City / County Digest

McLarney holds a bachelors degree from American University and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He lives with his wife in Columbia. They have a grown son.

Annie Linskey

Medicine

Robot heart surgery expert joins UM

A world expert in minimally invasive heart bypass surgery has joined the surgery department at the University of Maryland.

Johannes Bonatti has moved to Baltimore from Innsbruck University Hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, where he was a cardiac surgeon and an associate professor of surgery. He takes his new position today.

Bonatti has performed more than 300 heart surgeries using the DaVinci robot. Most were performed in a completely endoscopic way - without even a small incision.

Only a few heart surgeons around the world have experience in performing a completely endoscopic heart bypass operation.

David Kohn

Howard County

Interstate 95

Motorcyclist killed in accident identified

A man killed Sunday in a motorcycle accident on the ramp from southbound Interstate 895 to southbound Interstate 95 in Howard County was identified yesterday as Krisna Harlowe Seegobin, 29, of Silver Spring, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

Authorities said they are searching for witnesses to the crash, which occurred about 3:30 p.m. Police said Seegobin apparently lost control of the Suzuki sport bike on the ramp. No other vehicles were involved. Witnesses are urged to call MdTA police at 410-324-8894.

Maryland

Gambling

Anti-slots groups reject gaming money

Groups fighting the legalization of slot machines in Maryland said yesterday that they don't intend to take money from gambling interests and that both sides need to reject such contributions to have a fair debate.

Two longtime slots opponents, StopSlots Maryland and NO Casino Maryland, said yesterday that they would reject contributions from gambling companies. A similar pledge was made by Marylanders United to Stop Slots, a group launched in April that counts Comptroller Peter Franchot and other prominent elected officials as its chief backers.

Penn National Gaming Inc., a national casino operator, recently secured an option to buy Cecil County land where it could operate a slots venue and has vowed to help push for slots at the polls.

Laura Smitherman