Rail Station

Oh, Race, it's good to be back. I've missed you. And I've missed Phil's hat and Phil's Maori fishhook necklace, too! It's been two weeks, do you remember what happened? Africa? Speeding tickets? Fearless Friends got eliminated? Okay then, we're caught up, let's go to Switzerland. I've done very little international travel, but I did spend five days in Switzerland once between my junior and senior years of high school, so I'm totally an expert. Bern: city named after a bear. Interlaken: city named after the intersection of two lakes.

European artists will help transform Baltimore bus, train and light rail stations to be more attractive, better designed and more user-friendly as part of a $200,000 grant from ArtPlace America, a consortium of banks and foundations that gives money to art projects with the potential for regenerating communities. The grant, announced this week, is part of a project that will bring artists from the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, Ireland and Greece to Baltimore for a six-week residency sometime in the winter or spring of 2014.

...TC A man charged with stealing more than $200 worth of goods from the Rag Shop in the Cromwell Fields Shopping Center Monday morning was caught at the light rail station across the street, police said.David Taylor, 44, of the 1100 block of Argyle Ave. was charged with theft under $300.At 9:39 a.m., an employee of the McCrory store next to the Rag Shop told police she saw a man wearing a white T-shirt and black pants run from the Rag Shop toward the light rail station.The man carried nothing into the Rag Shop, but allegedly left with several items, police said.

Oh, Race, it's good to be back. I've missed you. And I've missed Phil's hat and Phil's Maori fishhook necklace, too! It's been two weeks, do you remember what happened? Africa? Speeding tickets? Fearless Friends got eliminated? Okay then, we're caught up, let's go to Switzerland. I've done very little international travel, but I did spend five days in Switzerland once between my junior and senior years of high school, so I'm totally an expert. Bern: city named after a bear. Interlaken: city named after the intersection of two lakes.

A 24-year-old Ellicott City woman waiting alone for a Light Rail train at the North Linthicum station yesterday morning was stabbed in the chest by an attacker who authorities said tackled her from behind.The victim, Lori Dreyer, was in stable condition last night at Harbor Hospital Center, a hospital official said.Nothing was taken from her in the attack.A Mass Transit Administration official described the attack as "one of the most serious incidents" on the Central Light Rail Line since its began service nearly two years ago.Police from the MTA and Anne Arundel County were investigating the attack, but by last night had not found a suspect or weapon.

Last year, members of the Linthicum-Shipley Improvement Association voted in favor of a light rail station in their community. Two nights ago, they voted to shut it down, saying it has led to increased crime in their neighborhood.About 180 residents packed the library at the Linthicum Elementary School on Wednesday night, irate about an increase in robberies, assaults, break-ins and bicycle thefts they blame on light rail."The crime rate has gone up dramatically" since the station opened last July, Gerald P. Starr, president of the association, said yesterday.

THE FERNDALE light rail station is more beautiful, thanks to the Ferndale Garden Club. A group of children planted yellow chrysanthemums Wednesday at the station as part of a ceremony marking the garden club's participation in the Maryland Transit Administration's Adopt-A-Shelter/Station Program. Derek Jones, manager of the Light Rail Commission, called the station "one of the most attractive stops as you travel up and down the line." The program encourages individuals and groups to adopt rail and bus stops for beautification.

A five-level garage is scheduled to open in early June at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport rail station, quadrupling the existing parking space at the station that has become increasingly popular with both MARC and Amtrak commuters over the past year.The $7.2 million facility, which has been under construction since September 1994, will provide 1,100 spaces. The 300 spaces on the rail station's existing surface lot are frequently filled early on weekdays.Unlike the surface lot, where parking is free, the garage will cost motorists.

When light rail comes to Ferndale, residents hope passengers will take note of their town and its railroad roots.For the past several years, community leaders have worked toward that end, helping the Mass Transit Administration (MTA) distinguish the North County community's rail station from others along the six-mile southern portion of the line.With the station on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard just months from completion and rail service expected to start in July, the community's efforts have begun to take shape, from the hipped roof on the shelter to the brick clock tower and gray and black color scheme.

When it was built a century ago, Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station was embraced as a new gateway to the city. The elaborate Beaux-Arts building announced Baltimore's significance to the nation and anticipated serving generations of travelers to come. Today, it remains an important passenger rail station, not only for Amtrak but for MARC commuter rail customers, most of whom are headed to and from the nation's capital. But its magnificent architecture suggests it's more historic than inviting.

