Gore to speak at College Park commencement
Former Vice President Al Gore will deliver the University of Maryland, College Park’s spring commencement address, college officials announced Monday. Gore will also receive an honorary doctorate of public service from the university during the May 20 ceremony at the Xfinity Center. Gore, who served during both terms of the Clinton administration, is the author of the New York Times best-seller “An Inconvenient Truth.” The book about the dangers of global warming was later adapted as a documentary, which won two Oscars in 2006. The next year, Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for “informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change.” He has continued to write books and spread awareness about global warming. He also is a member of Apple Inc.’s board of directors. “Vice President Gore’s ability to ‘look over the horizon’ while mastering the intricacies of action has earned him a Nobel Prize and a profound record of public service,” university President Wallace D. Loh said. “We are honored and excited to have him as our commencement speaker.”
Boy, 5, two others shot, injured in Randallstown
Three members of a family, including a 5-year-old boy, were shot in a Randallstown apartment complex on Sunday, according to Baltimore County police. At about 5:45 p.m., officers responded to the scene in the unit block of Cinnamon Circle after neighbors called 911 with reports of shots fired. A 21-year-old woman was shot in her upper body, and her 5-year-old was shot in the lower body. The woman’s boyfriend, who is 24, was also shot in the lower body. Police said the family was injured as they ran for cover inside an apartment. The three victims were taken to area hospitals and were expected to survive, police said. Police believe at least one member of the family was being targeted. The assailant fled the scene, police said. The Baltimore County Police Violent Crimes Unit is taking over the investigation.
State Police seeking leads in death of Curtis Bay man
Maryland State Police are searching for leads in a man’s death after they identified a body found last month on the Anne Arundel and Prince George’s county border as a 47-year-old Curtis Bay resident. The department said the body found on March 18 in a wooded area near the Patuxent River was that of Kenneth Wayne Cowger. Cowger was found after Maryland Natural Resources Police responded to a report of a body found by someone walking in the area that afternoon. Police have not determined what caused Cowger’s death and state police wrote in a statement that “nothing has been ruled out at this time and all possibilities are being considered.” Maryland State Police’s homicide unit is leading the investigation. Anyone with information about Cowger or the circumstances surrounding his death are asked to call 410-761-5130.
Suspect in double shooting is a former state trooper
A spokeswoman for the Maryland State Police says a man suspected of shooting his estranged wife before fatally shooting himself is a former trooper. Spokeswoman Elena Russo told The Daily Times of Salisbury that Gary Preston retired in 2005 at the rank of trooper 1st class. Preston was found dead at a home in Crisfield on Saturday. State police said responding officers also found his estranged wife, 44-year-old Susan Preston, at the scene with apparent gunshot wounds. Officials with the University of Maryland Medical Center said Sunday that Susan Preston was in critical condition. Police have said the motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately clear.
Cast of play walks out over alleged sex harassment
The cast of a production by Baltimore’s Iron Crow Theatre has walked out following allegations of sexual harassment against its artistic director. Thirteen members of the cast of Iron Crow’s forthcoming production of Terrence McNally’s “Corpus Christi” issued a statement posted to Facebook Saturday. “We … as a group decided to suspend our production,” it read in part. The cast’s decision comes after Iron Crow, which bills itself as “Baltimore’s only queer theatre,” conducted an investigation into allegations against the theater and its artistic director, Sean Elias. “Our investigation was thorough and impartial,” the board said in a statement released Monday afternoon, “and concluded that the specific allegations of sexual harassment [made] by a former volunteer member of our organization did not occur.” But in a statement posted on Facebook March 26, the board said it had “found that additional steps to ensure professional behavior in our theater environment were necessary and appropriate.” The cast’s statement said they did not “wish to collectively comment on the Iron Crow controversy.” The statement acknowledged that cast members had different views on the matter.
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