Bolton Hill

Ruth B. Gans, who had worked in Annapolis as a legislative aide and later for several state agencies, died Jan. 20 of a brain tumor and pneumonia at the Bellhaven Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing Care in Brookhaven, N.Y. The Fells Point resident was 76. The daughter of a manufacturer's representative and a homemaker, Ruth Bogart was born in New York City and moved with her family in 1943 to a home on Oswego Avenue in the Park Heights neighborhood...

A 45-year-old Bolton Hill man was robbed at gunpoint and forced into the back of his car, and then driven around to various automatic bank machines in an ordeal that lasted nearly three hours, according to city police. The attack occurred Dec. 30 but was not made public until it was posted on a community Internet board. Baltimore police then confirmed the abduction and provided a copy of the police report. The man's car was stolen, along with his wallet, cellphone, gym bag and Apple iPad.

Wallace "Wally" Henry Coberg, a theatrical designer and filmmaker who was at work on a new Edgar Allan Poe documentary, died of an apparent heart attack Nov. 18 at his Bolton Hill home. He was 63. Born in New York, N.Y, he lived in Edison, N.J., and Perrysburg, Ohio, before moving to Bel Air and graduating from Bel Air High School in 1966. He attended Boston University, Towson University and earned a degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art . In a 1974 Sun interview, he said he made a construction paper set at age 8 after watching Mary Martin play "Peter Pan" on television.

There was one blowout fight between Sam Herring and William Cashion during their stay in Elizabeth City, N.C., this past spring. Herring, the guts-on-his-sleeve singer of Future Islands, and bassist Cashion were at Thumpers Downtown Bar & Grill with keyboardist/programmer Gerrit Welmers and producer Chester Endersby Gwazda after a long day of recording. Little did Herring know, Cashion and Gwazda were feeding him drinks with plans to later do "drunk takes," in which Herring would record vocals inebriated.

Joyce McCartney Ward, an activist in historic preservation causes who helped establish the Irish Shrine in Southwest Baltimore, died of cancer Aug. 4 at her Bolton Hill home. She was 81. Born in Baltimore City of Virginia parents, Harry and Lucille McCartney, she attended Garrison Junior High School alongside her future husband, Thomas Ward, who would later serve on the City Council and be elected to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. She and Mr. Ward had been neighbors as children.

"Every community needs a cafe," John Houser III says in his review of On the Hill Cafe, a chalkboard-menu mainstay in Bolton Hill. John decides that Bolton Hill has got just the cafe it deserves, but you'll have to read his review to see if he means that sarcastically. If you could airlift any cafe in Baltimore into your neighborhood, which one would it be? Here's the review of On the Hill Cafe .

Every community needs a cafe — a spot to grab a quick (and cheap) bite to eat, meet with friends for coffee or read a paper in peace. In Bolton Hill, that place is On the Hill Cafe. At the corner of John and Mosher streets, On the Hill Cafe has been serving sandwiches and breakfast for five years. Owned by George and Jessica Dailey, who also run Centro Tapas in South Baltimore, this cafe has become a mainstay in and around Bolton Hill. At first sight, On the Hill Cafe has an early '90s coffeehouse-meets-sub-shop look, which, after a little observation, gives way to a warmer, more local vibe.