Officials: Arundel Fire Was Arson, Hate Crime. Authorities have declared a house fire in Anne Arundel County an arson and a hate crime after they said disturbing messages were found outside the building.Anne Arundel County firefighters said the charred house is located in the 300 block of Church Street in Brooklyn Park. It’s currently boarded up, with debris littering the front yard.Officials said firefighters were called to the home around 4 a.m. New Year’s Day to find smoke and fire already billowing out of the building.
Man Accused Of Attacking Officer, Incident Caught On Video. City police said a man attacked officers who were trying to arrest another person.Video posted on YouTube showed an officer being attacked by a man police have identified as 40-year-old Manuel Imel. “I can’t describe it as anything less than being attacked — cowardly attacked,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The incident occurred New Year’s Eve at the intersection of Rose and Monument streets in east Baltimore.
Annapolis Police Probe Indecent Exposure Cases. Police in Annapolis are investigating back-to-back indecent exposure incidents in which a man exposed himself to shoppers.The first incident happened on Dec. 28 at a CVS store. A woman told police that as she was shopping and a man followed her into each aisle before exposing his genitals.A couple of days later, a similar incident happened at an Annapolis Safeway.A second woman told police a man followed her outside the grocery store and then pulled his pants down, exposing himself.
Report Links Bay Cleanup, Job Creation. A report by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said that storm water and sewage plant upgrades intended to help nurse the environmentally battered bay back to health would create nearly a quarter of a million jobs.The report was released Tuesday by the bay advocacy group. It’s aimed at countering what the foundation calls inflated claims that the massive restoration directed by the Environmental Protection Agency would be harmful to the economy and lead to job losses.