social issues

Timothy T. Williams, an attorney and homeless advocate who established transitional living and recovery centers in city neighborhoods, died of a heart attack Dec. 8 at his Lutherville home. He was 64.

Students from Catonsville Middle School and Hillcrest Elementary School, along with students from Ilchester and Rockburn elementary schools in Howard County, donated supplies to the Maryland SPCA for the Presents for Pets toy drive.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her pick to run the city's fire department, Niles Ford, said Monday they hope to hire and promote more minorities and women — even as the department cuts positions.

But people with anosognosia, who tend to stop their treatment as soon as they leave the hospital, have been failed by deinstitutionalization. This is a particular problem in Maryland — one of five states where the law does not allow doctors to keep a patient under court-ordered commitment after release into the community.

Cuts in federal housing subsidies and rising rents threaten to leave thousands of state residents without a roof over their heads

The 2013 State of Housing in Black America report found that African-American homeownership dropped from 48 percent in 2007 to 43 percent today and foreclosure rates were higher among African Americans and Latinos. NAREB President Donnell Spivey said he is concerned that the recession has made many people in the African American community wary of homeownership, traditionally a safe investment and a route to the middle class.

Attacks on Phil Robertson are more troubling than anything he has said

Both Uganda and Nigeria passed legislation in the last week to strengthen already-on-the-books laws criminalizing gay sex.

This holiday season, Santa Claus Anonymous mailed roughly 15,000 gift certificates to families in Baltimore and nearby counties for parents to use to buy presents for their children. The charity is in its 79th year.

Choosing from a slate of three Democratic candidates who have all been friendly to its cause, Maryland's largest gay rights organization on Monday endorsed Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown for governor.

Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages held in other states on death certificates, a judge decided in a case sparked by an Ohio couple's Maryland wedding.

'Duck Dynasty' dust-up proves public taste seldom underestimated nor civil rights easily won

Online and in person, members of theCHIVE show giving spirits

Arbutus resident Daniel Simons, managing partner of Hubbard Funeral Home in Arbutus, along with his wife, Heather, perform many charitable acts for the community throughout the year, totaling nearly $30,000 a year. On Dec. 7, they gave Christmas trees away free to National Guard troops and their families.

Standing in a small park in downtown Bel Air Thursday afternoon, Central Christian Church Pastor Buddy Kaufman read off the names of the eight homeless Harford residents who died in the last year without adequate shelter.

Groups that meet regularly in Howard County

It turns out Maryland's New Year's nuptials were a fitting start to what has turned out to be a remarkable year in LGBT history -- perhaps the greatest year America's LGBT community has experienced.

Harford County's observance of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day will be held on Thursday, Dec. 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Frederick Ward Armory Park at 41 N. Main St. in Bel Air.

Police identified the woman who was killed when she was hit on the street by a Charm City Circulator bus near Johns Hopkins Hospital Tuesday as Stephanie Albright, 50, of Woodstock.

Anna's House and Early Head Start of Harford County, programs of Catholic Charities, are initiating a new collaborative relationship in the areas of fundraising and volunteer outreach in Harford County. This new partnership is designed to allow Anna's House and Early Head Start to deliver services more effectively and efficiently to families living in poverty.

After a four-year reprise, a 19th-century British law once again governs sexual relationships in India.

Md.'s ruinous welfare-state mentality

Groups meeting regularly in Howard County

Time magazine named Pope Francis its Person of the Year Wednesday, in part citing his comments on "homosexuality".

Delegation of venture capital people and quasi-Chinese government officials tour the Green House Residences at Stadium Place to see the Green House model for caring for the elderly. China has a an aging population and is behind the curve on caring for them.

A small group of Carroll citizens believe the county humane society is not doing enough to make these pets available for adoption.

Religious exemptions should never become a tool of discrimination. They should be narrowly tailored to reduce the burden on a person's free exercise of religion. They should not give license to some employers, under the guise of religious liberty, to treat LGBT people adversely in their jobs.

"Zig Zag Wanderer" a book of stories that respond to different pieces of music, is being given away for free

A memorial service is planned for Dec. 21 at Baltimore's Inner Harbor amphitheater to remember the homeless individuals who died over the last year.

Late South African leader set an inspirational example as a political leader and as a man with an astounding capacity to forgive

Tea Party recalls the Social Darwinists of an earlier era

Two LGBT activists were reportedly each fined about $120 for holding a banner reading "Gay propaganda does not exist. People do not become gay, people are born gay" while demonstrating near of a children's library in a coastal Russian city.

School officials were right to punish a campus fraternity for anti-gay discrimination

Focusing on the root causes of homelessness

Starting Jan. 13, all Baltimore County residents will be able to get their dogs and cats spayed or neutered at the county animal shelter, even if they adopted the pet elsewhere, officials announced this week.

Homelessness in Baltimore is tragic but not intractable.

A fraternity at Morgan State accused of discriminating against a pledge because he is gay has been placed on probation until 2015, university officials said Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood supports Md.'s efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act.

Columbia spends $5 million on a park while people live on the streets in Baltimore.

Stubbornly high poverty rates and increasing income inequality have turned upside down the long-held belief of education being a pathway to the middle class.

Raise the minimum wage in Maryland but not necessarily as high as Montgomery and Prince George's counties have chosen to do

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is looking for a handout, not a hand up for the city and its residents

Annual count shows thousands remain homeless; problems persist in programs

Though a minimum wage increase will not completely eliminate poverty, and $10.10 is well below what's needed to afford critical necessities such as housing, nearly 500,000 Marylanders would benefit from raising the minimum wage.

The Community Development Network, a coalition of nonprofits and government agencies, recently launched the Consider the Person campaign, which aims to end discrimination against housing voucher recipients.