Louis Konopacki crabs and fishes on Bear Creek and worries about pollution from the nearby mill.

Story and photos by FERN SHEN
A meeting Tuesday night in Edgemere suggests the stakes are getting higher and the tension is ratcheting up, in the communities near the Sparrows Point steel mill, as environmental groups threaten to sue state and federal officials over pollution from the mill and residents mount a separate class action lawsuit.

Members of the audience of about 25 people expressed anger when they heard the results of the latest testing conducted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation who, together with the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, are planning legal action to get the government to enforce a 1997 consent decree.

A CBF scientist said she had recently tested the sediment in the shallow waters near the mill, where people might crab, fish or swim, and found these areas to be just as contaminated with toxic chemicals and metals as the deeper waters.

“We went into shallow places. It was amazing. Here’s a ladder into the water, here’s a slide. And (the contamination is) at levels that exceed some human health thresholds,” said senior water quality scientist Beth McGee, who presented preliminary results of the sampling she conducted in May.
((CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed quotes from Dave Polanowski to John Cirri, who did not attend the meeting. Polanowski was also misidentified in a photo caption. Baltimore Brew regrets the error.))
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The state investigation of political corruption at City Hall has dragged on for more than three years, leaving State Prosecutor Robert F. Rohrbaugh open to criticism that he was on a “fishing expedition.” He kept going and in January, a city grand jury handed up indictments against Baltimore’s mayor, her ex-boyfriend and a city councilwoman. But in May, a judge threw out bribery charges against Councilwoman Helen Holton, ruling that Mr. Rohrbaugh didn’t have the right evidence.
Political observers wondered whether Mr. Rohrbaugh would be deterred. He wasn’t and this week, a city grand jury indicted Holton and prominent businessman John Paterakis Sr. on charges of violating campaign finance laws in connection with a $12,000 election poll for the councilwoman that was paid for by Paterakis and developer Ronald H. Lipscomb.

But dozen years ago, when two reporters for The Baltimore Sun turned up violations of campaign finance laws by Mr. Paterakis and other prominent city residents, then state prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli basically threw up his hands. Read the rest of this entry »

John Paterakis didn’t discriminate when it came to contributing to political campaigns.
The Bread Man wrote checks to Democrats and Republicans and he was especially generous to candidates who shared his Greek heritage. But his political largesse is now at the center of the latest indictments in the city’s political corruption investigation. A city grand jury yesterday indicted the bakery owner and developer on two counts of violating campaign finance laws for allegedly helping to pay for a political poll for Councilwoman Helen L. Holton. The councilwoman also was indicted in an investigation being pushed by the state prosecutor.

This is not the first time Paterakis’ name has come up in connection with campaign finance violation allegations. A January 15, 1997 Baltimore Sun story by William F. Zorzi Jr,. reviewing the 1991-94 cycle, found not only apparent violations of the law by Paterakis but also that the $10,000 cap had not been enforced by two state agencies charged with doing so.

Paterakis said at the time that the contributions were not an effort to persuade office-holders to look favorably on his projects, but rather an effort to help friends.

“Over the years, you establish a friendship with them. How can you turn them down?” he said in the article. “The trouble is I got too many of those people who are my friends.” Read the rest of this entry »

At least 17 people were shot over the weekend, two fatally, in separate incidents, including an Ashland Avenue cookout in which 12 were shot. Among the injured at the backyard party was a pregnant woman and a two-year-old girl. Quoting sources, the Baltimore Sun says the cook-out was to mark the one-year anniversary of a gang-related killing. Police had one piece of evidence drive up to Johns Hopkins Hospital: a bullet riddled Lexus.

NEW USE FOR SUPERMAX – In a ghastly event, even for the 1980s, Schaefer-era big-wigs held a black tie champagne-fueled gala years ago inside “Supermax,” the just-built state prison in Baltimore designed harshly on purpose to warehouse “the worst of the worst.’” Soon after, prison officials themselves declared the bare-bones layout unworkable. There were calls for MCAC (its formal acronym) to be razed. Now? They’re floating a plan to house Maryland’s soaring federal pre-trial detainee population at Supermax ,  according to the Baltimore Sun. They’re mostly gang members and drug dealers currently spread out in prisons across the region. The whole thing hangs on $20 million federal funds.

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 UP IN SMOKE – A Baltimore City Council committee begins work Tuesday (7/28) drawing up boundaries for non-smoking sections outside city hospitals that are concerned about the impact of second-hand smoke on employees, patients and visitors. Read the rest of this entry »