Park Heights

Arundel slots proposal divides the community

Perhaps more than in any other place in Maryland, the debate over whether to allow slot-machine gambling hits home in Anne Arundel County, where the state's largest slots parlor might be built squarely in suburbia.

City officials warn of road closures

Baltimore transportation officials are warning motorists of road closures planned for today that could affect traffic. Madison Street is to be closed between Bond Street and Broadway from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to accommodate a crane operation. The 2nd Annual Recovery Walk is planned for 9 a.m. to noon, going south on Park Heights Avenue to Auchentoroly Terrace and ending at the entrance to Druid Hill Park. Southbound lanes on Park Heights from Garrison Avenue to Druid Hill Park will be closed during the event. Officials also warn that traffic patterns will be altered in Mount Washington from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. today for the Mount Washington Wine & Jazz Fesitval. Though no roads will be closed for the event, heavy traffic should be expected.

'One less super person,' Harris' mourners hear

The mother of slain former City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. stood in front of thousands of mourners at her son's funeral yesterday and said she was thankful for the "abject poverty" in which she brought him up.

Cordish Cos. may enter slots license competition

Baltimore based Cordish Cos., which has built signature projects in the Inner Harbor and casinos in Florida, might compete for a slots license in Maryland if voters approve a November referendum legalizing the gambling machines, officials said.

Magna gets OK to use $2 million to promote slots

In a sign that pro-slots fundraising is heating up, the owner of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park has secured permission from its parent company to use up to $2 million to encourage voters to authorize slot machine gambling in Maryland this November, company officials announced.

Magna gets another extension on due date

Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of Maryland's Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, said yesterday it received another extension on the due date for its $40 million line of credit with a Canadian bank. It's the sixth time the deadline - now set for Oct. 15 - has been pushed back. Magna also received an extension on the due date for as much as $110 million in debt owned to its parent, MI Developments, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31.

Fearful witnesses, juror doubts work against cases

Darryl Neal pleaded guilty to having a loaded handgun in his maroon Acura in South Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood. Maurice Turner pleaded guilty in connection with a shooting that left two men injured in Park Heights.

Jay Hancock: A simple, honest version of the slots referendum

Supporters and opponents of Maryland slot machines are arguing over the wording of a slots-approval measure on November's ballot. The language goes on and on about education but says nothing about horse racing. Here's how an honest version would read:

Shareholder challenges funding by Magna parent

The parent of Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, must stop funding the racetrack company's operations at the behest of its founder, a dissident shareholder of MI Developments Inc. said yesterday in a regulatory filing.

Virgin Fest attendance down slightly this year

Slightly more than 60,000 people attended the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival, organizers announced Friday. That's down from roughly 70,000 last year.

The week that was

Service paints gentler view of Ivins

Cleanest block in Baltimore

A residential neighborhood west of Greenspring Avenue won a competition dating to the 1930s that recognizes residents who live on the city's cleanest block, Mayor Sheila Dixon said yesterday. The winner was the 4500 block of The Strand, part of the Park Lane Neighborhood Association, southeast of Pimlico Race Course. The association will receive a sign stating that it won, large planters with flowers and a block party.

Kanye West, Stone Temple Pilots give amped up shows at Virgin Festival

While the first day of Virgin Mobile Festival at Pimlico Race Course was heavy on buzz-worthy critical darlings favoring a retro sound, yesterday was all about star power - the hottest or most celebrated names in pop, rock and mainstream hip-hop.

Virgin Festival weekend is all over the map

Three years ago, it would have been another silent summer day at Pimlico Race Course.

Lots of music, no troubles

Sitting still was not an option.

Festival starts on a retro note

The first day of the third annual Virgin Mobile Festival at Pimlico Race Course offered an appealing potpourri of sounds on the two main stages - but with a slight retro slant. Musically, most of yesterday's acts self-consciously looked back at, well, yesterday.

