Catonsville

Ex-UMBC construction chief guilty in bribes case

A former manager of construction services at University of Maryland, Baltimore County has pleaded guilty to soliciting bribes from contractors and vendors doing business with the school, the Maryland attorney general's office said. George Flores Alinsod, 58, of the first block of Upman Court in Catonsville, pleaded guilty this week in Baltimore County Circuit Court to soliciting bribes, procurement fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice and theft, officials said. From 1999 to 2004, he steered projects to favored contractors and suppliers and allowed them to inflate their bills, costing the state more than $200,000, according to the attorney general's office. Alinsod is the eighth person convicted in the state's investigation of UMBC contracts, officials said. Sentencing is Feb. 23.

Names in the news

•Saint Agnes Hospital has named Dr. James P. Richardson as the new chief of geriatric medicine. In this new position, Dr. Richardson will concentrate on the care of older adults, devoting the majority of his time to outpatient and inpatient consultations for geriatric patients.

Cash is the crop college presidents cultivate

After eight years of raising money at the furious pace of $1 million a day, Johns Hopkins University President William R. Brody decided it was time for a break. He had raised billions for Hopkins, and said he didn't have the energy for another major campaign.

No recovery

Home sales and prices in the Baltimore area fell in October, and experts said rising joblessness and tighter credit markets could further dampen sales in the months ahead.

State police paramedic killed while jogging in N.C.

A Maryland State Police flight paramedic was fatally injured when he was hit by a truck while jogging in North Carolina, police said yesterday.

Panel: black universities need funds

Maryland must spend more on its historically black colleges and universities if they are to make up a wide gap in graduation rates and campus facilities compared with other public universities, a state panel has found.

High stakes

Gambling opponents are hoping that an alliance with black churches produces an upset defeat of the slots referendum when an expected record number of African-Americans turn up at Maryland polling booths next month.

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On the Web

Regents' plan aims to keep top students in Md.

Alarmed that most of Maryland's top high school students are going out of state for college - and possibly not coming back - the Board of Regents announced yesterday an initiative, dubbed "Project 1300," to keep the brightest students closer to home.

Jean Marbella: Yes, they're paper cuts, but they can go deep

Maybe it's because we're already accustomed to talking about hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars as casually as if it were pocket change. A $250 billion outlay to prop up the country's biggest banks? Big deal, when we're already committed to spend a total of $700 billion to bail out the markets.

Budget cuts planned

Gov. Martin O'Malley will present about $300 million in state budget cuts today to the Board of Public Works, as fiscal analysts warned that the state's financial outlook is rapidly deteriorating.

Loch Raven wins in overtime

In a girls soccer game dominated by tight marking, a couple of fine saves and some shots that missed either high or wide, Loch Raven's overtime goal against visiting Catonsville yesterday was a textbook piece of offense.

How to combat negative stereotype about girls and math already ingrained in young daughter

A reader wrote in an e-mail that her third-grade daughter is already saying girls just aren't good at math. "Where in the heck did she get that?" the reader wrote. "Are there any resources for parents who want their girls to not fall into that trap?"

Budget cuts tied to slots

While the state braces for budget cuts that are expected to significantly impact bread-and-butter programs such as education and public safety, leading politicians are seizing the opportunity to talk about another hot topic - slot-machine gambling.

Laura Vozzella: Phelpstival host appreciated the love

Access Hollywood host Billy Bush schlepped all the way from L.A. to Baltimore to host the Phelpstivities at Fort McHenry, but he didn't spend the night in town. He stayed instead at the Ritz in Georgetown.

Mercier serves up a win

Kasey Mercier knew her Mount de Sales teammates needed a spark in their match against neighborhood rival Catonsville. Fortunately for the fourth-ranked Sailors, that spark turned out to be Mercier's arm.

Sweet deal at Morgan

Under an employment contract he fought to keep out of the public eye, outgoing Morgan State University President Earl S. Richardson could become a $300,000-a-year president emeritus with minimal teaching duties when he steps down at the end of the next year.