When it was built a century ago, Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station was embraced as a new gateway to the city. The elaborate Beaux-Arts building announced Baltimore's significance to the nation and anticipated serving generations of travelers to come. Today, it remains an important passenger rail station, not only for Amtrak but for MARC commuter rail customers, most of whom are headed to and from the nation's capital. But its magnificent architecture suggests it's more historic than inviting.

A man was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious injuries after a shooting at the platform of a Light Rail stop in Lutherville Friday afternoon, Baltimore County police said. Officers were called to the 100 block Ridgely Road at 4:15 p.m. A police dispatcher said the shooting occurred on the platform of the Light Rail station. Police have not made any arrests in the shooting. K -9 and aviation were at the scene with detectives Friday afternoon. Baltimore County Police said Saturday they are continuing to investigate the shooting.

The Baltimore Sun A man stabbed an unidentified victim in a fight over a cellphone at the Westport light rail station Friday night, triggering a two-hour closure of the station, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. The altercation occurred about 6:30 p.m., when a man tried to take someone's cellphone at the facility in the 2200 block of Kloman St. in South Baltimore. When the victim fought back, a fight between the two spilled onto the station platform, where the assailant stabbed the phone's owner at least once, the MTA reported.

Anne Arundel police have charged a 19-year-old city man with burglary after he was spotted carrying a TV at the North Linthicum Light Rail Station. Corey Monte Williams, of the 1800 block of Woodbourne Avenue, faces two counts of burglary and one count of theft in the incident Friday. Witnesses told police they had seen a man walking along Regency Circle near Minta Court with a television in his hands. A homeowner in the 200 block of Minta Court had just reported a stolen TV, police said.

A 51-year-old Davidsonville man was hit and killed by a car Tuesday afternoon near the Cromwell Light Rail Station in Glen Burnie, according to Anne Arundel County police. Douglas Frank Pohlman was crossing Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard at about 2:30 p.m. when was struck by a 2004 Chevrolet Impala driven by William C. Smith of Warminster, Pa. Pohlman was taken to Maryland Hospital Shock Trauma where he died from his injuries. He crossed between two designated crosswalks that are marked with operating pedestrian signals, police said but he was not in a designated crosswalk.

From the man who tried unsuccessfully to use his car as a getaway vehicle for a theft — but ultimately carried the loot to the Linthicum light rail station — to repeated damage that threatened to cost him a take-home car from work, Bruce Henkel has had enough of problems he says the station has brought to his neighborhood. The Anne Arundel County plumbing inspector lives a stone's throw from the station — as he says damage to his property indicates. In the past year, youths have pitched stones from the station that broke two windows and dented his take-home car, and damaged his home.

MAA, airport businesses combine to find lost items With nearly 20 million people traveling through Baltimore-Washington International Airport annually, various items tend to be accidentally left behind. The Maryland Aviation Administration works with airport businesses to return lost belongings to their owners. BWI patrons and employees may stop at the Airport Lost and Found Office on the lower level of Concourse C, or call 410-859-7387 to speak to an MAA representative or leave a message.

Mass transit use recommended for patrons of BWI Airport customers are encouraged to use Baltimore light rail, MARC trains, Amtrak and transit bus services operating between Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George's counties, particularly during the holidays. Light rail and bus services take travelers to the entrance of BWI's international pier. The Annapolis Sky Blue bus route leaves the Spa Road transfer point at the city's Department of Public Works every two hours to take travelers to the airport, the BWI rail station and Arundel Mills.

Hundreds of Linthicum residents want the Maryland Transit Administration to shutter the light rail station after an attack on a man near the facility, and they vow to turn out for a public hearing this month on a plan to trim its hours. The MTA beefed up station security in response to a community outcry and has proposed closing the station at 8 p.m., three hours early. Residents say it has brought crime to their neighborhoods, and they are creating a nonprofit group to pursue closing it entirely.

Preston Capital Management is one step away from gaining zoning approval for a 122-acre mixed-use development across Route 100 from the MARC train station in Dorsey. But it is a very important step. Howard County zoning board members want to know exactly what the developer wants to build and how the project would take shape before giving final approval to a site plan. The rezoning case continues at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the county's temporary offices in Columbia. Preston's attorney contends that the firm has an easement that would allow direct access to the train platform via an existing street under Route 100, though permission for passengers to cross the CSX-owned tracks to the station is uncertain.