Janey

The Baltimore City Council is expected today to schedule hearings on whether to reconfirm Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's executive nominees to head the city's law and housing departments.Technically, City Solicitor Neal M. Janey and Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III have served in acting positions since their terms expired in early December.The 19-member council, in its first meeting since early December, is expected to receive Mr. Schmoke's confirmation letters today asking that Mr. Janey and Mr. Henson be retained, according to City Hall sources.

An Annapolis woman pleaded guilty yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court to being an accessory in the murder of a woman who was stabbed 58 times and left to die in the back seat of a car.Wanda R. Hall, 32, of the 1000 block of Bay Ridge Road drove the car while Richard E. Janey stabbed Susan McAteer. She then helped him dump the body in the woods and torch the car.Hall pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to second-degree murder, malicious burning and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

"If only my life could be different," sighed 29-year-old Janey, the mother of two children. "For eight years, Henry has controlled every aspect of our lives. I've had enough."Janey and Henry met at college, and even then she had a sense that he would try to dominate her life. "He decided when and where we would marry, when and how many children we would have and whether I'd quit the job I loved in a small publishing house to become a full-time mom," Janey adds sadly. He even tells her what she should think.

A 30-year-old Annapolis man who was convicted twice last year of beating up his girlfriend was sentenced to 30 years in prison yesterday for killing her.Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Bruce C. Williams ordered the sentence for Richard E. Janey of the 100 block of Obery Court. Janey was acquitted of first-degree murder but convicted Sept. 1 of second-degree murder and malicious burning in the December 1994 death of Susan McAteer, an Annapolis woman he had dated.Janey was accused of stabbing Ms. McAteer 58 times, dumping her body in woods outside Annapolis and burning the stolen car used in the slaying.

A 30-year-old Annapolis man, convicted twice last year of beating up his girlfriend, was found guilty yesterday of murdering her by stabbing her 58 times, dumping her body in woods and burning the stolen car police say was used in the slaying.Richard E. Janey of the 100 block of Obery Court was convicted by an Anne Arundel Circuit Court jury of second-degree murder, accessory to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the December 1994 death of Susan McAteer, an Annapolis woman he had dated.

DUE TO STRINGENT municipal regulations and other factors of the modern age, there are now few "street Arabs" or a-rabs -- those folks who take their colorfully decorated horses and wagons through city neighborhoods hawking fruits and vegetables. Seldom is their time-honored cries and the attendant jingle of harness bells heard in Baltimore neighborhoods. Lord, have mercy on us all.Believe one who did business with them for 30 years at the old Marsh Market, located at Lombard Street and Market Place, the a-rabs were more than a distinctive Baltimore tradition.

"RAIN," by Kristy Gunn. 95 pages. Atlantic Monthly Press. $15It's a good thing this novel is only 95 pages, because it would be near-impossible for the reader to survive the tension and sadness that bubble up through every word. This must be what it feels like to drown, reading this book, knowing that death is inevitable and pointless, though preventable.Janey is 12, her brother Jim is 5, and together with their drunken, socialite parents they spend their summers on a lake. Janey teaches Jim to swim, makes sure that he is fed and tucked in and cared for and gives him all the stability and attention that their narcissistic parents do not. Each day the two escapetogether on some new watery adventure, in which every detail, every shrub, seems ominous.

Neal M. Janey, the cautious and deliberate top lawyer for Baltimore, is leaving after nearly eight years on the job to return to private practice with the prestigious Miles & Stockbridge law firm.One of the first members of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's Cabinet, the city solicitor earned a reputation for thoroughness in his legal work and firmness in his post on the Board of Estimates, the panel that reviews almost every aspect of city business.As the solicitor, Mr. Janey directed an office that grew from 63 lawyers to 78 and oversaw more municipal legal work being contracted out to private firms.

"Six months ago, the doctor told us that our 4-year-old daughter might die before morning," recalls Janey, 27, the mother of three, who's been married to Greg for six years. "But lTC then a miracle occurred: Mary was granted another remission -- her third since she was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 19 months old." Though Janey and Greg are both grateful and hopeful, the past few years have been very hard on their marriage, as well as on their two other children. But while Janey yearns to re-establish the closeness they used to have, Greg seems more distant than ever.

A District Court judge raised bail to $50,000 yesterday for an Annapolis woman, who is charged with accessory to murder, because she failed to show up in court on two previous occasions.Wanda Rebecca Hall, 31, who has no fixed address, remains in the Anne Arundel County jail. Her original bail was $20,000.Ms. Hall was arrested just before midnight New Year's Eve at her parents' home in the 1000 block of Bay Ridge Road in Annapolis.Police questioned her about the slaying of Susan McAteer, 32, after arresting her in an unrelated car theft.