Recent stories by Jill Rosen

7:55 AM EDT, May 3, 2013

Power couple Monte, Patrice Sanders strong in love

April 6, 2013

60 home openers — and one fan who's seen them all

For his 60th Orioles home opener, Justin Vitrano didn't dress in orange. He didn't paint his face, pull on a team cap or arrive hours early to guzzle beer. He didn't jump to his feet, scream or even clap as players jogged, one by one, onto the field.

8:41 PM EDT, March 31, 2013

One last dance for the Recher Theatre in Towson

Deep in the cellar beneath the Recher Theatre, Buddy Hilsberg curates a museum of sorts.

2:01 PM EDT, April 1, 2013

Baltimore police identify man killed in early Sunday shooting

One man was killed and two others injured in separate shooting incidents overnight across the city, police said.

8:17 AM EDT, March 18, 2013

Karina, Jacoby talk smack, stretch ahead of 'DWTS'

2:10 PM EDT, April 1, 2013

Wine expert Paul Lukacs dishes on drink's history, his tastes

March 10, 2013

Cosmetic surgery for the canine set

Ace, a youthful Labrador, bounds across his lawn, fielding tennis balls and hurrying them back to his owner.

11:02 AM EDT, March 19, 2013

The Littlest Vegans

Eleven-year-old Tyler Parker-Rollins says being vegan isn't always easy. But he says it's also "fun" and that he plans to be one "forever."

8:29 PM EST, February 17, 2013

'Harlem Shake' has Baltimore moving, too

Some guys gave flowers. Others candy. But smooth Rod Lopez, a man in touch with the cultural cutting edge, feted his lady love with a "Harlem Shake" video for Valentine's Day.

7:08 PM EST, February 4, 2013

'Crazy' day at store giving away furniture following kick return

Gardiners Furniture might be eating its Super Bowl bet but couldn't be happier about it.

10:16 PM EST, February 3, 2013

Jacoby Jones' kick return means free furniture for many

The owners of a local furniture company that declared free goods if the Ravens returned a kick for a touchdown at the start of the game or just after halftime found themselves having to make good after Jacoby Jones did just that.

7:01 PM EST, February 21, 2013

'Superman' author's gay-rights opposition prompts local boycott

A Baltimore comic store has joined the growing public outcry over DC Comics' decision to hire a gay-marriage opponent and author to write part of the coming "Adventures of Superman" series.

8:35 PM EST, February 5, 2013

200,000-plus welcome Ravens back to Baltimore

Shawn Dyson closed his barbershop and let his 10-year-old daughter skip school Tuesday, hoping they could become part of Baltimore sports history.

11:04 PM EST, February 3, 2013

Local companies grab Super Bowl ad attention

Super Bowl commercials are nearly as anticipated as the game, and local companies grabbing some of that attention Sunday included Royal Farms and Union Memorial Hospital.

12:21 PM EST, February 11, 2013

Couples reaffirm choice of a lifetime at Valentine's Vow Renewal

They've been married just over two years, but Andy and Seanne Herbick have already exchanged vows three times, most recently Sunday morning at their alma mater, Loyola University Maryland, with about 160 other steadfast lovebirds.

8:10 AM EST, February 8, 2013

FROM SUN MAGAZINE

Poetic passions, tragic partings among Baltimore's greatest romances

Baltimore has witnessed love and loss.

11:57 AM EST, January 29, 2013

The man behind the Ravens' rides

When the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2001 and Ray Lewis, as MVP, got a new SUV, he didn't want just a plain, ordinary one. He wanted icing on that cake.

11:04 AM EST, January 28, 2013

SUPER BOWL XLVII

Redskins fans torn about rooting for Ravens

To understand how very conflicted Washington is about rooting for Baltimore, consider what happened to one of its biggest football fans when she dared suggest that Redskins supporters offer the Ravens a congratulatory word.

7:00 AM EST, February 1, 2013

A caw in 49ers country

When Eastern Shore native Peter Michaels Allen moved to San Francisco two years ago, he made sure he had a way to make money and a place to sleep before getting to the really important stuff — finding a place to watch his Ravens.

7:53 PM EST, January 24, 2013

Ravens inspire a new anthem

King Los is not merely a young rapper on the verge, cultivating buzz and working with Diddy's record label. He's also a Ravens fan — in his words, a "humongous" one.

