Rave

Frankly, we think the 2,500 young people who attended the psychedelic "rave" party at the Timonium Fairgrounds on New Year's Eve got ripped off. They paid up to $25 to dance to ungodly loud music and be dazed by whirling lights and slow-motion movies of waterfalls, and paid $3 or $4 more to drink nonalcoholic concoctions with names like Orbit Juice and Oxygen Cocktails.If getting disoriented was their goal, they could have done it for free -- by attempting to follow how Baltimore County handled the rave -- before, during and after.

As thousands of late-night revelers partied to thumping electronic dance music in the graffiti-marked remains of an old fort in Baltimore last month, some overdosed on drugs or became overwhelmed by the heat, according to a report by the city fire marshal. While the overnight Starscape festival at Fort Armistead Park stretched into the early-morning hours, emergency medical crews from the city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties struggled to keep up with calls for help from the venue, responding to the park "continuously" for 12 hours, the report says.

Mike Gimbel, director of Baltimore County's Office of Substance Abuse, is worried about a 12-hour Rave party New Year's Eve that's expected to attract 2,000 teens and young adults from as far away as Montreal and Atlanta.Though advertisements for the party at the Timonium Fairgrounds say there will be no alcohol, Mr. Gimbel has asked Baltimore County police to keep tabs on the affair because of his concern that participants may bring hallucinogenic drugs and nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, which can be harmful.

Robert Larkin's association with Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville began long before he and his wife purchased a condo there in 2001. The 86-year-old retired Baltimore City police major had contacts with Oak Crest before it even opened its doors. "I used to walk over here from Perry Hall during construction," Larkin said. "I'd wear my hard hat, [and] I got to know all the workers. That was in 1994. " There was never any doubt that the he and his wife, Gloria, would move into Oak Crest when they felt the time was right.

Why would someone like Dmitry, better known as Super DJ Dmitry Brill of the group Deee-Lite, be DJ'ing a rave in Baltimore? After all, he's enjoyed success with Deee-Lite, whose debut album "World Clique" took the group out of the New York club underground and made it a dance-floor senation.Why would he want to spin records at an all-night dance party in a Baltimore warehouse?The reason is simple: Dmitry likes to rave."I DJ for a rave practically every weekend," he said over the phone from his home in New York City.

A contingent of city, state and military police Sunday raided the Paradox Club in the 1300 block of Russell St. where at least 600 people -- some as young as 14 -- were attending a "rave" party at which drugs and liquor were available, a Baltimore police official said yesterday.During the 4: 15 p.m. raid, three men, accused of selling narcotics to undercover Baltimore police officers, were arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, said Maj. Kathleen T. Patek, commander of the Southern District.

A rave party at Fort Armistead Park in Baltimore last weekend is being called a success not only by its sponsor but by nearby Anne Arundel residents dedicated to improving the park - trash was picked up promptly and few arrests were made. Community leaders said yesterday that Starscape, a nine-hour electronic music and arts festival that began Saturday night, hardly affected the park where 4,000 to 6,000 people from across the country gathered. "I think they did a beautiful job," said Gale Kooser, a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary who is heading a park cleanup this weekend.

Get up and clean your teeth and have a shave.It's 1 a.m., let's go out to a rave.One more in before we hit the rave.It's hotter than a microwave.Big Audio Dynamite II, "The Globe"It is dark.You can't see a thing, but you know there are hundreds of people around you. The room is hot and humid. A blinding white light flashes; you still can't see anything. The air smells of sulfur -- smoke from a fog machine somewhere in the ceiling. A computerized voice dominates the room:"Now is the time to get . . . ""Hard core!"

Working as a librarian has taught former blacksmith and Vietnam veteran Walter Rave that the public often acts like a spoiled brat and that real librarians are servants possessed of virtue and valor.In a field that typically demands a master's degree, Mr. Rave has never taken a course in library science. And, though the public library he runs in Takoma Park has more than a few books, it really exists to lend tools -- belt sanders, drain snakes, lawn mowers, electric drills and long-handled spades.

