Baltimore Fishbowl has put together a list of our top 10 stories of 2024 according to you, our readers. From a Gilman School valedictorian being charged in the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO to a Go Kart track in a Howard County family’s backyard; from a new wetlands exhibit at the National Aquarium to anger over a comment about The Wire; from Baltimore getting a professional basketball team in 2025 to big feelings about a handshake at the Army-Navy football game, 2024 had a whole lot going on here in Charm City.10. Carlos Raba’s new restaurant ‘Nana’ to open its doors in Towson on Jan. 31Nana opens its doors on January 31, 2024. Photo credit: Aliza WorthingtonBaltimore Fishbowl readers love hearing about new restaurants, and news of Carlos Raba (of Clavel fame) opening a casual-dining spot named for and honoring memories of his nana, and the food traditions the women in his family bestowed upon him, certainly whetted your appetite. Three years in the making, COVID-19 pandemic included, the announcement of Nana’s opening in Towson got stomachs growling at the end of January 2024. We reported, “The restaurant will have 15 seats for in-house dining, and provide many options for taking meals home, including meal packages to feed the whole family. Diners and those waiting for take-out will be able to see Nana’s taqueros preparing their meals in the open kitchen, adding to the restaurant’s bright, joyful atmosphere.”Is it time for dinner, yet?The intersection of St. Thomas Lane and Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills, near w0..here a new service road is proposed Credit: Google Street View9. Proposed pass-through road in Owings Mills draws concernA new roadway proposed in Baltimore County caused concern among Owings Mills community and homeowners associations about cut-through traffic in residential areas increasing as a result. The new roadway would make it possible for drivers to directly cross Reisterstown Road at Painters Mill Road, and go from there onto St. Thomas Lane — rather than turning right on Reisterstown Road and making a U-turn. There were also concerns about who would pay for and maintain the new service lane.Photo from Yashar Ali’s Bluesky account.8. Moore shakes up handshake with Trump at Army-Navy gameGov. Wes Moore caused a stir after a photograph of him shaking hands with President-elect Donald Trump before the Army-Navy game circulated online. Moore was celebrated for beating Trump at his own “grab and yank” handshake game. By all body-language indications, Moore is the one who showed dominance, and most Marylanders who responded online considered this an extension of our “Baltimore tough, Maryland strong” mindset.7. Baltimore set to get new professional basketball team in 2025Photo courtesy of the Baltimore VenomFishbowl’s April reporting that Charm City was set to get its own professional basketball team caught your interest. The article reported that the new team, Baltimore Venom, would join The Basketball League and planned to start playing in 2025. The team was shopping around for a venue and would be TBL’s second team in the state, after the Frederick Flying Cows started playing in March 2024. The Basketball League is an American minor professional basketball league, founded with eight teams in 2017. Now, it is home to 38 teams across four conferences, including a couple of teams in Canada.  Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers catches a touchdown pass in the Ravens’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2024. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Ravens.6. Baltimoreans express frustration with ‘The Wire’ comment after Sunday’s Ravens gameBaltimoreans are tired of being known ONLY as the home of “The Wire,” and boy did residents react when CBS Football announcers referred to our hometown that way on a day the Ravens fell to the Chiefs at home. “The Wire” is art, and its creator, David Simon, a Baltimore legend; none of that is disputed. But social media users let it be known Baltimore is so much more than one show on HBO Max and to automatically connect Baltimore to “The Wire” is “lazy, reductive, and simple.”Properties on West Fayette Street have been torn down after a partial collapse last month. Photo by Ed Gunts.5. Demolition activity underway on downtown Baltimore block where mixed-use Compass development is plannedThis story was about developing a proposed mixed-use complex in the Five and Dime Historic District where buildings have been demolished after partial collapses and were deemed in condition too poor to renovate. Westside Developers LLC were chosen by the city to develop The Compass project, which proposed construction of a mixed-use, multi-phase development containing residences, offices and retail space in a combination of new construction and adaptive reuse of existing buildings. The proposed investment is more than $150 million. Fishbowl readers were interested enough to make this the year’s fifth most-read story. In an October 2024 follow-up story, Fishbowl reported that the Baltimore Development Corporation had terminated its agreement with Westside Partners LLC, and new Requests for Proposal are expected in early 2025.The National Aquarium on Thursday unveiled its Harbor Wetland exhibit. Credit: National Aquarium.4. National Aquarium opens its newest exhibit, Harbor WetlandThe National Aquarium unveiled a new, free-to-the-public outdoor exhibit called Harbor Wetland in August. Located in the inlet between Inner Harbor Piers 3 and 4, Harbor Wetland is a “living habitat” and educational exhibit created to evoke the Chesapeake Bay tidal salt marsh that flourished before the area was urbanized. The exhibit has multiple goals, including drawing native marine species back to the harbor and filtering runoff into the Patapsco River while also expanding its urban campus with an outdoor setting for educational programming that teaches visitors about the harbor and the need to support conservation efforts.An aerial view of a Go Kart track built at 6717 Mink Hollow Road in the Howard County community of Highland. Credit: change.org3. A Howard County dad quietly built a Go Kart track for his son. Then the neighbors found out.Charles Siperko built a custom designed Go Kart track in his backyard for his 10-year-old son, who is training to be a race car driver. Siperko owns 11 acres in Howard County, but neighbors were up in arms once they found out about the track. They were upset about the noise, the potential danger, possible damage to wetlands and wildlife, and lack of proper permitting. Now Siperko is working through the process of obtaining a Conditional Use permit, having agreed to changes to the the track and addition of trees as a natural noise barrier, but many in the community are still fighting the track being there in any form.Gilman Valedictorian Luigi Mangione.2. Former Gilman valedictorian Luigi Mangione, charged in murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, has Baltimore rootsThe nation was captivated by the search for the person who shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight in mid-Manhattan. Imaginations ran wild as the as-yet anonymous killer became a folk-hero in the eyes of many whose lives had been shattered by lack of any or adequate healthcare and who saw insurance executives as the villains in their story. Others decried the use of violence. The City of Baltimore was rocked by the news when once captured, the suspect was revealed to be Luigi Mangione, a former valedictorian from Gilman School right here in our hometown, from a prominent family with plenty of means and access to the best healthcare money can buy.Dr. Sherita Golden. Photo courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine.1. Johns Hopkins Medicine chief diversity officer steps down two months after backlash over ‘privilege’ emailJohns Hopkins Medicine’s vice president and chief diversity officer Dr. Sherita Golden stepped down from her role, two months after receiving backlash for an email newsletter in which she explained the concept of privilege. Golden had listed social groups that have privilege, including white people, able-bodied people, heterosexuals, cisgender people, males, Christians, middle or owning class people, middle-aged people, and English-speaking people. The email was shared on X (formerly Twitter) and outraged primarily conservative individuals, including Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk. Golden retracted her definition, but still stepped down. She continued to teach at JHM.Happy holidays, and a joyful new year to our fantastic Fishbowl readers! Thank you for showing how much you care about what’s happening in your hometown.