A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: Vigil for rapper Lor Scoota ends with 3 arrests during standoff with police
"Three people were arrested for disorderly conduct Monday night after police closed several blocks and commanded a crowd of hundreds to disperse during a gathering to remember slain Baltimore rapper Lor Scoota.
"Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the West Baltimore vigil was peaceful until a small number of people antagonized officers.
"'There came a time when a few agitators decided to throw bricks and bottles at police officers,' Davis said. 'That's not going to happen in Baltimore.'
"The vigil began about 5 p.m. and by 8 p.m. the crowd had swelled and spilled into Pennsylvania Avenue.
"Then two dozen police cars and vans arrived and filled the street. Police ordered the crowd to disperse. The people ignored their commands. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., more than 40 officers formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, across Pennsylvania Avenue. That began a standoff of more than two hours: officers slowly advancing, the crowd taunting and backing up.
"It ended peacefully about 11 p.m. No one was injured.
"'We got through tonight in the best of possible ways,' Davis said.
"During the standoff, some men confronted the police line and shouted taunts at officers. One man danced. Some officers wore helmets and armor.
"'This is uncalled for,' said Aaron Sims, 24, of the police response. 'It's crazy.'
"Kesharna Horne, who said she was a friend of Lor Scoota's, urged people to go home. 'Let's go, ya'll. You are disrespecting Scoota,' she said.
"Tyriece Watson, known as Lor Scoota, was shot in his car on Moravia Road in Northeast Baltimore about 7 p.m. Saturday. He had just left a peace rally at Morgan State University.
"The killing of the 23-year-old musician shocked fans and prompted gatherings in the city on Sunday, and online eulogies from rapper Meek Mill, NBA player Will Barton and others."
From the Baltimore Sun: State, Harford health officials stress prevention as key to stopping Zika virus
"With more than 800 cases of the Zika virus diagnosed in the U.S. – 26 of them in Maryland – Harford County and state health officials want residents to have as much information possible about the mosquito-borne disease and how to prevent it.
"The mosquitos that transmit the virus are found throughout Maryland, a state health official warned.
"'It's so important for us to get accurate information, to disseminate correct information to the public, find out what you can do to prevent Zika,' Harford County Health Officer Susan Kelly said during a town hall meeting held Monday afternoon in the County Council chambers in Bel Air.
"Nearly 100 people, including Harford County employees, representatives of emergency services and the school system, as well as concerned citizens, attended the 90-minute forum.
"Zika, which is known for causing birth defects, has been spreading through South America, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, American territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands, and now the continental U.S., since the current outbreak started in Brazil in late 2015.
"It can be spread either when a mosquito carrying the virus bites a human, or it can be transmitted sexually from one person to another.
"People heard from Kelly, as well as David Reiher, supervisor of rabies and vector control for the health department, Tony DeWitt, an agricultural inspector with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, who is in charge of mosquito control for Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties, and Dr. Howard Haft, deputy secretary for public health in the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
"'It is my absolute pleasure to be here and help engage and inform you about this very unique disorder,' said Haft, who has been visiting other parts of the state to educate the public about Zika."
From the AFRO: Baltimore hosts fifth national summit on preventing youth violence
“'A Hopeful Future: Sustaining Our Work to End Youth Violence,' is the theme for the Fifth National Summit on Youth Violence Prevention which is being held in Baltimore, Md. from June 27 through June 29 at the downtown Hilton hotel. The summit is presented by the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.
"The 2016 Summit assembles grantees from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Youth Violence Prevention initiatives: the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, the Defending Childhood Initiative, and the Community-Based Violence Prevention (CBVP) program.
"Additionally, representatives from the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Initiative will attend, including Cabinet Secretary/Chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Broderick Johnson from Baltimore.
"The goal of the summit is to collectively define and further develop crosscutting strategies to sustain the work of the current Administration, the initiatives, state and local governments, community partners, and academicians beyond the federal funding cycle.
"The three-day event is filled with lectures, panel discussions, seminars, workshops, networking events and even a full screening of the documentary Paper Tigers. Other notable speakers and panelists attending are U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, former Philadelphia Mayor and Columbia University Professor Michael A. Nutter, and Executive Director of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Michael D. Smith."