The owner of the Senator Theatre warned yesterday that the landmark movie house faces "imminent" closure without public support to help pay unspecified debts. At a news conference, Tom Kiefaber said he hopes to convert the operation to nonprofit, but that effort has stalled. He declined to elaborate on how soon the theater could go under or how much money was needed to keep it afloat. Two years ago, Kiefaber raised almost $110,000 through community donations to stave off a foreclosure proceeding. Three other times, Kiefaber has faced possible foreclosure only to ward them off with last-minute help. He bought the business from relatives 20 years ago and also operates the two-screen Rotunda Cinematheque in Hampden.
Sam Sessa
Bill would make it easier to fire police commissioner
City legislators want to make it easier for the Baltimore mayor to fire the police commissioner. New legislation introduced by Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and chairman of the city delegation, would change state law to specify that the commissioner serves "at the pleasure of the mayor." Currently, the mayor can dismiss the commissioner only under certain conditions, an issue in former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark's wrongful-termination lawsuit against the city.
Julie Bykowicz
Convicted murderer who escaped prison captured
A convicted murderer serving 40 years at the Maryland Correctional Institution at Hagerstown, who escaped Jan 17, was captured yesterday afternoon by state troopers after a foot chase in the tiny community of Boonsboro, about six miles south of the prison, state police said. Fingerprints taken at the state police barracks at Hagerstown were confirmed through an FBI comparison and identified the man as Kandelario Garcia-Ramos, 23, convicted for the 2007 fatal stabbing of his boss at a Prince George's County tire firm, police said.
Richard Irwin
$10 million in relief aid approved for bay's crabs
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has approved $10 million in disaster relief for Maryland's blue crab fishery, an agency spokeswoman said yesterday. In a letter to the state Department of Natural Resources, NOAA said it would release $2.2 million to help the state restructure the fishery. The U.S. Commerce Department in September declared the Chesapeake Bay's blue crab fishery a federal disaster, enabling affected states to apply for aid. Officials say the bay's blue crab stocks have declined 70 percent since the early 1990s.
Matthew Hay Brown
