Thursday, August 2, 2007

So much for that lull... two more murders, unid'd:
7:45 a.m. in the 3700 block of Lyndale Ave.
and an 18-year-old man 1:30 a.m. in the 2400 block of Marbourne Ave in Lakeland.
The Sun's 187 and 188 = our 192 & 193.

Court of Appeals: the state needs to try harder to comply with convicted rapists’ and murderers’ requests for post-conviction DNA testing, checking the police evidence-control unit isn't enough.

A third suspect was arrested today in the Carl Lackl case, Marcus Antwan Pearson, 26. Also in custody are Johnathan Ryan Cordish, 15 of the 300 block N. Monroe St., and Ronald Wendell Williams, 21. Though it's clear Pearson and the 15-year-old gunboy targeted Lackl, police say there's no evidence that the killing was motivated by Lackl's planned testimony in the Patrick Byers murder trial.

Blotter: A man was shot in the shoulder by robbers in the Northwest; a man was shot in the upper right leg trying to flee an altercation with two other men in the 3300 block of E. Fayette St. about 3 a.m. Sunday, a woman was punched in the face at a gas station in the 2200 block of Linden Ave.; police are seeking several teenage females who attacked two other females, one 19 and the other 16, in the 2100 block of N. Pulaski St. late Saturday night.

Beware the sound of a saw in your driveway: stealing catalytic converters is a profitable and low-risk activity for thieves.

Notable quotable: "Baltimore is a safe city." - Mayor Dixon
Was our mayor lying to our people in uniform?
(Or did she mean relative to Iraq?!)

Notable quotable II: "I'm goin to the hairdresser, I can't do it this way!" - Sheila Dixon, last two seconds of Fox's "Raw News" Mayor Dixon Crime Plan Press Conference
The "officer sentenced" video with the reporter chasing down Joseph Mosmiller and his slouchy lawyer is also a hoot:
"Why would you take pictures of women's breasts? Get ahead of him! She says she's been damaged forever emotionally! You have nothing to say to her? What about to fellow police officers! Fellow police officers!"

The media frenzy surrounding the OC fetus house has prompted police patrols. And no word from police or the prosecutors since Monday, when he told reporters that Freeman caused her baby to be stillborn. (How is that possible? Said a police spokesman, "use your imagination.")

20 comments:

ppatin said...

"Asked if the city’s rising homicide rate would deter families from relocating to Baltimore, Dixon said she was confident crime is under control.

“Baltimore is a safe city,” she said."

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. This is what I really detest about Sheila Dixon. I understand that being a big-city mayor is a thankless job, and that she can't just wave a magic wand and make crime go away. Dixon isn't even acknowledging the problem though, much less making an effort to change anything.

John Galt said...

And while the national media have made Much Ado About Violence in Philadelphia, we actually have about twice that city's per capita homicide rate.

But it's safe, according to the Mayor.

Mind you, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, It's not safe here. They're cops. They would know.

And they're being shot.

Caederus said...

It's not the rising homicide rate that kept me from even thinking of moving my family into the city.

It was the homicide rate last year. And the level of violent crime last year.

The rise just confirms my decision.

John Galt said...

Y'know the probem with the Mayor's genius plan to bring military families here....

is that she aparently knows nothing about them.

Dyed-in-the-wool military families value structure, predictibility and law and order. Unless she means the dregs who couldn't get a job, so they tried going into the military.

The latter don't last.

The former won't tolerate the second-worst city in the U.S.

johbrewer said...

the Examiner's use of the word "lure" reminds me of fishing an a little kid. I would use lures to decieve fish into thinking that they were going to get a treat. they actually got hooked, dragged to shore, scaled, and cooked.

ppatin said...

Let's encourage military families to bring their guns with them to the city, and to use those guns on criminals who break into their homes. Of course, that would require a state's attorney who doesn't love prosecuting law-abiding citizens who defend themselves.

Almond Smash said...

Too bad about that murder in Lakeland, they've been doing very well in that area this year.

As for the Dixon comment, both laughing and crying would be the correct response ... like a madman does after he kills someone; cry then laugh, cry then laugh.

Military personnel do not like living willy nilly in cities, they like living in closed communities w/o the distraction of non-military personnel. If we bring military personnel here with their families we'd have to set up a base environment.

Trust me on that one. I would know.

John Galt said...

from WBALtv, more of the Mayor's pearls of wisdom:

"Well, first of all, we're making great strides in our public schools. People are looking differently at our public schools, and it's really a matter of marketing them and getting the message out," Dixon.

No, you market when you have something desireable to promote. These schools (other than magnet schools City & Poly)are the laughingstock of the nation.

"As it relates to crime, we're very focused in going after the most violent offenders, community engagement and partnership," she said.

{Hold hands, form a circle, and...} Kum-ba-ya

"Do we have issues?" the mayor asked. "Yes, just like New York and other places. But it's a matter of getting a handle on it and letting the public know that Baltimore's still a great place to live and raise a family."

Not like New York. At all. New York is about the safest large city, Baltimore the second worst. A good place to DIE is more accurate.

