Truth in advertising

Hot topic of the week: forcing the guv to use or lose the option of parole for lifers. County SA Scott Shellenberger: "I view the need for the governor to sign off on the parole of a 'lifer' not as putting politics in the parole system but as a way of making sure that the person who makes the weighty decision of when a lifer is released is a person directly accountable to the citizens of this state."

And the General Assembly is set to begin debating the death penalty this week; yesterday Archbishop Edwin O’Brien hosted a prayer service aiming to increase support for abolishing it (wonder what religion he would be if the Roman Empire had had life without parole?).

Freaky story of a 7-year-old Amanda Mitchell, attacked by dogs: said her aunt, "They both were yanking. One was on the left, one was on this right side of the cheek."

Hey prospective divorcees, the Senate has approved a one-year separation requirement. In other marital news, "Bigamy costs Baltimore Co. man $500K"

Re. this MADD story, the trouble with drunk driving laws is that DUI is the only offense someone can commit and not know they're committing it. If we wanted to actually solve the problem, we'd put breathalyzers at the exit doors of bars or put interlock on every car-- 80 percent of DUIs are first-time offenders.

Under Armour sues the company Purple Armour for ripping off its logo & cybersquatting

The real crime

When you drive around Baltimore and see dozens of rotting homes, you might want to thank these guys for in part making it happen. Of course they're not going to jail, they live in Howard County, they just sucked money out of the city and got away with it because they were smart.

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Nineteen-year-old Tanise Ervin was shot to death in Better Waverly

A 15-year-old boy shot on Friday, plus three other shootings and a man stabbed in the thigh

What is going on with all these missing teenage girls?! Police are now asking the public's help in finding Andrea Gardener, 15, right, if you see her call 911.

.. and eeeeeew, 10,000 gallons of sewage overflowed in the 400 block of East Eager Street. Survive the violence, die from the cholera & e. coli!

Huh? Judge tells Felicia Pearson she got no bail because "You are a good actress."

In Bethesda, MoCo, a worker murdered and another sexually assaulted at Lululemon Athletica

Serial bank robber strikes again, have you seen this guy?

Linskey & Bykowicz's gay marriage post-game recap, and Steve Lash's, and one from the WaPo; so much for personal appeals making a difference. Or maybe certain Democratic senators found $1 million mighty personally appealing.

It's not her fault

[says Jill Carter.] The failure of the gay marriage measure can't be blamed on a single delegate, but rather a lack of legislative foresight [opines Investigative Voice].

.. in other news

No bail for Snoop. Sixty-four people arrested in old Latrobe in a case that took three years to develop. (Why so tense, Bernstein?)

Police are asking for help to find Stephanie Jones, 21, and her infant son.

As part of a class-action suit, a debt collector will drop more than 10,000 cases

Media blabber: in a rare move, the NYT's public editor agrees with outraged readers that a "Gang Rape Story Lacked Balance"

And just like that..

Reports Fox, "The Maryland House of Delegates has sent the same sex marriage bill back to committee, effectively killing its chances of being passed in the House. There were not enough votes to pass the measure, so Del. Joe Vallario entered a motion to return the measure to committee."
More from the WaPo and Sun
Gawker: "last-minute pressure from church groups and the National Organization for Marriage apparently scared a few new, sensitive delegates"

Elsewhere, hundreds of people denuded the Rhode Island state house, where same-sex marriage hearings are being held, and on Wednesday, a U.S. House panel "voted 3-2 along party lines to direct the House counsel to come up with a legal defense" of DOMA

Gayest. Legislature. Ever.

One Charles County closet just got a little cleaner-- Delegate Peter Murphy is here, queer, and says his constituents are already used to it. This œuvre makes the MD legislature the nation's gayest, says the Washington Blade.
.. and I hadn't heard of Maggie Gallagher before yesterday, but I get the feeling we're all going to become very familiar with her tuberrific form, given the $1 million bounty her group has posted for the defeat of pro-equality legislators.

In other big gay news, WBAL has a clip of Snoop's perp walk posted and filed under "entertainment." Say what you will, she always has a flawless complexion. Here's David Simon's statement, and his notorious "jury nullification" essay from Time.

Oh, Snoop!

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson (& 29+ others) arrested for running a drug ring

Huh? "The city's no. 2 top prosecutor — appointed late last year by Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein — isn't licensed to practice law in Maryland."

FBI suspects home-invasion robbers got some help from the MVA

Documentary exposes sex abuse in Baltimore’s Orthodox Jewish community. (Oh, CP. "'I didn’t know that I was going to become the molestation writer of Jewish Baltimore,' [Phil Jacobs] said. It was more or less thrust upon him ...")

This will Illinois you Pp -- the state just chucked their death penalty

Same-sex marriage bill goes forth with an official vote scheduled for tomorrow (or so says TDR, the WaPo only calls it "likely"). Thanks Cham for the "House Republicans & DOMA" video... that Brian Moulton just needs to meet the right girl. Love the people having smoke breaks in the background.

Web finds: the blog of Ehrlich's former "Prince of Darkness" Joe Steffan, who apparently enjoys puns, making up nicknames and white-on-black type (two out of three things I like in a blog). Shame he hasn't updated in a while.

