Harassment

The Anne Arundel County attorney is threatening legal action against a lawyer who claimed to have filed a complaint in county Circuit Court on Thursday against County Executive John R. Leopold. The document, which detailed additional allegations in a sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace retaliation lawsuit against Leopold, was never filed in Circuit Court because the case had been transferred. John M. Singleton, the attorney representing former county employee Karla R. Hamner in her suit against Leopold, told The Baltimore Sun and other news organizations that he filed an amended complaint to the suit in Circuit Court on Thursday.

As he prepares for a re-election fight this fall, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold finds himself beset with a $300,000 sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace retaliation lawsuit from a former employee. This is not the first time the unmarried 67-year-old Leopold has been accused of inappropriate conduct. Last year, he was accused of sexually harassing a state employee at the county headquarters, and an anonymous 911 caller also reported possible sexual activity in what turned out to be Leopold's government-issued car. He was not charged with a crime in either case.

A former employee at a Baltimore County automotive repair shop lurked nearby in the days after his firing last year, watching the comings and goings from across the street. Employees feared that he was plotting revenge. What the ex-employee didn't know was that he, too, was being watched. Philip Deming, a consultant in workplace violence prevention, had set up a "counter surveillance" operation. Deming had been called by the small company's president to intervene after spotting the man outside and being told by employees that he had been out there for days.

There's new life in Back River — though not quite what folks had been hoping for. The eastern Baltimore County waterway, long degraded by sewage and development, has been humming the past few summers with hordes of midges, gnat-like insects that swarm over the water and along the shoreline. They don't bite, though they look like mosquitoes. But their mating swarms are bedeviling waterfront residents, boaters and marina operators because the bugs are drawn to lights and light-colored objects.

A 14-year-old boy is in the hospital after a city police officer shot a dog who was attacking a group of youths and the bullet then hit the teen in the leg, a police spokesman said Wednesday night. Officers on patrol in Northeast Baltimore came across a group of youths being attacked by a pit bull at Fenwick and E. 28th St. One officer shot the dog, but the bullet either ricocheted or went through the dog and hit the teenager in the leg, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

About a dozen parents attending a workshop Thursday to address bullying shared stories of the pain, frustration and hopelessness that harassment can cause children. They came together with teachers and other concerned residents at a Baltimore school for the first of six sessions to address the issue. Mental health professionals from the Mariposa Child Success Programs led the city school system's community workshop in the wake of reports last week of chronic bullying at Gilmor Elementary.

Your article, "Ehrlich rebuffs claim he broke the law" (May 4) doesn't tell the whole truth. Having a campaign account doesn't mean you're running for any particular office unless a person actually files to run. There are plenty a previous candidates and current office holders who still maintain an account but can't run again due to term limits. One such person is Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, who has over $1 million. This is just the Democrats hassling Mr. Ehrlich over something that is nothing.

Students who bully their peers should be allowed to stay in the classroom, Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso said Monday as he addressed several high-profile harassment incidents by urging parents and community leaders to step up their involvement. "We believe that to punish children by excluding them and pushing them outside of school classrooms is something that does not work, will not work," he said in remarks at a news briefing at city school headquarters to discuss recent claims of chronic bullying.

In the Double T Diner chain's 20-page menu, packed with offerings for hearty appetites, a note from the management assures patrons that the restaurants endeavor to provide "prompt, courteous service in a cheerful atmosphere and pleasant surroundings." But for some waitresses who have served omelets, cheeseburgers and streams of coffee at three of the chain's restaurants, the promise has been empty, according to lawsuits against the restaurants' owners. At least 14 women who worked for the chrome-covered Double T diners have complained of being groped, grabbed and otherwise sexually abused by their bosses or fellow employees.

Two Jewish brothers won a $115,000 settlement from a Texas-based human resources firm after alleging that they endured religious-based harassment - including verbal and physical abuse - while they worked at an office in Harford County, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday. Brothers Scott and Joseph Jacobson detailed several complaints, including being called "dirty Jew," "dumb Jew," "stupid Jew" and other anti-Semitic slurs by managers and co-workers while working at an office for Conn-X LLC, a cable TV service provider in Edgewood.