Handyman

Did I miss something in article "Cardiac aid gets handyman fired" (Dec. 27)?As I understand the situation, Ted Robinson, a survivor of a heart attack, saved the life of Rochelle Wilkins and was fired for his efforts. Ms. Wilkins, also a heart attack survivor, whose supply of nitroglycerin was depleted, took one of Mr. Robinson's pills. This, according to medical personnel, possibly saved her life.The article noted that she and Mr. Robinson were acquaintances. They may have even shared knowledge of their similar conditions.

A handyman was arrested yesterday by Baltimore County police after he was allegedly recorded on videotape stealing three gold coins worth close to $1,000 from the home of a Riderwood man who had hired him for a refurbishing job.The homeowner, Raymond Steward, said he hired the handyman and several other people early last month to work on parts of his newly purchased home.The job of the handyman, identified by police as 40-year-old Gilbert C. Kessler, was stripping old, upstairs oak balusters.

Handyman deserves credit for sharing medicine with womanDid I miss something in article ``Cardiac aid gets handyman fired'' (Dec. 27)?As I understand the situation, Ted Robinson, a survivor of a heart attack, saved the life of Rochelle Wilkins and was fired for his efforts. Ms. Wilkins, also a heart attack survivor, whose supply of nitroglycerin was depleted, took one of Mr. Robinson's pills. This, according to medical personnel, possibly saved her life.The article noted that she and Mr. Robinson were acquaintances.

Police are seeking a handyman in the death of a Southwest Baltimore carryout owner who was beaten with a hammer 11 days ago and died of his injuries this week.Chol Ho Kim, 75, owner of a carryout and hair salon in the 600 block of Cherry Hill Road, died Thursday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.The attack occurred Oct. 27, when Kim began arguing with a handyman who claimed he was owed money for work he had done at the carryout store, police said. A hammer was thrown through the windshield of Kim's 1998 Buick, which was parked in tTC front of the store, then was used to strike Kim several times on the head and face, police said.

One guy gets shot through the head. Another gets his fingers sliced off. A third gets barbecued in his back yard. And a fourth ... let's just say his insides end up where they're not supposed to be.This is "Handyman," a twisted first film from Baltimore attorney Joel Denning. It may sound grisly and look amateurish, but it may land him a distribution deal, an appearance by the lead character at next year's Cannes Film Festival and maybe a foothold in the movie biz."I realize the movie is what it is, a first-time movie," says Denning, 39, who's spent five years taking postgraduate film courses at Towson University.

ALL I WANT FOR Christmas is a handyman.Not a man who considers himself handy. I've got one of those. I want a handyman.A guy who will fix everything that is loose or broken in my house when I tell him to because I am paying him.I want a man who will change the faucet in the bathroom, fix the leak in the shower, paint the interior shutters and then winterize the windows in the kids' rooms.I want somebody who will fix the chandelier in the dining room, who will paint the trim in the hall and then tighten the front door knob.

A 39-year-old Annapolis handyman admitted in Anne Arundel Circuit Court yesterday that he robbed three elderly women in their homes earlier this year.Arnold Brown of the first block of Fleet Street pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, one count of theft and one count of escape yesterday before Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr.He could go to prison for up to 31 years when sentenced Oct. 6.Assistant State's Attorney William Mulford said that Brown, who had been previously convicted of breaking and entering, walked away from a county work-release program after he told a jail correctional officer last Feb. 18 he was going into the Maryland National Bank on Church Circle to get some money.

An Annapolis handyman was sentenced to life in prison without parole yesterday for sexually assaulting, beating and fatally stabbing an Arnold woman in her home last year.Although Albert Givens, 38, maintained that he is innocent during yesterday's hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. said that the evidence supported the jury's verdict."This case was like a puzzle and all the pieces fell together," he said before sentencing Givens. "The evidence of your guilt was overwhelming."

This is a goo-goo alert.For those who don't know what a goo-goo is, I'll explain.Among Chicago politicians, an incurable do-gooder or reformer is known as a goo-goo. It is not a term of endearment.I happen to like some goo-goos. There have even been times when I've been accused of being one. We all have our off days.But some goo-goos who are so relentless in their pursuit ofgoo-gooism that they become a public menace. When that happens, a goo-goo alert should be issued, which is what I'm now doing.

Here are summaries of some recent Computing product reviews. Each product is rated on a scale of one to four. One computer indicates poor; four is excellent:TimeClock Plus, for PC-compatible with at least DOS 3 and 320 kilobytes of random-access memory available. AT machine with hard disk and printer recommended. $149.95. From Data Management Inc., P.O. Box 61603, San Angelo, Texas 76906. (800) 749-TIME.Teknon Accounting for MS-DOS, For IBM PC-AT or compatible with at least 640 kilobytes RAM, a hard disk and DOS 3.3 or later.

