WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 3622

BALTIMORE, MD 21214

www.waltherson.org

mailbox@waltherson.org

Tweet: @WalthersonAssoc

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NEXT WALTHERSON IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY MEETING

When: Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 @ 7:30 PM

Where: Harbel (5807 Harford Road)

Get Involved Join WIA today! With membership your vote is counted and your voice heard in the community. Receive your monthly WIA newsletter to stay on top of what is happening in your neighborhood. Please complete the form below and send with your payment to: Waltherson Improvement Association P.O. Box 3622 Baltimore, MD 21214

February 2016

Recycling every Tuesday! Trash every Thursday! Bulk Trash (Call 311 to schedule) Street Sweeping 3rd Wednesday – Even Sides 4th Wednesday – Odd Sides

Waltherson Membership/Renewal Form:

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E-Mail: _________________________________

Please Specify: □ Renewal □New

Newsletter: □ E-mail □ Paper Mailing* _____ Individual / Business $12 _____ Senior $10

*Paper mailings are for our elderly and disabled members; please choose this option only if needed.

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February Meeting Agenda SDAT to discuss property valuations and methods for revaluation process

Vince Pompa from DPW returns to give an update on BaltiMETERs and our water bills.

President’s Letter In January, our elected officials including Delegatae McCray, Senator McFadden, Councilman Curran, and Councilman Scott organized a meeting with MTA surrounding the proposed changes to the bus routes servicing the neighborhoods of Northeast Baltimore City in the BaltimoreLINK plan. Residents expressed some passionate concerns to MTA officials at that meeting and we are told that a revised bus plan should be made available sometime in April or May and we expect another meeting at that time. Waltherson send a letter expressing some of our concerns, briefly detailed below, to MTA as well.

Loss of express service on Harford Road Route changes that would eliminate direct service from Harford Road to downtown. Safety concerns surrounding transfers to downtown currently proposed along Harford Road between St.

Lo Drive and 25th street. How stops would change along Harford & Belair Roads The need for more bus service along Harford and Belair Road than currently detailed in the plan,

particularly during peak hours. We hope these concerns will be addressed in the revised plan and look forward to hearing more details later this year when that becomes available. Another development in the neighborhood that led to some passionate discussion has been Los Amigos. Our neighbors in Hamilton Hills held a meeting that I understand became heated surrounding the changes at Los Amigos and fears of them becoming a nightclub. A follow up meeting was held with Los Amigos, Hamilton-Lauraville Mainstreet, Harbel, and representatives of Waltherson, Hamilton Hills, and Glenham-Belhar. Los Amigos stated that after Rosa, a man named Fernando was managing the restaurant and created a Facebook page called Fantasy Bar & Lounge using Los Amigos’ address. Fernando was let go about four months ago and the concerns expressed by residents were attributed to Fernando’s management of the establishment. Los Amigos is interested in repairing the damage to their brand; they have re-configured their play area for children and are changing their menu to incorporate options from El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. They are proposing hours of 11 AM to 10 PM that would be family friendly. After 10 PM, l ive entertainment focusing more on the bar crowd would begin including options such as DJ, dancing, and mariachi. The kitchen would remain open until 1:30 AM. The liquor license for Los Amigos requires 60% food sales so the business cannot operate without the restaurant. A l iquor license transfer hearing is expected to occur in March and a follow up meeting will be had before then. We are working with Hamilton Hills to ensure Waltherson residents have an opportunity to vote at that meeting assuming a quorum of seven members is present. If you wish to vote you must be a dues paying member of the Waltherson Improvement Association. You will not be able to pay and vote at the meeting. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to give them another shot. I thought the food was excellent when I ate there last month. As a reminder, we are still planning to have a spring event for the neighborhood on May 14, 2016 with a rain date of May 21, 2016 and our hope is to have it at a central location along the Walther Ave corridor. We will have more details on this event in the coming months. If you would like to help us organize this event, please let us know. Any help would be appreciated. Kind Regards, Robert Walshe, WIA president president@waltherson.org | 443.939.6243

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IN AND AROUND WALTHERSON Upcoming Neighborhood Events: February

