The following list of stories is a special offering from Capital News Service. The articles, art and graphics were produced by the Merrill College of Journalism's Urban Affairs students. This "Baltimore Recession" package may also be viewed at http://jclass.umd.edu/classes/urbanaffairs/spring09/. Editors may run the stories singly, as a package or as a series. All "Baltimore Recession" stories and accompanying art are tentatively scheduled to move Wednesday, May 27. If you have any questions, please call Washington Bureau Director Adrianne Flynn on her cell phone at 301-512-0074, or you may e-mail her at aflynn@jmail.umd.edu.^

^Eds: Photos and video are available at http://www.journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/extras/ inside the May 2009 file in the "Baltimore Recession" folder. Login: cns. Password: goterps.<

Baltimore- Overview of the city in recession: Harborplace's owners are bankrupt, the city will cut trash pickups, the opera company has folded and swimming pools will close. Around the city, people and institutions are cutting back. Slug: CNS-Baltimore Intro. About 1,500 words.

By Daniel Leaderman.<

BALTIMORE - For-sale signs dot front-lawns throughout Baltimore. Non-profit housing counselors say their client numbers doubled this year. Foreclosure rates continue to rise in Baltimore as people who bought houses during the boom now struggle to hold on to them during the recession. Slug: CNS-Housing Struggles. About 1,900 words. With photos "Nneka.jpg" and "Be-E1.jpg."

By Daniel Leaderman and Jon Sham.<

BALTIMORE - Vinnie Quayle has stories: About how he shook Jackie Robinson's hand 10 times, about how he won the attention of a former nun and married her, about how he was nearly executed in the midst of an African civil war. But in Baltimore, Quayle is known for founding the St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, which has helped low-income people find homes for more than 40 years. Slug: CNS-Quayle Profile. About 1,400 words. With photos "quayleprofile.jpg."

By Jon Sham.<

BALTIMORE - Need is up; money is down. Baltimore's nonprofits are serving more people by making cuts, finding more volunteers and trying new ways to raise funds. Slug: CNS-Nonprofit Needs. With photos "nonprofit1.jpg" and "nonprofit2.jpg."

By Jon Sham.<

BALTIMORE - One nonprofit says it's been helped by the recession: Vehicles for Change accepts donations of cars, fixes them up and sells them cheap. More people, trying to cut household budgets, are giving away third cars, and Vehicles for Change is busier than ever. Slug: CNS-Spare Change. About 500 words. With photos "vfcjamal.jpg" and "vfcmarty.jpg."

By Jon Sham.<

BALTIMORE - One Baltimore neighborhood, mindful that City Hall is cutting budgets, is fixing itself up by raising its own money. Locust Point tells new developers that they should give to the community. And it holds annual festivals to pay for projects such as plantings in the park. Slug: CNS-Locust Project. About 1,300 words. With photos "locust1.jpg" and "locust2.jpg."

By Karen Anderson.<

BALTIMORE - Longshoremen struggle as the recession cuts the amount of work available on the city's docks. Slug: CNS-Port Problems. About 1,000 words. With photos "portpic.jpg" and "portbanner.jpg."

By David Johnson.<

BALTIMORE - When some Baltimoreans lost their jobs, they headed to the library. The Enoch Pratt Free Library has found attendance at its career center classes has jumped 92 percent since the recession began. Slug: CNS-Library Job. About 800 words. With photos "libbanner.jpg" and "libtop.jpg."

By Karen Anderson.<

BALTIMORE - Baltimore arts institutions are cutting budgets, but they hope their audiences won't notice. They're cutting staff and even, in the case of the symphony, giving back raises. But museums and bands want the experience they provide to remain solid. Slug: CNS-Artful Cuts. About 1,000 words. With photos "artpic.jpg" and "artbanner.jpg."

By Karen Anderson.<

BALTIMORE - In Charles Village, two businesses on the same block have very different stories. An established printing company says the recession likely will force its closing. But an optimistic restaurateur has opened a new cafe, saying there's no time like the present. Slug: CNS-Two Tales. About 1,100 words. With photos "terence2.jpg" and "burnham1.jpg."

By Tina Irgang.<

BALTIMORE - There's more call than ever for after-school care. But the Franciscan Youth Center, facing cuts from the city and other sponsors, says it has to limit the number of children it serves. Slug: CNS-Franciscan Center. Slug: CNS-Franciscan Center. About 1,000 words. With photos "franciscan1.jpg" and "franciscan2.jpg."

By Tina Irgang and Catherine Krikstan.<

BALTIMORE- Pete Peterson runs as small a business as there is: He operates his demolition business out of a grocery cart that he pushes around his Baltimore neighborhood. With his shovels and sledgehammer, he works for bigger contractors. Together, they watched housing prices soar -- and they knew, before anyone was talking about recession, that those prices would soon come crashing down. Slug: CNS-Peterson Profile. About 1500 words. With photos "petepeterson.jpg" and "petebottlecaps.jpg."

By Catherine Krikstan.<

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