Phoenix

They sat in the courtroom, witnesses for Phoenix. They wouldn't be called to testify in the trial of the twin brothers accused of setting fire to the pit bull that came to be given that hopeful name. But their presence, they said, served as testimony that the dog's life and her terrible death mattered. "Phoenix needs a voice. She needs never to be forgotten because a life is a life," said Chris Lomagno, among the handful of animal lovers who are following the case as it unfolds in Baltimore Circuit Court.

The league's top decision makers will spend the next three days at the posh Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix for the NFL Annual Meetings. On the agenda is voting on several potential rule changes, along with an address by commissioner Roger Goodell . It also could be a particularly significant week for the Ravens, who will make a final pitch to try and re-sign free agent safety Ed Reed , learn how many compensatory picks they'll have in...

Phoenix Festival Theater will present the Andrew Lloyd Weber/Tim Rice musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," July 19 to 21 and 26 to 28, at Harford Community College's Chesapeake Theater. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays."Joseph" is the retelling of the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, with a musical twist that ranges from country and western to calypso.The audience is invited to a champagne reception with the cast and crew following the opening night performance Friday.

When John Thompson was growing up in a blue-collar area of Pittsburgh, he knew he likely wouldn't become a third-generation steelworker. Buoyed by his father's belief that teaching was an important profession, he took a circuitous route toward education - and he discovered a drive and desire to help the underprivileged and underserved. Currently, Thompson is assistant principal at Phoenix Center Annapolis, the state's only school that serves students with disabilities from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

The Phoenix Repertory Dance Co., under the artistic direction of Carol Hess, nicely padded its already well-stocked repertoire of works with two company premieres -- one by New York City choreographer David Rousseve, "Caged Bird Singing in the Pale Moonlight," and one by resident choreographer Douglas Hamby, "Quintet."Both recently acquired and older works were shown when the company, based at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, performed a program of seven dances Thursday and last night at the UMBC Theatre.

Two of this country's largest mutual insurance companies said yesterday that they will merge in an attempt to strengthen their position in a troubled marketplace while they still can.Bill Wallace, chairman and chief executive officer of Home Life Insurance Co., said the move to merge with Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co. began last February, well before the recent failure of another mutual company, Mutual Benefit Life of Newark, N.J.Calling it "an important...

What qualifies as the most exciting and adventurous undertaking in baseball park construction is "growing" out of the ground in downtown Phoenix. It has created more interest -- and curiosity -- than any other sports facility yet conceived.If it functions as planned, every city is going to want one, but the cost may be a serious deterrent. Phoenix's dream field will offer advantages no other domed ballpark has yet been able to provide -- natural grass under a retractable roof, a swimming pool where the center-field bleachers would normally be and an opportunity for the spectators to be comfortable in an air-controlled environment.

A Finksburg company says it needs a long-term recycling agreement orit will stop accepting county-collected recyclables for free on March 1.Phoenix Recycling Inc., which takes some 160 tons of county recyclables monthly, said a depressed recycling market and a recessionary economy preclude it from continuing to provide a free drop-off site for county recyclables."

The news is out: The National Football League ain't gonna play Sun City. Phoenix has apparently lost the 1993 Super Bowl because Arizona voters rejected a proposal to join 47 states and the national government in honoring Martin Luther King Jr. with a holiday.On the face of it, the NFL's decision, which must be approved by at least 21 owners, is a wonderful example of racial sensitivity and compelling evidence that, in the post-Reagan era, big business can have a conscience and a moral center.

If you have a thing for guys in togas, or you're just in the mood for a zany Roman romp, you're in luck. Phoenix Festival Theater is pulling out all the stops in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" through Sept. 20 at Bel Air High School.The bawdy 1962 comedy is notable for being the first stage show with both music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. PFT patrons voted to see this particular musical in a poll taken last season. Judging from the preview audience's response, they won't be disappointed.

For years, the Virgin Mobile FreeFest has been the biggest annual concert with the most consistently impressive lineup in Maryland. Sweetgreen's Sweetlife: A Music and Food Festival has been a recent challenger since it held its first concert four years ago. And with today's release of this year's lineup, the battle for best local festival just got closer. The Sweetlife Festival will return to Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11. The lineup was announced via the YouTube clip above.  On the main stage: Phoenix Passion Pit Kendrick Lamar The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Gary Clark Jr. Solange Lindsey Stirling On the Treehouse stage: Holy Ghost!

