Middle River

While bulldozers moved earth in the background, more than 100 people crowded into a tent in Middle River on Thursday to celebrate the rebirth of a 17-acre site on Baltimore County's east side. The county has razed a crime-ridden apartment complex and brokered a partnership to build Renaissance Square, a community that promises affordable homes to seniors and working families. Officials, developers, clergy and former Kingsley Park residents extolled the project, which includes 81 apartments for seniors and 115 homes, many of them priced for moderate-income families.

On February 5, 2009, MARLENE M. TIMBS (nee Gritz), born on Feb. 5, 1936, of Middle River, formerly of Parkville, MD; beloved wife of Allen C. Timbs; brother of Raymond A. Gritz. Also survived by cousins, nieces, nephews, and beloved friends. Family and friends will have a memorial service on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at Middle River Baptist Church, 610 Middle River Road at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society (410-931-6850).

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING A race too close to call Walking the streets in the too-close-to-call race between Michael Sarbanes and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for City Council president. Maryland baltimoresun.com/marbella Only if the price is right If the Ravens want to bring in Byron Leftwich, recently released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the No. 3 quarterback, they should do it only at the right price. Sports baltimoresun.com/preston other voices Tim Smith on the Kronos Quartet Today Eileen Ambrose on U.S. savings rate Business 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY Ottobar moviesSpice up the evening with a couple of awesomely cheesy flicks at the Ottobar: Mysterious Monsters is a 1970s documentary about strange creatures such as Bigfoot, and Troll 2 is a horror flick from 1990 about man-eating beasts.

John Kenneth Wenderoth, a retired aviation quality control worker, died of heart failure Wednesday at Glen Meadows retirement community in Glen Arm. The former Baldwin resident was 93. Mr. Wenderoth was born in Baltimore and raised in Rosedale and Essex. After graduating from Sparrows Point High School in 1929, he went to work at the old Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River and stayed when it became Martin Marietta Corp. He retired in 1967 after his division was sold to Teledyne Energy Systems in Hunt Valley.

Two men are charged in 2005 shooting death Two men have been charged in the September 2005 shooting death of a man on an eastern Baltimore County street corner, police said yesterday. Aaron Joseph Hall, 22, of the 9800 block of Sapello Road in Middle River, was arrested at his home this week and charged with first-degree murder, county police said. Last month, Jerrell Jones, 20, was charged with murder in the 2005 shooting, police said today. Jones was in jail on an unrelated charge when he was charged.

Baltimore County's up-and-down relationship with the defense industry may be poised to soar again. In the early 1940s, growth on the county's east side exploded as Middle River's Glenn L. Martin factory employed tens of thousands to build B-26 bombers. Now, the very land that housed those wartime laborers is considered a prime spot for their 21st-century counterparts - thanks to the latest round of Pentagon base realignment and closure decisions. As great an impact as the BRAC decisions are expected to have on Harford and Anne Arundel counties because of expanding Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade, the effects on Baltimore County could prove nearly as significant.

THE PROBLEM -- For about three years, workers at the Pulaski Industrial Park in Middle River say water has leaked from a manhole near Kelso Drive and Citation Road, creating hazardous conditions for commuters. THE BACKSTORY -- Dave Watson of MW Industries - where precision springs are made -says that a month ago he was driving to work and tried to park his car, only to have it slide backward. He and other co-workers said they have repeatedly contacted authorities and were told that the problem was due to a faulty valve and was on a list to be fixed.

In Baltimore CityLoyola pupils to get passports today for trip to CubaU.S. passport officials cleared the way yesterday for pupils from St. Ignatius Loyola Academy to travel to Cuba to watch the Orioles play a Cuban all-star team Sunday.U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski pressed the passport office to expedite printing of the pupils' passports so they could take advantage of an offer by Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos to join him and the team in Havana. Mikulski, a Democrat from Baltimore, said the pupils would receive the passports today.

With heart problems and diabetes, Paul Leucht has been looking for steady work since the late 1980s when the recession killed his printing business on Long Island.In 1989, he packed his wife and two sons in a car and headed south.The family ended up at The Villages of Tall Trees, a sprawling, gritty apartment complex in Essex. Now their home for the past two years is to be demolished as part of a $12 million revitalization effort by Baltimore County.Leucht and other tenants say the plan has them wondering how long they will have roofs over their heads and where they will go next.

For years, Charles J. Cignatta's "office" was the cockpit of chase planes high over the Chesapeake Bay, where he filmed the dips and rolls of aircraft going through their paces after emerging from the Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River.Mr. Cignatta, who spent a nearly five-decade career with the manufacturer of airplanes and spacecraft, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at Franklin Woods Center-Genesis Eldercare. The Essex resident was 85.Armed with his heavy Speed Graphic or Aeroflex movie camera, Mr. Cignatta photographed Martin Co. projects, from World War II-era bombers and seaplanes to jets and missiles and even the installation of a nuclear power plant at the South Pole.

