Retirement

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the longest-serving commissioner in the city's recent history and who oversaw steep declines in the city's murder rate, is stepping down, the mayor's office announced. Bealefeld's retirement date is effective August 1, the sources said, but he still stay on and oversee a transition. A senior aide to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Bealefeld informed of her of his decision today and said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Horse racing 'Redux' retirement home still up in air Rapid Redux is still retired, but his retirement home has yet to be determined. On Thursday, owner Robert Cole said the horse would not race again, and trainer David Wells said Rapid Redux would be going to the Kentucky Horse Park. But Wells said Friday that he learned that the part of the Kentucky Horse Park he had been speaking to was actually the Secretariat Center, which retrains racehorses for post-racing careers.

Thomas Firey of the Maryland Policy Institute offers a libertarian approach to economic security in retirement ("Better pension reform," July 27). Mr. Firey argues that because some Illinois teachers chose in 1998 not to take a "buy-in" for increasing their eventual pension benefits, Maryland state employees should be able to "buy-back" future pension benefits. The employees would receive cash now in exchange for benefits they would otherwise be entitled to when they retire, thereby reducing the state's long-term pension obligations.

A day after making a handful of roster additions and cuts, the Ravens announced on Wednesday that they had released fullback Chad Diehl, an undrafted free agent who had participated in the team's rookie minicamp over the weekend. No reason for the move was given, but Diehl shed a little light on it on his Facebook page. “At rookie mini-camp this past weekend I suffered another concussion,” Diehl said via the Spartanburg Herald Journal (S.C.) . “With this concussion happening so soon after the concussion I had in January at the Senior Bowl it left many people concerned including family, doctors, and myself about my health and future if I were to continue playing.

It is with considerable sadness that I read Ann Egerton's op-ed piece of moving to assisted living ("Leaving home and heading for 'the home,'" July 5). Granted, my husband and I are both still in our 60s and in good health. For the past 35 years, we have resided in our Baltimore County home with its acre of lawn and gardens. But I witnessed my parents make a similar decision as Ms. Egerton and her husband when they moved from an independent home to a more communal, less independent setting.

I read with interest Eileen Pollock's essay about retiring to Baltimore ("Why I'm thinking about retiring to Baltimore," Feb. 17). My hat's off to her for espousing Baltimore's strengths instead of the usual (and frankly, tiresome) complaint about the city's high taxes. Look at what downtown Baltimore alone has to offer: Four colleges and universities, easy proximity via MARC train to the District of Columbia, museums, symphony, wonderful restaurants, two major sports stadiums, four Circulator bus routes providing free transportation (see if you can find that in Manhattan)

Eileen Ambrose delaying Social Security from 66 to 70 to boost benefits after 70 by about a third ("Here's what you should know about Social Security," March 11) advocates. But there are factors this conventional wisdom overlooks. If one forgoes 100 percent of benefits for four years, he or she must live 12 years after 70 to break even. Will one live to and after 82, and how active one will one be after 82 to enjoy the extra funds? Taxable IRAs and 401(k)s are subject to Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)

According to a report out of Venezuela, former longtime Oriole Melvin Mora announced his retirement from major league baseball Thursday while in his home country. Mora, who will turn 40 in February, was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks last June after hitting .228 in 127 at-bats for the Diamondbacks. He said earlier this winter that he wanted to play again if he could find the right opportunity, but apparently that did not happen. Mora was traded to the Orioles by the New York Mets in July 2000 as part of then-GM Syd Thrift's fire sale.

The long, circuitous ride that is Ricky Williams' football career again swerved abruptly Tuesday when the Ravens' enigmatic reserve running back announced that he was retiring from the NFL. Since early last week, Williams, who reached the 10,000-yard career rushing plateau in 2011, his only season in Baltimore, had been mulling the decision to walk away from the NFL (again) to explore other interests and focus on his foundation. The 34-year-old acknowledged he could change his mind.

