Brooklyn Park

So how does an accordion-playing boy from Baltimore end up a career keyboardist with legendary sun-and-fun band the Beach Boys?Practice, practice. And a deep appreciation for all kinds of music, from Beethoven to Chick Corea to the Beatles.Baltimore native Mike Meros, 46, was introduced to the Beach Boys when he was a teen-ager. "I remember turning on the radio, and the DJ said, 'The next group is better than the Beatles.' And then I heard 'Good Vibrations' for the first time. And I thought, 'He could be right.

Three teen-aged boys face robbery and assault charges in the beating Monday of a pizza shop worker in Brooklyn Park. Anne Arundel County Police charged two suspects, aged 15 and 16, as juveniles with robbery and second-degree assault. Shaquille Davon Johnson, 16, of the 800 block of Washburn Ave. in Baltimore, was charged as an adult with robbery, armed robbery and first-degree assault. The 31-year-old victim told police as many as 10 juveniles approached him as he was taking a break at about 3:30 p.m. behind the Seasons Pizza in the 5500 block of Ritchie Highway.

Take a quick look through the clothing racks at the shop in Brooklyn Park and you might think Fashion Bug or JC Penney, even Hecht's or Macy's. Then take a look at the price tags.It might be a gimmick, but it's one that promises to save customers money.At the One Price Clothing Store in Brooklyn Park Plaza, everything is $7. Rayon pants and blouses in colorful prints, ribbed-knit stretch pants, cotton sweaters, oversized blouses, stirrup pants, dropped-waist dresses -- all for $7. Socks are five pairs for $7. Belts are two for $7. Barrettes are three for $7.The Spartanburg, S.C., chain opened its first store in Anne Arundel County last summer on Ritchie Highway, part of a major thrust into the Baltimore and Pennsylvania markets.

Two Brooklyn Park men were stabbed early Thursday at their home during an argument that involved several family members. Anne Arundel County Police responded at 2:37 a.m. to a report of domestic violence in the 5300 block of Fourth Street. Two victims, men aged 19 and 48, were suffering from stab wounds. Officers learned that, prior to calling police, several family members were involved in an argument and had ordered one male relative to leave the residence. The man left, but returned a short time later and forcibly entered the home, police said.

Anne Arundel County officials have begun an initiative to help revitalize Brooklyn Park. County Executive John R. Leopold has formed an interagency Revitaliation Action Plan Committee charged with organizing a comprehensive plan to improve residential and commercial areas of the nothern Anne Arundel community. The Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. and the county Department of Planning and Zoning will lead the effort to spur economic development, facilitate physical impovements, renew community involvement and enhance the role of the Chesapeake Arts Center.

Anne Arundel County police have arrested a 17-year-old Baltimore man and charged him as an adult in an Aug. 13 Brooklyn Park killing. Police said that Marcus Allen McFadden of the 2400 block of Marbourne Ave. and two other teens approached Eric Javonn Hill's Honda Civic and attempted to rob him at gunpoint in the 100 block of West Edgevale Road in early August. Police believe McFadden to be the gunman; the two other teens have been identified but have not been charged. When McFadden pulled out a handgun and demanded money from Hill and his passenger, police said Hill appears to have stomped on the accelerator, and he was shot in the upper torso.

A Baltimore cyclist has died of his injuries after he was struck by a dark sedan that left the scene on Thursday morning, according to Anne Arundel County Police. Alex Canales Hernandez, of the 4100 block of Duane Street in Brooklyn was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment after the crash, which occurred on Ritchie Highway near Bon Air Avenue in Brooklyn Park, police said. Hernandez was trying to cross the northbound lanes when he was struck by the car at about 8 a.m., police said.

An unidentified homeless man was taken to Bayview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries Monday after firefighters found him unconscious inside a burning single-family home in Brooklyn Park. Anne Arundel County firefighters responded to the 4500 block of Ritchie Highway at 12:01 p.m., a spokesman said. It took about 30 firefighters 15-20 minutes to control the blaze in the otherwise vacant structure, he said. The fire caused $40,000 in damage. Its cause is under investigation.

Three teen-aged boys face robbery and assault charges in the beating Monday of a pizza shop worker in Brooklyn Park. Anne Arundel County Police charged two suspects, aged 15 and 16, as juveniles with robbery and second-degree assault. Shaquille Davon Johnson, 16, of the 800 block of Washburn Ave. in Baltimore, was charged as an adult with robbery, armed robbery and first-degree assault. The 31-year-old victim told police as many as 10 juveniles approached him as he was taking a break at about 3:30 p.m. behind the Seasons Pizza in the 5500 block of Ritchie Highway.

