Additional Benefits

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland's biggest welfare program supports dependent children. But a Baltimore County legislator thinks there should be limits on how many children the state should support.Del. Richard Rynd, a Pikesville Democrat, is pushing a bill that would deny, or at least limit, additional benefits to women who have additional children after they're on welfare.It would cut in half the extra payment mothers now receive under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program when they give birth to another child.

Citgo, the Venezuelan government's U.S.-based oil subsidiary, reversed course yesterday and said it will continue shipments of heating oil to poor families in the United States, including in Maryland. Former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, head of Citizens Energy, the Boston-based nonprofit that distributes the fuel, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez intervened directly. The announcement came two days after Kennedy said Citgo was suspending fuel assistance, with the company noting falling oil prices and the world economic crisis.

WHEN NORTH CARROLL High School decided to change to a "four mod" schedule that roughly halved the number of classes its students took each semester but doubled the length of each class period, the expectation in some quarters outside the school was that the experiment would fail.After two years, however, North Carroll's climate for learning has improved substantially. Student performance is up. Students are taking more challenging courses. And, the dropout rate has declined.The impetus for the change was the simple notion that by trading seven 45-minute periods for four 90-minute periods or "modules," students would get more attention and have more time to absorb the course work.

If your plants are losing their pep in the August heat, the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus coming to town next week has just the answer:Dung.Jumbo dung, in particular -- 15 tons of quality manure to make your ailing garden grow. And the fertilizer is free to anyone who findsa way to cart it off, says Chuck Werner, circus marketing director.The two-hour, three-ring circus coming to Harundale Mall Tuesday is offering area residents a huge supply of mineral-rich fertilizer, generated by the elephants and other beasts.

While Wall Street firms refused to take a chance on Brian Kroneberger when he was just a year out of college, Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. gave him a job. Now, 17 years later, Kroneberger is one of the Baltimore-rooted brokerage firm's star managers, overseeing $900 million in client assets under the Dyer Kroneberger Group in Hunt Valley. So when the 40-year-old Baltimore native learned yesterday that Ferris agreed to sell itself to Minneapolis-based RBC Dain Rauscher Inc., Kroneberger had mixed feelings.

The health care reform bill signed into law last week by the governor has been praised as one of the most important bills that passed during the 1993 session and rightfully so. The General Assembly took a giant step forward beyond previous reform efforts. All those involved in the passage of this bill; the General Assembly; especially Del. Casper Taylor and Sen. Thomas Patrick O'Reilly; the interest groups which worked to help rather than hinder the process; and Gov. William Donald Schaefer who kept the lines of communication open, deserve our thanks.

Applications are now being taken by Bowie Ambulatory Care, a non-profit group, to provide an alternative to nursing homes. Residents share a private home with three other senior citizens. Each resident has his or her own room. Nursing assistants provide 24-hour care. All meals are prepared to each resident's needs. Transportation and community activities are also available.Information: 464-0242 (Susan Masters).COURSE ON PAINTING MEETS ON THURSDAYSA free 10-week painting class for anyone 60 years or older will begin Thursday, Jan. 10, at Brooklyn Park Library, 1 E. Eleventh Ave.The class will meet each Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. Beginners through advanced students are encouraged to attend.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate, defying President Bush on an issue expected to reverberate in next year's elections, approved by a veto-proof 69-30 margin yesterday a $5.8 billion measure that would extend jobless benefits for as long as 20 more weeks for victims of the lingering recession.Thirteen Republicans joined 56 Democrats to pass the Senate bill. Only Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a certain supporter of the legislation, was absent.The House adopted a similar $6.3 billion bill last week by a 283-125vote, also more than the two-thirds majority required to override an anticipated presidential veto.

The waiting is the hardest part.At least one of the hardest parts of being unemployed."One of the biggest problems is just not knowing," said Kay Johnson, 46, of Winfield."

WASHINGTON -- White House officials say that most existing employer-provided health benefits would not be taxed as personal income under President Clinton's health care reform agenda.Health planners had considered imposing taxes on company health benefits that exceeded those specified under the proposed plan, a step certain to draw opposition from workers with generous benefits.Instead, additional benefits in place as of last Jan. 1 will be exempt from taxes -- provided the employer registers for the exemption with the Internal Revenue Service, Kevin Anderson, a White House health care spokesman, said yesterday.