Hill Park

Friday, June 14 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.   Twilight on the Terrace , a high-end cocktail party and major fundraiser for Baltimore Pride, offers an open bar and dancing to music from DJ J.R. Embrey. While gaudy outfits are sometimes de rigeur for Pride weekend, Twilight on the Terrace is a bit more refined -- the suggested attire is "garden-party chic. " Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. $150. Saturday, June 15 3 p.m.  Competitors in the High-Heel Race face the daunting task of running fast while maintaining their balance.

Are these steps clean?The question is asked of Shirley Horner in front of her East Baltimore rowhouse on South Robinson Street. The sun shines, and the three slabs of white marble gleam, apparently spotless until Horner leans down, licks her thumb and rubs it against a smudge."

A recent squabble between Mount Vernon business owners and community leaders over the limits of a raucous annual gay pride block party has resulted in new limitations on the celebration this weekend. Organizers have agreed to reduce the physical boundaries of Baltimore Pride, the open-air party scheduled for Saturday, and say they will end the event an hour earlier than in the past. Still, tensions remain, according to those involved. Critics say the event has spiraled out of control, and accuse organizers at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore and local bar owners of allowing underage drinking and public urination to go unchecked in neighborhood alleyways and parking lots.

As Tyrone Brown sat in his jail cell at the Baltimore County Detention Center late last year, awaiting trial for the murder of a man in a Towson Town Center parking garage, he kept busy in part by smoking marijuana and memorizing contraband writings of the Black Guerrilla Family - the same gang prosecutors say he killed to become a part of. Meanwhile, Frank Williams, who helped Brown plot the 2011 mall attack and was arrested with a group of...

WJZ sports director Mark Viviano was assaulted by teens as he jogged through Druid Hill Park on Tuesday afternoon, police said. Viviano was wearing headphones as he ran through the park and past three teens when one struck him in the head from behind, said Agent Donny Moses, a spokesman with city department. Viviano said he did not hear the teens come up behind him about 1 p.m. He said a second teen tried to hit him but missed. He said they exchanged words, but Viviano continued to run, while the teens ran the other way. Viviano said he was not injured.

Consultants are right to underscore that the city's parks and recreation department should capitalize on Druid Hill Park's relationship with the non-profit Baltimore Zoo. Not only has the zoo been located in the park for nearly 120 years but its exhibits today account for a hefty share of the park's year-round visitors.The recommendation is just one of many suggestions that aim to spruce up the 740-acre oasis.Since Druid Hill Park was created in 1858, the open-air greenery has had its ups and downs.

A recent consultants' report details the many things desperately needed in Druid Hill Park. It also urges that the managers of this 740-acre oasis should capitalize on the park's relationship with the Baltimore Zoo, which occupies 180-acres of the land. Now it is up to city officials to implement the recommendations.Since the consultants' report is largely silent on the costs of all the recommendations, it is illustrative to consider how Druid Hill Park came about, 137 years ago. Although Baltimore was a rapidly growing city in those days, it had no readily available cash to buy a park.

A 29-year-old man was fatally shot early Monday a few blocks south of Druid Hill Park, according to Baltimore police. An officer responded about 2:49 a.m. to the 2700 block of Parkwood Ave. for a report of gunshots and found the man suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim, identified as Louis Scott of the 2700 block of Parkwood Ave., was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:29 a.m., police said. Homicide detectives were investigating, and anyone with information was asked to call 410-396-2100.

This article is one in an occasional series that examines underused properties in Baltimore, suggesting how they can be redeveloped.PREVIOUS ARTICLES in this series have been abouconverting an empty building or vacant lot into a new use. This one suggests an improvement to an existing city park.My intention is not to alter the overall design or the predominant use of Federal Hill Park, but to suggest how a seldom-used portion of the park can be changed to promote greater activity.Federal Hill has always been an important gathering spot.