Companies pushed proton machines and counted on advertising, doctors and insurers to ensure a steady business treating cancer. But the dollars haven’t flowed in as expected.

A southwest Baltimore neighborhood in the shadow of two prestigious medical centers — one of which's researchers are international experts on asthma prevention — has higher rates of asthma related emergency room visits and hospiatlzations than other parts of the city.

Jay Hancock: Baltimore's Prime Rib restaurant sold hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of Groupon coupons one day last month, but restaurants such as Miss Shirley's, Charleston and Petit Louis are leery of online discounting.

Jay Hancock: Willard Hackerman and his partners aren't in this for charity. The case for doubling convention-center space in Baltimore is not inarguable. Even if the project makes sense and gets built, it raises new questions about downtown development and taxpayer investment.

Jay Hancock: Maryland's Public Service Commission must make triply sure that the sale of Constellation Energy to Exelon Corp. doesn't put Baltimore Gas & Electric at risk.