Germantown

GERMANTOWN -- Here in Montgomery County, a children's game applauded for its simplicity has become a multimillion-dollar, corporately sponsored controversy.And that's just on paper.The Maryland Soccer Foundation wants to turn a chunk of a county park in Germantown into a "Soccerplex" of 21 outdoor fields, an outdoor championship field with bleacher seating for 3,200 and an indoor arena with several fields.The price: $19.8 million.Officials of the nonprofit group say they will pay for more than half the cost of the project through user fees and corporate donations.

The city of Annapolis wants to do a good thing: renovate land around Germantown Elementary into athletic fields for the community. Germantown parents want to do a good thing, too: raise money for their school by using the same land as a parking lot for special events.Mayor Dean L. Johnson is trying to figure out how to do both on the 34 acres to keep the school's PTA, the Citizens Advisory Committee, the community and visitors to the city happy."It's trying to get competing interests squeezed onto one small site," Johnson said.

A Germantown man who was returning home from the Orioles' Opening Day game at Camden Yards was killed on U.S. 29 in Columbia.Howard County police said Donald Morris Crowley Jr., 34, of the 18000 block of Chalet Drive was driving a 1987 Honda Prelude southbound on U.S. 29 north of Route 175 about 8: 23 p.m. Wednesday when he hit another car in the middle lane.Crowley's car swerved across the fast lane onto the grass median before becoming airborne, police said. Crowley, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car after it rolled and landed in the fast lane.

GERMANTOWN -- The deliveries that arrive at this quiet, nondescript suite, tucked away in a shoe box of an office building just off Interstate 270, are anything but nondescript: A hair. A bloodstained swatch of fabric. A lipstick-smudged cigarette butt. A torn fingernail. An ax.They are all remnants of sordid episodes of murder, rape, acts of betrayal.Each item will be combed for a trace of human life, a genetic calling card that can be used to help answer such questions as: "Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?"

Microlog Corp.Germantown ... ... ... Ticker ... .. ... ... Yesterdays... ... ... ... ... .. Symbol ... ... ... Cls. ... Chg.... ... ... ... ... ...MLOG ... ... .. .. 1 1/16 .. +1/16Period ended1/31 ... ... ... ... ... 1st qtr. ... ... ... ... Year ago ... ... Chg.Revenue ... ... .. .. .. $5,429 ... ... ... .. .. $4,095 ... ... +32.6%Net Income ... ... .. .. ($950) ... ... ... .. .. $281 ... ... .. --Primary EPS ... ... .. ..($0.25) ... ... .. .. .. $0.07 ... .. .. --Figures in thousands (except per share data)

LOS ANGELES -- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is accusing Hughes Aircraft Co. of violating federal guidelines that require government contractors to diversify their work forces and management.Officials of the civil rights group said they would present evidence at a news conference in Washington today that Hughes, which employs 55,000 people, has only two black vice presidents and that blacks are grossly underrepresented in its work force.The move by the NAACP reflects its new strategy of scrutinizing industries that do business with the federal government to assure that they comply with affirmative-action requirements.

GERMANTOWN -- Normal commuter rail service is planned for the Brunswick line today after Tuesday's derailment of 33 rail cars, officials said. Buses, however, will be standing by this morning in case the repairs are delayed.Amtrak officials have said they do not plan to resume service to Pittsburgh and the west over the line until tomorrow.

GERMANTOWN -- A federal jury acquitted a Germantown man of charges that he kidnapped a Gaithersburg juvenile and )) forced him to drive through Maryland and Washington to buy crack cocaine.The jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Brandon R. Barnes, 21, not guilty of charges of kidnapping and a weapons offense.In October, federal prosecutors said the charges were made in ** the state's first federal carjacking case, although the indictment came several weeks before the federal carjacking law went into effect.

GERMANTOWN -- A Gaithersburg woman died late Saturday when the car she was driving struck a tree on Cinnamon Drive. A teen-age passenger was injured.According to Montgomery County police, Shirley E. Robinson, 20, of the first block of School Drive, was driving a 1983 Pontiac north in the 12800 block of Cinnamon Drive when the car ran off the right side of the road, striking a tree.Ms. Robinson died instantly.The passenger, Sherry Benjamin, 14, was taken to Suburban Hospital where she was treated and released, a hospital spokesman said.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Bennett announced charges yesterday that he described as the first federal carjacking indictment in Maryland since the recent surge in reports of the violent car thefts.Brandon R. Barnes, 21, of Germantown was charged by a federal grand jury with kidnapping and a gun offense for allegedly forcing a Gaithersburg man at gunpoint to drive him to locations in Maryland and Washington to buy crack cocaine.Mr. Barnes was ordered held without bail at a hearing yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before Chief Magistrate Judge Clarence E. Goetz.

Blast, fire hit underground construction site Baltimore firefighters responded last night to an underground explosion and fire at a construction site near Maryland General Hospital. No one was injured. The underground fire broke out before 9 p.m. in the 400 block of W. Madison St. at Eutaw Street, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a spokesman for the Fire Department. Crews from Baltimore Gas and Electric had completed repairs to a 110,000-volt feeder line on the site of a future switching station when they were attempting to restore electricity.

