
The Hopkins philosophy program is getting a massive boost from a famous investor who attributes his success on Wall Street to his philosophy education at the Baltimore university.
The Hopkins philosophy program is getting a massive boost from a famous investor who attributes his success on Wall Street to his philosophy education at the Baltimore university.
Thomas E. Wilcox is stepping down as president and CEO of the Baltimore Community Foundation after 17 years.
Shannon Hutchinson, a senior in the Baltimore School for the Arts’ acting program, is used to playing characters on stage and screen. Last summer, however, she had a chance to learn just how much work goes on behind the scenes to make a good film, thanks to a pilot program offered by her school.
“Sometimes it’s hard to conceptualize until you’re behind the camera seeing what the frame actually is,” she said.
Orioles star Adam Jones treated a classroom of students at Baltimore’s SEED School earlier this year to a free baseball game, but not before surprising them by disguising himself as the teacher.
Join Parks & People for its 6th Annual Picnic in the Park this Friday, September 16th from 6-10pm! Don’t miss Baltimore’s best outdoor party with great food from Cunningham’s, specialty cocktails, live bluegrass music and more at the Parks & People campus at 2100 Liberty Heights Ave. This year, the organization recognizes Sally Michel Award honorees David Warnock and Larry Rivitz, co-founders of Green Street Academy.
Purchase tickets online or call 410-448-5663 ext. 118 today!
With donations of $1.9 billion, or about 2.6% of his total wealth, Bill Gates tops the list of American philanthropists in 2012, Forbes reported ahead of Thanksgiving. Investment guru Warren Buffet was a close second with $1.87 billion.
I’ve never fully believed that oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens is a real person — that name is just too good, right? But I’m starting to finally buy it, especially now after the 85 year-old just pledged to give $20 million to Johns Hopkins for vision-related research.
Sidney Silber died on Tuesday, July 30 at the age of 95. In tribute to this lifelong Baltimorean, community leader and philanthropist, we re-publish today two previous Baltimore Fishbowl articles about him. The first is one in a series of profiles of vibrant Baltimoreans over 80, titled “8 over 80.” The second is from our garden blog: “How Does Your Garden Show?” Sidney Silber’s accomplishments in business and real estate were equaled by his accomplishment at home, where he and his wife Jean created one of the finest gardens in Maryland. We extend our deepest sympathy to Jean, their children Janet, Douglas and Paul and to their beloved grandchildren. – The Eds.
8 Over 80
Sidney Silber
After the death of his father and brother, Silber returned to Baltimore in 1946. Using engineering and increasing real estate acumen, he expanded the now-legendary family business, Silber Bakeries, to 25 shops. After leaving the business in 1962, he founded Commercial and Industrial Realty Corporation and for 27 years developed residential, commercial and industrial properties.
The proceeds from the sales of those properties created the Jean and Sidney Silber Foundation. Today cultural and educational institutions, as well as Baltimore non-profits focused on education and poverty, occupy much of his interest, philanthropy and time.
So does horticulture. “We had no garden on Monroe Street,” he says of the home where he and seven siblings grew up above the bakery. In 1959 he and his wife Jean combined energy, intellect, artistic and engineering talent to begin a six-acre masterpiece in Lutherville. Fifty-two years later it is considered one the finest gardens in Maryland and the U.S.
While he officially retired in 1990, Silber never stopped working. In khaki pants and oxford cloth shirt, he is found early in the morning and late in the afternoon, with a folding pruning saw and clippers, tending his “living work of art” that draws visitors on private tours from all over the country to see the garden and hear its botanically expert owners lecture.
Among many sculptures in the garden are several of his own, all bronze. (His sculpture is also in the collections of M.I.T. and Goucher College.) Besides collecting art, his current passion is portrait painting. Many line the walls of his studio off the garden.
Key to longevity of engagement: “Shall I say, a young wife?” he laughs. “Jeannie keeps me going…. I think you should always be a student,” says the man, just back from a painting class, who studied law at Boeing, real estate and finance in the bakery business and art, horticulture and history for as long as he can remember. “Physical activity is important too.”
Current challenge: In the art: “Drawing it well, mixing the colors right… I draw. I paint. My eyesight is good, but I still can’t see what I’m supposed to see.” In the garden: “What to do with the garden in the future.” In philanthropy: “How to make the decisions every year.”
Alex Fili is Baltimore’s bread pudding eating champion; Peter Jackson is a competitive sushi eater who also happens to be a local social entrepreneur and vice president of GiveCorps. Tonight, the two competitive eaters will attempt to stuff as much sushi in their mouths as possible — all for a good cause. Oh, and there’s free sushi for you, too, if you stop by…
Fall is full of big fashion events. This season we’ve already seen Fashion’s Night Out and New York Fashion Week. While those are both events that the clothing-conscious might wait for all year, neither can boast raising over $40,000 for local educational institutions, or showcasing the many talents of our city’s youth. So what event does accomplish such wonders? The Art of Giving– a fashion show this Friday featuring Ruth Shaw’s latest fall fashion and benefiting Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.