Acura

In what police described as "an execution-style slaying," a man was fatally shot last night moments after entering an audio store in the Frankford community in Northeast Baltimore, police said. No arrests had been made. The shooting was the city's 253rd homicide of the year, compared with 256 in 2001, police said. Last night's victim, whose name was withheld pending notification of family members, entered Digital Audio Connection in the 4800 block of Belair Road about 6:30 p.m. and immediately became involved in a brief conversation with two or three men who followed him into the store.

Iknow it happens all the time -- and, in this case, the complainant knew he shouldn't have parked his car where he did. But it's still an outrage. I'm speaking here of what towing companies charge people to get their impounded cars back. Rafik Agri, a college student who lives in South Baltimore, couldn't find a place to park his car one recent night. Nor could his roommate. So they both parked their cars in a private lot -- not smart -- across the street from their rowhouse. It wasn't long before a tow truck arrived.

Before they go to sleep every night, Evan and Michelle Krouss take in all their expensive belongings -- the cellular phone, the radar detector, the camera and anything else that isn't nailed down or glued tight to their cars.Inside their sprawling rancher in Stevenson, Mrs. Krouss safely tucks her purse away -- she never leaves it on the counter -- and then locks all the windows and doors.Call them paranoid. They'll be the first to admit it. But after the trouble they went through when their Acura Legend was stolen a month ago, they aren't careless now."

Craig R. Unruh, an advertising executive and avid waterfowl hunter, died Sept. 14 of colon cancer at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. He was 61. Mr. Unruh was born in Baltimore and raised on Tunbridge Road in Homeland. He was a 1969 graduate of St. Paul's School, where he had been an outstanding midfielder on the lacrosse team and a key player in the 1969 state championship game. As a student at the University of Maryland, he was a starting midfielder his freshman year, and after earning a bachelor's degree in 1973, continued playing the sport for the University, Chesapeake and Carling lacrosse clubs.

The following is compiled from police reports. It is the Baltimore Messenger's policy to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. If you have any information about these crimes, call the Baltimore City Police Department's Northern District at 410-396-2455. Amberly Way 100 block, between 3 and 4:15 p.m. May 14. Handbag, ID, credit cards stolen from vehicle. Art Museum Drive Unit block, between 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. May 14. Toshiba laptop stolen from vehicle.

Frank Ocean's soon-to-be-rereleased album, Nostalgia, Ultra. , is a grower. When I first heard it in March, it seemed like a better-than-average debut a few rare flashes of brilliance. But I wasn't bowled over. For every slick no-brainer ("Novacane," "Songs For Women"), there was a strange, off-putting decision lurking ("Strawberry Swing" samples Coldplay; "American Wedding" inexpicably reinterprets the Eagles' "Hotel California"). But the more time spent with Nostalgia , the more likeable Ocean becomes as a singer, and more importantly, a storyteller.

Bill Mihaliak, a third-generation construction worker, is exactly the type of customer that Black & Decker is after with its new DeWalt line of tools.A carpenter foreman for Richard D. Poole Inc. in York, Pa., Mr. Mihaliak said he probably has every tool made by Makita, a Japanese power tool maker and Black & Decker's nemesis.But now he has changed his brand loyalty, seduced by the name DeWalt. "I specifically came out to check out the DeWalt line," Mr. Mihaliak said recently at the annual John H. Myers' show and sale in York, where suppliers to hardware stores show off their wares.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."-- Joshua 1:9The morning of Saturday, April 26, 1997, was sunny and crisp, spring day so perfect it took your breath away. It was a little after 8: 30 when Jeff Lauer nosed his 1988 Ford Taurus down the winding, two-lane ribbon of road that is Jarrettsville Pike just south of Jacksonville in northern Baltimore County.In the passenger seat, his wife, Jennifer, had just finished eating a chocolate-covered doughnut when she saw the small, dark car speeding toward them.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier wants a photo mural of a former Police Department band removed from the lobby of the city's new $10.8 million police annex building because the photo lacks diversity.The group of white male officers in the black-and-white photo caught Frazier's eye earlier in the week, said Robert W. Weinhold Jr., a police spokesman. The photo -- hung as wallpaper -- was to serve as an anchor to an entry area where the department plans to create a police museum.

Honda's hot new 1991 model will be little more than a dream for most buyers; the Acura NSX is a sports car few can afford.The NSX carries a $60,000 price tag, but sellers are demanding and getting up to $130,000 for the all-aluminum, mid-engine coupe.The NSX traces its roots to Honda's highly successful Formula One racing effort, supplying engines to the McLaren team.The needle on the tachometer goes all the way to 8,000 rpm before the NSX's 270-horsepower, 3.0-liter multivalve engine revs into the red zone.