Owens

An Annapolis alderwoman and the Anne Arundel chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People stepped forward yesterday in support of Lamar Owens Jr., the Navy midshipman recommended for expulsion after being acquitted of rape charges but convicted of two lesser counts. Classie G. Hoyle introduced a non-binding resolution asking that the Naval Academy grant Owens his degree and commission. The alderwoman said she hopes that Navy Assistant Secretary William Navas will take it under consideration as he decides the fate of Owens, whose trial ended in July.

. As executive director of HC DrugFree, Laura Smit reaches out to teenagers and parents on a personal level. "She understands the concerns that many parents have, as well as being aware of the issues that teens are dealing with," said Tina Owens, vice chairwoman of the board of directors. HC DrugFree, which aims to help Howard County residents raise drug-free teenagers, has grown under Smit, the mother of a freshman and a senior at Long Reach High School. Her approachability as the face of HC DrugFree has prompted parents to call her directly in a crisis.

On July 5, 2007 ELLEN R. OWENS devoted aunt to Sandra Russell and Ricco Garnes. She is also survived by other nieces and nephews. Services will be held on Monday at Arbutus Memorial Park.

The Annapolis city council narrowly approved last night a statement in support of a former Navy quarterback who was acquitted of rape and now faces expulsion from the Naval Academy. The resolution in support of Lamar S. Owens Jr., which passed, 5 to 4, recommends that the former midshipmen be allowed to graduate but not receive his officer's commission. Assistant Navy Secretary William Navas will decide Owens' fate. The resolution originally recommended that Owens be granted a degree and a commission, but Alderwoman Classie Gillis Hoyle, the measure's sponsor, said that a compromise was necessary and that Owens "will accomplish a lot in or out of the military."

The verdict was in: A Howard County jury had convicted a 33-year-old Columbia man of second-degree murder and child abuse in the beating death of his toddler stepson. A day later, however, the jury commissioner heard from Adeyemi Alade, who said he was not a U.S. citizen - a prime reason for disqualification from serving on a jury in Maryland - but inadvertently failed to say so on the juror questionnaire. Now, nearly three years later, the state's highest court is being asked whether Alade's admission is cause to overturn Marcus Dannon Owens' guilty verdict in a case that points to courts' reliance on whatever potential jurors write on their forms and raises the question of what a jury of one's peers consists of. The case will be argued today before the Court of Appeals.

Parents and children settled on blankets and towels and waited for the show to begin. It was an evening at the zoo. Only this time, the animals from Frederick County's Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo were coming to them. The adventure was all part of the Judy Center's parent involvement night at Robert Moton Elementary School. "We try to do at least one thing fun and different," said Tammie Polk, parent involvement night coordinator for the center, which holds monthly sessions with a focus on children up to age 5. Besides enjoying the sensation of super-soft fur, the roughness of reptile ridges and the powerful pipes of a parrot, the young viewers were treated to a nature lesson.

The Baltimore Police Department announced yesterday the first wide-ranging shake-up of its top command ranks in more than two years, coming just days after the departure of Leonard D. Hamm as commissioner. The changes announced by acting Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III include a new deputy commissioner of operations and the retirement of a 31-year veteran from the top administrative post. The city is in the midst of a surge in homicides and shootings this year, with 178 homicides through yesterday, compared with 151 slayings for the same period last year.

Pinched between her supporters' demands for a large increase in school funding and debts left by the last administration, Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens repeated yesterday her pledge not to raise taxes.Her determination to keep this campaign promise, however, is threatening to collide with the centerpiece of her election platform: that she would increase the county's financial support for the public schools.Six weeks into office, Owens the fiscal conservative is looking into the mirror and seeing her worst enemy: Owens, the liberal hero of the teachers union.

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens made one of the most important appointments of her four months in office yesterday when she named a 26-year police veteran the county's new chief.P. Thomas Shanahan, 45, who has been acting police chief since Owens took office, has worked for the county since he was a teen-ager and has demonstrated strong leadership skills, Owens said.Shanahan, who started working at the department as a cadet at age 19, earned a master's degree in applied behavioral sciences from the Johns Hopkins University in 1996 and has been deputy chief, patrol captain and sergeant in the homicide unit.

Baltimore's taste buds are about to get a treat.On Sunday, WMAR-TV newsman Terry Owens will be trading in his on-camera coat and tie for a chef's jacket and toque to prepare spicy red beans and rice for a hungry crowd of about 1,000 at Martin's West in Woodlawn. He'll be joined by such culinary stars of the day as Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke; William L. Jews, president and chief executive officer of Carefirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University; and about 150 other men. They will be presenting their favorite dishes to benefit the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter.

