Maryland

• Search of jail workers draws apology

  A prison strip search of nine employees conducted to root out contraband "caused stress and embarrassment to some very fine employees," Maryland's top corrections official wrote yesterday, promising it won't happen again.

• Free on bail, rearrested

  A 25-year-old man who was charged with first-degree murder last month but released on bail by a District Court judge has been arrested again and charged in the shooting of a man during a robbery in South Baltimore.

• Pipkin seeks separate review of bridge safety

  Declaring that his "confidence in the bridge safety inspection process has been shaken," an Eastern Shore state senator called on Maryland transportation officials yesterday to commission an independent safety examination of the Bay Bridge.

• Lie detector may aid inmate

  In an unusual ruling, a Baltimore County judge has given a convicted felon a chance to take a lie-detector test to prove that he did not try to kill his ex-girlfriend and her friend - a crime for which the man is serving 35 years in prison.

• 'It's a case of fairness'

  Baltimore Director of Transportation Alfred H. Foxx said his department adopted a policy barring officials from participating in city auctions because their positions give them access to information not available to the public.

• Va. puts plan on hold

  A Virginia plan to better monitor the fishing of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs by tagging crab pots is on hold because of expected state spending cuts.

• Slots foes ask rewrite

  Slots opponents proposed alternative language yesterday for a voter referendum on November's ballot that would legalize slot machine casinos across the state.

• Lab glitch hard to track

  Testifying yesterday in a murder trial, Rana Santos, a supervisor in the Baltimore crime lab's DNA unit, gave the most complete picture yet of the Baltimore Police Department's review of DNA contamination but suggested that a full accounting of the problem could be difficult to produce.

• Jean Marbella: Can Hillary save the Democratic Party from her supporters?

  The good news after Hillary Clinton's stemwinder of a convention speech is that at least one Hillary voter has been persuaded to shift her support to Obama.

• J. Lee Majeskie

  J. Lee Majeskie, a retired professor in the department of animal and avian sciences at the University of Maryland and an internationally known dairy cattle judge, died Friday of a heart attack at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The Centreville resident was 67.

• Deaths elsewhere

  DAVE FREEMAN, 47

• Laura Leona Abrams, city schoolteacher

  Laura Leona Abrams, whose career teaching in Baltimore public schools spanned more than 30 years, died Friday of kidney failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The longtime Northeast Baltimore resident was 87.

• Martha W. Burton, UM neurology professor

  Martha W. Burton, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and active Wellesley College alumna, died of cancer Aug. 21 at University of Maryland Medical Center. She was 47 and had lived in Timonium.

• Swimmer Phelps to host SNL opener

  Olympic gold medal swimmer and Rodgers Forge native Michael Phelps will make his acting debut by hosting the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, a rite of passage the sketch comedy show reserves for the nation's highest-profile athletes.

• Cyclist in collision Aug. 22 dies at Shock Trauma

  A Montgomery County motorcyclist involved in a collision with a van Aug. 22 in Olney died Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, county police said. Cecilia Frances Tucker, 62, of Highland was riding a 1995 Harley Davidson motorcycle east on Olney Sandy Spring Road about 7 p.m. when it collided with a 2000 Ford van traveling west and attempting to make a left turn onto Prince Phillip Drive, police said. Police said Tucker, who was wearing a safety helmet, was taken to Shock Trauma, where she remained in serious condition before succumbing to her injuries. Police said the van driver, Eduardo Gutierrez, 45, of Germantown suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

• Balto. County SAT scores still below state average

  Baltimore County saw SAT results remain largely stable for the senior class that graduated this spring, with some notable increases among English-language learners and students from low-income families, school officials said yesterday.

• Arundel middle-schoolers schedule change proposed

  Beginning next year, Anne Arundel County middle school students will have a six-period schedule with shorter classes and daily, year-round instruction in core subjects, according to a proposal unveiled by school officials yesterday. Superintendent Dr. Kevin M. Maxwell plans to introduce the $7.4 million plan for the 2009-2010 school year at the next school board meeting Wednesday. Maxwell does not need school board approval to implement the changes, but the board would need to approve funding for the schedule change in next year's budget. The new schedule calls for class times to change from 86 minutes to 58 minutes; students to receive instruction in English, math, science and social studies each day; more planning time for teachers; and greater flexibility in choosing electives for eighth-graders.

• Romney to headline fundraiser for Harris

  Potential vice presidential nominee Mitt Romney plans to headline a $1,000-per-person fundraiser lunch for Andy Harris, a Republican state senator who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st District. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is a possible running mate for Republican Sen. John McCain. The event will be held Sept. 12 at the Center Club, a members-only restaurant at the top of the Legg Mason tower in downtown Baltimore. The contest between Harris and Frank Kratovil Jr., the Democratic state's attorney in Queen Anne's County, has drawn national attention, including a financial boost for Kratovil from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. When asked what happens if McCain chooses Romney, Chris Meekins, the campaign manager for Harris, said, "Our event may get even bigger."

• No 'sidebars,' police major is reminded at meeting

  Police Maj. Melvin T. Russell found out quickly how things work in the Eastern District at the monthly community council meeting Tuesday night - he was shushed."We have a standard policy that we have no 'sidebars' during meetings," said council President Charlene Bourne. She glared at Russell for a few moments as he chatted with a resident before walking out from behind her desk and tugging on his shirt to get his attention. Russell is no stranger to the district, however. His elevation this month to commander marks his fourth tour of duty in the Eastern District, which is generally regarded as one of the city's toughest areas. His deputy major, former gun task force head Dan Lioi, also got his start there. "I'm committed to this community," Russell, a 28-year veteran, told residents. "It's going to get better - it's going to get better." According to police statistics, things have been getting better. Nineteen people have been killed in the Eastern District this year, half as many at at this point last year.

• Gooding is set to portray neurosurgeon Carson

  Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. will play Baltimore neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson in a made-for-TV movie that will air on cable channel TNT, the network announced yesterday.

• Wounded boy's parents are seeking witnesses

  Six-year-old Dontavious Mays should have been preparing this past weekend for his first day at Fort Worthington Elementary School.

• New ideas, new police, old discussion

  In South Baltimore, residents complained most about the prostitutes and the kids.

• Body of man, 22, pulled from the Inner Harbor

  Baltimore police are trying to determine how a 22-year-old Montgomery County man who was visiting the Inner Harbor with friends fell into the water early yesterday and died in a possible drowning, authorities said.

• Police Blotter

  police blotter

  police reports in baltimore city and county