Alley

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

Baltimore officials plan to give $100,000 to the family of man shot and killed by police in a North Baltimore alley four years ago. The city spending panel, the Board of Estimates, is expected on Wednesday to approve the payment to settle a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by the family of Shawn Corey Cannady, who was 30 at the time of his death. On March 6, 2009, Baltimore Police Officer Jemell Rayam and two other detectives were driving past an alley near the 2800 block of W. Garrison Ave., when they saw Cannady with his "hands in his waist area," according to board documents.

T he Load of Fun graffiti alley isn't visible from the intersection of North Avenue and Howard Street, which is gray and beige and blighted and grim. Nearby is a nondescript motel and a check-cashing service with a barred entrance. But when visitors walk north on Howard Street and turn onto the quirkily named 19 1/2 Street, suddenly, there the alley is. People abruptly stop walking and even lean back slightly. They draw in their chins and swallow their breaths. It's almost like stepping into an ancient walled European city or an outdoor urban cathedral.

Gregg Karukas was sitting in his car, waiting to meet someone, watching the afternoon Grammy awards ceremony stream on his iPhone for about 10 minutes, when he found out he won. Karukas, a Maryland native who will return to the area for a show in March, produced, co-wrote and arranged Omar Akram's album "Echoes of Love," which won Best New Age Album at the 55th Grammy Awards on Feb. 10. Since he didn't attend the ceremony, his immediate reaction...

The problem: An alley in Northeast Baltimore lacks streetlights. The back story: Alverta Furman and her daughter, Mary, have been calling Watchdog for months about the lack of streetlights in the alley behind their home in the 5300 block of Catalpha Road, in the Harford-Echodale-Perring Parkway community. Without the lights, they say, they have been the victims of property crimes such as theft. Alverta Furman said her car's license plates were stolen in November, and someone also took her copper gutters.

Frederick police say an officer found a man dead in an alley with a gunshot wound to the chest. Police are investigating the death of 25-year-old Garrison Brennan as a homicide. Brennan was found in an alley between houses in the 400 block of W. South St. just after midnight Saturday. Police say Brennan suffered one gunshot wound to the chest. No suspects have been identified. — Associated Press

Baltimore Police have identified a man found dead Friday in an alley in Brooklyn as a 42-year-old Glen Burnie man. Armando Santiago was found unresponsive at about 6:15 p.m. Friday in an alley in the rear of the 700 block of E. Patapsco Ave. There were no signs of foul play or trauma to his body, but police say an autopsy shows that he had been strangled. Santiago was from the 5600 block of Park Road in Glen Burnie, and police say they don't have any additional information about the case as detectives investigate.

On May 1, 2003 RICHARD ALLEY loving husband of Erika Campbell and the late Margaret Alley (Linzey); loving father of Kenneth Alley, Susan Gaston, Joann Kopp and David Alley and grandfather of Deana Kopp. Also survived by Danny, Carmen, and Kelly Campbell; grandchildren Emily, Amanda, Connor and Carter. A Memorial Service will be held on May 14 at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 4301 Raspe Avenue and Marluth at 10:30 a.m. Interment in Gardens of Faith Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ Our Redeemer Building Fund, 1028 White Point Road, Niceville, FL 32578.

On June 30, 2005, JUNE C., beloved wife of the late Richard Alley, devoted mother of Rick Alley and Susan Porter, dear daughter of William Willey. Also survived by three grandchildren. Funeral from the family owned Bruzdzinski Funeral Home P.A., 1407 Old Eastern Avenue, Essex, at Route 702 (Beltway Exit 36) on Wednesday, July 6, 2005 at 10:30 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at 11 A.M. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery. Visitation Tuesday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

Baltimore City police are investigating a homicide in the west side neighborhood of Yale Heights early Thursday morning. The killing is the fourth to occur in the city's southwest police district since Saturday, out of five killings that have occurred during that span. Officers were called at 12:20 a.m. to the 4400 block of Parkton St. where 26-year-old Janerio Keys was found, shot at least once in the torso, in a rear alley. He had collapsed on a chair and was found by family members and responding officers, police said.

A man was shot in the arm Wednesday in what Baltimore police said appeared to be a brazen robbery attempt outside a city parole and probation office. Police said the shooting was unrelated to the Guilford Avenue Field Office and Region II Regional Office of the state Department of Corrections. It occurred across the street, in an alley just off the 2100 block of Guilford Avenue, Baltimore police spokesman Sgt. Eric Kowalczyk said. Sometime before 1:15 p.m., a suspect fired a gun, striking the victim, who ran onto the probation office property, police spokesman Detective Vernon Davis said.

