Deputy Commissioner

Harold R. Perry resigned this week as deputy commissioner of the city Department of Housing and Community Development after six years on the job.He was responsible for housing and building inspections, development of new neighborhood housing, community services, and administration of state and federal grants.Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said Perry will not be replaced for now.Pub Date: 8/29/96

The Baltimore Police Department announced Wednesday an expected shakeup in its top ranks, including a new deputy commissioner and new leadership for the patrol and criminal investigations divisions. The moves were triggered by the retirement of Deputy Commissioner Deborah A. Owens, who had held that position since Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III took over in 2007. Col. John Skinner, who has overseen the patrol division, will take Owens' spot, overseeing issues including finance, recruitment and discipline.

Christopher Shea, the deputy commissioner for development who played a key role in some of the biggest revitalization initiatives planned or under way by Baltimore's housing department, has left the city agency to become the chief real estate officer for the nonprofit overseeing the east-side renewal effort centered around a biotech park. Shea began work this week at East Baltimore Development Inc. but said he would be available for consultation on other city projects he worked on - a list that includes Uplands in Southwest Baltimore, Barclay and Claremont-Freedom Village.

A former high-ranking official who oversaw the state's pretrial detention centers pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing from arrestees money that had been contaminated with body fluids and burying most of it in a junkyard. Benjamin F. Brown, 60, of Crofton, was fired in August from his position of deputy commissioner of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services' pretrial division. His responsibilities included oversight of Baltimore's Central Booking and Intake Facility, the first stop for people arrested in the city.

Elias Augustus "Tink" Dorsey, a seasoned city administrator whose career spanned from educator to serving as deputy commissioner of the Housing Authority of the City of Baltimore, died Monday of pancreatic cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The longtime Woodlawn resident was 69. Dr. Dorsey, the son of a contractor and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in the city's Pimlico neighborhood. The origin of Dr. Dorsey's nickname of "Tink" or "Tinker," which he had picked up in his childhood and remained with him for the rest of his life, derived from a keen interest in tinkering with and fixing all variety of gadgets, said Daniel P. Henson III, the former city housing commissioner, who became friends with him when both were students at what is now Morgan State University.

The Baltimore Police Department is laying off 10 cadets and 19 "contract specialists" - mostly retired officers who perform investigations and other duties on contract - to save money. Notices were sent this week to the workers, telling them that their positions are being cut in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Deputy Commissioner Kenneth Blackwell said yesterday that the projected savings will be $780,476. "Certainly through no fault of their own, but because of budget constraints, these positions are being eliminated," he said.

A former city police major, who is chief of Morgan State University's force, will take over next month as the No. 2 commander of the Baltimore Police Department. Leonard Hamm said he met yesterday with Commissioner Kevin P. Clark and agreed to accept the job of deputy commissioner of operations. The 55-year-old Baltimore native said he hopes to help stop the rumored decline in morale within the department. He said he has seen too many experienced officers depart. "Everybody can't leave," Hamm said.

Each time a new police commissioner arrived in Baltimore, he shuffled the department's command staff. And each time, Kenneth L. Blackwell survived and continued to climb the ranks. From 1990 until his retirement last week, Blackwell, 56, served as a high-ranking appointee under six police commissioners. During a send-off party Wednesday at police headquarters, and in conversations around the building, his colleagues praised his integrity and cool demeanor. "He's weathered storms," said Maj. Rick Hite, who first met Blackwell in 1977.

The revolving front-office door of the Baltimore Blast turned again yesterday when general manager John Borozzi resigned to take over the re-created position of deputy commissioner of the Major Soccer League.Borozzi's resignation means the team has gone through two general managers (Stan White and Borozzi) and made several other front-office changes in less than two years since Ed Hale bought the team.White's official title was vice president/general counsel, but he had the duties of a general manager for one year before Borozzi took over.

Kenneth Strong, director of research for a nonprofit law center in Baltimore devoted to helping community organizations, started a new job with the city yesterday as director of the office of homeownership. Strong, who will try to encourage homeownership through loan programs and promotional efforts to persuade more people to live in the city, was one of five housing department hires announced during a news conference yesterday at City Hall. Other incoming housing officials introduced by the mayor yesterday included Douglass Austin, deputy commissioner for development; J. Gregory Love, deputy commissioner for housing and building code enforcement; Ruth Louie, assistant commissioner for community development; and Chris Shea, associate deputy director of planning and development.

