Crack

Inside Westminster Abbey, eight 20-foot-tall live trees lined the center aisle during the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The trees transformed the space, doing what even the most elaborate floral arrangement could not — providing a natural, living sense of permanence and an air of drama. The move was unexpected, unpretentious and bold. A potted tree on your patio or deck can have the same effect. While not every tree is well-suited for a container, there are a surprising number of options, ranging from crape myrtles to hollies.

Melissa Davis' husband had six domestic-violence arrests in less than a year of marriage, and was released by a judge on his own recognizance. Katie Hadel's ex-boyfriend was let out of jail early on good behavior. And Candace Hurt's husband had three women seek court protection against him but didn't follow through. Davis, Hadel and Hurt all were killed this year in what police describe as domestic homicides by these men. Police, prosecutors or court officials had been in touch with each of them in the months, days, or, in Davis' case, hours before they died.

Regarding Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso's handling of the cheating scandal in which test scores were altered by school personnel, when these devious practices became public the guilty teachers should have been charged with committing a crime, brought to trial and punished accordingly — through reductions of salary, probation or firing. Also, it is quite evident that these teachers had absolutely no respect for Mr. Alonso once they believed they could do as they pleased.

Several hundred Baltimore and state police officers will be saturating the city's bar districts this St. Patrick's Day weekend, looking for drunken drivers and people drinking in the streets, law enforcement officials announced Thursday. "Roadways in and around Baltimore will be heavily patrolled," Baltimore police patrol commander Col. Garnell Green said. "Plan ahead. Have a designated driver. Know where you're going to park and expect large crowds. " Maryland Transportation Administration Police and Maryland State Police are teaming with city officers on a crackdown of rowdy behavior that plagued Canton Square last year, when residents complained of scores of people drinking openly outside bars, breaking glass and leaving trash strewn all around.

Police crack down on Frostburg binge drinking Maryland State Police say they are joining local law enforcement in a springtime crackdown on binge drinking in Frostburg, home to Frostburg State University. Capt. James Pyles said the effort began Friday and will continue through the spring. Besides increased patrols and visibility, police say they are collecting and analyzing intelligence on house parties held by unrecognized fraternities that are little more than drinking clubs.

What is the matter with Maryland where the abuse of animals is tolerated? I am not a native of Maryland and am ashamed to say that I now live here. The reports of people abusing animals and the law doing nothing is appalling ("Task force works to end cruelty to animals," Oct. 12). Caroline Griffin, who is leading a Baltimore task force on animal cruelty, is trying, so let us support her with her request for three police officers dedicated to animal abuse. This must stop. It is criminal.

An Abingdon man faces drug and traffic charges after police say he tried to flee a crash along U.S. Route 40 Wednesday and Harford County Sheriff's deputies recovered several grams of crack cocaine nearby. A deputy on Route 40 westbound near Abingdon Road tried to pull over a black 1993 Lexus about 9:15 p.m., according to a release from the sheriff's office, when the vehicle crashed into a barrier, hit a traffic sign and "went airborne" onto the other side of the highway. The Lexus hit a 2006 Honda Accord traveling east with four occupants, police said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office approves reduced sentences for criminals who deserve them, but with the caveat that some crack cocaine dealers seeking early release from federal prison are violent. The Sun obscures the issue by claiming that federal crack guidelines led to convictions of "hundreds of thousands of petty offenders who were sentenced to long prison terms" ("Crack and the courts," Dec. 1). The truth is that only a few hundred Maryland drug dealers are eligible for sentence reductions.

A 31-year-old Curtis Bay man was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison Friday for dealing crack cocaine, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Lonnie Bivins' sentence was enhanced after the judge found him to be a "career offender" with two prior drug convictions. Bivins and his conspirators sold $500 to $4,000 worth of crack and powder cocaine per day in the Curtis Bay area of Baltimore from 2005 through 2008, according to court records. Law enforcement authorities witnessed Bivins making drug transactions for a year before arresting him in February 2008.

When Crack the Sky guitarist Rick Witkowski recalls the first time the band played Baltimore, his enthusiasm is palpable — as if the show happened just last night and not in the mid-1970s. "We walked into the club and got a standing ovation before we played one note," the 58-year-old remembers. "It was just really weird. People knew my name!" The West Virginia-rooted progressive rock act had been on a fruitless tour, supporting a pretty great debut LP that was receiving some of its most concentrated radio play in, of all places, Baltimore.

