Baltimore News Archives

“Without at least indexing the gas tax, we must rely on the legislature to revisit this painful discussion too often -- usually without seeing any new revenue.”

At a time when lawmakers are faced with a colossal budget deficit, Transportation Sec. via WRC Washington DC Channel 4

Two Baltimore city officers are recovering after they were hit by a car during a Wednesday afternoon pursuit. via WBALTV.com

“This is a channel that the brand has left open, and now we have the ability to try and make an impact in the market.”

Under Armour will open its first retail store Thursday at Westfield Annapolis Mall. via WBALTV.com

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is thinking ahead to the possible legalization of slot machines in Maryland. via NewsChannel 8

“It was a very effective way to check in on them”

Police officers and parole and probation agents fanned out across the city last night to visit the homes of registered child sex offenders to remind them that they are not allowed to hand out candy as part of Halloween trick-or-treating.

State officials sent letters to offenders in September warning them that they may not participate in tonight's celebration. The letters included 'no candy' signs that offenders can place in a window. Offenders also may not turn on their porch lights or have Halloween decorations. They are forbidden from visiting malls where children might congregate, as well as Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Read more

Gov. Martin O'Malley has tied legalizing slot machine gambling to a property tax cut for homeowners and planned expansion of the Medicaid program for adults. via Baltimoresun.com

“Almost half of his chest and abdomen and the left side of his body were basically scraped away”

Crystal Douglass was on her way home one afternoon last December when a red truck pulled up beside her at a stoplight on Loch Raven Boulevard in the Towson area.

Looking more closely, the Baltimore woman saw a stroller lodged beneath the truck. Strapped into the stroller was a little boy.

'I pointed and shouted, 'You have a baby under that stroller,'' Douglass testified yesterday at the trial of the woman charged in the dragging death of the toddler in the carriage. 'She never paid me any attention.' Read more

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland includes two pieces of legislation. via Daily Record

“There have been a high number of police-involved shootings this year, even with the success we've had reducing crime in the last 90 days”

Faced with a boy pointing a gun, a Baltimore City police officer shot and struck the boy Tuesday - ' doubling the number of people shot by police last year. via Examiner.com

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 WBAL Radio as reported by Steve Fermier and The Associated Press Baltimore police say a patrol officer shot and killed a Randallstown teenager who was armed with a loaded gun. via WBAL-AM Baltimore

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley on Thursday announced a proposal to increase eligibility for Medicaid and subsidize small businesses that provide health insurance to their employees, the Washington Post reports. via EMaxHealth

“The stakes are high; the cost of delay too great; the potential damage too harmful to accept”

Gov. Martin O'Malley appealed to Maryland lawmakers today to support his proposals to handle a $1.7 billion budget deficit in a special session, describing the huge shortfall as "one of the toughest fiscal ... via BaltimoreSun.com

A 17-year-old male was shot in the right leg last night in a drive-by shooting, one of two victims of gunfire in Baltimore in about a half hour last night, city police said. via Baltimore Sun

“The big question is how much money within the Transportation Trust Fund is allocated to transit”

Traffic congestion in the Baltimore and Washington areas costs Maryland citizens $3.1 billion annually, according to a recent study. via The Maryland Gazette

Maryland NAACP president Jenkins Odoms says legal slot machines in the state would be devastating for low-income people. via WJLA-TV Arlington

“The survey proves what we have been saying, that Maryland dealers and their customers are willing to do their share to help fund future transportation needs”

Baltimore Business Journal - by Ryan Sharrow Staff Marylanders are willing to pay more in vehicle titling taxes to help fund transportation improvements, as long as a law is changed to give state residents a ... via Baltimore Business Journal

There are new revelations in the case of a stolen fuel tanker truck that was hijacked last week in Baltimore. via WBAL-TV Baltimore

“Not only is this a fiscally sound and environmentally friendly endeavor, but it is also a plus in that it benefits the city and the Coast Guard”

Baltimore will capture methane gas from the Quarantine Road Sanitary Landfill and sell it to the U.S. Coast Guard under an arrangement approved yesterday by the city Board of Estimates. via The Baltimore Sun

“They had no problem until the insurance company told her he needed to sign over the title for the car.”

When Veronica Fludd moved to Baltimore from Summerton, S.C., three years ago to study at Coppin State University, she planned on going back home to become an elementary school teacher, her family recalled yesterday.

Instead, the 26-year-old early-childhood education major is returning home to be buried.

