Maryland
Collectors show and tell as ‘Antiques Roadshow’ films new season at Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore was abuzz Tuesday with more than mere animal activity.
Beyond the black-tailed prairie dogs, people toting paintings, silverware, and oddities of all shapes and sizes queued up to find out how much money their cherished items were worth — and whether they’d land an appearance on “Antiques Roadshow,” the long-running PBS series that was filming at the zoo for the day.
Rosalie — producers requested attendees be identified by first names only — arrived with a trio of Orioles signs from 1966, 1979 and 1983, all years she attended the team’s World Series games.
“I got them for free … with a lot of excitement,” Rosalie, a 78-year-old retired psychotherapist who lives in Locust Point, said as she recounted taking the 1966 sign from the stadium, and the other two from light poles she and her brother climbed in Federal Hill.
She learned Tuesday that they’re worth around $5,500 as a set — a value she imagined is influenced by how well the Orioles have been playing lately.
It’s the first time the show has returned to Charm City since a stop in 2007, during filming for Season 12, a spokesperson said. This year’s Baltimore visit was the last stop of the 2024 production tour, which focused on historic locations and included visits to Las Vegas, Nevada; Bentonville, Arkansas; Littleton, Colorado; and Urbandale, Iowa.
Each city visit will result in three episodes for Season 29 of “Antiques Roadshow” airing on PBS next year, producers said. Around 5 million people tune in each week for “Antiques Roadshow,” which has received 21 Emmy Award nominations over the years and is PBS’s most-watched ongoing series.
In Baltimore, 2,700 pairs of free tickets were distributed to attend the event.
The show “was due to come back to Baltimore,” said “Antiques Roadshow” executive producer Marsha Bemko, noting that Baltimore’s location made the event accessible to people from outside of the state. She joined “Antiques Roadshow” in 1999 as the series’ senior producer.
Of the more than 25,000 items brought to “Antiques Roadshow” tapings during the five-city tour, only around 150 appraisals per stop were filmed, producers said. Still, at her previous stop in Urbandale, Iowa, Bemko estimated she walked over 9 miles during filming.
“Most of the people who are coming today won’t be taped. They’re coming to an event,” Bemko said. “And they want to have a good experience and they’re excited to have this stuff looked at. Most of them will think it’s worth more than it is. So the very least they can have is a pleasant day at the zoo.”
Producers were looking for locations that could accommodate weather changes, large crowds and film crews, and the zoo agreed to host them, Bemko said.
Some, like Rosalie and her husband Ivo, didn’t have to travel far.
Ivo, a retired banker in his 70s, said the appraisal of the couple’s Orioles signs in Ikea frames was “shocking,” and that they’d hung them in their son’s bedroom when he was a kid. He added that they put the signs on display in their windows for game days when they lived in Federal Hill.
The couple attended previous “Antiques Roadshow” events in D.C., Richmond and Wilmington, and have watched the show “from day one,” Rosalie said.
Myrtis Bedolla, the founding director of Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore, joined “Antiques Roadshow” for the first time Tuesday as an appraiser. She said her expertise is primarily in works by African American artists from the 20th and 21st centuries.
But sitting at the paintings booth in the morning, she inspected works of all kinds.
“At the tables, we’re generalists,” she said.
Another appraiser, Radcliffe Jewelers’ founder Paul Winicki, said he started his work with “Antiques Roadshow” nearly two decades ago at the Baltimore Convention Center. More than 40 years ago, he opened his jewelry store, which he still owns and which has stores in Pikesville and Newark, Delaware.
On Tuesday morning, he was appraising a small lidded silver container that could have once stored sugar and bore a Bonaparte crest, engraved in 1876.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, who is buried in Baltimore, was the first wife of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Jérôme Bonaparte. The silver object was owned by someone farther down the family tree, Winicki estimated, but could be valued at around $2,500, particularly for a Baltimore collector.
It was a “neat piece for a silver nut like myself,” he said. “If you were in Wisconsin, people might say ‘Who is that?’ … Bonaparte stuff would bring more money in Baltimore, generally, than anywhere else, because she resided here and she was from the Patterson family.”
Carol, a 74-year-old semi-retired nurse, came to Tuesday’s event from the Eastern Shore with her daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in tow — plus multiple dolls for appraisal.
One — in a box marked “Grandma’s Doll” and made of composition and real wood, with a bisque face — dates back to the 1890s and would sell for around $200 to $300.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Carol said. “And I wasn’t going to bring her, because I thought she was plastic.”
Sometimes, however, it’s the most unassuming items that surprise.
Larry, 63, traveled to the Antiques Roadshow set from Pennsylvania with his wife Regina, 65, and was filmed as he spoke with appraiser Ken Farmer, who counts folk art among his specialties.
The item in question: a small, wooden Shaker box that belonged to Larry’s mother.
The estimated retail value: $12,000 to $18,000.
“This is a little Shaker box made around 1851,” reads a note stored inside. “Treasure it always as I have for many years.”
The note gifting the box to someone for Christmas, plus writing on the underside of the box, accounted for about half of the box’s value, said Larry, who works for a consulting company.
“It’ll stay in the family,” and in a safe, he said. “I don’t need a grandkid playing with it.”
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — A Maryland family’s ongoing battle with their homeowners’ association over a Christmas light display has reignited a broader conversation about how much control HOAs can legally exercise over holiday decorations.
7News has been following the case, in which the family continues to face fines from their HOA over their holiday lights.
