The Dundalk Fourth of July Heritage Parade steps off at 8 a.m. Friday and winds through Historic Dundalk. The Heritage Fair follows Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Dundalk Heritage Park.  

Photo by Mary Helen Sprecher

Want to enjoy Baltimore’s Fourth of July festivities? Make tracks for the following.
At AVAM: On Friday, July 4, the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, holds its AVAM Visionary Pets On Parade event, with registration starting 9:30 a.m. and the event beginning 10 a.m. Owners and pets can enjoy a lap around AVAM’s campus prior to the Pet Talent (or lack thereof) Show. Each entrant has the opportunity to take the stage and perform a real (or

by Colleen Wolfe
soboblog@baltimoreguide.com

It seems the Mayor beat me to the punch. Mayor Dixon signed the amendment to the Key Highway Urban Renewal Plan on June 20. She did so against the wishes of those of us who live on the peninsula and wish to preserve our access to the waterfront, a waterfront that is public and should be accessible to all, not just those people with the money to buy a high-priced townhouse or condo on the

by Jacqueline Watts
editor@baltimoreguide.com

Patterson Park was already steamy early Saturday morning—well, early for me at least, which was about a quarter to eight. The ground was still damp from Friday night’s thunderstorm, and everyone was moving slowly except for the little Jack Russell terrier dog that was running around by the Pagoda. He was loaded for squirrel, and he wanted one bad. “Comebackcomebackcomeback,” called his owner, but Jack Russells aren’t the listening kind.
The birds in Patterson

by Lynn Williams
maindish@baltimoreguide.com

To all appearances, Grano is the epitome of a humble neighborhood restaurant. For starters, the former luncheonette is tiny. The menu is slender, and the food, which chef/owner Gino Troia prepares behind the lunch counter while chatting with customers, is chock-full of home-cooked goodness.
Talk to the owners, though, and you’ll learn that Grano is the first small step in an ambitious franchise plan. Better get to Hampden fast; when there’s a Grano Pasta

Swimming: Planning to hit one of Baltimore’s municipal pools over the weekend? All will be open on the following schedule:
Walk-to pools, splash pads and wading pools will be open Monday-Saturday: noon-5 p.m., Sunday and holidays: 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
Park pools will be open Monday-Saturday: noon-7 p.m., Sunday and holidays: 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Swim lessons and CPR training classes are also available. Info: 410-396-3838 or www.baltimorecity.gov/recnparks.
COP: Greektown holds its COP walk on July 2, 6 p.m.,

The Allen Center
1404 S. Charles St., South Baltimore
410-685-6224

Monday, July 7: Day trip to Delaware Park Casino, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., reservations required. Center open, no lunch.
Tuesday, July 8, 11 a.m., Blood pressure screening, free.
Noon-1 p.m., lunch with special guest.
1 p.m., Conversations with Hilda, free.
Wednesday, July 9, 10:30 a.m., Informal activities, free.
12:45 p.m., Bible study, free.
1 p.m., Pinochle, free.
Friday, July 11, Trip to

by Jacqueline Watts
editor@baltimoreguide.com

July 2, 1958

A Fells Point tavern was declared a neighborhood menace and its owner ordered to sell the joint. Police, liquor inspectors and others lined up to testify against Buck’s Tavern, 801 S. Ann St., at the hearing. Police testified of a knifing there, and liquor inspectors testified that the proprietor could often be found drunk at the bar. The liquor board ruled that the tavern could not sell alcohol until a new

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation today announced the temporary closure of eastbound Monument Street between Caroline Street and Broadway on Saturday, June 28, 2008 from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. for a crane lift operation.

Paul Rodriguez, 23, of Tarzana, Calif., performs in the final round of the Skateboard Park competition of the AST DEW Tour Saturday. Rodriguez finished second to Ryan Sheckler. 

Photo by Bill Lear

The tugboat Harriet Moran coaxes the Japanese Coast Guard cutter JCG Kojima into its berth at Fells Point’s Broadway Pier. The Kojima leaves on June 25.

Photo by Thomas Scilipoti

A FAMILY AFFAIR-(Left) Santoni’s Supermarket held a ribbon-cutton ceremony on Thursday to mark the remodeling of their Lombard Street store. The Santoni family, as well as numerous guests, attended the big event.

Photo by Mary Helen Sprecher

CLEANER HIGHLANDTOWN-(Above) WWIN Magic 95.9 and the Highlandtown Merchants Association hosted the SC Johnson Clean Team for a tour of the neighborhood on Monday. The Clean Team scrubbed windows and handed out coupon books along Eastern Avenue while Magic 95.9 DJs BenJamin and Tia Johnson played music and greeted passersby.

Photo by Jacqueline Watts

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Athletic shoes, says Dr. Catherine Gomes, are everything to teenagers. And when Gomes, as Dean of Student Support Services at Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School, heard that her students had won the “Shoes for Grades” program offered by East Baltimore merchant Holabird Sports, she was thrilled.
Under the auspices of the program, students in a total of 12 high schools — five in the county and seven in the city — were

by Lynn Williams
maindish@baltimoreguide.com

Remember “The Tell-Tale Hearth”? The Sowebo pizzeria with the Poe theme – and, if memory serves, a life-size sculpted Poe sitting at the bar? Well, the poet is gone, but the pizza has returned, and the year-old Zella’s is now providing the neighborhood with its fix of hand-tossed “Pizza Worth ‘Raven’ About.”
We made Zella’s our destination-of-choice for a Father’s Day family dinner out. We’ve made it our mission to find a pizzeria we

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

The Baltimore Mural Program is looking for artists who like to think big.
A new mural, to be located in the Belair-Edison neighborhood, will be located at the site of the Movie Shed located at 3900 Belair Road.
The Baltimore Mural Program encourages artists to submit images with the theme of “Theatre in Nature.”
The mural will appear on the shed where movies are projected and the garage door side of

Happy birthday, Mimi.
The Mimi diPietro Family Skating Center turns 40 in December, and Patterson Park would like to give it a party. Recreation programmer Mark Burke is asking anyone with photos of activities at the Mimi — ice skating, doll shows, broom ball — anything — to be a part of a display celebrating four decades.
All photos will be copied and returned to owners in a timely fashion.
The Mimi’s official birthday is December 6, according to Burke, who is hoping for a good turnout of photos.
Have photos? Contact Mark Burke at 410-396-9392, 410-869-2978 or Mark.Burke@baltimorecity.gov.

At North Point: The North Point library, 1716 Merritt Blvd., has the following programs. Unless otherwise specified, registration is not required. Info/RSVP: 410-887-7255.
For Kids: Baby Boosters Story Time, for up to ages 23 months with an adult, is offered on Thursday, July 10 at 10:30 a.m. Advance registration required.
“Bugs Don’t Bug Me,” a musical celebration of the garden and its inhabitants for ages 2-5 with an adult, 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 9.
For Teens: