Local faith leaders call for immigration reform

Several Baltimore-area faith leaders speaking at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday called for immigration reform, a month after Congress introduced legislation addressing the topic. The Rev. Joe Muth of St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church on Loch Raven Boulevard said he opened an immigration center at his church 10 years ago. He said the center guides people through the legalization procedure and would like to see the federal government adopt a model that would expedite the naturalization process. The Northeast Baltimore parish includes many immigrants from Africa and the West Indies. "There needs to be laws that have humane treatment for immigrants," Muth said.

- Brent Jones

Howard County receives 8 hybrid buses for fleet

Howard County has received eight hybrid buses for its 28-vehicle paratransit fleet, enabling the replacement of 10-year-old vehicles that have about 300,000 miles on them - double their expected life span and mileage. Howard Transit uses the vehicles to provide by-appointment transportation for handicapped residents. The new hybrid vehicles cost $200,000 each, with three paid for with federal stimulus money and three more with county funds. The other two vehicles were paid for with 80 percent federal money and 10 percent each from the state and the county. Customization was done by Colonial Equipment Co. in Monrovia. Each bus can hold 16 passengers plus two wheelchairs, and gets 50 percent better gas mileage than the diesel buses they replace, said Liz Palm, a Colonial spokeswoman. Nine more hybrids are on order for Howard Transit.

- Larry Carson