'Her plan was to finish next year, even if she had to go to summer school,' said Annie Pitts, Fludd's aunt. 'When she moved here, she talked about wanting to go back to South Carolina to teach. But she was beginning to change her mind and wanting to stay in Baltimore.' Read more

Charles County public school teachers' starting salaries were fifth highest in the state for the current school year, the Maryland State Department of Education reported last week. via The Independent

“While in his control, the suspect was heard by her calling someone by the name of - Ali' and that he would be paid $10,000 for the load”

Forty-two-year-old Willie McKinnon is accused of pulling a weapon to stealing a fuel tanker truck on Oct. via Baltimore Examiner

The Maryland General Assembly during a special session that begins Monday will consider a proposal that would provide $500 million to extend Medicaid coverage to more than 100,000 uninsured residents, the ... via EMaxHealth

“The wounding of Agent Buta was entirely unintended”

A Robinwood teenager who shot a 16-year-old Annapolis High School student and an off-duty Secret Service agent last November inside the Westfield Annapolis mall food court will not testify in his own defense. via The Capital

“Ours is not a partisan position. . . . We're for no new Republican or Democrat taxes”

The Maryland Association of Counties urged legislators Thursday to pass Gov. Martin O'Malley's $1.7 billion budget plan, saying county governments could not handle the cuts to services if the shortfall was ... via WTOP

“It also is unique in Maryland law that you can't petition a bill with fiscal implications to referendum, so the general public doesn't have an opportunity to petition it to referendum”

A bill to legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland will seek to solve the long-contentious issue in a referendum, House Speaker Michael Busch told reporters Friday after being apprised of details in the ... via Newsday.com

“We will aggressively resist any effort to bring slot machine or casino gaming to our state and our city.”

Slots opponents won't go away just because the leaders now promoting slot machine gambling are Democrats. via Baltimore Sun

The Maryland Association of Counties is urging state lawmakers to approve Governor Martin O'Malley's plan to close state's projected 1.7 billion dollar deficit. via NewsChannel 8

U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson sentenced Anthony Brown, age 35, of Baltimore today to 16 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for armed bank robbery, announced United States ... via Federal Bureau of Investigation

A Prince George's County employee was arrested yesterday soon after a Baltimore City Circuit Court grand jury handed up an indictment charging the man with vehicular manslaughter in a 2006 auto accident in ... via The Baltimore Sun

An early morning house fire in Joppatowne today claimed the life of a 77-year-old man and injured his wife, state fire officials said. via The Baltimore Sun

“The way the accident happened, the body was virtually thrown in front of the car.”

College freshman hit by car on Hillen Road 10/25/07 By Loni Ingraham Towson University students gathered Oct. via North East Reporter

An armed robbery suspect shot by a victim in downtown Baltimore killed himself at Central Booking earlier this month, prison officials said Wednesday. via Baltimore Examiner

“I don't believe that this shelter will be temporary”

The city's plans to relocate and expand its winter shelter for the homeless has run into opposition from a neighborhood group that is threatening legal action to block the plan. via Baltimoresun.com

“It's not something you learn to play overnight”

St. Batholomew Episcopal Church in Ten Hills has been hosting concerts this fall to celebrate its acquisition of a restored pipe organ from Quebec, Canada. via Catonsville Times

“Leaving Bolton Street was the trigger or the catalyst for a great opportunity to start something new -- to start what we wanted, to start from the ground up”

Congregants gather for a Saturday morning service Oct. 17 at Kol HaLev Synagogue based at St. via Baltimore Messenger

Governor Martin O'Malley's administration is expected to introduce a proposal to provide medical coverage to more than 100,000 state residents currently without health insurance. via WMDT-TV Salisbury

A portion of Lombard Street will be closed Saturday for crane construction in the 1100 block of S. Greene St., the city's Department of Transportation announced today. via The Baltimore Sun

“These children will not have died in vain. This is not the future of our city. This has to become part of our past.”

Baltimore police are investigating what appears to be the city's latest case of witness intimidation - the ransacking and burning of a Northwest Baltimore family's home.

The family, who have been living in Howard Park since 1999, found the phrase 'rats must be killed' spray-painted in bright red on a wall inside their burned-out foyer last week.

In addition to the graffiti and fire, intruders had upended furniture, tipped over a cabinet and smashed drinking glasses in the two-story, four-bedroom home that had been renovated by the family over the years. Read more

“This thing made a liar out of me.”

Two days after the attack, sitting in the living room where their child's blood stained the carpet, the Garrisons were at a loss to explain Chocolate's actions, which left their son hospitalized for a night. via Baltimoresun.com

“Up to that point, [the government] had maintained that if you have a competent examiner, the technique of fingerprinting can't produce a misidentification. Mayfield exposed that as a fallacy”

A Baltimore County judge has ruled that fingerprint evidence, a mainstay of forensics for nearly a century, is not reliable enough to be used against a homicide defendant facing a possible death sentence - a ... via Baltimoresun.com

“I think a lot of people in the community were worried about the building because there hadn't been tons of stuff going on [here] for a while.”