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Charles Hopsan, 22, stabbed in 2010 in the 1100 block of Cooks Lane and recently deceased, was posthumously awarded the title of the city's 30th homicide victim.

One Terrance Sims, 30, was arrested for the murder of 17-year-old Olympic hopeful Ronald Gibbs.

Tiffany Bolner, 21, pled guilty in federal court to sexually abusing a minor to produce child pornography; surely one of the most barfulent stories in BCrime history.

And a guy named Derwin declared himself guilty of pimping

Ten years for Rosedale home-invasion robber Antowan Bell, 25

Crack and guns confiscated on the East side

"Bathroom Bandits" nabbed, and Hermann has pictures of one of the alleged perps and her nappy-azz fur coats

Pawn star gets 46 months for money laundering

Lawyers for Policarpio Espinoza Perez and Adan Espinoza Canela have asked the Court of Appeals to grant them a third trial. In 2006, the childrens' parents told an AP reporter that they don't believe police arrested the right guys, though DNA allegedly linked Canela to the killings. Here is the Sun's guide to the epic mystery and related stories on the case.

Fertilizer control: All kinds of issues being rassled over down in A-town this week, including, of course, the melee that is the same-sex marriage debate. Oh Brooke Murdock, why did you have to wuss out and stay your opinion? .. and here's an article on what all those National Organization for Marriage polls were about.

Dixon's doughy swain is out, but the State Center project goes on.

More suspensions in tow case?

Police say there may be more cops suspended as the result of the feds investigation, but won't give a number.

Well that's odd..

I just got a letter in the mail from Talmadge Branch thanking me for my e-mail regarding "House Bill's #175 & #55, "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act". Which is odd because I haven't sent anyone an e-mail -- I'm not even in the 45th district.
Could supporters or opponents be sending fraudulent letters? Anyone else get a letter like this?

Four times in the back?

The family of Dennis Gregory, a police informant shot by officers four times in the back in February of last year, is not getting any answers from the department about what happened.

County police are ISO two children, Tyquan and Shani’ya Wiggins, abducted from their foster mom by their bio-mom, Dannelle, shown left and here on her Facebook page (maybe her friend PrettyLaydee ButtButt knows where to find her?). Update: Hermann posted pictures of the kids, too. The JIS says Wiggins was arrested in '06 on narcotics charges & received a PBJ.

Capitol News Service tweeted that "The House of Delegates has delayed debate on the same-sex marriage bill until Wednesday," the Post is saying the vote will be Friday. Said Bishop Paul Wells, "you are either against God's word or for God's word. There is no in-between." Which is why I never shake hands with a menstruating woman and keep my adulterer-stoning arm limber at all times.

Baltimore hosted the U.S. House committee on oversight & reform this morning. Tweeted TDR's Danny Jacobs, "Behind Cummings is yellow map of city with green marks where foreclosures are. Looks like mold spreading."

The House just passed a bill that will force the governor to make parole decisions within 90 days. And you can watch the Justice Policy Institute's documentary on the parole process on their new YouTube channel. If you're into that kind of thing.

... kind of like my girlfriend who lives in Canada

Prosecutors' "Do Not Call" list officially abolished, but Bernstein evidently has a list of his own, and Tricia Bishop is on it: "[Bernstein] declined to be interviewed, saying in the 500-word message sent a week ago that his 'schedule is a bit tight' and he was not 'able to meet … or talk on the phone'."

Take-home car solution

BPD commander's predicament with a take-home car could have been easily solved, if city taxpayers were willing to provide some roadside assistance.

Taking it to the streets

The Baltimore Police Dept is henceforth posting regular online YouTube updates for concerned citizens. Here's the first of many, they say. Gun seizures up! ... meanwhile, three months in, the State's Attorney's office remains invisible, with nary a TV appearance from anyone in the office and no web presence whatsoever, other than two-month-old swearing-in photos posted on his Facebook page yesterday. What's going on up there?

Mysteries

The boy fatally stabbed yesterday was ID'd as Ronald Taijon Gibbs. The Sun reports that he was trying to defend his sister.

The mysterious case of two girls abducted near the Dollar Store and rescued by police

Mug shot of the day: Ellerson Carter, arrested for the murder of George Marshall

East Coast Rapist headed to court today. But I don't understand how keeping his mug shot "under wraps" will encourage more victims to come forward.

A two-week hearing starts today in Delaware for creditors of the Tribune Co.

Towson U police are ISO a "person of interest" following a campus assault

The bad part of getting arrested in the county: you may actually do some time. The bright side: adjudication in these spankin' new courtrooms!

Can you ID the police officers or reporter in these charming old photos?

Can't help but ask...

Six hundred and twenty-eight words in the Sun for George Marshall. Wonder how that word count compares to the word counts of the year's 28 other victims?
Update: a reader points out that Marshall did get "less than Hezikah Wilson (1,023) and Tyra Trent (898)." Duly noted.

Could this really happen?

Councilman wants us, city residents, to vote for a 50 percent cut in the property tax rate

29- @?$#!

what is going on this weekend? February was so peaceful!
The weekend's 3rd murder victim is a 17-year-old boy who was stabbed during an argument.

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At 244 North Hilton Street, 23-year-old Paul Simons III was killed during a home invasion (the Deuce has the victim's age wrong).