In Baltimore City
Bishop rejects request to reinstate ousted priest
Representatives of Holy Cross and St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic churches met with Bishop Gordon D. Bennett yesterday at his downtown office in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade him to reinstate their pastor, the Rev. Thomas Malia, who resigned last month.
Malia was asked to resign by his superiors after he notified them that he had employed Robert Gee as a church organist for 1 1/2 years. Gee, an acquaintance of Malia's from a seminary in Milwaukee, was convicted of a sex offense in 1997 for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student at Mount St. Joseph High School, where Gee taught.
Bill Romani, who spoke for the delegation of parishioners, said they were "disappointed" at the results of the meeting and would consult a canon lawyer as they consider legal action to challenge Malia's reassignment. Parishioners are also sending petitions with "hundreds of signatures" to Rome and to the papal nuncio in Washington, asking church officials to intercede on Malia's behalf. Archdiocese of Baltimore officials maintain that Malia knowingly skirted church policies by hiring Gee on an interim basis, avoiding a background check that would have been required for fulltime employees.
Laurel boy, 12, is killed in Mount Washington crash
A 12-year-old Prince George's County boy was killed and three people were injured in a two-car crash yesterday in Mount Washington.
Police said Michael Kessler, whose age and address were not available, was driving a Mercedes-Benz west in the 1600 block of Kelly Ave. at 11 a.m. when he lost control of the car, struck a bridge wall and collided with a 1987 Ford Escort driven by Eleanor Barale of the 5500 block of Mayview Ave.
Police said Christopher Price of Laurel, a back-seat passenger in the Escort, died at the scene. Barale was injured and treated at Sinai Hospital. Ashley Price, 9, who is believed to be Christopher's sister, was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Police said that Kessler was admitted to Sinai Hospital with back injuries. The accident remains under investigation.
Pennsylvania man dies in motorcycle-van collision
A 24-year-old Pennsylvania man died Sunday night in East Baltimore after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a van, police said. His female passenger was listed in serious but stable condition yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
James Burnard Mosley Jr. was driving a 1999 Suzuki motorcycle westbound in the 5400 block of Bowleys Lane near Sinclair Lane when he drifted into oncoming traffic while turning. The motorcycle struck the driver's front side of a 1993 Ford Aerostar about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Mosley, from York, Pa., did not possess a Pennsylvania motorcycle license, a police spokeswoman said. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at 9:07 p.m. at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, police said. His passenger, 21-year-old Jennifer Rose Hardeman of Norfolk, Va., was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Patterson Park ceremony to mark funding success
Patterson Park in Southeast Baltimore will be honored by the Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation as a federal funding success story at a ceremony tomorrow evening.
The organization named Patterson one of 10 "21st-Century American Heritage Parks" for major renovations at the park after it received funds under the Urban and Recreation Recovery Act. U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes and a representative from Mayor Martin O'Malley's office will speak, pushing for expanded federal funding in other urban Maryland parks.
The ceremony will be at 6 p.m. at Patterson Park on Eastern and Linwood avenues near the Pulaski Monument.
In Baltimore County
Woman killed, man hurt after crash causes car fire
HALETHORPE - A Volkswagen erupted into flames after a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 195 last night, killing a woman trapped inside and sending a passenger to the hospital with severe burns, state police and witnesses reported.
The collision occurred about 7:30 p.m. on the interstate near the connecting ramp to Interstate 95 in Halethorpe. Few details on the cause of the accident were available last night as state police continued to investigate.
Moments after the crash, motorists who stopped at the scene told authorities that they found a man - his body covered in flames - rolling on a patch of grass near the burning Volkswagen. They helped him extinguish the flames, and he was taken to the burn center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, county fire officials said.
Two escaped youths are returned to custody
CUB HILL - Two male residents of a treatment center for emotionally disturbed youths on the grounds of the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School at Cub Hill were back in custody yesterday after they escaped Sunday while on a shopping tour, said a spokesman for the state's Department of Juvenile Justice.
Lee Towers, the spokesman, said nine youths from the Chesapeake Treatment Center and their supervisors were returning to a van about 6:30 p.m. Sunday after shopping at Eastpoint Mall when two of them fled. Towers said the Baltimore youths, 15 and 17, were traced to their homes yesterday morning by Baltimore police and center officials. They returned to the center without incident. It was not known what punishment they face.
Saturday night, nine youths charged with serious crimes and housed in King Hall at the Hickey School escaped by cutting through two fences. They were captured hours later. All of the youths face escape charges and were dispersed to juvenile facilities throughout the state.
Fire captain to be marshal of Fourth of July parade
TOWSON - The Towson July Fourth parade will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, starting at Bosley Avenue and Towsontown Boulevard and moving through downtown. The parade is expected to last two hours.
This year's marshal is Capt. Robert Murray of the Baltimore County Fire Department. Murray headed the Advance Technical Rescue Team of Baltimore, which helped the New York City police and fire departments after the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
The parade, which will be preceded by an Air National Guard flyover at 10:23 a.m., will include more than 20 musical groups, floats and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses. Information: 410-832-2190.
Council picks Basu to head economic advisory panel
TOWSON - The Baltimore County Council named economist Anirban Basu yesterday as chairman of the county's Economic Advisory Committee, a group charged with helping determine the size of the county budget.
Basu is director of applied economics and senior economist at Towson University's RESI Research and Consulting. The council created the nine-member advisory committee after this spring's budget deliberations. Its job will be to provide guidance on how much the county can afford to spend each year.
Council OKs $5,000 grant for city anti-drug campaign
TOWSON - After lobbying by County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, the Baltimore County Council approved a $5,000 grant for the Baltimore Believe anti-drug campaign at its meeting last night.
The same measure failed two weeks ago when three councilmen complained that they had been given too little information to determine whether the city-based advertising and promotional program was worthwhile.
Last night, after the Ruppersberger administration provided more information about the campaign, they approved the grant, 6-1.