The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A2

THE BALTIMORE SUN NEWS TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013 Towson Row plan fuels argument for circulator bus $300 million project leads to renewed call for a shuttle DESIGN COLLECTIVE This is a rendering of the Towson Row project in the heart of Towson's downtown. to study the concept, and Marks said indications are that the agency will take on the study. "The feasibility study will look at a number of options," Marks said. "If we can't get a full circulator system done, we should at least try to look at one or two lines on certain days of the week." Marks said his own priority for a shuttle would tie together neighborhoods on the south side of Towson to the roundabout at York Road's northern end near Towson Town Center mall. Bringing residents from high-rise apartments to Towson Row and to area hospitals would also be a priority, he said.

Towson Row is the latest is a wave of developments bringing commerce, people and traffic to downtown Towson. Construction is underway on the $85 million Towson Square, which will include restaurants, shops and a 15-screen movie theater. Towson City Center, a 13-story renovated office building, opened last year and is fully leased. And in May, the county saw a proposal for $60 million residential and commercial development called 101 York near the corner of York Road and Towsontown Boulevard. By Jon Meoli Baltimore Sun Media Group Elected officials in Towson say plans for the $300 million Towson Row project have ramped up efforts to create a circulator shutde bus service to address traffic that will accompany the development boom.

"What Towson Row has done is it has provided an incredible sense of momentum, because now there is a clock ticking" said Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson. 'We've got to deal with these transportation issues before Towson Row is finished," he said. Officials say construction of Towson Row, proposed for almost an entire block off York Road in the heart of the downtown area, will likely start in 2015. The project will include 1 million square feet of space, with a mix of apartments, student housing, retail and office space. Marks said he's working with state legislators, including Towson representatives Del.

Steve Lafferty and state Sen. Jim Brochin, to promote a circulator shuttle for Towson. He said they've formally asked the Maryland Transportation Administration because of lack of funding." Frank said funding would again be a problem. "I think it is a little different time and dynamic than in the past," Lafferty said. "The question is, can we find the right financing combination and routing to make it more appealing to people?" At last week's news conference announcing Towson Row, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz played down traffic problems.

"It's really easy to get in and out of downtown Towson because it was designed to handle traffic flow," Kamenetz said. 'We're ringed by major roads like Towsontown Boulevard, Joppa Road, Dulaney Valley Road and Charles Street." Kamenetz pointed to Towson's 3,500 Baltimore County Revenue Authority parking spaces, plus the 860 spaces that will be built at Towson Square and the 1,000 that will be included in Towson Row. A Towson shuttle has been tried before. According to a 2007 MTA report, a shuttle operated in Towson on weekdays from 1985 to 1990 and was canceled and reinstated several times before it ultimately closed. That shutde circled downtown Towson and made stops near Towson Town Center, Bykota Senior Center and Dulaney Plaza, according to the report.

By the time the shuttle was discontinued in 1990, it was carrying just 14 passengers per day. Marks worked as chief of staff for the Maryland Department of Transportation in 2005-2006, and worked on the most recent study of a shuttle route in Towson. State Del. Bill Frank, who also represents the Towson area, spearheaded that effort. 'We had a nice little proposed route that made a lot of sense, that was dominated with right turns and wouldn't go against the traffic," Frank said.

"It didn't take off Mosby to run for city's top prosecutor Challenger says she's undeterred by Bernstein's ability to raise money By Luke Broadwater The Baltimore Sun Marilyn J. Mosby, a former assistant state's attorney in Baltimore and the wife of City Councilman Nick Mosby, announced Monday she plans to challenge State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein by running to become the city's top prosecutor. In announcing her run outside the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr.

Courthouse, Mosby spoke of violence in Baltimore that has grown out of control. She said Bernstein has proved ineffectual at making significant change. 'We are angered and frustrated by what we see," said Mosby, 33, a resident of Reservoir Hill. 'We wonder if our children are safe outside of our homes. We wonder if we're safe inside of our homes." A civil litigator who grew up in Boston, Mosby was a city prosecutor for six years.

Appearing with her husband and two daughters Nylyn, 4, and Aniyah, 2 Mosby pointed to an 80 percent conviction rate during her time as an assistant state's attorney. Her announcement came after a weekend in Baltimore in which eight were killed and 20 shot. Mosby said Bernstein should be doing more to keep violent criminals off the street and that he is not connected enough to the community. She said she was undeterred by Bernstein's ability to raise campaign funds. When he unseated longtime top prosecutor Patricia C.

