Today’s Sun reports on the rumored house-hunting trip this week to St. Michaels by Michael Jackson. The self-proclaimed King of Pop reportedly spent Thursday night at the Inn at Perry Cabin. The hotel’s general manager refused comment (as if anybody at The Sun actually expected him to talk about it?), but reports were that Jackson was travelling with bodyguards as part of an entourage. He reportedly looked at one house in Queen Anne’s County and two in Talbot County.

Locals assumed a helicopter in the area was paparazzi seeking photographs, but the fact that it stayed some distance away was attributed to a no-fly zone implemented when Vice President Cheney purchase a house there. The article mentions that there also rumors of Julia Roberts looking at property in the area as well as supposed sightings of Eric Clapton’s sailboat. Also mentioned are houses owned by two former presidential press secretaries (which ones?) and a former Secretary of Defense (Rumsfeld?)

The Easton Star Democrat first broke the story (you can’t read the story here unless you subscribe to the newspaper however, since they’re using that flawed model for their website.) WBAL TV reported on the rumors Friday night as well, although there’s no story on their website about it. Video footage (not available on the station site or their Youtube section) on the station (taken from the aforementioned helicopter) showed people holding white sheets up while someone exited the hotel and entered a limousine.

The Daily Dish reports that Jackson is moving out of his Las Vegas mansion today because the lease is expiring. Security concerns there, where the singer moved from Ireland in December, were cited. His rep recently denied rumors that he was bedridden an on medication.

UPDATE: Welcome to readers getting here from The Moderate Voice. For the latest on Michael Jackson’s possible move to Maryland, go here.

Related:
1.  Jacko to Maryland (?) updates
2. Michael Jackson updates

The Sun reports that, at 5:20 a.m. today, a Park Heights man was shot and killed in the 4000 block of Cedardale Road, just off Wabash Avenue. Police say the man was apparently trying to steal the wheels from a car parked on the street and was shot by a resident. The resident is being questioned by police.

The Facebook and Flickr groups tied in with Inside Charm City have already been mentioned here. I’ve considered starting a Twitter profile for the site but I’m holding off on it for now. If any of our readers are on Twitter, you can add my personal Twitter profile here.

The Baltimore Sun today reports on the purchase of a farm in Grasonville on the Eastern Shore belonging to the company run by David Sutherland, who served on Governor Martin O’Malley’s transition team.

The Board of Public Works voted to purchase the land, despite some initial reservations about the price by Comptroller Peter Franchot and a representative of Treasurer Nancy Kopp. According to The Sun, the $5 million sale was “nearly a” million dollars over the appraised value of the land. Queen Anne’s County officials, who will use the land for recreational uses, also were concerned about the price but supported the deal to preserve the farm as open space.

Sutherland claims he received no special treatment. The state will pay $4.6 million the the county will pick up the other $400,000. Waterfront portions of the property not included in the sale will require more money to be spent for the state to purchase easements. One appraisal places the land value at $3.6 million and the other $4.6 million.

As things get on a more normal posting schedule this week as we possibly do a hard launch of the site, I just wanted to remind our readers that we are looking for contributors to post here on topics of interest in the Baltimore area. Send an email to mail@insidecharmcity.com expressing your interest.

Also, a reminder about the Flickr pool for this site as well as the Facebook group.

If you missed it this weekend, we published a travel review of a recent trip to Annapolis.