BALTIMORE - Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will be touring small businesses in the city to highlight a recently established loan program to help local firms hire new employees.

The visits are part of "Small Business Saturday," a day conceived by American Express on which shoppers are encouraged to patronize local specialty shops instead of the big-box stores that dominate Black Friday.

The loan program was established this week. Eligible businesses can receive loans from $5,000 to $30,000 to help them hire employees. To be eligible, businesses must bring in less than $1 million in annual revenue, and the owners must have good credits scores.

Rawlings-Blake plans to visit several businesses Saturday afternoon.

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