Catonsville Nine protester dies

John Hogan had just returned after 15 years helping the poor in a tiny Guatemalan village when he learned about a protest against the Vietnam War planned by a group of Catholic activists.

Leo Amster

Leo Amster, the former owner of Leo Amster's Formal Wear and a well-known figure who was known as Catonsville's unofficial mayor, died Monday at the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center & Hospital of complications from a fall. He was 89.

Catonsville defeats defending champion Dulaney

Catonsville senior and co-captain Emily Tyson is not shy about telling you what her goals are for the Comets volleyball team this year. Yesterday, she checked one off the list.

Man is stabbed during a fight in Catonsville

A man was stabbed in Catonsville early yesterday during a fight among a group of young men that started as an argument over a woman, Baltimore County police said. The victim was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, said Bill Toohey, a police spokesman. Police did not identify the victim. The altercation, reported about 4:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Hillside Road, involved men who fought with knives, pipes and poles, Toohey said. Another man who was hurt in the fight went to Shock Trauma with injuries that were not life-threatening, said Toohey, who had no further details.

Blaze at historic strip mall

A four-alarm fire yesterday destroyed one end of Edmondson Village Shopping Center, a historic outdoor strip mall in West Baltimore that was called "the Harborplace of its day."

Glimpsed

Ted Hawrylak

At the Towson Farmers Market, there was one thing cooler than the cucumbers. That would be Baltimore County insurance agent Ted Hawrylak. What you see is what you get with this 51-year-old Catonsville resident. "My style and my attitude are similar; laid back and casual, easy to get along with."

Death of man, 85, found at Port Covington probed

Police are investigating the death of an 85-year-old Baltimore County man who was reported missing Aug. 22 and found in the water at Port Covington on Friday. The death of Edwin J. Kerbe Sr. is considered "suspicious" but has not been ruled a homicide, said Officer Troy Harris, a city police spokesman. Officials are waiting for a report from the medical examiner before drawing any conclusions, Harris said. Baltimore County police reported earlier that Kerbe left his home in the 900 block of Calwell Road in the Catonsville area about 5:30 a.m. Aug 22. Family members found the truck he was driving Aug. 24 in Port Covington along the water. At 7:40 p.m. Friday, the city police marine unit responded to the 2700 block of Port Covington Drive. People who were fishing at the pier discovered the body of a man floating out of a storm drain, Harris said. Kerbe was pronounced dead on the scene. His family is scheduled to receive friends from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at MacNabb Funeral Home, 301 Frederick Road in Catonsville. A funeral service will be held there at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

'Superstar' on aging

After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Bill Thomas - exhausted from the pace of emergency room shifts - took a part-time job in a nursing home, thinking he could catch up on some nap time.

Orderly chaos at UMBC

Freshman move-in officially began at 9 a.m. yesterday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. But Karin Readel, a faculty member who has supervised seven of these things, knew to show up early.

Glimpsed

Nasrine Magaletta

When it comes to fashion, Nasrine Magaletta could teach a course. She used to model fulltime. Now, she does so some evenings at Power Plant Live's MEX restaurant, in addition to her fulltime position at a marketing director for a corporate real estate firm. Fashion is more than a passing fancy to the 22-year-old Catonsville resident. It's a science she still loves to study.

Dream Home

Artwork in progress

In 2001, Mike and Mary Landavere were renting an apartment in an old Victorian home in Catonsville when, after five years, they decided to search for a home of their own.

Mike Preston: Zimmerman sticking it out at UMBC

The first time I met Don Zimmerman was in 1987 when he was the coach at Johns Hopkins. He was as intense then as he is now. He would leave a trail after the game from pacing the sideline. He would run a fast break with his team going down the field.

Restaurant Review

Catonsville Gourmet: Busy, and rightly so

Every once in a while, a new restaurant hits the jackpot. It's the right kind of food in the right kind of location with the right kind of atmosphere. There is hardly any competition. And people are knocking down the doors to get in. No matter how much research you do as a prospective restaurant owner, it must come as a surprise when your place is an overnight success.

