baltimoresun.com - Maryland

Metro area's mild summer weather a 'pleasant surprise'

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Residents welcome cooler-than-normal temperatures, effect on utility bills

Corine Schramke isn't complaining.

Boys' rail deaths preceded by someone blocking track

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Guardrail placed on rails figured in fatal chain of events

Even before Sunday's fatal accident in which two teenage boys were hit by a Maryland Transit Administration light rail train in Lutherville, a serious crime apparently took place a short distance away.

Opposition to proposed power line grows on Md. Shore

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Route would go under Chesapeake Bay, across Delmarva

A $1.2 billion, 150-mile power line that would cross Maryland and lay high-voltage cables under the Chesapeake Bay for the first time has been proposed to ease the threat of blackouts on the growing Delmarva Peninsula.

Much-needed getaway

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Young leukemia patient and family get week's lodging for Ocean City vacation, courtesy of a local foundation

It's hard to take a vacation from leukemia, but for a precious week in Ocean City, 7-year-old Tomas Nichols and his family did their best.

County's emergency operations center to get more space, tech upgrade

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Balto. Co. emergency operations to get more space, tech upgrade

Baltimore County's 20-year-old emergency operations center is slated for a $14 million modernization that will nearly double its space, upgrade its technology, enhance its connections with other jurisdictions and shorten response times.

City police spokesman Harris suspended after e-mailed photo

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A Baltimore police spokesman has been suspended as the department looks into an allegation that he inadvertently sent a nude photo of a woman to a television station.

Once, Baltimore summers seemed to go on forever

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A Baltimore summer seemed to last forever when I was a child.

Md. man put notes by bodies of family

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Expressions of apology and love in Middletown killings

After killing his wife and three children, and before taking his own life with a shotgun, Christopher Wood placed loving, apologetic notes on or near the bodies, according to police records.

O'Malley plans millions in cuts

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Move comes after state legislative budget analyst warns of shortfall totaling $700 million

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Friday he plans to propose as much as $700 million in budget cuts for the fiscal year that began just 10 days ago, as income tax receipts are projected to be lower than expected.

Gansler urges expansion of animal cruelty laws

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said efforts to combat animal cruelty must include "aggressive prosecution" and some clarification or expansion of existing law. He laid out proposals in a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley, who had requested a review to determine whether state laws are sufficient to deter incidents such as the pit bull burning in Baltimore in May that raised public attention. Gansler suggested clarifying the law on "cruelty kills" after a 2002 case in which a Frederick County circuit judge acquitted a man accused of killing two of his neighbor's cats with a shotgun. Gansler also suggested that the General Assembly revisit a bill that would allow protective orders barring or limiting contact with a pet or service animal.