by Lynn Williams
maindish@baltimoreguide.com

How do you get to La Scala? Practice, practice, practice!
Or, if it’s the restaurant of that name that you want, head east from the Inner Harbor on Eastern Avenue, and look to your left.
I’ve never been to the famed opera house in Milan, but I recently had dinner at the namesake restaurant in Little Italy, and (to continue the musical metaphor) while our meal had a pleasant tenor, there were few

by Jacqueline Watts
editor@baltimoreguide.com
Note: Have a comment on this article? Post it at www.baltimoreguide.com.
“These Shining Lives” really wants to be a documentary play, or maybe not. It’s part Roaring Twenties newsreel, part melodrama, part polemic and part soap opera, and it never does manage to settle down comfortably somewhere.

by Colleen Wolfe
soboblog@baltimoreguide.com

A neighbor was asking me last weekend how I felt about having a child and living in the city. Since she asked me this question last Saturday, the answer came even easier than usual. I told her, that while my friends in the suburbs were most likely mowing their lawns and doing other yard chores, I took my daughter to the Flower Mart, where we caught the pet parade and made sculptures at the Clayworks

What’s Happening? It’s that time of year again — time for community flea markets, picnics and block parties, as well as vacation Bible schools, outdoor movies, festivals, carnivals and more. We are asking individuals to send information on such events to The Baltimore Guide so that we can include them in our Community Calendar. Information can be mailed to The Baltimore Guide at 526 S. Conkling Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, faxed to 410-732-6604, or e-mailed to newsroom@baltimoreguide.com. Deadline for

The Allen Center
1404 S. Charles Street, South Baltimore
410-685-6224

Monday, May 12, 9:30 a.m., Trip Talk, free.
10:30 a.m., ¿Spanish, anyone?, free.
10:30 a.m., “Let’s Move It,” free
12:45 a.m., Monday bingo, fee.
Tuesday, May 13, 9:30 a.m., Trip Talk, free.
10 a.m., Nutrition class, free.
12:45 p.m., Conversations with Hilda, free.
Wednesday, May 14, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Day trip to Atlantic City, center open but no lunch.

Bid! Martini Lutheran Preschool is holding an auction. Restaurant gift certificates, Orioles tickets, antiques and more are up for sale. Bid by visiting www.federalhillpreschool.org and click on the small auction item on the bottom left of the page. Proceeds benefit the preschool’s financial aid fund.
Pottery: Towson University holds a spring pottery sale on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Room 3012, Osler and Cross Campus Drive in

by Jacqueline Watts
editor@baltimoreguide.com

May 8, 1958

Eleanore M. Lukowski of Fells Point signed up to run for the Democratic State Central Committee. She was president of the Fells Point Improvement Committee, a member of St. Patrick’s Sodality, a board member and treasurer of Southeast Community Council, president of the ladies’ auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and a member of many other civic groups. “I am not a member of any political organization,” Mrs. Lukowski told

Canton Community Association has called a special meeting Thursday, May 1, to discuss the proposal by the Baltimore City Public Schools and a charter school organization to create a school for grades 6-12 at Canton Middle School after the campus closes as a traditional middle school in 2009.
The meeting will be held at United Evangelical Church, also known as Batz’s Church, 3200 Dillon Street. All are welcome. For info call Councilman James B. Kraft’s office, 410-396-4821.

Mike Dyer, age 7, roars to the crowd during the South Baltimore Little League parade Saturday.

Photo by Bill Lear

What’s the surest way to tell that spring has arrived in the Southeast? The azaleas of Drew Street wake up and burst into bloom.

Photo by Mary Helen Sprecher

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Depending on who’s talking, the idea to convert Canton Middle School to a grade 6-12 charter institution is either a brilliant example of adaptive re-use or a sneak attack on a beleaguered neighborhood.
On Tuesday morning, Baltimore Public Schools held a press conference to announce a partnership with the 10-year-old Friendship Public Charter School, an educational system headquartered in Washington, D.C. Under the auspices of the city’s Transformation Schools program, two new academies,

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

It’s just no fun being stuck on the road behind a big bowl of Tater Tots.
Now, see, a non-Baltimorean is going to think that’s some kind of haz-mat spill. But city residents know better. They just make arrangements not to be out in traffic on Saturday, lest they get caught behind the Tots. Or the big French poodle. Or Bumpo the elephant. Or the Roman chariot, complete with its beehived steering committee.