Elias Augustus "Tink" Dorsey, a seasoned city administrator whose career spanned from educator to serving as deputy commissioner of the Housing Authority of the City of Baltimore, died Monday of pancreatic cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The longtime Woodlawn resident was 69. Dr. Dorsey, the son of a contractor and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in the city's Pimlico neighborhood. The origin of Dr. Dorsey's nickname of "Tink" or "Tinker," which he had picked up in his childhood and remained with him for the rest of his life, derived from a keen interest in tinkering with and fixing all variety of gadgets, said Daniel P. Henson III, the former city housing commissioner, who became friends with him when both were students at what is now Morgan State University.

City police said they will resume weekly intelligence-sharing meetings for commanders that were suspended last month amid concerns that they had grown tired and were no longer the most effective way to pore over crime data. A memo distributed to officers said the Comstat meetings, which have not been held since April 1, will resume this Thursday with slight tweaks. The New York-based concept was adopted by Baltimore in 2000 and has become a national law enforcement standard. Gov. Martin O'Malley also applied the principles to government-management programs.

Wells Fargo event to help struggling borrowers Struggling borrowers with Wells Fargo or Wachovia mortgages can go to a Wells Fargo event at the Baltimore Convention Center next week for help. The company will have representatives on hand to discuss options, including eligibility for the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at One West Pratt Street, Level 100, Hall F. Borrowers should bring a letter explaining their situation, a list of their assets and expenses, and recent pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns/W2s.

Ralph S. Tyler III, Maryland's insurance commissioner and a former Baltimore city solicitor, announced Wednesday he is leaving state government for a federal post as chief counsel at the Food and Drug Administration. "It was not an easy decision, but the opportunity at the FDA is certainly exciting," said Tyler, who said he brought a sharper focus to consumer protection during his tenure as insurance commissioner. "It includes the opportunity to go back to being principally a lawyer, which is how I spent my professional life, and it is what I enjoy."

The Ice Edge investment group has signed a letter of intent to purchase the financially floundering Coyotes from the NHL with a long-term commitment to keep the team in Arizona. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said much remains to be done before the sale closes, but the league pledged to work closely with Ice Edge "to bring the sale to conclusion as expeditiously as possible." Ice Edge chief executive officer Anthony LeBlanc said "Ice Edge has committed to keep the Coyotes in Glendale for the remaining term of the original lease."

Dr. John Burling DeHoff, a Baltimore internist who later served as the city's health commissioner for nearly a decade, died Monday of heart failure at the Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville. He was 96. Born in Baltimore into a medical family, Dr. DeHoff's father, grandfather and great uncle, were physicians. He was raised in Charles Village and attended the Marston's University School for Boys and was a 1931 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Johns Hopkins University in 1935 and his medical degree, also from Hopkins, in 1939.

Wells Fargo event to help struggling borrowers Struggling borrowers with Wells Fargo or Wachovia mortgages can go to a Wells Fargo event at the Baltimore Convention Center next week for help. The company will have representatives on hand to discuss options, including eligibility for the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at One West Pratt Street, Level 100, Hall F. Borrowers should bring a letter explaining their situation, a list of their assets and expenses, and recent pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns/W2s.

The Baltimore Police Department announced yesterday the first wide-ranging shake-up of its top command ranks in more than two years, coming just days after the departure of Leonard D. Hamm as commissioner. The changes announced by acting Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III include a new deputy commissioner of operations and the retirement of a 31-year veteran from the top administrative post. The city is in the midst of a surge in homicides and shootings this year, with 178 homicides through yesterday, compared with 151 slayings for the same period last year.

Baltimore's Police Department needs to elevate more women to high-level positions, according to two City Council members who have fielded complaints from female officers who say they have been slighted. "We want to make sure the female officers - some of them work very hard - are afforded the same opportunities as the male officers," City Councilman Bernard "Jack" Young said yesterday during a City Hall hearing on women in law enforcement and recruitment. "I've seen some of those female officers out there.