NBA Cuban apologizes to Martin's mother Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban apologized to the mother of Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin. Cuban made a crack after a Mavs loss in Dallas on Saturday in their NBA playoff series. According to Cuban, a fan called the Nuggets "thugs." Cuban looked at Martin's mother, Lydia Moore of Dallas, and said, "That includes your son." Martin's agent told the Denver Post that Cuban told Martin's mother that her son is a "punk." In a Tuesday post on Cuban's blog titled "An Apology to Kenyon Martin's Mom," Cuban wrote that he shouldn't have said anything.

A group of Naval Academy alumni plan to seek presidential pardons for two former football players who were court-martialed on sexual assault-related charges. The group of academy graduates is being led by Peter Optekar, a former Navy football player and member of the Class of 1963 who said he has been active in defending other Navy players who have been unfairly treated. The former players, quarterback Lamar Owens Jr. and reserve player Kenneth Ray Morrison, both went to trial after being charged with sexually assaulting female midshipmen.

The other evening, I was rereading a signed copy of Hamilton Owens' book, Baltimore on the Chesapeake, which he presented to The Sun library in 1941. There is no inscription save a quick "Hamilton Owens" written in black ink in a tight script on the book's flyleaf. I last looked at the book, a whimsical popular history of the city published by Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc., probably 30 years ago. What prompted me to pick it up again was the death of Hamilton Owens' son, Gwinn F. Owens, at 87, on March 22. Gwinn, who had been a longtime reporter and editor, was the first op-ed page editor of The Evening Sun's "Other Voices" page when it was unveiled in 1979.

Baltimore police officials rejected the notion yesterday that a tightened budget drove a recent crime spike, telling City Council members that they saved millions from the department's overtime budget while achieving a 20-year low in homicides last year by spending more strategically and increasing the department's staffing. Deputy Commissioner Deborah Owens said at a council hearing that overtime spending dropped from $35 million in 2006 to $21 million last year, a period that saw homicides tumble from 276 to 234. One of the keys to those declines was that the department was no longer losing more officers than it recruited, Owens said, adding that the agency is fully staffed for the first time in years.

The Ravens aren't expected to show any interest in wide receiver Terrell Owens, a team source said yesterday. Owens, 35, released by the Dallas Cowboys, isn't considered a good fit in the Ravens' "team-first" philosophy, the source added. It's likely the Ravens still have bitter feelings toward Owens. In March 2004, after a paperwork error prevented Owens from becoming an unrestricted free agent, the Ravens traded a second-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for him. But Owens refused to report for a physical to complete the deal and got the NFL Players Association to file a grievance on his behalf in an attempt to go to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ramirez, Dodgers agree to $45M deal baseball The winter of discontent in Mannywood is over. Outfielder Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers officially agreed yesterday on a two-year, $45 million contract that keeps him with the National League West champions. The slugger can void the second season of the deal and again become a free agent. The stalemate was broken during a 6 a.m. meeting that brought the sides face-to-face at owner Frank McCourt's Malibu, Calif., home. The Dodgers confirmed the deal shortly after Ramirez, 36, passed a physical.

On February 28, 2009 JAMES L. OWENS; husband of the late Mrs. Myrtle Owens; devoted father of Bridget Fenner, Portia Bingham, James L. Owens Jr., Rodger Owens and Keith Owens. He is also survived by six grandchildren, five great- grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. Friends may call at the Gary P. March Funeral Home, 270 Fred Hilton Pass, on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Funeral Services and Interment will take place in Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Tyrell County, NC Saturday.

On February 16, 2009, DELORES OWENS. On today, friends may call at the VAUGHN C. GREENE WEST FUNERAL SERVICES, 5151 Baltimore National Pike from 4:30 to 8 P.M. On Saturday, Mrs. Owens will lie in state at Vaughn C. Greene West Chapel, where the family will receive friends from 10 to 10:30 A.M with services to follow. Inquiries to (410) 233-2400.

Cowboys WR Terrell Owens vs. Ravens CB Samari Rolle Owens is still one of the best receivers in the NFL and is at his best when teams aren't pressing him at the line of scrimmage. He still has great speed and hands. Rolle can run with Owens, but he isn't physical enough to jam and hold him at the line. Rolle has played well the past couple of weeks, but look for the Ravens to give Rolle help over the top with a safety. Edge:: Owens: Cowboys OLB DeMarcus Ware vs. Ravens OTs Willie Anderson and Jared Gaither Ware is one of the best pass rushers in the league.

Even as coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo yesterday were denying the existence of any distractions in the Dallas Cowboys' locker room last week, a fresh dose was being served up around them. Terrell Owens, in a combative new television interview, was keeping the story on the front burner. Meanwhile, NFL Network studio analyst Marshall Faulk, who will be in the booth for Saturday's game against the Ravens at Texas Stadium, was blistering the local media for giving Romo and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett "a pass" while raking Owens over the coals.