The first caller told Norman Breidenbaugh he had won $2.5 million in a foreign sweepstakes, but there was a catch: Breidenbaugh needed to send $2,000 in fees before collecting his earnings. Other calls followed, promising Breidenbaugh millions more - even a Mercedes Benz - as long as he would wire some money to pay taxes on the prizes. He obliged, sending more than $400,000 over about six years, hoping the promised winnings would cover his wife's medical expenses. The prizes never came.

Peeps Bourguignonne? How about Peeps Benedict? The Baltimore Sun is having a Peeps recipe contest. Contest details are here . But basically, we're asking you to creatively work Peeps into a dish. Recipes can be sweet or savory. Creativity is key.   Entries must include a recipe, a high-resolution photo of the dish and contact information. Send them to jill.rosen@baltsun.com by March 18. Winners will receive generous prize packages from the people who make Peeps , the Bethlehem, Pa.-based Just Born, Inc. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood  

Anne Arundel County police and Broadneck High School officials say they are cracking down on "the pit," an area near the school in Cape St. Claire where residents have complained of loitering, fights and illegal drug use. More than a dozen people, mostly teenagers under age 18, have been charged or issued citations so far in February, police said. Following a videotaped fight after school dismissal on Feb. 8 in which police say one teenager acted as the referee, four juveniles were charged.

Soon after President Barack Obama's second inaugural address, Speaker of the House John Boehner said the White House would try "to annihilate the Republican Party" and "shove us into the dustbin of history. " Actually, the GOP is doing a pretty good job annihilating itself. As Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal put it, Republicans need to "stop being the stupid party. " The GOP crack-up was probably inevitable. Inconsistencies and tensions within the GOP have been growing for years -- ever since Ronald Reagan put together the coalition that became the modern Republican Party.

Baltimore City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector introduced a bill Monday that would crack down on what she deems "aggressive" panhandling. Spector's bill would make it illegal for people to solicit handouts along street shoulders, medians and in traffic. It's a problem that's been getting worse with time, the 5th District Democrat said, and her constituents frequently ask her to fix it. "It's the aggressive kind of panhandling that I've been trying to get my arms around for a long time," Spector said Monday.

A federal grand jury indicted a Baltimore police officer Friday on charges that he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. In an indictment unsealed Friday, federal prosecutors allege that Kendell L. Richburg, 36, took part in a drug scheme between January 2011 and October 2012. He is further accused of having and using two handguns to further the conspiracy. "Corrupt police officers insult the many honorable officers who serve with integrity," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement.

THE future of America's cities is lying in isolettes in the neonatal intensive care unit of Bronx-Lebanon hospital.The bright room is filled with baby misery: babies born months too soon; babies born weighing little more than a hardcover book; babies that look like wizened old men in the last stages of a terminal illness, wrinkled skin clinging to chicken bones; babies who do not cry because their mouths and noses are full of tubes.Some of these babies' mothers are never coming back. The little boy born in June, the one who has had two operations, two major infections, and who has the enormous head and shrunken limbs of famine children, has had no contact with his mother since the cord was cut.A little girl is the second child born this year to one woman.

In his cavalier dismissal of the 47 percent of the population he describes as "people ... who don't take personal responsibility for their lives," Mitt Romney conveniently forgets about the large number of his own low-income, marginally educated but fervent supporters ("Remarks may haunt Romney," Sept. 18). These are people who Republican operatives have persuaded to demonize taxes, science, sensible gun control and women's reproductive rights rather than consider which candidate's approach would be in their own best interests.

After a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., the injection of anything short of seriousness into the subsequent public discourse about guns is touchy. But the National Rifle Association blasted numerous rounds into that particular barrier with NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre's mouth. The organization's hysteric solution to gun violence in America is to put designated sitting ducks - er, "armed police officers" - in every American school.

In his first career start at inside linebacker, Josh Bynes led the Ravens with a career-best 13 tackles (11 solo) and broke up one pass in Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. That Bynes has even returned to the field is a remarkable story considering his ordeal in the preseason. He suffered a cracked vertebrae during a goal-line scrimmage close to the beginning of training camp. He needed six weeks to recover, was waived by the team on Aug. 31, and then added to the practice squad the next day. Bynes was promoted to the 53-man active roster Oct. 17 when the Ravens moved 13-time Pro Bowler Ray Lewis to the injured reserve list with a designation for return.