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Construction began this month on the nation's largest museum devoted to African American history. 

And the $500 million Smithsonian museum will feature a number of Maryland artifacts, writes the Baltimore Sun. This includes a Harriet Tubman's silk shawl and a long house built by freed slaves from Montgomery County. 

"These are among 20,000 objects collected by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which will open on the National Mall in 2015 as the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum," the Sun writes.

"Local experts on African-American history say it's appropriate that Maryland will be featured prominently, since many key figures come from the state."

You can read more about the museum here. 

It may not be the fountain of youth, but folks who live in cities that are less stressful tend to remain more healthful and active. 

That is according to RealAge.com, which produces a test that asks individuals a number of questions to determine if they act younger or older than their numerical age.

And their data from 50 American cities shows that Baltimore ranks No. 9 on its list of top towns for staying forever young. Baltimore tied with Washington, D.C., for ninth place. San Francisco, Salt Lake City and San Diego were the top three cities in its ranking.

Cholesterol, employment levels, eating habits and smoking were all factors that RealAge.com considered. 

Baltimoreans finally got to see the long-awaited "Kitchen Nightmares" episode featuring Cafe Hon Owner Denise Whiting and her controversial move of claiming ownership of the word "Hon."

And it was as dramatic as expected. 

Whiting was stuck with a public relations nightmare after the trademark. Critics said she was trying to profit from a word that has become synonymous with Charm City itself. 

It was all documented on the show hosted by British chef Gordon Ramsay, who convinced Whiting to give up her trademark.

"In the show’s final segment, Television Chef Gordon Ramsay and his 'team' of culinary experts literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, transforming the iconic 36th St. restaurant and 'persuading' its insufferable proprietor Denise Whiting to give up her claim to ownership of the trademark 'Hon,'" writes Alan Z. Forman in his Voice of Baltimore news site. You can read the rest of his summary and analysis of the show here. 

Tina Fey's "30 Rock" is known for featuring A-list celebrities, quirky characters, and absurd humor. 

And now, it's also known for taking a stab at Baltimore.

In an episode this month, Mary Steenburgen is walking along a New York City sidewalk with son-in-law Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. She tells him that she contributes to the "Baltimore Philharmonic," a non-existent orchestra. 

"Of course lately it's just a Boombox and a guy in a crab suit," Steenburgen's Diana Jessup says. "He gets shot out of a cannon at Ravens' games. The city may not be thriving."

Getting airtime on a national, primetime comedy show is no small feat for Charm City. And at least one local blogger, who goes by the name Baltimore Boy, could not be more pleased.

"I don’t mind a dig at my beloved hometown when it’s both a low-blow AND clever," he writes. You can read the rest of his analysis here. 

Even Baltimore's real classical music group, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, enjoyed the attention. Check out their Facebook page. 

Baltimore has a number of chocolate makers in town. And one has earned national recognition.

Complex, an online lifestyle magazine for 20-something men, has named Glarus Chocolatier the sixth best in the nation. 

"Baltimore's Glarus Chocolatier uses traditional Swiss recipes for each of their handcrafted creations," the website writes. "Think a small craft brewery, but with chocolate covered strawberries rather than pilsners and lagers. Got it? We feel drunk already."

It's the only Baltimore chocolate company to earn a spot on the list. 

Port Discovery, a children's museum in downtown Baltimore, has gotten national recognition from Forbes magazine. 

Forbes named it one of the 12 best kids' museum in the nation. 

"This 80,000 square foot facility resides in a renovated fish market and is one of the anchors of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor," Forbes writes. "Both the permanent and temporary exhibitions are heavily thematic, so when kids enter Adventure Expeditions, they travel back in time to 1920’s Egypt and search for a Pharaoh’s lost tomb, decoding hieroglyphics along the way in an educational detective puzzle of sorts."

Children's museums in Indianapolis, Boston and Brooklyn also made the cut. 

It is really just Diddy now? P Diddy? Sean Puffy Combs? Sean Diddy Combs?

For Baltimore rapper Los, it's ka-ching!

