Ramp

Maryland State Police say an officer with the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of a Lansdowne man after an alleged road rage incident Saturday night in Anne Arundel County. Police say Joseph Walker, 40, of East Ampton, N.J. is being held at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center on a $1 million bond after the shooting, which took place along Interstate 97. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., troopers were called for the report of a shooting along the shoulder of the ramp from northbound Route 3 to I-97.

The Dew Tour is coming to Ocean City two months earlier than last year in hopes of catching bigger waves, and the town will be packed with extreme-sports fans paying homage to this shrine to surfing, skateboarding and BMX. The five-day competition next weekend gives visitors a chance to see some of the most difficult tricks performed by the top professionals. It's all about their incredible balance, coordination and refusal to obey gravity. And about bringing throngs of fans to the shops and eateries at the beach: The 2012 event drew 90,000 visitors and organizers are hoping to top that number this year.

The State Highway Administration will close the ramp from southbound Charles Street to eastbound Interstate 695 beginning tonight as part of the replacement of a bridge over the Beltway. As of Friday morning, motorists approaching the Beltway from Lutherville will be diverted to York Road until fall. The ramp from northbound Charles Street to the eastbound Beltway will remain open. On Friday, motorists approaching the Charles Street interchange from Lutherville will be directed to a detour using Bellona Avenue and the York Road interchange.

The ramp from eastbound I-695 to southbound Route 170, also called Camp Meade Road, will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, Maryland State Highway Administration officials said. Signs for a detour will be posted.  Motorists should take Route 170 north to Route 648, turn right on Route 648, then right onto Route 169. From there, they can reach Route 170 southbound. The work, in Linthicum, uses a polyester-epoxy modified concrete and may accomplish the job over a weekend.

The ramp from the northbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway to southbound I-695 in Anne Arundel County will be closed for a few nights this week as crews repair a sound wall. The State Highway Administration announced that the closures probably won't last more than three nights starting on Sunday at 10 p.m. Workers on the job between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be repairing damaged panels on the sound wall and putting in new traffic barriers in front of the wall. Weather permitting, the job is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

The State Highway Administration will close the ramp from southbound Ritchie Highway to westbound U.S. 50 from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. today and Sunday or Monday during the same hours to allow contractors to install noise barriers on the north side of U.S. 50.If the weather is inclement on those dates, the ramp will be closed after Thanksgiving weekend, said a highway administration spokeswoman.Drivers should go from southbound Route 2 to eastbound U.S. 50 and take the first exit, Bay Dale Drive, then follow detoursigns to westbound U.S. 50. Message signs, traveler-advisory radio at 530 AM and 1610 AM, barrels and cones will guide motorists through the area.

A charter bus carrying a dozen adults and children drove off an elevated ramp on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County Wednesday afternoon, killing the driver and sending 11 others to local hospitals, a Maryland State Police spokesman said. Joseph A. Clabaugh Jr., 66, of Hanover, Pa., the driver of a 2006 Freightliner 29-passenger bus was pronounced dead at the scene. Two of the injured were being treated for life-threatening injuries, according to county Fire Capt. Oscar Garcia.

On February 13, 2004, HELEN M. (nee Voskuhl); beloved wife of Earl Ramp; devoted mother of Earl Stephen Ramp and his wife Pamela, Michael Ramp and his wife Brenda and Kenneth Ramp and his wife Tracy; dear sister of Ursula Van Kuiken, Deborah Bound, John, James, Robert and Frederick Voskuhl and the late Henry and Walter Voskuhl; loving grandmother of Nicolas Tyler Ramp and Christopher Ryan Ramp. Also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Mark's Church, on Monday at 10 A.M. Interment private.

A 5-year-old boy died Wednesday after the car he was riding in with his family was rear-ended on a Baltimore Beltway on-ramp, police said. Shortly before 3 p.m., an SUV rear-ended a sedan carrying two adults and two children on the ramp from northbound Interstate 83 to the inner loop of Interstate 695, police said. Cars were braking suddenly on the ramp, police said, and a chain reaction ensued, causing two additional cars to be rear-ended. Jake Owen and his sister, Alexandra Owen, 9, were flown to the pediatric trauma unit at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, police said.

