Patrick S Day

If not for reporter Peter Hermann 's assiduous reporting of the mayhem in the city onSt. Patrick's Day, we may never have known that pandemonium was the rule of the streets that night ("St. Patrick's Day violence exceeded initial reports, police dispatch tapes show," May 13). It's common knowledge that police records are sometimes "massaged" in order to maintain a certain positive image. But to exclude certain events from police reports is unacceptable. What plays a major role in this false reporting is a desire to portray Baltimore City, and especially the Inner Harbor, as tourist attractions.

State Del. Pat McDonough was right to complain about violence among black youths at the Inner Harbor over theSt. Patrick's Day weekend, and it took his words to get Baltimore City MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake to visit the harbor months after the problem arose. Ms. Rawlings-Blake visited the area with her security detail. If the mayor were really concerned by what happened there she should visit the place without her bodyguards. I have experienced the problems and the foul language on display over the holidays at the Inner Harbor, and Delegate McDonough told it like it is. J. Michael Collins, Reisterstown

Feeling spirited? Try some of these St. Patrick's Day-inspired recipes. 1. DIY Bailey’s Irish Cream | bonappetit.com Yes, please! I'll definitely be trying this one out for sure. 2. Ultimate Corned Beef and Cabbage   | epicurious.com I'm not a huge consumer of beef, but I love corned beef and cabbage. 3. Irish Soda Bread   | saveur.com What's St. Patrick's Day without Irish soda bread? 4. Skillet Roasted Lamb Loins With Herbs   | foodandwine.com Looking at this kind of made my mouth water.

Visitors to Baltimore's downtown on summer weekends will see up to 50 additional police officers, a show of force aimed at preventing a repeat of St. Patrick's Day, when hundreds of youths battled and a tourist was beaten — scenes the mayor described as "a black eye for the city. " Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake toured the streets around the Inner Harbor and downtown for two hours Friday, the first night of increased police presence. During the late-night walk, she made her first public comments since reports that the disturbances on March 17 were far more extensive and more violent than police had initially described.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY, March 17, may be the only holiday when many of us Americans celebrate a culture not our own. We wear green clothes and maybe a button that says "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" - and we party hearty at a shindig put on by our favorite bar or restaurant, toasting one another with mugs of green-tinted beer. So, if we non-Irish folk party hearty on St. Patty's - what do the real McCoys do? Where do Baltimoreans of Irish descent celebrate their heritage? We asked several local Irish folk where they like to spend St. Patrick's Day. And wouldn't you know it, they gave us a lucky seven - seven places in and around Baltimore where they go on their big day and don't mind sharing with the rest of us. St. Patrick's Church 317 S. Broadway, Fells Point "The true Irishmen start out with [10 o'clock]

Whether your tastes range from a fun run to a fashion show, dancing a jig or watching a parade, the entertainment offerings around Baltimore this St. Patrick's Day weekend will keep you hopping with the leprechauns.The main event, as always, will be the St. Patrick's Day parade Sunday starting at 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, the parade will feature more than 100 marching units with about 5,000 participants. Sister Kathleen Feeley, president of the College of Notre Dame, is honorary Grand Marshal, with Baltimore businessman Frank X. Gartland serving as Grand Marshal.

As a resident of the Inner Harbor, I'm shocked by the details of what happened downtown duringSt. Patrick's Day weekend ("The St. Patrick's Day brawl," May 16). And I was also dismayed by how quickly the brawl apparently materialized. However, I'm grateful Maryland's Public Information Act made it possible for your reporter to unravel details as they were happening in real time. I'm just sorry city officials downplayed this violence as it leads to citizen complacency until something serious occurs.

State Del. Pat McDonough was right to complain about violence among black youths at the Inner Harbor over theSt. Patrick's Day weekend, and it took his words to get Baltimore City MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake to visit the harbor months after the problem arose. Ms. Rawlings-Blake visited the area with her security detail. If the mayor were really concerned by what happened there she should visit the place without her bodyguards. I have experienced the problems and the foul language on display over the holidays at the Inner Harbor, and Delegate McDonough told it like it is. J. Michael Collins, Reisterstown

Irish eyes will truly be smiling this weekend as the St. Patrick's Day festivities get under way. From the city's big parade on Sunday to the parties at neighborhood saloons, revelers will paint the town green. Here are a few of the events planned:Baltimore's 36th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will commence Sunday at 2 p.m., featuring lifelong city resident and Irish community member, Leo Welsh as grand marshal. This year's parade, which includes the Baltimore Colts Band, boasts more than 22 bands and 69 marching units in what is believed to be the city's largest parade of the year.