Jeff Singer, the longtime president and chief executive officer of Health Care for the Homeless, announced his retirement Thursday, and the organization said it was immediately launching a search committee to identify a successor. Singer's 40-year career advocating for homeless people and families included 13 years at the helm of Health Care for the Homeless, which he joined in 1987. During his tenure, the group tripled the size of a Baltimore-based clinic and state headquarters and launched new dental and pediatric programs, and he oversaw a budget that quadrupled from $3.2 million in 1998 to $13.5 million this year.

Former Ravens cornerback and current NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth is “probably” going to retire. In a recent interview with a United Kingdom-based football website called DBLcoverage.com, the 29-year-old said, “I think that I've probably made the decision that I'm going to move forward and stop playing football.” Foxworth, who signed a four-year, $27.2 million contract with the Ravens in 2009, was cut by the team in March...

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.

For six seasons, Derrick Mason left cornerbacks slipping on the turf with his signature comeback routes - cuts that were sharp, surgical, and effective. Now, as he sprints into life after football, Mason may soon swerve back to Baltimore to retire as a member of the Ravens. Mason, the franchise's all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards, told The Baltimore Sun on Friday he hopes to retire as a Raven. The 38-year-old has spoken with team officials about his desire, and it will likely happen once he officially retires.

By now, you  know that Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III announced his resignation, effective Aug. 1, on Thursday. Read the full story here , along with a video clip and a photo gallery of the chief through the years. Here's what some in the community are saying about the commissioner: “Commissioner Bealefeld has been a great public servant for the people of Baltimore throughout his entire career in the Baltimore Police Department and we owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the longest-serving commissioner in the city's recent history and who oversaw steep declines in the city's murder rate, is stepping down, the mayor's office announced. Bealefeld's retirement date is effective August 1, the sources said, but he still stay on and oversee a transition. A senior aide to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Bealefeld informed of her of his decision today and said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The Institute of Notre Dame, a 165-year-old private all-girls high school in the city, has selected Gail Donahue as its new principal, according to the school. Donahue is currently the assistant principal of professional development of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney. She replaces Ann Seeley, who is retiring June 30 after 12 years as principal of IND, the school said. Donahue, of Ellicott City, has taught in Catholic schools for 34 years. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Pennsylvania State University, a master's degree in reading from Trinity University, and is expected to earn a doctorate in educational leadership from Notre Dame of Maryland University — where she is also an associate faculty member — this month, IND said.

Martha A. Smith has announced that she will retire as president of Anne Arundel Community College in August 2012. Smith, who began her tenure in 1994, has presided over explosive growth at the college, with double-digit enrollment increases the norm in recent years. The college added a new career center, a renovated student union, a center for applied learning and a branch at Arundel Mills under her leadership. The college's board of trustees will develop a plan for seeking her replacement.

How much in savings and investments should you have by age 35 or 45? Or, for that matter, at 65 when you're likely to be near retirement? If you don't know, you have plenty of company. So many figures are bounced about that it's often difficult for people to know what's the right amount. Many workers end up saving what they can and hoping for the best. That's why some financial advisers now use a simple yardstick to help clients quickly see how they measure up. It suggests the amount of savings and investments you should have in relation to income at different ages.

Joseph A. "Joe" DiPaola Jr., an award-winning Baltimore Sun photographer whose 1962 picture of the controversial nose-to-nose Preakness finish resulted in the suspension of a jockey, died Friday of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. The longtime Timonium resident was 91. The son of a grocery store owner/barber and a homemaker, Mr. DiPaola was born in Baltimore. He was raised on Greenspring Avenue, and later moved to the Reisterstown-Owings Mills area in the early 1940s.

As the No. 2 leader of the Coast Guard, Vice Adm. — and Vice Commandant — Sally Brice-O'Hara is the chief operating officer of an organization with a $10 billion budget and 58,000 military and civilian employees, plus 31,000 volunteers. Last week, less than a month before her own retirement, the Annapolis native and 1974 Goucher College graduate was temporarily bumped up a rung to No. 1 while her boss, Adm. Robert Papp, recovered from surgery. Brice-O'Hara has served coast to coast as well as in Hawaii.