When the honeymoon is over, can Frederick Bealefeld III be the top cop with the solutions?
Police headquarters is quiet on President's Day, but Frederick H. Bealefeld III is, nevertheless, in his dress uniform, still on the job. He quips that there are no holidays for him anymore as he settles himself behind the desk in the commissioner's office, a Coke in one hand and a blackberry that seems to be constantly vibrating in the other. For this reporter, it took three attempts to get to...
For three new moms, infants bring blessings-as well as tears, fears, and a learning curve.
Sharicca Boldon's first real "I'm a mom" moment arrived soon after the birth of her twins Matthew Brian and Samuel Christopher. She and her husband, Brian, brought the babies home to their row house in Barre Circle-and alone with the boys and their two cribs, double stroller, and several bouncy seats, Boldon thought, "Wow. Now what?"
She was on her own. "You don't have the hospital staff there to...
Mark Kresel crafts custom birdhouses for celebrities and gets a little something in return.
Eccentric hobbyist or savvy entrepreneur? Traveling salesman, former deep-sea fisherman, and quirky birdhouse designer Mark Kresel qualifies as both. That's how he's caught the attention of big shots such as Donald Trump, Bruce Springsteen, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace.
The Baltimore County resident finds the high-profilers on websites, spends months...
After 40 years of making a lot of money in real estate, Ed St. John is giving much of it away.
If you're not looking to lease commercial real estate and you don't often attend charity galas, it's quite possible you've never heard of Edward St. John. But whether it registered or not, you have surely seen his name.
His company, St. John Properties, owns more than 13 million square feet of apartment buildings, office, retail, and warehouse space. Its grey-and-yellow signs are ubiquitous...
The local dog trainer on her BGE bill, a pit bull named Daisy, and why dogs don't gossip.
Where did you go to school?Pikesville High, class of 1986 and the National Institute of Dog Training.
What book or film most changed your life?The Dog's Mind by Dr. Bruce Fogle.
What's the bravest thing you've ever done?Telling my family that I wanted to train dogs and leave a fairly lucrative business career. (I was an insurance agent.)
When were you most tempted to leave Baltimore?When I got my...
Dr. Michael Trush takes his case for cleaner communities out of the halls of academia and onto the streets.
Anybody living near a transit depot probably knows that having buses refueled and sitting with engines running in your backyard isn't the greatest for your health. But how do you change things? After sharing their community with a Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) maintenance facility for more than half a century, residents of East Baltimore's Cecil-Kirk neighborhood were wondering just...
Sgt. Chuck Fawley, Maryland Natural Resources Police
"I can remember, as early as 5 years old, going to my grandfather's farm in Virginia and watching him hunt. And even though I couldn't participate quite yet, I can distinctly remember being captivated by it. When I was a teenager, my father started to take me hunting and that's when it took off for me. To this day, I still go hunting with the kids I grew up with. It's rare that people stay in...
Stephanie Powell dances to the beat of diversity and helps others do the same.
Sometimes it's an aggressive conga drumbeat, other times it's a somber flute, a calming orchestral piece, or the violins of a Kirk Franklin gospel song that make the dancers move in syncopation. Whatever music choreographer Stephanie Powell selects, the dancers at her school, Baltimore Dance Tech—located in a modest church basement on Greenwich Avenue in Baltimore County's Ten Hills—respond...
Why the heck do people remain in toxic friendships?
(Note: Some names have been changed.)
Ashley's nose didn't stand a chance once it hit her dorm room's tile floor. After two days of starving herself and compulsive exercising, the undergraduate's body gave way and she passed out face-first while her then-best friend and roommate Lauren looked on in horror. Lauren ran to the resident assistant on duty and called the paramedics, but it wasn't...
Teach For America recruits shine in troubled schools.
It's the plot of countless movies: naive rookie teacher strives to make a difference, but struggles to reach her inner-city students. This is not how one would describe the typical experience of a Teach For America corps member in Baltimore, however. For one thing, these teachers don't just strive to make a difference, they actually do—and have been for 15 years.
Take Sarah Orao. In her...
