City Streets

A cabal of corrupt corrections officers and members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang enjoyed nearly free rein inside the Baltimore City Detention Center, federal authorities allege, smuggling drugs and cellphones into the jail and having sexual relationships that left four guards pregnant. An indictment unsealed Tuesday names 25 people - including 13 women working as corrections officers - who face racketeering and drug charges. Twenty of the accused also face money-laundering charges.

A cabal of corrupt corrections officers and members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang enjoyed nearly free rein inside the Baltimore City Detention Center, federal authorities allege, smuggling drugs and cellphones into the jail and having sexual relationships that left four guards pregnant. An indictment unsealed Tuesday names 25 people - including 13 women working as corrections officers - who face racketeering and drug charges. Twenty of the accused also face money-laundering charges.

The river port that welcomed presidents, generals and occasional gangsters is offering 21st- century visitors a walk through its history. Havre de Grace, which overlooks the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, has lined up guides well-versed in local lore for its first-ever Haunted History and Ghost Walk Tour. "Don't take any spirits home with you," Mike Salmon cautioned a group of about 20 taking the mile walk through city streets on a brisk fall evening. As they set off from a tavern on Washington Street, a ghoulish character whispered, "I hope everyone makes it back all right."

Police have taken a new step in their the battle to remove illegal dirt bikes and their freewheeling riders from the streets of Baltimore, creating an email address where residents can report the bikes anonymously. "All the way around, it's a menace, and we have to take some action," said Maj. Johnny Delgado, the commander of the Northwestern District, who launched the initiative. Riding dirt bikes in the city limits is against the law, as is storing them in a house or a shed with gasoline, police said.

The Sun's Mary Gail Hare reports this morning more violence: Two shootings in the city Tuesday have left one man dead and another critically wounded. A 22-year-old man was shot multiple times in the torso shortly before 6 p.m. in the 4800 block of Northwood Drive near Winston Avenue in Govans. Police said the victim was approached on the street by an unidentified man who fired at him with a handgun. The victim remains in serious condition at an area hospital.   At 10:05 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 4100 block of Norfolk Ave. in the Forest Park area.

Motorists should to avoid the following areas because of high water, according to the Baltimore Transportation Department. Both directions of Hilton Parkway, from Edmondson Avenue to North Avenue; Patapsco Avenue, from Potee Street to Annapolis Road; Franklintown Road, from Ellamont Street to North Forest Park Avenue; Portions of Harford Road; and eastbound Erdman Avenue at Pulaski Highway. The Baltimore City Department of Transportation advises motorists to drive with caution and allow additional travel time.

Baltimore plans to resurface 200 lane-miles in the city this year -- a slight increase over last year and more than double what was paved in 2006 -- under a goal set by Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration yesterday. Standing on a newly resurfaced Ashton Street in Southwest Baltimore, transportation officials said portions of Russell Street, Erdman Avenue, Belair Road and other city streets are in line for improvements this year. "When we invest in our streets and the infrastructure of our city, it really makes a difference in how we perceive our communities," Dixon said.

City transportation officials are planning a variety of parking restrictions and road closures, starting tonight, in anticipation of Saturdays WHFS Festival at the M&T Bank Stadium. From midnight until midnight Sunday, the northbound and southbound Russell Street service drive will be closed from West Street to Ostend Street. From 7 a.m. until midnight Saturday, Camden Street will be closed from Howard Street to Russell Street, and Eutaw Street will be closed from Camden Street to Pratt Street.

THE PROBLEM -- Large trucks use Bonaparte Avenue in East Baltimore even though doing so is prohibited. THE BACKSTORY -- Bonaparte Avenue is a residential street that runs through the East Baltimore-Midway neighborhood. Truck drivers seem to like it as a convenient shortcut to industries at the eastern edge of the city, ignoring signs that bar them from using the road. "The trucks are shaking our houses and knocking our pictures off the walls," said John D. Brown, who has lived on Bonaparte for 21 years.

Let's see now, one could put a halo above its head and call it an an- gelfish, or apply a big red nose and call it a clownfish or, say, a line of Highlandtown rowhouses for a fishrow - the mind fairly reels with possibilities. And if you think that's a regrettable pun, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Baltimore is about to follow in the wake of Cincinnati's pigs and Buffalo's buffalo and Orlando's lizards, all of which trailed Chicago's cows, a fund-raising sidewalk art project that put hundreds of Holsteins and other varieties on the streets.

