Republicans foresee bright future in light of Ehrlich's victory
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s election as governor opens a new world for Republicans in Howard County in the county's relations with Annapolis, and as local politicians contemplate their futures.
"What it means is that we have a true two-party system now, throughout Maryland and in Howard County," said former Senate Minority Leader Martin G. Madden, who resigned his seat in January but helped with Ehrlich's campaign. "All those benefits that accrued to Democrats in the past will accrue to Republicans" - starting with control of all state boards and commissions, including Howard's election board, he said.
Suddenly, Howard's Republican leaders are insiders, and, as the financial pain of solving the state's budget deficit is apportioned, that could help.
Development brings jams, accidents to rural roads
Slightly west of Columbia, the University of Maryland research farm marks the start of rural western Howard County, with its rolling fields, herds of cattle, tall white silos and narrow, two-lane roads.
And traffic jams.
Cars backed up 20 deep are as much a part of the scenery during rush hours as crops and cows at a small crossroads near the farm where Homewood Road meets Sheppard Lane and Folly Quarter Road.
Throughout the Baltimore region, a combination of sprawling development and overflow from crowded interstates has turned narrow, winding byways such as Folly Quarter into traffic tangles, causing delays and a rising tide of serious accidents.
Columbia man one of two charged in fatal stabbing
Prince George's County police charged two men - one from Howard County - with murder Tuesday in the fatal stabbing of a University of Maryland sophomore in the early hours of Nov. 10 at an off-campus party crashed by a group of nonstudents.
Charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing of 20-year-old Brandon James Malstrom were John Ryan Schlamp, 24, of the 8500 block of Winter Pasture Way in Columbia's Long Reach village and Quan Lewayne Davis, 23, of Hanover, police said.
Both were being held without bond.
Prosecutors drop charges against teen held in killing
Prosecutors dropped all charges Tuesday against one of three men accused in the shooting death of a Columbia computer student in the winter.
There is "insufficient evidence" to take the murder case against Robert Lee Burgess, 18, to trial in February, Deputy State's Attorney I. Matthew Campbell said. The cases against Burgess' cousins, Tavon Donya Sands and Jonas L. Askins, will proceed, he said. He would not elaborate on the decision to drop murder, armed-robbery and related charges against Burgess.
Burgess, who has been jailed on no-bond status since May, had been accused of participating - with Sands, 21, and Askins, 18 - in a botched robbery that left DeShawn Anthony Wallace, 23, dead on a parking lot in the 5800 block of Stevens Forest Road on Jan. 25.
Architect defends plans for expansion of church
The architect who prepared plans for a substantially expanded church in the tiny village of Savage said the scale of the building is necessary to accommodate needed additional classroom and office space.
The defense of the planned renovations at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church came in testimony Tuesday before the Howard County Board of Appeals.
Neighbors of the church have challenged a hearing examiner's approval of the expansion with an appeal to the board, saying the enlarged structure would overwhelm the small homes nearby.
School official decries action on contract, closed meetings
Despite one member's objections and charges of breaking the law, the Howard County school board passed a resolution Thursday night stating its intention either to renew the school superintendent's contract when it expires, or pay him one year's salary - $190,800.
"There is no doubt in my mind this [resolution] introduced at the superintendent's request is an effort to circumvent the meaning and intention of our current law," said board member Virginia W. Charles.
On Wednesday, Charles accused the board of violating the Maryland Open Meetings Law by acting on the resolution in sessions closed to the public and of breaking another state law that says superintendents' contracts cannot be renewed before Feb. 1 of the year they expire. Superintendent John R. O'Rourke's contract will not be eligible for renewal until 2004.
This action was not technically a renewal, however, said board general counsel Mark Blom. It is an "intention to renew," with a hefty price if the board does not.
HCC luncheon highlights significance of scholarships
In 1994, a diagnosis of Crohn's disease forced Carla Pickett to leave Morgan State University, where she was an honors student planning to become a doctor. Five years later, she felt better, but juggling being a single parent and returning to school was difficult.
For her, scholarships at Howard Community College that paid much of her tuition, and about $800 for books, day care and other expenses, went a long way toward enabling her to concentrate on school and pursue a career in nursing. "This is still giving me the chance to reach my goals," Pickett said.
Stories such as Pickett's, told at a Howard Community College luncheon Thursday, were intended by the college to show donors and students that a scholarship is more than money.