Neighborhood Watch

Residents of River Hill are invited to attend an organizational meeting for a Neighborhood Watch crime prevention program at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Meeting Room, 6330 Trotter Road, adjacent to the outdoor pool. Representatives from the Police Department will explain the program and how improved communication in the community can reduce crime and vandalism. Residents interested in being block captains and block watchers are needed. Information: Susan Smith, 410-531-1749. Program offers tips to get rid of clutter Ellen Newman of ClutterRx will offer tips on getting organized in a program called "Simplify Your Life: Control the Clutter!"

The guilty verdict against one of two brothers accused of beating a Northwest Baltimore teen cuts through the conflicting accounts of what happened on Fallstaff Road nearly 18 months ago and arrives at an essential truth: When Eliyahu Werdesheim stepped out of his car and confronted Corey Ausby, he stopped being a volunteer on neighborhood patrol and became a vigilante. No matter whose account of the incident you believe, it is clear that he overstepped his bounds. Neighborhood patrols serve a valuable purpose, and Shomrim, the organization to which Eliyahu Werdesheim belonged at the time, has long been lauded for its efforts in Northwest Baltimore.

Kim Miller has a simple message for anyone who would ever consider perpetrating a crime in her North Laurel neighborhood: Think again.The activist, who has developed a reputation as a visible watchdog, is credited by the Howard County Police Department with creating a safer community through the Patuxent Ridge Neighborhood Watch. The organization, which she formed, helps safeguard her neighborhood from the drug trafficking, vandalism and burglaries that have become all too familiar to urban life, and have managed to seep into one of the most affluent counties in Maryland.

Baltimore's very own Trayvon Martin case, at least to some in the community, was thrown into peril on Wednesday when the victim stated from the witness stand he wanted charges dropped. The Sun's court reporter, Tricia Bishop, reports: "I been wanting to drop the charges all the time, I didn't even want to go through [this]. I feel like I was being pressured," said 16-year-old Corey Ausby, who took the stand  with tear tracks staining his face. "In my heart, I didn't want to testify.

Residents of two Anne Arundel neighborhoods who have organized to push drug dealers from their streets are looking forward to the help of nearly $192,800 in state crime-fighting grants.The money is aimed at Orchards on the Severn on Pioneer Drive and at Eastport Terrace in Annapolis.Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend toured Eastport Terrace and met with community leaders at Orchards on the Severn yesterday after she announced $10.5 million over three years in Maryland HotSpot Community grants.

CULPEPER, Va. - When former Culpeper Mayor Waller Jones discussed his upset loss in a bid for a fourth term this spring, he mentioned the role of a small core of political activists - the South East Neighborhood Watch. What began 10 years ago as a community effort to rid the block of drug dealers has evolved into a close-knit group of neighbors who are involved in social and philanthropic issues and form perhaps the county's second-most powerful political force, behind the Republican Party.

A crowd of more than 80 people -- most of them black -- showed up at Annapolis City Hall last night to comment on an anti-loitering bill. The proposal has so angered leaders in the black community that some have called for the ouster of the alderman who wrote it.Designed as a tool against drug dealers, the bill would rewrite the definition of "public space" to give police officers the power to disperse anyone loitering on public housing sidewalks. Police have no jurisdiction over certain sidewalks because they are owned by the Annapolis Housing Authority and are private property.

Sobered by a surge in drug crimes, assault and malicious destruction last year, Taneytown residents are looking to forge tighter links with city police and have begun exploring the possibility of an organized neighborhood watch program.Although serious crime remains relatively rare in the community of about 5,000, the annual crime statistics issued late last month confirm a significant rise in several categories, among them:* Narcotics violations, which rose to 70 cases from 30 the year before, an increase of 133 percent.

Savage Community Association holds general meeting 0) tomorrowThe Savage Community Association will hold its general meeting tomorrow for a presentation on neighborhood watch programs and a discussion on changes at the Savage Mill.Bruce Lahr of the Howard County Police Department will discuss the neighborhood watch program.Some residents had requested information about the program after the death of Pam Basu, who was killed when her car was hijacked near her Savage home.The other scheduled item on the agenda is a presentation by J. Winer of the Savage Mill.

You can call Dilated Peoples an underground act. But not for long. Over the years, the Los Angeles rap trio has amassed a solid following but nothing massive. Album sales have been healthy but unspectacular. DP has eschewed crunk-for-the-clubs hip-hop trends for a more laid-back, streamlined approach. But with its latest album, Neighborhood Watch, DP may be inching over to the pop side a little more. The trio tweaked its formula a bit by bringing hip-hop's go-to man of the moment, Kanye West, into the studio to take over the mixing boards for one track: "This Way," DP's current and hottest single to date.