Diddy's Bad Boy Records has signed up Baltimore rapper Los, writes MTV News in its RapFix blog. 

"We're trying to put that young, youthful energy out in the air and do it the only way that Bad Boy can do it," Diddy tells MTV. 

Baltimoreans all know that Woodberry Kitchen is the city's original and most popular farm-to-table restaurant. Well it seems that word has gotten out to the editors of GQ magazine.

Woodberry Co-owner Spike Gjerde was recently featured in the magazine's food and travel section. Gjerde talks about his favorite spots in Baltimore, which include Hampden's Spro coffee shop, Wit and Wisdom restaurant in the Four Seasons Baltimore and the Thames Street Oyster House in Fells Point. You can read the rest of his picks here. 

It certainly won't be the last we hear of Gjerde. The restaurateur is opening a coffee shop of his own and a fast-casual eatery this spring. 

Esquire contributor John Mariani has featured Baltimore in a new section of his website that highlights good day-trip destinations.

He focuses on restaurants in Mount Vernon, Harbor East and Little Italy, including Tio Pepe, Charleston, Aldo's Italian Restaurant and Chazz: A Bronx Original. 

"A good deal of the charm of the surrounding neighborhoods are its townhouses, built along British lines, with their identifying marble stoops, and there is a thriving Little Italy, adjacent to the Inner Harbor," Mariani writes. 

You can read the rest of his description of Charm City here. 

A Federal Hill rowhome has made the cut in the New York Times "What you get for..." section. The part of the real estate section highlights properties in three different cities that are all listed for the same price. 

The Times features three homes for $900,000 in Baltimore, New Orleans and Bellevue, Wash. 

So what do you get for $900,000 in Federal Hill? A wrap-around terrace with views of downtown Baltimore, a six-burner Viking range and a wood-burning fireplace in the master suite. 

You can read the rest more about the property here. 

Everyman Theatre's "Fifty Words" gets a stellar review in Broadway World. Reviewer Charles Shubow calls it a "powerful play with an exceptional cast."

The play takes place over the course of one night in a couple's Brooklyn kitchen. "There are many problems in the household which come alive during the 90 minute play under the capable hands of Director Donald Hicken," Shubow writes.

Just in time for Valentine's Day. You can read the rest of the review here. 

Baltimore nonprofit Humanim has redeveloped the former American Brewing Co. headquarters into a job training center in East Baltimore.

Fast Company highlighted the $24 million transformation in a slideshow and story on the magazine's website. The piece is featured in Co.Exist, a section devoted to innovative ideas and groundbreaking use of resources. 

What makes photography good enough for Good? 

It seems that Baltimore librarian knows the answer. His pics of Baltimore's streets and architecture are highlighted in the magazine. 

"Joust's photographs are united by a cinematic sense of style. A librarian by day, Joust traverses the city and surrounding counties at night, playing with long exposures and teasing out rich tones from the landscape," the magazine writes. 

Here's a link to Joust's blog where you can see more of his photos and notes on Baltimore. 

We've heard the term metro applied to all things urbane -- think metrosexual.

Now higher education expert Evan S. Dobelle has ranked the top 10 "metroversities," or towns in which universities are a major economic engine driver. 

Dobelle puts Baltimore No. 3 on this list, after Boston and Raleigh. San Jose and Philadelphia round out the top five.  San Francisco, Seattle and Nashville (tied for No. 7), Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. also made the top 10 cut. 

You can read the story in Baltimore Fishbowl here and find the press release here. 

It's not often that cities get praised for tearing down buildings. 

But Next American City credited Baltimore for tearing down more than 300 unsafe structures last year. It joins Detroit and Youngstown, Ohio in the movement to demolish vacant buildings. 

"What Baltimore, Detroit, Youngstown and an increasing number of U.S. cities with shrinking populations have in common is a problem Americans are unused to solving: How to creatively and safely deconstruct our cities," Next American City writes. "In places like Baltimore—which has lost a third of its population since 1950 and where, depending on who you ask, almost 20,000 properties sit vacant—this breaking down and reinterpreting of place is already happening."

You can read the full article here.