7:06 PM EST, January 11, 2013

Baltimore's biggest philanthropists reveal what motivates them

Baltimore is home to some generous souls. There are those who give time, others who share their ideas and plenty of people willing to open their wallets.

11:48 AM EST, January 6, 2013

Ravens' tailgaters express gratitude for Lewis in his playoff farewell

Marquetta Sullivan, 56, of Annapolis, sparkled like a purple jewel on Lot J on Sunday morning — metallic ribbons in her hair, nine necklaces around her neck, frosted purple eye shadow and a Ravens' tattoo on her cheek — all for the playoffs and to mark her hero's last home game.

8:30 AM EST, January 4, 2013

Hailing the Redskins and Ravens (plus Nats and O's, too)

Forgive Keith Parsons for being a tad blissed out. The 35-year-old salesman, born in Redskins country, married into a Ravens clan and carrying a lifelong torch for the Orioles, is pretty sure he's having the best sports year of his life.

8:30 PM EST, December 25, 2012

Forecasters see another taste of winter early Wednesday

The region had a taste of a white Christmas early this week, and forecasters predicted another chance of wintry weather on Wednesday.

4:18 PM EST, December 25, 2012

Hundreds get busy on 'Mitzvah Day'

Carrying on what's become a Baltimore tradition, hundreds of area Jews spent Tuesday up to their elbows in craft paper and care packages, working on community service projects for Mitzvah Day, now in its eighth year.

7:49 AM EST, December 24, 2012

Bmore gets braggy

Season's greetings, hon! Hard to believe 2012 is almost over. You know us — busy, busy!

8:01 PM EST, December 13, 2012

De-stress with hot toddy, chocolate, other yummy spa treatments

When did the holidays become an exercise in anxiety, tension mounting with each fa, la and la? Shopping stress. Baking stress. Light-stringing stress. Relatives. And that "Are you ready for Christmas?" thing. Hardly helping.

3:22 PM EST, November 30, 2012

Artist Michael Muller's dog is his muse

4:51 PM EST, November 22, 2012

U of Md. medical students host Thanksgiving for the needy

Anthony Clark hadn't even gotten a plate of food and already he was overcome with emotion, just seeing friends, having a medical student check his blood pressure and knowing hundreds of people had given their time to make sure those needier had a taste of Thanksgiving.

8:15 PM EST, November 23, 2012

Paralympian Jessica Long goes gold-metal glam

Jessica Long will tell you: After capturing even more Paralympic gold in London, she couldn't wait to get back to Baltimore for a table heavy with steamed crabs and a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

November 22, 2012

For these Baltimore folks, thankfulness is personal

This time of year, "thankfulness" and "gratitude" are terms folks throw around so much that they almost become greeting card platitudes.

6:32 PM EST, November 20, 2012

Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, leaves 'Sesame Street'

Kevin Clash, the Baltimore-born puppeteer who was the voice behind the beloved "Sesame Street" character Elmo, resigned Tuesday in the wake of allegations that he had sex with minors.

7:21 AM EST, November 15, 2012

From Sun Magazine: Welcome to a Voltaggio Christmas

For Bryan Voltaggio, this holiday season is about beginnings.

9:30 AM EDT, October 12, 2012

White House crasher, 'Housewife' finds true passion

Take away the glamour, the TV cameras and the tabloid headlines, and Michaele Salahi's latest drama could almost be an Anne Tyler plot: Disaffected housewife risks it all to walk away from a stale marriage and into an entirely new life.

9:30 PM EST, November 7, 2012

Wedding bells to ring for Maryland's same-sex couples

Amid the cheers of President Barack Obama's victory rally in Chicago, Keesha Patterson reached into her bag for a tiny box, dropped to one knee, turned to her girlfriend of 11 years and told her, in front of everyone, how much she loved her and wanted to marry her.

11:28 AM EDT, September 21, 2012

NFL makes its pass at women

As "quarterback" of B'more Chix, an online Ravens fan site for women, Krys Renzi knows what her readers want.

6:56 PM EDT, September 20, 2012

To host Lance Armstrong, triathlon drops sanctioning

Organizers of the charitable Half Full Triathlon are thrilled Lance Armstrong will compete in their October Howard County race.

7:18 PM EDT, August 21, 2012

Court partly backs off pit bull ruling

Maryland's highest court on Tuesday partly backed off its April decision that pit bulls are inherently dangerous, admitting that it went too far when it applied its standard to cross-bred dogs. But the new ruling, which affects only purebred animals, does not clear the waters, according to experts.

11:05 PM EDT, September 16, 2012

City police report five weekend shootings, two fatal

City police on Sunday reported five shootings over the weekend, two of them fatal.

9:46 AM EDT, September 16, 2012

Man dies in N.W. Baltimore house fire Sunday morning

One person died in a house fire early Sunday morning in Northwest Baltimore, officials reported.

6:00 AM EDT, September 7, 2012

Megan Rossee, Michael Phelps' girlfriend, opens up

6:48 AM EDT, July 5, 2012

From Sun Magazine: A marriage made in Annapolis

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, newly single, was lunching with an old friend. She wanted to know if he was dating. Nope, he said, too busy — why, did she know anyone?

1:49 PM EDT, September 16, 2012

Drone keeps eye, and lens, on Baltimore sights

During the Patterson Park pagoda's 120 years of existence, it has been photographed, painted and otherwise rendered too many times to count. But never in all that time did anyone depict the landmark the way Terry and Belinda Kilby just did.

7:18 PM EDT, September 7, 2012

Strange bedfellows for street art

Musicians collaborate all the time; so do actors. But artists, not really — and that goes double for street art, where making an individual mark is the name of the game.

10:14 PM EDT, July 8, 2012

Heat-related deaths reach 13 in Maryland

Alex and Laura Garcia slogged back to their car after visiting the Baltimore Farmer's Market on Sunday, wiping sweat from their faces. After days of record-breaking, three-digit heat, the Bolton Hill couple agreed that what typically passes for hot would feel like paradise.

7:07 PM EDT, August 20, 2012

Akin's rape comments elicit anger in Md., U.S.

Furor surged in Maryland and across the country Monday over a Missouri congressman's comment that he opposes abortion in most cases of rape because women rarely become pregnant during a "legitimate rape."

6:07 PM EDT, August 19, 2012

Mary T. McMullen, special education teacher

Mary T. McMullen, a Millersville special education teacher and athletics booster, died Friday at University of Maryland Medical Center of scleroderma after a lengthy illness. She was 64.

6:48 AM EDT, July 3, 2012

From Sun Magazine: A little less Duff

Duff Goldman quite literally ate his way across America to film the series "Sugar High" last year — from sea to sugary sea. And we aren't talking Hollywood smoke-and-mirrors eating, where it looks like someone is tasting something but is really spitting it into an off-camera bucket. It was real — all too real, as Goldman now realizes.

8:38 PM EDT, September 7, 2012

Ravens, O's fans torn about showing (two) true colors

Tom Rowe, like many in Baltimore, woke up conflicted on Friday.

6:35 PM EDT, August 13, 2012

Ex-Senator Theatre owner jailed, accused of harassment, trespassing

Days after operators of Baltimore's Senator Theatre accused former owner Tom Kiefaber of trespassing at the movie house and harassing workers, Kiefaber was arrested Monday at the site.

6:48 AM EDT, July 3, 2012

From Sun Magazine: Do it like Duff

Duff Goldman's workouts aren't for the faint of heart.

7:17 PM EDT, July 30, 2012

On Facebook, the revolution is a lot less demanding

There was a time when any protest worth its salt meant time and sweat, with picketing in inclement weather, massing in Washington and possibly even the risk of violence or getting arrested. People went to jail to support the Montgomery bus boycott during the civil rights movement. People died during the United Farm Workers boycott of grapes and lettuce during the 1970s.

8:02 PM EDT, July 8, 2012

Baltimore police investigating two shootings in Upton late Saturday, Sunday

Baltimore police are investigating a pair of shootings that occurred late Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the city's Upton neighborhood.

9:13 AM EDT, July 8, 2012

Man fatally shot in Parkville early Sunday morning

A man was shot to death early Sunday morning in Parkville.

6:06 PM EDT, June 21, 2012

Maryland customers keeping their cool over Good Humor shortage

In sizzling heat that had much of the country screaming for ice cream, people in certain pockets of the nation had trouble this week finding their favorite Good Humor bars.

7:22 PM EDT, May 11, 2012

Fundraiser aims to give Chubby from 'Our Gang' a headstone

Only people who know where to look would be able to pay respects to Norman Chaney, who is buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore. But if fans of the chubby "Our Gang" star have their way, he'll soon have the headstone he's done so long without.

