Balcony

SOME FRIENDS WERE crabbing the other day about the economics of a night at the theater. I forget what they were going to see, something at the Lyric. Their initial gripe was the cost, but their real bone of contention was seat location. Why should they pay $40-plus for a seat in the upper reaches of the balcony, when that same price applies to one in the front balcony?I share their complaint. Where is the spread, as it was once called, the five-part range of ticket prices that stretched from expensive to cheap-cheap?

A man who is charged with shooting seven people and who allegedly eluded police efforts to capture him three weeks ago by scaling the outside of a public housing high-rise in Baltimore was arrested early yesterday in Prince George's County.Members of the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force captured Solothal Thomas, 21, known as "Itchy-Man," in a third-floor apartment in Oxon Hill about 4 a.m. He is charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, armed robbery and drug distribution.Thomas was being sought in the so-called Shake and Bake shootings on March 16, in which seven people were shot near the Baltimore Neighborhood Recreation Facility, formerly the Shake and Bake Family Fun Center, in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Ave.On Nov. 6, the FBI Fugitive Violent Crimes Task Force went to the George B. Murphy Homes to arrest a suspect and confronted him as he walked outside a side entrance of the 14-story building.

A man wanted in seven shootings and armed robberies eluded efforts to arrest him yesterday after he scaled the outside of a public-housing high-rise and disappeared on the seventh floor, police said.More than 50 heavily armed city police officers and FBI agents searched the 14-story Murphy Homes building for five hours before quitting about 3 p.m.Police believe the man managed to leave the Argyle Avenue high-rise.As they searched, police closed Martin Luther King Boulevard and U.S. 40, both major roads into and out of the city, causing tie-ups that lasted several hours.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Even more than Pat Day's splendid ride aboard Louis Quatorze in the Preakness, Marylanders may remember more clearly his words, into every microphone, thanking Jesus and praising the Lord.Day rides horses for a living, but his life belongs to God."God came into my life and set me on a new course and saved soul from hell," Day said in a telephone interview yesterday from his home track, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. "He desires to do that for each and every one of us."Day will ride Louis Quatorze in tomorrow's Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.

A 21-year-old New York man died Saturday night after he fell about 45 feet from a fourth-story balcony at an Ocean City motel, police said.Police said they believe Gerald J. Chiodo had been drinking when he started climbing from balcony to balcony along the top floor of the 52-room Americana Motor Inn about 9 p.m. The balconies are separated by about a foot, and police said they don't know how many Chiodo had straddled before he lost his grip and fell to...

Five Baltimore County police officers -- including one who saved a woman from jumping off her 21st-floor apartment balcony -- were honored for courage, dedication and community service last night at an awards ceremony in Towson.Officer Joseph E. Yeater of the Towson Precinct received the highest of the Baltimore County Police Foundation awards, the Medal of Honor, for grabbing a woman as she leapt over the edge of her balcony Feb. 8, 1995.He managed to hold on as the woman kicked and thrashed, about 200 feet above the street.

An officer who grabbed a woman jumping from the 21st floor of a Towson condominium will receive the Baltimore County Police Department's Medal of Honor -- its highest award -- at a commendations ceremony tonight.The Silver Star, the department's second-highest honor, is being awarded to five other policemen, while three people who helped make arrests will receive Citizen Valor Awards in the 6:30 p.m. program at Goucher College.Receiving the Medal of Honor is Officer Joseph E. Yeater, whose quick action saved a despondent, 39-year-old woman from death when she jumped over a balcony railing at Towson Towers on Allegheny Avenue.

An Odenton man was arrested on drug charges Thursday after marijuana was found in his car and in his pockets, police said.An officer on patrol saw the car on Stepney's Lane shortly after 3:30 a.m. As the officer approached, the car pulled into a clearing and stopped beside another car, police said.Officers approached the first car and talked to the driver, who said the other driver was looking for a quiet place to talk, police said.While the second driver was being questioned, an officer saw a )

When you're 10 years old, all history is ancient history. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement are tired topics in a textbook, no more immediate than Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad."

POLICE LOG* Elkridge: 5600 block of Railroad Ave.: Someone tried to steal a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier Friday by breaking the lock on its ignition, police said.6100 block of U.S. 1: A 1986 Ford Thunderbird was nearly stolen from the lot outside Nolan's Pub early Saturday after someone tampered with the car's ignition, police said.* Ellicott City: 7700 block of Blueberry Hill Lane: Police said an inoperable dark green 1974 Chevrolet van with Maryland tags 055402 was towed away Saturday or Sunday.