Candlelight Vigil

In Baltimore CityImprovements costing $21 million suggested for Mount VernonMount Vernon Cultural District Inc. is recommending $21 million in improvements to parks and streets in an effort to make the city's historic midtown area more attractive to visitors and residents.The recommendation is contained in a five-year plan for the district scheduled to be unveiled at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Walters Art Gallery, 600 N. Charles St.The plan -- created three years ago to foster joint initiatives among the cultural and educational institutions in the neighborhood -- was produced with the help of the Design Collective of Baltimore and Shugoll Research of Bethesda.

The spastic arm, the shattered knee and the slurred speech are permanent, the work of a drunken driver. Look at me, Judy Kressig says, and understand why no one should drink and drive.It's a message she has delivered dozens of times throughout Maryland, and she was to deliver it at the International Candlelight Vigil for victims of drunken driving this weekend in Memphis, Tenn. But the national staff of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has banned her from the program, which has frustrated Kressig and surprised officials of MADD's Maryland chapter.

A memorial candlelight vigil for Tiffany Smith, 6, who was killed in a drug dealers' cross-fire on July 9, 1991, will be held 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Westwood and Rosedale streets. A brief in yesterday's newspaper gave the wrong day.The Sun regrets the errors.Memorial planned for girl killed in 1991The Western Cluster Coordinating Council plans to join with St. Matthews Gospel Tabernacle 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday for a candlelight vigil to memorialize shooting victim Tiffany Smith at Westwood and Rosedale streets.

A 4-year-old boy died yesterday of wounds received from a stray bullet fired in an April 21 drive-by shooting in West Baltimore, and police said they will charge a 16-year-old with murder.Abriam Moore of the 800 block of W. Lexington St. died at the University of Maryland Medical Center about 11: 10 a.m., said his aunt, Gwendolyn Muse. The boy, who was struck in the head and chest while riding his bicycle near his home, had been unconscious since the shooting."It's very sad. The thing he loved most in the world was to ride his bike up and down the street, and that's when he got shot," Ms. Muse said.

TOWSON -- Clyde Nathaniel Macklin, 38, of Baltimore was sentenced yesterday in county Circuit Court to life in prison for smothering an elderly Rosedale woman during a robbery Feb. 3.On Tuesday, a jury convicted Macklin of murder, burglary and robbery in the death of Hedwig Krezwinski Samelko, 77, who lived in the 1700 block of Summit Ave. At sentencing, Macklin said, "I'm not the one that killed that lady."Circuit Judge Dana M. Levitz could have sentenced Macklin to death but opted for the life term with the possibility of parole, plus 10 years for the burglary.

The Annapolis chapter of Amnesty International will hold a candlelight vigil Thursday to honor female victims of human rights abuses.The vigil will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Lawyers Mall at State Circle.Information: 841-5491.

Joanne Shuey Valentine, a nightclub owner who was gunned down in the driveway of her Arnold home two years ago, will be remembered tonight at a candlelight vigil on the second anniversary of her death.The vigil begins at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Valentine's home in the 500 block of Broadwater Road, said Pam Lyons, Mrs. Valentine's sister."It's a remembrance. It was the least we can do," she said."It was something that we all felt like we needed to do."Mrs. Valentine, 47, had returned from closing Rumblefish, the Pasadena nightclub she and her husband owned, about 4 a.m. Sept.

The local chapter of the National Organization for Women will hold a candlelight vigil at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow to display the Baltimore Clothesline Project, a number of T-shirts decorated by women who have survived incidents of violence.The T-shirts are displayed on a clothesline and are intended to raise awareness of the problem of violence against women. The vigil, to last about 30 minutes, will be held at Friends Stony Run Meeting House, 5116 N. Charles St.

With a candlelight vigil tonight and a countywide conference tomorrow, Howard County health officials and members of the interfaith community will join HIV carriers and their families to commemorate World AIDS Day, which is tomorrow.The events will focus on the rights and treatment of those who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), also called the AIDS virus."This is not just a health issue," said the Rev. Douglas Hunt, pastor of Columbia United Christian Church, which is the host for tonight's vigil at the Oakland Mills Meeting House at 5885 Robert Oliver Place.

Animal Advocates of Howard County will sponsor a candlelight vigil for homeless animals at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Animal Control Facility, 8576 Davis Road, Village of Long Reach.The event is part of a national observance commemorating the dogs, cats and other animals killed in shelters and animal control facilities in the past year because of animal overpopulation.The purpose of the event is to make the public aware that the mass killing can be prevented by spaying and neutering pets, and educating the public.

