City Offices

Laurel city offices will be closed Monday, Dec. 26 in observance of Christmas and Monday, Jan. 2, in observance of New Year's Day. During both weeks, Monday's refuse and recycling will be collected on Tuesday, and Tuesday's refuse and recycling will be collected on Wednesday. Regular collection schedules will resume Monday, Jan. 9. The next residential special pickup and yard debris collection is Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. To schedule a special collection, contact the Department of Public Works at dpw@laurel.md.us or 301-725-0088.

A Baltimore police sergeant who claimed he was never treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after he fatally shot a man in 2005 has settled a lawsuit against the city, in a deal that allows him to retire with his pension, according to court documents and his attorney. Under terms of the settlement, Richard A. Willard, 45, dropped the federal suit and a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; the Police Department canceled an administrative hearing that could have led to his termination.

Baltimore City offices will be closed today in observance of Lincoln's Birthday. No trash or recyclables will be collected. The landfill and transfer station will be closed. Public schools, courts and the Enoch Pratt Free Library will be open. Parking meters must be fed.

A 61-year-old white woman, who says she was wrongfully fired from the Baltimore prosecutors' office after 25 years on the job, has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit alleging age, race and gender discrimination in the 2010 termination. Antoinette E. Swiec, of Baltimore, is seeking $400,000 in compensation from the Baltimore state's attorney's office on each of two counts, claiming she was fired because the predominantly young, African American division she worked for wanted her out. The lawsuit was filed in  U.S. District Court Monday, and was to be served on Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein, though the firing occurred under his predecessor, Patricia C. Jessamy.

Two brothers plan to buy the vacant J. C. Penney Co. building on West Main Street in Westminster and renovate it for offices with the help of state, city and bank loans.Robert and David Max of Pikesville then would lease about one-fourth of the space to the city government for finance, housing, community development and personnel offices. The brothers own the Winchester Exchange building on East Main Street, which houses offices and retail stores.Consummation of the plan depends on a $160,000 state loan, a $50,000 city loan and private financing.

The Taneytown Police Department will not, after all, move across the street. Neither will city offices.After conceding that the difficulties outweighed the advantages, the City Council decided to scrap plans to buy a building that was once city hall, said Mayor W. Robert Flickinger."

This schedule will be in effect Monday, May 31 Anne Arundel County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: No pickup, landfills closed Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: closed Transit: no service Parking meters: feed Trash: no pickup Baltimore City City offices: closed Courts: closed ...

This schedule will be in effect Wednesday. Anne Arundel County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: open Public schools: open Trash: regularpickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: closed Transit: regular service Parking meters: feed Trash : regular pickup Baltimore City City offices: ...

Maryland's second highest court on Friday upheld the firing of a Baltimore police officer who was caught on video berating and pushing a 14-year-old skateboarder at the Inner Harbor in 2007. The Court of Special Appeals ruled that Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld III had the authority to terminate the 19-year veteran officer, Salvatore Rivieri, despite a recommendation from an administrative hearing board that he be suspended for six days and lose six days of leave.

A sixth Baltimore Police officer was sentenced Friday for his role in a massive kickback scheme involving an auto body shop, receiving two years in prison and being ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution. Officer Rafael Concepcion Feliciano Jr., 31, admitted last year that he referred accident vehicles to the Majestic Auto Body shop in Rosedale after being introduced to the store's owners by a fellow officer, Rodney Cintron, prosecutors said. Prosecutors estimate that Feliciano alone caused a loss of between $120,000 and $200,000.

A Baltimore police officer investigating a domestic disturbance on Saturday morning in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood shot and killed a man armed with a knife, according to authorities. A police spokesman identified the man who was killed as George Wells, 29, of the 2500 block of Brookfield Ave., the same location that the officer had responded for the call. Other details, including how many times and where on his body Wells was shot, were not released on Saturday. Police said Wells was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma Center at 12:23 p.m., less than 45 minutes after the shooting.

The Baltimore City Election Change Coalition, a citywide coalition of nine organizations, supports changing the date of the Baltimore City primary election to coincide with the gubernatorial election cycle ("The right time for city elections," March 22). Doing so will save money - nearly $3.7 million in the city and $270,000 for the state. Many politicians support changing the election cycle to align with the presidential cycle. But there are a number of reasons why the coalition favors the gubernatorial over the presidential cycle.

A second Baltimore police officer was sentenced to federal prison Monday for participating in an extortion scheme that led to the criminal conviction of 16 city officials and the suspension of 14 others. Jerry Diggs Jr., 25, was sentenced to 30 months and ordered to pay restitution of $13,105 for illegally referring car owners to Majestic Auto Repair for towing services and repairs after crashes in exchange for cash. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and extortion in October in Baltimore's U.S. District Court.

A Baltimore police officer has been suspended for his "conduct" in the aftermath of the shooting of a 13-year-old girl, and after the weapon police suspect was used in the crime was found in his personal vehicle, according to law enforcement sources. Police investigators believe the off-duty officer, whose name was not released, was in a relationship with a relative of one of the juvenile suspects charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter, sources said. Investigators are trying to determine whether he advised the juveniles after the shooting occurred.

A Baltimore police officer who said in an interview that he had received no counseling after he shot and killed two people nine months apart in 2006 and 2007 has been suspended from the force, and stripped of his gun and badge. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the eight-year veteran, Andrew W. Gotwols Jr., made comments that concerned commanders about his fitness to serve. He described the 36-year-old as being "medically suspended. " Gotwols told The Baltimore Sun that he has nightmares that "guys are trying to shoot and kill me, and that I'm trying to shoot and kill them.

A federal jury on Thursday convicted the last of 17 Baltimore police officers charged in a broad kickback scheme, hours after another officer who had stood trial pleaded guilty. Officer Samuel Ocasio, 36, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy and extortion under color of official right, while Officer Kelvin Manrich, 42, pleaded guilty to the same counts earlier in the day, before jurors began deliberating. Ocasio, who is from Edgewood, and Manrich, from Middle River, face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for extortion.