Fired

A Corporation for Public Broadcasting investigation - prompted by the firing of talk-show host Marc Steiner last year - has found that public radio station WYPR-FM has not been meeting requirements for seeking community input and holding public meetings. In addition to its failure to follow procedures to ensure public input, the report concluded that WYPR also could not show that it had spent money from the CPB - more than $331,000 for fiscal 2007 - as was required. The report did not accuse WYPR of misspending funds but strongly suggested its bookkeeping be improved.

WASHINGTON -- Long before they fired a group of U.S. attorneys, senior White House and Justice Department officials were already discussing some politically connected insiders for their replacements, documents released yesterday show, undercutting earlier claims that the prosecutors were terminated for purely performance reasons. The new documents, turned over to congressional investigators in a widening probe of the firings, also show that the administration prized attorneys who shared their Republican ideology.

CHARLES SMOTHERS has filed a $30 million lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department, claiming two counts of wrongful discharge, fraud, violation of rights and civil conspiracy.I hope he guts the department like a fish, bleeds it dry, makes it pay. In August 1997, Smothers -- then Officer Charles Smothers -- shot and killed a knife-wielding James Quarles at Lexington Market. It was one of the cleanest shootings in Baltimore police history. How did the department repay him? It made him the poster boy for domestic violence and had Smothers suffer for the sins of every Baltimore cop who beat his wife or girlfriend.

Trinita Henderson got fired from Baltimore's public schools while she was out on maternity leave. Stephanie Alston got the boot after her principal told her to stop wearing skirts that were too short.Kristine Woodson lost her job because she couldn't control a classroom in which pupils called her a curse word and erupted into fistfights. Tammy Haisley can't say for sure what happened to her, because she got fired without receiving an evaluation.City school officials said this week that these four and more than 250 other teachers will lose their jobs as part of an effort to make classroom instruction better.

NEW YORK -- The question is not whether Ray Miller should be fired. Of course he should be fired. He never should have been hired in the first place.The Orioles, however, would be fooling themselves if they thought they could save their season by replacing Miller.This team is too far gone.Miller is overmatched as a manager. He's an uneven strategist. He fails to get the most out of his players. He commands little respect in the clubhouse.That much was known entering the season; some in baseball knew it the day Miller was hired.

A police sergeant suffered a graze wound in the neck last night when a man opened fire on him in a West Baltimore alley.Sgt. Michael D. Caperoon, 42, of the Western District, was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center and released, police spokesman Robert W. Weinhold Jr. said.Caperoon and other officers were near the 500 block of N. Schroeder St. about 6: 40 p.m. and heard gunshots, Weinhold said. When Caperoon confronted a man in an alley, he fired several shots, wounding Caperoon. The officer fired back as the gunman fled down the alley then exchanged gunfire with other officers.

A Westminster man was released on his own recognizance after being arrested on a charge of making a bomb threat last week at the McDonald's restaurant on Route 140, where he had been fired, authorities said.Robert Allen Robinson, 18, of the 1600 block of Washington Road was arrested at his home about 10 p.m. Saturday.He had worked at the restaurant until Oct. 26, when he was fired by a manager after he was accused of "getting alcoholic beverages for a minor," state fire marshals said in charging documents.

A lawyer for the former manager of the Hilltop Apartments in Ellicott City, the oldest county-owned public housing complex, alleges that his client was discriminated against and fired because she is white.During a hearing yesterday in Howard County Circuit Court, James C. Strouse said officials used four complaints against his client, F. Gail Huddleston, as an excuse to fire her. Strouse said in court that Leonard Vaughan, the county's housing administrator, who is black, fired Huddleston because "he wanted to replace her with someone much younger and of a different race."

PoliceSykesville: A resident of Oakland Mills Road told state police Sunday that someone fired a shot, damaging the driver's door of his Nissan pickup truck while it was parked outside his home. Damage was estimated at $500.FireSykesville: Units from Sykesville, Gamber and Winfield responded at 10: 44 a.m. Sunday to a house fire in the 6400 block of Church St. Units were out 14 minutes.Pub Date: 5/25/99

The Yankees have tons of history. The Mets a few scraps.But they share one important piece -- Yogi Berra.One of the most poignant moments during the Yankees' 8-4 win last night at sold-out Shea Stadium came when Berra tossed out the ceremonial first pitch to a reverent standing ovation, a salute that included nearly the entire Yankees squad on the top step of the visiting team's dugout.The 73-year-old Berra, who had a Hall of Fame playing career with the Yankees before managing both the Yankees and the Mets, has not been back to Yankee Stadium since George Steinbrenner fired him as manager 16 games into the 1985 season.

