The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • T7

Jones Falls bike trail to extend to Mount Washington light rail City to spend more than $2 million to stretch path from Cylburn Arboretum KIM HAIRSTONTHE BALTIMORE SUN Elizabeth Hazel, of Hampden, rides her bike up a switchback on the Jones Falls Trail near the Stieff Siver trailhead in Wyman Park in 2012 NEWS DIGEST City Council nixes 10-cent fee on most shopping bags The City Council defeated a proposal Jan. 27 to impose a 10-cent fee on most paper and plastic bags distributed in Baltimore, rejecting arguments that such surcharges are a proven method to reduce litter. The vote was 9-6. Council members who represent north Baltimore were divided on the bill, with Mary Pat Clarke, Bill Henry and Nick Mosby votng in favor of the fee and Sharon Green Middleton voting against it Opponents weren't convinced that charging a fee for bags from groceries and major retailers, such as Target and Wal-mart, would cause fewer to end up as trash in the Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Bay. They also said the fee would disproportionately affect the poor and hurt Baltimore-based small businesses.

The city has considered several proposals to curb the use of disposable bags over the last decade. About 100 jurisdictions nationwide, including Washington and Montgomery County, have imposed laws to regulate the use of the sacks. Halle Van der Gaag, director of Blue Water Baltimore, said she was disappointed by the vote becausethe fee would have been a proactive way to reduce trash and save millions of dollars in fishing them out of the harbor and streams. Henry predicted that state lawmakers in Annapolis would eventually take action. Middleton said she wants the city and region to develop a comprehensive approach to litter control.

Yvonne WengerThe Baltimore Sun Casa Mia out as Rotunda redevelopment continues Italian eatery Casa Mia, which was supposed to be coming back to the Rotunda earler this year, has left for good, said Chris Bell, a senior vice president for mall redeveloper Hekemian Co. Like most retail tenants, Casa Mia, a family-owned business, left when redevelopment began last fall. Original plans called for it to rejoin Rite Aid and the movie theater early this year. "We had a deal signed with them to come back," Bell said Jan. 28.

"Then we got a call from the father, saying they weren't coming back." Redevelopment was supposed to be done in early 2016, Bell said. "We're slightly behind schedule, mainly due to winter conditrions," he said. "But we'll make it up." Larry Perl By Yvonne Wenger The Baltimore Sun Baltimore City will spend more than $2 million to extend the Jones Falls Trail by another 3.1 miles from the Cylburn Arboretum to the Mount Washington Light Rail stop under an agreement approved Wednesday by the city's spending panel. The Board of Estimates agreed to accept the federal money from the state Department of Transportation for the next phase of the $6.6 million bicycle and pedestrian trail, which is planned for a 10-mile stretch beginning at the Inner Harbor and running north along the Jones Falls stream valley. Construction on the latest phase of the trail is expected to begin in September after the city receives final plan approval from the Maryland State Highway Administration and settles right of way issues, according to Gwendolyn Chambers, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Recreation and Parks.

Completing the phase should take 18 months, Chambers said. The next portion of the trail will include a bike and pedestrian bridge over Northern Parkway and two 40-foot long timber bridges over streams and wetlands. When finished, the trail will connect 20 neighborhoods with the harbor, Druid Hill Park and Lake Roland in Baltimore County, according to Maryland Green-ways Commission. The first portion of the trail from Perm Station to Wyman Park Drive opened in 2005. The trail continues through Druid Hill Park along the reservoir loop to Clipper Mill at Woodberry, for a total of 4.25 miles.

The trail is one of nearly 400 open space properties including parks, golf courses and traffic islands in the city that collectively make up some 5,700 acres. Highlights along the trail include Druid Hill Park, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, the Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens, and the Baltimore Street Car Museum The first L5-mile leg of the long-planned, 10-mile trail for hikers and bikers cost of $L3 million, 80 percent of it in federal aid secured by Rep. Ben Cardin, now a senator. Then, the city received a federal matching grant of $L7 million, partly to extend the trail between Druid Hill Park, where the zoo is, and the Woodberry light rail stop. Long-range plans called for the trail to eventually link Robert E.

Lee Park to the Inner Harbor with a connection to the Gwynns Falls Trail and East Coast Greenway. "I'm 100 percent in favor" of the newest extension plans," said Chris Merriam, of Remington, who in 2012 received an Open Society Institute grant to build up Bikemore, an organization he co-founded to promote biking in Baltimore as a cheaper, healthier and environmentally wiser mode of transportation. "The Jones Falls Trail has been in the works for a long time, and when it's finished, it'll be a tremendous asset for getting around the city on a bicycle," Merriam said. The news was also welcomed by Koula Sawalds, president of the Mount Washington Village Merchants Association. The Mount Washington light rail station is within walking distance of the Mount Washington Village business district.

"We've been working toward that (trail) expansion," in conjunction with the Mount Washington Improvement Association, Sawakis said. She said her biggest concern now is repairing a pedestrian bridge that runs under the Jones Falls between the light rail station and Mount Washington Mill, a shopping center anchored by Whole Foods. The city project has received funding, but is in limbo, she said. Also happy is Ira Kolman, president of the Mount Washington Improvement Association. "We've been following this all the way through.

We knew it was going to happen," said Kolman, who remembers reading a letter from Gov. Martin O'Mal-ley in 2010 at a Mount Washington Fourth of July parade, announcing the Phase 5 funding. But Kolman conceded that the project has been controversial, with a vocal minority opposed, especially residents on West Rogers Avenue. "We had many, many meetings," he said. "There are still people who are against it." Baltimore Messenger Editor Larry Perl contributed to this story..