The neighbors knew Ricardo Paige as "Pops," a kind man who lived and worked as a handyman in the Pen Lucy neighborhood renovating vacant houses for landlords. But Paige, police and prosecutors believe, unknowingly crossed the wrong people in the neighborhood. Authorities believe that drug dealers who used vacant houses on the block thought Paige might have turned over a drug stash to police. On March 20, 2007, they confronted him in the house where he was living and working, in the 500 block of E. 43rd St., and shot him six times, including once in the mouth.

A man sought by city police in the fatal shooting more than a year ago of a handyman in a Northeast Baltimore house was arrested yesterday at a Georgia carwash. Detective Vincent Stevenson of the Regional Warrant Apprehension Task Force in Baltimore said that Kevin Armstead, 24, of the 700 block of E. 43rd St. was featured Saturday on America's Most Wanted and that several tips on his location came in. Stevenson said U.S. marshals and Decatur, Ga., police responded to a carwash where Armstead was working and arrested him without incident about 12:40 p.m. Stevenson said Armstead, who was living in a homeless shelter in Decatur, was expected to be extradited to Maryland next week.

CONSIDER THE PLIGHT OF THE Empty-Nester Male: Kids out of the house, tuitions done, weekends without a list of family obligations. A man in this pitiable situation might start thinking about freedom ... about the open road ... about a new car, finally, and one that's cool. A lot of folks in the automotive industry are counting on it. At the Detroit auto show last month, Nissan introduced a concept car designed strictly for the aging baby boomer male ready to plunge deeper into his hobbies.

I had a new home built four years ago. Unfortunately, the flashing for the windows was poorly done and rain can easily make its way underneath the siding. Over the years, and unknown to me, my house has been rotting. The problem became apparent only when I had water leaking into my basement. A handyman removed some siding, and the rot was so bad at points, that insulation could be seen sticking through the rotted fiberboard. The handyman has located other parts of the house that will need to be repaired.

I WOULD JUST like to say, here at the outset of this little story from the edges of human experience, that I have respect for Jim and Christy Ferrens, and you will not hear me ridiculing what they did. Far be it from me! They did what I believe most men and women would do for $340 - stoop to a new low, slog through mire, pan through muck. It's not as if this young couple - and new parents - from the Towson area submitted themselves as contestants on NBC's Fear Factor, although it was something like that.

After his third trial, a former Annapolis handyman was sentenced to life without parole yesterday for killing an Arnold woman nearly 12 years ago. Albert Gustav Givens had been tried twice before for the killing of Marlene Kilpatrick, who was found in her home Jan. 3, 1992. A 1993 conviction was thrown out on a technicality, and a second trial resulted in a hung jury. "We're more than pleased," said Kathleen Rogers, an assistant state's attorney. "The family has had a long, hard road."

LOS ANGELES - In a setback to prosecutors, a judge threw out part of the capital murder case against Robert Blake yesterday, ruling that the evidence "carries very little weight" toward proving the actor conspired with his handyman to kill his wife. Blake, 70, still faces a murder charge and a possible sentence of life in prison without parole for allegedly shooting Bonny Lee Bakley two years ago outside a Studio City restaurant where they had dined. But the dismissal of a felony charge before trial is rare and could indicate problems ahead for the prosecution, according to criminal defense lawyers who have been following the case.

Elzie Roosevelt Watkins Jr., a retired handyman, died of respiratory failure July 22 at Future Care Old Court in Randallstown. He was 68. Mr. Watkins was born and raised in Annapolis, and graduated from the old Bates High School. He served briefly in the Army in 1957 before being discharged with a medical disability. A Randallstown resident, Mr. Watkins had worked for many years in construction and later was a self-employed handyman. "He was a great cook and was known for his soul food," said a niece, Tawana Avent of Baltimore.

A Baltimore handyman who police say robbed and fatally beat his employer in November 2001 pleaded guilty to first-degree murder yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court. Erik T. Green-El, 33, of the 2000 block of Penrose Ave. is to be sentenced by Judge John M. Glynn on March 24 in the killing of Michael Patrick Roberts, 49, of Marriottsville. Under a plea agreement, he will be sentenced to life but ordered to serve only 30 years, said Assistant State's Attorney Frank Rangoussis. He will also be on five years of supervised probation.

Brian M. Fink, a self-employed handyman and Pigtown resident, was found dead Nov. 10 near the Maryland Transit Administration's light rail line in Bolton Hill. He was 28. Mr. Fink's body was found on the MTA's right of way between the Mount Royal and North Avenue stations. According to an MTA spokeswoman yesterday, his death remains under investigation by city and MTA police. Mr. Fink, who was born in Baltimore and raised in Pigtown, attended city public schools. Known as a "go-to-your-home" auto mechanic, Mr. Fink also worked as a self-employed home restoration and maintenance specialist in Baltimore.