Ice Rink

Olympian Michael Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, hoping to replicate their athletic success in the world of business, will announce a partnership today aimed at transforming the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center in Mount Washington into a world-class training facility. Their newly formed company, Aquatic Ventures LLC, will own the Aquatic Center and its two 50-meter pools. It will also oversee the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which has produced seven Olympic swimmers since it was founded in 1968.

BEIJING - Michael Phelps has backed away from a previous comment he made about purchasing a pool in Baltimore, saying at a news conference yesterday that he's not sure of his plans. Phelps, still in China after winning eight gold medals at the Olympics, said, "We're definitely going to start training back in Baltimore. "But I'm not really sure exactly. I never know what I'm really talking about, I just say things." A day earlier, Phelps told NBC's Nightly News that he and his coach, Bob Bowman, had bought a pool in Baltimore and were looking to change the sport of swimming.

Fourteen blind students and five adults complained last night that they were not allowed to skate freely at a North Baltimore ice rink because of their disabilities - a charge the management denied. Police were called to the Northwest Ice Rink in the 5700 block of Cottonworth Ave. about 9:30 p.m. to mediate a dispute between the rink's management and students participating in a summer residential program sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind. No arrests were made. Rosy Carranza, a leader for the Teen Empowerment Academy, said the teachers and students came to skate about an hour before police arrived but were denied access by the manager.

Construction has begun on the new ice rink at Quiet Waters Park outside Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold announced. The contractors, Ice Builders, began demolition work last week on the floor of the old rink. Work will continue throughout the summer and early fall, with a completion date set for Oct. 15. The new $2 million rink is scheduled to open for public skating in November. The rink, which opened in 1990, closed for two seasons a few years later because of problems in the construction of its cooling system, then shut down permanently in 2003 after crews discovered that the mats set up under the cooling apparatus had been leaking chemicals into a nearby pond, killing fish.

After years of scheduling ice time in other places, skaters in Baltimore County have their own indoor rink with the opening of a $6 million sports facility at Reisterstown Regional Park. The 58,000-square-foot Reisterstown Sportsplex includes a 200-foot-by-85-foot ice rink and a 180-foot-by-80-foot indoor soccer and lacrosse field with artificial turf. The facility opened to skaters this week, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held yesterday. "There was a great need for this facility because there are more and more hockey teams, skating groups, and colleges with adult leagues who are looking for ice rinks," said Hanan Y. Sibel, chairman of the board of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority.

It was the final rehearsal before the annual Nutcracker on Ice, and the young skaters, dressed as mice and dolls and clowns and soldiers, were waiting to get on the rink. Donna Timlen, president of the Columbia Figure Skating Club and manager of the show, was alternately shouting directions to the performers and keeping track of what still needed to be done. "April needs a hat, we know we don't have a wand, we know we don't have a blanket," she told one of the many parent volunteers, who nodded and jotted detailed notes.

$1.35 million OK'd to replace ice rink The state Board of Public Works has approved $1.35 million to help replace the ice rink at Quiet Waters Park just outside Annapolis, putting it on track to reopen this time next year. The money awarded Wednesday from Program Open Space funds covers two-thirds of the cost of the much-anticipated $2 million project to reopen the popular rink. Anne Arundel County, anticipating the state funding, set aside the remaining money in its budget for this year, with County Executive John R. Leopold saying it was prudent to pay for the repairs sooner rather than later, as the costs will increase over time.

I keep getting messages from a tipster who claims to know about the existence of daily high-stakes poker games in Baltimore. My informant, wishing to remain anonymous, says he keeps getting text-message invitations to the games, one of which has a $500 buy-in. "There are at least four games being played in various locations around the city every day," he says, adding that he knows all the places and all the game times, and that he has shared this with vice squad police - and yet, the games go on. "I must be the only person who thinks this is an issue in this town," the informant says.

A plan to repair and reopen the ice rink at Quiet Waters Park might be on the chopping block as school officials and nonprofit agencies continue to plead for more funding in Anne Arundel's fiscal 2008 budget, two County Council members said yesterday. Councilman Josh Cohen, an Eastport Democrat who represents the Annapolis area, including the park, said several council members have approached him in recent days to suggest cutting the money for the rink, which has been closed since 2003.

Body found on Shore is missing Dundalk teen Human remains found in a shallow grave by hunters at a sportsmen's club in Dorchester County are those of a Dundalk teenager who had been missing since January, state police said yesterday. The remains of Raymond G. Zubrowski Jr., 18, of the 2600 block of Page Drive were found Monday on the property of Big Buck Rod and Gun Club in Toddville, state police said. The cause and manner of Zubrowski's death were unclear yesterday, and it was not known what, if any, connection Zubrowski had to the Dorchester County area, said 1st Sgt. Russell Newell, a Maryland State Police spokesman.