Big City Public Relations

By Zack Germroth, APR

Big City Public Relations: Real PR Experiences + Lessons Learned

Through 30-plus episodes, author Zack Germroth covers PR strategies, media relations and crisis communication. Each experience ends with “Lessons Learned.”

Big City Public Relations replays the largest implosion in the western hemisphere attracting 50,000 onlookers and national media, to a collapsing TV infrastructure, the closing of the Preakness, and a “most wanted” suspect pursuit by 100 police officers.  

The author served Baltimore’s dual housing agencies with some 2,000 employees.  The 10 most troubling landlords and demolishing 10,000 row homes were also topics for the thousands of media stories he handled. While wearing the Public Relations Director’s hat, he also served as the Public Information Officer (PIO) for “Housing’s” 35-officer police force.

Chapters 1 through 4 set the scene, and chapters 5 through 32 each replay in detail a PR/media-heavy episode: some were picture-perfect; others needed extensive hands-on mitigation. 

Three contributing PIOs from Fire, Police, and Public Works detail one of their agencies’ national-news-making episodes. 

If you’re a PR practitioner, student or teacher; city employee or resident; someone who may occasionally respond to the media, or just curious about PR in a big city, you may enjoy this Big City Public Relations tour covering 14 years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Feb 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9781977272515

Zack Germroth, APR

Zack Germroth, APR, has worked in PR for 35 years at the city, county, state and federal government levels, as well as in the private and nonprofit sectors as PR Director and an independent practitioner for clients ranging from publications to multi-billion-dollar corporations. Among his early positions, he worked as a “stringer” for five local newspapers as a writer-photographer. A member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) since 1985, Zack founded the PRSSA chapter at Towson University. His leisure-time activities include staying fit and discovering great finds at auctions. BCPR retraces his 14 years as a Public Information Officer for Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, while playing-out 30+ dramatic episodes. 

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Big City Public Relations

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Copyright © 2024 Zack Germroth

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Section I: Introductory Background Chapters with Embedded Episodes

Chapter 1: Let’s Take a Tour, Put on Your PR Hats and Buckle-Up

It’s Your Call… Big City Public Relations is a bit different. Here’s why…

Chapter 2: Setting the Scene, Part A

Baltimore Cityscape: How the Old Made Way for the New, And How the Old Was Repurposed Into the Best New Ever

Setting the Scene, Part B

Neighborhoods, Settings, Events, PIO Workday

Let’s Get to Work

Chapter 3: One of the Toughest Jobs in the City: Demolition

Section II: Stand-alone Episodes

Chapter 4: Part A: Demolition, The Need

Part B: Demolition, the Strategy…

Part C: Demolition and the Media

Baltimore’s Demolitions Attract Extensive National Coverage And Spur Competition among Local Media

Part D: High-rises Beyond Repair

No Amount of Fixing Could Save Our Public Housing High-rises

Part E: Public Housing Needed Security

Residents Compared High-rises to Prisons

Feature Item: Baltimore’s Slogans and Nicknames Throughout the Years

Chapter 5: How Baltimore Became City of ECHO’s With Some Help From Chicago

Chapter 6: Unique Baltimore Fishing Contest Goes Round-the-World: It Only Took 12-inch, 1-pounder to Win

Chapter 7: Storm From Nowhere Rips Houses Apart, While Uniting Workers and Neighborhoods

Chapter 8: Human Termites Stripped Houses For Profit, City Approached Problem from Horse, Cart, and Barn Perspectives

Chapter 9: Special Events That Did Not Go Exactly As Planned

#1. Grand Opening Delayed

#2. Ribbon Cutting vs. Resting in Peace

#3. Legality of Gun Sales Questioned

Chapter 10: Hot Roding in TV Station’s Truck While Pursuing Notorious Landlord

Chapter 11: Rats Eating Car Engines and Other Horrifying Stories!

Chapter 12: Housing Authority Worker Cooking Books and Appliances

Chapter 13: Bomb Squads Unite! Blowing Things Up For Practice

Chapter 14: Building-scaling Suspect Eludes 100-plus Officers and FBI

Chapter 15: The PR Beep Goes On

Chapter 16: Demolition Hell Week Merges Into Demolition Done Right (Note to Readers: You Might Want to Wear Your Safety Hard Hats While Reading This Chapter.)

