Articles by Van Smith

354 stories found. Showing page 1 of 18.

Marlow Bates, Son of a Famous Gangster, Sentenced in Prison-Gang Conspiracy Case

The News Hole | 11/18/2009 | By Van Smith

Marlow Bates' stint in prison, where he's been detained since his April arrest for aiding an alleged drug-dealing conspiracy by the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) prison gang ("Black-Booked"), appears t...[MORE]

Nov. 17, 1999

X-Content | 11/17/2009 | By Van Smith

The introduction to the 1999 edition of City Paper's Holiday Guide advises readers to "exercise your freedom of choice to do what we tell you." The cover art—Shepard Fairey's "Obey Santa"—...[MORE]

Nov. 10, 1999

X-Content | 11/11/2009 | By Van Smith

The feature hole offers a two-fer: Ian Grey's "The Sixth Sensibility: Why horror movies are back with a vengeance" ("Horror films are all about locating our psychic pressure points.") and "My Dinner W...[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]

WSOP's Moon Owes Debts Back Home

The News Hole | 11/9/2009 | By Van Smith

The Washington Post's coverage of Western Maryland's Darvin Moon, who's made it to the final table of the World Series of Poker, has been great entertainment. The writer, J. Freedom du Lac, has a blog...[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]

Nov. 3, 1999

X-Content | 11/3/2009 | By Van Smith

Two tech-minded stories fill the feature hole this week: Steve Perry's "Y2K: Endgames and Entropy Curves: Notes on the shape of things to come" ("Y2K problems, on the whole, are far likelier to be chr...[MORE]

Federal On-Line Gambling Investigation in Maryland Seized Nearly $800,000 from Payment-Processor Electracash

The News Hole | 10/28/2009 | By Van Smith

Electracash, the California payment processor whose bank accounts were targeted in July by federal investigators probing illegal on-line gambling, is out nearly $800,000, according to court documents ...[MORE]

GoldenCasino.com's Payment Processor Targeted in Latest On-Line Gambling Seizures in Maryland

The News Hole | 10/28/2009 | By Van Smith

As the Maryland-based federal probe of on-line gambling continues, the latest move to show up in court records in Baltimore is the seizure of $365,366.69 from two bank accounts in the name of Atrium F...[MORE]

Oct. 27, 1999

X-Content | 10/27/2009 | By Van Smith

On the cover, it's the inaugural offering of "Ooh, Scary!"—City Paper's since-institutionalized Halloween masks. Frightfully depicted are: mayoral candidates Martin O'Malley (D) and David Turafo...[MORE]

Accused Money-Launderer's Lawyer Says His Client No Longer Owns Payment-Processor Electracash

The News Hole | 10/26/2009 | By Van Smith

As federal authorities continue their Maryland-based investigation into online gambling, the lawyer for one of the two people charged in the probe—Edward Courdy, accused last year of laundering ...[MORE]

Federal On-Line Gambling Investigation in Maryland Seizes E-Mails of Payment-Processor Electracash

The News Hole | 10/22/2009 | By Van Smith

Update: Accused Money-Launderer's Lawyer Says His Client No Longer Owns Payment-Processor Electracash Electracash, Inc., the California payment-processor whose bank accounts were seized in July by fe...[MORE]

Gun Club: Maryland raid on motorcycle club president's home turns up arsenal

The News Hole | 10/21/2009 | By Van Smith

On the morning of Oct. 6, the same day a federal racketeering indictment in West Virginia against 55 alleged members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club named a Maryland man, David Keith Barbeito, as the cl...[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]

Oct. 20, 1999

X-Content | 10/20/2009 | By Van Smith

Andrew Reiner's cover feature, "Wooden Ships," is a first-person account of learning about wooden boat-building by helping to construct a replica of the schooner Sultana at a boatyard in Cambridge, on...[MORE]

Councilmania: Keeping Tabs On The City Council's Activities So You Don't Have To

Councilmania | 10/14/2009 | By Van Smith

After prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and a presentation by firefighter/paramedic Michael Hineline of the Baltimore City Fire Department's special-events team, the Baltimore City Council...[MORE]

Anti-Gang Gravy Train?

The News Hole | 10/8/2009 | By Van Smith

The Washington City Paper today published a lengthy investigative piece about Peaceoholics, an anti-violence, gang-intervention group that has been funded by the Washington, D.C., government to the tu...[MORE]

Oct. 6, 1999

X-Content | 10/6/2009 | By Van Smith

In the feature, Rob Goldberg, a CP graphic designer at the time, writes about sharing his name with Rob Goldberg, professional wrestler: “This big guy with muscles and no hair has inadvertently ...[MORE]

Food Fighter?: Alleged past haunts would-be caterer at Maryland Governor's Mansion

Mobtown Beat | 10/7/2009 | By Van Smith

"He's not a criminal," Shazia Maqbool says of her husband, Mohammad Ashfaq, after she opens her apartment door to a reporter on Sept 30. On Sept. 4, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ag...[MORE]

Defendant in Historic 41-Kilo Coke Bust Gets 20 Years in Jail

The News Hole | 10/2/2009 | By Van Smith

Trenell Murphy, who pleaded guilty in July to having 41 kilograms of cocaine that he intended to distribute, today received his sentence from U.S. District Court judge Benson Legg: 20 years in prison,...[MORE]

354 stories found. Showing page 1 of 18.

