Lansdowne

Gotta love a dog. They love unconditionally, they're loyal and always glad to see you. It turns out they can help a kid to read, too. Holly, a 70-plus-pound yellow Labrador retriever, has served as a patient, and interested, audience for countless youngsters excited to read aloud. But her Nov. 10 visit to the Lansdowne Library was the last for Holly and her human companion, Valerie Reidel, as volunteers with Pets on Wheels Maryland, who participate in the Paws To Read program at the library on Third Avenue.

Area high school students to perform in honors concert at Morgan State Several musicians from Lansdowne High School and Catonsville High School are to be among more than 270 students from county public schools who will perform during the annual Baltimore County Public Schools High School Honors Concert Nov. 12 at Morgan State University. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and include performances by the county's honors orchestra, chorus, and band. Catonsville students in the honors band are: Alex Burinsky (bassoon)

The following is compiled from local police reports. Our policy is to include descriptions when there is enough information to make identification possible. If you have any information about these crimes, call the Wilkens Police Station at 410-887-0872. Hannah Avenue, 1900 block, between Oct. 13, 1 p.m., and Oct. 14, 2 p.m. Safe and cash stolen from residence after window was broken and air conditioner pushed out of window. Twin Circle Way, 3900 block, Oct. 12, between 8 p.m. and 10:52 p.m. Living room ransacked.

New Town assistant coach Tony Biggers, trainer Ferron Carter and MarylandHoops.net analyst Edgar Walker are teaming up to host a boys basketball showcase Friday and Saturday at Leadership Through Athletics in Lansdowne. On Friday, there will be discussion on recruiting, including tips on social media, NCAA academic standards and more. On Saturday, players will be measured and tested before going through several drills and then scrimmaging in front of several Division II and III coaches.

A 42-year-old man who was naked and wielding a rifle at a Lansdowne motel is in critical condition after Baltimore County police officers shot him early Wednesday, police said. Two officers responded to the Beltway Motel in the 3600 block of Washington Boulevard about 3:40 a.m. after a 911 call reported a naked man was shooting a rifle toward the outside of his second-floor room. When they arrived, the man came out of the room still armed with the rifle. When officers ordered him to drop the weapon, the man did not comply and began to walk toward the officers, police said.

Rats, blighted properties and absentee landlords were among the concerns southwest Baltimore County residents shared Wednesday with County Executive Kevin Kamenetz at his first community forum. At the event in Lansdowne, Kamenetz emphasized the county's fiscal management, saying that the county is "weathering these tough times better than most. " He pointed to consolidation of public agencies and a focus on the most essential services. The county has its smallest workforce in 25 years, and it has not raised property or income taxes for decades.

For the first time in about a month-and-a-half, Brent Arrington got a good night's sleep. Since late May, Arrington has patiently waited for Mississippi Valley State to release him from his scholarship. His request was repeatedly denied, making what should have been a relaxing summer break an exceedingly stressful time for the Lansdowne grad. But last Friday, after his father spoke with someone from the NCAA and pleaded Arrington's case, the 6-foot-2, 182-pound guard was released from his scholarship.

Kaiser Permanente will open a new medical facility in Lansdowne next year as part of a long-term strategy to double the number of patients it serves in the Mid-Atlantic region in the next decade. The health care provider said Wednesday that the 130,000-square-foot building will take a one-stop-shopping, approach, with many specialty services offered under one roof, much like California-based Kaiser's facilities on the West Coast. Kaiser also will build three other new facilities by 2013 in Montgomery County, Fairfax County, Va., and Washington.

A second woman has been charged in the bleach and Pine-Sol fight that temporarily shut down a Baltimore County Walmart in the fall. A Baltimore County grand jury has indicted Ebony Odoms, 27, of Reisterstown, on charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and destruction of property in connection with the Oct. 8 fight. The chemical fumes from the incident caused 19 people to be taken to area hospitals. Odoms is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. "Whatever she did was only in self-defense," said her attorney Stephen R. Tully.

Police officers shot and wounded a man Thursday who was driving a car linked to an armed robbery after chasing the vehicle nearly 30 miles from southern Anne Arundel County to Lansdowne, according to a Baltimore County police spokeswoman. During the chase up Interstate 97, police said, the man waved a handgun out of the window of the car. The pursuit involved state troopers and officers from Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties. Detective Cathy Batton, the Baltimore County police spokeswoman, said the chase began about 11 a.m. on Solomons Island Road, southwest of Annapolis, and ended at 11:48 a.m. at Virginia Avenue and Fenor Road in the Baltimore Highlands neighborhood.