BALTIMORE ROWING CLUB
IN  MIDDLE BRANCH PARK
IS SCENE OF WEDNESDAY EVENING SHINDIG

Rolley  raises  ‘more than any unelected individual’ in city’s history, announces ‘return’
of  comedian Bill  Cosby

Hot on the heels of Otis Rolley’s announcement last week that he has raised “an unprecedented amount for a mayoral challenger who has never held public office,” another of Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s challengers held a major fundraiser Wednesday evening in Cherry Hill not far from Westport, an area of Baltimore City not known for its financial contributions to political campaigns.

The fundraiser was held at the upscale Baltimore Rowing Club, a city-owned building in Middle Branch Park, and was attended by supporters of Joseph T. “Jody” Landers 3rd, one of five Democrats who hope to unseat the mayor in the party primary less than three weeks from today.

It was unclear at press time how much Landers had raised. But prior to Wednesday’s fundraiser he reported $140,000, with more than $101,000 cash on hand.

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5.8 MAGNITUDE QUAKE REPORTED
NORTHWEST  OF  RICHMOND, VA.

Homes and buildings in the city shake
for nearly a minute just before 2 p.m.

Baltimore was shaken Tuesday afternoon by an earthquake of 5.8 magnitude that struck in Mineral, Va., about 35 miles northwest of Richmond, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tremors from the quake could be felt from Georgia as far north as Massachusetts at 1:51 p.m., the agency said.

In downtown Baltimore, people raced from office buildings onto the street, fearing the worst — which, according to all accounts, never happened.

“Hundreds of people left their buildings,” said John R. Seifert Jr., who was in a restaurant in the 300 block of North Charles Street when the earthquake hit.

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VoB SELECTS: INVESTIGATIVE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB

UPDATE (Oct. 20):   GADHAFI KILLED IN HOMETOWN BATTLE;  REBELS REJOICE
Read the AP story  of the Libyan dictator’s  death Thursday in Sirte, Libya  (click here)

UPDATE (Wed.):  $1 MILLION PRICE TAG
ON GADHAFI’S HEAD

UPDATE (Tues.):  REBELS STORM TRIPOLI COMPOUND

FORCES LOYAL TO GADHAFI LOSE GROUND;  REGIME  CRUMBLING

PROTECTION UNIT SURRENDERS

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Euphoric Libyan rebels raced into the capital Tripoli on Sunday and moved close to center with little resistance as Moammar Gadhafi’s defenses collapsed and his regime appeared to be crumbling fast.

Associated Press reporters with the rebels said they moved easily from the western outskirts into the regime stronghold in a dramatic turning of the tides in the 6-month-old Libyan civil war. A rebel leader said the unit in charge of protecting Gadhafi and Tripoli had surrendered and joined the revolt, allowing the opposition force to move in freely.

“They will enter Green Square tonight, God willing,” said Mohammed al-Zawi, a 30-year-old rebel who entered Tripoli. Green Square has been the site of night rallies by Gadhafi supporters throughout the uprising. ……

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BLOOD FOUND  AT  MARYLAND AVE. RESIDENCE
OF ACCUSED MURDERER OF STEPHEN PITCAIRN
BELONGED TO VICTIM, COURT IS TOLD FRIDAY
 
By Alan Z. Forman
 
UPDATE MON. AUG. 15:  HOMICIDE DETECTIVES TESTIFY
                                       AT PITCAIRN MURDER TRIAL
Primary detective Gregory Boris tells court murdered man’s mother said her son had “voluntarily offered up his wallet and cellphone.” Gwen Pitcairn listened tearfully as Boris testified late in the afternoon Monday upon conclusion of DNA analyst’s testimony earlier in the day.
 
DNA analysis of blood stains found at the residence of the accused killer of Stephen Pitcairn — who was stabbed to death a year ago last month in Charles Village — was today linked by a police forensics expert directly to the victim.

As nearly a week of testimony in the murder trial of John A. Wagner, 38, drew to a close late Friday afternoon, BPD Forensic DNA Analyst Kelly Miller told a Circuit Court jury her analysis of blood found on a Nike tennis shoe and at the entrance to a house on Maryland Avenue where Wagner shared a Section 8 apartment with seven other adults — most of them addicted to crack-cocaine — revealed an extremely high likelihood the blood belonged to Pitcairn.

He would have to be considered a “major contributor,” Miller said — her term for the overwhelming odds the blood was Pitcairn’s.

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COULD IT HAPPEN?  YES IT COULD
Ex-mayor will be eligible in 4 years

I get a sense that I am not going to run for City Council. — Sheila Dixon

UPDATE JULY 10: As Sheila Dixon nears the end of her 500 hours’ required community service in partial fulfillment of her plea bargain, the former mayor told Voice of Baltimore Sunday evening “it’s sad” that Baltimore voters don’t look deeply enough at the issues and at candidates’ records when voting for mayor.

“This [election, which will take place September 13] is so important,” she said in a telephone interview. People should “look fairly, look deep” before they vote. “They [the candidates] all have track records.

———-   ———-

“I might run for mayor.”

She won the last mayoral election by a landslide but was forced to resign after being found guilty of misappropriating gift cards donated by developers intended for poor children.

Since then former Mayor Sheila Dixon has kept a low profile, occasionally commenting on the state of the city to the media but giving few hints about her future plans.

But now the veteran of city politics says her interactions around Baltimore in the wake of the thus far quiet mayor’s race have prompted her to begin thinking about her political future in 2015, when she will be free to run again for elective office.

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