Jessamy in 2010, Bernstein raised more than $200,000. "I'm very optimistic about fundraising," Mosby said. "At the end of the day, it's not about money. My message is we're in a state of crisis. We have to do something different.

What's happening in the state's attorney's office is not acceptable. They're not getting convictions." Mark Cheshire, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said Bernstein BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLORBALTIMORE SUN PHOTO With daughter Aniyah, 2, in her arms, Marilyn Mosby, wife of City Councilman Nick Mosby, announces that she is a candidate for Baltimore state's attorney. She says the current prosector, Gregg L. Bernstein, is not doing enough to stem violent crime. would have no comment on her remarks.

"He is focused on his work to make Baltimore a safer city for all and not on an election that is a year off," he said. Several dozen people attended Mosby's announcement, including council members Brandon Scott and Helen Holton. "I've not seen marked improvement in the state's attorney's office over what the last state's attorney was able to do," Holton said. very high level." Mosby has launched a campaign website, marilynmosby.com, which includes a link to donate money to her campaign committee. "The police are doing their jobs.

The judges are doing their jobs," she said. "The only person that's not doing his job is the state's attorney." luke.broadwaterbaltsun.com twitter.comlukebroadwater "Am I hopeful that I'll see it soon? No. So maybe it is time for a change," she said. Mosby and her husband frequently organize "Enough is Enough" peace walks in West Baltimore. In introducing his wife, Nick Mosby called her "an incredible woman who's been my rock." He said she "turned down corporate jobs from across the country and decided to become a prosecutor, something she always wanted to do and something she did at a Heat index this week could top 100 degrees for first time in 2013 Stokes will hold hearing on financing for Harbor Point feel hotter than 100 degrees.

Wednesday could be hottest, according to the weather service, with a high of 98 degrees and heat index of 102 degrees. "Code Orange" air quality is forecast for the Baltimore area today and Wednesday, indicating unhealthy pollution levels for children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions. The heat and humidity were also expected to spawn thunderstorms. The heat wave was an abrupt change from the rest of the month. Temperatures surged to 86 degrees at BWI by 11 a.m.

Monday, higher than most daytime highs over the preceding week. With dew points in the upper 60s, the air feels wet and soupy. Temperatures typically have to be at or near 100 degrees, with heat index values well into the 100s, for the city and county governments to open cooling centers. sdancebaltsun.com twitter.comMdWeather By Scott Dance The Baltimore Sun A surge of high temperatures and humidity could raise heat index values above 100 degrees for the first time in 2013 this week after a relatively mild start to summer. Through Sunday, there had been just a single day above 90 degrees in Baltimore this month, on June A high of 92 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Monday added a second, and that tally is expected to grow.

It also matched the airporf highest reading to date in 2013, last reached May 30. But the number of such hot days this month is still likely to be at its smallest since June 2009, when not a single day topped 90 degrees. The National Weather Service is forecasting highs in the mid- to up-per-90s today through Thursday, with high humidity possibly making the air Proponents of the $1 billion mixed-use waterfront development between Harbor East and Fells Point had criticized Stokes for delaying the hearing, saying he was also delaying the creation of needed jobs. On Friday, Stokes said, the BDC provided him with a consultant's report in response. The report states that Harbor Point Development Group LLC will spend $121 billion developing the property, but it will be valued at completion at only $107 billion It also states the developer will receive a rate of return on the project of 10.7 percent without public funds, but 14 percent with public funds.

By 203L investors would make $124 million without public funds, but $174 million with public funds, the report states. Developer Michael S. Beatty said Monday he welcomed the hearing. "We are looking forward to having a full public discussion of the facts about Harbor Point," he said in an email. "Harbor Point will bring new residents, new jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenue to lack-start Baltimore's growth." luke.broadwaterbaltsun.com twitter.comlukebroadwater Councilman receives documents from BDC By Luke Broadwater The Baltimore Sun The chairman of the City Council's taxation committee says he'll hold a hearing on $107 million in infrastructure financing for the Harbor Point development now that he's received documents outlining the case for the funding.

Last week, Councilman Carl Stokes said he wanted more detailed information from the Baltimore Development Corp. before holding a hearing on tax increment financing for infrastructure at Harbor Point, which would house a regional headquarters for the energy giant Exelon Corp. Stokes said he'll hold the hearing July 17 Under tax increment financing deals, the city issues bonds to pay for infrastructure improvements and other project costs, then uses the increased tax revenue generated by the development to pay off the bonds..