Alarm Sales in the neighborhood.

Both Friday and Saturday, just past, saw the Medfield neighborhood inundated with crews of door-to-door alarm selling guys. Buz thought they were an alarm cult. They all wore fancy white Polo shirts with the words "Pinnacle Security" on them, though some shirts said other things, in addition, like "GE", leading you to believe that they were worked for General Electric.

Now, since Buz used to sell things door-to-door when he was in high school (a couple of years ago!), he has great compassion for people trying to sell stuff that way.

However, these folks raised all sorts of red flags in your consultant's poor pea brain.

After listening to the guy's good pitch a moment [punctuated by lovely pictures of a mom with babies], I was alerted to the fact that "free" had been mentioned several times. They would install an alarm system in-my house for free! Just for putting a sign in my yard! Huh!? Since when is anything that valuable free? He implied it was an offer only for the first three houses in the block or neighborhood (or something), so they could then use us to market to others.

When I asked for his card or brochure, I was bluntly told: we don't have any; we don't work like that. Oh. In other words, one must say yes or no right now. I said no. That was on Friday. {I think that counts as 3 red flags right there!}

On Saturday, another salesman came to the door, to proudly state that several of my neighbors had bought alarms "for free". When I derided this, ands asked him if he were working for free, he said well, the equipment is free. You just pay for the monitoring. Ok, how much is the monitoring. "About 30-something a month". "And you're a very smart guy for saying nothing is free".

Buz later learned that the wireless system installed "for free" for one of my neighbors was in return for a THREE YEAR MONITORING CONTRACT AT $46.99/MONTH! Buz does not think it is wise to lock yourself in that long a contract, nor does he think that price is competitive.

I wonder what others think, and what they pay for their alarms, and what happens if they have to end their contract.

Buz also learned thru searching that there is a site for rating alarm companies, alarmsystemsreview.com. He is unsure what to make of it at this time. But Pinnacle and several companies there had very negative reviews for hard sell tactics and poor service.

Let me know what you think!

Riot in Fells Point!?

I just got this email from a tourist to our town who was visiting from Rhode Island for the Red Sox series. I wonder if ppatin or any other readers out there have any knowledge of this event in Fells Point, and to what degree this is normal behavior on warm spring/summer weekends.

All thoughts welcome!
Here's what she sent: (As Dave Barry might say, I am not making this up)

"Thank you in advance for reading this Buzz.......man I have, I guess, a strange question for you. Found you on your website in my googling.

I am from Rhode Island. My boyfriend took me to Baltimore this past weekend to see the Red Sox play (awesome games I might add). we stayed at the Admiral Fell Inn at Fells Point. Neither of us had a clue about the high crime rate until we were immersed in it.

Something terrible happened right outside our hotel in the middle of the night - Sat 5/31 - Sun 6/1 - about 2AM.......on the corner of Thames and Broadway. I am totally perplexed because every attempt to find out exactly what happened has turned up nothing - getting obsessed here. I am wondering if it is because it was unsubstantial in the big crime scheme there, or if it is covered up, etc.

I have been to the Baltimore Sun, police blogs, etc - - NOTHING.

It involved MANY people (maybe 100??), SO MANY police - someone (or someoneS) were badly hurt - people there were horrified, even the people who were involved which seemed to be a crowd that was not immune to this type of violence. It as frightening - awakned to screaming and then yelling which lasted forever, it seemed......nearly a riot - at least 50 people fighting in the street (seperate small fights which the police didn't seem to be doing to much about, though their bilyclubs were out and ready throughout!)......went on for quite some time. Hotel guy the next morning just said it was a fight, maybe gangs, and that there was "a lot of blood'. then, nothing.

The problem is this - I am not seeking info out of morbid curiosity. But I need closure from it - it was all so surreal lthat night.....and then I came home on Sunday night and can barely sleep. I am panicky all of a sudden, obviously more traumatized by it than I thought. I never witnessed anything like it. My boyfriend was freaked also. We were actually worried they would try to overtake the hotel!!

How can somethng so awful be unreported to the public????

Can I have information related to it so i can close it out and put it to rest???"


Lisa in Little Rhody

"PS) wonderng if my instincts are on.........I was scared with goosebumps whenever we were on Pratt St.....just terrible vibes there. Am I making sense??"

Be careful who you hire!

Businesses in Baltimore are cautioned about hiring people who recently worked for the city. The word on the street now is that the "city will hire anyone". Buz knows that that has been true for a while, except for certain positions, such as police and fire. Recent incidents of employees of the city participating in misconduct while working have once again raised the issue of the degree of managerial oversight and discipline exercised over the city work force.

We agree that people in the city need jobs, but don't go abusing your job, violating the public trust, and join the group of people out of work because you can't control yourself. And then whining you can't find a job!