6th – First Friday Art Crawl o Hamilton Gallery 5502 Harford Road o Hamilton Bakery, 5414 Harford; 5-9 http://www.hamiltonbakery.com/events-and-specials/ (free

cupcakes!) o Mutt Mart Yappy Hour. Bring your dog for a free treat! 2904 Hamilton Ave. o Creative Arts of Maryland 5424 Harford Road https://www.facebook.com/creativeartsofmd o 4300 block of Harford Road and the Market Connection Space September 5th, 6-9 pm. Food,

Wine, Shopping at the The Gift Cellar and Market Connection, Art Openings, "side-walk snips" a la the The Chop Shop!

o Charmed Life Gallery, 4505 Harford; o Additional details http://www.hamiltonlauravillemainstreet.blogspot.com/

9th – Waltherson Quarterly Community Meeting o 7:30 PM @ Harbel (5807 Harford Road)

March 4th – First Friday Art Crawl 24th – 3rd District Council Forum – Faith Community (5315 Harford) 7-9 PM

April 1st – First Friday Art Crawl 4th - Hamilton Mayoral Candidate Forum – Faith Community (5315 Harford) 7-9 PM 26th - Primary Election - Don’t forget to vote if you can do so in the primaries.

At the Pratt Book Discussions:

The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates - o Thurs, 2/18 6 PM – 7:30 PM

Movies Jurassic World – Monday 2/22 4 PM

Programs for Children: Lego Club – Mondays @ 3 PM Mother Goose Baby Steps – Wednesdays @ 10 AM Preschool Leaps – Wednesdays @ 11 AM Reading Tails – Saturday 2/27 @ 2 PM Bedtime Stories – Thursday, 2/4 6:30 – 7:30 PM

o Come in your pajamas and join the H.L. Sprouts to hear stories, sing songs, and do a craft Kids Karaoke – Thurs. 2/11 3-4:30 PM Library Leap-a-palooza – Mon. 2/29 3:30-5 PM

o Jump to it! Come and enjoy leap year fun action games that combine math, l iteracy, and art. Just for Teens

Makerspace – Monday 2/8 @ 6 PM o A place for creation, innovation, and collaboration

Teen Game Day – Wednesday 2/10 & 2/24 @ 3:30 PM Wii Wednesday – Wednesday 2/3 & 2/17 @ 3:30 PM

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Reconfigurations on Frankford Ave As discussed at our November community meeting, the intersection at Frankford Ave & Hamilton Ave and the intersection at Frankford Ave & Course Ave are scheduled to be altered. Below are the pictures DOT showed us at the community meeting. Frankford & Course:

Frankford & Hamilton

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BaltimoreLINK – New Bus routes coming June 2017 In October Governor Hogan announced a complete redesign of the Baltimore Bus system that includes some major changes to mass transit in our neighborhood. Changes to the bus lines in Waltherson are detailed below:

The 15/47 lines on Belair Road will be replaced with the Brown CityLink line. It would run from White Marsh Mall to the West Baltimore MARC station by way of downtown.

The 19 line on Harford Road will be replaced by the 55. It runs from Perry Hall to State Center, connections to

downtown and Goucher/Taylor would be eliminated.

Echoda le Ave’s 44 line will be replaced by the 30. It would no longer go west of Belvedere Square and will go south to

Bayview.

Moravia Ave’s 33 line will be replaced by the 28. It would run from the West Cold Spring Metro station to Moravia

Park.

The new 33 line will touch our northeast boundary at Belair & Hamilton connecting us to Mount Washington and

Rosedale via Northern Parkway.

So far no announcements have been made concerning bus stops. We are told that the numbered LocalLink lines would have

more stops than the colored CityLink lines. This suggests that there will be fewer stops on Belair Road than Harford Road when

the plan is implemented. The new schedules would have a bus on Harford Road each 15 minutes and one on Belair Road each 10 minutes while current schedules list 5 local, 2 express, and 4 quickbus stops at Belair & Frankford and 6 local / 8 express

buses at Harford & Echodale between 7 and 8 AM raising concerns whether the new system will be able to meet existing

demand from commuters and schoolchildren. Michael Walk, Director of Service Development for MTA, tells us that “this will

likely be fine-tuned as we move forward and get a better handle on anticipated needs. Second, we are analyzing the Harford Rd. corridor closely, because we do rea lize there is a good deal of ridership along that corridor. So, we'll keep this in mind as

we're crafting the final service plan based on public input.”

