Greenbelt

GLENN DALE - A church pastor and a Web page designer yesterday got as close to marriage as two same-sex Episcopalians can in Maryland. During a service led by the Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the 12-year relationship between the Rev. Michael Warren Hopkins and John Clinton Bradley was blessed and their relationship recognized by the church. "We've always wanted to be able to have a public celebration of our relationship," Hopkins said before the ceremony.

Service was interrupted yesterday on the MARC Camden Line between Baltimore's Oriole Park and Greenbelt after a person was struck by a freight train, transit officials said. Maryland Rail Commuter officials had no information about the victim, who was struck by a CSX Corp. train about 2:30 p.m. on the tracks between the Laurel and Muirkirk stations in Prince George's County, said MARC spokesman Richard Scher. Service resumed about 4:30 p.m. between Union Station and Greenbelt. Shuttle buses carried passengers from Greenbelt to stops farther north, he said.

Service was interrupted yesterday on the MARC Camden Line between Baltimore's Oriole Park and Greenbelt after a person was struck by a freight train, transit officials said. Maryland Rail Commuter officials had no information about the victim, who was struck by a CSX Corp. train about 2:30 p.m. on the tracks between the Laurel and Muirkirk stations in Prince George's County, said MARC spokesman Richard Scher. Service resumed about 4:30 p.m. between Union Station and Greenbelt. Shuttle buses carried passengers from Greenbelt to stops farther north, he said.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized building in Greenbelt one of the first of three planned communities, hoping to create towns that were better connected both socially and economically. The towns were designed to provide housing for low- to middle-income families. In Greenbelt's case that meant families with earned incomes of $800 to $2,200. Government officials chose three areas for their green town plan: Greenbelt in Maryland, Greendale in Wisconsin and Greenhills in Ohio.

In Harford County Police investigate death of Bel Air woman, 23 BEL AIR -- A 23-year-old Bel Air woman died early yesterday morning after being found in front of her home, and police are investigating the case as a suspicious death. Amy Elizabeth Gallion was found on the front lawn of her Landis Circle home after a night out with friends, police said. Gallion's mother, a registered nurse, administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation without success. Gallion was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:10 a.m. In Prince George's D.C. man pleads guilty in assault on marshals GREENBELT -- A Washington man who rammed the stolen vehicle he was driving into a car occupied by two deputy U.S. marshals, then drove over the legs of another deputy trying to arrest him, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of assaulting a federal officer.

GREENBELT - The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging a University of Maryland policy that limits public speaking and handing out leaflets to certain "free speech zones" on the College Park campus. In a lawsuit filed yesterday at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, the ACLU argues that students who want to pass out literature or voice their views shouldn't be constrained to specific areas. Similar limitations have been lifted after challenges at the University of Texas and other schools.

In Baltimore City Services scheduled Saturday in Largo for slain detective Services for slain Baltimore police Detective Thomas G. Newman will be held Saturday in Largo at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. Newman, 37, was shot and killed early Saturday outside a bar in apparent retaliation for testifying against two men convicted of wounding him during an ambush last year. The detective was off duty at the time of the attack. A viewing will be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the church.

GREENBELT - A federal grand jury indicted a Silver Spring woman yesterday on murder charges in the death of a U.S. Park Police officer who was struck and killed Aug. 10 at the scene of an earlier fatal accident on Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Jovada P. Welch, 20, was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and related traffic offenses, including driving under the influence. She was charged in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt because the victim, Hakim Farthing, was a federal officer and the incident occurred on federal land.

GREENBELT - A federal grand jury indicted a Silver Spring woman yesterday on murder charges in the death of a U.S. Park Police officer who was struck and killed Aug. 10 at the scene of an earlier fatal accident on Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Jovada P. Welch, 20, was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and related traffic offenses, including driving under the influence. She was charged in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt because the victim, Hakim Farthing, was a federal officer and the incident occurred on federal land.