Baltimore

On any warm spring evening, the parking lots at Towson High are full. Volvo station wagons. Troopers. Towncars. Beamers. Jags.Kids from ages 5 to 15 run the fields; carrying long sticks, wearing baggy pants, droopy jerseys and oversized shoulder pads. Parents line the practice field. Dads are dressed in business suits or at least a white shirt and tie, while a lot of moms are clad in short suits.On the field are several players whose first name is Brandon, Tyler, or Tucker or last name is Webster, Thomas, Dressel, Morrill or Radebaugh.

Speed cameras distort driving The editorial regarding the proposal to allow expanded use of speed cameras by local jurisdictions and in work areas treats the concerns people have about increased government oversight of our daily lives in a cavalier fashion ("Auto opportunity," Feb. 26). Are we to go the way of Great Britain, where video cameras look down from virtually every street corner? I've driven in England many times, and I've experienced how drivers have coped with the speed cameras there.

Rickeya Robinson left home one day last April to pick up her older kids and bring them back to the house. But when they returned, an ambulance was sitting out front: Ms. Robinson's 2-month-old infant son Zy'key, whom she had left in the house with her brother, had suddenly stopped breathing. Paramedics were unable to revive the child. Sudden infant death syndrome is the second-biggest killer of children under 1 year old in Baltimore. Only disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight take a greater toll.

Boys lacrosse No. 4 Boys' Latin @ No. 5 St. Paul's WHEN: Thursday, 4 p.m. OUTLOOK: Both teams try to rebound from losses Tuesday. The Crusaders (6-2, 1-1 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference) have had plenty of balance on offense, led by Pat Powderly and Taylor Michel. Goalie Harry Krieger should get plenty of work against the attack of the Lakers (7-1, 1-1), led by Jack Rice, Patrick Foster and Wells Stanwick. THE BALTIMORE SUN'S PICK: St. Paul's Girls lacrosse No. 3 NDP vs. No. 15 Hereford WHEN: Monday, 1:30 p.m. WHERE: Dulaney OUTLOOK: The teams have split their meetings the past two years at the Baltimore Lacrosse Showcase, a four-team round-robin event.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Western Baltimore Arrest Dontae Preston, 30, of the 1800 block of Division St. was arrested Monday in the 3200 block of Elmley Ave. on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder. Preston is charged in the fatal shooting of Keon Barnes, 35, of the 3000 block of Edmondson Ave. Barnes was shot March 14 in the 1900 block of N. Pulaski St. and died the next day at a hospital. Preston was being held without bail at Central Booking and Intake Center.

Yesterday's visit to Baltimore by President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden was the first time in 56 years that an about-to-be-inaugurated president rode a train to his swearing-in. On a mild Jan. 18, 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower, accompanied by his wife, son and staffers, boarded Pennsylvania Railroad business car 90 that was coupled to a five-car special train for the journey from New York's Pennsylvania Station to Washington. The special, which did not stop in Baltimore, arrived at Union Station at 9:05 p.m., whereupon the president and his official party, set out for the Statler Hilton Hotel, where he resided until being sworn in two days later.

John Jay Pecora, a civil engineer who founded a Mount Vernon-based construction company and was active in his industry's professional circles, died Sunday of complications from cancer and Alzheimer's disease at Stella Maris Hospice. The Roland Park resident was 89. Born in Baltimore and raised on Eldorado Avenue, he was a 1935 graduate of Forest Park High School. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and taught the subject while serving in the Army during World War II. Soon after his military service, he founded Allied Contractors - naming it for the war's allied forces.

THE COUNT Homicides since Jan. 1: 262 LAST YEAR: Baltimore had recorded 240 homicides as of Nov. 20, 2006. ONLINE: Details and locations of this year's city homicides are at baltimoresun.com/homicidemap

Ripken elected to Hall of Fame Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr., who played in 2,632 consecutive games and had more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs, was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to the Hall of Fame with the third-highest vote percentage in history. Dixon cleared in ethics probe Baltimore's Board of Ethics cleared City Council President Sheila Dixon of wrongdoing, nearly a year after beginning an inquiry into whether she used her influence to direct city money to a company that employed her sister.

Good news, Baltimore. You're hip and healthy. Cooking Light magazine, due on newsstands this week, lists our charming city among the top 20 that are both food-forward and lifestyle-light. The magazine, celebrating its 20th year, used a variety of measures and statistics to rate the cities, but editor Mary Kay Culpepper said the city's crab cakes are a gift to the world. "Baltimore has so much going for it," she said. "I think you know it if you live there, but I think many of our readers will be surprised.

