Annapolis council confirms Martin as public works chief

The Annapolis city council confirmed former city engineer Margaret Martin of Crownsville last night as the new director of the city's Department of Public Works.

Martin, who will start next month, will replace David Smith, who retired Nov. 1. Her annual salary will be $88,946.

Martin worked in the department for nine years in storm water management and as a senior engineer in charge of capital improvement projects. For the past eight years she has worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, most recently as a project manager in the Baltimore district, responsible for public schools projects in Washington.

Assault charge against Crofton principal dropped

Anne Arundel County prosecutors said yesterday they will dismiss an assault charge against Crofton Middle School Principal Richard Berzinski filed last month by a special-education teacher at the school.

Three witnesses contradicted Rose Marie Brohawn's allegations that Berzinski grabbed and bruised her arm in her office in October, said Kristin Riggin, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office.

The Anne Arundel school system found Brohawn's complaint to be unsubstantiated, according to Synthia Shilling, an attorney for the school system.

Brohawn said she has resigned from her teaching post.

Berzinski could not be reached for comment.

Annapolis man charged with sexual assault

An Annapolis man was arrested Saturday on charges that he sexually assaulted a female acquaintance in his apartment.

James Townsend Miller, 38, of the first block of Melrob Court has been charged with third- and fourth-degree sexual offenses, second-degree assault and false imprisonment, said Annapolis police Officer Hal Dalton.

The woman, who is in her 20s, told police that she passed out in Miller's apartment Friday night after drinking and using drugs, including Valium.

The woman told police that she woke up and found herself unclothed, Dalton said. She said Miller told her that he had assaulted her because she had gotten him into trouble with police in Queen Anne's County, where he is facing a burglary charge. Miller then refused to let her leave the apartment for several hours, the woman told police.

Officials said yesterday that Miller was being held at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bail.