Annapolis

Matt Fortese came 75 miles from Hagerstown to meet Taylor Queen at Camden Yards. She drove more than three hours from Virginia. Their second date was going well, Queen said, until an hour of taunting from two fans boiled over into an altercation that left Fortese fighting for his life. Fortese, a lifelong Yankees fan who wore his team's cap to Wednesday's game, suffered severe head trauma and a skull fracture. He was listed in serious condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center Saturday.

Bullets struck an Annapolis cake shop and and whistled through an occupied at a bedroom at a nearby house but caused no-one injuries, according to Anne Arundel County police. A witness told officers he or she believed the gun had been fired from a passing car, police said. Cakes and Confections Gourmet Bakery in the 1800 block of Saint Margaret's Road was hit first, shortly after 11 p.m. and police said they found two bullet holes in the front window. Twelve minutes later, police responded to another shooting about a mile down the street, and recovered bullets from two homes.

April 1 is the official start to the blue crab harvest in Maryland. But don't reach for your mallet just yet. "It's not time for crabs," said Jessica Borowski, a manager at Midtown BBQ and Brew. "It's too cold out. " The crabs seem to agree. The Chesapeake Bay's water temperature hasn't risen enough for the crabs to become active - and catchable. Consumers set on Maryland crabs will see limited availability for now - and prices to match. Prices for Chesapeake Bay crabs are typically high at the start of the season, and people who want them in April will have to pay even more than usual.

A decade since the 2003 tropical storm that began its fiscal and operational woes, Market House in downtown Annapolis is expected to reopen in the coming weeks with a lineup of vendors selling falafel, gelato, sandwiches and crab cakes from the historic building. Since Tropical Storm Isabel blew through and flooded the building in 2003, the Market House has operated in fits and starts as the city struggled to repair the building and attract a stable lineup of vendors. Between renovations and lawsuits from former tenants, the city has spent millions of dollars on the Market House since 2003.

It's Wednesday afternoon (or Friday morning). Do you know where your doctor and dentist are? Several days a week, more than 100 of the area's top docs and dentists volunteer at Anne Arundel Medical Center's Outreach medical and dental clinics, where they provide free health care for the county's neediest residents. The state-of-the-art dental clinic, which opened last month on the renovated third floor of the Stanton Community Center on Washington Street in the heart of Annapolis, is funded by the Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation and equipped by donor businesses.

James Allsopp isn't just puffing his chest when he tells how North Sails was the dominant supplier of sails to the Whitbread Round the World fleet. Indeed, the worldwide company with sales offices and repair facilities in Annapolis and a sail-making loft in Stevensville has supplied about 90 percent of the sails being used in the race."

Robert Lee Lyles Jr., who had two careers in his 69 years and excelled at each, died May 27 at his home in Annapolis. A scientist, physician and state policy adviser, Dr. Lyles "was a modern renaissance man with a tremendous curiosity," said Gene Ransom, CEO of MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society. In April, Dr. Lyles was honored by the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists by having a scholarship created in his name, "established to support the efforts of MSA members to promote the specialty of anesthesiology and preserve the appropriateness and safety of the delivery of anesthesia in Maryland.

Federal and local authorities have charged more than two dozen people this week after an investigation into drug trafficking and related crimes in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis. Federal indictments were returned Tuesday against eight people from a probe into an alleged drug ring, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led law enforcement officers in serving federal search warrants at 10 locations and seven vehicles, some of them homes and vehicles of the federal defendants, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Five men and a woman who made significant contributions to St. Mary's High School in Annapolis will be inducted into the Saints' Hall of Fame on Saturday.The St. Mary's Annual Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at the school on Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis and will honor Fred Kramer, Terry Kimble, John Codd, Don Gardner, George Engelke and Anne Quinn-Armstead.Kramer, a 1968 graduate of St. Mary's, was a standout lacrosse and football player for four years. As a lacrosse goalie, he was team captain and most valuable player his senior year.

Murder suspect Terrence Tolbert has been charged with dealing crack cocaine from the Annapolis street on which he lived while he was released during a pretrial appeal by prosecutors in the murder case. Tolbert, 21, was seen by police and videotaped selling crack cocaine Jan. 15, according to allegations in the charging documents. Police did not seek an arrest warrant until Feb. 18, a day after Tolbert was jailed on an unrelated drug charge, because his bond had been revoked in that case.

The playground at the Salvation Army was in sad shape: It was 50 years old, falling apart and infested with bees. The playground was so shabby that kids were no longer allowed to play on it. That changed Friday, with a day-long construction blitz that ended with a shiny new playground featuring swings, slides, a rock wall and a zip line. Once the concrete cures, kids from the Salvation Army and surrounding neighborhoods will be able to jump and swing and frolic on the new playground on Monday.