9:25 AM EDT, July 8, 2012

Fire displaces 40 people from Laurel apartment building

A fire broke out Sunday morning in a Laurel apartment building, forcing about 40 people from their homes and injuring one firefighter.

8:55 PM EDT, June 15, 2012

From Scores to a mechanical bull, sailors delight in Baltimore's charms

It didn't take Canadian seaman Richard Thompson long to get quite a bit of Baltimore under his shiny gold belt. Tapas at Harborplace. Shopping for sunglasses. And a beery romp with some American sailors at Power Plant Live that left him with a different sort of souvenir.

7:17 AM EST, March 6, 2012

The lowly crock pot makes a simmering comeback

A number of years ago a serious chef, baker and food writer named Beth Hensperger got an assignment from her publisher: A slow-cooker cookbook.

5:15 PM EDT, May 29, 2012

Texting while walking emerging as possible danger for pedestrians, drivers

The night started out right — good friends, carousing, the lead-up to an out-of-town wedding.

7:25 PM EDT, March 29, 2012

At $540 million, a truly Mega jackpot

Even a lottery official, a woman who spends her days dealing in hundreds, thousands and, yes, millions, was having a hard time Thursday getting her head around this monstrous number: $540 million.

9:43 PM EDT, March 20, 2012

Maryland's appetite for 'Hunger Games' is huge

When the lights dim for "Hunger Games" at midnight Thursday, Fatimah Nelson, who bought tickets weeks ago, will be there, a bit breathless, at the edge of a plush seat at Arundel Mills.

6:08 PM EDT, May 20, 2012

Trayvon Martin's mother gets an ovation at Balto. church

As Trayvon Martin's mother stood at the altar of Baltimore's Empowerment Temple on Sunday, the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant asked for anyone whose child had also been the victim of "senseless violence" to come forward.

6:58 PM EDT, March 18, 2012

Parishioners honor a passionate man of the cloth

People packed the pews and filled the balconies of Baltimore's historic Bethel A.M.E. church Sunday morning to honor a man they credit with reviving the house of worship — one of the city's most influential — and bringing unabashed passion back to the black church.

7:07 AM EST, February 16, 2012

Is going gluten-free good for you?

Henry Hunt said goodbye to gluten not because a doctor told him to, but because — like so many others — he decided he was better off without it.

7:08 AM EST, February 9, 2012

From Sun Magazine: When architects build a marriage — and design a home

Architects live and breathe design, blissfully losing themselves in details most people would never notice — the bevel of a trim, the way light falls across a room, squared legs or curved.

11:10 PM EST, February 3, 2012

Komen controversy puts Maryland native in spotlight

As the funding controversy swirled around Susan G. Komen for the Cure this week, much of the criticism was directed not at the group's chief executive but at a Maryland native who serves as a senior policy adviser.

6:05 PM EST, January 14, 2012

Appearance by 'Dog Whisperer' draws hundreds to pet shop

When Vinny Ragone heard the Dog Whisperer was going to be at a Baltimore pet store, and he could see him for free, he told his mother (who had never heard of Cesar Millan), "I've got to be there."

11:16 AM EST, January 14, 2012

None injured in early morning fire in West Baltimore Saturday

A fire broke out early Saturday morning near the Poppleton neighborhood of West Baltimore.

3:16 PM EST, January 22, 2012

Police officer, two others injured in Mt. Airy crash

Three people, including a Howard County police officer and a suspect in his custody, were injured in a crash in Mount Airy early Sunday morning, police reported.

4:49 PM EST, December 28, 2011

Resolutions made simple

New Year's resolutions are the kiss of death. We all know this.

9:43 PM EST, December 25, 2011

Latke-eating contest illustrates new life at synagogue

About a dozen kids sat around a long table Sunday afternoon, waiting for the signal.

6:01 PM EST, December 22, 2011

Donating thousands, 'layaway angels' land in Maryland

Robin Walker, unable to sleep, called up her online layaway account in the middle of the night, ready to make some grim choices about which presents her grandchildren wouldn't get.

6:55 PM EST, December 7, 2011

Wine critic's representative defends deals

The Spain-based representative for an influential Baltimore wine reviewer defended himself Wednesday amid accusations that he asked wineries for money in exchange for a visit from the critic.

