In Baltimore City Jewish federation's fund-raising...

In Baltimore City

Jewish federation's fund-raising effort reaches record level

The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore has raised a record $28.5 million during its fund-raising campaign, which officially ends Saturday.

The Associated, a nonprofit organization, raises money and runs programs for Jews in the metropolitan area.

During the past 10 years, The Associated has raised more than $270 million. Of 189 local Jewish federations in North America, Baltimore's is one of two that consistently have seen increases in annual fund raising for more than a decade.

Business owner sentenced in water-pollution case

The owner of an Anne Arundel County power-washing business has been convicted in city District Court of illegally discharging a pollutant into state waters last year, the Maryland attorney general's office said.

Judge Charlotte M. Cooksey gave Daniel Joseph Layden, 54, owner of Z Wash Cat in the 6400 block of Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie, to a 12-month suspended jail sentence Monday, fined him $1,500 and barred him from engaging in power washing in the city.

According to the attorney general's office, Layden allowed lead-laden water to flow into a storm drain while power washing paint from a house in the 3800 block of Foster Ave. on July 28. "Storm drains are waters of the state, and it is illegal to allow any pollutants to flow into" them, said Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr.

Reservoirs not for ATVs, swimming, city reminds

Baltimore officials are warning people not to swim in the city's reservoirs or drive all-terrain vehicles on the watersheds surrounding them.

George L. Winfield, director of the Department of Public Works, said yesterday that both activities are against the law. Violators can be charged with trespassing and, if convicted, sent to jail and fined up to $1,000.

Winfield also said swimmers are at risk of hypothermia in the cold, deep waters of the Liberty, Prettyboy and Loch Raven reservoirs. ATVs tear up the grounds and contribute to erosion, he said.

Scholarship offered by victims' advocacy group

Survivors Against Violence Everywhere, a Baltimore victims' advocacy organization of families who have lost loved ones to homicides, is sponsoring a $500 scholarship for a city high school student who has lost an immediate family member to homicide.

Applicants must write a 200- to 300-word essay on their strategy for reducing violent crime in the city. They must also have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and must provide verification that they have been accepted to a college or vocational-technical school.

The deadline is July 13. Applications: Robin Singletary Haskins, 410-396-1897.

Boy Scouts to attend camp through Scoutreach

The first of three groups of city Boy Scouts are participating in a camp this week at Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation through Scoutreach, a program that makes Scouting free to boys in at-risk areas.

About 130 city Boy Scouts will attend the camps. The other groups are set for July 22-28 and July 29-Aug 3. Activities include boating and fire-building at the Harford County campground.

Scoutreach is a division of the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It was founded in 1995 and has 17 sites in the city, serving more than 1,000 youths.

In Baltimore County

Verizon continues working to restore phone service

OWINGS MILLS - About 5,000 residential and business customers in Owings Mills remained without telephone service last night because a cable was cut accidentally early Tuesday.

Officials at Verizon Communication Inc. said yesterday that crews will work around the clock to repair the damaged line but that full phone service likely would not be restored until Sunday.

The Verizon line was cut when an outside contractor was laying fiber-optic cable at Reisterstown Road and St. Thomas Lane.

Man missing after jumping off boat to retrieve cap

WHITE MARSH - Trying to retrieve his baseball cap, a man jumped into the Gunpowder River last night and failed to surface.

About 8:50 p.m., the man, believed to be in his early 30s, jumped off a boat into several feet of water near the Baltimore-Harford county line, said John Parham, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Fire Department. A woman on the boat used a ship-to-shore radio to notify authorities.

Within minutes, Parham said, search and rescue units from federal, state and county agencies searched the river for the man, whose name was not disclosed. The search was suspended at 11:30 p.m. and was to resume at 7 this morning, Parham said.

Body found likely thrown from vehicle, police say

TOWSON - Baltimore County police said yesterday that the body discovered Friday morning at Bucks School House and White Marsh roads in Fullerton was probably thrown from a passing vehicle.

Bill Toohey, a police spokesman, said the investigation continues into the death of Mark Rio Galvez, 27, of Baltimore's Federal Hill neighborhood. He apparently died from head trauma, Toohey said.

Galvez was last seen alive Thursday, Toohey said.

Fire Department schedules dedication of monument

ARBUTUS - Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department will dedicate a memorial monument to fallen firefighters at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The ceremony will be held, rain or shine, at the fire station, 5200 Southwestern Blvd.