No romp, no stomp.

Two shootings last night in the Franklin Square and Cherry Hill neighborhoods, respectively.

Batts is planning to clean up Lexington Market so the normals and non-jaywalkers can enjoy it; also will no longer allow one to "romp and stomp" on the 4th of July. Instead, use that spare time on your hands to fill out the BPD's customer satisfaction survey.

Via Instagram

Whut. According to Tweeter @Elkephant, a joy-riding kid in a stolen BMW hit a truck full of paint, then rammed the car into the side of the Grand Central bar on Charles and Eager Streets. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital, no word if there were any other injuries.

Brew: citizens skeptical of alleged changes* at the Liquor Board and the governor's "secret working group" to reform it. Even the Mayor griped that "the liquor board’s principal positions are patronage positions controlled by the state senators.*"

And speaking of mayorial gripes, SRB wrote an op-ed re. the Grand Prix, lamented "it is bittersweet to see this event come to an end,*" calls race skeptics a bunch of pessimists. Because you should be thanking her for mismanaging the event millions of dollars into debt! Quit being such a Debbie Downer! Gah!

Good news, gun nuts: the state has cleared the employees of other agencies to help clear the background-check backlog,* in spite of some paranoiacs' privacy concerns.* Actually watching you: the NRA, which has a database of all gun owners and people who have taken gun-safety classes in the U.S.

Question: What is the number of sworn police officers per capita in Baltimore, New York City, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco and Oakland?
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) September 17, 2013

Answer: 4,73.  4.16.  3.63.  3.37. 2.65. 1.56.
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) September 17, 2013

Go home liquor board, you are drunk

The latest booze news post uncovers a hazy limbo in which 'preliminary approvals' are granted before a liquor license is issued, during which time allowed to be open as they work to establish proper legal documentation. The problem is that the Liquor Board apparently never checks to make sure legal requirements-- like proper zoning-- are met, so that reportedly 28 of 30 establishments granted licenses didn't actually meet legal requirements. This led to, for instance, the Touch Down bar of Pigtown (formerly Carl's Little House) getting a liquor license even though it's zoned in a residential area.

Hot heels Saturday

An 18-year-old was shot* in the 1600 block of Mosher St at 3:30 p.m., sounds like he's alive. Up the street from the fatal shooting yesterday a man suffered a "minor" "lower extremity" gunshot wound near York and Woodbourne. And regarding the Homeland home invasions, police know a man is responsible for them, they just don't know which man.

Well, that doesn't look very good: Grayling Williams, the guy hired to head internal affairs after the Majestic Body Shop scandal has resigned* to take an unnamed new opportunity. This a mere day after Fenton reported that the police are looking for yet another Training Director*-- Russell out! Smith out! Buzzuro out! Maybe Williams will step in? Meanwhile, the trainer who shot the recruit is now facing assault charges; the recruit is eating through a tube.

Hot on the heels of the Planning Commission's plan to shut down law-abiding liquor stores, a "scathing" audit of the Liquor Board found that it is doing fuck-all: the board has no written policies or procedures, no record of fines or license payments, inspectors doing whatever they want with no oversight, plus reams of uninvestigated complaints, into which Ian Duncan further delves.* Still think the zoning-law changes are a horrible idea and probably illegal, but makes more sense knowing how fed up the Commission must be. Fix your Liquor Board, O'Malley!

And Jayne Miller stays on top of the Kendell Richburg case, a doozy even by Baltimore standards. Wonder how many people will get out of jail between him and Lewellen?

The 80-year-old man who died after a punch to the head was apparently the inspiration* for the 90's Fox dramedy show "Roc."

Despite vows to fight the gun law with a referendum, the MD's GOP is now apparently waiting to get advice from the NRA before proceeding, and mused Del. Neil Parrott, "You know, one of the options is not to petition at all this year." Whatever, you know you'll opt how the NRA tells you to, optimus.

Charles Knott/ sound effect

Oh, Hampden. One of those Buena Vista Avenue urchins, this one the name of Charles Knott, was arrested for threatening the B of A security guard on 36th with a pocketknife. Parent your childrens!

Well Goddamn, Harford County: police seized cocaine, pot and 400 bags of heroin at a traffic stop-- wait, no, 424, and a domestic call led to the seizure of 8 pounds of marijuana.

Oh, lawd. Towson U's Richard Vatz tried to splain away Dr. Ben Carson comparing homosexuality to bestiality by opining that the Yale-educated neurosurgeon is "is not sophisticated." Is that racist? Because I can't imagine someone saying that about a Yale-educated neurosurgeon of any other genetic heritage. That's like, what you'd say about Britney Spears not knowing how to use a car seat. Anyway, in any case, nert heeerllping.

Bumped in to Gregg Bernstein at the tattoo convention. I can report that he has not been inked... Yet.
— Ian Duncan (@iduncan) April 6, 2013

Well, maybe he should consider it to finally put those "Jewish" rumors to rest.

HoCo popo are ISO a cursing arsonist on the loose. Wait, no, they found him, he's one Alejandro Adolfo Rodriguez. He shoulda just smoked her cigarette and hushed.

And finally, the woman who bought that Renior that was stolen from the BMA at a flea market was identified as one Marcia Martha Fuqua, which also happens to be my new bar name.

April 16

One of the students injured at Virginia Tech today by a currently unknown gunman was sophomore Justin Klein, a graduate of Catonsville High.

A 16-year-old-boy was shot in the arm, and arrests: Kenneth Mahai for the murder of Mark Robinson [#54 of 2007] and Keeco Stern, 18, and Kwamie Stern, 17, for killing Jermaine Morrison (2005).

More on the Middle River acid-on-the-playground incident and its toddler victim, Payton. There was a similar event in Austin, TX park on Thursday (though this involved muriatic acid instead). Creepy.

Johnny Toomer was ordered held without bail at his bail review this morning.

A baby shower turned deadly in PGC, ending with the death of uncle-to-be Jerrod A. Falls in a hail of bullets.

Maryland State Police shot Scott Perry to death after a car chase down your boyfriend's street in Elkton, Cecil Co. Fortunately Trooper Nitz sustained no permanent damage.

The Liquor Board has new legal power to check IDs and applicant backgrounds. Cheers!
(Is it illegal for a child molester to own a bar?)

Dalesios's of Little Italy has been cleared of harboring typhoid.

You know we couldn't go a single day without one ... a sex offender, that is. Today we have Raymond Strong of Port Deposit, who's charged with four counts of raping a 15-year-old he met on MySpace.

Bad Times in AAC:
- AAC and city police are looking for shooting victim Michael Jay Francis, 21, last seen being forced into the trunk of a stolen car, driver/shooter Antonio Moore, 20, and Moore's girlfriend, Sierra Monet Anderson, 18.
- Aaron Brown, 44, was shot to death in Annapolis.
- The body of a middle-aged woman was found floating in a tributary of the Patuxent River Tuesday in Davidsonville (down the southeast by Bowie).