Truck

The results of the recent Maryland State Police dragnet indicate that there is an ongoing and potentially dangerous problem with many trucks driving in and through Maryland ("State police safety dragnet takes 114 trucks off road," March 28). Yet it has been six years since the police performed this type of dragnet in Baltimore. It seems obvious that the 114 safety defects discovered should cause the police to make a policy to perform these inspections much more often in Baltimore as well as the rest of the state.

Picture a one-sided tug of war in an Anne Arundel Community College parking lot: At one end of the rope is a group of students, digging heels against the asphalt to gain traction. The other end is tied to a delivery truck set in neutral, its 14,000 pounds making it a formidable challenger. The community college is primed for the return this week of the AACC Truck Pull, which began last year as one of the more intriguing spectacles on the sprawling Arnold campus. Hosted by the college's Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Program, the event, scheduled for Thursday, involves teams of students, faculty and community leaders pulling delivery trucks and racing for the best time on a closed course.

One of every five commercial trucks pulled over in Baltimore by Maryland State Police inspectors during a two-day sweep this week was impounded for safety defects. In addition to the 114 defective trucks, 21 drivers were barred from driving for violations. The dragnet, the first in the city in six years, used 45 troopers from across the state to monitor highway ramps and prowl city streets. Trucks selected for inspection were either pulled over along Broening Highway and Fairfield Road, access roads to the port of Baltimore, or herded to a parking lot at M&T Bank Stadium.

The food-truck rally known as The Gathering kicks off a new season on Friday night in Hampden. The 2013 debut Gathering will take place in the parking lot of the Castle, at the corner of Keswisk Avenue and 34th Streets in Hampden, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Gypsy Queen, Kooper's Chowhound, Mis Shirley's, Chicken 'N Waffles, Kommie Pig, Jolly Pig, Souper Freaks, Charm City Gourmet, Flavorful Cupcakes and Icedgems Creations are all expected....

A tractor-trailer that flipped on the Bay Bridge last week was carrying a load too light for the gusty conditions, a situation made worse when the trailer's soft canvas wall caught the wind like a sail, transportation authorities said Friday. "The vehicle shouldn't have been there," said Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. The truck's driver, James T. Savage Jr., 53 of Owings Mills, received a $90 citation for failing to obey highway signs warning of wind restrictions on the bridge, Green said.

On Monday morning a truck smashed into the front of Mari Luna Latin Grille on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. No one was in the restaurant at the time, which Mari Luna general manager Salvador Khadra said was around 9 a.m. But the accident caused considerable damage, Khadra said, ramming into a supporting wall. Khadra said that the restaurant's management is working toward a temporary reopening, as soon as this weekend, but that complete renovations will take considerably longer.

Elvira Elizabeth "Bette" Kennedy, a World War II veteran who with her husband co-founded Dawn's Office Supply, died Friday of a heart attack at Emeritus of Towson on North Charles Street. The longtime Mount Washington resident was 89. The daughter of a barnstormer and truck driver and an educator, Elvira Elizabeth Lance was born and raised in Oneonta, N.Y., where she graduated in 1942 from Oneonta High School. She enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and was working as a pharmacist's mate at a naval hospital in Northern California when she met her future husband, Thomas J. Kennedy Jr., a Marine who was recuperating after losing his sight when he was blinded by a Japanese booby trap at Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.

The Gathering is coming back. The evening food truck rally, which was running on a weekly schedule back in the fall, is kicking off the 2013 season on Saturday at the Castle in Hampden, on 34th Street and Keswick Avenue. The Gatherings are typically scheduled for Friday evenings, but this one is being held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. The rally is being filmed for “Second Act,” a new lifestyle makeover show hosted by Paul DiMeo of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” “Second Act,” which has DiMeo and his associates helping the show's subjects cope with mid-life changes, will spotlight the owners of the Iced Gems food truck in the episode being taped at the Gathering.

Founded in 2011, Union Craft Brewing has established itself as a player in Baltimore's craft-beer movement. Located in the shadow of the Pepsi sign, the brewery site, accessible to the Light Rail and with ample parking, is proving to be an accommodating venue for medium-sized events, indoor and out. On Feb. 8, the brewery will host a Truck Party Food Rally , from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participating trucks include Gypsy Queen, Kommie Pig, Kooper's...

The new food truck Philly Mignon , a cheese steak specialist, made its downtown Baltimore debut on Monday. So did Darua. Darua, owned and operated by Marcellos Salles, sells Brazilian street food. On the menu are things like feijoda , a stew of black beans and meat; espetinho , skewered meats; and pastels , which are like flattened-out stuffed won-tons. The truck has a website and a Facebook page . You can also follow it on Twitter @daruafoodtruck.