Neighborhood

On any given day, you might find 27-year-old Teddy Krolik in the neighborhood of Reservoir Hill operating a Bobcat tractor in a rubble-strewn vacant lot, dropping by the home of an elderly woman to see if she needs a ride to a community meeting later that day, or checking out the progress of a recently installed urban farm. Krolik's job as environmental and sanitation program director of Baltimore's Reservoir Hill Improvement Council (RHIC) Inc., created to assist Reservoir Hill residents in finding solutions to their community's social and environmental issues, didn't come with a precise list of job responsibilities.

For years, Baltimore officials felt they could do little more than throw up their hands in frustration over the archipelago of small liquor stores that blight many of the city's poorest neighborhoods. Local residents complain the businesses are magnets for crime whose patrons are unruly and a threat to public safety, while public health officials cite the strong correlation between a range of serious health disorders and the number of liquor stores in a community. The ineffectiveness of the state-controlled city liquor board, as documented in a recent audit, only makes matters worse.

I laughed at a news report quoting an official who lamented that Lexington Market lacked a French bakery. The Lexington Market I know is a place that has a thriving bakery, but it sells red velvet cake by the slice and at a price to fit its customers' pocketbooks. As beat-up and poorly maintained as the market is, it possesses a thriving urban vitality. It's good to go there for a Baltimore reality check. The people-watching is incredible and a lot of money seems to change hands.

It seemed every seat was filled during the Baltimore Orioles' exciting playoff run last season except the one that belonged to Matt Hersl. Friends say the rangy, baldheaded Orioles regular never sat during games but ran around Camden Yards, laughing with season ticket holders, keeping an eye on the batter to make sure he had the best vantage point to snag an errant fly ball or a home run souvenir. Hersl was a vigilant "ballhawk," and brought the same sharp eye and enthusiasm to his Little Italy community, where he served as the neighborhood watch leader.

Developers converting older office buildings into apartments or building new complexes could get a significant tax break under a measure the Baltimore City Council approved Monday. The legislation is aimed at addressing a glut of vacancies in office buildings downtown, encouraging new or converted apartments in six other neighborhoods, and drawing new residents to the city. The list of requirements to qualify for the tax break is short: The development must be in one of the seven areas, must be a project involving at least 50 apartment units, and must have an environmentally friendly certification.

Shirley Gregory of Dundalk takes pride in her home, but unwelcome visitors have sometimes thwarted efforts to keep her yard tidy. When she and her husband had a brick patio laid, it wasn't long until the bricks were caving into the ground. Rats had burrowed in a nearby yard and dug tunnels into Gregory's property. "I was, like, shocked - that's what a rat did," said Gregory, president of the St. Helena Community Association. "Well, more than one rat. Quite a few rats. " Gregory was one of more than 100 people who turned out Saturday morning for a community cleanup.

A few weeks ago, I spent a few quiet minutes in Green Mount Cemetery, where its higher ground offers unexpected views of Baltimore. As I looked to the southeast, something curious caught my eye. What was going on in the nearby Oliver neighborhood? What was that thing attached to the mighty bell tower of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church? This parish — the oldest African-American Roman Catholic congregation in the United States officially founded for people of color — has just begun to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Old Catonsville boasts turn-of-the-last-century buildings and schools, fine restaurants, antiques and music shops, and a library. But scattered among the Victorian structures are Arts and Crafts-style homes built in the early 20th century. It is in one of these that the Shaw family resides, just blocks off of the town's main street. "We moved here from just two blocks away," said Kelley Shaw, a 37-year-old speech pathologist. "Our [other] house had no driveway and we loved the porches on these old houses.

Gerald J. Curran, a member of a well-known political family who represented Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods in the Maryland House of Delegates, died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was 74 and lived in Lauraville. "Gerry was the epitome of a classic Irish personality, full of fun, love and courage," said former Speaker of the House Casper R. Taylor, who lives in Cumberland. "I am going to miss one of my dearest friends, but I know the Curran family will carry on his legacy.

Joan D'Angelo, a homemaker and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra volunteer, died of complications from pneumonia March 15 at Bay Woods in Annapolis. She was 90. Born Joan Shumaker in Allentown, Pa., she attended school in Lancaster and was a 1941 graduate of Catonsville High School. She also attended the Bard Avon School in downtown Baltimore. In 1945, she married E. Gordon Leatherman, an insurance business owner. He died in 1995. She raised her family in a house at the corner of Malvern Avenue and Army Road in Ruxton.