St. Patrick's Day is when every Irish politician journeys to Washington in order to solve the Northern Ireland problem once and for all. Joseph A. Hairston is not Jerry Hairston but they both bear watching. When St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church is sold, the best use would be (A) casino; (B) after-hours bar with very loud music; (C) nursing home; (D) exceedingly pricey condo or (E) church. Check one (Fells Point residents get no vote)

As a resident of the Inner Harbor, I'm shocked by the details of what happened downtown duringSt. Patrick's Day weekend ("The St. Patrick's Day brawl," May 16). And I was also dismayed by how quickly the brawl apparently materialized. However, I'm grateful Maryland's Public Information Act made it possible for your reporter to unravel details as they were happening in real time. I'm just sorry city officials downplayed this violence as it leads to citizen complacency until something serious occurs.

It is always tempting to ignore the bluster and bombast emanating from the vicinity of Patrick L. McDonough, the Baltimore County delegate and radio talk show host who considers himself a man of the people but mostly is a self-promoting bomb-thrower. His is a career built on angry sound bites and finger-pointing, particularly at minority groups, while his actual legislative accomplishments in Annapolis can be contained in a thimble - with room to spare. But his latest bloviation demands attention - if only because ignoring it might suggest it was excusable (which it was not)

If not for reporter Peter Hermann 's assiduous reporting of the mayhem in the city onSt. Patrick's Day, we may never have known that pandemonium was the rule of the streets that night ("St. Patrick's Day violence exceeded initial reports, police dispatch tapes show," May 13). It's common knowledge that police records are sometimes "massaged" in order to maintain a certain positive image. But to exclude certain events from police reports is unacceptable. What plays a major role in this false reporting is a desire to portray Baltimore City, and especially the Inner Harbor, as tourist attractions.

New details of the Baltimore police response to a particularly large, unruly and violent crowd of youths downtown over theSt. Patrick's Dayweekend not only raise the question of whether the department has the resources it needs to anticipate and respond to such incidents but also whether it can be trusted to level with the public when similar disturbances occur in the future. City officials are right to be concerned about protecting Baltimore's reputation as a tourist attraction and destination for out-of-town visitors, but not at the cost of whitewashing episodes that might tarnish that image.

Reporters staffing the newsroom on Saturday, March 17, had some inkling that a large crowd had converged on downtown. But initial calls to police downplayed the events, noting large crowds but not too many problems. It wasn't until late Saturday night, and after the deadlines for most editions, that police confirmed that there had been a disturbance and that it was serious. But at that hour, few details were available. The next day, Sunday, police said 10 juveniles had been arrested and witnesses were quoted saying the crowd numbered in the hundreds and had been rowdy.

Sunday's story on violence at St. Patrick's Day attracted many reactions. Most people writing me emails and in comments at the bottom story said the city had become scary. It's further proof of the uphill battle the city has trying to show improving crime numbers when one incident such as this can undermine the stats. Many readers, as they do time and again, pressed for why the racial makeup of the crowd was not reported. Simply put, we don't include race unless there is a racial issue to the story.

Environmental films throughout Washington Films from around the world will put the spotlight on environmental issues during the 10th annual Environmental Film Festival in Washington. Today through March 24, the festival will feature more than 100 documentary, feature, animated, archival and children's films. Most screenings include discussions with prize-winning filmmakers or environmental experts. Major themes of the festival include the movement for sustainable, eco-friendly industrial design; the impact of toxic substances; the human struggle for survival in hostile environments; and the natural world as envisioned by artists and animators.

The postman must have thought our home was an Irish law firm when the letters addressed to Kelly, Monaghan or O'Hare arrived at Guilford Avenue. These are the surnames of my father, grandfather and great-aunt. My father celebrates this feast day by having his friends come to the house; my grandfather, Edward Jacques Monaghan, did it the other way around: Each St. Patrick's Day, he made a grand tour of Baltimore, winning friends along the way. Pop Monaghan was an ambassador of the green.

On Saturday night, Denise Kostka and her husband, disturbed by loud voices, peered out from their eighth-floor room in the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel and saw at least 100 teens massing on the street below. "I never saw anything like that, ever," said Kostka, visiting from Springfield, N.J., to take in the sights and see her niece who lives in Federal Hill. Then they saw police surround a car. "I thought, 'Oh my God, it's "COPS" live,'" Kostka said, referring to the popular reality television show.

Baltimore police just announced the arrest of the fourth and final suspect charged in the videotaped beating and stripping of a tourist that was videotaped and watched across the country on the Internet. Shatia Baldwin, 21, of Baltimore, is now in custody, though details of how and where she was picked up have not yet been released. On Tuesday, police arrested the third suspect, Deangelo Carter, 18, also of Baltimore. Those two suspects,along with 20-year-old Aaron Parsons, a party promoter from Rosedale accused of throwing a punch that decked the victim, are charged with various counts of assault and robbery.