Arundel man charged in attack on father

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A Brooklyn Park man was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of choking his 80-year-old father with an electrical cord and beating him with a hammer, police said yesterday. Authorities gave this account: The father and son were having breakfast Tuesday morning when the son began behaving abnormally, and on the drive home, he became disoriented. When they arrived at their home in the 200 block of Exeter Court about 10 a.m., he began arguing with his father, Matthew Leland Bradley Sr., wrapped a cord around his neck, dragged him to the basement and beat him with the hammer. The son called police and said that he had strangled and struck his father and that he was dead. Officers found the elderly man bleeding from head wounds. He told officers what had happened and was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was in critical condition last night. The younger man struggled with officers, had to be restrained and was taken to a medical facility for treatment, police said. Matthew Leland Bradley Jr., 43, has been charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder and first- and second-degree assault, police said. He was being held without bond at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center.

Julie Scharper

Early-morning fire damages pizza shop

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A fire broke out at a pizza shop in the 6300 block of Reisterstown Road in Northwest Baltimore yesterday morning, causing property damage but no injuries, authorities said. Firefighters responded to the blaze at Tov Pizza shortly before 5 a.m. and brought it under control in about 45 minutes. There was no immediate information on the fire's cause or an estimate of the damage.

Gus G. Sentementes

Public Montessori school officially opens

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Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and schools chief Andres Alonso were among more than 200 civic and business leaders at a ribbon-cutting yesterday for the Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School. The school, which opened last month, is among Maryland's 34 charter schools. It is located at 1600 Guilford Ave. in the former Mildred Monroe Elementary School building, which was vacant for nearly 10 years before reopening last winter as a temporary homeless shelter. The school, Baltimore's first public Montessori school, says it has enrolled 170 children ages 3 to 9, 55 percent of them white and 45 percent minorities. It plans to expand to serve 200 children up to age 11 by 2010.

Sara Neufeld

Rosewood treatment improves in most areas

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An annual review of the conditions at the Rosewood Center for developmentally disabled residents found significant improvements in several areas but still showed 88 incidents of abuse, neglect or unknown injuries, for most of which the facility took no corrective action. The state's Office of Health Care Quality recently released its report, which showed Rosewood to be out of compliance with minimum federal regulations in only one area - active treatment. Last year, Rosewood failed federal regulations in seven of eight major areas, and the facility was ordered to close by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Rosewood's final day is scheduled for June 30, 2009.

Brent Jones

City man, 19, held in gas station killing

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A 19-year-old West Baltimore man was arrested last week and charged in a killing last year at a Catonsville gas station and an attempted killing last month. Police say Deandre Carroll of the 2200 block of Walbrook Ave. was punched after bumping into Eugenio Harrison, 19, in the gas station vestibule in the 2000 block of N. Forest Park Ave. on Dec. 2, 2007, and fired shots at Harrison, according to charging documents. Video footage from the gas station's security system was shown to a witness who identified Carroll as the shooter "because of his distinctive clothing," records show. A second witness reported watching Carroll commit the crime, records show. Police also allege that he stabbed a man in the chest Aug. 4 in Edmondson Village. Carroll, who has handgun charges that were dropped, was arrested Sept. 12 in connection with both incidents and was being held without bond.

Justin Fenton

Fire, police pension board fires Legg as manager

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Baltimore's police and fire retirement pension board voted Tuesday to terminate Legg Mason's money management services. The local investment house's Bill Miller has overseen about 3.7 percent of the $2.2 billion retirement fund since June 2004, and in that time, his investments have not kept pace with the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, said Thomas P. Taneyhill, the executive director of the pension board. In the past year, the fund dipped by 30 percent while the S&P;, the fund's benchmark, was down 11 percent. The losses were due in part to Legg Mason's large stakes in Freddie Mac, Taneyhill said. "It is very unfortunate that we had to go this way," Taneyhill said. "I think the board truly felt that [with Legg Mason] as a local company, they would have rather not had to do this. But they are managing a pension plan for members of the system." The entire fund is "not as healthy as we would like," Taneyhill said. But, he added: "For fire and police plans, we're in pretty good shape." The money will be moved to an index fund until a new money manager is hired.

Annie Linskey

Greater Baltimore group supports slots measure

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The Greater Baltimore Committee, a group of regional business and civic leaders, announced its support of a November referendum authorizing 5,000 slot machines at five locations in Maryland. Committee President and CEO Donald C. Fry called the initiative a "reasonable way to provide needed additional revenues to our state." Because 5.5 percent of slots proceeds from a Baltimore facility would go to the city, "slots gaming would provide a revenue source that is sufficient enough to significantly reduce Baltimore City's property tax rate," Fry said.