Some of these schemes make you ask the question: is anyone minding the store?

• One supervisor from Loch Raven reservoir used a city vehicle to assist in the robbery of a person in East Baltimore--while he was working. Good luck on getting your next job!
• A big scheme was going on at the city salt dome on Falls Road that had employees and the security guard involved in offloading stolen water onto private owned vehicles. Hope they all have lots of water to drink at their next jobs! Wonder which security company the guard worked for!?
• And apparently city-worker-criminals are still using city vehicles to go out and buy drugs.  The police recently arrested a worker from the city's yard at Pulaski Highway who was observed in a group buy-in. Hope he has luck finding his next job!

Funny, this stuff has been going on for years. When Buz worked in one of the city's districts, our drug squad often used an ex-city vehicle for surveillance and buys. Best cover ever! 

The city treats it, as councilman Jack Young says, "a health problem". And well it may be. The city usually gives them one chance in rehab, then fires them.

But if you're running a business for profit nowadays, you can't afford to do handholding. You have to look out for YOUR business. Let them get their treatment, but don't you take the risks.

So, if you are one of the nowadays few employers needing to hire new employees, some little tidbits of advice:

1. Do a criminal background check on all new hires. See if they were honest on their application. It's well worth the money. And you can get a lot of info on Baltimorons for free nowadays. Decide on a case by case basis. There are a few adults who want to change their lives and become good citizens and workers; look for evidence to support that.
2. Do a drug test before hire. Now, I don't know what you all think about marijuana use, but you should certainly consider that a lot of applicants are smoking weed in many cases. You have to weigh that in the totality of other factors with the applicant. I don't want to have any employee driving my vehicle or train, or on a ladder, though, who tests positive for mj. The general rule of thumb for any other illegal drugs: if they're actively using, they're probably not going to do a good job for you for very long (of course, there's always exceptions). And they're likely to steal from you to assist with their true love's cost, whether booze, coke, or heroin.
3. Do a driving record check, even if they say they don't drive. It's good if you don't find anything. If you find a record, you might be surprised what's there. (DWI's perhaps?!)
4. Ask: "Why did you leave your last job?" Have your BS detector activated. Remember, most government jobs are civil service; be especially cautious if the person left for reasons which seem odd before they retired.

Good luck! This list is not all-inclusive. Your hiring needs to be attuned to your industry and your workforce needs.

Get out of my face!

Buz read with interest Dan Rodricks column today on the travails of an idealistic young man who tried to teach in the Baltimore City Public Schools. To use a sports metaphor, their bench was deeper than his. It seems that the first order of business in teaching kids is "classroom management"--which Buz used to think was a B.S. course. I mean like kids will do kids stuff. But some of the things that column mentioned mirrored Buz's attempt to teach high school kids a couple of classes at Walbrook--allegedly a "magnet" school back then.  The class would not stop talking, or throwing things at each other.

Buz and an assistant could not control the classes for even 5 minutes: since what we had to say was not going to be on a test, and we were not their regular teachers, they were not interested. In the school, fights, running the halls, and fires were not uncommon.

The quote "get out of my face" says it all. Buz would never have dreamed to say it to one of my teachers in any of my schools. The kids who say that and throw things at the teacher and talk in class are actually preparing themselves for a life of the streets and the prisons. It's really sad: public education is there and available; a few misfits destroy it for all.

Perhaps the kids should have a smoking break so that they could smoke a couple of blunts and "relax": "it's hard out there".  I guess so if you don't even have a high school education or GED.

I'm puzzled why the teacher blames himself, as opposed to the parents, or even the kids themselves, or the schools system. He wants teachers paid $100K a year; that's a good idea. But it sounds as though we would be getting highly-paid prison wardens--at least in some schools.

The Sun recently had an op-ed columnist who reported that the drop-out rates in the city for the Teach for America and Resident Teacher programs were about 85% after  2 years in the system. An MSTA official recently told your consultant that the rate at which new teachers had their contracts not renewed (fired) was about 50% in the city.

The point of all this is that this is where crime begins: the kids learn that they can do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and no one tells them that there are consequences. "Get out of my face" works on the corner, or basketball court, or in jail with other inmates--maybe. Don't try telling that to your new boss, the inquiring cop, or to the judge.

