Annapolis

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

President Barack Obama told Naval Academy graduates Friday that declining faith in government and other institutions makes it more important than ever that they retain their moral center as they embark on military careers. As a cold rain fell on the 1,047 graduating midshipmen, the president spoke of the sexual assaults that have plagued the military and made reference to political scandals that have roiled the early months of his second term. "As we've seen again in recent days, it only takes the misconduct of a few to further erode the people's trust in their government," the president said.

They're tucked away in residential neighborhoods, alongside marinas and on the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries. But for those who don't have a navigational system in their car or boat, Anne Arundel County's picturesque waterfront restaurants can be tricky to find. A trek to Deep Creek Restaurant in Arnold, Windows on the Bay or the Cheshire Crab in Pasadena - with a left turn here and a right turn there - takes a visitor through tree-lined neighborhoods, past rows of boats suspended on lifts and ends in laid-back culinary delights.

Donald C. Hubbard Sr., a retired director of human resources who was also a labor lawyer, died Sunday of Alzheimer's disease at Rutherford House, an Annapolis hospice. He was 84. The son of a pharmacist and a homemaker, Donald Creel Hubbard Sr. was born and raised in Jackson, Miss., and graduated from Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga. From 1942 to 1943, he served in the merchant marine and then enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific until being discharged in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant.

Four former and current African-American Annapolis police officers have filed a federal racial-discrimination lawsuit against the city, claiming that they were unfairly treated, subjected to harassment, wrongly turned down for promotions and, for two of them, given walking papers. "African-American officers in the Annapolis police department are subjected to unequal treatment," claims the lawsuit, which was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. It also claims that the black officers were singled out for harsher discipline than white colleagues.

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.

In an effort to jump-start sales, the developer of an upscale condominium project near Annapolis is counting on a technique builders haverelied on more and more in a lagging luxury housing market.Twenty-seven apartments at South River Condominium -- originally priced between $190,000 and $479,000 -- will be sold to the highest bidders tomorrow during an auction at the Holiday Inn on Riva Road."Auctions are no longer viewed as the old farmer selling off the family farm," said Raymond Crosby, vice president of Crosby Communications, the agency promoting the auction for New York-based developersSouth River Joint Venture.

A day after 20-year-old Krio Ronjay Smith Turner was shot and killed in what Annapolis police called a robbery gone bad, Harbour House residents stayed close to their children and grandchildren as they played outside in the sunny weather after school. "It's not even safe during the day," said Betty Clement, 37, who has lived in and near the public-housing community since 1988 and who heard the shooting about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. "It's not safe here at any time." The Glen Burnie man - a father of two described as a hard-worker who hoped to attend college - is the third person to be fatally shot in Annapolis in the past month and the fourth slain this year.

One of the men accused of murdering a 74-year-old woman in her Annapolis home during an apparent robbery Saturday night was released from prison in December, after serving more than two years for robbery.State Division of Corrections records show that James Calvert McGee, 41, was sentenced in Baltimore on Oct. 19, 1992, to four years in prison. Yesterday, Mr. McGee, who police said collapsed during questioning Monday, was in listed as stable at North Arundel Hospital and had been moved out of the intensive care unit.

The state's second-highest court has erased the conviction of an Annapolis man who was found guilty last year of killing a man over a car. The Court of Special Appeals said Friday that John Thomas Logan III was unfairly convicted because the jury heard an Annapolis detective recount her interrogation of Logan. The judges said the questioning could have left the jury with the impression that Logan refused to give his account of the fatal shooting because he was guilty. Charged with first-degree murder, Logan, 22, of the Eastport Terrace community, was convicted in November of second-degree murder and handgun violations in the Jan. 22, 1999, death of Wayne Dwight Addison, 21, who lived nearby.

From its start, Infinity Theatre Company has had a mission to bring New York City productions to Anne Arundel County. It was a goal fulfilled in the troupe's first full season in 2011 with the show "My Way," which played in Annapolis after previewing in Manhattan two months before. Now Infinity has come full circle, with the troupe serving as a co-producer of a Tony-nominated Broadway revival of "Pippin," and also with efforts underway to bring last season's Annapolis hit, "Dames at Sea," to Broadway by spring 2014.