A man who allegedly entered a rowhouse in the city's Central Park Heights neighborhood uninvited, hid a handgun behind a living room sofa and then assaulted the homeowner as she was trying to get him to leave was arrested Wednesday night in Baltimore while lying on the home's front porch — marking the 1,000th gun-related arrest in the city this year. The strange arrest was made by two officers on a newly created foot patrol beat in the neighborhood about 6:43 p.m., and was touted as a significant milestone about two hours later by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts during a news conference at the scene.

While on the winding road in the Patapsco River Valley, I thought it had been 30 years since I last visited Oella, the mill village tucked deep into the hills between Catonsville and Ellicott City's Main Street. On a fall day, the rocky terrain, steep hillsides and leaf colors suggested that Oella might be in Vermont or West Virginia. Then I turned a bend and a resplendently restored Oella Mill appeared. It was one of those astounding moments, as if you hadn't been to Baltimore's harbor for 40 years and returned today.

He sees them, on occasion, while jogging city streets - the vagrants, addicts and pushers who were part of Anthony Blue's past. From the shadows, they watch him, all cleaned up and going somewhere, with suspicion. "Blue? Is that you?" "Of course it's me," he tells them. "I'm just not using now. " And he keeps on running. On Saturday, Blue, once a skid-row junkie and drug dealer, will compete in the half-marathon in the Baltimore Running Festival. The man who used to run from the law now runs for a cause: The Helping Up Mission, his home since 2009.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, traffic was slow on I-95 south near Eastern Avenue in Baltimore City, due to an accident. Traffic was slow on I-895 near the Steel Bridge, due to construction activity. Light Street was closed between Baltimore and Lombard streets due to water main repairs. Bus routes on Light Street have been diverted due to the street closing. Some streets were closed around the Mount Royal Cultural District in Baltimore due to the Artscape festival this weekend. Bus routes on Charles Street have been diverted due to that close of portions of that street.

I enjoy biking short distances and am grateful that there are more bike lanes making it safer to ride on city streets. I also enjoy attending performances at the Modell Lyric, which has recently completed multi-million dollar renovations to efficiently accommodate a broader range of shows, including the recent return of grand opera. Unfortunately the plan to run a bike lane on Mt. Royal Avenue directly in front of the Modell Lyric, taking one lane from the sidewalk and one lane from the street parking lane, will endanger and seriously undermine the ability to attend the Modell Lyric just at a time when it should be flourishing.

Work and weekend events have shut down several city thoroughfares, officials said. A crane lift is expected to shut down 20 t h Street between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Charles Street to Maryland Avenue. A portion of Falls Road at the intersection of Northern Parkway will be closed from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. for a crane lift and tree work. At least one lane is expected to remain open in each direction. Officials warn of delays. The St. Paul Street and Mt. Royal Avenue exit on Jones Falls Expressway will be closed for southbound traffic from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a crane lift operation.

The streets of Baltimore have been particularly bloody recently, which makes a decades-old question especially relevant again: Do you know where your children are? If they attend one of five Baltimore middle schools, the odds are better that they're home during the evening hours. And for that, the thank-you goes to a program run out of an East Baltimore rowhouse by a retired couple using a small budget, a chunk of time and a lot of soul. The program -- called Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Annapolis residents may park for free in the city's garages until Thursday morning, city officials said Tuesday. With public works crews continuing to work to widen the passable lines on city streets, vehicles parked on snow emergency routes may be towed, they said. The free parking at the three downtown garages, which has been in effect for about a week, will end at 8 a.m. Thursday, police spokesman Ray Weaver said. City spokesman Phill McGowan said officials believe that all city streets were passably by the width of at least one car by Tuesday.

The Sun's Mary Gail Hare reports this morning more violence: Two shootings in the city Tuesday have left one man dead and another critically wounded. A 22-year-old man was shot multiple times in the torso shortly before 6 p.m. in the 4800 block of Northwood Drive near Winston Avenue in Govans. Police said the victim was approached on the street by an unidentified man who fired at him with a handgun. The victim remains in serious condition at an area hospital.   At 10:05 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 4100 block of Norfolk Ave. in the Forest Park area.

Annapolis officials announced a new initiative Monday to recruit and train mentors for youth outreach programs as part of a continuing effort to reduce crime in the state capital. The Volunteer Center for Anne Arundel County will manage the Treasure Hunters Clearinghouse, which hopes to recruit, screen and train 60 volunteers in the next year to serve as youth mentors in existing programs. The effort will be funded with about $45,000 from city, county and state sources. "I know the importance of having strong adult role models for so many of our young people," said House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch, a Democrat, at a late-afternoon news conference to announce the initiative.