Business

Chesapeake Family asked readers to go online during the three months of May, June and July, and answer a survey about their reading and shopping habits.* The results are in.
Chesapeake Family readers are:
89% Women
Average age is 38

Well educated: 66% with at least a 4-year college degree

Most important editorial in Chesapeake Family:
Calendar of events
Articles on education
Articles on arts and entertainment
Articles on health related issues
Articles on home life

99% of readers say that Chesapeake Family helps them indentify service providers for their family.

56% work full or part time outside of the home
15% work from home

Ages of Children
47% have children under age 5
42% ages 5-9 years
25% 10-12 years
25% 13 years or older

88% of all children participate in some kind of after school activity. The most popular are listed below:
Team sports 58%
Swimming 44%
Music 33%
Dance 30%
Gymnastics 29%
Academics 27%
Art 20%
Martial Arts 17%

67% of parents plan to send their children to at least one summer camp in the next 12 months. That's a staggering 75,000 kids!

Average household income: $95,700

* the survey was conducted by Readex Research 

Annapolis finally reached legal settlements with the last of the former tenants, architect and engineer of the city owned Market House.

Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer announced on Monday, June 8th, that the City of Annapolis has ended the 18 month legal stand off with Market House Ventures and its tenants.

Recently, settlements were reached with the following:

• The principals of the Galway Bay operations at the market house - $70,000

• The operator of the Fresh Stop - $30,000

• PPCF Inc., which operated 5 stalls in the market house - $95,000 plus additional consideration

This comes on the heals of an out-of-court resolution with its architect, Murphy & Dittenhafer, Inc. and its engineer, Schlenger/Pitz & Associates, Inc., as well as Guardian Food Concepts and Auntie Anne's Pretzels, also agreeing to resolve their claims. This recent action completely resolves any claims against the city regarding the Market House. Litigation continues between Market house ventures and its tenants.

But now the city can make long awaited repairs to the air conditioning and begin to fill the empty market house with short term tenants while they figure out what to do next.

The Annapolis Market House is to be the topic of a charrette to be held at City Hall on May 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Now that the City of Annapolis is once again in control of the Market House Mayor Moyer is looking for input from the community as to its future.

This collaborative session will include citizen input and the process will be professionally facilitated.
The individuals attending will be divided into sub-groups, and each sub-group will report back to the full group with material for future dialogue.

Anyone interested in attending the charrette needs to be at the City Hall Council Chambers by 9:30 a.m. to register.  The meeting will work though the lunch hour.

Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber is Leading the Effort in City of Flowers

Every summer Annapolis residents and visitors have had their downtown strolls enhanced by beautiful hanging baskets of flowers. This year the city has cut funding for the program and now the Chamber of Commerce is leading the way in raising funds for the flowers and their maintenance.

The goal this year is to raise $57,000. To date $38,000 or 67% of the goal has been raised.

Executive Director Bob Burton says, “Your Chamber of Commerce's mission is to provide business leadership throughout our service area to build and sustain a vibrant community. An important part of that mission is corporate citizenship. The Chamber's Foundation was formed a year ago to deliver on the corporate citizenship component of the Chamber's mission. The City of Flowers by the Bay is an initiative that enhances the downtown business district and encourages commerce in our historic and beautiful Capital City of Annapolis.”

Chamber members Homestead Gardens and Zachary’s Jewelers are co-chairing the City of Flowers by the Bay Committee. All donations large and small are welcome.

A special website for City of Flowers by the Bay has been established to collect donations. Go to bloominannapolis.com to make your donation.