Penn Station

The two boys are 14, and the girl is 16. They look even younger in their mug shots, like kids apprehensive about posing for school pictures. Baltimore police say one boy asked for change for a $5 bill from a man Monday afternoon on Maryland Avenue. When the man said he didn't have any, police say the other boy plunged a knife into the right side of his back and left him for dead near the University of Baltimore Law School campus. The victim, bleeding profusely, tried to snap pictures of the fleeing assailants with his cell phone.

An article in yesterday's editions of The Sun gave an incorrect phone number for the Penn Station Sensation benefit on Dec. 2. The correct number is 633-5789.The Sun regrets the error.Torta rusticana and lobster to go at our Pennsylvania Station? How about a glass of merlot before catching the Yankee Clipper?You've got to be kidding.Rail travelers used to Baltimore's strictly no-frills terminal, where the food choices had been confined to a menu of ham sandwiches and coffee, are being confronted daily by a culinary selection that might make Martha Stewart look twice.

THE EXPLOSIVE growth of Maryland's commuter train patronage suggests that the arrival of around-the-clock rail service between Baltimore and Washington is just a matter of time. As the number and frequency of trains keep increasing, Amtrak's Penn Station will become even busier. That's why it makes sense to build a Greyhound bus station on vacant land next door and create a comprehensive transit hub for Baltimore.This worthy proposal by Greyhound Lines and Amtrak ought to be explored for its tremendous potential.

Baltimore has chosen a struggling section of midtown near Penn Station for state designation as an arts and entertainment district, city officials said yesterday. Mayor Martin O'Malley is expected to announce tomorrow the city's nomination for a new statewide program offering tax incentives to artists and developers. The mayor's announcement is scheduled for the heart of the proposed district, at the Heritage Cinema House in the first block of E. North Ave. The 100-acre area - bounded roughly by Howard Street, 20th Street, Greenmount Avenue and Penn Station - was proposed by Michael E. Johnson, founder of the Heritage theater, which specializes in African-American films.

INTRIGUING is the word that best describes Amtrak's plan to convert the upper floors of Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station into a 72-room hotel by 2003. To the hard-pressed passenger train operator, this is just another way to leverage its assets. So far, though, Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is the only other location where Amtrak is considering adding a hotel. Amtrak has selected a Columbia-based developer for the $5 million Baltimore project. Other details are hazy, including the planned hotel's chain affiliation and financing.

CHARLES STREET boosters' objections to a new bus terminal come far too late. Greyhound has already won crucial approvals for its $15 million depot and garage near Amtrak's Penn Station. The project also has Mayor Martin O'Malley's unflagging support. Despite its seeming inevitability, though, it's not too late to make sure that the bus terminal is done right. Greyhound Lines Inc. must guarantee it will operate a station that will not become a magnet for vagrants and panhandlers. Mayor O'Malley must pledge to improve the area around Penn Station.

Transit officials breathed a sigh of relief when Mass Transit Administration light rail cars moved gingerly across a rain-slicked elevated trestle's twisting curve yesterday in a crucial test of a new spur connecting the trolley with Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station.Motormen tested cars all day down a one-third-mile section of track that spans the Jones Falls Expressway, descends into the Jones Falls Valley and runs under the Maryland Avenue bridge before coming to a stop at Penn Station's Platform One."

IT IS quite miraculous what imaginative architects can do. At the Charles Theater, thanks to stadium seating, they were able to cram four additional screens into the space where the Famous Ballroom used to be -- plus a concession area, restrooms and other amenities.A star-studded ribbon cutting today will celebrate the result of months of reconstruction. Guests will have five films to choose from, champagne, popcorn and live music.Over the next four days, the Charles will be among the locations used by the Maryland Film Festival.

Amtrak has revived a plan to open a boutique hotel inside Baltimore's historic Penn Station, which would be a first in an Amtrak-owned station. The passenger rail operator is negotiating with a developer to create a 72-room hotel on three levels at the station, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said yesterday. The national rail service is struggling with declining revenues and operating losses that are exceeding $1 billion annually and are projected to grow by 40 percent within four years, according to the Government Accountability Office.

A $23 million makeover of the Charles Street bridge at Penn Station will shut one of Baltimore's busiest roadways for roughly 26 months beginning this summer, launching a siege of heavy demolition, rebuilding -- and frustration, as commuters and businesses grapple with traffic upheaval.Area merchants complain that plans to temporarily close the crumbling 1911 northbound span at the midtown Amtrak and commuter rail terminal might ruin their businesses, which feed off expressway access and foot traffic.