The Annapolis city council passed Monday a $95.6 million operating budget and $10 million capital budget for next year, with a slight increase in the property tax rate and funding for projects that include a bulkhead replacement at City Dock. Mayor Josh Cohen, a Democrat, said the budget will improve government services while limiting the impact on taxpayers. "I think it's a good budget. I think it's a responsible budget," he said. Alderman Fred Paone, a Republican who voted against the measure, criticized the budget as unfixable.

Colonial Players' 64th season has been a banquet of stimulating plays, and the season closes this month with a delightful dessert in British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's 1979 farce "Taking Steps. " The show is indeed a comic confection, and seems to have been destined for Colonial Players, presented in-the-round on a single level designed to simulate a three-story Victorian home with attic, bedroom level and living room area. Here, the cast of two couples, a solicitor and a real estate agent continually run up and down imaginary stairs while avoiding each other — all in the span of one night.

Federal and local authorities have charged more than two dozen people this week after an investigation into drug trafficking and related crimes in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis. Federal indictments were returned Tuesday against eight people from a probe into an alleged drug ring, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led law enforcement officers in serving federal search warrants at 10 locations and seven vehicles, some of them homes and vehicles of the federal defendants, the federal prosecutor's office said.

Whether they're warning constituents of impending storms or posting pictures of their kids eating ice cream, social media is a growing part of the political world, four politicians said Thursday night. "Politics is being turned on its head," said Dan Bongino, a former Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate who is now a "semi-official" candidate for Congress. Bongino - a heavy user of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Vine and other social media - told a small "Tweetmasters" gathering in Annapolis that social media is a crucial way for politicians to make their voices heard to voters and constituents.

After winning the school's first-ever national championship, the Stevenson men's lacrosse team has been selected to receive the Henry Ciccarone Memorial Award by the Touchdown Club of Annapolis as the organization's Collegiate Team of the Year. "For the past 40 years or so, the Touchdown Club has chosen one college lacrosse team in Maryland to receive this award," president Justin Mullen said. "There was no debate this year as Stevenson's outstanding 2013 season that culminated in the school's first Division III national championship clearly stood out above the rest.

Myrtle E. Pasler, 95, formerly of BaltimoreMyrtle E. Pasler, a Baltimore native who grew up in the Clifton Park area, died of influenza Friday at her home in Mantua, N.J. She was 95.The former Myrtle E. Brown graduated from Strayer Business College in 1916 and worked at the old Morris Plan Bank for 20 years.Mrs. Pasler moved with her husband, Rudolph Pasler, to Philadelphia in 1936 and became a homemaker.Services will be private.Her husband died earlier. Surviving are a son, Rudolph Pasler of Ocean City, N.J.; and two sisters, Thelma Fitzgerald and Naomi Wiggman, both of Bel Air.Herbert M. Neustadt, 81, taught at Naval AcademyHerbert M. Neustadt, a retired professor of electrical engineering at the Naval Academy who held patents in the development of electronic musical instruments, died of Parkinson's disease March 15 at his Annapolis home.

Lines wrapped around the exhibition hall of the Maryland State Fairgrounds by noon Friday. Hundreds chatted outside, waiting for the doors to open to Baltimore County's first gun show of year. The parking lots filled up as the afternoon wore on. Amid growing talk of new gun-control measures in Washington and Annapolis, many at the Timonium show said they felt their rights are under siege. As the legislative session opened in Annapolis this week, Gov. Martin O'Malley predicted that the General Assembly would ban assault-type weapons this year.

George and the late Marion Phelps are being recognized Wednesday when officials rename Middle Street in the Parole neighborhood of Annapolis for them at a 4 p.m. ceremony. George Phelps was the first African-American sheriff's deputy in Anne Arundel County. He deputized 200 special deputy sheriffs, all African-American, Annapolis officials said. In 1963, he was asked to provide technical assistance and material support for the security contingent at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Justice, led by the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The city earlier honored him for a longtime commitment to Annapolis' cultural heritage.

Coach Bruce Villwock has been one of the pillars of leadership at both Broadneck and Annapolis high schools. As he retires after almost 40 years of coaching, it is fitting to note the lasting impact he had on my life and those of many other players and students. I played three years of football and lacrosse at Annapolis for Coach Villwock. He was my defensive line coach in football and my goalie coach in lacrosse. I had the privilege of working closely with him. During those formative years, I got to know a selfless, hard-working and dedicated man who gave himself to the students at Annapolis.