Reviewing stands for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration parade are built on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. {thanks, AP}

From today’s b, the paper

So, with hotels across the region booked for this month’s inauguration, you’ve decided to make a few bucks by renting out your home for the first time.
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The thought of renting my place out for inauguration crossed my mind, but I don’t live that close to Penn Station, I’d have to stow my roommate and pets somewhere and, well, it seems as if it would take an awful lot of “guest prep.”

But many of you live in more convenient locations, have portable animals (and, perhaps, roommates) and are not averse to sterilizing your home. So … are you renting your place out for the inauguration? Would you consider it? How much would it take to make it worthwhile to you? How do you screen potential renters? Where would you go?

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The Baltimore Sun’s Annie Linskey put out a disturbing above-the-fold piece this weekend detailing one state delegate’s attempts to convert a vacant East Baltimore property into a neighborhood gym.  According to the game plan of most projects that involve the city, it was an orgy of bureaucratic ineptitude.

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From today’s b, the paper:

You don’t have to understand how derivatives work to recognize that the economy is ailing — even with government help and a shot in the stock market’s arm this week. Though the economy’s health isn’t good, it’s not on its deathbed. In fact, some opportunities await. Here’s a quick primer on how the mess affects you — and how to make the most of it.

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At Sunday’s news meeting, we started talking about an upcoming story on the economy – what we wanted to know and what was on our minds: Employment security. Recession-proof industries. Saving. Rent increases and the prospect of landlords being foreclosed on. Home buying. 401(k)s. Our parents’ retirement. Food and gas prices. The holidays.

So, we wanted to know what was on your mind. When you see news going by about Lehman Brothers, AIG, employment, a $700 billion bailout, interest rate cuts, world credit markets, etc. … what goes through your head? How does it affect you? What does it mean to you? What do you want to know?

For over three years now, we’ve heard stories of the so-called Superblock. The area that lies roughly between Lexington Market and Liberty Street is supposed to be revitalized by new development (condos and retail) — changing the face of the West Side. I walk through this wasteland every day on my way to/from my office gig; no one is waiting more patiently for it than me.

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Now that the fate of the 1st Mariner Arena has been decided, focus has shifted across the street to the vacant Mechanic Theatre.

The concrete monstrosity — which lies smack in the middle of downtown and on top of what is likely Baltimore’s busiest Metro station — closed back in 2004. It’s been gutted, but beyond that, no one can agree on what should become of the building. So it’s sat empty and useless for the past four years, perhaps anticipating this week’s Planning Commission meeting, as reported in the Sun today.

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President Bush, Governor O’Malley, and even some county executives have recently lined up behind homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

This morning, Bush signed a housing bill that will save 400,000 homeowners from mortgages they can’t afford. In addition to bailouts for borrowers and lenders alike, the bill includes an extra added bonus: it increases the national debt’s statutory limit by $800 billion, to a whopping $10.6 trillion. (Really, at this point, why even have an upper limit at all?)

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While I was away, plans for Baltimore’s new arena were officially announced. The site and size of the replacement venue caused some controversy over the past months, but local officials ultimately decided to build an 18,500-seat arena on the site of the current 1st Mariner Arena.

The decision to build a larger, “major-league”-sized arena is an interesting one, considering that the NBA and NHL have all but laughed in our faces when asked about moving a franchise to Baltimore. To that end, the president of the Baltimore Development Corp. said: “We need a state-of-the-art arena because whether we have a major-league team in Baltimore playing basketball or shooting hockey pucks, this is a major-league city and it deserves a major-league arena.”

Even if we can’t fill it to half-capacity?

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Single-family home construction fell 5.3 percent last month. You know what that means — the housing market is still seriously struggling.

And if you need an off-beat example as to how it’s affecting things close to home, check this out.
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