Baltimore-area band to play Ravens NYE halftime show

Good morning Baltimore and happy Monday.

The holiday season is in full swing, and BBJ's de facto photographer Matt Hooke was all about town capturing the sights this weekend. Here are a few snapshots from the celebrations.

It's not just the holiday season, though — Bowl Season approaches. Check out the matchup for this year's Military Bowl in Annapolis, which was announced this weekend.

Now for the news.

Towson band will perform at Ravens New Year's Eve halftime show

M&T Bank Stadium is going punk this New Year's Eve. All Time Low, a four-man band formed in Towson that has toured internationally, will perform at the Ravens game against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 31, the Banner reports. The team announced the show Saturday, exciting fans of alternative rock and pop-punk everywhere in addition to people like myself who have vivid memories of middle school dances and breakups associated with the group's music. It's the type of band you're guaranteed to have heard on the radio at some point, so they seem like a perfect fit. Dear Ravens, count me in.

Does BWI rank among best or worst airports for flight cancellations?

Flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport this year have had a better chance of taking off than any since at least 2019, I wrote this morning. During the first half of 2023, just 1.33% of flights at the airport were dropped — a steep decline from the 3.74% cancellation rate in 2022 and more than a full point better than 2.48% in 2019. Read how BWI compares with other airports since its recovery from a woeful 2022.

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Baltimore's largest bank will close five Md. branches by end of year

Bank of America Corp. plans to shutter more than 100 branches across the U.S. by the end of this year, including five branches in Maryland, our Garrett Dvorkin reports. The largest bank in Greater Baltimore has already closed 95 financial centers across the country this year, including four in Maryland, according to data from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. An additional Maryland branch is due to close this month. But the bank isn's stopping there. Read about the plans for continued cuts as banks reduce their physical footprints in favor of mobile services.

Downtown property values drop by $148.8M amid flurry of tax appeals

Downtown property values in Baltimore have dropped nearly $150 million this year amid a record wave of tax appeals that have amplified ongoing struggles in the city's main business district, my colleague Melody Simmons reports. Nearly double the amount of appeals were filed with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, or SDAT, this year compared to 2022. It's a sign that Baltimore's commercial market, like many others in the nation, is struggling to reset after the pandemic. Read about the drop's consequences for city revenues and services, future financing and commercial property downtown.

Downtown office building sells to out-of-town investor for $1.7M

A small office building on a high-profile downtown corner has traded to an out-of-state investor for $1.7 million, our Melody Simmons reported this weekend. The unidentified buyer of the building at 7 E. Baltimore St. is an investor with an entity registered in Lawrence, New York, according to state records. The seller was the World Relief Corp., which has its office in the building. The sale is the latest move in the central business district, where vacancy rates are 21% and several office towers have traded or been sold in distress or foreclosure over the past few years.

Hopkins student athlete launches new protection gear for hockey players

Carter Hogg, the Johns Hopkins student athlete behind football anti-concussion neckbrace G8RSkin, has announced the launch of a new protection device for hockey players. The product, called G8RSkin Ice, is a collar made from kevlar to help reduce concussions and lacerations, both frequent injuries in ice hockey. The gear is worn under players' helmets, and the hockey product will be tested with youth and high school athletes. Hogg started the enterprise when his brother's football career was cut short by a concussion, our Garrett Dvorkin reported in August.

A look at a Baltimore native's booming loan service

Baltimore entrepreneur Rodney Williams' SoLo Funds Inc. just hit 1 million users, which it says makes it the largest Black-owned financial tech company in America, the Sun reports. SoLo Funds is a platform where users can lend small sums to one another to fill gaps for those without credit cards or who are facing other borrowing issues. The peer-to-peer lending model is not new but has been under increasing scrutiny as it accounts for ever-growing sums and has attracted investments from the likes of Serena Williams, according to the Sun.

Baltimore sets record for snow drought

This week in "records I wish we didn't break": Baltimore has now gone 674 days without snowfall accumulation of at least an inch, surpassing the city's previous record set between February 2011 and December 2012, according to WBAL meteorologist Tony Pann. Accompanied by some maps I am not trained to read, Pann added that projections show some accumulation in our future before December is over. But don't hold your breath; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gives Baltimore only a 7% chance for a white Christmas on its interactive Christmas snow probability map. According to the map, if you want snow on Christmas in Maryland, you should head to the aptly named Frostburg (49% chance) or other western reaches of the state.

Questions or comments about this newsletter? Contact BBJ Digital Producer Joe Ilardi at [email protected].