Issue 12: 100 Years of City Folk

When we launched the City Folk page eight months ago, we set out to tell stories about regular Baltimoreans--not famous ones, just regular people with a story to tell. This week, we offer our first City Folk issue: Profiles of ten Baltimoreans: We found 10-year-old Jaya Mandala (actually, she just turned 11), vaulting over adversity; 20-year-old Jaclyn Jones stealing scenes; 30-year-old Andrew Syropoulos rooting for the good guys; 40-year-old Samuel E. Lee Jr. seeking adventure; 50-year-old Maureen Kramer cooking up a new life; 60-year-old Andrew Der rolling with the punches; 70-year-old James E. Locklear building bridges; 80-year-old Mario Carrion seeing red; 90-year-old Laura Johnson finding peace at home; and 100-year-old Lucille Brooks remembering a century.

Van Smith looks at some of the legislation up this session in Mobtown Beat, and the Nose de-seeds some of the sticky pot questions before the legislature. Also, the latest Murder Ink.

In the arts, Baynard Woods sticks with Acme Corporation's 12-hour performance of Samuel Beckett's Play for a religious experience and talks to Marisa Wegrzyn, the author of Center Stage's Mud Blue Sky, which he also reviews. Bret McCabe reviews contemporary Persian photographs at UMBC, talks to Megan McShea about her new book Toad Splendor, and goes deep with Liz Meredith's and John Somers' new five-disc album. Also in music, Andrew Zaleski tells us what's up with Blues and Jazz. In film, read Joe McLeod hilarious QnA with Gerard Butler, who ends up wanting to move to Baltimore, and reviews his new film Olympus Has Fallen.

In Eats and Drinks, Michelle Gienow gets ecstatic over Cafe Sage, Jenn Ladd gets boozy with Suds, and Baynard Woods steers you away from Charles Street's corporate corner.

Jim Meyer's Spitballin' rides around the continent on a unicycle (seriously) and the Baltimore City Power Rankings shows some love for the Guv, applauds Amtrak, approves, for once, of Il Mayore and her claim to population increase, and lambasts Towson's ridiculous honky avenger. 

As always use Baltimore Weekly, the Short List, and the Critics Picks to plan your week.