Oliver

It was not our intention, but on a recent Friday night at the quickly popular Ale House Columbia, our table of four really tested the patience of the server. As Top 40 blared overhead, our server leaned in and asked for drink orders. She was knowledgeable about the wide selection of beer (including the many types of house brand Oliver Breweries), and offered what I heard as a beer "sampler. " After choosing four beers, it was the next person's turn. "I'll have whatever he's having," the friend said.

The Olive Tree is not the Olive Garden. But you would be forgiven for mixing them up. Both outside and in, the two restaurants look quite similar; they share a "rustic Italian" vibe and their logos are nearly identical. Both are reasonably priced, with menus offering a broad selection of popular Italian-American meals. The similarities between the two restaurants are obvious. But the Olive Tree, locally owned with locations in Glen Burnie and Aberdeen, differentiates itself from the mega-chain Olive Garden with an emphasis on what Maryland restaurants do best: seafood.

After a heated meeting, members of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee have selected the director of the Oliver Community Association to replace Del. Hattie Harrison, who was the longest-serving member of the House of Delegates.  Committee members voted Friday to appoint Nina Harper to fill the open seat in the 45th District, which includes much of northeast and east Baltimore. She did not respond to a call seeking comment Monday. Scherod C. Barnes, of the central committee, said the full committee would likely approve Harper's nomination Wednesday, sending the pick to Gov. Martin O'Malley for final approval.

A man received several non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting in the Oliver neighborhood Saturday afternoon, police said. Donald Morton, 21, was shot from behind in the left hand, right torso and right arm in the 1500 block of Broadway, police said. The shooting occurred about 2:43 p.m., police said. The suspect fled in an unknown direction. Detectives are investigating the case. sdance@baltsun.com twitter.com/ssdance

Raymond Ellis Thompson, a retired foundry worker active in the Oliver neighborhood, died of cancer Jan. 15 at his East Baltimore home. He was 91. Born in Baltimore and raised on Bond Street, he was the son of Edward Thompson, a laborer, and Emma Milburn Thompson, a housekeeper and baker. He attended School 113 and Dunbar Junior-Senior High School. While at school, he met his future wife, Geneva Davis. As a young man, he worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he joined American Smelting and Refining Co. in Southeast Baltimore, where he worked until the plant closed in the 1970s.

TripAdvisor has announced the winners of its 2013 Travelers' Choice awards for lodging and three Baltimore hotels are among those recognized by the travel website. The awards are based on millions of reviews and feedback from travelers who rated more than 650,000 hotels in categories of Top Hotels, Luxury, Service, Small Hotels, and B&Bs and Inns. The Inn at The Black Olive , where TV stars such as Julia Louis Dreyfus reportedly have stayed, was ranked third among U.S. properties in the Small Hotel category.

Baltimore police continue to investigate a shooting that left a 21-year-old man wounded in East Baltimore. Officers responded about 5:21 p.m. Wednesday to the 1800 block of Aisquith Street, east of Greenmount Cemetery in the city's Oliver neighborhood, where they found the victim who had been shot in the stomach, police said. The man did not give officers any information before he was taken to an area hospital, police Det. Vernon Davis said. But Eastern District detectives found a witness who had seen the shooting.

The Black Olive in Fells Point is launching Food for Thought, an informal schedule of symposia, on Monday night, with a syposium devoted to the cuisine of Crete, titled "The Healthiest Diet on the Planet. " The public is invited to join in this contemporary approach to the ancient Greek ritual of gathering to partake in good food, fine wine and communal discourse. Co-presented with the Institute for Integrative Health and Center for a Livable Future , the first symposium will introduce the culture and cuisine of Crete.

At the Raymond B. Oliver Invitational at McDonogh this weekend, teams and wrestlers checked out the competition to get a read on how everyone looks. What everyone at the tournament confirmed is the Eagles are the team to beat this winter. McDonogh dominated the overall scoring among the 20 schools, rolling up 261 points, with Jack Clark (145 pounds), Toby Hague (152) and Tyler Patrick (182) winning their respective weight class. "For the most part, we performed well," McDonogh coach Pete Welch said.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone will be in Baltimore Thursday, screening his new documentary and fielding questions about it. "Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States," a series that re-examines American foreign policy, is now airing on Showtime. Stone was lured to Baltimore because the documentary's key researcher is University of Baltimore historian Eric Singer. The 10-part documentary that delves into everything from the Cold War to the fall of Communism, to Vietnam and terrorism, is getting a lot of buzz in history circles -- even actor John Cusack, who saw it the other day, called it "really excellent," tweeting: "Stone's new doc series is measured powerful and serious - if not the untold at least the largely ignored history of crucial periods.