Need to Know for July 2

July 2, 2019 JMORE Staff

Bling Universe, a "Seasonal IPL" (Photo courtesy unioncraftbrewing.com)

WJZ’s Ron Matz, beer with bling and ‘The Spy Behind Home Plate’

WJZ’s Ron Matz retiring

For morethan two decades, Ron Matz has appeared down in Fells Point bright and earlyevery week, hosting guests and strangers belting out the Bangles’ “ManicMonday” live on-air for WJZ-TV. But July 1 marked the final edition of the zany weekly segment, with theChannel 13 news crew and Matz announcing he’s retiring soon from the station,according to Baltimore Fishbowl. Matz is the latest longtime talent to leaveWJZ-TV. June 28 marked general assignment reporter Alex DeMetrick’s final day after 35 years there. In May, anchorwoman MaryBubala, there since 2003, was let go days after asking a poorly worded, racist-sounding question aboutBaltimore’s black female mayors in the wake of Catherine Pugh’s resignation.

Read the complete story at BaltimoreFishbowl.com

Also see: Ron Matz, ‘Crazy, Wonderful Ride’

Pennsylvania Avenueis a designated Arts & Entertainment District

For the first time in years, Baltimore has a new dedicated arts and entertainment district — this one along an underserved former black cultural corridor that community leaders hope to revitalize, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. The new Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District spans most of its namesake road running from Penn North to Upton. It joins Highlandtown, Station North and Bromo Seltzer as the city’s only areas with dedicated state tax credits and other incentives encouraging economic development centered around the arts. The grassroots think tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, the Upton Planning Committee, Arch Social Club and the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation were among the organizations pushing for the designation. The cohort submitted its application in April, and has been awaiting approval from the Maryland Department of Commerce and Maryland State Arts Council. The effort earned the backing of the city council in March, a required step under state law, as well as the surrounding community.

As with the27 other arts districts spread across Maryland, the state will offer income taxbreaks for artists to live and work in approved areas, and incentives tobuilding owners who renovate their spaces for arts uses. Arts districts arerequired to reapply for the designation every 10 years, meaning thePennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District will be up for renewalin 2029.

There’s a new beer intown and it’s got bling

Union Craft Brewing has beers for fall, spring and winter in its Hoppy Seasonal Series, and the time has come to roll one out for the summer. Enter: Bling Universe, an India Pale Lager – not an ale, but a lager – that includes “copious amounts of Amarillo, Cascade and Grungiest hops,” per a release. The brew joins fall’s Foxy Red IPA, winter’s Rye Baby IPA and spring’s Steady Eddie IPA in the hopped-up lineup of seasonal releases, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. The beer’s name is inspired by Baltimore’s own American Visionary Art Museum, whose mantra of “adorning one’s world – transforming it into a place that defies convention, surprising and delighting, providing hope and wonder” is represented in shiny works such as “Cosmic Galaxy Egg” and the “Community Mosaic Wall.” The latter is incorporated into the label design. Bling Universe will be available in stores and on draft starting July 2. To celebrate their collaboration, Union and AVAM will hold an all-you-can-eat and drink happy hour at the museum on July 25 ahead of the Flicks on the Hill screening of “Home Alone.”

Also see:

AlexBregman hoping for two in a row as MVP

Alex Bregman will have the chance to make it two in a row as Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game MVP. The Houston Astros’ Jewish slugger was elected the starting third baseman last week to start the July 9 game in Cleveland, easily outdistancing Hunter Dozier of the Kansas City Royals and Gio Urshela of the New York Yankees with 49 percent of the fans’ ballots. Bregman as of the weekend had a batting average of .266 with 22 home runs and 52 runs batted in to help power the Astros to first place in the American League Western Division. In last year’s All-Star affair, Bregman snapped a 10th-inning tie with a two-run homer to give the A.L. an 8-6 victory over the National League in Washington, D.C. Playing in his first All-Star game, he was the first Jewish player to win the Most Valuable Player award since it was instituted in 1962. In March, the 25-year-old, playing in his fourth season after being a No. 1 draft pick out of Louisiana State, agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract with the Astros — one of the largest deals ever for a professional Jewish athlete. He’s already won a world title with the Astros and also was a member of the U.S. team that took the World Baseball Classic title in 2017. One Jewish player who was in contention for an All-Star slot but came up short was rookie pitcher Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves. Fried, a 25-year-old lefty starter for the first-place Braves, failed to crack the 11-man staff assembled by a vote of players and the Commissioner’s Office despite a record of 9-3, one win behind the N.L. leader. His earned run average of 4.04 is good but perhaps not enough for the midsummer recognition.—JTA

Speaking of intriguing baseballplayers …

In baseballterms, Morris “Moe” Berg would best be described as a journeyman player. A NewYork native and son of Jewish immigrants, he played for five Major LeagueBaseball teams between 1923 and 1939, with a lifetime batting average of just.243. The enigmatic Berg’s career would generally not attract much attention,but his overall story is far from typical. In addition to his baseball career,Berg worked for the Office of Strategic Services – predecessor to the CentralIntelligence Agency – spying in Europe and playing a prominent role inAmerica’s efforts to undermine the Nazis’ nuclear ambitions during World WarII. Berg’s life is now the subject of a new documentary, “The Spy Behind HomePlate,” by award-winning filmmaker Aviva Kempner. A Washington, D.C., resident,Kempner will present “The Spy Behind Home Plate” on July 7, at 4:30 p.m. at thehistoric Parkway Theatre.

Also see:

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