Witness

The Cardinal Gibbons High School class of 1972 thought about canceling its 40th reunion after learning of the sudden loss of the man who organized the event. Instead, they picked up where Stephen J. Hughes left off and turned the gathering Sunday into a tribute to the man who touched so many lives. On June 4, Hughes, 57, a prominent Towson attorney and longtime Catonsville resident, died in a car crash in Oxford, England, that also killed his two sons-in-law, Gregory Brooks, 39, a graphic designer from Catonsville, and Andrew Pain, 31, of London.

The mayhem that took place downtown onSt. Patrick's Daywas certainly reprehensible, and while Pat McDonough wants to demagogue the issue and race-bait, the mayhem was far from limited to downtown and one race. In Federal Hill and Canton, the situation reached near-riot levels with drunken 20-somethings wreaking havoc on residents with the complicity of wealthy bar owners. Residents had to endure vandalism, public drunkenness, public urination, car accidents, and even assault with little or no protection from the city.

Four days after Tom Sietsema reported that Wit & Wisdom, A Michael Mina Tavern was looking for a new executive chef, representatives of the Mina Group could not confirm that executive chef Benjamin Lambert was being replaced. Sietsema's one-and-a-half star review of Wit & Wisdom in The Washington Post wasn't a pan exactly, but it probably wasn't the review that the San Francisco-based Mina Group wanted for their signature restaurant in the Four Seasons Baltimore Hotel, located in the Inner Harbor's Harbor East development.

"VEEP" is the kind of series that separates HBO from almost every other channel or network making television these days. It takes great risks, dares to break new ground, includes some of the most imaginative artists working in the arts and aims for nothing less than absolute cultural relevance. Oh, yeah: It is also very, very funny in its snarky, off-beat, highly profane, single-camera way. That sensibility might take a little getting used to for some viewers. But give it a chance, and you will come to love the way it's used here to illuminate the darkness at the heart of our partisan-crazed, gridlocked and bleak national political life.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has been subpoenaed as a defense witness in the trial of former Bengals linebacker Nate Webster, according to the Associated Press. Webster faces seven counts related to sexual conduct with the teen-aged daughter of an assistant coach in Cincinnati. He allegedly threatened the girl using guns to keep her from telling anyone; he'd apparently met her by asking her to babysit his children. The case is expected to last into next week. Webster, like Lewis, attended Miami.

A 39-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the arm and back in an 11:15 p.m. shooting Friday in the Park Heights area, police said. Officers responded to the 5000 block of Palmer Avenue where they found the victim, who was listed in good condition at an area hospital Saturday, police spokesman Donny Moses said. Witnesses said they saw the victim arguing with a second man, who pulled a gun and opened fire, Moses said. No further information was available on the suspect or a motive.

Prosecutors are facing a series of hurdles in their second try at convicting two brothers accused of setting a pit bull on fire in 2009, day after day losing key witnesses and testimony that nearly won them their case in the first trial a year ago. Since Tuesday, blows to the prosecutors' case have included one witness refusing to testify, another giving contradictory statements and, most recently, an officer being barred by Judge Emanuel Brown...

Jurors in the retrial of two brothers accused of setting a pit bull ablaze heard testimony from two key witnesses Wednesday, one revealing new details in a police surveillance video while the other raised questions about what he saw the day of the crime. Police Sgt. Jarron Jackson identified Travers and Tremayne Johnson in the video, which shows parts of the May 27, 2009, incident. He pointed them out walking the dog and leading her to an alley close to where the dog was found in flames.

The ongoing controversy surrounding the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has inspired rappers from all over the country to vent their frustrations on wax. First came Oakland's Mistah F.A.B.'s "God Don't Love Me (R.I.P. Trayvon Martin)," and then Plies, the street rapper from Florida, released "We Are Trayvon. " You can now add Baltimore to the list, too. This past Sunday, Los , the local rapper recently signed (again) to Diddy's Bad Boy Records, released "Wit My Hoodie On," a song that uses Martin-specific references as starting points for Los' personal reflections on losing his father, how the public views young black men and more.

Easter options are plentiful this year, and a few are lavish. The offerings at The Capital Grille (500 E. Pratt St., 443-703-4064, thecapitalgrille.com) include a carving station, raw bar, and breakfast station with scrambled eggs, French toast and roasted Kona tenderloin. Wit & Wisdom (200 International Drive, 410-576-5800, witandwisdombaltimore.com) at the Four Seasons Hotel is serving a three-course brunch with featuring chicory-glazed ham and, for dessert, a banana cream puff with chocolate, coconut tapioca and hazelnut sherbet.