Curtis Bay

Capt. Patrick Michael Jacobsen, who was superintendent of the Coast Guard yard in Curtis Bay, died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at home in Severna Park. He was 69. Captain Jacobsen spent 27 years in the Coast Guard and retired in 1979. In 1986, he went to work as a systems analyst for the Maryland legislature for eight years. In 1977, he attended the National War College in McLean, Va., studying military strategies in the Middle East. Born and raised in Manistee, Mich., he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Gregory William Gildark, a retired police officer and heavy equipment operator, died of an aortic rupture April 23 at his Mount Jackson, Va., home. The former Severn resident was 64. Born in Baltimore and raised on West Cross Street in Pigtown, he attended St. Jerome School and was a 1966 Southern High School graduate. He then became a Navy Seabee and served two duty tours in Vietnam. He was awarded the Marine Combat Insignia for "bravery in battle," according to his discharge papers.

In a sweeping overhaul of the Fire Department, Mayor Martin O'Malley will announce today plans to close seven firehouses across the city, a proposal that drew criticism from community groups and union officials last night. O'Malley will unveil the plan as part his first budget, which will be presented to the Board of Estimates today. The closings, which would not result in layoffs, would save about $4 million to $5 million. That savings would be used to put additional emergency medical units on the street and give pay raises to firefighters and police officers, the mayor said last night.

The Curtis Bay and Brooklyn neighborhoods in industrialized South Baltimore are among the most polluted in Maryland and even the nation, says a Washington-based environmental group, which is calling for tighter scrutiny of air quality there and curbs on diesel truck emissions. Drawing on federal data, the Environmental Integrity Project says the Curtis Bay zip code has the highest toxic air pollution from businesses and factories in the state, accounting for more than a third of all such emissions in the state and nearly 90 percent of of Baltimore city's total.  The neighborhood's emissions also rank 74th highest among all 8,948 zip codes nationwide, according to the group's report.

The body of a man who had been fatally stabbed was found near the intersection of Pennington Avenue and Aspen Street in southern Baltimore Saturday afternoon, police said. Baltimore police said the body was located at about 2 p.m. in the Curtis Bay community, which borders Anne Arundel County and is surrounded by wooded and industrial areas. A fenced industrial area off Aspen Street was being blocked by a police car Saturday afternoon. A uniformed officer turned away several men on ATVs who were planning to go up into the area for recreation.

Baltimore County police say they believe an 18-year-old man found stabbed to death in a wooded area of Curtis Bay was killed sometime last week in Lansdowne. Ryan Wesley Jackson, of the 3600 block of West Bay Ave., had been reported missing on Oct. 14 after his girlfriend hadn't seen him for two days, county police said. On Oct. 15, his family visited a home in the 700 block of Rambo Court where they believed he might be. "The family went over there, and was able to go into the home," said Det. Cathy Batton, a county police spokeswoman.

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.

A 22-year-old man was ordered held without bail Thursday after he was charged by Anne Arundel County police with first-degree murder and armed robbery in the July 1 fatal shooting of a Brooklyn Park resident. Police said they arrested Ricky Lamont Mason, of Curtis Bay, on 14 counts, and were continuing to hunt for a second man in the slaying of Adam Ray Bucklew, 21. Bucklew was shot in front of his home in the 400 block of Audrey Avenue, Brooklyn Park. Police said the apparent motive in the shooting was robbery.

Firefighters continue to investigate the cause of a Tuesday night fire involving a 270-foot long Coast Guard boat. Lt. Cliff Kooser, spokesman with the Anne Arundel County fire department, said about 47 firefighters were called at 10:32 p.m. to a dry dock in the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard, where smoke coming from the hull of the ship. Kooser said the firefighters had to climb up four stories to get inside the boat that was in the dry dock and then travel down three floors to the third level of the main deck.

dTC K

In the minds of some people today, immigration is a bad word ("Immigrants key to reaching mayor's population goal," Jan. 7). Overlooked is the fact that a half century ago, residents of Canton, Highlandtown, Locust Point and Curtis Bay were either immigrants or sons/daughters of immigrants. However, those immigrants were technically immigrants - they arrived at the front doors of the United States through Ellis Island or the foot of Broadway. They did not sneak in. Some even had to pay a bond or someone paid the bond for them.