4:48 PM EST, December 1, 2011

Rash of 'Twilight'-induced seizures prompts warning

Shaking, sweating and swooning are par for the course among the passionate young fans of the "Twilight" series. But reports that a scene in "Breaking Dawn" has been sparking seizures in theaters nationwide has epilepsy experts on the alert and parents thinking twice about letting their kids see the movie.

9:24 AM EST, December 20, 2011

Baltimore-area chocolatiers create sweetness to savor

People who want chocolate a cut above the stuff found near grocery store checkout lines have plenty of big-name national brands to choose from.

6:28 PM EST, December 18, 2011

Looking for every sale, retailers inject testosterone into holiday shopping

Matthew Waylett has put down his cocktail to adjust the tilt of an Indiana Jones-esque fedora, admiring his reflection in the mirror set up at the bar.

11:03 AM EST, December 7, 2011

Paid to sip? Wine scandal swirls around Baltimore critic

The accusations are swirling through the wine world faster than cabernet in a crystal goblet.

8:07 PM EST, December 15, 2011

BARCS to lend out pets for the holidays

Mr. and Mrs. Paws were left in a box Wednesday night outside Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter. The black-and-white kittens, just 6 weeks old, aren't ready to be adopted — but through a new program, someone can give the squirmy pair a home for the holidays.

1:02 PM EST, December 12, 2011

Wine Advocate's Parker defends critic

The publisher of The Wine Advocate said Monday he had embarked on a no-holds-barred investigation into an alleged payola scandal involving one of the publication's top critics.

5:54 PM EST, November 23, 2011

Ravens fans take Thanksgiving to the tailgate

On Thursday afternoon, as most of America fusses over basting and trussing, Tracey Despeaux will be pulling into Ravens stadium with a movable feast.

7:13 PM EDT, October 26, 2011

Gordon Ramsay's 'Kitchen Nightmares' to make over Hampden's Cafe Hon

Fox television's "Kitchen Nightmares," featuring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his decidedly tough-love approach to restaurant rehab, will be filming at Hampden's Cafe Hon next week, the network confirmed Tuesday.

7:16 PM EST, November 22, 2011

Woodbine artist's pet ornaments on list of Oprah's 'favorite things'

If Oprah Winfrey singles out just 13 items as her "favorite things" of 2011, and one of them is yours, it's safe to assume you're going to quickly become very — very — popular.

November 27, 2011

From Sun Magazine: Chazz Palminteri brings rustic Italian style to suburban New York

As a young man living in the Bronx, Chazz Palminteri would escape the city on long drives into the Westchester County countryside where he'd tool along curving, forested roads, staring at the set-back mansions. To a guy with empty pockets, the gated lawns and gabled rooflines looked like money, like class — like success.

8:37 PM EDT, October 3, 2011

Occupy Wall Street protests spread to Baltimore, other cities

St. John's United Methodist Church, a centuries-old church on St. Paul Street, looked the way it does during its occasional rock concerts. Hundreds of people — some older than 40, some in their 20s — gathered there Sunday not for the music, or a prayer service, but to vent.

September 28, 2011

Pickling gets a fresh interpretation

Once, pickles were the last thing anyone would mistake for stylish or sexy.

5:18 PM EST, November 11, 2011

Matching up holiday guests with the right Baltimore hotel

The holidays are for family. But while we can squeeze folks around the table for turkey, or into the living room to unwrap presents, sometimes they just have to sleep somewhere else. Here's a sampling of some area hotels that could a good fit your relatives.

5:39 PM EDT, October 28, 2011

Former Baltimore man pleads guilty to killing one cat, beating another

Ethan Phillip Weibman pleaded guilty Friday morning to animal abuse in the death of one cat and the beating of another.

9:44 PM EDT, October 22, 2011

Maryland has become ground zero for a new invasive species threat, wavyleaf basketgrass

After a recent hike through Patapsco Valley State Park, Baltimore teacher Greg Schnitzlein's jaw dropped as he watched his two dogs emerge from the woods looking, as he says, like Chia Pets, every inch of their fur slathered in sproutlike seeds.

7:16 AM EDT, September 29, 2011

Maryland woman's post-wedding hassle inspires a business

All Danielle Rowlette wanted to do was become Danielle Tate.

3:53 PM EDT, October 24, 2011

Voltaggios ditch competition for collaboration

When the doctor's office receptionist summons her, when she flashes her credit card at the grocery store, when she leaves a phone message — the reaction to her last name these days is always the same.

