Deputy Chief

The City Council announced last night that it will hold a public hearing next month on whether to confirm Kevin P. Clark as Baltimore's new police commissioner. The council is expected to question Clark, and the public will have an opportunity to comment at the hearing scheduled at 5 p.m. Feb. 26 in the council chambers. The hearing will be televised locally on Comcast Channel 12. Mayor Martin O'Malley appointed the 22-year New York police veteran to the post last week to replace former Commissioner Edward T. Norris, who resigned last month after almost three years to become Maryland State Police superintendent.

Robert Russell, in his first move as acting county police chief, hastransferred 21 officers.Russell, who took over the department Friday after former Chief George Wellham retired, cited future reorganization, management styles and the economy as reasons for the changes."

Harold M. "Hal" Robbins Jr., Annapolis' police chief since October 1990, has resigned abruptly, leaving his deputy as the likely successor to head the 123-member department.Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins said yesterday that the chief submitted a letter of resignation Friday stating he wanted to "pursue other interests." But the mayor said the decision that the chief should go was "mutual."The chief notified his officers of his departure by posting a note on a bulletin board. Yesterday he was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Michael Sarbanes, former deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, has been named executive director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association. Sarbanes will start in March as head of the 62-year-old nonprofit group, which aims to find regional solutions to such problems as transportation, housing and drug addiction. "Michael has a stellar academic and public-policy background on a wide range of issues, from public safety to housing," said Al Barry, president of the board of the organization.

About 2,000 dead fish found floating on the surface of a small Forest Hill pond in Friends Park north of Bel Air last Sunday died from a complex natural process and possibly improper pond management, a state official said.Walter L. Butler, a state natural resources manager, visited the pond Sunday, took water samples and inspected the site.He told county officials that his test results indicated that overstocking, warm water temperatures and normal bacteria growth had killed the bluegills.

The Annapolis firefighters union has called for the fire chief and deputy fire chief to resign because of their handling of an investigation of firefighters accused of having sex on duty.The allegations involved five firefighters and two city police officers who were accused of having sex while on duty four or five years ago.In a statement released this morning during a news conferenceon the steps of City Hall, the union said it asked Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins to seek the resignations of Fire Chief Edward P. Sherlock and Deputy Chief Charles Smith.

A deputy police chief from St. Petersburg, Fla., is likely to become Annapolis' next police chief, sources said yesterday.The City Council will meet in closed session this afternoon to consider Harold Robbins, Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins' top pick for the job, sources said. Robbins was one of six finalists for the chief's job, out of 130 candidates who applied. Hopkins appoints the chief, but the council must confirm his choice.Neither Hopkins nor City Administrator Michael Mallinoff could be reached for comment, but sources in St. Petersburg said Robbins flew into Baltimore-Washington International Airport yesterday.

Arundel police seek attacker of woman in Downs Park 2 Anne Arundel County police are looking for a teenager who they said grabbed a 40-year-old woman around the neck as she walked in Downs Park in Pasadena over the Labor Day weekend. The woman suffered minor injuries, according to police, who said she was on a wooded trail in the park area Saturday about 3:45 p.m. when she came across a teenage boy "acting in a strange manner," appearing to intentionally fall off his bike several times.

LONDON -- Police in Northern Ireland warned of more sectarian killings after six Catholics were killed by gunmen while watching Ireland's World Cup soccer match on television in a pub late Saturday."

Annapolis Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins said Friday that he will not ask Alderman Theresa DeGraff to resign as chairwoman of the City Council'spublic safety committee.The Hopkins-appointed Police-Minority Community Relations Board called for DeGraff's resignation last week, citing comments she made that no Annapolis police officers were qualified to become deputy chief.DeGraff maintains that her remarks referred to all members of thedepartment. However, she specifically cited Annapolis' black officers, and the Black Officers Association and other groups deemed the comments racist.