Nearly everyone in the hallways and classrooms at North County High School in Glen Burnie knew Walter Brooks Jr. They didn't know him because he was one of the school's top athletes or one of its top students when he graduated last spring. He was neither. Most knew him because of an oversize personality that his friends and family say was matched only by the size of his heart. Brooks, 18, died Wednesday after a brief illness; his parents said they were told by doctors that the cause was swine flu. "Everyone loved Walter," said Andrea Hunt, who had known Brooks since the sixth grade and became best friends with him in high school.

Suddenly, On December 28, 2006 GABRIEL C. MCLAUGHLIN, 29, loving son of Paulette E. (nee Walters) and Preston E. McLaughlin; devoted brother of Preston Murphy, Cory McLaughlin and Beverly J. McLaughlin. He is also survived by many loving family members and friends. He will be dearly missed by all. Candlelight Vigil will be held at 2400 Eastern Ave. on Friday, January 5 at Dusk.

Rheumatology Joints may benefit from bone drug A drug that strengthens aging bones may also protect patients' joints from osteoarthritis, according to a study by a Johns Hopkins University rheumatologist. Dr. Clifton Bingham and colleagues studied the effect of risedronate, commonly marketed as Actonel, on a group of 2,483 arthritic men and women from the United States and Europe. Researchers measured the amount of cartilage at the one- and two-year point and used blood tests to look for more cartilage breakdown.

Just after dusk yesterday, Shawn Tiller's mother arrived at an East Baltimore street corner with bundles of colorful balloons and teddy bears for her boy. Friends embraced her and passed out candles. In hushed tones, they asked if it would be appropriate to sing "Happy Birthday." Tiller would have turned 17 yesterday. Instead of celebrating, his parents and about 50 of his friends stood on the cracked pavement where he was gunned down over the weekend for a candlelight vigil. They tied the balloons and toys to a signpost.

As scores of mourners scattered, seeking refuge from sudden chilly gusts of rain, Luz Kordell remained. Dripping wet, she waited last night for a chance to pray with the families of three young children brutally killed last week in Northwest Baltimore. Kordell, a Head Start teacher who taught the cousins of the dead children, said she wanted to offer her personal support. "I don't care if I get wet," she said, shivering. "I came to be with them." Once the shower slowed, more than 200 mourners emerged from the cover of umbrellas and awnings to take part in a candlelight vigil in front of the upper Park Heights Avenue apartment building where the children were slain.

ROCKVILLE - Friends and family members of the Washington-area sniper victims gathered last night for a candlelight vigil to honor the dead and to thank the community for remembering the shootings with letters, gifts and prayers. The event brought together several dozen of the victims' relatives in a poignant reunion with the public officials and law enforcement agents who became the face of the investigation. Among those attending were Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and former county police Chief Charles A. Moose.

They stood quietly behind the Longfellow Elementary sign as though posed for a class picture, a small candelabra of people flickering against the dark. A family trailed toward them: two children, one holding a small picket sign that read, "Remember the Kids," and their parents, one holding a large American flag. In the warm night, dogs sat patiently by their owners. Once or twice, a car honked. It was Missy Zane's second Sunday candlelight vigil against the war, but now bombs were falling on Iraq.

As the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedies approaches, churches, synagogues, schools, museums and other institutions are planning events to mark the date. Following is a guide to area commemorations, including candlelight vigils, religious services, concerts of sacred and secular music, tributes to police and firefighters, poetry readings, open discussions, art exhibits and readings of the names of casualties. Baltimore area Abundant Life Church, 7302 Pulaski Highway. Candlelight vigil, prayer, music and multimedia presentation, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

UNDER A starlit sky, hundreds of people gathered to participate in a candlelight vigil near the People Tree at Columbia's Lakefront on Sunday night. The event, called "Columbia Remembers," was planned by the Columbia Association to honor the victims and rescue workers at the Pentagon and in New York who lost or risked their lives Sept. 11 and in the aftermath of the tragedy. The ceremony began with representatives from the Howard County Police and Fire Department's Color Guard marching toward the People Tree, led by Ellicott City residents Don Zack and his daughter, Tatia, playing bagpipes and drum.

TAKOMA PARK - American flags fly alongside homemade signs promoting nonviolence in this quirky, liberal suburb struggling to square its enlightened image with deep-seated hostility toward those who directed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Long a hotbed for peace activism, Takoma Park would have seemed a perfect place to find mass objections to the retaliatory airstrikes unleashed by the United States during the past two days against targets inside Afghanistan. Dozens of residents attended a demonstration last month in Washington in which marchers called for a peaceful response to the terrorism in New York and at the Pentagon.