The level of violence all over the United States on a daily basis is often what leads local newscasts and sits at the top of newspapers.

In Baltimore, many residents already know of such violence intimately, either having been the victim of a crime or knowing a victim.

For many, the most recent reminder of violence at the hands of young people is the news of the tragic beating death of Chicago high school student Derrion Albert.

Graphic video footage and photos of the attack on Albert have been circulating all over the Internet.

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She wanted to get out of there. She knew she would.

When she was 5, Sonja Sohn would crawl atop a generator behind her home in Tidewater Virginia. Her father would lie beside her. “I’d ask, ‘What’s the difference between an astronomer and an astrologer?’” she says. “He saw where I was going.”

He told her she could be a lawyer. She liked hearing that. But she also knew it wouldn’t be easy: Drugs permeated the streets of her rough neighborhood, drugs she’d later experiment with.
Sohn’s life would be a balancing act — between wanting to help others and having the resources and background to do so; escaping an abusive situation at home and having the guts to run away; filling life roles as mother, friend, actor and feeling fulfilled.

It’s a similar unwieldy line Sohn’s character on HBO’s Baltimore-set crime saga “The Wire,” Det. Kima Greggs, had to walk — Kima could be tough-as-nails one scene and show heartbreaking vulnerability the next.

After all these years, Sohn’s standing straight on life’s tightrope. “A lifelong purpose has meant a lot of me,” says Sohn. “I’ve been on that search since I was 5 years old.”

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In a 2005 photo, Anita Wagner’s views are well represented by the buttons attached to the bottom of her nametag. Wagner was a presenter at the East Coast Loving More Conference at Ramblewood in Darlington {thanks, The Baltimore Sun}

Now that America is familiar with — and maybe OK with — free love, bisexuality, homosexuality and swinging, is polyamory the new sexual frontier?

Polyamory — multiple-partner relationships — receives an extensive look in a Newsweek Web exclusive, which, I guess, means it was too hot for print.

The story profiles Terisa, Matt, Vera, Larry and Scott, who say they aren’t pursuing casual sex. They aren’t polygamists. Instead, they believe in “ethical nonmonogamy,” which is defined in the story as “loving, intimate relationships with more than one person, based upon the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.”

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Ronald Lipscomb

{Thanks, Baltimore Sun}

Ronald Lipscomb the prominent city developer at the center of two scandals that have rocked Baltimore’s City Hall today pleaded guilty to one charge of violating campaign finance laws, in a plea deal arranged with the Maryland State Prosecutor’s office.

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With all the talk of roving packs of feral kids roughing up the taxpayers and tourists at the city’s attractions, it’s no surprise that there’s been an uproar over City Hall’s intentions to close rec centers and cut back community services over the summer.  It’s the typical response you get from a vocal portion of the constituency looking for anyone to blame for their children giving street theater performances of “A Clockwork Orange”.

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