Baltimore Sun

Before sunrise Monday, Kevin and Shelley Taylor set out from their Millersville home to a new employment center for the Maryland Live! Casino, a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills mall seeking workers for 1,500 jobs. Having tracked the progress of what will be the state's largest casino, the Taylors believe the facility could provide opportunity for their five-member family. Though Kevin Taylor has a job, he wants a better-paying one. And Shelley Taylor has been out of work for several months.

State Del. Pat McDonough's news release alleging that "black youth mobs terrorize" downtown Baltimore has certainly set off a firestorm of debate. But what about the nature of that discussion, particularly as it relates to race? Without an inclusive, candid and wide-ranging conversation about race, such discussions tend to inflame rather than enlighten. And instead of getting smarter as a community about our feelings on race, we can get more confused and polarized. One thing that has bothered me for several days is the way that various parts of the community tried to silence McDonough in the immediate wake of his Wednesday news release.

The story of a 24-year-old Georgia graduate student fighting a flesh-eating disease has prompted a microbiologist with the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System to speak out about the infection. Aimee Copeland lost most of her left leg after the flesh-eating bacteria necrotizing faciitis is believed to have entered a cut on her leg, according to the Associated Press, which reports she may also have to have her fingers amputated. The waterborne bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila is believed to have caused the infection.

Baltimore has a gem online that's worth exploring for a few minutes the next time you're info-snacking on the web. CityView is Baltimore's online database that lets you plug in your address, or any other address you're interested in, and search for crab houses that are nearby, local food trucks or libraries within walking distance. The site is a map-based portal that plots addresses by neighborhood. The city bills the site as being useful for residents, visitors, researchers and businessmen and women.

North County High School freshman Jack Andraka stood on the auditorium stage, speaking about the invention that earned him the $75,000 grand prize at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Behind him stood Dr. Anirban Maitra, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University's department of pathology who gave Jack use of his lab to craft his invention, a cheap and effective "dipstick-sensor" method of testing blood or urine to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer and other diseases.

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills will have its grand opening at 10 p.m. June 6, casino officials announced Thursday morning. The grand opening still requires approval by the Maryland Lottery, which will oversee a trial run to take place before June 6. The announcement comes as the state slots commission on Thursday considers a bid to open a casino in Rocky Gap, in Western Maryland, by Evitts Resort LLC. The commission also has yet...

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

Baibakis, Nicholas John On October 7, 2002, NICHOLAS JOHN BAIBAKIS, beloved husband of Lee Guynelle Baibakis (nee Gunther), devoted father of Karen, Robin, James, Daniel, John and Nicholas, brother of George Baibakis, grandfather of Megan and Gregory, great-grandfather of Kaitland. Family will receive friends at the family owned RUCK TOWSON FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1050 York Rd. (Beltway Exit 26A) on Wednesday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. Mr. Baibakis will lie in state in St. Demetrius Greek Orthodox Church on Thursday from 10:30 to 11 A.M., the funeral hour.

Deputed Testamony is 32-years-old. His dark brown coat is shaggy, and his biggest excitement is going into his paddock at Bonita Farm for three or four hours of grazing each day. He is a pensioner, an icon. The oldest living winner of a Triple Crown race. But when Billy Boniface looks at the horse in his paddock, he sees the striking colt that was born and trained at the family farm and raced to victory in the 1983 Preakness - the last horse bred or trained in Maryland to do so. "Oh my gosh, I still get goose bumps when I look at him and remember that day," said Boniface, who was 18 then and had just taken over the breeding operation at the farm.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for sunny and breezy conditions, with a high temperature near 75 degrees. Tonight is expected to be clear, with a low temperature around 54 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. THE SUN AT 175 A letter from the publisher: 175 years of light for all : On this date 175 years ago -- May 17, 1837 -- Arunah Shepherdson Abell published the first edition of The Sun. While much has changed in the many years since our founding, this remains the same: The Baltimore Sun brings Light for All. Celebrating 175 years of Baltimore Sun photos : The age of photojournalism had just dawned in Baltimore in 1901.

