Youth Programs

Baltimore city CEO Andres Alonso told city council leaders Tuesday that the school system is not in the financial position to inherit recreation centers that are slated for closure in the city budget, after being peppered by council members about the system's ability to bail out endangered youth programs. Following a presentation on the school system's $1.31 billion budget-- presented last week and due to be approved by the school board on May 22-- Alonso was asked by City Council President Bernard"Jack" Young to clarify the system's stance on taking over rec centers, saying that he was dubious about the option given that the system doesn't even have enough money to maintain its own school facilities.

Baltimore city CEO Andres Alonso told city council leaders Tuesday that the school system is not in the financial position to inherit recreation centers that are slated for closure in the city budget, after being peppered by council members about the system's ability to bail out endangered youth programs. Following a presentation on the school system's $1.31 billion budget-- presented last week and due to be approved by the school board on May 22-- Alonso was asked by City Council President Bernard"Jack" Young to clarify the system's stance on taking over rec centers, saying that he was dubious about the option given that the system doesn't even have enough money to maintain its own school facilities.

SPORTS LEGENDS CAME TO Baltimore from all over the country and scored thousands of dollars for the city's recreation and parks youth programs. The Legends weekend began with a golf tournament at Pine Ridge, where area business people paid each to play golf with athletes like former Dallas Cowboy Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett and his former teammates Pete Johnson and Ron Springs; former Baltimore Colts Lenny Moore, John Mackey, Tom Matte, Bruce Laird, Bert...

Michael Phelps' surprising decision to swim the punishing 400 individual medley at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on Friday was a topic of discussion today as elite swimmers began arriving for one of the last meets before the London Olympics four months from now. Phelps, who flew from his Baltimore home Wednesday morning, practiced with a few teammates from the North Baltimore Aquatics Club and then headed to an event at a local Boys and Girls Club...

Northeast Baltimore teenager Sanchel Brown developed a passion for all forms of dance, from African to tap, at a local recreation center that set her upon her current path to college. But she worries that kids in her neighborhood may be denied the same opportunity because of budget cuts at City Hall. "They complain about the children always making trouble, but we don't have anything to do that's affordable," said Brown, a rising senior at Baltimore City College who is looking to apply to colleges around the state and major in dance.

The leaders of the city's Catholic, Jewish and Muslim faiths have a plan to turn Baltimore's summer into the "summer of peace." But they complained Wednesday that the mayor is making their efforts difficult because of plans to close recreation centers and pools and curtail library hours. Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien mentioned the issue in passing in his remarks after meeting with city officials on preventing youth crime, but when questioned he openly leaped into the political fray and called for the city's chief executive to reverse course.

As summer began, Cynthia Carson was trying to coordinate summer youth programs at area churches on a shoestring, depending on donations and volunteer efforts.Then the Los Angeles rioting led to an outpouring of federal money. Ms. Carson found herself helping organize a quarter-million-dollar program -- blending state and church resources -- serving 1,700 children at 34 sites around the city.As assistant for programs at the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council, a 75-year-old organization of Catholic and Protestant churches, Ms. Carson was one of the people turning the deluge into a productive stream that would make its way to parched fields.

In a school gym somewhere near you, Howard County's amateur basketball season is well under way with, it would seem, more youth players than ever but something of a decline in adult play. The largest single program is being conducted by the Western Howard County Youth Basketball Association, which has about 2,000 players - two-thirds or more of them boys - competing in 16 public school gyms ranging from Fulton to the south to Mount View Middle in the north. That figure of 2,000 is about even with enrollment last winter, said association President Pete Geoghan, of Highland, in his second season leading the program.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke abruptly canceled his highly publicized gun buyback yesterday, saying he feared it was being sabotaged by an enterprising group looking for an easy profit.Halfway through the trade-in program that proved both popular and controversial, the mayor called it off after police warned him about a scheme to pawn off cheap guns.He refused to provide details of what he described as "an attempt by a small group of people to flood the program with either recently purchased or nonfunctioning weapons," saying the matter was under police investigation.

An influential Baltimore citizens group is asking city officials to use more of the city's budget surplus to promote after-school programs for children. The group, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), is lobbying for $5.9 million of the surplus to be earmarked for in-school programs and community-based youth programs. So far, city leaders have said they will set aside $3.4 million for in-school programs. Mayor Martin O'Malley has said a large portion of the $59 million surplus needs to be used to cover overspending by some city agencies.

