Day Weekend

If you just acquired some new neighbors, you're in good company: Memorial Day weekend is a popular time to move. It appeals because it's three days off in the (almost) summer, the season for moving thanks to spring homebuyers, new college graduates and newlyweds . Self-storage companies have started calling the day after this long weekend "Crazy Tuesday" because, they say, so many new movers come in to rent units (and perhaps because the industry is hoping for a smidge of the attention paid to Black Friday)

The Howard County Police Department is launching a new, volunteer mounted patrol unit, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the department announced Friday. The unit, made up of 12 volunteers and their horses, will patrol parks, pathways and other locations in the Savage area, acting as a "high visibility deterrent to crime," according to a news release from the department. It is the county's first mounted patrol. The volunteers, who will ride in pairs, will watch for and report violations and concerns, and assist in investigative and administrative work.

Eight people were shot — including six in two triple shootings — Thursday night in Baltimore, an "intolerable" burst of violence that killed three and which police said would spur extra patrols going into Memorial Day weekend. Hoping to avoid a replay of the 2010 Memorial Day weekend, during which nine people were killed, police said they would move some officers into patrol from administrative assignments and specialized units to beef up their presence downtown and in neighborhoods where the shootings took place Thursday.

The risk of clouds and rain on Mother's Day now appears likely to wait until Sunday evening, forecasts show. Until then, Maryland is expected to be under a high-pressure system that will keep highs in the mid- to upper-70s, humidity low and skies clear. A front is expected to move across the region late Sunday, first bringing a chance of thunderstorms and then showers. Clouds are likely, but the chance of precipitation is 20-30 percent. Happy Mother's Day.

Baltimore police just announced the arrest of the fourth and final suspect charged in the videotaped beating and stripping of a tourist that was videotaped and watched across the country on the Internet. Shatia Baldwin, 21, of Baltimore, is now in custody, though details of how and where she was picked up have not yet been released. On Tuesday, police arrested the third suspect, Deangelo Carter, 18, also of Baltimore. Those two suspects,along with 20-year-old Aaron Parsons, a party promoter from Rosedale accused of throwing a punch that decked the victim, are charged with various counts of assault and robbery.

Earth Day weekend is upon us.  I can tell because my email inbox is jammed with pitches for "green" products and corporate campaigns: Clothing made from recycled plastic bottles; natural skin care products; hybrid auto accessories, even pet waste collection bags. Marketing has its place, I suppose. But in keeping with the origins of Earth Day, there are plenty of opportunities to demonstrate concern about the state of our planet and community, without having to buy stuff. Here are some: Baltimore Green Works is holding a week's worth of activities from April 21 to April 28 in celebration of Earth Day. On Saturday, there'll be tree plantings and other activities in the morning, followed by EcoFest at Druid Hill Park from noon to 5 p.m. Gardening workshops, hikes and walks, bike rides, entertainment and a tree giveaway.

Outhouses. Potbellied stoves. Four-mile walks in the snow. These are legacies of the Rosenwald Schools. For the past several weeks, county students have been studying the schools, a loosely affiliated network for African-American children that a white businessman, Julius Rosenwald, helped start with a grant in 1917. Twenty-three would spring up in Anne Arundel County alone. But what fascinated history students at North County High School in Glen Burnie and Southern High School in Harwood were the minutiae -- where children went to the bathroom, how they stayed warm and got to school, and what their classrooms looked like.

IndyCar officials confirmed Friday that the Baltimore Grand Prix will return Labor Day weekend, but they will hold off on releasing the series' complete schedule until after Sunday's season finale in Las Vegas. "Baltimore was a big win this season for a business like ours," said Terry Angstadt, president of the IndyCar Series commercial division. "The entire city was behind it, from the mayor's office to the fans. The grandstands were full with happy, engaged people. When that happens, we're winners.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will return to the city on Labor Day weekend 2012 for the second Baltimore Grand Prix, race president and promoter Jay Davidson confirmed Tuesday. IndyCar is expected to make the official announcement Friday in Las Vegas, where the season concludes Sunday. "We're absolutely excited," Davidson said of having the race return for the three-day weekend Aug. 31-Sept. 2, "just based on the crowd we had here for the inaugural event and the people hanging around on Sunday after the race, just enjoying the day. "And I think it has a nice symmetry with the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer and our race on Labor Day weekend.

Some things, like dining by candlelight, never go out of fashion. But some eating rituals of yesteryear have all but disappeared. For instance, you hardly ever see people dining by rockets' red glare anymore. But that's what the citizen-soldiers and federal forces defending Fort McHenry were doing in September 1814, when they weren't wolfing down their dinner at the twilight's last gleaming or trying to enjoy some quiet table conversation with the bombs bursting in air. Those quaint dining traditions are re-created every September on the grounds of Fort McHenry as part of its Star-Spangled Weekend celebration.