Congestion is expected near festival and derby

Transportation officials are warning motorists of traffic congestion this weekend near Pimlico Race Course, where Virgin Mobile Festival is being held, and on Hillen Road for the Charm City Soapbox Derby. Parking will be restricted on streets around the race course, which is in the 5200 block of Park Heights Ave. in Northwest Baltimore, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday. Improperly parked cars will be towed to Clyburn Avenue. people can call 311 to determine the location of a vehicle. Tomorrow, northbound Hillen Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from 33rd Street to Kennewick Road for the soapbox derby.

Magna suffers $4.4M loss

On the day Magna Entertainment Corp. announced a $4.4million quarterly loss in Maryland, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club said yesterday that the Laurel Park fall meet will be cut by 11 days.

Not serving stakes: 6 big races dropped

Further diminishing an already struggling industry, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association plans to discontinue the financing of six stakes races this fall, virtually eliminating some of the state's most prestigious races, The Sun has learned.

Fans schooled on education

Ebony Paige wasn't sure what Bill Cosby would talk about yesterday in Park Heights, but she figured the speech would be poignant and funny, something worth bringing her two daughters and goddaughter to hear.

Jean Marbella: In here, Cosby's point is old stuff

Bill Cosby was the big draw at yesterday's Park Heights block party, despite the controversy the actor-pitchman has stirred up since switching from soft-selling Jell-O to hard-selling a message of black self-responsibility.

Magna gets extension on line of credit

Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, said yesterday that it has gotten another extension on the due date for its $40 million line of credit with a Canadian bank. It's the third time the deadline - now set for Aug. 15 - has been pushed back.

New police, fire training facility opens

Hundreds of police and firefighters have started training at a former school in Northwest Baltimore that will let cadets interact more with the community, city officials said yesterday.

Laura Vozzella: Cosby's suddenly camera-shy

Bill Cosby comes to town tomorrow to speak at a Park Heights block party. Should we expect the genial actor/author/Jell-O pitchman or the tough-talking, black self-reliance preacher?

Man fatally shot near Pimlico track

An unidentified man was shot to death Friday night in Northwest Baltimore, according to city police.

Local Screenings

'Seabiscuit' rides again in Little Italy

The Little Italy Open Air Film Festival continues its weekly outdoor movie screenings tonight with Seabiscuit. Red Pollard - Tobey Maguire's first major film role after starring in Spider-Man - is a Depression-era jockey with a broken spirit who finds hope through his exceptional horse, Seabiscuit. One of Seabiscuit's most memorable and inspiring races in the film takes place at Pimlico Race Course. This historical, inspirational and Oscar-nominated movie will be playing at 9 p.m. at High and Stiles streets. Don't forget your lawn chair. Admission is free. Go to littleitalymd.com.

Burglar shot, killed in Park Heights home

A Park Heights man shot and killed a 45-year old man who was attempting to burglarize his aunt's home early yesterday morning, a police spokeswoman said.

Music festivals become more popular

In the past few years, shrinking album sales and illegal downloads have shaken up the music industry. But after a downturn in the late '90s, live music festivals are once again flourishing - offering some hope for a struggling industry.

Whatever happened to ... Mrs. Pose?

Since the early 1960s, Mrs. Pose has been, arguably, Baltimore's most famous dessert baker. The signature cheesecake she began selling in 1962 remains a staple of local restaurants, country clubs and delis. She says it has "the texture of ice cream."

Dan Rodricks: Integrity an early McKay hallmark

Back at the dawn of Baltimore television, when the Sunpapers owned the first station here, a 25-year-old Evening Sun reporter named Jim McManus agreed to work in front of the camera for $65 a week. It was 1947. The station, WMAR-TV, had to fill hours upon hours with original programming. So its crews did remote telecasts, running from the races at Pimlico to supermarket openings to professional wrestling matches at the old Baltimore Coliseum.

Joint effort nets a 'big fish'

Christopher Shaw has avoided prosecution three times.

