Security

All things being relative, Towson Town Center is bracing for a crime wave. Already, the first chilling ripples are creeping along the suburban shoreline. The mall was hit by three garage and parking lot robberies - in the first 10 months of 1996. In some city neighborhoods, this would be known as a very peaceful evening.Still, the future continues to arrive in Baltimore County. At Towson Town, mall officials and county police are adding 10 security cameras at entrances and exits, plus a new police and security substation in a spot where shoppers can see it and feel they've been given a comforting hug, and potential lawbreakers can say, "Oops.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton ordered yesterday that gays and lesbians no longer be considered security risks and that they be granted access to classified government documents on the same basis as other federal employees.His directive puts an end to almost 50 years of official federal discrimination against homosexuals in government, although individual agencies had begun piecemeal reforms in recent years.Advocates for homosexual rights said the order was long overdue."We all know that innumerable lesbians and gay men have served their country loyally and well throughout its history without betraying its trust or giving away secrets," said Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is openly homosexual.

You wouldn't want to be Willie Coleman. Not this week, anyway.Coleman is in charge of security at Pimlico, and come Saturday, when some of the nation's top thoroughbred horses and about 90,000 racing fans come together for the Preakness, he'll be on call in a big way."It will be a tough week, that's for sure," said Coleman, who has headed security at Pimlico for two years. "But we're ready."If they aren't ready, they will be by Saturday, when a force of 1,700 permanent and fill-in security officers -- a little more than half the size of the Baltimore City police force -- will attempt to keep the horses from the throng and the throng from hurting themselves.

WASHINGTON -- These are tough times for President Bush's director of homeland security, Tom Ridge. Seven months into his assignment to coordinate the myriad homeland security-related government agencies and develop a national strategy for it, The New York Times labels him "a White House adviser with a shrinking mandate." Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, decries the refusal of "the single figure ... privy to the whole picture" to testify before Congress in support of the administration's homeland security budget.

TAMPA, Fla. -- National Football League officials, warily keeping one eye on the war in the Persian Gulf and the other on security at Tampa Stadium, said this has been their most difficult Super Bowl as they braced for the influx of fans starting today.Because most hotel reservations for Super Bowl weekend are for a minimum of four days, the majority of the fans will start arriving today, but they won't find the festive atmosphere that has been associated with the first 24 Super Bowls.Not only can't the league guarantee the game even will be played, but the emphasis also will be much more on security than on parties.

There is no question that Wi-Fi has caught on in a big way. Wireless access points are showing up in droves in homes, businesses and even airports and coffee shops. Starbucks, for example, has installed Wi-Fi in many of its outlets. The majority of these networks are installed with factory settings, which do not employ encryption or any other security measure, leaving them largely open to intruders. Usually the wireless signal extends beyond the building where the network is installed and any person who can grab the signal can use it for Net access.

Dunbar Armored, the nation's largest independent armored - transportation company, said yesterday that it has acquired a New York armored carrier for an undisclosed sum in a move that would significantly expand its market presence in the area.The $130 million, privately held, Hunt Valley-based security company employs 3,000 people and has more than 65 branches in the United States. Its acquisition, VETS Armored Car Inc., has 150 employees and operates more than 40 armored trucks, mostly in the New York City area.

The Maryland Racing Commission vowed yesterday to work with Pimlico management to beef up security after a union leader and commissioners complained of security lapses at the Baltimore racetrack. Three robberies outside Pimlico and one pick-pocketing incident inside have occurred in recent months, said Harry Manley, the union leader representing track workers. He blamed the incidents on cutbacks in security. Jim Gagliano, Maryland Jockey Club executive vice president in charge of racing operations, said that two security posts had been cut since July but that both were in non-critical areas.

Friend's Choice Farm's Halo's Security scooted through a narrow gap between the pacesetter to her left and a wall of horses to her right and won the 31st running of the seven-furlong, $60,000-added Conniver Stakes for registered Maryland-bred fillies and mares yesterday at Laurel Park.Halo's Security crossed under the wire in 1: 24 2/5, a length and a half in front over a fast surface. She paid $10.60 to win.Maragold Princess, who also muscled her way through traffic, edged Proud Run for the place.

A private security company that abruptly canceled its contract Thursday to guard a West Baltimore senior housing complex collected $1.67 million over two years, according to records released yesterday. The Sun reported this week that the Housing Authority of Baltimore City was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to Solidarity Security & Investigation Inc. to protect the 203-unit Rosemont Towers at 740 Poplar Grove Ave. and nearby blocks. Rosemont Towers was the only one of 18 senior complexes in the city protected by a private security firm.