On July 7, 2008, BONNIE BASENER of Germantown, MD. Devoted daughter of Ronald and Anne Schulcz Basener. Loving sister of Brian R. Basener and Stephen J. Basener. Also survived by a dear friend Tom A. Minto. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Forest Hill, MD, on Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 10:30 A.M. Interment will be in Bel Air Memorial Gardens, Bel Air, MD. Friends may call at the family owned McComas Funeral Home. P.A.. Abingdon, MD, on Friday from 3 to 5 and 6 to 9 P.M.,and on Saturday from 9 to 10:30 A.M., at the church.

The lime-green shoots of tulips are beginning to push their way through a patch of rich dirt in front of Germantown Elementary School. Principal Walter Reap parks beside this garden every morning, and sometimes he considers the tulips' slow and perseverant reach for the sun and sky as a symbol of the gradual rebirth he is seeing at his school. Reap is in his first year as head of an Annapolis school that has grappled with drastic demographic shifts during the past decade. A school that once had nearly 600 students evenly split between white and African-American, saw its enrollment drop in 2001 to barely 400, with Hispanic students making up a third of enrollment, as white students dropped to 15 percent.

Hampered by the lack of a passing game last season, Morgan State brought in three quarterbacks on national signing day in a recruiting haul that landed 23 high school or Division I transfers. The Bears recruited the prolific passing combination of quarterback Delonte Williams and wide receiver Winfield Diggs from Friendship Collegiate High in Washington. The two other quarterbacks signed were Donavan Dickerson, who led Detroit's Martin Luther King High to a 14-0 state championship, and Carlton Jackson, a transfer from Akron and one of seven Florida natives added to the roster.

On Thursday, June 28, 2007, HELEN M. WALSH (age 79), of Germantown, MD, formerly of Potomac, MD. Beloved wife of the late Edward F. Walsh; loving mother of Maureen Burns (Bob), Joan Walsh, Timothy Walsh (Heidi), John Walsh, Kathleen Kelly (Jack) and Michael Walsh; sister of Edward Lott (Pat). Also survived by seven grandchildren, three step-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. Friends may call at DeVol Funeral Home, 10 East Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20877 on Sunday, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at Mother Seton Catholic Church, 19951 Father Hurley Blvd, Germantown, MD 20874 on Monday, July 2, 2007 at 10:30 A.M. Interment St. Gabriel's Cemetery, Potomac, MD. The family respectfully request, in lieu of flowers, that memorial contributions be made in Helen's name to the Mercy Health Cinic, Attn: Peter Antico, Treasurer, 12900 Middlebrook Rd., Germantown, MD 20874 or the Read Center, 1605 Monument Ave., Richmond, VA 23220, Attn: Carol Holmquist.

GERMANTOWN -- Beneath the soccer field at Great Seneca Creek Elementary School, antifreeze circulates through a coil of pipes deep underground, where it absorbs the earth's warmth to heat classrooms. The school's speckled bathroom stalls are built from recycled soda bottles. The bookshelves are made from wheat, to save trees. Welcome to Maryland's first officially "green" school, built to meet the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. The number of green buildings registered by the nonprofit group has soared nationally, with 770 across the country today compared with fewer than 50 in 2002.

Suddenly on February 13, 2007, DR. MITZI G. PITTS, 46, of Germantown. She was an Elder at Germantown Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday School and was a Youth Leader and mentor. Dr. Pitts was a avid educator and former Professor at the University of Memphis. She leaves her loving husband and best friend, Bob Pitts. She was a dedicated mother to her children, daughter, Lara, sons, Andrew and Aaron. She also leaves her mother, Dena (Bill) Huffman of Charleston, WV, and her father, Richard (Teresa)

GERMANTOWN -- A 7-year-old girl was shot in the arm at her before-school day care center yesterday morning by an 8-year-old boy who had brought his father's handgun from home, police said. The girl, whom police would not identify, was in stable condition yesterday with what they described as a serious but not life-threatening wound. The boy, whom police also would not identify, remained in custody on unspecified charges pending a review by the Department of Juvenile Services. The boy's father, 56-year-old John Linwood Hall of Germantown, was charged with leaving a firearm in a location accessible by an unsupervised minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

What are the latest trends in home decor and design? Head to the Maryland Home and Furnishings Show in Germantown this weekend to find out. Hundreds of exhibitors will crowd the Discovery Sports Center at the Maryland Soccerplex to show and sell new flooring, lighting, window treatments, painting, roofing, siding, gutter systems, plumbing, kitchen and bath products and designs. There will also be home furnishings, fine art and accessories for sale. And on Saturday, Home and Garden Television's design expert, Libby Langdon, pictured, (host of Small Space, Big Style)

Willkommen! Break out the bratwurst and hike up the lederhosen -- it's Oktoberfest time again. It's a time to celebrate oversized beer bellies, oompah and polka music, brewing contests and authentic German dishes. Oktoberfests happening around the state this year serve up traditional activities, including home-brew contests, arts and crafts, dancing and performances from local musicians. Here's a roundup of some of the state's festivals. Maryland Brewer's Oktoberfest Main attractions at this Oct. 15-16 event include beer gardens showcasing beverages from 11 different breweries and two stages of live music, one German-themed and the other local.