Hill Park

Orrin S. Webb, a University of Maryland medical records worker who was a founder of a Druid Hill Park summer basketball program for at-risk children, died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday at his Pikesville home. He was 49. Born in Baltimore, he began his schooling while in Germany where his late father served in the Army. After returning, he was raised on Carrollton Avenue and attended Booker T. Washington Junior High School. He was a 1979 graduate of Polytechnic Institute, where he played basketball and football.

"Can we conceive what humanity would be if it did not know the flowers?" — Maurice Maeterlinck On a sun-splashed late autumn morning, the Druid Hill Park Conservatory, that wonderful whimsical-looking building from the age of Queen Victoria, is a brilliant symphony of curved glass and light. It makes a visitor to this quiet western corner of Baltimore's 600-acre Druid Hill Park think that he's gotten lost and ended up instead in Belle Epoque London, Vienna or Paris.

She's a regal 70-something these days, and among her other accomplishments, she was named the first African-American director in the history of the Enoch Pratt Free Library . But ask Anna Curry to name the most wonderful experience of her life, and she doesn't hesitate. It came when she was 6 and had her birthday party at Druid Hill Park. She wore patent-leather shoes and a dress hand-sewn by her mother. Her father somehow got hold of a car and took all her best friends.

The family of a 14-year-old girl who was electrocuted on a Druid Hill Park softball field in 2006 has settled a lawsuit with a private contractor, but is seeking to revive litigation against the city that a judge had previously dismissed. An attorney for Douglas Electric and Lighting confirmed the settlement but said the amount was confidential. The lawyer for the company, Thomas V. McCarron, said executives decided to negotiate after a judge granted the city immunity but allowed the family to pursue the electrical company in court.

Rob Kasper wrote a heartfelt editorial on Saturday about the beauty and charm of Baltimore's largest and most vital public park, Druid Hill ("Heart of a city," Sept. 4). Unfortunately, Druid Hill Park's heart, and greatest asset, was hardly mentioned. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore , formerly known as the Baltimore Zoo, is literally in the center of the park, encompassing 135 acres of the park's 745. It employs 240 people and cares for more than 1,200 animals representing more than 175 species.

I had biked no more than 10 yards into Druid Hill Park one Saturday morning when I met a white-tailed deer. The deer bolted. My heart jolted. I had recorded another park memory. Druid Hill Park, all 745 acres of it, attracts an impressive collection of human and animal life. This fall marks the 150 t h anniversary of the park, and many celebrations are planned. The Friends of Druid Hill Park, a volunteer group dedicated to maintaining and reinvigorating the park, has scheduled a number of events in October, including tours, sports festivals, a tree planting day and a gala at the Mansion House.

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.

Four years after a 14-year-old girl was electrocuted at Druid Hill Park while playing softball, a Baltimore judge will decide Friday whether to dismiss a civil case against an electrical firm the city hired for nearby repair work. Del Electric worked near Druid Hill Park's lower bowl softball fields at least six times in the three years before Deanna Green's death, including two months before the accident, according to court papers. Deanna's parents, Anthony and Nancy Green, sued Del Electric for damages.

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.