Anne Arundel police spent much of Friday morning investigating reports of slashed tires in Brooklyn Park. Neighbors of several streets in the Arundel Village area, near the city line, began realizing their tires had been slashed at about 8 a.m. Officers found more than 30 vehicles damaged during the overnight hours in the 500 block of Taney Avenue, the 5200 block of Kramme Avenue, the 5200 block of Ballman Avenue, the 5000 and 5100 blocks of...

An unidentified homeless man was taken to Bayview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries Monday after firefighters found him unconscious inside a burning single-family home in Brooklyn Park. Anne Arundel County firefighters responded to the 4500 block of Ritchie Highway at 12:01 p.m., a spokesman said. It took about 30 firefighters 15-20 minutes to control the blaze in the otherwise vacant structure, he said. The fire caused $40,000 in damage. Its cause is under investigation.

John G. "Gil" Steinkraus, a retired financial manager and golfer, died Feb. 7 of cancer at Tate Chesapeake Hospice House in Linthicum. The longtime Arnold resident was 90. The son of factory workers, John Gilbert Steinkraus was born and raised in Brooklyn Park. He was a 1940 graduate of Glen Burnie High School. During World War II, he served in the infantry for two years. After the war, he earned a bachelor's degree on the GI Bill of Right in 1951 from the University of Maryland.

Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" is near the top of any short list of great Broadway musicals, and fans have a choice of four performances this weekend in Annapolis or Brooklyn Park. From what I heard from the cast of singer-actors rehearsing last Friday at the home of Live Arts Maryland music director J. Ernest Green, I predict another terrific "Broadway in Annapolis" production. Watching the actors run lines and rehearse songs, I was soon so immersed in the show's incomparable music and wit that I fully understood what "It's De-Lovely" actually means.

Anne Arundel police spent much of Friday morning investigating reports of slashed tires in Brooklyn Park. Neighbors of several streets in the Arundel Village area, near the city line, began realizing their tires had been slashed at about 8 a.m. Officers found more than 30 vehicles damaged during the overnight hours in the 500 block of Taney Avenue, the 5200 block of Kramme Avenue, the 5200 block of Ballman Avenue, the 5000 and 5100 blocks of...

A Brooklyn Park couple were hospitalized in serious but stable condition with stab wounds Monday and the husband is the suspect in the assault, Anne Arundel County police said. Police said the husband had stabbed his wife and himself, adding that the man, whom they identified as a suspect under police guard, will be charged when he is released from the hospital. They are both at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Officers went to the couple's home around 8 p.m. Sunday after a report of a domestic assault and found the 37-year-old woman and her husband each with several stab wounds, police said.

Two people were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center Sunday night after an altercation inside a Brooklyn Park house, Anne Arundel County police said. Police were called to the 300 block of Orchard Avenue just after 8 p.m. At least one person was stabbed, said county police Lt. James Fredericks. Detectives were investigating Sunday evening.

A 22-year-old man was ordered held without bail Thursday after he was charged by Anne Arundel County police with first-degree murder and armed robbery in the July 1 fatal shooting of a Brooklyn Park resident. Police said they arrested Ricky Lamont Mason, of Curtis Bay, on 14 counts, and were continuing to hunt for a second man in the slaying of Adam Ray Bucklew, 21. Bucklew was shot in front of his home in the 400 block of Audrey Avenue, Brooklyn Park. Police said the apparent motive in the shooting was robbery.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating reports that two men were robbed in separate attacks in Brooklyn Park, though it does not appear the two incidents are related. One robbery occurred Christmas Eve but was not reported until Tuesday. Police said the latest robbery occurred Tuesday night about 11:30 p.m. when a 25-year-old man from Pasadena said he had been waiting at a bus stop on Ritchie Highway, near Hammonds Lane, when three men wearing ski masks asked him if he had drugs.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature around 43 degrees. It is expected to be partly cloudy with a low temperature around 35 degrees tonight. TRAFFIC Here are today's morning traffic issues . FROM LAST NIGHT... Jewish Times publisher, printer miss deadline for joint plan : The publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times and the publication's former printer have missed a third deadline set by a federal judge to submit a joint plan to take the company out of bankruptcy, and the years-long feud goes on. Brooklyn Park blaze deemed arson : The New Year's Day blaze that damaged a Brooklyn Park house and was accompanied by racial and sexual slurs painted on the home's exterior was arson, according to the Anne Arundel County fire department.

The New Year's Day blaze that damaged a Brooklyn Park house and was accompanied by racial and sexual slurs painted on the home's exterior was arson, according to the Anne Arundel County fire department. The fire, in the 300 block of Church St., displaced two white women — one elderly and one disabled — and their caregiver, Korrey Tubaya, who is African American. Tubaya said Tuesday that this was the second incident in which he believes he was the target. In September, his car was severely damaged, and racial slurs were scratched into it. Police said that incident remains under investigation, and they are working with the Fire Department on the investigation of the home arson.