4:56 PM EDT, September 20, 2011

What they're saying about 'Diner: the Musical'

As word began spreading Tuesday that the beloved movie "Diner" was being rejiggered as a Broadway show — with Sheryl Crow music, no less — the mood of the people could best be summed up with a universal head scratch.

3:59 PM EDT, October 23, 2011

Ravens fans have their pups go purple

Before big games in Ravens Country, we see the most enthusiastic fans changing into purple clothes, flying the team colors on their cars, layering on beads and painting their faces. They order colored cupcakes, decorate their homes and shake pompoms at pep rallies.

5:59 PM EDT, September 21, 2011

Facebook changes baffle users, and more are on the way

Where's that dislike button when you need it?

5:13 PM EDT, September 25, 2011

Baltimore athletes 'show their soft side' to stop animal cruelty

Oriole Adam Jones giving his dog Eskimo kisses. Fighter John Rallo hugging a cat tight to his muscled chest. Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson proudly calling his dog his best friend.

7:37 PM EDT, August 17, 2011

They call her Scary Mommy, and now she's scary successful

Jill Smokler just might be Baltimore's biggest unknown celebrity. Few recognize her tightly coiled curls, her peanut-butter-eating children, her tired dog. But online, thousands upon thousands of mothers grasp onto her every word. And on Twitter, nearly 155,000 people follow her, more, by far, than Baltimore's mayor, Maryland's governor, chef Duff Goldman and the Ravens' Ray Lewis — together.

8:37 PM EDT, September 15, 2011

First lady announces restaurant chain's plan to cut calories, sodium

— First Lady Michelle Obama applauded the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster Thursday for pledging to cut calories and sodium at its restaurants over the next 10 years.

August 8, 2011

Thirty years later, Baltimore's aquarium has left a nationwide legacy

Tiger sharks glided swift and smooth, moray eels darted into submerged caves and, in a full-blown rain forest re-created indoors, leafy and humid, tropical birds flitted past tamarin monkeys.

October 14, 2011

Robert E. Lee Park to reopen with new features, rules for dogs

Dogs have run free — amok, some would say — in Robert E. Lee Park for years. Residents complained that the park had been "hijacked" by dog people. Even Baltimore County's parks director knew folks referred to the wooded lakeside retreat as "Dog Poop Park."

8:09 PM EDT, September 6, 2011

University of Maryland makes a fashion fumble

After a nationally televised victory, one imagines the Terps spending the next day basking in glory. Not waiting for a call from "What Not to Wear."

11:28 AM EDT, July 23, 2011

For retailers, back-to-school shopping is becoming Christmas in July

Ted Williams wasn't at the pool last week. Nor was he on the basketball court, polishing off an ice cream cone, sleeping in till noon or catching a movie.

1:44 PM EDT, July 28, 2011

Kitten severely burned after being set on fire in E. Baltimore

A kitten is suffering severe burns after being set on fire this week in East Baltimore.

3:50 PM EDT, July 15, 2011

Dolphin calves died of pneumonia, internal bleeding, National Aquarium says

Pneumonia killed one dolphin calf at the National Aquarium last month while internal bleeding took the life of another baby days later, according to results of a necropsy released Friday.

May 22, 2011

From Sun Magazine: Weekend escape

When the Weiss family dreams of escape, a breezy vacation with water, boat rides and luxurious views, they can be kicking their shoes off within 40 minutes.

5:37 PM EDT, June 27, 2011

Cafe Hon owner Denise Whiting gets a restraining order against protester

The brouhaha surrounding the trademarking of the word "hon" seemed to become more serious Monday as Denise Whiting was granted a restraining order against a man who organized recent protests against her.

7:53 PM EDT, July 8, 2011

Rain doesn't deter diners at first food truck rally

Sure, it was raining sideways, but that didn't stop people from lining up Friday evening in Harbor East for a taste of Baltimore's fledgling food truck scene.

5:15 PM EDT, April 23, 2011

From City Hall, Schaefer battled national tides

Stanley Zerden remembers a time in the 1970s when Oldtown held promise.

2:26 PM EDT, April 22, 2011

Donna Hamilton's home offers comfort on cue

When Baltimoreans turn on the TV and see Donna Hamilton, they see a comfortable, familiar face — someone they probably think they know, someone they might want to sit down with for a cup of tea.

