Family

Phyllis Scott was waiting for the day her son would be released from prison to return to East Baltimore, and she hoped he could steer clear of trouble in the future. But that day never came. Malcolm Jerrod "Rod" Pridget, who was just shy of his 20th birthday, left the Western Correctional Institution in late November in critical condition after sustaining severe head injuries in his cell. He died at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center a couple of days later - another victim in a recent spate of deadly violence in the state's prisons.

Situated in the city's Bolton Hill neighborhood is a relatively new development of brick townhouses solidly placed among the late Victorian and early-20th-century structures that once housed the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Woodrow Wilson and, more recently, pianist Leon Fleisher. This little enclave within an enclave is called Lions Park Fountains. The two-story houses hug the periphery of an open, brick-paved courtyard with benches and fountains. Large statues of lions guard the entrance to the 1980 development.

Editor: What's in a name? I often ask people if they know why their parents chose the name they were given. Sometimes the answer is no, and I suggest the person ask their parents for an answer. I don't know why my parents chose my name, however, I found out that there are 16 others with the same first and last name that I have. I jokingly tell others I can do anything I want to and God won't know if I or one of the other 16 people did it. I was told God doesn't use names; God uses finger prints!

Rita Custer, of Aberdeen, has always been self-reliant. A former assistant manager for a Rite Aid Pharmacy, she is currently living on unemployment due to prolonged illness. She is also raising two sons, age 11 and 16. Her oldest, Justin, has Down's syndrome and has been the victim of bullying in his own back yard. For many years, Custer's wish has been for a place where her sons could play in safety. Justin is a client of the Arc Northern Chesapeake region, and after his mother suffered two strokes, the organization stepped up to help.

A Baltimore-bound United Airlines flight was diverted and a local family removed from the plane after the parents complained about the content of an in-flight movie. The February incident resulted in the passengers being escorted off the flight by police at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the family said, relaying the experience anonymously in a response to an article about air rage posted on The Atlantic Monthly's website . In a statement released to The Sun, United Airlines said Flight 683 from Denver to Baltimore was diverted to Chicago after the crew reported a disturbance involving a passenger.

The scars across 16-year-old Dominic Solesky's face are faint, but that doesn't stop people from asking where he got them. The Towson High School junior and his family have told the story many times. Six years ago, Dominic was mauled by a pit bull named Clifford in the alley behind his red brick rowhouse in East Towson, an attack that resulted in trauma surgery at John Hopkins Hospital and a year of rehabilitation. The family's case seeking restitution resulted in last year's Maryland Court of Appeals decision labeling pit bulls "inherently dangerous" and broadening the liability of landlords.

Four generations of Nellie Plott's family got together recently. Plott is great-grandmother to Kylie Riha and Aiden Riha, grandmother to Jay Riha, and mother to Donna Riha. All reside in Abingdon.

A group of victim advocates are holding a "tweetchat" to draw attention to what they said was a broken promise from Gov. Martin O'Malley to give money to families of homicide victims. The chat can be followed on Twitter using the hash tag #victimsmatter In the bill that would repeal Maryland's death penalty, O'Malley included $500,000 for next year's budget to help families of murder victims and other violent crimes. O'Malley pressed repeal on the grounds it was expense and ineffective, arguing taxpayer dollars should be better spent.

Old Catonsville boasts turn-of-the-last-century buildings and schools, fine restaurants, antiques and music shops, and a library. But scattered among the Victorian structures are Arts and Crafts-style homes built in the early 20th century. It is in one of these that the Shaw family resides, just blocks off of the town's main street. "We moved here from just two blocks away," said Kelley Shaw, a 37-year-old speech pathologist. "Our [other] house had no driveway and we loved the porches on these old houses.

Forgetting what day it was and unaware of her son's new-found love of pranks, Rodgers Forge resident Kim Morton walked unsuspectingly into the kitchen one morning and found herself soaked. "I came downstairs dressed nicely for work," she says of that April 1st. "I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and walked to the sink. Using a rubber band and toothpick, [my son] had rigged it so when you turned the faucet on, the water came out right at chest level. " A change of clothes later, Morton says she and her husband, Will, were smiling.