Mobtown Beat Stories

871 stories found. Showing page 1 of 44.

Runaway Trainman: Would-be Cockeysville railroader wins appeals and keeps on dreaming

Mobtown Beat | 2/3/2010 | By Van Smith

James Riffin, who for years has been mounting a one-man campaign to resume freight-train service on the Cockeysville-to-Baltimore light-rail tracks ("Train Wreck," Feature, Oct. 10, 2007), won two si...[MORE]

David Franks: Birthdate unknown-Jan. 14, 2010

Mobtown Beat | 1/27/2010 | By John Barry

Baltimore poet David Franks, who was found dead in his Fells Point apartment on Jan. 14 after a long battle with cancer, was an artist, a performer, a musician, and a self-promoter. In the days since...[MORE]

Thinking Outside The Boxes: Proposal to bring big-box stores to Remington thrills some residents, chills others

Mobtown Beat | 1/20/2010 | By Andrea Appleton

Normally, a developer with a project the size of the $65 million retail and housing development proposed for 25th and Howard streets in lower Remington would request financial incentives from the cit...[MORE]

Shells Hocked: Group of friends, brothers, lovers, and alleged step-relatives who sold each other homes appears to have fallen on hard times

Mobtown Beat | 1/13/2010 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

Ken Koehler's first foreclosure was officially filed on Oct. 5. It was a bit more than a year after the real-estate investor sat in his living room telling a reporter about the history of his Fells P...[MORE]

A. Robert Kaufman: March 8, 1931-Dec. 25, 2009

Mobtown Beat | 1/6/2010 | By Joe Tropea

Imagine the sight of A. Robert Kaufman, a young, Jewish high-schooler, and Paul Robeson, the African-American opera singer, star of stage and screen, and social activist, demonstrating together in fr...[MORE]

Home Inequities: HUD rescinds, then reinstates, license of Canton mortgage lender Equitable Trust

Mobtown Beat | 12/30/2009 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

The Federal Housing Administration suspended Equitable Trust Mortgage Corp., a prominent Canton mortgage lender, from originating new FHA mortgages for six months. The FHA then reinstated the company...[MORE]

Who Are You Calling "Gadfly"?: The late A. Robert Kaufman's letters to City Paper

Mobtown Beat | 12/29/2009 | By Lee Gardner

On Sunday evening, Dec. 27, I received an e-mail informing me that A. Robert Kaufman had died on Dec. 25. The local radical-left activist and perennial candidate for political office had succumbed af...[MORE]

Welfare Wireless: TracFone Wireless offers free cell phones in Maryland, possibly tapping into new customer market

Mobtown Beat | 12/16/2009 | By William Robinson

A new program that provides cell phones for individuals who qualify for social services, such as Medicaid and food stamps, has officially been approved in Maryland. SafeLink Wireless, a new service ...[MORE]

Premature Death?: Political club's closing prompts last-ditch revival effort

Mobtown Beat | 12/9/2009 | By Van Smith

After 55 years of political organizing in Baltimore, the Mount Royal Democratic Club is closing down. "I think we're getting to the point where we're tired" in the face of flagging interest, says its...[MORE]

Jose Morales, Redux

Mobtown Beat | 12/7/2009 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

The saga of Jose Morales continues in Texas, as he remains jailed while awaiting sentencing on a cocaine charge. Morales was arrested in August, 2008 at the Edinburg airport after trying to charte...[MORE]

Streamlining: Plans for Herring Run are coming together

Mobtown Beat | 12/2/2009 | By Van Smith

Where Herring Run flows from Baltimore County into Northeast Baltimore City, between the Mount Pleasant Golf Course and Perring Parkway, its water has a gray tint to it. The scent of sewage, coming f...[MORE]

Down for the Count: Defendants sentenced in Black Guerrilla Family case

Mobtown Beat | 11/25/2009 | By Van Smith

"What's up, ma!" Marlow Bates calls out to his mother seated in a courtroom gallery. "Love you, too, Marlow," she calls back, as Bates is led off by federal marshals to begin a 46-month sentence f...[MORE]

Beans and Dread: A long-planned homeless center's expansion got underway last week. Then, a shelter employee stabbed a client.

Mobtown Beat | 11/25/2009 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

When the demolition contractor fenced the warehouse behind Beans and Bread's Bond Street homeless-services center on Nov. 16, it was to be the start of a long-planned expansion of the facility, an oc...[MORE]

Beans and Dread: A long-planned homeless center’s expansion got underway last week. Then, a Beans and Bread employee stabbed a client.

Mobtown Beat | 11/20/2009 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

When the demolition contractor fenced the warehouse behind Beans and Bread’s Bond Street homeless-services center on Nov. 16, it was to be the start of a long-planned expansion of the facility, an occ...[MORE]

Behind That Sign: A real-estate agent with bad credit offers financial advice and legal services

Mobtown Beat | 11/18/2009 | By Edward Ericson Jr.

The sign is like thousands of others posted illegally on lawns, vacant houses, and utility poles across the city. This one was plucked from a pole near the Burger King at 29th and Sisson three weeks ...[MORE]

Costly Charges: Drug prosecutions suffer after detective is accused of embezzlement

Mobtown Beat | 11/11/2009 | By Van Smith

On Aug. 3, Ira Jimmy Martin was arrested for armed drug dealing in Baltimore City. "Lots of cash [was] recovered in this case," Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office spokeswoman Margaret Burns says...[MORE]

"A Big No-No": Judge sets $1 million bail for prison guard indicted for misconduct

Mobtown Beat | 11/4/2009 | By Van Smith

Lynae Chapman, a 21-year-old correctional officer for the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC), is obviously pregnant as she stands before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John Prevas on Oct. 27....[MORE]

Boaters World: Aboard the schooner Farewell during the 20th anniversary run of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race

Mobtown Beat | 10/28/2009 |

Linda Gunn is standing at the chart table at the bottom of a short, steep ladder on her schooner-a two-masted traditional sailboat-the Farewell. It's night, and it's cold and dark. The wind is blowing...[MORE]

Ganging Up: Inmate's lawsuit shows prison officials knew for years of guards' suspected gang ties

Mobtown Beat | 10/21/2009 | By Van Smith

In 2008, 31-year-old prison inmate Tashma McFadden filed suit against 23-year-old correctional officer Antonia Allison. On Oct. 9, that suit survived Allison's attempt to have it dismissed. McFadden,...[MORE]

Hoop Dreams: Sustainable agriculture comes to Lake Clifton Park

Mobtown Beat | 10/21/2009 | By Joe Tropea

"This is a great day for city schools," says Tyler Brown, the 24-year-old project manager of Real Food Farm, a new agricultural endeavor located in Lake Clifton Park. On a recent fall day, Brown is w...[MORE]