Dick Van Dyke brought his characteristic charm to the SAG Awards this weekend, and Internet users dutifully searched for all sorts of details on him -- anything to distract us from the icy weather that caused school closings from here to Ann Arbor.  Another top distraction this weekend was this year's edition of the Royal Rumble , covered for The Baltimore Sun from Arizona by blogger Arda Orcal. Links to full details are below. || ONLINE TRENDS || School closings (Google search, Twitter)

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Parkton York Road , 19300 block, at 12:48 a.m. Oct. 18. Cash stolen from safe at Park Inn. Entry by breaking back door. Phoenix Manda Mill Lane , 13700 block, between Oct. 11 and Oct. 14. Safe pried open and jewelry stolen. Unknown means of entry.

The University of Phoenix announced plans this week to close more than 100 locations nationwide, including the Timonium center in Baltimore County. The 70 students enrolled at the Greenspring Drive branch can complete their degrees online or enroll at the school's Columbia campus in Howard County, said Rick Castellano, a spokesman with for the for-profit university. "We understand its not the ideal situation for everyone," he said. But the vast majority of the school's 328,000 students are already enrolling in online courses, he said, reducing the need for physical locations.

David Garbarino , of Sparks, was appointed in September to a three-year term to the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland. With more than 13 years in the finance industry, Garbarino serves as the Baltimore area executive and senior vice president of BB&T. As the senior banking officer and market leader, he is responsible for coordination and advancement of the bank within the community. He also oversees the management of all commercial banking functions, including the administration of all business loan portfolios, commercial deposit acquisitions, the development of additional business clients, the delivery of noncredit services to the commercial market, and the integration of the retail/commercials lines of business.

Phoenix Festival Theater will perform "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Amoss Center in Bel Air. Six delightful stories come to life in this musical revue based on popular children's stories featuring Amazing Grace, Borreguita and the Coyote, Imogene's Antlers, Master Man, Math Curse and Owen. This show is recommended for all ages. Tickets are $8 to $15 and may be purchased by calling the HCC ticket office, 443-412-2211. Reasonable accommodations for a documented disability may be requested by calling Disability Support Services, 443-412-2402, in advance of participation.

If Evers Burns had been told four years ago that he'd be trying out for the pros after college, he might have figured it would be as a tight end at an NFL combine instead of as a power forward at an NBA pre-draft camp. As a senior at Woodlawn High School, Burns had been recruited by such football powers as Oklahoma and Penn State.Two months ago, Burns, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound senior power forward at Maryland, didn't even have an invitation to any of the basketball postseason tryouts."I was disappointed," Burns recalled last week.

The outdoors in and around Phoenix lures the visitor with so much. In the city, and just beyond, the legends and colors of the Sonoran Desert with its Indian lore and pastel painted bluffs, buttes and bold red mountains beckon. Nearby on the Indian Reservation, the trails fill with the green of creosote against wheat-colored rocks, and the scent of sagebrush.Phoenix is an especially appealing winter getaway with mild temperatures -- not as in the summer, when they can rise to 120 degrees -- and a palette of colors and textures to soothe a dreary winter soul.

Baltimore prosecutors lost two tough cases this week - the animal cruelty trial of twin brothers charged with setting a pit bull on fire, and the trial of a man accused of killing two girls in a hit-and-run on Martin Luther King Boulevard.  Sun reporter Scott Dance covered both cases. First, today's verdict in the hit-and-run case , where prosecutors had secured a guilty plea from a co-defendant in exchange for her testimony against the alleged driver:  "Two jurors said after the trial they doubted who was driving - Dunn or his girlfriend, key witness Kendra Myles - when two teenage girls were struck and tossed more than 100 feet.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers rested their cases Tuesday in the retrial of two brothers accused of dousing a pit bull with an accelerant and lighting her on fire, with jurors poised to begin deliberating Wednesday afternoon. Prosecutors called their last of eight witnesses before lunch Tuesday, questioning a state Department of Juvenile Services staff member who said in brief testimony that one of the defendants, Travers Johnson, was not on house arrest at the time the dog was burned.