An incident in Anne Arundel County on the inner loop of Interstate 695 at MD 295 at 8:45 a.m., on Monday closed one of two inner loop right off-ramp lanes and one of two inner loop off-ramp shoulders, according to the state Department of Transportation. Morning-long minor delays on the light rail continued at 9 a.m., said the Maryland Transit Authority. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans, including Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, stepped up their criticism of Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez on Tuesday, amplifying their concerns a day before the former state official faces a Senate committee vote on his confirmation. Republicans convened a joint hearing of two House subcommittees to focus on a federal case Perez oversaw as assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Other lawmakers, including Harris, are pressing Perez to turn over his personal e-mails.

The northbound Interstate 895 entrance ramp from Potee Street/Patapsco Avenue is schedule to close Friday for three months as part of a $12.6 million rehabilitation project, the Maryland Transportation Authority announced. Motorists will be detoured onto Frankfurst Avenue to connect to I-895. Once northbound work is completed, the southbound ramp at Exit 7 is scheduled to close about July 7 for repairs. The project to replace the decks of the I-895 bridges over Patapsco Avenue and Potee and Hanover streets began in fall 2012 and is scheduled to be complete by summer 2014.

Baltimore police said they were aware of no problems connected to early St. Patrick's Day celebrations Friday night, as they brace for a weekend of boozy revelry once bars open today. The department announced plans to flood bar districts with officers and will have help from state police forces too. They are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, which saw Canton Square trashed by drinkers and a large group of teenagers fighting downtown. So far, though, things are quiet, according to police, and this evening additional officers will be patrolling the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Canton and Federal Hill.

Police officers in three surrounding counties and the city of Laurel Police are beefing up enforcement of drunk driving this weekend, as St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on Sunday. Laurel Police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint Saturday night, March 16 at Route 1 and Main Street, weather permitting. If it's raining Saturday night, Laurel Police will conduct roving saturation patrols in area, according to Laurel City Spokesman Pete Piringer. Free rides home are available through SoberRide by calling 1-800-200-TAXI (8294)

An incident in Anne Arundel County on the inner loop of Interstate 695 at MD 295 at 8:45 a.m., on Monday closed one of two inner loop right off-ramp lanes and one of two inner loop off-ramp shoulders, according to the state Department of Transportation. Morning-long minor delays on the light rail continued at 9 a.m., said the Maryland Transit Authority. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Traffic Morning commute snarled by accidents, including two with injury Several accidents, including a fatal crash in Baltimore County, hampered Thursday morning's traffic, according to the state Department of Transportation. The morning commute became snarled at 5:41 a.m., due to a deadly accident involving three vehicles that closed all lanes and both shoulders of the Interstate 695 inner loop near Belair Road in the Overlea area of Baltimore County, DOT said. One adult was killed in the accident, and at least one adult and one child were injured and transported to area hospitals in critical condition, a Baltimore County Fire Department dispatcher confirmed.

Effective Thursday morning, the Maryland State Highway Administration will close the ramp from the lanes for traffic eastbound on Route 40 (Pulaski Highway/Philadelphia Boulevard) to the lanes for southbound traffic on Route 715 (Short Lane) in Aberdeen for approximately a year to continue reconstruction of the interchange. A detour will direct drivers traveling east on Route 40 to the Aberdeen Proving Ground-Maryland Gate and those driving east to local businesses on Route 715 to stay left on Route 40 and use a new temporary traffic signal to make a left turn across Route 40 and onto a temporary interchange ramp connection to southbound Route 715, SHA said in a news release announcing the ramp closure.

An incident on Interstate 895 north of Exit 9 northbound has closed the entrance ramp around 8 a.m. Monday, state Department of Transportation officials said. MTA says that its buses, the Metro Subway and light rail are running on time and are operating on the regular weekday schedule, but that there is no MARC train nor commuter bus service. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

An incident on Interstate 895 north of Exit 9 northbound has closed the entrance ramp around 8 a.m. Monday, state Department of Transportation officials said. MTA says that its buses, the Metro Subway and light rail are running on time and are operating on the regular weekday schedule, but that there is no MARC train nor commuter bus service. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Valorie Cooley was "in a really bad place" a year ago, with a broken furnace and past-due heating bills she couldn't pay. Now her Baltimore home has a new furnace and a raft of energy-efficient improvements - including insulation in the attic and caulking around the windows - that pulled her Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. bill down to a level she can afford. All coordinated by city government. That's one example of how Baltimore agencies have attacked energy costs in recent years - their own as well as residents' and businesses'.