Urban Problems

Baltimore was fortunate to have Larry Reich as its planning director from 1965 to 1990, a time when the city experienced a rebirth because of the Inner Harbor and other redevelopments. His standards were high -- and he did not fear to speak out.Larry Reich, who died Saturday at 75 (a memorial service will be held today), did not design anything. But his handiwork is widely visible.Pratt Street became the wide signature street it is today because of him. He championed the rebuilding of City Hall (and won over then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer)

The suburban security blanket, like the one Linus totes around in the "Peanuts" comic strip, seems to fray with each passing news item:Food pantries note increased demand in the suburbs, particularly in affluent Howard County . . . Panhandling more evident along suburban shopping strips. "It's safer," panhandlers say. . . . Retired executive shot through his living room window in Baltimore County's wealthy Green Spring Valley . . . Baltimore County announces heightened security to protect holiday shopping mall crowds.

Lawyers for the city of Baltimore have prepared a new complaint in their lawsuit against Wells Fargo, which contends that the bank steered black borrowers into subprime loans, then foreclosed on hundreds of city houses, leading to blight and higher public safety costs. The city suffered a setback in January when U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz dismissed the suit. Motz said the connection between the Wells Fargo foreclosures and urban problems was "implausible when considered against the background of other factors leading to the deterioration of the inner city," and called the suit overly broad.

THE CITY SCHOOLS were in crisis. The usual poohbahs - mayor, governor, superintendents, senators, delegates - were meeting. A news conference was called to announce the solution. And there, in his usual place on the edge of the spotlight, was this Zelig-like figure of Baltimore leadership - Bob Embry. Mayors and governors and superintendents and crises have come and gone. The constant has been the slightly dour face of Robert C. Embry Jr. Though he smiles easily, many see only those downturned eyebrows and lips, an expression of seriousness or disapproval, perhaps both.

Ballot AccessYour Feb. 21 editorial criticizing Mayor Kurt Schmoke's feeble response to the Housing Authority scandal ended by welcoming City Council President Mary Pat Clarke's primary challenge and asking credible Republican and independent candidates to run.Unfortunately, Maryland election law places extra burdens on independent candidates that make it very unlikely that any independent candidate will run in a citywide race.To appear on the ballot in the mayor's race, an independent or third party candidate must collect more than 10,200 valid signatures from registered city voters.

WASHINGTON -- Drawing on public outrage over the Rodney King verdict and the race riots that followed, minority leaders from around the country pledged yesterday to take to the streets in a campaign for racial equality and increased social spending."

Kurt L. Schmoke's moment of glory will come tomorrow night when he introduces former President Jimmy Carter to the Democratic National Convention. To the political junkies in Maryland and beyond, the message is clear: the Baltimore mayor is a man to watch.The election campaign may further heighten the profile of Mr. Schmoke. As one of the few black elected officials joining the Bill Clinton bandwagon early on, he campaigned for the Democratic nominee not only in Maryland but in such pivotal states as New York and Pennsylvania.

Before it is over, the mid-term changes taking place in the Maryland House of Delegates promise to be the biggest legislative shake-up in decades. House Speaker R. Clayton Mitchell seems determined to reshape the House to fit his conservative, budget-cutting philosophy.Already, two chairmen -- Charles J. "Buzz" Ryan from Prince George's County (Appropriations) and Anne S. Perkins from Baltimore (Constitutional and Administrative Law) -- have resigned from the legislature and a third -- John S. Arnick from Baltimore County (Judiciary)

Since Robert P. Bergman became its director in 1981, the Walters Art Gallery has renovated the 1904 original building, added the Hackerman House wing of Asian art, introduced admission fees, increased attendance by half, increased membership dramatically, nearly tripled endowment and more than tripled its annual budget. Upon his departure, to head the larger and much wealthier Cleveland Museum of Art next summer, Mr. Bergman will be missed.The Walters Art Gallery, belonging to the city and people of Baltimore, is one of the world's great art museums, thanks to the collecting skills and public generosity of William T. and Henry Walters.

President-elect Clinton's appointment of Henry G. Cisneros as secretary of Housing and Urban Development and of Federico F. Pena as secretary of Transportation attracted most attention because of their Hispanic roots. In time we suspect another thing they have in common will prove more significant: They are both former mayors.It is rare for two former chief executives of cities to serve in a president's cabinet. It occurred at the end of the Carter administration. But not even one has graced the table in the past two administrations.