MTA has taken community feedback and will be releasing a revised map sometime in April or May of 2016. We expect another community meeting to be scheduled at that time to review the plans.

New Northeast Sector Transit Map:

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3rd District Baltimore City Council Candidate Forum Our neighbors in Hamilton Hills hosted a Candidate Forum for the 3rd district Democratic City Council Candidates on Nov. 18. A video of the event can be found at this l ink: https://youtu.be/sVQ88biBOMY Another 3rd District City Council forum will be at Faith Community (5315 Harford Rd) on Thurs., March 24 7-9 PM

DOT Pedestrian Survey The Baltimore City Department of Transportation would like to obtain your opinion regarding pedestrian safety.

Please take a brief moment to complete the survey in the link below. The information you provide is critical in

helping DOT improve safety on city streets. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DOTPEDSURVEY2016

Cellar Stage (5315 Harford in Faith Community)

Friday, February 12th BALTIMORE IRISH TRAD FEST FUNDRAISER CONCERT AND CELEBRATION

Tickets $21.00 ~ Showtime 8:00 pm

Join us for an entertaining evening of some of the Baltimore/Washington area’s finest Irish traditional music! Featuring greats such as Billy McComiskey (button accordion), Donna Long (piano), Jim Eagan (fiddle), Laura Byrne (flute), and MANY MORE! There will be dancers, music, a silent auction and other events to be announced.

All proceeds will benefit the 5th annual Baltimore Irish Trad Fest to be held April 22-24. Bringing in some of the world’s most talented Irish traditional musicians and dancers from around North America and Ireland, the Baltimore Irish Trad Fest is an annual weekend of educational music and dance workshops, sessions and a concert held at various venues around the city of Baltimore. Class offerings include guitar, fiddle, flute, tin whistle, button accordion, piano, songs, banjo, bodhran and more! Visit www.baltimoreirisharts.com for details on the festival.

To Purchase Tickets: http://uptownconcerts.com/cellar-stage/shows/

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--Business News—

A NEW PHARMACY OPENS INSIDE BI-RITE PHARMACY ON BELAIR ROAD

With the growing interest in developing and growing businesses in the Belair Road Corridor of Baltimore

City, in particular, pharmaceutical and supermarket businesses, it is only very fitting and timely that we

share with you the opening of a Pharmacy inside the Bi-Rite Supermarket, probably one of the oldest

supermarkets on the Belair Road section of Baltimore City.

True Care Pharmacy is located inside of the Bi-Rite Supermarket at 5950 Belair Road. Baltimore, MD

21206. The new pharmacy which opened on the 8th of the January 2016 is fully stocked with a variety of

medications to meet the pharmaceutical needs of shoppers as well as residents in the general area. Now

you can conveniently have your medications filled while you shop.

True Care Pharmacy is currently offering a limited savings opportunity for shoppers by offering them $10

dollars off any item purchased in the supermarket with any 2 new or transferred prescriptions.

The pharmacy accepts most insurance including those held by Medicare, and Medicaid individuals, in

addition to such insurance as Express Script, Humana and many more. True Care Pharmacy also

participates in e-script which allows their physicians to send their prescriptions electronically, directly to

the pharmacy.

The pharmacy is opened Mondays through Fridays and also on Saturdays and most holidays. Delivery

services are also available to seniors.

Members of the community are welcome. No reasons any more for area residents to feel

inconvenienced with shopping for food in one store, and for medications in another. We are here to

serve you. Please pass on the good news to your friends, families and co-workers.

The pharmacy can be reached directly at 410-254-0100. Our fax number is 410-254-0400.

Neighborhood in Baltimore Magazine Baltimore Magazine mentioned two new businesses on Harford Road in an article posted Jan. 5th.

