Garage

When John Sullivan's search for the perfect house came to an end more than a decade ago, he did not consider it odd to have spent $112,000 for the property — even if it was just a one-car garage built in 1927. The 600-square-foot former garage sat on a three-acre parcel of land along a tree-shaded lane in Ruxton. Inside was a 1970s addition of a bedroom and bathroom, the narrowest of foyers and a small galley kitchen. The space had served as a private retreat, an outbuilding belonging to the owner of a stately house further up the hill.

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For a little over a century, starting with the end of the Revolutionary War, Maryland craftsmen were producing some of the finest home furnishings anywhere. Inlaid bellflower furniture, painted furniture, repousse silver, case clocks and other goods made in Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick and elsewhere during this period are still admired for their design, quality and craftsmanship. Today, furniture from all over the world is easy and often inexpensive to come by, but there remains a demand for quality furnishings made by hand.

Art Museum Drive Unit block, between 4:20 and 6 p.m. June 22. Laptop, briefcase, credit cards, checkbooks stolen from vehicle. Beech Avenue 3900 block, between 9 p.m. June 25 and 2:30 a.m. June 26. Residence ransacked. Nothing taken. Entry gained by breaking front door glass. Bellemore Road 800 block, between 5 p.m. June 24 and 10 .m. June 25. Sunglasses, iPod stolen from unlocked vehicle. Broxton Avenue 300 block, between 12:01 a.m. and 3 p.m. June 25. Lawnmower, gas can stolen from garage.

Many people are afraid of crime in parking lots and garages, and not without reason. According to a 1999 U.S. Department of Justice report, they are the second most frequent place for nonviolent crimes and the third most frequent place for violent crimes in the United States. That said, hiring armed guards at $40 to $50 an hour to patrol parking garages in downtown Baltimore may not always be necessary. A recent report from the city's inspector general, David McClintock, said much the same thing.

The Baltimore parking official in charge of managing contracts at city-owned garages "exerted influence" on garage operators to hire a firm owned by her then-boyfriend, according to the city's inspector general. In a report distributed Tuesday to members of the City Council, Inspector General David McClintock wrote that the actions of Bheti M. Woodberry "sparked serious concerns for many and further suggested a conflict of interest … due to her direct involvement in the security operations of the individual parking management companies.

What if a single idea could create jobs, offer low-cost goods to shoppers and creatively repurpose vacant property in economically depressed neighborhoods throughout Baltimore? Not many new businesses are eager to open in such neighborhoods, although they are the very places that most need a shot of economic vitality. Our vision is to take an abandoned property and transform it into a store where community members can buy and sell lightly used items that they no longer need. If successful, the project could be replicated in similar communities throughout the city, increasing economic activity and strengthening neighborhoods.

In the eyes of anyone who loves railroading, Norman L. Warfield Sr., a retired Amtrak locomotive engineer, was a lucky man. During his lifetime, he got to play with real locomotives and diminutive ones. Warfield, who had celebrated his 70th birthday in January, died less than a month later of cancer in Baltimore. The Baltimore native, who was raised in Hampden and graduated from Polytechnic Institute, became an apprentice tool and die maker and worked at his trade in machine shops in Maryland and New Jersey.