Charles Street

I did a double take one afternoon when I spotted a large ad plastered across an MTA transit bus. The elongated placard was from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and bore the words "The Light Is on for You." The ad caught me off my guard. It was saying to Baltimore's Roman Catholics during Lent: Get up and go to confession. Confess to a priest. 'Fess up - and seek spiritual advice from someone trained in giving it. Confession, Reconciliation, Sacrament of Penance - whatever its name - went into a sharp decline after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.

Rescue crews were working last night to reach two coal miners believed buried beneath 75 feet of rock and dirt from a collapsed wall of an open pit mine in Western Maryland, an emergency management official said. The first call about the collapse at the Tri-Star Job No. 3 mine near Barton came at 10:05 a.m. yesterday, according to Brian Miller, an Allegany County 911 dispatcher. "Basically, there are still two unaccounted-for employees that we believe are buried within the pile of debris, which is upwards of 75 feet tall," said Richard L. DeVore, Allegany County director of emergency services.

Baltimore's Department of Transportation is warning motorists of several street closures in the city because of construction: Hanover Street between Ostend and Montgomery streets will be closed until Dec. 21 so public works crews can replace a 10-inch water main. People who live and work in the area will have access. Southbound Hanover Street traffic will be detoured onto Charles Street, west onto Ostend Street and back to Hanover. Northbound Hanover Street traffic will be detoured east onto Ostend Street, north onto Charles Street and onto Montgomery.

On January 24, 2007, PHILIP HARRY Relatives and friends may call at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus, on Sunday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where a funeral service will be held on Monday at the funeral hour of 11 A.M. Interment to follow at Loudon Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the GBMC Foundation, 6701 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21204 or to Hospice of Baltimore, 6601 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21204. www.ambrosefuneralhomes.

When it opened in 1933, the Scottish Rite Temple of Freemasonry featured a banquet hall that could accommodate 665 people for dinner and dancing. Its bronze front doors were 28 feet high and weighed 3 tons each. Later came a 1,065-seat auditorium with one of the largest stages between New York and Washington. But after nearly 75 years, the charitable foundation that owns the building at Charles and 39th streets wants to sell it and move to smaller quarters in Baltimore County. A representative of the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, the owner, recently confirmed at a Tuscany-Canterbury Neighborhood Association meeting that his group is starting to look for a buyer for the property -- 2 1/2 acres in all. "I won't deny ... that we are considering selling it," said Marlin Mills, assistant personal representative to the Masonic order's sovereign grand inspector general.

On Sunday, July 22, 2007 J ason Eric Cohen. Funeral services and interment will be held on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:00pm at Har Sinai Cemetery-Garrison Forest Rd. Please omit flowers, memorial contributions in his memory may be directed to American Cancer Society 8219 Town Center Dr. (21236) or Etz Chaim Center 3702 Fords Lane (21215) In mourning at 3900 N. Charles Street (#405) (21218) Arrangements by Sol Levinson & Bros. Inc. 25

Dr. Michael Kevin Finegan, a retired Maryland General Hospital surgeon who also worked for the Social Security Administration, died of multiple myeloma Wednesday at the Brightwood Center in Lutherville. The Roland Park resident was 81. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he studied at boarding school, Newbridge College in Kildare, where he entertained thoughts of playing rugby professionally. He attended University College Dublin and received his medical education at the National University of Ireland, where he was a rugby team captain.

On January 22, 2007, HELEN HULSHOFF (nee Polianski); beloved mother of Barbara A. Cohn, Joan M. Fitzpatrick and Mary R. Stitz. Also survived by seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Service and interment private. Contributions may be made to the School Sisters of Notre Dame, 6401 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21212. Arrangements by the family owned Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, Inc.

On December 29, 2006, PAUL K.; dear brother of Elsa Leimbach, Betty Lou Chafin and the late Roy, William, Franklin and Duane Macauley and Margaret Sima. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends may gather at MILLER-DIPPEL FUENRAL HOME, INC., 6415 Belair Road, on Wednesday 10:30 to 11 A.M., with service at 11 A.M. Interment Meadowridge Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in the name of Paul to the Christ Lutheran Church, 701 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Enthroned atop a milk crate, his toenails painted purple, the musician slaps away at a six-string guitar with only four strings, rattling out a love song to a Baltimore street.A week after restaurant patrons ran for cover during a gunbattle on North Charles Street, the return of Bruce "Guitarman" Timmons to his sidewalk stage there was one of many signs Tuesday that life is back to normal for one of the city's most historic and funky neighborhoods.The Mount Vernon area has been loved for decades for its bohemian atmosphere and ornate architecture that hasn't changed much since F. Scott Fitzgerald drank at the Belvedere Hotel in the 1930s.

