Buzz

Luxury, thy name is Baltimore.

After years of anticipation, the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore will open its doors this month. The 256-room property will feature a spa, two restaurants, café and two swimming pools. The chain's debut in Charm City has not only attracted the attention of local media, but national travel publications. Read more about the five-star hotel in Elite Traveler.

Restaurant company Landry's says it is buying McCormick & Schmick's in a $130 million deal, according to an AP story in Business Week.

Based in Portland, Ore., McCormick & Schmick's operates two downtown Baltimore restaurants and another one in Annapolis. Landry's operates Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., which is opening a restaurant in the Light Street pavilion at Harborplace mall. You can read more about it here.

This article highlights research from Johns Hopkins University. "A new study of the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality offers a glimmer of hope that a major pollution-reduction effort is improving the health of the nation’s largest estuary." Read the entire article here.

"After nearly a decade on the sidelines, Duquette is back. He reached an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles [last week] to become their general manager and will re-enter the AL East atop its most downtrodden member." This Boston Herald article discusses the more positive light now cast on Duquette's time in Boston, and his personality. Read the entire article here.

From the article: "Citybizlist took a look at the 10 finalists of TechNite's 10 Hottest Technologies in Town to see what their Facebook presence looked like. We figured that if these were the hot technologies in Baltimore, they would be on the forefront of how social media, Facebook in particular, could be harnessed to attract interest, promote dialogue, create connections, establish a strong brand, etc." Read the full post here.

From the article, which details Baltiimore County's new fund raising: "The consolidated public improvement bonds will redeem outstanding consolidated public improvement BANs, which financed county public works, schools, parks, and other capital projects. The BANs will provide interim funding for the county's capital program." Read the full piece here.

This Baltimore Sun blog reports the latest confirmation of Baltimore County's strong arts teaching base. According to the article, Linda Popp, the county's visual arts coordinator, said state awards are often given to teachers who make strong contributions to their communities as well as their schools. This year's winners mentored colleagues, coordinated exhibits and found other ways to take art into the community. Read the entire post here.

LaxPower.com posted this news item on a fire that broke out early Monday morning at North Baltimore's Mount Washington Tavern. Citing ABC2 and WBAL's direct reports on the blaze, the post refers to the establishment as a "lacrosse icon." Read the entire post here.

This article in the Towerlight gives a Towson University perspective on the proposed merger of UM-College Park and UM-Baltimore. TU mathematics professor Martha Siegel is quoted as saying,  "I think Towson University is working its way toward prestige and we are on a good path, and what concerns me is that the pie is only so big, and if we are trying to fund this larger institution, it could definitely have a negative impact on us.” Read the entire post here.

This article from Bloomberg Businessweek highlighted events in Baltimore's "Occupy" movement, and the community encampment near the Inner Harbor. The article quotes the mayor's office and Occupy Baltimore participants. Read the entire post here.

City Biz List reports that the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has ranked Maryland one of the nation's most improved states for energy efficiency as well as 10th on a national energy scoreboard for 2011. "We have set some of the most aggressive goals in America for decreasing energy consumption in Maryland and our efforts to save energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels are beginning to bear fruit," Governor Martin O'Malley said. "Making the investments in safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy can create thousands of jobs in Maryland and reducing our energy consumption saves money and improves our environment." The ACEEE report also noted that Maryland was one of only a handful of states receiving top scores for greenhouse gas tailpipe emission standards and the integration of transportation and land use planning, also known as transit-oriented development. Read the entire post here.

The Baltimore Sun's Joe Burris reports in this article that area community colleges are graduating students with Associate of Arts degrees who have a sense of completion and drive to finish four-year degrees at area universities and other four-year institutions. Given economic circumstances and the strength of Maryland's state public system, as well as private institutions like McDaniel College and Loyola, this is a promising trend. The University of Maryland-Baltimore County is among four-year colleges offering discounts to students who have completed two-year degrees. Read the entire post here.

Middle East North Africa Financial Network reports via McClatchy on Lyric Opera Baltimore's budgetary and artistic changes in advance of the season opener La Traviata on November 4. For example, American artists will predominate, with fewer international vocalists and actors taking the stage. From the article: The opening production, Verdi's "La Traviata," is the first of three productions scheduled for the inaugural season. This will provide a showcase for the $13 million of much-needed renovations just completed in the facility, rechristened last year in honor of the patrons who capped the renovation funding: the Patricia & Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric. Read the entire article here.

South Baltimore native Matthew VanDyke is set to leave Libya in a couple of weeks, his mother told the Baltimore Sun after the death of Libya's former leader last week. The 32-year-old who was jailed in Libya for nearly six months and then stayed on to join the rebels seeking to overthrow dictator Moammar Gadhafi — plans to come home "in a couple of weeks," said his mother, Sharon VanDyke. Read the entire post here.

Apparently -- at least if you believe the gurus at Men's Health magazine -- Baltimore is America's second-luckiest city. Defined according to the source:

Wondering how Vegas didn't hit this jackpot? Here's our definition of good luck: the most winners of Powerball, Mega Millions, and Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes; most hole-in-ones (PGA); fewest lightning strikes (including the fatal kind) and deaths from falling objects (Vaisala Inc., National Climatic Data Center, CDC); and least money lost on lottery tickets and race betting (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Here's the full post at Men's Health.