Chapter 17: Massive Demolitions Key to Neighborhoods’ Success Allowed City to Open Home-buying Incentive Doors And Media to Come Along for Ride

Chapter 18: Who’s Keeping Out Whom With $1 Million Fence? Hollander Ridge Creates Media Frenzy, Quelled by Rescued Sex Slaves

Chapter 19: Hollander Ridge Shooting Suspect Disappears: We Had Trouble

Chapter 20: Landlords: Some Were Slumlords, Drug Lords, Others Were in Our House

Chapter 21: Baltimore’s Movies, TV Sets, Lights, Cameras, Action Is it Ballywood?

Chapter 22: Homeless Meet Car-less Assistant Secretary We All Get Welcomed Ride From Baltimore Sun

Chapter 23: Disabled Robbery Victim… Well Almost

Chapter 24: Murphy Homes Falls, The Terraces Opens: Both Made Housing History

Chapter 25: History-making Media Day, When Baltimore’s TV Broadcasting Became the Headline

Chapter 26: Three Police Mini-episodes: New Years Celebrants Shooting Y2k Devils, Buying Guns for Safety, and Police Beat

Chapter 27: Thanksgiving Delayed: Officer Shooting Takes Place Among Questionable Witnesses

Chapter 28: Hold Your Horses? 2nd Jewel in Triple Crown, Nearly Misses Leaving Gate for 125th Running

Chapter 29: Bye-Bye Broadway: Baltimore’s Tallest Comes Down

Chapter 30: Timeline of a Failed High-rise Development: From Conception to Implosion, Flag House Courts

Section III. Closing Episodes

Chapter 31: Christmas Provides Package of News Homeless Get Moved, HUD Comes to Rescue, Unexpected Holiday Gift on Housing’s Doorstep

Chapter 32: Bomb Drops in Historic Fells Point, Housing Commissioner Spends Night in Slammer

Section IV. Epilogue

Epilogue

Housing’s Doors Close, Others Open Housing Commissioner Episode Was Not on My Calendar, PIO Experience Can Lead to Calls For Your Expertise

Section V. Guest PIO Episodes

Police: Foxtrot Copter Down by Police Department PIO Rob Weinhold

Fire: The Tunnel Fire by Fire Department PIO Hector Torres

Public Works: Apex of Baltimore’s Collapsing Water Infrastructure by Public Works PIO Kurt Kocher

Feature Item: Recommended Reading

About the Author

Author prepares for Pleasant View Gardens’ ribbon cutting, marking the opening of this award-winning new development, replacing six imploded high-rises.

Before moving to the city, Zack was born and raised in Baltimore County on aptly named Garden Avenue, in bucolic Parkville, Maryland. Whatever discipline he has he credits to attending eight years at Saint Ursula’s Catholic Grade School, and to serving another eight years in the U.S. Army (two active, to include a tour in Viet Nam, and six Reserves). During his military stints, he transitioned from Turbine Engine Mechanic for helicopters to Public Information Officer (PIO). He has served as a PR practitioner for some 35 years at the city, county, state and federal government levels, as well as in the private sector as PR Director and an independent practitioner for clients ranging from publications and politicians to multi-billion-dollar/multi-national corporations.

Early in his career he also served as a stringer for five local Baltimore County newspapers as a writer-photographer. He is most fond of his work as PR Director for the League for the Handicapped (now, the League for People with Disabilities), whose clients of all ages unknowingly taught him many life’s lessons. He has remained a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) since 1985 and is accredited as an APR. Zack founded the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter at Towson University while in attendance there for his B.A. and M.A. degrees and also served as a PRSSA president. He continues to consult with and learn from an estimated 2,500-and-counting college students he’s had the pleasure to guide through PR and communications courses at various institutions of higher learning: Towson University, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Eastern Mennonite University, and Blue Ridge Community College.

This book is about his 14 years as a Public Information Officer (and associated titles) for Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development and (simultaneously) the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. He currently lives with his talented wife Dr. Alexandra Vilela in Harrisonburg, Virginia where she teaches advertising and associated courses at James Madison University. They have been adopted by a feisty calico, Gatinha (cat in Portuguese).

