Halethorpe News

The head of the Maryland Transit Administration offered beleaguered MARC train commuters an apology and a series of explanations Wednesday for what he called six weeks of service "far below what customers ...

More than 4 million gallons of sewage spilled from a pumping station in Halethorpe into the Patapsco River starting Monday afternoon, prompting health warnings from Linthicum downstream.

The hunters were stalking their prey on a wooded path in Patapsco Valley State Park south of Baltimore, peering closely into the underbrush. But they weren't looking for animals.

The group of amateur naturalists was on a search-and-destroy mission for exotic plants that have invaded Maryland and are killing off native life. The problem of invasive species is drawing increased attention as globalization has brought more international trade, which has led to more seed-hopping from continent to continent.

Murder, theft, and a cover-up. A judge sentences a Cynthia McKay to thirty years for killing her boyfriend then trying to hide the trail of evidence.

A Capitol Heights-based scrap metal processor has purchased a Baltimore County scrapyard and is pushing to build an export terminal in Curtis Bay to meet a surge in demand from the global steel industry. Joseph Smith & Sons Inc. began operations this week at the former Recovermat Mid-Atlantic LLC demolition waste facility in Halethorpe, retaining its 20 workers. Smith Vice President Bob Bonnes said the company is converting the facility into a shredding plant for autos and steel scrap. Smith's larger project is to open the Curtis Bay export terminal by mid-2009. It would become the first terminal in years to ship scrap iron and steel from the port of Baltimore. 'Our major interest in this property is obviously to get our scrap metal loaded and out of this country,' said Bonnes, who brought an international focus when he joined Smith in February 2007. 'It gives us access to the world, not just the U.S.' Rapid development in China and India has resulted in an increase in the price of the recycled metals used to make steel. Scrap from the West Coast and Australia feeds the Asian industry, and the East Coast is responding to growing demand from Mediterranean markets. Turkey, an export market targeted by Smith, is the world's biggest buyer of scrap for its production of steel for the Middle East, Bonnes said. Smith envisions local steel mills, such as the one in Sparrows Point and others in Pennsylvania and Delaware, buying shredded scrap directly from its new Halethorpe processor. The 27-acre Curtis Bay terminal, at the end of Asiatic Avenue just east of the CSX coal and ore piers, could also serve local steelmakers and process shipments of salt, bulk liquid and other commodities, Bonnes said. Smith operates a small scrap export site in Wilmington, Del., but the Prince George's County company focuses on the domestic market. To build the Baltimore terminal, Smith and joint-venture partner Port Contractors Inc. of Wilmington need final approval and permits from the city, the Army Corps of Engineers and the MarylandDepartment of the Environment. 'We are developing it looking to minimize the amount of dredging to limit the impact on the bay and the costs,' Bonnes said. 'We have a clean bill of health to go forward.' The site, formerly the Amoco Baltimore Asphalt Terminal, has been subject to environmental audits and cleanup efforts through the MDE.

Nearly 9 million gallons of sewage overflowed late Monday and early today into the Patapsco River at the Annapolis Road Bridge in Halethorpe, according to Baltimore County public works officials.

Signs have been posted along the Patapsco River downstream from the overflow warning people to avoid contact with the water, officials said.

Anne Arundel health officials issued a warning yesterday advising people not to swim, wade or otherwise come in contact with water from the river in the Linthicum area. Health officials have posted warnings in Patapsco Valley State Park along the affected area.

A new federal study commissioned after the 2001 Howard Street Tunnel fire recommends an overhaul of the city's convoluted passenger and freight systems as the only way to fix a network deemed vital to the country's transportation grid.

Despite its strategic importance, the network is so antiquated that the lengthy report notes that one tunnel was completed eight years after the Civil War ended.

The $1 million study was conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration at the request of Congress after the train derailment that sparked an underground fire and paralyzed the region's transportation system for days.

The Reedville Fisherman's Museum in Virginia will bring The Spirit of 1608 , its reproduction of Capt.

Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Department 's cold case squad have solved two homicides that were previously classified as "undetermined deaths" by Maryland 's medical examiner.

Reported by: Roosevelt Leftwich Last Update: 5:14 pm New jobs that pay decent wages.

Two Pasadena residents were charged with multiple drug and weapons crimes after police seized nearly a kilogram of marijuana, $32,000 in cash and 27 guns from their home, Anne Arundel County police said.

Shelter may be moved to Halethorpe County awaits word from food bank group 06/04/08 By Marcia Ames mames@patuxent.com Baltimore County may be a step closer to moving its west- side homeless shelter.

Hart, who served as a captain in the Westview career station in Catonsville the past five years, officially was named the department's first black battalion chief May 29.

May 29, 2008 12:00 AM by Luke Broadwater , The Examiner The director of the Baltimore County jail defended his staff's attention to a dying man as appropriate Wednesday, even as outside agencies said they were ...

A Baltimore-based industrial developer said yesterday that it plans to create 1.3 million square feet of new or renovated warehouse space in Halethorpe in Baltimore County through a $100 million redevelopment ...

Jonathan D. Hart will be recognized for his recent promotion to battalion chief in the county Fire Department at a reception at 3:30 p.m. today on the mezzanine level of the old courthouse in Towson.

May 28, 2008 12:00 AM by Luke Broadwater , The Examiner 3 hrs ago: Baltimore county jail's medical care questioned after man dies in cell Michael Payne, who was being held at the Baltimore County Detention ...

U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced George J. Emge, age 27, of Halethorpe, Maryland, today to 126 months in prison followed by supervised release for life for distributing child pornography, announced ...

Baltimore County police say a man was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies when they attempted to serve a warrant. via WMAR

“I wish it was more than one day a week. It's so much to fit into a short amount of time. "But I think it's more effective if we keep it small, and there won't be as much burnout with the kids if we just keep it one day a week.”

Lansdowne Elementary School fifth-graders Kayla Klein, Karen Hernandez, Taylor Barrett and Alycea Rivera in front and Danielle McCoy and Cierra Rogers in the second row listen to Glen Blackwell. via Arbutus Times