News roundup

As you’ve probably heard by now, thanks to the Sun‘s Jill Rosen, among others, the convention center HQ hotel is pretty much a done deal. Well, there goes our $305 million. To find out how it happened, dig deep in the Sun‘s “Hilton Proposal” mini-site , which includes good stories on the success and failure of taxpayer-funded hotels elsewhere, how this is a preview of the next citywide elections (anyone have Keiffer Mitchell for Mayor T-shirts printed up yet?), how this sets our O’Mayor straight with the unions, etc. And, of course, Gov. Bob has stuck his nose in this business, thanks to the city, according to this BBJ report by Heather Harlan, asking for state funds to help build the Hilton.

More from today’s Sun: In better news, Jennifer Skalka reports that Johns Hopkins prof Avi Rubin just got a $7.5 million National Science Foundation grant to set up a center at Homeland to investigate the accuracy of electronic voting machines. Rubin, of course, is no stranger to readers of City Paper.

And, in case you missed it, Eddie is back in town, and John Woestendiek has a story on the new job for the former police commissioner, who’s back in town doing community service: WHFS talk-show host.

Around the Horn: In a pretty puffy but informative piece, the BBJ‘s Robert J. Terry introduces us to F. Brooks Royster III, the Maryland Port Administration‘s new executive director. You may recall some hoo-ha about this earlier in the year.

In the Patuxent papers, the Towson Times‘ Bryan P. Sears catches up with former Republican state delegate from northern Baltimore County/two-time gubernatorial loser Ellen Sauerbrey. The Laurel Leader‘s Pete Pichaske reports on how local leaders plan to deal with job growth at Fort Meade and the National Security Agency. And the Northeast Booster‘s Virginia Terhune details developers‘ plans for East Baltimore’s demolished Hollander Ridge housing project; nothing exciting–it’s to be an office park.

Talk about burying the lead: As is to be expected Dundalk residents, according to this Dundalk Eagle story by Bill Gates, oppose some new condo development, ho-hum, but when you get a quote this good you put it in the lead, not the closing graph no one may get to: “I praise you,” one man said at the meeting between residents and developers. “Dundalk is a slum, and that’s how people from outside view it. I think [Sheltered Harbor] is what Dundalk needs. We need more life, class and money.” Another member of the audience retorted: “We have that reputation so we can keep outside people from moving here.”

Beyond the Beltway: In the LA Times, Suzanne Muchnic gets medieval on a pretty awesome new Hopkins web site that presents old manuscripts in digital form. And in the Wall Street Journal, Joi Preciphs watches as Republican governors, including our own, try to gut state employees unions.