Baltimore Public Markets' history and future, with CEO Paul Ruppert

It’s Election Day in America. If you are not registered to vote, you can register when you go to your polling place. Go to the Maryland Board of Elections website to confirm where your polling place is, and bring some form of ID that proves you live in the district you’re voting in. If you are using a mail-in ballot, you have until 8:00 tonight to drop your ballot in one of the drop boxes in your jurisdiction. If you are going to mail your ballot, it must be postmarked by 8:00 tonight. Nationally, more than 42 million people have already cast ballots. As of this morning, just under 400,000 people had submitted mail-in ballots here in MD. Another 382,000 voted early, in person. It will be more than a week before we have the final tallies in MD races. It could take even longer in other states. We hope you will join us tonight for Election Night in Maryland. Tom will be here in Studio A, beginning when the polls close at 8:00. NPR will cover the national races that will determine control of Congress and several Governor’s seats. He'll have election results from across Maryland, as they become available. Again, our special live coverage begins at 8:00. _____________________________________________________ Today here on Midday, we’re going to turn our attention to one of the features of city life here in Baltimore that make our city a great and unique place: our city’s markets. Our system of markets is the oldest in the country, dating from the 1780s. Lexington Market gets a lot of attention as the city’s largest market, but the other city markets scattered throughout the city are also vibrant food emporiums and community hubs. Tom's guest for the hour today is Paul Ruppert. He is the president and CEO of the Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, the non-profit company runs the city’s six historic markets. They include: Broadway Market, Cross Street Market, Hollins Market, Northeast Market, Avenue Market and the separately incorporated Lexington Market, which is currently re-opening after a four-year, $45 million renovation project. Paul Ruppert joins Tom in Studio A.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.