32 reviews found. Showing page 1 of 2.

Yellow Bricks and Emerald Cities

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 11/11/2009

It's Tuesday, and Geppi's Entertainment Museum needs you. Though the Maryland Stadium Authority slashed GEM's rent by a third early this year, it still has money troubles, as evidenced by lawsuits bro...[MORE]

Sam Christian Holmes

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 9/16/2009

"We're all screwed," is artist Sam Christian Holmes personal motto. While that may be a safe bet for the future, it doesn't stop Holmes' artistry--sculpture, print-making, and multi-media works--from ...[MORE]

Tooth-rific Tales

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 8/12/2009

Maybe they'll tell the one about Hermey the dentist, who made friends when he pulled out the Bumble's teeth. Or the one about how girls go to the dentist more than boys--so, boys, you better catch up....[MORE]

With an Artistic Eye

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 7/1/2009

Think of what you may find in your grandmother's attic: quilts, toys, knick-knacks, paintings, purses, figurines, all of them unique "folk art," since someone made them. Now think of myriad Maryland g...[MORE]

Michael Pollan

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 5/13/2009

Today, you can go to the Preakness and stuff your pie hole with mystery meats, high-fructose corn syrup, and processed grains. Or you can go to the library, where writer Michael Pollan will talk about...[MORE]

Zift

Movie review: by Van Smith | 3/31/2009

Perhaps the only thing worse than entering a pre-Communist Bulgarian prison to serve a long sentence for a murder you didn’t commit is getting released in the 1960s, with the Soviets firmly in place. ...[MORE]

Stay Quit Mondays

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 1/7/2009

Mondays suck already, but smokers can make them even worse by following the health-conscious advice of the Healthy Monday campaign, which promotes Monday as a good day to start quitting smoking. The g...[MORE]

Malbec Wine Tasting

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 10/29/2008

Gotta love those marinated, grilled lamb chops. Mmm. Yes, chili is delicious, too--especially using beef and pork, plus a little cinnamon mixed in with all the normal spices. Mmm. Who doesn't like bou...[MORE]

Go Green for the Runway

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 9/17/2008

Nero fiddled as Rome burned, but in Baltimore we throw a fashion show. The Original Paper Dolls Fashion Co. says there's an environmental crisis going on, threatening all of society, and that raising ...[MORE]

Foodscape

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 7/23/2008

The annual Foodscape exhibition at the Mount Royal Tavern embodies that dive's slogan that art is bullshit and good bullshit is art. Staged as a critique of the abundance of food and lack of art at Ar...[MORE]

A. Aubrey Bodine

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 8/29/2007

Arguably the best permanent public exhibit of A. Aubrey Bodine photographs is on the walls at Chewy's on Charles, the barbeque joint in the 1200 block of North Charles Street. That said, the Bodine pr...[MORE]

Stoop Storytelling: My Nemesis

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 4/4/2007

Magician Mike Hughes is a Block veteran. Green Day saved Niki Lee from a dangerously drab Catonsville existence. Enigmatic Shelly Blake has mastered time travel, but he's not saying how. A lady astron...[MORE]

Amplify: Megaphone Project Documentary Series

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 2/21/2007

In the 1980s and '90s, the bucket boys were out in force in American cities, gathering together on street corners to bang rhythmically on upside-down plastic buckets. The impromptu phenomenon reflecte...[MORE]

Sahaja Yoga Meditation

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 1/17/2007

Enlightenment comes free every day at Enoch Pratt Free Library, but today's hour-and-a-half introductory session to Suhaja yoga (translation: "spontaneous union with the self") is especially free and ...[MORE]

Real City, Dream City

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 10/4/2006

People see things that they're used to seeing differently than things they're seeing for the first time. That's why when cameras are put in the hands of nonphotographers with deep roots in their immed...[MORE]

Maryland's Tax Free Week

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 8/23/2006

Through Aug. 27, Maryland, tax-free sales on clothing and footwear priced at less than $100 per item. Politicians and retailers love Maryland's five-day holiday from the 5 percent sales tax for back-...[MORE]

Promise Keepers Unleashed

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 6/7/2006

"The man-friendly environment of our conferences recharges men," promises Tom Fortson, president and CEO of Promise Keepers, the hug-and-weep movement that seeks to enhance Christian male power. "Imag...[MORE]

Sowebohemian Arts Festival

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 5/24/2006

The 21st annual Sowebohemian Arts Festival promises to be much like the 18th, or the 16th, or the 11th. The Motor Morons are playing. T.T. Tucker, too, and Mongoloidian Glow, and dozens of other bands...[MORE]

7th Annual Buddha Day

Event Preview review: by Van Smith | 5/3/2006

Siddhartha Guatama, the prince who stopped living large and founded Buddhism, knows everything, a helpful trait. Miss Norway, for instance, probably got to be Miss Norway because of all he knows, so s...[MORE]

Baltimore Noir

Book review: by Van Smith | 5/3/2006

The cover photo of Baltimore Noir, a new crime-fiction collection of Baltimore stories written by local writers, is of boarded-up rowhouses. “Reverse-gentrification of the literary world” is the motto...[MORE]