consumers

DWM Roofing wins customer service award Woodbine Certain Teed

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman says his first year in the top local elected office fulfilled a long-held dream.

It was a typical winter morning on the Twitter feed of Eastern Shore television station WBOC: a stream of messages about snowfall and a reminder to download the station's weather app for the latest updates.

With volatility in the stock market shaking up investors, Jonathan Murray, a financial adviser at Hunt Valley-based UBS Financial Services, says people should keep a long-term outlook and accept such corrections as normal.

Philip Gottwals, of Columbia, and Tim Hosking, of Baltimore, aren't stockbrokers, but through their locally sourced grocery business Friends & Farms, the duo have carved out their own small place as the honest broker in what they describe as a rapidly devolving food distribution chain.

Maryland might be a relatively pricey place to live, but the average resident can afford it — and then some. That's what a first-ever breakdown of consumer spending by state suggests.

Comptroller Peter Franchot said the state's annual tax-free shopping week, which starts Sunday, gives a boost to consumers and Maryland retailers at the height of the back-to-school season.

Prospects for Uber and other ride-sharing services in Maryland remain uncertain after the Public Service Commission's decision to treat them as common carriers

The proposed new Havre de Grace High and Middle School advanced another step earlier this week after the Harford County Board of Education approved the basic educational specifications for the 240,000 square foot complex, to be built adjacent to the existing middle school off Lewis Lane.

A decision last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, upholding federal regulations requiring that meat labels state where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered, is a win for consumers, public health and American meat producers.

Co-pays, refurbished replacement and being placed on hold

Emmy Dallam of the Bel Air area was named Miss Harford County Farm Bureau for 2014 Thursday evening at the Harford County Farm Fair.

Casual political observers often focus on Africa's natural resources, mineral wealth and conflicts as a strategic concern, but Africa is a massive and rapidly growing consumer market that is more fully appreciated by strategic investors with each passing day.

Three Maryland agencies participated in the annual survey by the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators. The survey compiled the top, worst and fastest-growting complaints.

Lawmaker says he plans to return to private life

Washington should support economic growth and reduce student loan debt

This month, Maryland banned high-proof liquors like Everclear and other inexpensive tipples. Self-proclaimed public health activists claimed such "high octane" liquors increased the likelihood of binge-drinking and sexual assaults on college campuses. While the merits of the ban are debatable, one aspect of it is not: the use of taxpayer money to support a political agenda.

Howard County is staking out nutrition as an arena of government involvement to an unusual degree.

An $8.5 billion merger of dollar stores to create North America's biggest discount chain could mean stiff competition for mass discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. but less choice and higher prices for shoppers.

Groups offer tips to prevent sickness from produce during Farmers Market Week

Under Armour's second-quarter profit remained unchanged, meeting analysts' expectations, while sales soared 34 percent, the Baltimore-based sports brand said Thursday.

Congress could clean up any ambiguity about Affordable Care Act subsidies in an afternoon if Republicans put their constituents' interest ahead of politics.

Plant protein is a better alternative to seafood

Mainstream supermarkets are starting to look a lot more like organic grocers. Brands such as Whole Foods Market have built a following with their all-natural offerings. But in the race to win over consumers concerned about health and the environment, traditional grocers such as Safeway are increasingly touting sustainable seafood and expanded natural product lines.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has launched a college sports network that will be broadcast on Sinclair-owned television stations, the Hunt Valley-based broadcaster said Thursday.

Sen. Delores Kelley's opinion

Students saddled with debt from fraudulent for-profit schools should have a way to challenge the situation in court.

Maryland hasn't had a new power plant of any significance built in over a decade — one reason it imports more electricity than almost any other state, racking up extra charges for consumers. But now new plants are coming.

Energy-saving incentives

Late registration renewal notices from Motor Vehicle Administration may be a minor inconvenience — or one more sign of government indifference

Restrictions on sales of unhealthy food and drink at county-sponsored events are necessary to promote good health

Maryland officials are poised again to review their Medicaid rolls for those who no longer qualify.

For the second time in a decade, federal officials say the historic former Fort Howard Veterans Administration Medical Center campus in Eastern Baltimore County will become a national model for housing former service members and their families.

Baltimore startup Bitsie is seeking to boost uptake of digital currency bitcoin, beyond local businesses like bar Bad Decisions.

Analysts are projecting the most expensive July 4th holiday weekend for motorists since 2008, attributing much of the rise to a surge of violence in Iraq. Gas in Maryland Monday averaged $3.69 per gallon, three cents more than the national average of $3.66, according to AAA, which tracks transactions throughout the state.

Harford County farmers are taking steps to protect the environment while running a healthy, thriving farm.

McCormick & Co. saw its profit jump nearly 8 percent in the second quarter amid higher sales to both consumers and food service companies, the Sparks-based spice maker said Thursday.

According to a new study of the top U.S. seafood imports, an estimated 20 to 32 percent of the wild-caught seafood crossing our borders was found to have originated from illegal sources. Other recent research has have found that up to 33 percent of seafood samples tested in the U.S. were mislabeled, substituting one species of fish for another. The inability to distinguish between legally and illegally caught fish undermines progress being made both in the U.S. and abroad, puts law-abiding

Bill Kennedy: Be wary of bogus emails from scammers

Vernon J. Jones, a former mechanic and auto salesman who established the Jones Junction Auto Group in Harford County, died Monday of complications from Parkinson's disease at his Bel Air home. He was 88.

Smart meters are a scam

The revelation that a former Catonsville doctor accused of an alleged sexual assault previously went to prison for rape has lit a fire under lawmakers and regulators who plan to ensure the state screens physicians it licenses, a measure that has failed and been ignored in recent years.

The proposed deal between Comcast and Time Warner could keep the companies from going the way of Blockbuster.