Andrew Ratner: Preakness craziness gains Web immortality

For many who spent yesterday at the Preakness infield, the hangover won't be the worst part of this morning.

Whatever happened to ... Chick Lang?

Chick Lang has a prediction: "I think we're gonna have a Triple Crown winner this year."

Events lead up to the Preakness

Mayor Sheila Dixon joined officials from Pimilico Race Course yesterday to announce the calendar of events leading up to the Preakness on May 17 - including the annual parade in downtown Baltimore and several live concerts.

Virgin Festival lineup announced

Kanye West, the Foo Fighters and the Stone Temple Pilots are among the headliners for this summer's Virgin Mobile Festival, the third annual show in Baltimore.

Sun Special Report

A troubled life

The 15-year-old's punishment after being convicted as a juvenile in January was to go home with his mother - a woman convicted three months earlier of buying drugs.

Tracks balking at slots campaign

Maryland's pro-slots forces are planning an eight-month campaign for a referendum on expanded gambling that they say would fix the state's budget problems and save horse racing. But those who stand to benefit most - the state's racetrack owners - are balking at the effort and saying that they might not participate in the push for the ballot measure.

Spirit Of Sharing

Center offers hope, support for parents on new path

One in a series of occasional features highlighting people in the Baltimore area who exemplify the "Spirit of Sharing," The Sun's annual holiday campaign.

Killings don't spare young

His family remembered the boy who loved to read Harry Potter and excelled in elementary school. Ty'wonde M. Jones turned 13 this year and seemed to sprout in height overnight.

Bill Hartack: 1932-2007

Hall of Famer won Preakness 3 times

Bill Hartack was not the easiest jockey to get along with, and that was fine with him. He simply let his riding take him to the top of the thoroughbred racing world.

Slots plan is picked apart

Maryland lawmakers grilled aides to Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday on his plan to allow up to 15,000 slot machines at five locations, raising questions about the proposed sites, local approval and the impact on the state's two thoroughbred racetracks.

Slots lose luster at Fla. track

Gulfstream Park, South Florida's major thoroughbred horse-racing track, installed slot machines last year, rows and rows of them. And gamblers came.

City's eye on slots site

An 11-acre warehouse district south of Baltimore's sports stadiums would become the home of a new slots facility under a proposal by Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration that officials said could cut city property taxes, The Sun has learned.

Man slain in Park Heights

Baltimore police have identified a 47-year-old man who was fatally shot Monday in a suspected robbery in Northwest Baltimore.

Who'll hold their horses?

The Baltimore institution of vendors hawking produce from colorful horse-drawn wagons is about to receive a major makeover, but some involved with the city's 19th-century tradition are unhappy with the proposed changes.

O'Malley betting on slots

Reviving one of the most hotly debated issues in Annapolis, Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he will push for legalized slot machine gambling as a way to close Maryland's $1.7 billion budget gap, help the state's struggling horse industry and preserve open space.

It's goodbye, hello for a congregation

Members of Beth Jacob Congregation are celebrating their last Shabbat service today.

No crowd records, no crowd complaints

When Virgin Group founder and CEO Richard Branson announced this year's Virgin Festival lineup, he had high expectations.

Take warning, fans: You'll feel the heat

One hundred degrees, 60,000 people and 10 hours of live outdoor music could be enough to wilt even the hardiest concertgoer.

For national acts, city is taking center stage

As they traveled the country by jet and by bus, many major music tours over the years have bypassed Baltimore, stopping in Washington and Philadelphia long before coming to the city - if they came at all.

No good at keeping her schedule

Will she go, go, go to Baltimore?

The Decision

Hundreds of anxious fans and dozens of reporters swarmed around the stakes barn at Pimlico Race Course minutes after the 2006 Preakness Stakes. Security officers shouted at onlookers to remain behind temporary barricades. Television news helicopters buzzed overhead.