Baltimore City

A cabal of corrupt corrections officers and members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang enjoyed nearly free rein inside the Baltimore City Detention Center, federal authorities allege, smuggling drugs and cellphones into the jail and having sexual relationships that left four guards pregnant. An indictment unsealed Tuesday names 25 people - including 13 women working as corrections officers - who face racketeering and drug charges. Twenty of the accused also face money-laundering charges.

Maryland passes the strictest gun control laws in the country on its law abiding citizens ("The Maryland model for gun control," May 16), yet it does nothing about those who get caught with illegal guns. Why? If you really want to cut the crime in Baltimore City, slam those who are caught with illegal guns with automatic jail sentences. Don't force restrictive gun laws on law abiding citizens without first slamming criminals caught with illegal guns. John Jackson, Baltimore

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

According to Maj. Gen. James Adkins, as quoted in "Md. Guard preparing for Afghanistan, and after" (May 10), "Many of the soldiers that are serving now have known only war. " And four members of the Maryland Guard have been killed in Afghanistan. It is astonishing that the U.S. is still mired in the Afghanistan quicksand. And while democracy is quite elusive, corruption among Afghan government officials is rife. Trillions of tax dollars have been wasted there. Imagine if that money had been invested instead in infrastructure in cities across the country.

Anna Whetstone, 23, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 17. She was a high school junior in Hershey, Pa., playing on her school's field hockey team when she got hit in the head with a ball. "I was feeling fine at the time," she said, but over the next few days she had trouble with balance and "wasn't feeling well overall. " Computed tomography scans and an MRI discovered the telltale lesions that are signs of the degenerative disease. After the diagnosis, Whetstone switched from playing to coaching field hockey, but she continued dancing and she earned a neuroscience degree, with honors, at Moravian College in Pennsylvania.

Nearly three dozen workers at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office in Baltimore - roughly a third of the agency's workforce in Maryland - are being forced to transfer out of state or take a buyout. The choice, which will affect 32 employees at the agency's South Howard Street field office, comes as part of a national reorganization aimed at saving about $45 million a year. The department is consolidating workers in 50 offices nationwide who facilitate the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily housing into 10 offices, HUD spokesman Jerry Brown said Wednesday.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require businesses getting large city contracts or financial support to hire 51 percent of new workers from Baltimore. "My council colleagues believe this is a fair thing to do," Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, the bill's lead sponsor, said after the vote. "We have an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. We need to get Baltimore City to work. There are qualified people in this city that can do these jobs.

Baltimore schools chief Andrés Alonso went to Annapolis last year seeking approval for a bold $2 billion plan to replace many of the city system's crumbling buildings. The idea didn't even make it out of committee. Prospects still looked bleak in January when the Senate president described the financial package as "ridiculous. " But by the end of the legislative session in April, a $1 billion version of the proposal had cleared both chambers by overwhelming margins. The plan - signed into law Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley - went from ridiculous to reality because of hard work by scores of people in both Baltimore and Annapolis, and a host of political forces were in play.

Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts is still relatively new on his job, so it's probably unfair to make too much of his unfortunate response to a question last week about the recent spate of gun violence that left nine people dead on the city's west side. "Though we're having a spike in homicides," Mr. Batts said, "our organization is working better, faster and smoother, and you can see it in the overall stats. " There was nothing factually wrong in Mr. Batts' answer; department statistics show an 8 percent drop in crimes of all types over this time last year.

As she struggled to unload groceries from the back of her car, Sherrie Schenning got an uncharacteristically queasy feeling. Her family's Essex neighborhood had always felt safe, but on this recent Saturday, she noticed two unfamiliar young men in a nearby schoolyard eyeing their home . "They looked like they wanted to steal something, but there was nothing valuable in the yard," she says - just her shopping bags and the family's beloved 12-year-old...

Baltimore's housing office has disbanded its security unit, laying off seven sworn police officers, the agency said Thursday. The duties of the Lease Enforcement Unit - which investigates criminal activity in public housing to determine if a resident has violated his or her lease - will be assumed by housing's Inspector General's office, which investigates fraud, waste and abuse, said Cheron Porter, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Housing. "The Housing Authority of Baltimore City budget has suffered cuts generally over the past couple of years and with sequestration, more cuts could be on the horizon," Porter said in an email.

Baltimore schools chief Andrés Alonso went to Annapolis last year seeking approval for a bold $2 billion plan to replace many of the city system's crumbling buildings. The idea didn't even make it out of committee. Prospects still looked bleak in January when the Senate president described the financial package as "ridiculous. " But by the end of the legislative session in April, a $1 billion version of the proposal had cleared both chambers by overwhelming margins. The plan - signed into law Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley - went from ridiculous to reality because of hard work by scores of people in both Baltimore and Annapolis, and a host of political forces were in play.

A disabled vehicle in Baltimore City on Interstate 95 South/North at Bore 1 of the Fort McHenry Tunnel has closed one of four southbound tunnel lanes at 8:48 a.m. The Maryland Transit Administration reported minor delays on the MARC train at 9 a.m.

The Baltimore Teacher's Union has called for the district hold off on attaching penalties to schools' performance on the the new  Common Core assessments, citing insufficient professional development and resources to implement the new high-stakes curriculum. In a news release, BTU's President Marietta English echoed the call of one of the nation's largest teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, which called for a moratorium on penalties associated with the standardized testing that will measure a radically new curricula being rolled out across the nation, including Maryland, next year.

Nearly three dozen workers at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office in Baltimore - roughly a third of the agency's workforce in Maryland - are being forced to transfer out of state or take a buyout. The choice, which will affect 32 employees at the agency's South Howard Street field office, comes as part of a national reorganization aimed at saving about $45 million a year. The department is consolidating workers in 50 offices nationwide who facilitate the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily housing into 10 offices, HUD spokesman Jerry Brown said Wednesday.

The junior attackman, who transferred from Boys' Latin, made the most of his time at Poly this season by leading the Engineers to their second Baltimore City championship in three years. On May 7, he finished with six goals and two assists as Poly defeated Northwestern, 17-3, in the city title game. The win avenged a loss to Northwestern in last year's championship game. On Friday, Harcum had five goals and two assists in a 16-8 loss to Kenwood in a Class 4A-3A South regional quarterfinal game.

Send sports notices a minimum of two weeks before the requested publication date to Patuxent Publishing/MS Sports Notices, Third floor, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; e-mail tworgo@tribune.com . Include date, time, location, contact information and subsection. Competitive Towson Rec offers a winter break soccer camp, Dec. 20-31, for boys and girls ages 6-10. http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=nerrcholidaysoccercamp, 410.262.2418. Mountain Club The Mountain Club of Maryland conducts hikes, overnight and camping trips and maintains trails.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require businesses getting large city contracts or financial support to hire 51 percent of new workers from Baltimore. "My council colleagues believe this is a fair thing to do," Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, the bill's lead sponsor, said after the vote. "We have an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. We need to get Baltimore City to work. There are qualified people in this city that can do these jobs.

Anna Whetstone, 23, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 17. She was a high school junior in Hershey, Pa., playing on her school's field hockey team when she got hit in the head with a ball. "I was feeling fine at the time," she said, but over the next few days she had trouble with balance and "wasn't feeling well overall. " Computed tomography scans and an MRI discovered the telltale lesions that are signs of the degenerative disease. After the diagnosis, Whetstone switched from playing to coaching field hockey, but she continued dancing and she earned a neuroscience degree, with honors, at Moravian College in Pennsylvania.