Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Still In The Game, Tours Little Italy, Baltimore, with Senate President Bill Ferguson

By DONNA BALANCIA

BALTIMORE – Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan proved to the people of Little Italy in Baltimore that he’s still in the game, playing a little Bocce Ball and walking the historic neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon.

The outgoing governor, accompanied by Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, said the state would allocate $130,000 for tag readers, $83,000 for cameras and $40,000 for crosswalk paint in the neighborhood. In addition, $250,000 would go towards creating a business improvement district that receives safety services Baltimore’s Waterfront Partnership.

It was a hot summer afternoon of glad-handing and touring the district, which like many other neighborhoods within big cities around the country, has virtually become a ghost town in the wake of the pandemic. The windows of many storefronts in Baltimore are covered over in brown paper, many stores display “for rent” signs, and tourism is yet to recover.

“We know you’ve been through a difficult time all through Covid and the issues you’re dealing with, with people not coming into the community as much as they used to,” Hogan told community members. “It’s hard as a small business person. But we’re gonna do everything we can to keep supporting you. You guys working hard are the backbone of our economy, we’ve gotta keep you open and keep people working.”

Hogan enjoyed a lunch at Cafe Gia restaurant in the heart of Baltimore’s Little Italy, where U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was born and raised. Her father Thomas D’Alesandro, and brother Thomas D’Alesandro III both were mayors of Baltimore.

Earlier in the month Gov. Hogan met with community representatives about ways to bring business back to the neighborhood. All copy and photos © 2022 The IntraView by Donna Balancia

“We talked to a number of the folks about that and we’re gonna have our Secretary of Housing and Community Development come talk about some other grants for beautification, streetscapes, sod improvements and things like that,” Hogan said. “We’ll have our commerce secretary follow up about some of the tourism dollars we do to promote people coming into the community. Some of that would be good for Little Italy. We want to make it safer, but we want people to feel safer also and just bring more people into the community and enjoy the great history and culture, and food that we’ve got here in this neighborhood.”

Watch Gov. Larry Hogan in Little Italy, Baltimore here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqSn4ylvuwg

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, accompanied by community reps and Senate President Bill Ferguson, proved he’s prepared to take a shot.

Maryland Governor prepares to take a winning shot:

Larry Hogan Bocce

All copy and photos © 2022 The IntraView by Donna Balancia