Baltimore News

A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold a work session today on a proposal calling for a referendum on whether to legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland. via WMDT-TV Salisbury

The fifth annual Backseat Film Festival, promising an evening of 'zombies, hot chicks, bad jokes, great music and cheap booze,' is set for tonight at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. For those not faint of heart, the evening's double feature includes Alex Orr's Blood Car (6 p.m.), the tale of a new kind of automobile, which utilizes a highly unusual fuel source, and the Baltimore premiere of Doug Sakmann's Punk Rock Holocaust (9 p.m.), the twisted story of a headless corpse terrorizing rock bands on the 2004 Vans Warped Tour. The film includes music from (and appearances by) such bands as Aquabats, Bouncing Souls, The Casualties, My Chemical Romance, River City Rebels, The Planet Smashers and Teenage Harlets. Said one poster on imdb.com: 'Even though I had to watch my favorite band get their heads smashed in, I laughed for the majority of the film.' Tickets $5 each, $8 for both. 410-276-1651 or creativealliance.org. Read more

Opa! The 36th annual Athenian Agora festival continues today from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The event will be held at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, 24 W. Preston St. via Baltimore Examiner

A Baltimore police officer shot a drug suspect Monday night during a chaotic scene in a wooded area of northwest Baltimore. via Baltimore Examiner

One person is dead and another in stable condition after a speeding BMW clipped another vehicle on West Street early this morning. via HometownAnnapolis

A 17-year-old was ordered today to stand trial as an adult on charges that he was one of four people involved in the robbery and near-fatal beating of Zachary Sowers over the summer outside his house near ... via Baltimoresun.com

“We have lots of work to do, but we are finding common ground -- recognizing that the cost of delay is too high, and failing to act now will cost us another $500 million that should go to our schools or health care or public safety”

The Maryland Senate and House of Delegates charted divergent courses Friday for closing a $1.7 billion budget gap, with the Senate approving a plan that increases the sales, tobacco and corporate income tax ... via The Baltimore Sun

A woman died yesterday of injuries she suffered in an early-morning fire in a Baltimore County home owned by a member of the county Fire Department, officials said. via The Baltimore Sun

A teenager shot and killed last night in the Hillen community of Northeast Baltimore was identified this morning as Terrance Regan, 16, according to city police.

The shooting occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Northeastern District police responding to a report of shots fired in the 1600 block of Lochwood Road near Morgan State University found the youth.

Regan was taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died a short time later.

The shooting brings to 254 the number of homicides in the city this year, compared with 232 at this time last year, according to police records. Read more

The Maryland Senate voted Thursday to hold a referendum next year for voters to decide whether to legalize slot machine gambling in a constitutional amendment. via The Associated Press

“Mr. Leopold is correct about one thing - no charges have been filed. If Mr. Leopold succeeds in causing the (Maryland) Attorney General to file charges, the judge expects to be fully vindicated.”

Experts said the case against a Baltimore City judge allegedly involved in environmental crimes may not have been delayed by authorities. via The Capital

Baltimore County police are seeking two men who they say attacked, shot and robbed a pedestrian shortly after midnight this morning in Owings Mills. via Baltimoresun.com

“It's time for members of the General Assembly to start asking questions about the ways in which illegal aliens could obtain benefits through O'MalleyCare”

State lawmakers in Maryland on Thursday presented an additional $440 million in cuts from the state budget proposed by Gov. via News-Medical.Net

“That's what is left of my house”

Five people were injured, and three rowhouses were condemned by city building inspectors after an explosion yesterday afternoon rocked a quiet street in Hampden.

The Fire Department is investigating the cause of the blast, but at the scene, there was speculation that it was caused by a malfunctioning propane gas tank in the basement of 3427 Hickory Ave.

Reported at 3:18 p.m., the explosion destroyed 3427 Hickory Ave. and seriously damaged the interiors and walls of two other houses - one on either side. Read more

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler says a Baltimore judge could still face charges for dumping about 40 truckloads of construction waste into the Patapsco River. via WMDT-TV Salisbury

“A lot of people don't know there's an election”

There have been no television commercials, no debates and only a smattering of yard signs, but Baltimore voters will come out to the polls for today's general election nonetheless - likely to affirm an outcome everyone expects.

In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 8 to 1, the 11 candidates - seven Republicans, two Greens and two write-ins - who have lined up to take on the party in power face an especially daunting task.

Theodore R. McKeldin, elected in 1963, was the last Republican Baltimore voters sent to the mayor's office. The last Republican elected to the City Council was in 1939, the year the classic film The Wizard of Oz premiered. Read more

“Tomorrow begins the time when I call on every person in this state to come together with us, join hands with us, because together, folks, we can make Kentucky a much better place to call home”

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican whose lone term was dogged by a hiring scandal, lost badly Tuesday despite an election-eve effort to woo conservative voters by displaying the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol.

In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour, practically the only politician to come out of Hurricane Katrina looking good, easily defeated a Democratic challenger Tuesday to win a second term.

In other races, Philadelphia elected Michael Nutter as the new mayor on his promises to reduce gun violence and clean up the city, Baltimore made Sheila Dixon its first black woman elected mayor, and Pittsburgh decided to keep the youngest big-city mayor in the nation, 27-year-old Luke Ravenstahl. Read more

A high school football game in Rockville, Maryland ended with an arrest on Saturday.

“The overwhelming majority of white commanders and officers are not now - ' nor have they ever been - ' residents, students, congregants in faith institutions, in Baltimore City, starting with the commissioner”

Six minutes after midnight on Oct. 18, two Baltimore police officers happened upon a vicious scene in the city's Western District. via Examiner.com

“We don't just look at the tax dollars, we look at what the people in the area want to see”

The former Mayfair Theater on Baltimore City's west side could soon become a mixed-use development with 26 apartments, two levels of underground parking and nearly 20,000 square feet of retail space. via Baltimore Business Journal