I guess the charm is quickly wearing off “Charm City”. This demonstrates the power of LIBeralism...(Note to all not insane: Cancel vacay to Baltimore).
“BLAKE: I’ve made it very clear that I, um, work with the police and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their, uh, right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we, uh, try to make that they were protected from the cars and the other, y’know, things that were going on. We also gave those who wished to destroy, space to do that as well.”
April 2015
Baltimore Chaos Impacts Events
BALTIMORE
With widespread rioting in Baltimore creating chaos, a city curfew in place and a state of emergency declared by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, the events industry currently appears to be deeply impacted as well.
“Visit Baltimore has been notified that the Door and Hardware Institute has cancelled its CoNEXTions 2015 convention scheduled to be held at the Baltimore Convention Center from April 29 to May 1,” said Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore. “The group was scheduled to bring in excess of 2,000 attendees to the city utilizing approximately 2,500 room nights. Visit Baltimore and City Officials have been working with the organization’s leadership over the past several days to provide them with information and support as they discussed their options. At the end of the day, they felt that the current situation left them no alternative.
“Additionally we have been notified that the American Heart Association has cancelled their in-hotel meeting that was scheduled to be held in Baltimore this week,” Noonan’s statement continued. “We’re continuing to serve as a resource for other groups that are planning meetings in the city over the next 30 to 60 days.”
In additional event news in the city:
Online reports indicated the Hilton Baltimore had been hit with some event cancellations, including an annual citywide function, though the hotel and its surrounding realms have remained untouched by the violence for the most part.
The Orioles’ game versus the Chicago White Sox slate for 7 p.m. Tuesday has been postponed, the team officially announced, a decision reportedly reached after speaking with Major League Baseball, state and local officials, according to the Orioles. This followed the earlier postponement of the teams’ Monday game.
The Baltimore Ravens called off their Thursday Draft Party at M&T Bank Stadium, a decision the team said was out of respect to the current curfew (The NFL begins its yearly draft in Chicago on Thursday).
Johns Hopkins University canceled all classes Tuesday and Tuesday night in Baltimore, according to the school’s Twitter account.
The rioting and widespread chaos kicked off with protesting that began as a response to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody two weeks ago.
Meetings Focus will provide updates as the situation evolves.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The curfew and fears of more violence are taking its toll on businesses across the region.
Meghan McCorkell has the economic impact we’re already seeing.
With that 10 p.m. curfew, bars and restaurants are being forced to close down early as many tourists cancel their trips to Baltimore.
Boards cover the windows at Bartender’s Pub in southeast Baltimore as a precaution.
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/04/29/curfew-is-affecting-baltimore-businesses/
In 1962 my ship was in drydock several months for upgrades at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Baltimore, just a short distance from what is now the yuppified Inner Harbor. Some of went over to visit the U.S.S. Constellation, a Revolutionary War frigate which had not yet had restoration started. I've wanted to go for another visit to see how it turned out; guess that goes on hold now.
http://www.historicships.org/constellation.html