Annapolis Police are reminding residents to expect traffic congestion on Friday, May 24, due to the U.S. Naval Academy graduation ceremony. Commencement scheduled to be held at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium beginning at 10 a.m. President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the commencement address, the first time he has spoken to a graduating class of midshipmen since 2009. Roads affected may include U.S. Route 50, Rowe Boulevard, Farragut Road, Taylor Avenue, Cedar Park Road, Annapolis Street and Route 450.  Road congestion is expected to start at 6 a.m. and will peak between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., police said.

With a flick of his wrist, a U.S. Naval Academy baseball player from Orlando, Fla., tossed an upperclassman's hat atop the Herndon Monument on Monday, leading his 2016 classmates to launch into cheers of "Plebes no more!" amid roars from onlookers. "I was considering jumping and making it a little more dramatic," said Patrick Lien - who is a catcher, not pitcher, on the Navy team, "but I didn't want to fall and make a scene. " The Herndon climb was itself a scene: hundreds of plebes, or freshmen, charged a slickened, 21-foot tall granite obelisk at the service academy in Annapolis.

A committee building a new memorial in Annapolis has extended the deadline for names of those who took part in the August 1963 March on Washington, where the Rev. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The committee had initially set a deadline of May 19, but has extended it to May 31. The memorial is scheduled to be unveiled in Whitmore Park in Annapolis, where a bus departed for the march, on Aug. 28 - the 50 t h anniversary of the march. It is being paid for by donations to the committee.

Tracy Balazs, the president and CEO of an Annapolis-based staffing firm, was named Entrepreneurial Success of the Year last month by the Baltimore district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. She founded the company, Federal Staffing Resources LLC, in 2004. It now employs more than 300 people, has eight offices across the country and generates more than $30 million in revenue annually. The company mainly provides health professionals to government outfits, including the Army, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Aviation Administration, though FSR recently expanded its operations to the staffing of private companies.

Four former and current African-American Annapolis police officers have filed a federal racial-discrimination lawsuit against the city, claiming that they were unfairly treated, subjected to harassment, wrongly turned down for promotions and, for two of them, given walking papers. "African-American officers in the Annapolis police department are subjected to unequal treatment," claims the lawsuit, which was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. It also claims that the black officers were singled out for harsher discipline than white colleagues.

Annapolis commuters will have more opportunities to ditch their cars and hop a bus to work or play with the addition of three buses on two lines linking Kent Island to the nation's capital. Two buses will be added to the 950 line and one bus to the 922 in an effort to alleviate crowding and the pain at the gas pump, state officials said Monday. The change comes soon after the completion of a $927,500 expansion of the park-and-ride lot on Harry S. Truman Parkway outside Annapolis. It increased the number of spaces from 480 to 680. "We're giving people the option of getting out of their cars and saving on gas prices and letting someone else worry about the driving," Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said.

A 120,000-gallon sewage spill has made Weems Creek in Annapolis unsafe for swimming, Anne Arundel County health officials said Wednesday evening. A sewage force main along Jennifer Road broke Wednesday afternoon, causing the spill. Weems Creek is off-limits to swimming and other direct water contact between the headwaters and Rowe Boulevard until further notice. Anyone who does come into contact with the water should wash well with warm, soapy water. Warning signs have been posted in the area and the land around the creek has been cleaned of sewage, health officials said.

Gospel concert "Divine & Friends Right Direction Gospel Xplosion," featuring DiVine of Annapolis, the Christian Cavaliers, Tony Winston & Star Christ, the original Little Ark Male Chorus and others will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Cecil Memorial United Methodist Church, 15 Parole St. in Annapolis. Admission is $10, $5 for children younger than 12. Doresa Harvey of the Heaven 600 radio station is the emcee and food will be on sale. Information: 443-517-8984. Meeting The Anne Arundel Cluster of the Women of the ELCA will hold its Spring Cluster Meeting from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 25, at the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, 7606 Quarterfield Road in Glen Burnie.