Unlike many of the city's Victorian churches that tower over entire blocks, St. John's United Methodist Church is modest. via City Paper

A Baltimore man pleaded guilty yesterday to bank robbery and to using a gun in the crime, and he also admitted to a carjacking three weeks before the robbery to use the vehicle as a getaway car.

Dwayne Saunders, 24, stole the car on June 21 in the 400 block of Lexington St., then kept it in a secure place until the robbery, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein's office.

On July 12, Saunders and an associate robbed the Wachovia Bank on Eastern Boulevard in Essex of $24,438.15. Dye packs included with the stolen money exploded as the robbers drove away, and after a brief police chase, officers arrested Saunders, who was covered in red dye, the news release said. Read more

Alcohol and speed appear to have contributed to a single-vehicle crash in Linthicum early yesterday that claimed the life of a Baltimore woman, said the state police at the Glen Burnie barracks. via Baltimore Sun

James P. Davis, age 53, of Silver Spring , Maryland pleaded guilty today to attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a woman in the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge in Laurel, Maryland, announced United ... via Federal Bureau of Investigation

“He was very charismatic. Justin had a shimmering, beautiful voice”

A student at Rider University's Westminster Choir College has been charged in a fellow student's death, prosecutors said today. via Baltimoresun.com

A Baltimore soldier charged with shooting five people in a gang-related dispute last month could be freed from an Oklahoma jail today after city prosecutors drop the case, the state's attorney's office said this morning.

Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the city prosecutor's office, said the case against Jerrell Hill is 'legally insufficient.' Hill is being held in a county detention center near Fort Sill.

Burns also said that authorities are withdrawing an extradition request for Hill, 18, who was charged this week with attempted murder in a warrant. Read more

One man was killed early yesterday and another Thursday in incidents during which Baltimore police officers were close enough to see or hear gunshots, authorities said.

Aout 2 a.m. yesterday in South Baltimore, a police officer on patrol in the Brooklyn neighborhood heard gunfire. Directed to the 4200 block of Audrey Ave., the officer found a man in the driver's seat of a Ford Explorer suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. Police did not release the man's name. Read more

HOWARD COUNTY, Md. Howard County Police have identified the two men wanted in a series of three armed robberies, one which resulted in the shooting of a gas station clerk. via WJZ-TV Baltimore

A man armed with a gun stole a tanker filled with home heating oil this morning in South Baltimore after the driver finished fueling the truck at a gas station, city police said.

Sterling Clifford, a police spokesman, said the department has notified other local, state and federal authorities, as well as law enforcement agencies in Washington and Philadelphia to be on the lookout for the tanker truck.

The truck, a cherry red 1997 Peterbilt, has 'Baltimore Tank Lines' written on its sides and has Maryland license plate number 436-F45. The silver tanker also has the company name on its sides, but has a different license tag, from Maine, with plate number 1268185. Read more

A male victim hurt in a drive-by shooting last night in Northwest Baltimore has died from his injuries and a pregnant woman who was also shot was in serious condition this morning, city police said.

The shooting happened shortly after 7 p.m., in the 2600 block of Quantico Ave., police said. As a car drove along the road, at least one person from inside fired shots at people sitting on a home's front porch steps, police said.

The male victim was shot in the chest, and the woman, who is nine months pregnant, was shot in the face and abdomen, police said. Read more

Worried that additional changes to Maryland's voting system could do more harm than good, state elections administrator Linda H. Lamone has appealed to lawmakers not to tinker any further with the 2008 ... via The Enterprise

“More and more citizens are sitting in traffic, which is harming the economy and quality of life”

Traffic congestion in the Baltimore and Washington areas costs Maryland citizens $3.1 billion annually, according to a new study. via WTOP

“Because of his background, he had to take some type of plea deal, but he was really the victim in this case.”

In June, Charles Brockington encountered a problem familiar to many people in Baltimore City - ' someone breaking into his car. via Baltimore Examiner

“She tells us that an individual knocks on her door. A bit before that, claiming to be some type of maintenance man. As she opens the door he forces his way in, throws her to the floor and proceeds to rape her”

DUNDALK, Md. A Dundalk teen has been charged in connection with the rape of two Baltimore women. via WJZ-TV Baltimore

“It's not if they can account for that time. They can account for that time. We're told he was on the military installation. So there's no if there”

BALTIMORE A new twist in the case of a Maryland soldier accused in a shooting. Thursday the judge asked that the charges be dismissed. via WJZ Baltimore, Maryland News Weather

The Maryland State Medical Examiner has ruled that a man found in a burning car in West Baltimore was the victim of a homicide. via Baltimore Examiner

Two Baltimore men pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted first-degree murder for their roles in an attack last year on Joplin Street in Southeast Baltimore, according to the city state's attorney's office. via Baltimore Sun