Family? I'd send my (nonexistent) kid to Bed-Stuy before I'd allow him on the streets or in the schools of this town.


The woman should be tested for mind-altering drugs.

ppatin said...

In the mayor's defense, the biggest problem with the schools is the students, not the school system. I'm not saying that it doesn't suck, but as long as you have a city full of worthless parents your schools aren't going to be able to do much with their offspring. There's a saying in computer science, "garbage in, garbage out".

Caederus said...

One thing to keep in mind with the BRAC people. Many of them are civilians working for the military. Basic Middle class civilians. They are not all military or ex-military. After all who makes up the largest part of the people who work at Ft Meade? Not the military. So why should they move to baltimore when they can get a home with land in Harford County or lower taxes and even more home/land in PA and have a shorter commute to work?

While the Ft Meade increases are smaller it's closer to Baltimore with the cheaper housing being in Baltimore City when compared to most of HoCo, MoCo, and AACo. All in all it would be a better place to spend the money.

As for a Marc station by Hopkins, who in their right mind wants to drive into west baltimore and leave their car there for 10+ hours per day? or Does she think all the unemployeed people in west baltimore without cars will head on out to Harford County in a reverse commute.

ppatin said...

"As for a Marc station by Hopkins, who in their right mind wants to drive into west baltimore and leave their car there for 10+ hours per day?"

Huh? There's no MARC station by Hopkins, and Hopkins isn't in West Baltimore.

taotechuck said...

...the biggest problem with the schools is the students, not the school system.

I wonder what long-term effect Baltimore's extensive number of private schools has had on public education. Not only are the high-end private schools pulling the "best" (e.g., richest) and brightest out of the public school system, but we also have a large Catholic population who often send their kids to private school. We're missing a big chunk of middle-class students who, in most other cities, would be part of the public school system.

ppatin said...

Obviously it doesn't help, but I doubt it would make that much of a difference if more middle and upper class kids were in the city school system. Then you'd simply have some more good schools, because most of their students came from families where parents actually gave a crap, and the lousy schools would still suck. Isn't that kind of how Baltimore County schools are? Some are quite good and others are bad, depending on what the area they're in is like?

IMO the only way to fix the real nightmare schools in the city is to stop criminals, crackheads and welfare parasites from reproducing.

ppatin said...

Actually there would be another solution, but it's completely unrealistic. Identify the bad kids in the school system and accept the fact that they're write-offs. Then you either kick them out of the system entirely or send them to special schools where we warehouse them until they turn 18. At that point we release them onto the street, or send them straight to prison since that's where they're going to end up anyways.

Ok, I guess that isn't a true solution, but by removing the future criminal element from the schools they at least can't stop the other students from learning. Keep the corner kids away from the stoop kids, to steal a term from The Wire.

Carol Ott said...

As a parent of a child who attends a Baltimore City public school, I have to say that it's a little disheartening to read comments from people who have nothing good to say about the school system. YES, I know it's not a great system -- but there *are* succesful schools within that system, and they succeed because of parental involvement and committed teachers and staff. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be one of those teachers or staff people and have to read in the news (or on message boards) every day about how you're a failure at your job, despite having top test scores or winning state academic achievement awards.

As I said, I do agree that overall, the public schools here aren't great -- but it would be nice to see the good schools receive credit where it's due.

We looked at Catholic schools for our son, and honestly -- besides one Catholic elementary/middle school -- they weren't that impressive. Some of them were actually far behind what our son's doing in the public school. And we'd have to *pay* to send him to a lesser school? No thanks.

Hoodlum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ppatin said...

Fartsy, I understand that not all city schools are bad, however the decent ones are the exception, not the norm. The person I share a house with is a teacher in the city school system, and in her one year in the system so far she's gotten punched twice & had to go to court to testify once because of what happened on the job. Clearly there are good teachers, students and parents, but when you have thugs in 9th & 10th grade who think it's ok to punch a teacher then that's a sign of some very serious problems.

John Galt said...

Now, let's not attack people's kids, whom we don't even know.

FYI, the grad rate in magnet schools is quite higher than 33%, and that in the run-of-the-mill local schools are rather less. (I didn't know there was much left below 33%. Maybe 10 is the new 0.)

ppatin said...

I was gonna say, the fact that there are a few good schools in the city means that an overal graduation rate of 33% makes the average school even worse than it sounds!

Maurice Bradbury said...

let me guess your kids go to Roland Park or Mt. Washington... schools that still have toilet paper "sometimes," huge classes, have to teach to the test, have to mainstream Special Ed kids, have the City losing their money by not being able to apply for grants... it's still not an optimal situation and there is no sliver of a doubt that many more county schools and the $$ private schools are much, much better than the best city school. (Except School for the Arts.)

But you can do ok with your kids in the ok city schools until about 9th grade. Then you're either going to have to move or pay for four years of private school, assuming your kid can get in.

Though interestingly a lot of the private schools are hurting for minority students and often have scholarships that go unfilled because of a lack of candidates.