Watchdog

Cable power box hanging by a thread

THE PROBLEM // A utility pole damaged in a car accident remained in place with a cable power box dangling from it for more than a year, even though a utility company had installed a new pole nearby.

Kidnapping leads vanish

Nearly a week after six masked gunmen forced their way into a Catonsville home and three days after the teenage brothers they kidnapped were dropped off at Baltimore County police headquarters, authorities say they are no closer to answering the most basic questions about the incident - including whether the alleged crimes they are investigating actually occurred.

Destination: Catonsville

A site for the senses

A monthly feature exploring the stores, restaurants and sights of Maryland neighborhoods.

Missing teens are found, with few answers

The intense search for two brothers who police said were abducted earlier this week as part of a home invasion ended yesterday, when a relative brought the teens to Baltimore County police headquarters in Towson.

Body not that of Catonsville kidnap victim, police say

The body of a teenage male found yesterday morning near train tracks alongside Carroll Park is not that of one of the two brothers kidnapped Tuesday from their Catonsville home, a city police spokesman said.

Search still on for two teens

Police continued to search yesterday for two teenage brothers who were snatched from their Catonsville house after a home invasion that sources familiar with the investigation said was related to Baltimore's drug trade.

All-Baltimore County: Girls track

Performer of the Year

All-Baltimore County: Girls basketball

Player of the Year

Coming to a head

Concussions have long been an unwelcome byproduct of sports.

Listeners protest WYPR's firing of talk show host

Day 1 of life on air without Marc Steiner at WYPR saw picketing by a group of loyal listeners outside the station's Charles Street studios and strong criticism from members of the station's own community advisory board.

Shamika Williams, Catonsville, basketball

The versatile junior led the Comets to the biggest upset of the season, scoring 15 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and getting six assists in a 61-51 win over then-No. 3 Western at the Basketball Academy. Last week, the powerful 5-foot-8 forward-guard totaled 44 points, 23 rebounds and 14 assists in three games, including a 62-35 win over Hereford and a 61-51 loss to No. 4 City. She averages 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the No. 6 Comets (9-2). Williams sat out the last Amateur Athletic Union basketball season to allow a broken thumb and sore knees to heal, but she will rejoin the Baltimore Cougars for the upcoming season.

Kellie Christian, Catonsville, track

In her first season of indoor track, the junior All-Metro sprinter finished second in the 200 meters at the 14th Hispanic Games in New York last weekend. Running on a banked track for the first time, Christian finished in 24.90 seconds, which ranks as the third-fastest time in the country this season. Christian, who played basketball last winter, won the 400-meter state Class 3A outdoor title and swept the 100, 200 and 400 meters at the Baltimore County championships last spring. She finished ninth last summer in the 400 at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis. She has a 3.5 grade point average.

Glimpsed

Jackie Emrich

Remember when college grads had to wear white shoes and pantyhose under their gowns?

All-Baltimore County: Volleyball

Player of the Year

All-Baltimore County: Football

OFFENSIVE PLAYER

All-Baltimore County: Girls soccer

Player of the Year

Sun Poll

Decision time nears for city's undecided

For John Rhodes, it's the difficulty of distinguishing one from the other. To the Northeast Baltimore resident, all the mayoral and City Council president candidates' messages seem to blur together.

Dixon keeps strong lead

Despite modest gains by her chief opponent, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon maintains a dominating lead ahead of this month's Democratic primary, a new poll for The Sun shows.

SAT scores in math fall in Md.

The average math SAT score of Maryland high school seniors dropped significantly last academic year for the second year in a row - and is now 13 points below students nationally, the College Board said yesterday.

Wounded Va. Tech student improving

The family of Justin Klein, a 2004 Catonsville High School graduate injured in Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech, said he is expected to be released from the hospital "shortly," according to a statement released yesterday.