Maryland's second-highest court has thrown out appeals filed by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark, the latest and the possibly fatal blow in his continuing legal battle to get his job back. City Solicitor George A. Nilson cheered the court's opinion, declaring that the case was "over." But Clark's attorney vowed to take the case back to the state's highest court, where he scored a victory last year. Clark sued the city in 2004, saying he was wrongly fired by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley amid allegations of domestic violence that were later determined to be unfounded.

Harford County police said Monday that they had received numerous complaints from neighbors in the past two years about a 37-year-old man charged in a Sunday morning shooting rampage. Police said Mark A. Snyder of the 800 block of Dellwood Drive, Fallston, fired a shotgun and a handgun at four northern Harford County homes, including the residence of his former employer. Snyder was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and other violations. No one was injured, police said.

A Corporation for Public Broadcasting investigation - prompted by the firing of talk-show host Marc Steiner last year - has found that public radio station WYPR-FM has not been meeting requirements for seeking community input and holding public meetings. In addition to its failure to follow procedures to ensure public input, the report concluded that WYPR also could not show that it had spent money from the CPB - more than $331,000 for fiscal 2007 - as was required. The report did not accuse WYPR of misspending funds but strongly suggested its bookkeeping be improved.

A defense attorney for a man charged with shooting at a Baltimore police officer in April grilled the officer during the opening day of the trial about his shooting at the suspect 10 times and questioned why the defendant's DNA was not found on the weapon. Prosecutors defend the police officer's conduct and say the key evidence in the case is gunshot residue recovered from both of 29-year-old Antonio Holton's hands, making it clear that Holton had fired a weapon. But the opening day of Holton's attempted-murder trial Friday featured plenty of skepticism from the defense about how police handled the case.

The Cleveland Browns are formulating a plan that ultimately could lead to the return of Marty Schottenheimer (right) as their coach for the 2009 season, ESPN reported, citing anonymous sources. The Browns would also be open to considering Bill Cowher if he sends stronger signals that he's ready to return, the sources said. The Browns plan to fire coach Romeo Crennel after a disappointing year, the sources said. Publicly, owner Randy Lerner has said only that he will evaluate Crennel after the season.

The Oakland Raiders fired coach Lane Kiffin yesterday just four games into his second season, ending a public feud with owner Al Davis that had been simmering since the start of the year. "I reached a point where I felt that the whole staff were fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was to make a change," Davis said during a lengthy news conference. "It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy." The Raiders promoted offensive line coach Tom Cable to interim head coach.

A man was fatally shot yesterday afternoon near Forest Park High School, and city police do not know his identity or a motive for the killing. About 3 p.m., Northwestern District police responding to a 911 call reporting shots fired in the 4100 block of Barrington Road found the victim on the ground, bleeding from at least one gunshot wound. A Fire Department dispatcher said that medics pronounced the man dead at the scene and that city homicide detectives were investigating. Metro Crime Stoppers at 410-276-8888 is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and an indictment in the slaying.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge dismissed yesterday a $60 million lawsuit filed by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark against the city and Gov. Martin O'Malley, who fired Clark when he was mayor. O'Malley fired Clark in 2004, saying that allegations that the commissioner had assaulted his fiancee were distracting him from doing his job. Clark's attorneys, A. Dwight Pettit and Neal Janey, argued that Clark was fired because he was investigating police and city officials and that the mayor did not have the proper legal authority.

Two men robbed an off-duty Anne Arundel County police officer Saturday in Pasadena just before midnight and fired a shot into his car before running away, police said. The officer was driving his personal vehicle and saw two men in a parking lot in the 8100 block of Waterford Road, according to a news release from the police. The men waved him over, and he pulled over. One man pulled a gun, and the victim gave them his cash. They fired a shot into the vehicle, which missed the officer, whose name is being withheld for his safety.

City lawyers filed a memo yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court opposing the reinstatement of former police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark, who wants his old job back. Clark, who was fired by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley in 2004, filed a legal memo this month seeking reinstatement after the state's highest court upheld a ruling saying the city erred in the dismissal. Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the mayor and the Police Department, said yesterday's action states the city's opposition to Clark's return.