George Zimmerman was not properly doing his job as a volunteer neighborhood watch captain. He had no right to follow a person and make contact with the person. If you suspect something while performing that role, you call 911 give location and stand way back, and you should not carry a gun on watch, even with a permit. How do I know this? I lived in Florida for 18 years. I was in a gated community and pulled neighborhood watch duty many times. I also had a concealed gun permit for 17 years in Florida, which is not easy to get. You get a book of laws for when you can use it. I guess George Zimmerman did not understand the laws or just did not pay attention.

At 10 p.m. on a Monday in Northwest Baltimore, more than 20 Orthodox Jewish men are packed into a two-room apartment with a couch and maps of the nearby synagogues, eating kosher chili and discussing how to respond to the next neighborhood emergency. Those gathered here are members of Shomrim, Hebrew for "watchers," and they make up a round-the-clock citizens patrol, complete with matching jackets, radios and a hot-line number that area residents know as well as 911. Members have intervened in suicide attempts, divided the neighborhood into quadrants and fanned out to look for missing people, thwarted bicycle thefts and saturated areas hit by burglaries to report suspicious people to police.

On its own teen-horror terms, Disturbia has the cozy delectability of a flapjack flipped just right. When a disgruntled adolescent cracks open a missing-person case by training his binoculars on a neighbor, The Breakfast Club meets Rear Window. The result should satisfy dating crowds from high school to night school. The intriguingly named Kale Brecht (played by Shia LaBeouf) pops his Spanish teacher after the man asks what his father would make of his general misbehavior. Because his dad died in a car wreck - with Kale at the wheel - an understanding judge sentences him to house arrest, complete with ankle bracelet.

River Hill residents interested in participating in Neighborhood Watch are invited to attend a training session for block captains at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at Claret Hall, 6020 Daybreak Circle, Clarksville. Howard County Police Officer Chris Krieger, community resource officer for the Police Department's Southern District, will explain the program and discuss how improved communication in a community can help to reduce crime. The program is designed for anyone interested in starting or helping to lead a neighborhood crime-prevention program.

A retired health economist and Eastport civic leader will square off against a former small-business owner involved in neighborhood watch efforts in the Ward 8 city council special election Tuesday. Both candidates are vying to replace Josh Cohen, a Democrat who was elected to the Anne Arundel County Council last fall. And although Ross Arnett, a Democrat, and Frank Bradley, a Republican, share the conviction that reducing crime is the most pressing issue for the Eastport residents they seek to represent, they don't agree precisely on how to reduce it. The community, across Spa Creek from downtown and often viewed by residents as separate from Annapolis, has 3,356 registered voters - including 1,576 Democrats, 1,125 Republicans and 630 independents.

Residents of River Hill are invited to attend an organizational meeting for a Neighborhood Watch crime prevention program at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Meeting Room, 6330 Trotter Road, adjacent to the outdoor pool. Representatives from the Police Department will explain the program and how improved communication in the community can reduce crime and vandalism. Residents interested in being block captains and block watchers are needed. Information: Susan Smith, 410-531-1749. Program offers tips to get rid of clutter Ellen Newman of ClutterRx will offer tips on getting organized in a program called "Simplify Your Life: Control the Clutter!"

Annapolis officials and community leaders hope small yellow signs declaring neighborhoods to be drug-free will be enough to enlist citizens in the war on drugs and revitalize Neighborhood Watch programs.Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins announced the "Drug Free Neighborhood" program yesterday. To be included in the program, 50 percent of the residents in a neighborhood must agree to report suspicious activity to police.Hopkins said the city offered the project in response to escalating drug-related violence and to revitalize the Neighborhood Watch program.

In Annapolis, residents toted lawn chairs to City Dock for a jazz concert at sunset to celebrate National Night Out. In Maryland City, residents paraded through their streets, greeting each other and saying goodbye to crime.National Night Out, an annual event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, local police and communities, brought out an estimated 30 million people last week in 9,000 communities nationwide to block parties, raffles, parades and dozens of other events.Since 1984, the event has grown from demure porch light protests against crime to gala and unusual events to encourage a neighborly spirit.

You can call Dilated Peoples an underground act. But not for long. Over the years, the Los Angeles rap trio has amassed a solid following but nothing massive. Album sales have been healthy but unspectacular. DP has eschewed crunk-for-the-clubs hip-hop trends for a more laid-back, streamlined approach. But with its latest album, Neighborhood Watch, DP may be inching over to the pop side a little more. The trio tweaked its formula a bit by bringing hip-hop's go-to man of the moment, Kanye West, into the studio to take over the mixing boards for one track: "This Way," DP's current and hottest single to date.

Mayor Martin O'Malley's administration will begin recruiting residents to fight crime at a citywide conference next week aimed at showing neighborhood activists how to get involved without risking their safety. Many city residents have been scared of helping police by what happened to the Dawson family, officials said. The family's seven members were killed Oct. 16 last year in an arson set by a drug dealer seeking revenge for their involvement in fighting crime. Darrell L. Brooks pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced to life in prison.