Random, alternative, Iconoclastic thoughts on the Federal Hill brawl

Some thoughts on the "Federal Hill Melee"

• Buz has assisted a number of young professionals who are relocating to Baltimore. The vast majority of them immediately say that they want to live in either Federal Hill, Canton, or Fells Point. Nope, don't wanna look anywhere else! A couple even said they want to be near "the action". Translation: they want to be near lots of people just like themselves, and near lots of young people going to clubs and bars.
• Buz is leery of the "anything goes" atmosphere which accompanies bar-closing time around these bar-intensive areas. Reason: he spent many an early morning near 2am policing the Fells Point bar areas on Friday and Saturday nights (not to mention some other nights, too). If you go to that well often enough, bad things can happen.
• Now, there's nothing in Buz which praises or forgives stabbing people (and potentially almost killing them), but he is just pointing out that this is the nature of the beast. One has to be a tad judicious in living and frequenting these areas. And, in recent years, clubbing has only seemed to get worse and more risky in Baltimore.
• I read the shrill email account of the attack, (all those blanks and blanks and blanks made Buz's head hurt), and I did get the same sense that the police were holding to in the Sun report: there was a dispute. This is not to blame the victims, but there was a holier-than-thou/we are innocently attacked tone to the whole message.
•  A typical bar closing scene: WWWWhoooooooooooo;! Screaming at the top of your lungs in the middle of the street! (the mating cry of the Young Urban Professional male, who has imbibed past inhibition stage). Hollering, screaming, by the hundreds; peeing on steps; lots of fighting! It's wild! And it's Preakness night! The Infield continues!! Anything goes. Wooooooooooooo! Whoops, I just vomited on that lady's steps! F her! F the police.
• Newsflash to Young Urban Professionals: the old native Baltimorons don't like you taking over their neighborhoods--and some of them are nasty dirtballs. Don't you all know the neighborhoods after dark belong to the thugs? Are you trying to be better thugs than they are? Call them the Have-no-Blackberry crowd hating and resenting the Blackberry crowds. 
• Buz drove through Federal Hill late on weekend night not too long ago, and was amazed, though not surprised, about the huge crowds taking over the streets, and the yelling and playing in the street. In some posts on other forums Buz has read that people were upset about the lack of protection. For you or from you? Buz has talked to a number of homeowners and business people who want the imbibers protected from thugs, but also want themselves protected from the imbibers. It's hard to have it both ways.
• Buz was amazed that Detective Bailey, the lead investigator in the case, asked for any witnesses "who may have been sober" to contact him. Wow! I have never heard such a public statement about drinking witnesses from a police official before. I wonder if he was able to say it without a trace of sarcasm or irony in his voice.
• Police have not been able to find this MTA bus that was involved in the accident.
• Now, Buz was not there that night, nor has he read any of the police reports, nor has he talked to any of the victims. But he has spent many nights closing down bars--sometimes even off duty, as Buz likes a cool, refreshing, beverage every now and then. At other times, we were on duty and conducting crowd control. Buz has observed that the crowd is in a significantly different mood at 2am, and opposed, to say, 11pm. And significantly more mouthy. Buz sometimes told his shift at roll call, 1130pm before going on the street on Friday or Saturday nights: there's no point in arguing with drunks. Tell them no more than 3 times what you want them to do. If they still don't, there's no point in continuing discussion: either lock them up or walk away.
• "Sir, can you move along, there's been some trouble, here and we need you to go to your car" reply: "You can't tell me what to do! It's a free country! Woooooooooooooo!!"
• "Get out of the street!" reply: "you can't catch me!"
• "F this, F that"!
• My guess that the Southern District midnite shift was a little overwhelmed, and that their extra units had been detailed to the Preakness events and were not available. Or they could have just been busy with fights all over the place; it sounds like there were so many, even traffic couldn't get thru. Allegedly, even the nasties' car couldn't get through. Of course, police overtime might have been cut back--and there went the extra crowd control troops.
• When I was in Southeastern, we always did out best to have extra cops on hand after Preakness, 'cause a lot ot the party goers would come down to Fells Point afterward.
• And Buz is amused that the Young Urban Professionals believe that there is some kind of conspiratorial coverup going on because it wasn't reported. Newsflash: the reporters need days off too; crime happening late Saturday night into Sunday morning is often not reported. Especially on Preakness night. And there are fights and stabbings all over the city, including Fells Point, Canton, and, of course, Fed Hill. Most are not reported in the press.
• Buz is glad that Ms. Ashley Zion is now in a place where, if she likes to fight, there are probably a lot of other women there who can accommodate her. She so far has skated on all her previous assault arrests (several), probably because the complainants didn't show up. What set her and her friends off? Your consultant believes: she feels she was "disrespected" by the victims' group somehow (whether she was or not), she was probably legally drunk, she thought the yelling for her to stop was a form of snitching,  and betch, 2-1, she was coked up--a symptom of which in uncontrolled anger and hotheadedness. By the way, did anybody see that she has a judgment against her by her past bail bondsman: Big Girlz Bail Bonds. Well, maybe it's just as well she is on "no bail" for her current charges. And hoopefully with all those charges on her, she just might do a little snitching herself to save herself.

I know that most peojple who go to the bar/club scene are just out to have a good time, but sometimes it gets out of hand; part of the action.