To better under how homeowner associations operate and what options residents may have, 7News spoke with Alfredo Vásquez, a Washington, D.C.-based homeowner defense attorney.
RELATED COVERAGE | HOA vs. Christmas decorations: Maryland family facing hundreds in fines for lights
Why HOAs often cite holiday decorations
According to Vásquez, disputes over holiday decorations are common, but they usually center on timing rather than style.
“It may vary by community or HOA,” Vásquez said. “The most common reason would be that residents put decorations up too early or take them down too late.”
He explained that most HOA governing documents regulate how long decorations can remain on display, outlining specific start and end dates of holiday decor.
Are there rules on lights, music, or colors?
While many homeowners wonder whether HOAs can ban flashing lights, colored bulbs, or loud holiday music, Vásquez said those restrictions are less common.
“I haven’t seen any restrictions that are specific in that way,” he said. “Most governing documents I’ve reviewed focus on whether lights or music interfere with a neighbor’s lot.”
In other words, enforcement is often tied to nuisance complaints rather than aesthetics.
What if homeowners feel targeted?
Vásquez emphasized that HOA boards are legally required to enforce rules consistently.
“The Board of Directors has a duty to implement regulations in an equitable manner across the entire community,” he said.
If homeowners believe they are being unfairly singled out, the first step is reviewing the HOA’s governing documents to confirm whether the association actually has authority to regulate the issue at hand.
MORE COVERAGE | HOA still not specifying ‘nuisance’ in Germantown, Md. family’s Christmas decorations
Can issues be resolved without going to court?
Yes, and in most cases, that’s the recommended path.
HOAs must follow state condo and HOA laws, which typically require formal processes for enforcement, including notices of violations and opportunities for hearings.
“It would be ideal for homeowners to act quickly and request a hearing with the board,” Vásquez said. “They should present their case and allow the board to decide whether the violation and fines can withstand scrutiny.”
Do homeowners have any recourse after signing HOA bylaws?
Once a homeowner buys into an HOA-regulated community, they are generally bound by its bylaws, Vásquez said.
“As long as those bylaws comply with federal and state laws, homeowners’ hands may be tied,” he explained.
However, bylaws can be changed, usually through a supermajority vote of the community. Homeowners may also have stronger grounds to challenge newly adopted amendments, as long as they act promptly.
Vásquez added that staying engaged in HOA meetings and decisions is critical.
“Homeowners have to pay attention to what’s going on in their community so they can challenge changes in a timely manner,” he said.
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) announced the arrest of a man wanted for kidnapping on Thursday afternoon.
Suba Washington Jr., 27, of Williamsport, Maryland, was apprehended in Frederick after an attempted traffic stop early Thursday morning, according to deputies.
The pursuit
When officers tried to pull over a Hyundai Elantra in the 7300 block of Crestwood Blvd., the driver, later identified as Washington, refused to stop.
Deputies were later notified that Washington was wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment in Washington County, Maryland.
As Washington fled northbound on Route 85, he struck a car near Crestwood Blvd. and Buckeystown Pike; however, the driver of the vehicle was unharmed as the suspect continued onto northbound I-270 and then westbound I-70.
Washington’s tires were eventually flattened after deputies deployed stop sticks near the Middletown exit.
Though the pursuit still wasn’t over, as the vehicle managed to cross over into Washington County, where the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Maryland State Police (MSP) aided in apprehension.
Washington was taken into custody after his vehicle approached the Route 40 exit, coming to a full stop on the highway.
The charges
A 17-year-old in the passenger seat was found with Washington during the pursuit. The teenager was released to WSCO.
According to FCSO, Washington Jr. was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center and charged with numerous traffic citations, including reckless driving, negligent driving, and two counts of attempting to elude law enforcement.
Maryland will launch a study to analyze the economic impacts of climate change to determine the costs associated with storm damage and health outcomes.
The move is part of the Moore-Miller administration’s strategic approach to investing in a clean energy economy and modernizing the state’s energy infrastructure.
“While the federal government has spent the past year rolling back climate protections and driving up energy costs, Maryland is taking a responsible step toward understanding the true price tag of climate change,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement. “This study will give us a clear, data-driven look at the real burden taxpayers are shouldering as climate change drives more extreme and costly weather events.”
The RENEW Act Study will be funded by investments and state sources, including $30,000 from philanthropic funding and $470,000 from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, to assess the burden that Marylanders are paying due to intense weather events and environmental shifts.
Marylanders on climate change
The announcement comes months after Maryland lawmakers opposed a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to recind its 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases were a danger to public health.
Lawmakers raised concerns that the move would mean engine and vehicle manufacturers would not be required to measure, control or report greenhouse gas emissions. They also raised concerns that the decision could impact climate change and harm local communities.
The EPA said it intended to retain regulations for pollutant and toxic air measurement and standards. In September, the agency initiated the formal process to reconsider the finding.
In March, a Johns Hopkins University poll found that nearly 73% of surveyed Baltimore City and County residents were concerned that climate change would affect them.
According to the study, city residents were more concerned about personal harm from climate change than county residents. However, county residents expected to see higher costs in the next five years due to climate change.
About 70% of Baltimore area residents believe climate change will increase costs for homeowners and businesses in the next five years, the study found.
An April report ranked the Washington/Baltimore/Arlington region as the 36th worst in the country and second worst in the mid-Atlantic region for ozone smog. The report graded Baltimore County an “F” for ozone smog.
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