A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: Catherine Pugh Raises More Money Than Sheila Dixon in Baltimore Mayor’s Race
"Baltimore mayoral candidate state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh has more than twice as much campaign money on hand for her mayoral campaign as frontrunner Sheila Dixon — a total she says makes her a serious challenger to the former mayor.
"'Absolutely, I think we're within striking distance,' Pugh said as campaign finance reports were filed Wednesday. 'Our message is resonating: The city needs someone with honesty, integrity and experience. I know we can win this race.'
"With three months to go before the Democratic primary, Pugh reported $664,000 available to spend. Dixon reported $320,000.
"Businessman David L. Warnock, who has been lagging in early polls, has $927,000, after lending his campaign nearly $1 million.
"Lawyer Elizabeth Embry had $393,000 on hand. City Councilman Nick J. Mosby reported $203,000 on hand. Councilman Carl Stokes reported $155,000.
"The Dixon campaign said the former mayor had received hundreds of small donations from supporters."
From the Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Police to Upgrade Cellphone Tracking Equipment
"Baltimore officials agreed Wednesday to spend $30,000 to upgrade its controversial cellphone tracking technology.
"The Board of Estimates voted 3-2 without discussion to pay a Florida-based company to provide software upgrades and equipment repair to the technology commonly known by the trade name Stingray.
"City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Comptroller Joan M. Pratt voted against the purchase.
"Young has too many outstanding concerns about the controversial program, said Lester Davis, his spokesman. Privacy groups have raised concerns about the ability of law enforcement to track the location of cellphones and collect information about the calls.
'"Because we have not hit a point where the science is clear and some of the Fourth Amendment issues raised have been settled, [Young] was not 100 percent comfortable with moving forward,' Davis said."
From the AFRO American: Baltimore Homeless Shelter Holds Youths Close
"Danny 'Virgo' Jones lived homeless in Baltimore for nine years. Ever since he was eight years old, his family has been homeless. At 15, he struck out on his own and found a home at Loving Arms.
"'I had nowhere to go,' Jones, now 20, to the AFRO. 'My mom was dealing with some stuff with herself and it was hard for her to keep her own space so we would always be in and out of different spaces.
“'I got to Loving Arms and they took care of me. At first I was a little uncomfortable around a bunch of strangers, but somehow they pulled it off to make me feel so comfortable. Everybody was warm. I had structure,' said Jones.
"Loving Arms is a basic care, emergency shelter located in Windsor Hills for unaccompanied homeless, throwaway, and runaway youth. It was founded by Cindy Williams in 2009 and is the only federally-funded shelter in the state of Maryland that exclusively houses young people under 18 who are homeless.
"The shelter offers crisis intervention, life skills education, community services and prevention education for youth and adults, and individual and family counseling. Williams says the preferred outcome is family reunification, but the crippling effects of poverty on families and faulty public systems still at work, Williams contends, the portal of homelessness will continue to widen in Baltimore City."