Acknowledgements

The following individuals helped me in various ways to write this book.

First, my friend Angie Bornemann, who brought her years of newspaper writing and editing expertise to the book’s earlier stages.

Next, her husband Mike Bornemann who saw whatever flicker of talent I had early in my career. At the time Mike was the executive director for the League for the Handicapped, and encouraged me to apply for the League’s PR Director slot.

Ryan Allessi, who brought his former newspaper and national wire service editing experience to the book’s final stages. He also teaches journalism and related courses at James Madison University.

Rob Weinhold, with whom I had the pleasure of working in his capacity as PIO for the Baltimore City Police Department on news that involved both police and housing issues. I also thank him for authoring a chapter herein.

Colleagues of both Rob and me, Kurt Kocher and Hector Torres, who added their unique PIO perspectives to their chapters and to the expert work they performed with the city’s Department of Public Works and the Fire Department respectively.

Bill Toohey, who served in various high-profile PR capacities with two U.S. senators, the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, Baltimore County Police Department, and other agencies. As a former public radio reporter, he developed a talent for working with the media. We briefly worked together at the housing department and chatted as adjuncts on the Towson University campus. (Bill passed away in Mar. 2015)

Former Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson, III, who as a successful developer brought a much needed let’s get this done now approach to Baltimore City’s housing and community development needs. He transformed Baltimore’s aging housing stock, into safer, more modern, and less-dense housing, that enhanced communities.

Jacqui Lampell, who hired me as a writer/PR consultant under Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer’s administration, demonstrated an insight into what the right thing to do was, and how to do it masterfully. (Jacqui passed on Jan. 20, 2020.)

Former colleague John Milton Wesley for bringing his expertise to the Housing PR team, and for his strive to make the world a more equitable place for everyone. He accomplishes this through his melodious voice in front of TV cameras for PR concerns, and audiences while singing at his keyboard.

James Hamlin for his visionary role in reviving Baltimore’s historic Pennsylvania Avenue.

And family friend Rick Lomonico for his captivating cover design.

CHAPTER 1

Let’s Take a Tour Put on Your PR Hats and Buckle-Up

This is an invitation to take a ride with me. The trip spans approximately 14 years, and covers 30-plus episodes on Baltimore’s constantly changing infrastructure… especially of the housing and community development variety. A few lunch stops and a trip to the movies are included. As we go we’ll be wearing our public relations hats. We’ll interact with city, county, national, and international media reps who produced on average some 2,000 spots and articles per year about the work of the two large housing agencies I served as Public Information Officer.

We’ll explore neighborhoods that had the highest crime rates in the city and those that have been torn down, redesigned and rebuilt into state-of-the-art communities. We’ll weave through Baltimore’s incredibly rich history, to include iron-clad buildings from the 1800’s and the game-changing transformation of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor underway by the 1970’s. And we’ll look into massive housing do-over’s in the ‘90’s, and see some of what’s still a work in progress today. We’ll visit a number of Baltimore’s 100-year-old warehouses and factories that were repurposed into upscale community anchors. Areas of Canton, Camden Yards, and the rockin’ Power Plant in the Inner Harbor are among their settings.

We’ll also stop at Baltimore’s outmoded, and oftentimes out-of-control, public housing high-rises where drug dealers collected entrance fees from the tenants as they returned from work, school, or making daily trips. Here, living amongst the highest-in-the-city crime was a way of life, for lower income individuals and families seeking a descent and safe place to call home. We’ll witness these same properties blown up, rebuilt and transformed into national award-winning communities that include a business center, home-ownership opportunities, and computer learning labs.

The decision-making circumstances to close down the annual running of the Preakness, how we dealt with Demolition Hell Week, and mitigating the illegal actions of Baltimore’s Top-10 Worst landlords are example episodes, all played back from a public relations perspective.

100-plus Law Enforcement Personnel Pursue Top-10 Most Wanted Suspect…

On one leg of our journey, five blocks from my office, we’ll join city, state, and federal law enforcement officers at one of our high-rise complexes, the notorious Murphy Homes, in their attempt to capture an FBI’s 10 Most Wanted suspect. Some 100 law enforcement officers are in pursuit or aiding in back-up roles. Then going a few blocks on the other side of housing headquarters, we’ll catch the largest-in-the-western-hemisphere high-rise complex implosion,* attracting an estimated 50,000 live onlookers and more than 100 local, national and international media reps.

