Parade Route

A 19-year-old man was shot in the face and two men were arrested on drug charges after fleeing police in separate incidents that occurred near the route for Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, according to Baltimore police. About 2:30 p.m., after the parade had finished but with roads still shut down, an off-duty officer near the 600 block of W. Hoffman St. heard gunshots. Officers found a man inside an apartment in the 1000 block of Pennsylvania Ave., about two blocks from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his face and chest.

The flowers left in condolence are a kind but painful reminder that De'ontae Smith is gone, as is the funeral program his mother carries around to remember the boy stabbed to death downtown just hours after the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade. Chevita Bumbrey and her husband, Donae Wright, have struggled with De'ontae's conspicuous absence. He could usually be found slouching on the couch playing video games or dancing the "mump" to rap music - shuffling wide-legged on the wood floor.

Starting with this year's celebration, Bel Air's annual July 4th parade will follow Main Street from beginning to end, taking a slightly different route than past years, the Bel Air Independence Day Committee confirmed Thursday. In a news release, the committee said it is confident that the alteration is a "win-win-win" situation - better for the spectators, better for the parade participants and better for the volunteer staff running the parade. The parade will step off as usual at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4, at the intersection of Gordon and North Main streets, in front of the Harford County Historical Society building (the old Post Office)

Ravens officials said Thursday they won't extend an open invitation to fans again without first passing out free tickets, after this week's Super Bowl celebration at M&T Bank Stadium where larger-than-expected crowds amassed and an 11-year-old boy was trampled. Tiffany Hodge said she brought her son to the stadium from East Baltimore with hopes that he could see his hero, running back Ray Rice, but an unruly crowd overwhelmed them and both were knocked unconscious. She said her son, Tyrek, suffered a concussion, an injury to his eye, and still has a swollen face.

The splendor of yesterday's historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Baltimore will cost city taxpayers more than originally planned, but Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said it's well worth it.Although bills were not expected to be totaled until tomorrow, the mayor predicted cost overruns yesterday morning as the pontiff arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport."

To Deontae Smith's mother, there was no question her son had been to the Super Bowl parade on Tuesday. And she's upset that Baltimore police didn't make the same connection sooner. Deontae was fatally stabbed outside a McDonald's restaurant at Howard and Fayette streets downtown during a fight involving a large group of teens three blocks from the parade route, police said. Two other teens were also injured, and no suspect has been identified. Baltimore police said Tuesday that the stabbing incidents weren't related to the parade but said Wednesday that they believed Smith had been at the parade.

Prime vantage points for Catonsville's Fourth of July parade are a valuable commodity. For proof, take a ride along Frederick Road, where for days people have been staking their claims with lawn chairs. "I can't believe this," said Denny Laumann, who lives in the 1200 block of Frederick Road. "The parade was three days away, and they were already putting out their chairs." Laumann, however, quickly followed suit. "Once someone puts them out," he said, "then you have to put them out." This week, Laumann painted a white bench that will provide seating for some of the 25 people he has invited to watch one of the area's most popular parades, in its 55th year.

Baltimore's Thanksgiving parade begins at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, featuring marching bands from the Baltimore area, as well as Washington, D.C., Delaware and Pennsylvania. Floats, equestrian units, and Santa will be other features.The map shows the parade route. Here, from the city's Department of Transportation, is how the parade will alter downtown traffic:* 8 a.m. to noon -- Eutaw Street will be closed between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Dolphin Street. Preston Street will be closed between Howard Street and Madison Avenue.

Annapolis residents should be ready for street closures, parking restrictions and a 19-gun salute tomorrow during the inauguration festivities for Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley. Bladen Street will be closed to southbound traffic from Rowe Boulevard starting at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. College Avenue will be closed eastbound from Church Circle except for official traffic starting at 9:30 a.m. State Circle, School Street and Francis Street will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. More streets will be closed for the inaugural parade, which is expected to begin at 1:30 p.m. The parade route runs from the main gate of the Naval Academy to East Street to State Circle to North Street.

