Baltimore County

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

Norovirus was likely the culprit that sickened 200 students and nine staff members at Pot Spring Elementary in Timonium last week, Baltimore County health officials have found. About a third of the school's students were absent May 17 because of gastrointestinal symptoms, prompting a health department investigation. Preliminary lab tests performed by the county health department showed that norovirus was probably behind the symptoms, according to a letter the school's principal sent to parents this week.

Bob Baffert strode into the Preakness stakes barn Friday morning, shouting toward Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey loud enough so all could hear. "OK, Shug, I'm here to take away that media spotlight for you," he said. Baffert, indeed, is one of the few people in the sport who could have swiped some of the attention from McGaughey and his heavily favored colt this week . Baffert has won the Preakness five times, and on three occasions he's moved on to Belmont with a chance at the Triple Crown.

This schedule will be in effect Monday: Government offices, courts and libraries Closed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Frederick counties, and in Baltimore City and Annapolis. Public schools Closed in all jurisdictions. Trash No pickup in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, and in Baltimore City (landfills and transfer stations closed) and Annapolis. Arundel County and Harford County waste management centers are closed.

Two guns and cash were stolen in a weekend burglary at the Reisterstown home of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Baltimore County police confirmed. Police said surveillance video showed that a man entered through a rear window at Rice's home in the northwestern Baltimore suburbs and made off with two guns and $2,000 in cash after ransacking the home. Cpl. Cathleen Batton, a police spokeswoman, said the break-in occurred some time between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and was reported to police about 1:20 a.m. Rice was not home at the time, Batton said.

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

Baltimore County residents: Feel free to get nosy about your neighbors' property taxes. A new online database from The Baltimore Sun allows users to find the assessed value and the amount of tax paid for any Baltimore County home or commercial property . The database contains numbers from the tax year that ended June 30, 2012, and gives users multiple search options. In addition to looking up a property by address, users can search by the property owner's name, the assessed value, the tax amount or the credit amount.

Orb's path to the finish line in the second leg of the Triple Crown remains uncrowded. Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, dropped from contention for Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness on Sunday. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Rick Porter decided to stick with their original plan and point the horse toward prestigous races for 3-year-olds later in the summer. That leaves Orb, the colt co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III and Ogden Mills "Dinny" Pipps' stable, with only seven confirmed challengers at this point.

You take your good news where you get it and here's mine: the Preakness sent Kegasus packing. You remember Kegasus. Sleaze-ball centaur with the biker haircut and beer gut? Budweiser-swilling centerpiece of the Infield Fest ad campaign the past two years? Gone. Got the proverbial pink-slip. You won't see him Saturday for the 138th Preakness Stakes. "He went back to the islands and I haven't seen him since," Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas joked the other day. Good thing.

A 48-year-old Dundalk man was sentenced to 40 years in prison yesterday for committing sex acts with a 13-year-old boy whom he enticed with gifts, food and alcohol. Robert Paul Layton, 48, is to serve his sentence concurrently with a 25-year sentence handed down Thursday by a federal judge for sex offenses that he committed against two other teenage boys, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Dana M. Levitz said. