West Street

Despite this year's upswing in business on West Street, the Crate Cafe is likely to shut down soon.For two weeks, a handwritten note has hung on the door, telling customers the restaurant is closed for vacation.The dozen-year-old Annapolis cafe, the longtime gathering spot for the Friday Morning Democratic Breakfast Club, has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since March. George Z. Petros, the Crate's attorney, said the restaurant at 49 West St. probably won't reopen.The owners, John and Gail Chwan, have been trying to restructure their business debts or sell the 75-seat cafe.

Joe Budge has been a familiar face at Annapolis city council meetings, speaking out on issues related to downtown. Later this month, he'll move from the public microphone to the dais as he's sworn in as the council's newest alderman. Budge, 60, was selected by the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee on Tuesday to replace former Ward One Alderman Richard E. Israel, who stepped down in April because he planned to move out of the city and into an assisted-living facility. Budge joins the council at a busy time, as aldermen finalize the city's annual budget and prepare to deal with planning and rezoning issues for the City Dock area.

The second phase of the $13.2 million utility replacement and road reconstruction on Annapolis' West Street is at least two weeks ahead of schedule and expected to be completed by early June, city officials said. Despite the record snowfall during the winter, the contractor - encouraged by incentives of $2,000 a day to finish earlier than the contract completion date of July 8 - has kept a steady pace. "We've managed to hold the schedule and are at least two weeks ahead of schedule, maybe a little more," said Joseph A. Baker Jr., the city's chief of engineering and construction, who said the contractor, FMC Civil Construction Inc. of Cheverly, lost two days because of snow.

Baltimore officials hope to draw more money from city-owned garages downtown, raising rates at garages on Caroline, Baltimore and West streets while adding a new monthly overnight plan at the St. Paul Street garage. The city's Board of Estimates is set to vote Wednesday on the proposal, which officials say is necessary to maintain the parking facilities. The Parking Authority of Baltimore City, which recommended the increases, said the new, cheaper option on St. Paul Street will make parking more affordable for people who live nearby.

Truffles, the popular Annapolis eatery known for its sinfully sweet desserts, closed this week, the latest victim of the economic downturn on West Street.Michelle O'Brien, owner of the quaint, upscale restaurant at 50 West St., said yesterday that her business was struggling because of poor parking and the growing number of empty shops in the first block of the street."The problem on West Street, as you know, is half the places are vacant on the block," she said.Truffles is one of at least four shops to leave Inner West Street in recent months.

Driving on West Street in Annapolis could be safer.That's the conclusion of the Annapolis City Police Department after a yearlong study found that 10 percent of the city's auto accidents occur on the stretch of that road from Legion Avenue to the city-county line near Route 2.Beginning tomorrow, city police will set up digital display boards to inform motorists how fast they are driving.If that doesn't make people slow down and drive more safely, be prepared to be ticketed, police warn."This is the first time we've tried to educate people first," said Lt. T. J. Harrington, commander of the newly launched West Street Accident Suppression Project.

"West Street Story," a story in the Sunday edition of the Anne Arundel County Sun on prostitution in Annapolis, contained an incorrect statistic.Forty-three arrests have been made, 32 of which have beenagainst men charged with solicitation.In the shadowy light of a street lamp on Annapolis' West Street, a young woman in faded jeans and a neon jacket walks slowly back and forth.Two men saunter past her and stare. Cars stop at the corneras men peer out the windows, or speed up, the drivers looking straight ahead.

Business owners and urban design consultants urged the Annapolis City Council last night to increase spending on streetscape improvements for the ailing West Street corridor.Preliminary designs for revitalization of the area show costs may run between $7 million and $10 million, Faux Group designers told the council and a neighborhood advisory committee.The council allotted $3.2 million in its capital budget for the project.The designs -- which include the addition of a traffic circle at the intersection of West Street, Taylor Avenue and Spa Road -- depict West Street as a bustling business district and cultural community.

EVEN ON A soggy Memorial Day weekend, the shops and restaurants along Annapolis' Main Street and City Dock bustled with activity. To visitors who have not visited the state capital for a while, the commercial vitality in this section of town may be surprising. New merchants fill old vacancies. Some long-time businesses have spruced up facades. Diners pack "sidewalk cafes." It's the kind of healthy commercial environment that the Annapolis' city government has long hoped to create along West Street, beyond State and Church circles.

Two Annapolis city council members are seeking to limit the density of developments along the outer West Street corridor, where major office and residential projects are fast overshadowing older homes and storefronts. Prompted by concerns that the thoroughfare is being overdeveloped, Aldermen Josh Cohen and Samuel E. Shropshire have proposed an ordinance that will seek to limit the density of multifamily developments to 35 units per acre, a 20 percent reduction from current standards. This latest proposal comes as two major projects begin to take shape at West Street and Spa Road: a headquarters for Severn Savings Bank, and the $200 million Park Place development, which will include a Westin Hotel, offices, condominiums and shops.

Baltimore City fire officials say no one was injured in a blaze at a vacant house on West Franklin Street in the city late Saturday night. Firefighters responded to the house around 11:55 p.m. Saturday night, officials said. Upon arrival, companies found heavy fire on all three floors of a vacant house in the 1100 block of W. Franklin Street.  Firefighters began working the blaze, but officials said holes in the floors on upper levels created unsafe conditions, and responders were ordered to evacuate.

As traffic whizzed by on West Street, Nancy Patterson and her service dog, Mahler, rolled smoothly past homes and car dealerships until a utility pole jutted from the center of the brand-new sidewalk. Patterson negotiated her wheelchair around the pole, wincing as she got close to the road, and kept rolling, too excited to pay the obstacle much mind. "I haven't been able to walk on West Street, ever, before today," Patterson said. "It's a huge freedom for people with disabilities.

An 18-year-old man was shot and hospitalized Sunday night in West Baltimore, according to the Baltimore City Police Department. According to Sgt. Anthony Smith, police responded at 11:46 p.m. to a call about a man shot in the upper right leg while sitting on the steps of a house in the 2300 block of W. Lanvale St. Smith said Monday that police officers have no motive for the shooting and are continuing to investigate.

West Street in Annapolis is getting a nicer look with new and wider sidewalks thanks in part to the state highway administration's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I own property on West Street and the new sidewalks makes the main entrance to our charming, historic town look like someone cares about our great city. Once the agency finishes installing the new sidewalks, let's all do our part to make Annapolis a clean and safe city again. Bill Labros, Annapolis

Annapolis police are looking for a man who pulled a 21-year-old woman into an alley in downtown Annapolis and sexually assaulted her early Saturday morning. About 1:30 a.m., the woman was walking alone in the 100 block of Duke of Gloucester St. near the heart of the downtown area when a man walking behind her grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby alley, according to police. The man threw the woman to the ground and sexually assaulted her, police said. The woman, who had been walking home from West Street, was eventually able to fight off the man, who then fled, police said.

A 33-year-old man was shot and killed near the intersection of North Loudon Avenue and West Franklin Street at 4:42 p.m. Sunday, according to the Baltimore Police Department. The man was pronounced dead at Shock Trauma at 5:32, according to Sgt. Anthony Smith. Baltimore City police reported three other shootings Sunday. •Homicide investigators were called to the scene of a shooting at 9:15 p.m. in the 200 block of Herring Court in Southeast Baltimore. The shooter approached a 22-year-old man and shot him multiple times in the head, according to police.

Owners of small businesses and office buildings along Annapolis' West Street won a reprieve last night from a set of costly fees to provide parking in the congested downtown.The City Council unanimously approved waiving its requirement that businesses without on-site parking chip in to build and maintain nearby lots and garages.Hurt by the lingering economic downturn, a number of business owners, restaurateurs and developers on West Street pleaded with the council two weeks ago to abolish the fees.

ANNAPOLIS' planning commission made the right decision in unanimously approving an application for a McDonald's on the first block of West Street in the state capital city. In the long run, McDonald's will prove to be an asset, rather than the imagined liability, in the long-running effort to revitalize this commercial strip.Ever since preservationists tossed an effigy of Ronald McDonald into Annapolis harbor 20 years ago, fast food has had a bad name in the historic district. Having been unable to stop a Burger King from opening on Main Street (which has since closed)

City police were investigating a double-shooting in West Baltimore Monday night that killed a 29-year-old man. Officers found Donte Collins suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at about 8:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Rosedale St., in the Rosemont neighborhood, and paramedics transported him to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Around the same time, police were informed of another shooting victim who had been dropped at St. Agnes Hospital for treatment for multiple gunshot wounds to his lower body.

Miss Shirley's, the pride of Alonsoville, famous for its rib-sticking breakfasts, quietly opened its third location on Monday, in Annapolis' Park Plaza building. The new West Street location, adjacent to the Westin Annapolis, seats 160 diners in a main dining room, private dining room and seated bar. There is, weather permitting, additional outside dining. The Annapolis location, like the two in Baltimore, does not take reservations. The hours are the same in Annapolis, too: Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sat.-Sun., 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.