renew Your Parking Permits

Parking permits need to be renewed this month. Find the details here.

Mt. Royal-NorthBay Chili FundraiserChili Fundraiser Recap

A seasonal ice storm in the hours leading up to Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle’s 3rd Annual NorthBay Chili Fundraiser didn’t prevent students, families, and community members from coming out in force. The $7,800 raised puts the school well on their way to reaching the goal of $10,000 to enable the 6th grade class to attend NorthBay Adventure this May.
Over 40 volunteers made and served 28 batches of chili and sold 888 raffle tickets, creating a room filled with laughter, community, and great memories for all. The event’s take included over $300 raised by the Brown Memorial bake sale and a $500 donation from MRIA that was unanimously approved at February’s Board Meeting.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School, especially the volunteers who cooked chili, baked cookies, and helped out during the event.
Help put Mt. Royal over the top! Make your online donation here.

Free Yoga ClassesFree Yoga Classes

St. Francis Neighborhood Center (SFNC) is hosting free yoga classes every Wednesday from 6:30–7:30 pm. Beginners are welcome; mats are provided.
Contact rzuckerman@stfranciscenter.org for more information. The SFNC is located at 2405 Linden Avenue in Reservoir Hill.

New Neighbor Party

On January 29, MRIA’s Membership Committee hosted the annual New Neighbor Party, and thanks to everyone on the board who helped, it was quite a success. 35 new neighbors attended from a total of 23 residences, including two babies and a 15-year-old. Special thanks to Kellie Welborn, Margaret DeArcangelis, Lisa Schroeder, Stephen Martin, and Alexis Mogul for doing the heavy lifting.

Bolton Hill Live Baltimore Tour
Live Baltimore staff with Jon Kaplan (lower R) and Avendui Lacovara (upper R)

Live Baltimore Tours Bolton Hill

On the last Friday of each month, Live Baltimore staff take a tour of one of the city’s 278 neighborhoods, providing them with firsthand experience they use to help potential new residents find the perfect home.
January brought them to Bolton Hill for a walking tour organized by neighbors Jon Kaplan and Linda Rittelmann. They started at Jon’s home in Bolton Square, where neighbor and realtor Avendui Lacovara addressed the group along with Jon and Linda.
The group then walked over to John Kyle’s and Peter Satten’s Park Avenue home for a look into one of the grande dames of the neighborhood. They finished at MICA’s elegant Main Building for a talk with MICA President Sammy Hoi and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Mike Molla, passing by lots of landmarks and the Bolton Hill Swim and Tennis Club along the way. All this in one hour!
Read Live Baltimore’s recap of the tour and find photos of the walk on their Facebook page.

Styrofoam Container Ban Considered by City Council

At February’s MRIA Board Meeting, Dennis Gong of Baltimore Beyond Plastic explained legislation before the City Council that would ban use of Styrofoam containers from restaurants in the City. These containers are the most common form of trash in Baltimore, with an estimated 700,000 items collected by the garbage wheel in the Inner Harbor.
MRIA unanimously passed a motion to support the legislation. You can add your endorsement of this effort by signing this petition. Learn more about efforts to reduce all plastics on their website.

Dog Park in Bolton Hill?

With the help of some large aerial photographs, Joe Palumbo introduced the idea of creating a dog park in Sumpter Park or Maple Leaf Park at February’s MRIA meeting. MRIA will disseminate an online survey for input from the community to solicit input from both dog owners and non-dog owners.
Joe emphasized that it will take time and lots of work with both residents and the city before a dog park can become a reality in Bolton Hill.