Hamm

Gregory F. Hamm, an executive with nearly 20 years of experience in planning and development, has replaced a veteran Rouse vice president at the helm of downtown development in Columbia, General Growth Properties Inc. announced yesterday. Hamm, 45, replaced Douglas M. Godine, who has served as first vice president, development, with responsibility for Columbia since March 2006. Chicago-based General Growth bought Rouse in 2004. "I do want to follow in the tradition of Jim Rouse and Columbia and make sure that we're on the cutting edge of intelligent and visionary planning," Hamm said yesterday.

Courts Krauser named to lead appeals courts Judge Peter B. Krauser, a seven-year member of the Court of Special Appeals and a former federal prosecutor, will take over as chief judge of the state's second-highest court, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday. Krauser will replace Chief Judge John G. Murphy, whom O'Malley appointed this week to the Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court. A graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Krauser will be responsible for assigning cases, ruling on motions for injunctions pending appeal and other tasks.

Baltimore's mayor fired Leonard D. Hamm, the city's eighth police commissioner in as many years. Dixon, facing a plague of murders that could top 300 by year's end and a pivotal mayorial primary in September, decided to dump Hamm after a poll conducted by The Sun indicated a lack of public confidence in the commissioner's leadership. ?I don't do things for form and fashion, I don't do things because it's politically correct.? Sheila Dixon

The murder rate is an unfair measure of a police commissioner's performance. Mayor Sheila Dixon acknowledged as much yesterday, after canning Leonard D. Hamm. But she appears to have calculated that with the murder rate on track to return to 1990s levels, something dramatic was required - if only to show that she was taking notice - and Mr. Hamm didn't have enough positives after nearly three years in the top job to offset the nightly News at Eleven killings. His firing was a symbolic act, then, a promise by a mayor running for election that she's ready to do something about crime in Baltimore.

While the political consequences of firing a police commissioner two months before an election remain unclear, several experts predicted yesterday that the potentially risky decision may ultimately pay off for Mayor Sheila Dixon's campaign. She as already ahead in the polls, and her ouster of Leonard D. Hamm seemed to have an instant effect on the tenor of the race, neutralizing criticism by her leading opponents and presenting the image, at least, that the mayor is taking decisive action.

Mayor Sheila Dixon said yesterday that she replaced her unpopular police commissioner because she "wasn't feeling that drive like I wanted to" and said she was impressed with the way his interim replacement, Frederick H. Bealefeld III, peppered colleagues with engaging and challenging questions during crime meetings. In an interview hours after she formally announced she had asked Leonard D. Hamm to resign amid plunging support and soaring numbers of homicides and shootings, Dixon confirmed long-standing claims from officers and their union that Bealefeld has effectively been running the department for months.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm, hired to stabilize a department in turmoil but recently under fire as the city's homicide count soars, has resigned, sources close to the decision told The Sun yesterday. Mayor Sheila Dixon is expected to make the formal announcement at City Hall today. The administration has been struggling to craft a response to the rise in homicides and shootings that have sapped police morale and become fodder for Dixon's rivals in this year's election.

When he took the reins of the Baltimore Police Department on Nov. 10, 2004, he did so as the hometown hero - a native who grew up in Cherry Hill, led the City College basketball team and climbed police ranks for two decades to become the first black commander of the high-profile Central District. Leonard D. Hamm's tenure immediately followed those of two commissioners imported from New York who encountered personal scandals during their time here. Local politicians and residents cheered the return of one of their own to the helm.

Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm's resignation leaves the Baltimore Police Department without a leader at an especially challenging time -- less than two months before the mayoral primary election, as the city struggles with a surge in homicides and shootings. Mayor Sheila Dixon is expected to name Frederick H. Bealefeld III to temporarily take over the 3,000-officer department, according to sources, and he is a potential contender for the permanent job, which likely won't be filled until after the Sept.

With the city on pace to reach 300 homicides this year, only one in four residents say Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm is an effective leader, according to a new poll conducted for The Sun. Nearly 40 percent say Hamm, who has been on the job for 2 1/2 years, is an ineffective police chief. "How can I describe Hamm? He is untrustworthy," said Jeanette Ishway, a 64-year-old resident of Old Town who was interviewed for the poll. "He and [Mayor] Sheila [Dixon] got their heads together, and the murder rate is rising.