The Lansdowne, Baltimore Highlands and Riverview communities are initiating a Pop Warner youth football program that will play on Saturdays on the artificial turf football field at Lansdowne High School. Kevin Williams, chairman of the Lansdowne Ravens program, said he is excited about its debut Saturday afternoon. Long hours have gone into obtaining the necessary permits, sponsors and donations. In addition to the young players, coaches and parents have also put in their time in practices, on and off the field.

Mayoral candidate state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh said Thursday she would audit police statistics, implement a program to seize guns from young people and create a watch list of children most likely to become involved in violence. "If we're going to solve crime in our community, we need to focus on young people," Pugh said at a morning news conference at her East Baltimore campaign headquarters. Pugh said she would create a program that would allow police to confiscate guns from juveniles without levying criminal charges.

When Kirsten Gaither steps out her front door every morning, she realizes the world holds much more than the familiar comforts of her Liberty Heights neighborhood. Traveling with her AAU and Digital Harbor basketball teams has taken the teenager around the United States, but Gaither's horizons are even wider. "In school, why am I learning about other countries? Why am I learning about history in other countries? It's not just the United States on the planet," she said. "There are more things going on in the world, and it obviously affects us here, because we're at war over in Iraq.

I am writing in response to Tuesday's Baltimore Sun article "Baltimore City Council approves budget. " The lack of attention and care that Baltimore's youth are receiving is appalling. In 2009, approximately 9,000 summer jobs were funded for Baltimore City's youth, whereas the article states that this year there will only be about 5,000 summer jobs. This is not good enough. Closing the budget shortfall by making deep cuts to youth programs is hurting our children. They deserve better.

The Baltimore City Council voted Monday to approve a $1.3 billion operating budget for next year, in spite of last-minute protests by residents and a city councilman who wanted to restore funding to a summer youth employment program. Council members voted 14-1 to approve the budget proposed by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for the fiscal year that begins July 1, with only Councilman Carl Stokes voting against it. Stokes, who says he will be running for mayor but has yet to file, made a last-ditch effort before the vote to add more summer jobs for youth by cutting the Baltimore Police Department budget by $7 million.

The Baltimore School for the Arts' endowment will receive a $1 million donation that will help sustain a youth program that has exposed city students to the arts for nearly 30 years. On Friday, city schools CEO Andrés Alonso will announce the gift from longtime school leaders Patricia and Mark Joseph to the school's TWIGS program, which since 1982 has fostered city students' visual and performing arts talents and prepared many underserved students to enroll in the prestigious arts high school.

A new, federally financed job training and education program for 60 young, unemployed, high school dropouts is set to begin.The Office of Employment and Training hired Arbor of Baltimore to operate the $175,000 program at 511A Eastern Blvd., Essex. Arbor is searching for young people ages 16 to 21 who need help finding a job.Gloria Sandstrom, the county's manager of youth programs, said the program will assess applicants' educational needs; help them get a GED; teach them how to look, act and speak when applying for a job; get them internships with area firms; and eventually help them secure a position.

Free clinic -- Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten (above) and his son, Bishop O'Connell High School coach Joe Wootten, will lead a free basketball clinic from 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City. Admission is free, and registration is not required. The first part of the clinic will focus on drills and fundamentals for younger players and includes player participation. The second part of the clinic will focus on preparing middle school players for high school basketball.

Employment, increased funding for youth programs and a living wage were a few of the reforms city residents demanded of City Council members during public meeting Wednesday evening. Before the annual "Taxpayers' Night" at the War Memorial Building, where council members hear comments on the mayor's preliminary budget, many residents rallied against cuts to after-school programs, recreation centers and other youth services. Although the City Council does not have the authority to allocate spending, residents took the opportunity to voice their objections to the mayor's budget, which trimmed $65 million from the city's $1.29 billion operating budget to balance expenditures and revenue.

Spending $70 to $100 million dollars on a new juvenile jail in East Baltimore — or any new juvenile jail for that matter — is not the best, most cost-effective way to proceed ("Downsizing juvenile jail" May 13). In Baltimore and around the country, there is increasing evidence that community-based alternatives to secure detention are decreasing recidivism rates and improving the lives of juveniles and their families while saving millions of taxpayer dollars. The Baltimore Youth Advocate Program (YAP)