William Peter Feimer, a World War II Army Air Forces fighter pilot who later joined the Baltimore Police Department, died Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Heart Homes Lutherville, an assisted-living facility. The longtime Linthicum resident was 88. Mr. Feimer, the son of immigrants from Hungary and Romania, was born in Baltimore and raised in Locust Point. After graduating from City College in 1939, he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he studied drafting.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Central Baltimore Bank robbery: Police and the FBI were seeking a man who robbed the Sun Trust Bank in the 1200 block of N. Charles St. about 10:30 a.m. Monday of an undisclosed sum after giving a teller a holdup note. Anyone with information is asked to call the district at 410-396-2411 or the FBI at 410-265-8080. Stolen vehicle: A silver-colored Honda with tags 8BJ R82 was stolen Monday in the 1900 block of Maryland Ave. Burglary: Copper wire, a shop vacuum, tools, extension cords and an uninstalled security system were stolen between Friday and Monday from a house in the 1400 block of Druid Hill Ave. by someone who entered through a rear door.

Ocwen Loan Servicing gives penalty fee refunds Ocwen Loan Servicing has refunded nearly $675,000 to borrowers in Maryland after charging them prepayment penalties that violated state law, Maryland's Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation said Wednesday. After the financial regulation office found some violations, Ocwen checked all its Maryland mortgages and sent refund checks to more than 180 borrowers at the end of last month, the state said. - Jamie Smith Hopkins Senior housing complex in Middle River almost done The first phase of the 196-home, $43 million Renaissance Square development in Middle River is nearing completion, with a senior housing apartment building expected to open to residents in December, developer Enterprise Homes said Wednesday.

City woman gets year for assault on son's teacher A Baltimore Circuit Court judge sentenced the mother of a city elementary school student this weeek to one year in prison for a November assault on her son's teacher, which was witnessed by a class of at least 20 students. Prosecutors said Lakia Farmer, 30, hit a Matthew A. Henson Elementary School teacher in the face with an unknown object - most likely a cell phone - about 8:30 a.m. at the school. Other teachers arrived in the classroom to find the victim pinned to the floor and Farmer pulling her hair.

Anthony Munzert, 6, came to Hawthorne Trail in Middle River on Wednesday morning wearing his new helmet and ready to ride. While he listened to several dedication speeches, including one from his grandfather, a community resident, he kept pedaling in place, testing his first bicycle and its training wheels. When the oratory ended, he cycled vigorously behind a mountain bike that Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. was steering. The cyclists cut right through the ceremonial ribbon and made the opening official.

A little past 3 on a sunny afternoon, Natural Resources Police Officer Chris Morris steered his 19-foot Boston whaler around Baltimore's Inner Harbor and then worked his way to the outer edges of his patrol area. He sped by the cans stacked at the Dundalk Marine Terminal and over the Fort McHenry and Harbor tunnels, checked under the Key Bridge, looped around Sparrows Point and Fort Howard, skirted the choppy waters off Hart-Miller Island and ended up in the middle of Middle River. Without stops, the one-way trip took 31 minutes, cruising along at up to 36 knots, or 41 mph. Usually, Morris' "police post" is not so expansive.

State panel to make public school board vetting process 3 The Maryland Board of Education plans to make public in the next week or so the process for vetting Baltimore school board candidates, Chairman James DeGraffenreidt said Tuesday. Members discussed the matter in a private session yesterday, DeGraffenreidt said during the board's public meeting. Questions were raised about the vetting process after revelations that the city panel's former chairman, Brian D. Morris, had a 15-year history of financial troubles and was not awarded a degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, as his resume said.

Middle River man's death investigated as accidental drowning 2 Baltimore County police are investigating the death of a 53-year-old Middle River man who fell off a pier at an Essex marina Friday night as an accidental drowning, according to a department spokesman. Police Sgt. Bruce Aris said Wayne Joseph Hava of the 5700 block of Hilltop Road fell into Hopkins Creek about 10:30 p.m. after stepping off a 27-foot Bayliner as the boat pulled into River Watch Marina, near a restaurant of the same name in the 200 block of Nanticoke Road.

Reduced water usage asked during northwest main repairs 2 The Baltimore City Department of Public Works is asking residents in Northwest Baltimore and portions of Baltimore County to reduce water usage by taking shorter showers, not watering their lawns or washing their cars, and not letting the water run unnecessarily. The department will be doing maintenance work today on a main that provides drinking water to the area bordered by Druid Lake to the south, Interstate 83 on the east, Butler Road-Ivy Mill Road to the north and Liberty Heights Avenue on the west.

Trial opened Tuesday in a murder case against a teenager accused of killing a 23-year-old man in Middle River last summer. Avar Cornell Tunstall, 18, of the 4200 block of Maple Path Circle near White Marsh is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Terrell Scott in the first block of Maple Drive. The two appeared to have had some kind of argument, Baltimore County Circuit Court documents say. Baltimore County police found Scott about 11:48 p.m. Aug. 25 suffering from gunshot wounds, according to documents.