“Silver Queen Café: The Hamilton food scene saw a new addition last month with the opening of this homey restaurant that emphasizes regionally inspired comfort foods. Complete with rustic furniture and a kid’s play area with toys and games, the spot focuses on savory dishes including Gruyere crab dip, butternut squash pizza, Maryland fried chicken with roasted Brussels sprouts, and pan seared pork chops with butter poached apples. 5429 Harford Road, 443-345-2020”

Tanner’s Pickles: Speaking of Hamilton, this all-natural pickle purveyor set up shop in new digs on Harford Road last month, selling everything from classic dills to pickled beets. Taking up residence in the former Tooloulou space, Tanner’s offers pickled varieties ranging from habanero bread and butter pickles and pickled rosemary chili beets to garlic dill green beans and spicy molé carrots. 4311 Harford Road”

http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/2016/1/5/open-shut-silver-queen-cafe-open-bel-air-bakery-and-breadbangers-close

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----- FIRST FRIDAY ----

--Friday, February 5th

--

Hamilton Bakery – 5414 Harford Rd Free cupcakes after 6 PM while supplies last.

The Gift Cellar – 4337 Harford Road - Don't sit home on Friday night, join us here at The Gift Cellar for First Friday! Stop in for a glass of wine and see what's new!

Mutt Mart - 2904 Hamilton Ave - Bigger is always better, right? We think so! Stop by Mutt Mart Friday 5 – 8 PM to enjoy eats & drinks to benefit Dogs XL Rescue. We will have some BIG items on SALE, and everyone who comes will receive a FREE dog toy! Please SHARE & invite your friends!

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Hamilton Gallery – 5502 Harford Rd

Hamilton Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition Janet Maher: Collages Janet Maher creates collaged mixed media works from anything that has made its way into her studio. Ephemera of all kinds, sorted and unsorted, may be layered, glued, constructed, placed into box or book context, and/or mixed around until final compositions fall into place. Janet adds any medium that seems necessary to create her lush and textural images. February 5 – February 28, 2016 First Friday Opening Reception – February 5, 5-9pm Also exhibiting this month Hamilton Gallery artist members: Jude Asher, Ron Cohn, Donna DiSciullo, Ned Epps, Marcus Dagold, Amy Klainer, Ania Milo, Charles Mens, Lynn Poshepny, Angela Raincatcher, Theresa Reuter, Valerie Smith, Grace Sweeney, Bridget Z. Sullivan, Richard Sullivan, Maxine Taylor, Linnea Tober & Alex Vanicky. Hamilton Gallery welcomes all guests and neighbors to join us in enjoying our neighborhood and our city. Hamilton Gallery 5502 Harford Road Baltimore, 21214 GALLERY HOURS Friday 4-8pm, Saturday noon-8pm, Sunday 11am-3pm www.hamiltonarts.org

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NECOP – Northeast Citizens on Patrol

In Northeast Baltimore we have a district wide Citizens on Patrol program called NECOP. The reasoning behind the COP program is that regular neighborhood patrols can make criminals feel uncomfortable and drive them out of our neighborhood. Communities with regular NECOP

patrols, such as the North Harford neighborhood, also see significantly less crime than communities with inactive patrols.

Participants meet at the Northeast Police station at 1900 Argonne Drive near Morgan State and an officer will give you a direct number to keep them in contact with the Police. You would then proceed to patrol the neighborhood in your car. Patrols normally go out each Thursday and Friday from about 7:30 - 10:30. For anyone interested in the Citizens on Patrol program, please

contact Rob at Robert.walshe@gmail.com

Proud Member of:

WIA Volunteers Officers:

President 1st Vice President

2nd Vice President

Secretary Treasurer Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms

At-Large Member

Robert Walshe

Frank Will iams

Ronisha Moore

Irona Thompson

Sue Kessel Lisa Hom Francis Beane

Ben McKenzie

Standing Committees and Representatives:

Housing Traffic Schools & Child Advocacy

Harford Road CRP Rep.

Garden Sign & Projects

Digital Outreach &

Communications

Police Liaison / NECOP

Chairman Robert Walshe, Sue Kessel, Helene Quinn, Frank Williams

Terrye Muratore

Vacant Main: Sue Kessel Alt: Rob Walshe

Ron Derr Robert Walshe Sam Kimani