TAKOMA PARK - Larry Hodes had the do-it-yourself concept, the steel pipe and all the time an early retirement allows, yet something was missing. He went looking for it on a recent Saturday at the local tool lending library. Where else to spend such a sublime spring day but inside a trailer the size of a large Dumpster, fenced in chain link and barbed wire? The sun didn't shine on these many saws and hammers, nor on the workbench where Hodes spent hours pursuing visions of a dolly to wheel his canoe from place to place.

When Dave Whitman arrived at work at 5 a.m. Saturday, he knelt on the track at Pimlico Race Course and grasped a handful of soil. Glop, it was not. Despite a line of storms that drenched the area for much of the past week, the Preakness would be run on a fast track. Whitman, director of track maintenance, had fooled nature again. Not only did Pimlico weather that 11/2 inches of rainfall, the course actually had to be watered between each race Saturday. Trucks sprayed nearly 50,000 gallons of city water on the track to keep down the dust on a day when millions of race fans were watching.

With last night's 4-1 victory over the Red Sox, Orioles starter Zach Britton became the first rookie in franchise history to win four games in April. The 23-year-old allowed one run and five hits in six innings of work, a performance that impressed the guys in the other dugout. Here are a few quotes from Red Sox players who were raving about Britton after last night's game : Designated hitter David Ortiz: "He’s got good stuff. We don’t know the kid, so that makes it even worse.

Jarret Johnson got the news Tuesday that defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was leaving the Ravens for a homecoming in Michigan. His first thought: "Please hire in-house. " Twenty-four hours later, after the Ravens promoted defensive backs coach Chuck Pagano to coordinator, the veteran linebacker got his wish. "In my opinion, Chuck is the most deserving," Johnson said. "But if they would have given it to Dean [Pees, linebackers coach], we'd have been just as happy. If they'd have given it to [defensive line coach Clarence Brooks]

The $4.3 million Arbutus branch of Baltimore County's library system is winning rave reviews from its youngest to oldest patrons after officially reopening at a new location. While her mother watched from a cozy window seat, Emily Riesett celebrated her fifth birthday Monday playing at cake-baking in the children's area of the Sulphur Spring Road library. "It is the only thing she wanted to do for her birthday," Karen Riesett said of her daughter. "We just love how family-friendly it is here.

My column several weeks ago about Thomas J. Greco and Karl D. Spence's recently published book, "Dining on the B&O: Recipes and Sidelights from a Bygone Age," brought a flood of mail, phone calls and e-mails from readers who fondly recalled their absolutely marvelous experiences of eating a meal in a railroad dining car as the ever-changing scenery slipped by the window. I was hoping at least a couple of readers might offer a less-than-glowing review of the B&O's food - you know, two sides to a story - but not one complained, thus leaving the carrier's reputation of having prepared and served the best five-star dining car meals in the nation intact.

When Paul Kruger arrived as the Ravens' second-round pick from Utah, Terrell Suggs was clearly the leading man, a Pro Bowl linebacker who would sign a $63 million contract making him one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history. But Kruger was the diligent understudy despite being inactive for seven of the first 11 games, learning his lines in case he was needed. Radio sports-talk callers and the Internet blogs and message boards clamored for Kruger to make an appearance, especially when Suggs was injured two weeks ago. Kruger stepped into the spotlight Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

Baltimore County Executive Roger B. Hayden yesterday called for an investigation of possible illegal drug and alcohol use at a huge, all-night New Year's Eve party at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.Billed as a nonalcoholic event, the "rave" party attracted more than 2,500 people from around the East Coast to the privately owned Timonium fairgrounds and didn't break up until midday yesterday.Yesterday morning, the parking lot was littered with empty beer and alcohol bottles.Michael M. Gimbel, director of the county's substance abuse office who visited the event twice, said he believes illegal drugs also were consumed.

A 49-year-old British citizen who federal officials said promoted all-night rave parties is to be deported before the end of the week after U.S. Immigration and Naturalization agents arrested him for violating a visa program, officials said.Raymond Paul Francis, who lived in the first block of Winehurst Road in Catonsville, was arrested Friday by INS agents after an investigation sparked by tips from county police officers in the metropolitan area.Officials say he violated the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, a federal program that allows foreign nationals to remain in the United States for 90 days without a formal visa.