NEW YORK -- With golden sunlight glazing the autumn leaves and a light breeze sweeping down Broadway, it seemed a great day to honor John Glenn, and for tens of thousands of people, it was.But for the longest time yesterday morning, almost the only people to show up to honor the 77-year-old astronaut, U.S. senator and undisputed American hero were the police, firefighters and sanitation workers assigned to handle the crowd.Once the parade got under way, crowds were -- by New York standards -- modest if not thin, with indications along the traditional parade route that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani might have overestimated the public's appetite for a third ticker-tape extravaganza since October.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said today that the fatal stabbing of a teenager after the downtown Ravens parade incident was a "grim reminder that there's a lot of work to do. " "It's a tragedy. Whether it happened during the parade, as a part of the parade, or it happened it another part of town, a young person has lost their life," she said. "I'm not satisfied with the rate of violence reduction in the city. We continue to strive to improve. I know a lot of work can be done by the police department, but I know none of it can be done alone.

To Deontae Smith's mother, there was no question her son had been to the Super Bowl parade on Tuesday. And she's upset that Baltimore police didn't make the same connection sooner. Deontae was fatally stabbed outside a McDonald's restaurant at Howard and Fayette streets downtown during a fight involving a large group of teens three blocks from the parade route, police said. Two other teens were also injured, and no suspect has been identified. Baltimore police said Tuesday that the stabbing incidents weren't related to the parade but said Wednesday that they believed Smith had been at the parade.

Three teens were stabbed, one fatally, in downtown Baltimore Tuesday afternoon, near the route of the parade celebrating the Ravens Super Bowl victory, police said. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the stabbing occurred around 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of North Howard and West Fayette streets. He said one of the three victims, a juvenile, went into cardiac arrest and was rushed into surgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where the youth died. The other two stabbing victims were taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

The biggest, best love story in the country was on local TV today. It's between the Baltimore Ravens, the city and the fans. And if the national sports networks like CBS never seemed to get the special nature of that relationship this year in their weekly game and playoff coverage, most of the local media do. And Baltimore's TV stations got a chance to zoom in for close-up coverage Tuesday of the epic Ravens victory parade and rally in downtown Baltimore....

"What Christmas Means to Me" will happen in Aberdeen tomorrow! It will start with Breakfast with Santa at Grace United Methodist Church from 7 to 11 a.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door. The Craft Fair at Aberdeen Fire Department will begin at 9 a.m. and last until 2 p.m., and lunch will be available. The Aberdeen Room Museum, at 18 Howard St., will have a special open house to celebrate its 25th anniversary. All are invited for refreshments from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. free of charge.

Starting with this year's celebration, Bel Air's annual July 4th parade will follow Main Street from beginning to end, taking a slightly different route than past years, the Bel Air Independence Day Committee confirmed Thursday. In a news release, the committee said it is confident that the alteration is a "win-win-win" situation - better for the spectators, better for the parade participants and better for the volunteer staff running the parade. The parade will step off as usual at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4, at the intersection of Gordon and North Main streets, in front of the Harford County Historical Society building (the old Post Office)

LOS ANGELES -- With warplanes roaring across a blue sky, tanks rolling down Sunset Boulevard and anti-war activists providing a staunch protest, Los Angeles threw a homecoming parade for troops returning from the Persian Gulf war with the showy, flag-waving flair that only Hollywood could provide.An audience estimated at 500,000 to 1 million lined the 3.2-mile Hollywood parade route yesterday, enthusiastically cheering more than 5,000 troops returned from victory in the war with Iraq. Many warriors still exhibited the stone-faced military discipline in their invasion of Hollywood, while such celebrities as Bob Hope and Roseanne Barr played to the crowd.

A new parade route and a touch of irreverence will mark tomorrow's Columbus Day parade, a Baltimore tradition since 1890. The parade will feature comedian Don Novello in his best-known role as Father Guido Sarducci, the chain-smoking, trash-talking Vatican gossip columnist. The faux priest will ride in a Dodge Viper behind Columbus impersonator Don Castronova, organizers said. This year's parade is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon Square rather than in Federal Hill. Organizers said the change makes more room for spectators and parking.

Persistent brisk southwest winds and temperatures hovering in the low 40s failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the spirited crowd that gathered at noon Monday in downtown Baltimore to honor the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 92Q DJ Konan and his sidekick, Erica Kane, shouted to the crowd from the official reviewing stand at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Franklin Street before the parade kicked off, "We're going to have a hot parade...