12:46 PM EDT, June 27, 2011

Kid food critic has the world on a plate

Elijah Knauer bounds into S'ghetti Eddie's as if on a mission, taking in the pinball, the family-style booths and — oh man — the spot on the menu that mentions the thing that begins with an "ice" and ends with a "cream."

6:58 PM EDT, August 3, 2011

Man charged with killing cat, abusing another

Ethan Phillip Weibman went to the Maryland SPCA, and from the dozens of cats, police say, he chose a short-haired one named Lucy to adopt.

July 14, 2011

For its 30th year, Artscape will party like it's 1982

Ronald Reagan was president. People were fighting to save whales. The first CD player came out.

4:07 PM EDT, April 23, 2011

McDonald's employee fired after taping video of fight

A Baltimore County McDonald's owner announced on Saturday afternoon that an employee who taped the violent beating of a customer — a video that went viral Friday — had been fired.

7:56 PM EDT, June 26, 2011

Second dolphin calf dies at National Aquarium

Animal trainer Deirdre Weadock has worked at the National Aquarium long enough to have seen her share of life and death, but she'll tell you this has been the roughest week of her career.

7:11 PM EST, February 22, 2011

Gino's returning to Baltimore area

Folks hungering for a Gino Giant, your wait is almost over.

5:21 PM EDT, June 23, 2011

For some Baltimore employees, every day is Take Your Dog to Work Day

Ever-prepared, executive assistant Marian Smith stocks her desk with all the trappings of a modern office: Paper clips. Sticky notes. Pup-Peroni.

6:15 PM EDT, April 30, 2011

Transgender advocates see McDonald's beating as a turning point

School kids call Catherine Hyde's teenage daughter "freak" and "pervert," or "homo." She's forced to change for gym in a closet and use the teacher's restroom.

6:58 AM EDT, March 23, 2011

From Sun Magazine: Debbie Phelps is puttin' on the glitz

Baltimore's favorite mother has inspired a saying. Whenever her friends and family encounter something Debbie Phelps would say or want or do, someone will inevitably say: "That's so DP."

September 12, 2010

Design 101: Giving old furniture new life

While reworking Sally Thorner's Baltimore home, a space that hadn't been touched in 20 years, designer Christopher Howarth vowed not to buy when he could inventively re-use.

12:38 PM EDT, May 31, 2011

Snowballs flirt with sophistication

Nearly 3,000 miles from the red-bricked neighborhoods on the banks of the Patapsco, a Baltimore native is on a sugary mission to introduce Californians to the joy that is a little cup of flavored ice on a hot summer day.

February 9, 2010

Snowbound resort to indulgence, helping each other

If anyone deserved a lunchtime indulgence Monday, Barry Robinson did. His normal 60-minute drive to work, from Accokeek to Baltimore, took four agonizing hours, much of it spent on a ramp to Interstate 495, waiting for the tractor-trailer in front of him to unstick itself. "I was thinking there's got to be a better way," says Robinson, Baltimore's chief of transit and marine services.

7:14 PM EST, February 15, 2011

Westminster glory eludes local dog duo

Despite taking two dogs to the country's most prestigious dog show and doubling her chances of success, a Perry Hall woman on Tuesday was unable to advance in the competition.

September 12, 2010

Sally Thorner's town and country

In Sally Thorner's living room, a sprawling rattan loveseat beckons from a corner. A bit fantastical, it's a closer relative of the porch swing than the sofa in mood and purpose. With its oversized downy cushions, this piece is meant for long, lazy mornings, for losing track of time with one's husband, for unabashed relaxation.

December 2, 2009

Differing views on Dixon's future

Despite widespread perception that Sheila Dixon has done a laudable job as Baltimore's mayor, she faces a challenge in trying to maintain a political career while carrying the burden of a criminal conviction, political observers say.

December 6, 2009

A Sun snapshot: Should Dixon stay?

In the market and at the bus stop, over glasses of wine and under the barber's clippers, the daily rhythm of life in Baltimore has been interrupted by a question reverberating through many a conversation: Should Mayor Sheila Dixon, convicted of embezzlement, continue to run the city?

January 7, 2010

The Dixon plea agreement and what it means

Mayor Sheila Dixon's plea deal - crafted in legal terms such as Probation Before Judgment and Alford plea - left many questions about her criminal record and her future. Here's a primer on the arrangement and the events it will trigger: