Pier

Anne Arundel County Police identified Wednesday a man who drowned in Pasadena. Charles Thompson, 46, of the 4100 block of Townsend Ave. in Brooklyn Park drowned Tuesday night. Police have termed the death accidental. Officers from the Eastern District responded about 9:14 p.m. Tuesday to the Orchard Beach Community Pier, in the 7900 block of Main Ave., for a report of a drowning. When they arrived, officers spoke with witnesses who said they saw a man who jumped off the pier into the water, momentarily resurface then disappear.

Last year when CNN was talking about hiring Eliot Spitzer and Piers Morgan, I expressed my dismay at the way in which both could harm the credibility that the channel had steadfastly built through its journalism. Spitzer did prove to be an embarrassment when CNN tried to cover political sex scandals tbis year, and he is now gone for a variety of reasons, thank goodness. And now, just as I was becoming reconciled to accepting Morgan as the price I had to pay for all the sound journalism and analysis otherwise on CNN, comes Rupert Murdoch's News of the World scandal with its revelations of despicable phone hacking -- a scandal that threatens to shine a very bright light on Morgan's career as a UK tabloid editor.

Pizzazz Tuscan Grille closed last month at the Pier V Hotel. I only just heard about it, which says something. Elizabeth Large reviewed Pizzazz positively two years ago, shortly after its opening .I never made it there, and I have to say I was never tempted to drop in. Pizzazz isn't the first restaurant to come a cropper in this restaurant space, which probably needs to be redesigned.  There are some intriguing messages from the owners on...

A 29-year-old man was in cardiac arrest after being struck by lightning on the fishing pier at Fort Smallwood Park in Pasedena, Anne Arundel fire officials said Sunday. Witnesses called an ambulance after the man was found unconscious after they heard a clap of thunder on Sunday afternoon. He was given CPR and was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma. Fire officials did not have information about the man's condition.

When I get tickets to a concert — as a fan, not on the clock — I typically only see artists I'm a big fan of, due to my own patience and bank account. Yesterday was different though. My friends convinced me to attend Pier Six's Sunday Funday, which featured many names I only knew in passing from working closely with WTMD : Bobby Long, Justin Jones, Mason Jennings, Josh Ritter, Eric Hutchinson and Amos Lee. All of the artists are classic singer-songwriters types, armed with their guitars and just enough accompanying pieces to give the harder songs an extra kick and to set the mood for the contemplative tracks.

'Save the Planet Day' The Columbia Association's Teen Advisory Committee holds this event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 14, immediately following the Columbia Archives' BikeAbout event at the Town Center Lakefront. Event features green-minded vendors, entertainment, food and children's activities. Residents are encouraged to bring old cellphones, digital cameras, iPods, MP3 players, denim and sneakers to recycle. The committee is comprised of local high school students who bring new and exciting opportunities to the teen community in Howard County.

The 1990s saw the ascent of a slew of great rock bands: Nirvana, Pavement, Pearl Jam, Phish, Rage Against the Machine and a few more you're probably naming in your head right now. Stone Temple Pilots was and is only a very good rock band, but if the weather and perennially troubled lead singer Scott Weiland cooperate at Pier Six on Tuesday , they'll do just fine. Without a doubt, this band can play. Along with the Seattle-ites, Dean DeLeo helped rock guitar get back to its meaty, blues-based roots in the '90s, following the limp, classically influenced shredder craze that ruled the '80s.

All over town, there are talented chefs languishing in semi-obscurity. These are the chefs heading up the kitchens in public institutions — universities, convention facilities and even hospitals — and in private institutions like country clubs. They might not operate in the limelight, but the hours are more regular and the benefits packages are often better. The executive chefs of hotels fall into their own blurry category. Their audience is mostly transient, but a few manage to find a following and make a name.

It's just equal piles of boulders and sand right now, pieces of a puzzle. But by the time the water warms and the anglers return to Sandy Point State Park, the pieces will be in their proper places as part of a $548,000 fishing platform jutting into the Chesapeake Bay. The idea belonged to Severn angler Skip Zinck. The spark was supplied by Maryland Parks Superintendent Nita Settina. The financial juice came from the Waterway Improvement Fund, which consists of the five percent tax collected when a boat is titled in the state.