Web site offers real-time alerts on downtown traffic backups

The Baltimore Sun

The Downtown Partnership launched a Web site yesterday to provide timely traffic-related information to Baltimore commuters -- a potential boon to drivers the next time a water main breaks.

The site, Get Around Downtown, offers real-time alerts on unexpected traffic backups in the downtown region as well as information about long-term road projects.

Michael Evitts, public relations director, said the nonprofit corporation created the site as a successor to an e-mail list that had grown to about 2,000 recipients. "We got such positive feedback from sending our e-mail alerts," Evitts said. "This is a service people seem very interested in having."

The site provides information on construction projects, including the Calvert Street Streetscape and work on Eutaw Street between Lombard and Baltimore streets. It also includes a mytraffic feature that allows a commuter to receive alerts about backups along specific travel routes.

Also available is information on public transit, ride-sharing and other alternatives to single-occupant vehicle commuting.

During unusual disruptions, such as a water main break, the Downtown Partnership will post on-line coupons to encourage commuters to linger downtown to shop.

The site is www.getaround downtown.com

Michael Dresser

Baltimore

: Detention Center

Inmate apparently commits suicide

An inmate at the Baltimore City Detention Center apparently hanged himself in his cell yesterday afternoon, and his death is being investigated by the state's Department of Public Safety, said an agency spokeswoman. The man's name was withheld pending notification of family members.

About 3 p.m., a security officer found the man, believed to be in his 20s, hanging in his cell and called for assistance, said Barbara Cooper, the spokeswoman. Cooper said efforts by officers to revive the man failed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

She said the body was taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy. Cooper said the man was arrested in February on deadly weapon charges and was awaiting trial.

Richard Irwin

Politics

Harris replaces campaign manager

City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr., running for City Council president, has named his wife as his new campaign manager.

Annette Harris will oversee day-to-day activities and field operations, and she will share fundraising responsibilities with his treasurer, Kenneth Harris said.

He said that Ben Petok, his former campaign manager, was acting in a temporary capacity. "Ben helped us lay down the groundwork, which he did a good job with," said Kenneth Harris. "His role was to help transition and put the campaign in place."

Annette Harris managed her husband's last campaign and was co-campaign manager of his 1999 campaign.

Sumathi Reddy

Education

New CEO to hold public forum today

Andres Alonso, the new chief executive officer of the Baltimore school system, will be on hand to meet parents and community members at five public forums, beginning today.

School system officials say the goal of the "Community Conversations" is for parents, students, staff members and others to raise questions about education in the city.

The first forum will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Southeast Anchor Library, 3601 Eastern Ave. Interpreters will be available for non-English speakers.

For a list of meeting times and locations: www.baltimoresun. com/classroom.

Harford County

: Aberdeen

Electrical panel burns 3 workers, firefighter

Three workers and a volunteer firefighter suffered burns yesterday while working on an electrical panel in Aberdeen, fire officials said. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, said Rich Gardiner, spokesman for Harford County's volunteer fire companies.The incident occurred between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Perryman Road, Gardiner said.

Madison Park

Anne Arundel

: Dunkirk

Fatal-crash victim was Owings resident

The man killed in a head-on collision between an SUV and a tow truck at the southern Anne Arundel County line was identified yesterday as a 48-year-old Owings resident.

Ronald Kenneth Stoltz swerved into the oncoming lane of Route 260 in Dunkirk into the path of an empty tow truck about 4:30 p.m. Monday. He was ejected from his 1988 Jeep Cherokee and declared dead. The driver of the truck, David Alan Farnham, 46, of Chesapeake Beach, was treated at Prince George's Trauma Center.

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