Obama visits; backers drive; the city tows
Hope for America. Tow for Obama.
About 20 people who drove to downtown Baltimore yesterday to attend a campaign rally for Sen. Barack Obama at 1st Mariner Arena ended up getting their cars towed and having a postrally gathering behind the barbed-wire fences at the city's vehicle impoundment lot.
Because Obama, a Democratic candidate for president, was 2 1/2 hours late to the 2:45 p.m. rally, several of his supporters who parked at meters were ticketed by police. And then they got a big Baltimore welcome: a $237 fee from the city, which includes $105 for towing, $50 storage, $42 ticket and $40 administrative fee.
"It was upsetting because I was coming out of the Obama speech so elated, and then I saw my car was gone," said Kait Maillet, 21, a Loyola College student whose Kia Sportage was towed from Park Avenue near Howard Street. "At first I thought it was stolen."
Maurice Chalmus, 55, a mentor at Samuel L. Banks High School, said he noticed that Mayor Sheila Dixon was at the rally, urging people to come out and vote for Obama. Chalmus said he plans to call the mayor and ask her about the $237 fee he got for supporting her cause.
Tom Pelton
Baltimore
: Government
Purchasing agent appointed in city
Mayor Sheila Dixon announced yesterday the appointment of Cecil Moore as the city's new purchasing agent.
Moore has been the director of procurement services for the Atlanta public schools, a position he has held since 2002, according to a news release from the mayor's office. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi and is certified as a public purchasing officer, according to the release. Moore will join the city's Department of Finance on Feb. 19.
Lynn Anderson
Harford County
: Bel Air
Man found dead in woods identified
The Harford County Sheriff's Office identified yesterday the man found dead Saturday in woods near Bel Air.
Paul Michael Shupe, 57, of no fixed address, had no apparent injuries, and there was no indication of foul play, the office said. It did not appear that Shupe had been living in the area where he was found near North Avenue east of Route 24, police said.
Results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner's office are pending. Shupe did not fit the description of any missing person, authorities said.
"So far, the only thing we have that is suspicious is that this man was found dead in the woods," said Sgt. Christina Presberry, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Mary Gail Hare