Prom

The places and times of the public school proms and after-prom parties: Atholton Prom: Tomorrow, Baltimore Radisson, 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Centennial Completed. Glenelg Completed. Hammond Completed. Howard Prom: Today, Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City, 8 p.m. to midnight After prom: AMC Theater, The Mall in Columbia, 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. Long Reach Completed. Mount Hebron Completed. Marriotts Ridge Prom: Tomorrow, Hyatt Regency, Baltimore, 7 p.m. to midnight After prom: GenXaret, Columbia, midnight to 5 a.m. Oakland Mills Completed.

'80s prom The lowdown -- Relive the '80s for a night when the Ottobar hosts the third annual "Pretty In Pink" prom. Featured will be live music from the Reagan Years and DJ Craig Boarman. Full '80s prom attire is encouraged, and at the end of the night, cast your vote for prom king and queen. If you go -- Doors open at 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. Tickets are $10 for ages 21 and older. Call 410-662-0069 or go to theottobar.com. Blues-infused Forty Acres The lowdown -- Check out Baltimore-based Forty Acres when it plays Rams Head Live tomorrow.

Fundraiser prom -- The Anne Arundel County Youth Advocates' will host an '80s Prom from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday at Bates Boys and Girls Club, 121 S. Villa Ave., Annapolis. The Reagan Years will perform. There will a dance and costume contest, appetizers, cash bar and prizes. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Tickets are $65 for singles and $115 for couples. 410-263-2542 or www.eightiesprom.com.

In Baltimore CityPolice identify teen who died in off-road motorbike accidentPolice identified Brandon Joshua Byrd, 17, yesterday as the youth who was killed Saturday in an off-road motorbike accident in southern Baltimore.Officer Raymond Howard of the traffic investigation section said Byrd of the 900 block of Jack St. in Brooklyn was operating his 1999 Kawasaki motorbike in the 4200 block of Thayer Court about 1: 30 p.m. when his clothing became entangled in the bike's mechanism, causing it to tip and drag him at least 80 feet.

Eight graduating seniors at Owings Mills High School, including the king of the prom, were barred from last night's graduation ceremonies after being expelled earlier in the day for prom-night drinking.The students, whose last day of school was Friday, will receive diplomas but could not participate in last night's commencement. Angry parents -- some of whom had relatives coming from as far away as the Philippines to see the ceremony -- called the decision unfair because only half of the students involved were punished.

Steven Uhl has always liked to dress on the wild side, and the senior prom is no exception. After mulling over his options -- a tie-dyed tuxedo, an orange suit, tails -- he opted to go yellow. Yellow, as in a canary yellow zoot suit, feathered hat and black and white polka-dotted tie -- a get-up he modeled after Jim Carrey in the movie, "The Mask.""I wanted to stand out," says Uhl, 18, a senior at John Carroll School in Bel Air. "This is the last dance. I wanted to go out with a bang. ... My friends have been bickering because they've discovered some guys are wearing the same tux. Nobody will have mine."

A charter bus driver's failure to report drinking by Owings Mills High School students on his bus en route to their prom has resulted in Yellow Transportation's temporary suspension from Baltimore County's Safe and Sober Prom Pledge Program."

Gay and lesbian high school students in Howard County will be singing and dancing "Under the Rainbow" next month in Columbia at the first same-sex prom held in the county.The alternative prom is being sponsored by the Howard chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a national nonprofit organization."It's really positive for the kids to know that there's a place that they can go to and have fun like they would at [their high school] prom," said Dorina Stanislaw, 18, a Centennial High School senior from Ellicott City who plans to attend the event with her girlfriend, Jennifer Roorda, 20, a 1997 Centennial graduate.

"MY SHARE OF THE limo is $70, my ticket is $50. " my son's voice drifted off as he struggled with his efforts to determine how much his senior prom was going to cost.Cutting back on his hours at work during lacrosse season had made a dent in the money my son had set aside for prom night. Somehow he had to make it stretch."Another $60 for the pictures, then there's dinner before the prom. Since they're serving food at the prom, I can limit myself to a light dinner and no dessert at the restaurant.

This week, five Today writers document signs of spring.Ciara DiSeta wants to be president of the United States. She wants to go to college and study international relations and neurosurgery. She wants to travel, she wants to master Spanish, although she already speaks it pretty well. She wants to dance and perform in plays at Kenwood High School, where she's one of the students in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program.But right now, on this gloomy, rain-soaked Saturday in April, all she wants to accomplish is finding a dress.