Charles Erwin Brookes, the retired chief of W.R. Grace's Davison Chemical division, died of a heart attack Nov. 1 at the Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Fla. The longtime Gibson Island resident was 86. Known as Charlie, he was born in Orange, N.J. His son, Stephen Brookes of Washington, D.C., said his father came from a "family of very modest means. " At one time, his parents addressed envelopes by hand for a business to make ends meet. At age 12, Mr. Brookes won a scholarship to St. Mark's School in Southborough, Mass.

If you believe your house is haunted, or want to try some investigating yourself, the online directory paranormalsocieties.com lists some 30 groups in Maryland that offer their services, usually free of charge. Here are a few operating out of the Baltimore area. Group: Greater Maryland Paranormal Society Founded: 2006 Investigators: 13 Location: Curtis Bay Website: greater-maryland-paranormal-society.com Caseload: 16-25 investigations a year "I grew up in a house in Brooklyn that had paranormal activity," says founder and lead investigator Bill Hartley.

A 37-year-old Lansdowne man was arrested Wednesday in Alabama and charged in the death of an 18-year-old in Baltimore County, county police said Thursday. Larry Horton faces charges of first-degree murder in the killing of Ryan Wesley Jackson, who police say was killed with a hatchet and found in a remote, wooded area of Curtis Bay on Saturday afternoon. Jackson had last been seen Oct. 12, when he told his girlfriend that he was going to a home in the 700 block of Rambo Court.

I'm writing in reference to the article about Jim Schillinger's Anne Arundel County farm being lumped into a congressional district in Prince George County by redistricting ("Some Marylanders question odd pairings in proposed congressional redistricting map," Oct. 15). News flash to Mr. Schillinger: The elected leaders in Annapolis could care less about your farm. Democrats would like to see a one party rule and to give Maryland voters these two choices - either vote for a Democrat or vote for a Democrat.

It seems that all politicians can think about today is raising taxes that only affect the poor ("O'Malley weighing rise in gas tax," Oct. 18). Heaven forbid they should consider raising taxes on the rich. Don't any of them realize that the average working taxpayer - and the unemployed worker - is being taxed to the breaking point? People can't afford the normal necessities of daily living today with the cost of everything on the rise - food, clothing, rent, etc. Everything, that is, except the average wage!

The Curtis Bay and Brooklyn neighborhoods in industrialized South Baltimore are among the most polluted in Maryland and even the nation, says a Washington-based environmental group, which is calling for tighter scrutiny of air quality there and curbs on diesel truck emissions. Drawing on federal data, the Environmental Integrity Project says the Curtis Bay zip code has the highest toxic air pollution from businesses and factories in the state, accounting for more than a third of all such emissions in the state and nearly 90 percent of of Baltimore city's total.  The neighborhood's emissions also rank 74th highest among all 8,948 zip codes nationwide, according to the group's report.

A & A Environmental Services was retained yesterday to clean up heavy oil that had spilled from an unknown source in the Curtis Creek and Curtis Bay area, a spokesman for the Coast Guard said."

Baltimore County police say they believe an 18-year-old man found stabbed to death in a wooded area of Curtis Bay was killed sometime last week in Lansdowne. Ryan Wesley Jackson, of the 3600 block of West Bay Ave., had been reported missing on Oct. 14 after his girlfriend hadn't seen him for two days, county police said. On Oct. 15, his family visited a home in the 700 block of Rambo Court where they believed he might be. "The family went over there, and was able to go into the home," said Det. Cathy Batton, a county police spokeswoman.