The owner of the Bengies Drive-In will be in Baltimore County Circuit Court on Thursday, arguing that lights from a nearby Royal Farms Store interfere with his business and asking that county officials enforce what he believes is an earlier ruling designed to prevent that from happening. D. Edward Vogel, the owner of Maryland's last remaining outdoor theater, says lights from the Eastern Boulevard convenience store affect the view from his property. He says the county should order the store owners to erect a barrier that would keep the lights out, a requirement he says is mandated by a 2003 ruling allowing for construction of the store. "All the Bengies is hoping to do is force the county to cite them for being in violation of the order that gave them the right to put up the [store] in the first place," said T. Wray McCurdy, an attorney representing Vogel. "Every person that has come to the drive-in to talk to Vogel, or in my presence, acknowledges that it's a problem." County officials say the store's lights conform to code. "The county maintains there is no violation," said spokeswoman Ellen Kobler. Officials have made between five and 10 visits to the Bengies, she said, most recently on Tuesday.

- Chris Kaltenbach