While we’re in the neighborhood, we’ll swing by my office on the Benton Building’s 13th floor to thumb through the housing PR files that contain media clips of stories on two city agencies: The Department of Housing and Community Development and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. Together they account for a collective Housing workforce of several thousand employees. They range from Housing Inspectors, Neighborhood Planners, Code Enforcement Officers, and the Rat Patrol teams, to Housing Development Managers and front-line Receptionists just outside my office. The housing commissioner and his staff are just up the hall. In my PIO role I was also tapped to serve as the Housing Authority’s 35-officer police force spokesperson.

City Hall with War Memorial Plaza in foreground, and the Benton Building/ Housing Headquarters on the left. (South side of the Benton Bldg. faces the Inner Harbor.)

We’ll occasionally return to my office to prepare for our next venture. We begin our journey by exploring some key spots seen from my office window. Among them are the Canton Gold Coast, Inner Harbor, and Domino Sugars plant. And then we cannot leave out The Block, which is immediately out the south door of our housing’s headquarters, my building.

…Then Grab Lunch in 1950s Diners

So, grab your PR hats and let’s get started. I’ll even treat for lunch at one of my two favorite diners: Each has been featured in movies as scene locations and both are just a block or so from my office. One is old style ‘50’s and one is hip-hop ‘50’s; they both have neat booths and cool swivel counter stools. By the way, chances are good that we’ll also run into a movie being made as we continue our tour. During my city PIO tenure, more than 25 movies were shot here. (¹) (²) If we time it just right, we’ll witness one crook who, while escaping from his real-life heist scene was captured by on-set cop-actors, creating his own trip-to-jail scene.

Police, Fire, Public Works PIOs Share National News Stories

Before we finish our journey, we’ll visit dramatic front-page events of three of my PIO colleagues representing Police, Fire, and Public Works. They’ll share with us one of their challenging, and media-heavy episodes as Baltimore City Public Information Officers. Each of these events made national news.

Following nearly every Big City Public Relations episode we’ll have opportunities to reflect on some Lessons Learned from the public relations/PIO perspective. One last thing as a heads-up: sometimes it’s a very bumpy ride, like the time I drove a TV station’s truck on the spur of the moment to chase police cars. In doing so, I freed up the cameraman to ride shotgun and catch breaking footage of the arrest by undercover renters of a notorious landlord along Baltimore’s Ho Chi Minh drug trail.

*At the time, this Baltimore implosion was estimated by the Controlled Demolition Inc. team to be the largest. Not surprisingly, CDI went on in later years to re-capture the largest demo, as documented by a Guinness Book of World Records team who followed them to Mexico.

It’s Your Call…

Big City Public Relations is a bit different. Here’s why…

Most chapters are best described as free-standing episodes. You can read them in any order and will likely have a good idea of what each one is about.

Chapters 1, 2, 3, and parts of 4 are the exceptions and deal with setting the scene, and less with single events. If you cannot wait to get to the action, feel free to dive into any chapter. Chapter 4 is one of the longest with a mix of background and mini-episodes. (It’s presented in five sub-sections.) Then chapters 5 to 32 will each give you a self-contained story.

If you prefer to first get a better perspective of the broader setting: Baltimore City, its history, successes, and challenges, then continue reading in sequence chapters 1 through 32 + the epilogue.

It really is Your Call.

CHAPTER 2

Setting the Scene, Part A

Baltimore Cityscape: How the Old Made Way for the New, And How the Old Was Repurposed Into the Best New Ever

Sometimes history has to step aside and make way for the new. And other times – as was the case in Baltimore - history becomes the best new imaginable. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks along these lines. I truly enjoyed refurbishing my 1920s Baltimore house with its grand wrap-around front porch and stained-glass highlights. Some of Baltimore’s most vibrant living, eating and business venues are older buildings – even former factories and abandoned buildings – that have been transformed into attractive new functions. Repurposed is often the term used by planners, developers, and architects.