So a couple of tips for safer barhopping in Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill and other party spots: [No tips available for Preakness infield; if you go, may God have mercy on your soul!]

• Not much good happens after midnight. The later you stay, the higher your risks.
• Try to leave to head for home at 1 am--no later. This policy will be your best bet.
• Know and expect that things will be wild between 1:30 and 2:30am; thus, don't expect police to be around or to protect you, or come quickly.
• Keep your mouth shut; unless a comment is absolutely friendly, don't say anything to baltimorons you don't know. Accidents, fights, other sorts of bullcrap: just ignore it and get out of the way.
• Try not to hang at places which cater to thugs. If you feel afraid at times, you don't belong there.
• Remember, many Baltimorons without Blackberrys also have little brains, but often carry weapons and a need for respect. To the extent possible, be nice to them: survive and prevent harm.

Security Tip of the Day

Buz recently went into a business in North Baltimore and saw the clerk, behind "bullet-resistant" glass counting a huge wad of money. Now, Buz is reasonably honest, and was not tempted. However, if I was a dirtball with evil intentions, I'd notice that the door in the biz leading to that lady was unlocked and in fact open when staff were going in and out. Now, the staff were all "tough guys", but if the temptation was great enough.............

So, retailers everywhere: don't have your staff count the day's receipts in plain view of the public. Ideally, the money should be counted in a locked room and safely prepared either for a bank deposit or placed in the safe til the morning. Don't give people ideas.

Along the same line, don't proudly parade your fancy, schmancy bank bag with the big zipper in front of God and everybody while you walk to the bank. Buz sees many people do this; you can probably do this for years, depending on your location, without anything happening. But why tempt fate?

For you non-business folks, don't carry a big wad for the same reasons. I know, it's too much moolah to carry around in your wallet, and you're tough, you played lacrosse and all, and you're big, and maybe there's a lot of 1's. Who knows? Don't show off your wad. I saw a guy in the Evergreen the other day with a wad of green stuff which would choke a horse. Buz's eyes lit up, but he wasn't tempted. Other people might be.

A Drive home at night thru Baltimore in Search of a Snack

Buz had finished up some work at a nonprofit in Northeast Baltimore and headed for home in Medfield, typically a 25-minute ride away. However, he had worked straight through the evening and had not had anything to eat. So, he wandered home in search of a place to grab a quick bite. However, the ever-present threat of crime snarled him and made him reflect on the extent to which crime in Baltimore affects our economic behavior.

And the extent to which our city is hyper-segregated, to a large degree, by race, class, socioeconomics, and perceived safety. (Not to mention real safety).

He first drove west on Belvedere Avenue and got to York Road. The closed Taste restaurant was on his right.  I speculate that one of the reasons Taste restaurant closed (besides its high prices) was its location: I've often noticed groups of young, tough-looking guys walking around the area in the night on my way home from the nonprofit. I just couldn't imagine people with a lot of money, parking their car in the area, and sitting outside by York Road, and peacefully eating without being worried a bit.

The consultant turned south on York Road and considered the Wendy in the heart of Govans; however, the area felt dark and threatening, and he felt out of place [scaredy cat!]. He then continued south through the crowded area of the 5400 block of York--just north of Woodbourne. No stopping here. He then looked at at he McDonald's and the Popeye's down by Winston Avenue. There were crowds lined up in both places, but it felt isolated and unsafe. Buz felt he would stand out too much to go in to either [fraidy cat!].

Still hungry, he turned west onto Coldspring and pulled up at the Royal Farm Store; it was well after 9pm, approaching 9:30. The staff took forever to get his order. Several big, tough-looking guys came in, one with his pants way down on his buttocks exposing most of the rear of his boxer shorts. They all gathered in the back of the store; Buz recalled that this store had been held up numerous times; he felt he had to pay quickly and get out of there before a holdup went down; he didn' t feel safe. 

Buz gulped his hot dogs down on his way home. He never used to be so chickenshit, but realized intuitively how much he stood out: white male, 50-something, with polo shirt and khakis: victim with money. Though Buz is 6 feet and 215 lbs., he doesn't feel able to fight off a determined fit robber or two, though, and wonders about this concealed carry stuff. Would he have stopped in the Wendy's if he was packin' heat?

Is ppatin really right? Buz has to believe that, though crime is "down" (from very high levels) the perception of crime is high and the perception of citizen safety is not very high. He has to believe that fast food restaurants and other businesses would do much better business if they felt safe for hungry guys like me. (And for hungry gals too).

The consultant notes that on this little typical drive home, he never saw a single police patrol of any kind. Many years ago, one of the officers who worked for me, and came from a background of many residences in a military family, remarked what a heavy police presence Baltimore had for such a large city. Sadly, that is  long gone: the cops are all "somewhere", "busy", or detailed to specialized units or our Vietnam-like crime areas.

I was wondering what others think.