Buzz

Johns Hopkins Hospital has unveiled its $1.1 billion twin towers. The new hospital will open April 29, reports the Baltimore Sun. 

"There will be X-boxes and a basketball court for kids, single rooms for all patients, sleeper-sofas for family, an improved dining menu and extensive sound proofing," the Sun writes. 

You can read more about the new hospital here. 

And you can read Bmore Media's story on the hospital here. 

Baltimore leads the nation in overall hospital care, according to a report from ratings service HealthGrades. 

The survey got Baltimore national attention from a variety of news outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, which ran a HealthDay News item on its website. 

"Baltimore had nine top-performing hospitals out of 19 eligible hospitals in the city," the website says.

Phoenix, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Richmond, Va.; and Cincinnati rounded out the top five. 

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Though plans to promote offshore wind energy died in last year's legislative session, this year Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will renew his efforts. That's according to North American Windpower. 

The state unveiled the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012. 

The bill would create 1,800 construction jobs and 360 maintenance jobs, North American Windpower writes. You can read the rest of the story here. 

It was 2012's first snowfall, but that didn't stop 200 people from trekking to the University of Baltimore for the second annual Create Baltimore. 

"Ideas were spit-balled, the collaborators of tomorrow (perhaps) met each other and an assortment of topics were covered," writes the Baltimore Brew. "People discussed mapping and visualizing, journalism and various ways to shine a light on government data, creating an advocacy organization for city bicyclists, improving food access in urban neighborhoods and a host of other ripe topics."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Baltimore may have had its share of challenges when it comes to race relations.

But Charm City has come a long way and is now more progressive than its counterparts throughout the nation, according to the Daily Beast. The website ranked Baltimore No. 5 in its list of 20 most tolerant cities. Miami, San Francisco, Honolulu and Durham, N.C. ranked above Baltimore.

The Daily Beast looked at the number of hate crimes, same-sex couples and the percentage of African Americans and Asian residents. You can read more about Baltimore's status here.

A Baltimore County sports shop will be the subject of a new reality TV show, according to the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawick.

ABC will follow the owners of Robbie's First Base in Timonium in 12, half-hour episodes. You can read more about the planned TV show in Zurawick's blog.

Folks in D.C. like to thumb their noses at Baltimore.

Well now the red-headed stepchild is getting some love -- well sort of -- by the folks at Slate. They wrote a piece called "DC: The Anti-Berlin," that noted that artists can live more cheaply in Baltimore compared with D.C.

The story stated that while Washington is thriving in many ways it is has one of the most expensive housing markets while not winning any points on crime.

Meanwhile, our pals at Baltimore Fishbowl jumped on the Slate story and did some number crunching to find out that Baltimore artists earn more than their D.C. counterparts. You can read it here.

For decades, Edgar Allen Poe fans would gather at his grave on the eve of the late writer's birthday to spot a mysterious man. Known as the Toaster, he would leave roses and a half-full bottle of cognac.

Well that tradition appears to have come to an end, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news sources. For three years now, the Toaster has not appeared.

You can read more about the end of the tradition in the Journal story.

While concert sales are slowing down nationally, two Baltimore venues sold more tickets last year compared with 2010, the Baltimore Sun writes.

Rams Head Live saw success with pop singer Sara Bareilles and punk band Rise Against, while First Mariner's U2, Kanye West/Jay-Z and Sade shows propelled ticket sales at First Mariner Arena, the Sun's Erick Maza writes.

"In addition, Rams Head Live and Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis both made a recent list of the top 30 clubs in the country, and the nearly 50-year-old 1st Mariner was named top-selling arena of its size by Billboard Magazine," the Sun writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

If you're an art lover, you are probably used to getting the occasional stern warning from security guards when you step a little too close to the Monet.

Well, at the Walters Art Museum's new exhibit, you can get as close as you want to the art. You can even touch it.

The Huffington Post previews the exhibit, which runs January 21 - April 15, 2012.

"The Walters Art Museum is merging the tactile pleasures of art with the neuroscience of how our brains respond to tactile stimuli," the Huffington Post writes. "The museum is teaming up with the Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute to invite viewers to touch works of art and meditate on why this physical contact is so appealing."

You can read the rest of the story here.

Education Week ranks Maryland's public schools the top in the nation, followed by Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Arizona. The publication looked at school finances, student achievement and success later in life, state assessments and school accountability.

U.S. News & World Report analyzed the results.

"Maryland tops the list, with generally good school finances, quality teachers, and students who leave high school ready for college," the magazine writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

Scott Ferber is rebranding his new company TidalTV and is now calling it Videology, the Baltimore Business Journal writes.

Videology is building a network of advertisers for video content and has signed up AOL Video as a client, the newspaper reports.

Ferber is the Baltimore entrepreneur who co-founded Advertising.com with his brother John Ferber. In 2004, the entrepreneurs sold Advertising.com to AOL for $435 million. You can read the rest of the story here.

A website that covers environmental news has recognized Baltimore as its destination of the week.

Mother Nature Network says Baltimore -- once a "victim of Rust Belt decay -- is now an "ideal East Coast destination."  The article highlights eco-friendly retail outlets, LEED-certified hotels and restaurants that serve dishes sourced from local farms.

"Like other aged East Coast cities such as Philadelphia and Boston, Baltimore has walkable historic sightseeing routes," Mother Nature Network writes. "These, coupled with the city's parks, markets and user-friendly transit options, make it a good addition to low-impact travelers' East Coast itineraries."

You can read the rest of the story here.

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new ad campaign that touts the benefits of taking a vacation on sea versus one on land, writes the New York Times.

And its is concentrating these ads on 19 markets that have ports in or within driving distance of one of its ports, including Baltimore. That is according to Carnival Chief Marketing Officer James Berra, quoted in the Times article.

" 'Half of the United States is within a five-hour drive from one of our ports,' " Berra says in the story. " 'We’re de-emphasizing the Nebraskas and Wyomings of the world and putting more emphasis on places like D.C. and Baltimore.' "

You can read more about the ad campaign here.

Ever wish you could see more public sculptures on display in Greater Baltimore?

Well now you can, if you drive out to Howard County. The Howard County Arts Council has selected 12 sites that will feature public sculptures in 2012, according to Broadway World.

The spots include the George Howard Building in Ellicott City, which will feature "Daddy Longlegs" by Carl Billingsley, and Howard Community College, which will feature Hanna Jubran's "The Cycle."

Read about the other sites and selected artwork.