“That's something I admit to being conflicted on myself”

"A C student can get this," professor Martin O'Malley, freshman governor, assured a class of several dozen political science majors, faculty and university bigwigs as he rolled through a 50-minute lecture on ... via Baltimore Examiner

“The agent forgot to bring her ticket book”

BALTIMORE Tales of bogus parking tickets continue to mount in Baltimore City. Kathryn Brown reports the city's inspector general has announced a full investigation of the parking enforcement agent who allegedly ... via WJZ-TV Baltimore

“Arabbing as an institution has been moving along on its own without any city oversight”

The Baltimore institution of vendors hawking produce from colorful horse-drawn wagons is about to receive a major makeover, but some involved with the city's 19th-century tradition are unhappy with the proposed ... via Baltimoresun.com

“As kids, we thought it was like a zoo.”

The crowds and the noise, the live chickens at Yankelove's Poultry, the bagels at Wartzman's and the cream cheese at Smelkinson's, the sidewalk fruit stands and pickle barrels ... they've all vanished from East ... via Jewish Community Voice

“Nowhere in the nation has that kind of accountability been accompanied by decreased funding for the most needy”

Educators are criticizing a proposal by Gov. Martin O'Malley to make changes in funding required by the Thornton education reform plan. via WBOC-TV Salisbury

BALTIMORE A soldier from Baltimore has been arrested by Army authorities at a base in Oklahoma on charges in a gang-related shooting that wounded five people in Baltimore. via WJZ-TV Baltimore

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 WBAL Radio as reported by Bill Vanko and The Associated Press Governor Martin O'Malley refused a request today by the Humane Society of the United States to cancel Maryland's black ... via WBAL-AM Baltimore

“We can only close the chapter on this tragedy by doing everything we can to ensure our firefighters have the best training, equipment and leadership possible.”

One year after Baltimore City firefighter Allan Roberts became trapped in the narrow hallway of a burning building, fire officials say his death was preventable. via Baltimore Examiner

The Baltimore County council has voted down a bill that would have required stricter controls on pit bulls.

A Baltimore County man arrested in a fatal hit-and-run accident is denying the charges and ...

A local high school football coach who was fired from his team wants his job back.

City police are investigating the discovery of a body found in the trunk of a burning car in the 2100 block of Allendale Road just after 8 p.m. yesterday. via Baltimore Sun

“They are very interested in a strong mayor system for the Dublin region, and I think they're very interested in his comments about executive leadership”

ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to go to Ireland this week to be the keynote speaker for an event held by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and to attend a lunch and dinner honoring Dr. via The Daily Times

A correspondent for The Washington Post has been killed while on assignment in Iraq.

A Baltimore County judge who is accused of crossing the line with his jokes on the bench will have to answer for his ...

“There's often a retaliation factor, but the most important thing is it's our job to stop those engaged in criminal activity”

Get shot then get locked up? That's what's happening to offenders under the supervision of Maryland's Division of Parole and Probation, according to a new policy enacted in Baltimore City since July. via Examiner.com

“The victim was unable to confirm 100 percent whether or not the light rail was in Anne Arundel County at all times of the act occurring”

A twice-convicted rapist has been arrested and accused of attacking a woman at a Linthicum light rail station, raping her and leading police on a chase in the Patapsco River.

Less than a week after a judge dismissed charges that Eugene Waller, 49, exposed himself to a Frederick woman on a light rail train, the man was charged Tuesday with dragging a 22-year-old Linthicum woman into the woods and sexually assaulting her at gunpoint.

The woman escaped and swam to safety in the nearby river, and Waller was arrested after he plunged into the water with officers in pursuit, police said. Read more

“No one should ... die that way”

Sun coverage of the early morning fire at 1903 Cecil Ave. that killed six people Death toll in city fire now up to 8 Six died that day. via The Baltimore Sun

Gay marriage may not be in Maryland's immediate future, but same-sex civil unions could be. via WJLA-TV Arlington

“He realizes that there may be some social costs because of slot machines and that's why he's included those funds.”

Slot machines, like the ones Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to bring to Maryland, are "rigged" and designed to create addiction, said the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion on Friday. via The Capital

“I didn't know half of these organizations were here.”

Odenton - the Town the Railroad Built - celebrated its history with hundreds of residents and visitors Saturday with "Passport to Odenton Day." Visitors were provided with a passport and map to visit 10 ... via Hometown Annapolis

BALTIMORE A police officer being dragged by an SUV fired on the driver around 7:30 Tuesday night. via WJZ-TV Baltimore

“It wasn't our job to file a warrant or track him down. ... He was last registered with (Baltimore)”

A two-time rapist who served only 78 days of a three year sentence for failure to register as a sex offender was released on unsupervised probation just a year before he was arrested in connection to a ... via HometownAnnapolis