Todd Bozeman adored his older brother Danny. It was Danny who taught him to swim, drive and do all the stuff a younger sibling ought to know. When Todd needed money, Danny gave him a buck. When Todd got into scrapes, Danny had his back. When Danny died at 55 in 2007, he left behind an orphaned teenage son, Okoye. Todd knew right away that he would look after the 15-year-old just as Danny had once watched over him. "If something happens to me, Bony, I want you to raise Okoye," Danny had said.

It is easy to forget that a cell phone is a complex electronic device that should be protected from the elements and from regular exposure to temperature extremes. This is because we've come to think of cell phones as necessary everyday living accoutrement, as ordinary as the pants pockets we put them in. We take them everywhere - talking and texting from crowded reception halls and solitary meetings. You might hold one up over your head to get a shot of the concert stage or out the car window to capture the sunset.

After the prom, high school senior Cody Wolfe ditched his tuxedo and slipped into a hulking, flesh-toned sumo suit. He then raced onto a mat to body slam two classmates who were also wearing puffy fat suits. What better way to spend prom night? After the last slow dance, Wolfe joined about 240 C. Milton Wright High School students who left the ballroom on a recent Saturday night and headed to another party where the DJ played fast-paced, upbeat songs, the cooler was packed with nonalcoholic drinks and the hot tub was running - all under the watchful eyes of 50 parents.

With prom and graduation season under way, Harford County law enforcement officials are trying to get the word out about the dangers of drunken driving. During high school assemblies, teenagers are being urged not to drink and drive and motorists are getting visual reminders about the consequences of driving while impaired. Outside the Maryland State Police barracks in Bel Air, a totaled black sedan bears a sign telling motorists to avoid drunken driving, a prom season reminder. The damaged car was not driven by a teenage driver, but was involved in a car accident.

Pastel-colored dresses for the girls and dark suits for the boys were in this year at Oakland Mills High School's prom. Renting a stretch limousine was out. With surging gas prices driving up the cost of limousine rental, many teenagers in the Baltimore region are steering away from the prom tradition of booking a luxury ride for their big night out. They are opting instead for some far less glamorous alternatives, such as renting a bus or - gulp -...

Zombie Prom, the new show from Merely Players, speaks to teens, says Artistic Director Beverly van Joolen, "in a kind of High School Musical meets Grease meets I Was a Teenage Werewolf way." This 1996 musical with book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana Rowe is a campy return to the 1950s, but where the prom queen's date might well be a walking corpse. It may sound like a stretch, but the Merely Players cast and crew pull it off with stylish enthusiasm. Relatively new and unknown locally, the show has the distinct advantage of no overfamiliarity.

A 25-year-old Elkridge woman, accused of hitting a Howard County police car and nearly hitting a rookie officer who was arresting another driver at the time, is facing drunken-driving charges. Police said Officer Frank Moran, who graduated from the police academy two weeks ago, was arresting a driver at 2 a.m. yesterday on eastbound Route 175 over Interstate 95 when a second car passed at high speed. The officer leaped onto the cruiser's roof and was not injured, police said. Moran was standing outside the vehicle he was sharing with a more experienced officer on the shoulder of the highway.

Critic's Pick -- The contestants, including Maryland's Christian Siriano, design prom dresses for a group of teen girls on Project Runway (10 p.m., Bravo).

Fundraiser prom -- The Anne Arundel County Youth Advocates' will host an '80s Prom from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday at Bates Boys and Girls Club, 121 S. Villa Ave., Annapolis. The Reagan Years will perform. There will a dance and costume contest, appetizers, cash bar and prizes. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Tickets are $65 for singles and $115 for couples. 410-263-2542 or www.eightiesprom.com.

'80s prom The lowdown -- Relive the '80s for a night when the Ottobar hosts the third annual "Pretty In Pink" prom. Featured will be live music from the Reagan Years and DJ Craig Boarman. Full '80s prom attire is encouraged, and at the end of the night, cast your vote for prom king and queen. If you go -- Doors open at 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. Tickets are $10 for ages 21 and older. Call 410-662-0069 or go to theottobar.com. Blues-infused Forty Acres The lowdown -- Check out Baltimore-based Forty Acres when it plays Rams Head Live tomorrow.