Editor's note: When "The Wire" gained popularity in Great Britain, we were contacted by a London-based journalist who proposed a job swap. Mark Hughes, a crime reporter with The Independent, a national newspaper in the United Kingdom, wanted to come to Baltimore to see if the city's police officers, drug dealers, prosecutors and politicians bore any resemblance to those on the show. We agreed to complete the exchange by sending our police reporter, Justin Fenton, to London to compare crime trends.

On October 17, 2009, Mary Louise Engers Friends may call at the family-owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME, 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus Tuesday from 3-5 and 7-9pm, where recitation of the rosary will be held at 8pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Benedict Church, Wednesday 11am. Interment to immediately follow at Loudon Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Little Sisters of the Poor, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Baltimore, MD 21228 and St. Benedict Pantry, 2612 Wilkens Avenue, Baltimore , MD 21223 . Send condolences to www.ambrosefuneralhomes.

Nancy R. Baskerville, a retired city payroll manager who enjoyed African drumming, died Monday of cancer at Northwest Hospital Center. She was 61. Nancy Ross was born in Baltimore and raised on North Monroe Street. She was a 1965 graduate of Edmondson High School and earned a degree in psychology from Morgan State University in 1990. Mrs. Baskerville went to work for the city's Central Payroll Department as a file clerk in 1967 and rose to be payroll manger. She retired in 2007. The former Northwest Baltimore resident who had lived in Woodlawn since 1990, was an accomplished African drummer and for the past seven years regularly performed with Bumbada, a local group of female drummers.

On October 13, 2009, LAMONT K. BLACKSTON SR. Survived by loving wife Lakierra S., sons Lamont Jr. and Chase A., daughters Montia and London K., parents James W. Sr and Marilyn; brothers James W. Jr., Koreem (Zakiya) and Sean, sisters Sinease Scott(John), Keturah Blackston and Angela Nichols and a host of other family and friends. Family will receive friends at the family owned WYLIE FUNERAL HOME P.A. OF BALTIMORE COUNTY, 9200 Liberty Road Monday from 4 to 8 P.M. Services Tuesday at Transformation Ministries, 5150 Baltimore National Pike, 10:00 A.M. wake 11:00 A www.wyliefh.

Jay Be F. Bernarding, a retired printer and champion duckpin bowler who was a member of the Baltimore Duckpin Bowlers Hall of Fame, died Oct. 7 of renal cancer at Sinai Hospital. The longtime Reisterstown resident was 66. Mr. Bernarding was born in Baltimore and raised on Parkside Drive. He was a 1961 graduate of Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, where he had studied printing. He worked for 30 years at the U.S. Government Printing Office in Washington before retiring in 1998.

Racism is racism, even from the NAACP I am astonished that the Maryland NAACP is calling for a change in the state constitution because the governor might appoint a "white or Republican leader" ("Call for help on mayor," Oct. 13). That is a racist statement if I ever heard one. If the state GOP came out and said they wanted to change the constitution because an African-American or Democrat might be appointed, they would be lambasted in the media and their leader hounded into resigning.

If the vote by the Baltimore fire and police pension board to pass a whopping $165 million tab on to the city was meant as a call for attention, let's hope they now have it. Heavy stock market losses combined with unsustainable benefits and systemic management issues have forced the board to request twice as large a contribution from the city next year as they're getting this year. The city, which has already been forced to enact layoff and furloughs, to cut services and eliminate capital projects, can't afford it without raising property tax rates by 11 percent.

Tart or sweet? That is the question that area apple enthusiasts face this fall as a bountiful crop comes to market. Do you favor the agreeably sharp taste of a Macintosh, a Stamen Winesap, a Granny Smith? Or are you the kind of eater that goes for sweetness, one who is drawn to Gala, Red Delicious, or the honeyed juice of the hot shot Honeycrisp? Eaters in either camp, as well as those "fence hoppers" who snack on both sides of the spectrum, have plenty to pick from this autumn. The locally grown apples at farmers markets, roadside stands and even some supermarkets are both bountiful and beautiful.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Southeastern Baltimore Shooting: A man, 21, was walking in the 100 block of N Kresson St. about 2 a.m. Sunday when the occupant of a dark-colored car fired at least one shot, which struck the victim in the left arm, before speeding away. The victim was taken by a city Fire Department ambulance to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and was reported in good condition. Anyone with information is urged to call district detectives at 410-396-2422.

On October 4, 2009, ELIZABETH P. of Baltimore (108 years old). Friends may call at the Carlton C. Douglass Funeral Service, P.A., 1701 McCulloh Street on Monday 3 to 7 P.M. Services Tuesday 11 A.M., at the above chapel. Interment Trinity Ceme