Youth Violence

Two drug organizations in East Baltimore began to collapse yesterday as 22 people were charged with drug and weapons-related offenses in a new effort to curtail violence in the city, authorities said."

Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, Baltimore's high-profile and innovative health commissioner for more than a decade, will tell his staff today that he is resigning his post at the end of next week to run for Maryland's 3rd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Beilenson - known for bringing to the city an array of initiatives ranging from needle exchange to interventions to combat youth violence - said last night that he will officially announce June 22 that he is running for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin.

PRESIDENT Clinton's recent summit on youth violence focused on how movies and television glorify violence and on how easily guns can be purchased.While these are logical contributors to youth violence, little attention was paid to the daily violence itself that is overlooked in the nation's schools.Our schools regularly allow many children to be harassed, intimidated and even beaten by their peers without intervening. Too often, parents of bullies, educators and others look the other way.The series of school shootings -- including one yesterday in suburban Atlanta that injured six people -- should spur schools to be committed to a "zero-tolerance" policy on aggression.

Rawlings-Blake: I apologize We must hold all of our public officials to the highest possible standard. This is a belief that I hold close to my heart. I work hard to earn the trust and respect of all I serve. Regrettably, sometimes I fall short. On a local radio show, I suggested that Brian D. Morris was being treated unfairly because he was black. Upon reflection, I deeply regret my remarks. Rather than attempting to explain my remarks, I would like to express my remorse. Throughout my public and private life, I have always strived to bridge the divide in our great city.

In their rough West Baltimore neighborhood, Perry Spain would occasionally surprise 10-year-old Tevin Montrel Davis with candy bars and sodas. Yesterday Tevin's family was shocked to hear that police had arrested Spain, 19, in the shooting Monday night that left Tevin critically injured in his father's arms on the front steps of their rowhouse. Spain, who lives 12 doors from Tevin in the 1900 block of W. Fairmount Ave., faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and a handgun violation.

Violence curbs, adult involvement in schools soughtI have set three goals for 1998:* Reduce the level of youth violence.* Dramatically increase the number of people involved in parent-teacher organizations, particularly in our high schools.* Reinvigorate high school alumni associations.These goals are interrelated. Strengthening PTOs and high school alumni associations can benefit our schools academically through the extra assistance and resources these groups can provide. Additionally, linking caring adults more closely and visibly with our schools can foster a greater sense of safety and security in the schools.

An excerpt from a Sunday Kansas City Star editorial:The horrific execution-style murders at a middle school in Arkansas have people scrambling for blame.It's the media's fault!There is substantial violence in video games, television and movies, rock and rap music. But media can't take the full blame for what happened at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, where 13-year-old and 11-year-old boys, both dressed in camouflage attire, were accused of killing four girls, a teacher and injuring at least 11 other people.

A bad diet may lead to bad health for many inner-city kids. And it may also lead to bad behavior. That's the conclusion of some public health experts who are advocating for vitamins and other nutritional supplements to curb youth violence and to increase learning. The controversial idea is getting a fresh hearing in Baltimore, where advocates for the disadvantaged are considering testing it on city kids. If it's proven that a tablet a day can tick up test scores and dial down violence, it could be a cheaper and easier means of improving a lot of young lives than costly and labor-intensive treatments, according to the Abell Foundation, which wants to determine whether a Baltimore study would be worthwhile.

Ignoring the guns won't help stop youth violence The writer of the recent letter "Emotional reactions won't stop the shootings" (Arundel letters, March 18) characterizes any expression of concern about easy access to guns in school shootings as an emotional and simplistic reaction, one pandering to panic, demagogy and exploiting a tragedy. Besides grossly overreaching in his criticism, the writer is way off-target. And, by holding the guns blameless, he is guilty of the most simplistic reaction.

PRESIDENT Clinton's summit on youth violence was held last week with much attention paid to the possible causes of the recent school tragedies -- guns and media violence making it to the top of the list.Though these are important issues that intensify the risk for violence, I am troubled by a startling omission from the list of potential causes: the under-diagnosis and under-treatment of mental illness in children and adolescents.This under-reported factor was brought to light in a report by Dr. Jeffrey Fagan, director of the Center for Violence Prevention Research at Columbia University, in a recent New York Times article.