Peter Michael Yagjian, a restaurateur whose Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon brought baby back rib platters to Charles Street, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his Fells Point home. He was 64. Customers said that at his restaurant's peak, lines would form at its door on weekend nights. Mr. Yagjian, as the host and greeter, would dart around tables trying to accommodate one more party in his crowded and noisy bistro that featured a reproduction Egyptian mummy case and other eclectic decorations.

I was awaiting a bus home one evening in the summer of 2008 when a movie crew commandeered Mount Vernon Place. Dressing room trailers and vintage automobiles turned Charles Street into 1953. I never got to see the star, Renee Zellweger, that evening, but recently I caught up with the finished product, entitled "My One and Only." The film producers selected Baltimore to shoot that film, but the story placed the action in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and points west. While watching their work, I got swept up in trying to link the story line with the actual Baltimore landmark or location.

In 1984, downtown Baltimore was a very different place than it is today. After reaching its pinnacle in the 1940s, Baltimore began to witness a decline in population, employment and investment that continued well into the next four decades. The downtown area was no exception. Despite successful efforts to redevelop Charles Center and the Inner Harbor, much of the area outside of these districts remained unchanged. Vacant storefronts along Charles Street were the norm. Graffiti and other signs of vagrancy were increasing.

'Healthy Smiles' to promote dental health Highlighting efforts to improve dental care for children from low-income families, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Tuesday the "Healthy Smiles" tour that will promote awareness of dental health. The issue has gained attention since the 2007 death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver of Prince George's County after an untreated infection in a tooth spread to his brain. The governor, joined by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and other officials, promoted funding to raise reimbursement rates for dentists treating Medicaid children and to create a mobile school-based screening and treatment center.

Not often did William Donald Schaefer call me, but on that Monday more than 30 years ago, I expected it. I'd had written an article in the old News American detailing how the old Potthast Brothers' furniture showroom at 924 N. Charles St. would be converted into a restaurant. A few months later, it made its debut as The Brass Elephant. A lot has happened along Charles Street since 1977, when the original article ran. But until the Elephant closed a few weeks ago, the old place remained true to the standards established by the German immigrant brothers who displayed their fine cabinetry in that Charles Street show window.

After the first robbery at Killer Trash, a kitschy vintage clothing store on Broadway in Fells Point, clerk Brittany Byers was shaken. The second time, she and other employees were told to lock the door behind customers. When the same man came back a third time, Byers' boyfriend whacked him about a dozen times in the head and arms with a baseball bat before the robber scurried away. But the man was not easily deterred. He had struck earlier that day and was in the middle of a string of 17 robberies of city business in 22 days, police say. Six blocks away at Tuxedo Zone, Rod Thompson, a former police officer, was held up after measuring the same man and allowing him to try on pants.

With the right team and the right project, a renovated Parkway theater could become the much-needed centerpiece of the fledgling arts district north of Penn Station. The strip along North Charles Street between Mount Royal and North avenues has long been a lively destination for movie- and theatergoers. But after the area became the first in the city to receive state designation as an arts and entertainment district in 2001, it took off as a magnet for young artists, musicians and other creative types.

Two groups have submitted proposals to redevelop Baltimore's historic Parkway Theatre at 3-5 W. North Ave. and two adjoining properties at 1 W. North Ave. and 1820 N. Charles St. in the Station North arts and entertainment district. The teams are headed by Teddy Kim, a Washington-based businessman, with Brown Craig Turner as the architect, and Maryland developer Samuel Polakoff, with Ziger/Snead and Cho Benn Holback + Associates as architects. Kim is related to Tony Cheng, a Washington-based restaurateur who controls numerous properties near the intersection of Charles Street and North Avenue.

Alt-rockers Cake, R&B legend Dionne Warwick and pop crooner Robin Thicke will be the headline musical acts at this year's Artscape, organizers announced Wednesday. Warwick, whose smooth, jazz-influenced vocals have made her one of the most successful female singers of the past 50 years, will take to the stage at 8 p.m. Friday, July 17. The Sacramento, Calif.-based Cake, whose area concert appearances always draw large crowds for their hybrid mix of rock, ska and other musical styles, is slated for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18. The Grammy Award-winning Thicke, who has sold more than 2 million albums, is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19. Also playing on the festival's main stage, alongside the Maryland Institute College of Art, will be the soul group Robert Randolph & the Family Band (8:30 p.m. July 18)

On May 24, 2009, PEARL MAE BRYANT; loving mother of Victoria, Wanda, Tracey, and Terrell. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Thursday after 8:30 A.M., where the family will receive friends from 5 P.M. until 7 P.M. The family will also receive friends on Friday at New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N. Monroe Street at 10:30 A.M., followed by funeral services at 11 A.M. In lieu of flowers, donations may...