A 22-year-old Baltimore woman who called 911 and said she found her boyfriend fatally shot in an alley this summer has been charged in his murder, according to court records. Asia La'trice Cutler was charged on Dec. 14 with first-degree murder and related charges in the Aug. 30 killing of boyfriend Donte Harris, 21. Police have also charged 21-year-old Shanda Cure and 24-year-old Willie Brockington with accessory after the fact, records show. Charging documents contain few details about the case.

A 36-year-old Frederick man died after being found with multiple gunshot wounds in a Frederick alley early Sunday morning, according to police. Lamont George-Lee Ellis, of the 3700 block of Hope Commons Circle, was pronounced dead at Frederick Memorial Hospital after being found shortly before 2 a.m. in Mullenix Alley, near West All Saints Street, Frederick police said. The shooting is being investigated as a homicide, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Rob Marker at 301-600-1242.

As a boy, Abdi Hassen helped his father nurture and harvest maize, wheat and tropical fruits — until the early 1990s, when his father vanished. "He was disappeared because of his political opinion. I don't know if he is alive or not now," said Hassen, a refugee from Ethiopia, as he stood among lush garden beds in a Highlandtown alley. Hassen, 31, spends much of his days in the alley, taking copious notes on the plants' progress and the pests that appear on their leaves. The garden is part of the International Rescue Committee's New Roots program, which aims to help refugees carry on the agricultural traditions of their homelands.

Baltimore City police are investigating a homicide in the west side neighborhood of Yale Heights early Thursday morning. The killing is the fourth to occur in the city's southwest police district since Saturday, out of five killings that have occurred during that span. Officers were called at 12:20 a.m. to the 4400 block of Parkton St. where 26-year-old Janerio Keys was found, shot at least once in the torso, in a rear alley. He had collapsed on a chair and was found by family members and responding officers, police said.

Each spring my enthusiasm for Baltimore neighborhood house and garden tours outpaces my ability to walk them all. I recently visited Reservoir Hill and Charles Village, but missed Dickeyville and Butcher's Hill. Maybe next year. Tours that emphasize spring gardens invariably involve a turn through a city back alley. I learned to love these much-maligned city thoroughfares as a child, when my mother, never an enthusiastic auto driver, used sturdy steel and wicker baby carriages to navigate behind-the-scenes Baltimore.

On February 14, 2005, BARBARA E. SHELLEY (nee Grim); beloved wife of the late William J. Shelley and devoted mother of Barbara Deems, and the late Richard J. Alley; sister to Catherine Treat. Also survived by grandchildren Barbara Lee, Richard and Susan; five great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Friends may call at the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex, 300 Mace Avenue, on Wednesday, February 16, from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Family will gather for a Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 1003 Bird River Rd, on Thursday, February 17, at 10 A.M. Interment Gardens of Faith Cemetery.

A Morgan State University sophomore was shot to death and five other people were wounded early yesterday outside a Greenmount Avenue nightclub.The student, 19-year-old Corey A. Edwards of Rochester, N.Y., was found lying in an alley outside Volcano's nightclub with gunshot wounds. He was declared dead at the scene, said Officer Sabrina Tapp-Harper, a Baltimore police spokeswoman.The shooting occurred about 1:45 a.m. after an argument inside the club, in the 1000 block of Greenmount Ave., between a group of four patrons and two other patrons, Officer Tapp-Harper said.

Annapolis police are looking for a man who pulled a 21-year-old woman into an alley in downtown Annapolis and sexually assaulted her early Saturday morning. About 1:30 a.m., the woman was walking alone in the 100 block of Duke of Gloucester St. near the heart of the downtown area when a man walking behind her grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby alley, according to police. The man threw the woman to the ground and sexually assaulted her, police said. The woman, who had been walking home from West Street, was eventually able to fight off the man, who then fled, police said.

A 20-year-old man was fatally shot in East Baltimore shortly after midnight on Sunday, Baltimore police said. Officers responding to reports of a shooting at the intersection of Aiken and Darley streets found Marquis Jones in the rear alley of the 2200 block of Aiken Street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, police said. Jones was transported to a hospital, where he died shortly before 1 a.m., police said. The shooting is under investigation, police said.