How selected sports, teams and schools are represented in the Top 175: BASEBALL PLAYERS: 39 Orioles (1954-current): 21 Orioles (1882-1899): 5 Minor league Orioles (1903-1914, 1916-1953): 2 FOOTBALL PLAYERS: 38 Colts (1953-1983): 14 Ravens: 7 Maryland players: 5 Morgan State players: 3 Johns Hopkins players: 2 Maryland State (UMES) players: 2 Navy players: 2 Baltimore Colts (1947-1950): 1 BASKETBALL PLAYERS: 35 Maryland men's players: 10 Bullets (1963-current Wizards franchise)

Sunday's story on violence at St. Patrick's Day attracted many reactions. Most people writing me emails and in comments at the bottom story said the city had become scary. It's further proof of the uphill battle the city has trying to show improving crime numbers when one incident such as this can undermine the stats. Many readers, as they do time and again, pressed for why the racial makeup of the crowd was not reported. Simply put, we don't include race unless there is a racial issue to the story.

There's a delicious surprise in the new issue of Sun Magazine. You have to know what you're looking for, though. There's so much to read and see in the 175th anniversary celebration issue of the Sun Magazine, great pieces by Sun staffers, past and present, and charming essays by Marylanders whose lives have been affected by the Baltimore Sun. But the surprise I'm talking about accompanies an essay by retired dining critic Elizabeth Large...

Ask him for the highlight of his Hall of Fame career and Frank Robinson jumps on it like a high fastball. "The '66 season," he told The Baltimore Sun last month. "I couldn't have scripted the first year [with the Orioles] any better. That's winning the pennant, that's sweeping the Dodgers [in the World Series], that's winning the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player. That's Hollywood stuff. " None of that happens without Robinson, the headstrong 30-year-old outfielder obtained from the Cincinnati Reds.

Seven decades later, retired Baltimore Circuit Judge Thomas Ward still remembers the details of his Baltimore Sun paper route, calling the Windsor Hills terrain "horrible. " For $2.40 a week, 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Monday through Saturday, he walked. His final paper of the morning went to a house far distant from the street, deep within Gwynns Falls Park. "I was hoping they would stop taking the paper, but it never happened," says Ward, now 85. Early-morning darkness shrouds most paperboys and girls, granting a little anonymity.

For a guy who's been dead some 160 years, Edgar Allan Poe's not getting much rest. A team of ghost hunters from the Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based TV program "Ghost Detectives" will be spending this weekend at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum and at Fells Point's Admiral Fell Inn, looking for signs of paranormal activity — hopefully by the ghost of Poe himself. "The Poe House has always intrigued us," said Steven Barry, one of the show's investigators. Paranormal investigators are constantly asking for permission to spend a night at the Poe House, curator Jeff Jerome said.

AccountingJoseph M. Crostic, a senior audit manager in the Baltimore office of KPMG Peat Marwick, has been elected to the partnership of the international accounting, auditing, tax and consulting firm. Since returning from assignments in Ireland, he has been coordinator of the microcomputer audit systems for the Baltimore office.Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group has appointed William R. Adams general manager of the newly created Airborne Early Warning Systems Division. He will be responsible for all company activities related to the airship program for the U.S. Navy and to the Airborne Warning and Control System, known as AWACS, and associated upgrade programs for the U.S. Air Force and international customers.

There's a fallacy that reporters detest being in the spotlight. If that were really true, articles would be published without bylines. But print journalists have found that it's easier and more fun to ask questions than it is to answer them. Nonetheless, there have been times in the past 175 years when the newspaper itself has made news and Sun staffer members have found themselves on the other side of the spiral notebook. Below are just a few examples: • The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 It might have begun when someone discarded a burning cigarette in the basement of a downtown office building Feb. 7. Thirty-one hours later, when the conflagration was finally brought under control, an 80-block area of downtown Baltimore had been destroyed, causing more than $150 million in damage - in 1904 dollars.

For a guy who's been dead some 160 years, Edgar Allan Poe's not getting much rest. A team of ghost hunters from the Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based TV program "Ghost Detectives" will be spending this weekend at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum and at Fells Point's Admiral Fell Inn, looking for signs of paranormal activity — hopefully by the ghost of Poe himself. "The Poe House has always intrigued us," said Steven Barry, one of the show's investigators. Paranormal investigators are constantly asking for permission to spend a night at the Poe House, curator Jeff Jerome said.