As part of my job as Public Relations Director/PIO* for two, large housing and development agencies, I got to witness some of these creative transformations, that embodied vision of the future and fascination with the past. My PR staff and I would sometimes assist in drawing attention to the various phases – from acquisition to rehab to grand opening – of these repurposed relics’ rebirth.

PR Specialist-turned-PIO Kevin Brown (L) and author Germroth review city’s Baltimore’s Progress newspaper’s requirements with housing staff.

Housing directors review pre-press sections of annual report.

Window Tour Sets the Scene

As a handy point of reference, let’s briefly return to my 13th floor view in our comparatively new office building. Looking south to the Inner Harbor’s Marketplace, east to Canton’s converted factories, and west to Orioles Park at Camden Yards, to M&T Bank Stadium where the Ravens play, and beyond to historic Federal Hill, I was afforded a panorama of Baltimore: parts old and parts new. Then again, looking directly down, or upon exiting my 14-story building to the south, I sometimes found myself dodging strip club hucksters, and the occasional drunk doing things he shouldn’t have been doing in public. This was known as The Block for its solid line-up of strip joints, and where the nationally renowned burlesque celebrity Blaze Starr honed her craft in the 50s and 60s. So, The Block has been a Baltimore staple for quite some time.(¹) Ironically, just across the street to the east is Baltimore’s police headquarters. And, just to the northeast of our housing headquarters building is the majestic War Memorial Building fronted by a massive pair of dignified lions. Directly to the north stands the complementary War Memorial Plaza. Baltimore’s stately City Hall is immediately off our northwest corner.

* PIOs mostly serve as a government agency’s spokesperson. My position also encompassed promotional and marketing duties.

The Public Relations Shop

Shortly, we’ll venture through public relations special events, demolitions, crises, and other media-heavy activities, all falling within the scope of providing public relations for two large housing organizations: DHCD and HABC. Together our PIO and Public Relations shop averaged from 6 to 10 employees. And, it was commonplace to carry out four or five special events per week. As mentioned and a rough count, my office would generate or respond to an average of several thousand media spots per year. Most often I took the lead on media inquiries during my housing PIO tenure. During my first few years with Housing I was more involved with the writing – especially press releases, speeches, annual reports and the like - and special events. Then I was promoted to the top PIO/Public Relations Director slot, whose job it was to oversee all aspects of the communications office. We usually had on board a photographer, several graphic artists, a deputy PIO, and a special events director, as well as two-to-three front-line receptionists/secretaries.

Housing’s PR shop joins Cable 44 TV personnel and others working in Baltimore City’s PR realm for a half-day retreat.

Demolition Dominates…

Demolition, as you’ll soon see, was a major ingredient in the work mix that our two agencies handled. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) had several overriding purposes regarding demolition. One was to mitigate the debilitating effects of vacant properties on our communities. The other was to clear the way for new buildings or activities. Unfortunately, not all older, even historical or signature buildings could be saved. We’ll review a few of those tough decisions shortly. On the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) side, we took down our most troubled public housing high-rises, with live onlookers numbering into the tens of thousands on implosion days.

By the way, if you’re fond of things that go boom, or crash to the ground, demolition in its various manifestations runs through a number of chapters. As stated, one demolition event attracted more than 100 media, including both national and foreign press. Another demolition episode, however, was tagged Demolition Hell Week by my housing colleagues, and we could not wait to get demolition off the front pages and the 6 o’clock news.

… While Some Buildings Were Repurposed

Before we drill down on the demolition process, let’s continue to set the larger stage and explore some of those repurposed buildings. Many would say that these older giants were deservedly, even miraculously, spared from the demolition process.

Most were rather incredible turn-arounds that took creative thinking, deep pockets and guts on the parts of the developers. I suggest this look at these radical rehabs, so that you the tour taker can best understand my journey through Baltimore’s myriad of housing and community development PR activities. Finally, and up next, you may also benefit from a few big picture scenes of Baltimore City to better grasp the greater context of each episode.

Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson, III briefs the media at a monthly news conference.

Setting the Scene, Part B

Neighborhoods, Settings, Events, PIO Workday

For the record, 10-to-12-hour workdays were more common than not, and 4-plus hours in the office on Saturdays was more a necessity than an option if I had any shot at order and perspective for the coming week. Saturdays were my time to reduce paper, respond to non-emergency correspondence, file, and plan for myself and PR staff. A fair number of Saturdays were also for special events or to accommodate the occasional visit to my house – usually the front porch or lawn - by reporters seeking a quick on-camera quote for a story update or breaking news perspective. I deemed Sundays off limits, with the rarest of exceptions.

Looking East to Baltimore’s Gold Coast(²)

Just before I drew my office blinds many nights, I often took a moment to admire the panoply of lights glistening off the rippling waters of the Inner Harbor. When I was a kid, our dad would bring my next oldest brother, Tom, and me down to the harbor to watch tugs, large ships, and fishing vessels leave to ply the Chesapeake Bay, some returning with their catch to the inner harbor. By the 70s, the harbor was embarking on its up-scale transformation and officially became the (upper case) Inner Harbor.

The Inner Harbor is occasionally graced by Tall Ships from around the world to include this one flying the Brazilian flag.

With our housing headquarters building standing just north of the Inner Harbor, I was afforded a captivating view with thousands of others in hotels and offices because of the careful planning in the early 1970’s. For much of that decade, the harbor was rushing to emerge from its industrial past as an important business hub and tourist attraction. Building height guidelines were set for structures surrounding the harbor basin in a bowl-shaped fashion, each higher than the next as they left the water’s edge. Smaller buildings closest to the water, and larger-ones-out design, assured continued harbor views. A few signature buildings were allowed to be built close to the harbor: The World Trade Center at 30 stories and (later) the 44-story 414 Light Street apartment building (Baltimore’s tallest) were exceptions. The 414 Light Street building opened in 2018, after the demolished McCormick Spices building’s space served as a parking lot for 25 years.

*NOTE: Recently, the Inner Harbor’s pavilion areas were sold to MCB Real Estate and P. David Bramble, who are in the process of reinventing the entire pavilion/waterfront venue. Bramble is a lifetime west-Baltimore resident and a Princeton University graduate. He refers to the Inner Harbor’s pavilion areas as the front-porch of the city.(³)

See the MCB web site, MCBrealestate.com/news + Governor Moore and Mayor Scott join MCB Real Estate to Unveil Design Renderings of the Re-imagined Harborplace for the possibilities being considered.

During the Inner Harbor’s earlier (‘70’s) transition, harbor views generally remained intact. Even from my office perch two blocks from the northern shoreline during the 90s and 2000s, I had a relatively good view not only of portions of the Inner Harbor but also to its far shore.

Looking east, I could take-in the dark-brown outline of the massive Domino Sugar factory complex and its bright 120 by 70 foot lighted sign standing 160 feet above the harbor and its rather spectacular neon produced red lettering: Domino Sugars. As a quick point of interest, the sign was recently replaced at a cost of $2 million with an exact duplicate, but made with LED lighting, to mark 100 years of Domino’s operation. It was originally erected 70 years ago, and will remain the unofficial beacon of the Inner Harbor for the foreseeable future.(⁴) While a long-time harbor landmark – and seemingly ever-present — the huge sugar processing complex also stands in defiance of the gradually-disappearing reminders of Baltimore’s industrial past, when nearly 950,000 residents, many factory workers, lived in the city in the 1950s. (Today, Baltimore City has fewer than 600,000 residents.)(⁵)

The massive Domino Sugars sign has been a harbor fixture for more than 70 years.

Shortly in this getting-acquainted chapter, we’ll also explore some of those remaining factories in their incredible new lives, yet still wearing their unmistakable original signage from 100-or-so years ago.

The McCormick Spices building on the Inner Harbor’s west side was where spices were processed and from where the harbor took a wonderful year-round fragrance from a mixing-bowl of spicy aromas. An adjacent and much-newer Hyatt Regency hotel – also served as the Inner Harbor designers’ measuring stick for the second-tier building height of structures a half-block or so back from the water’s edge. Its frontage and rooftop restaurant offer spectacular views. When McCormick’s moved to Hunt Valley in Baltimore County’s suburbs, an important link to Baltimore’s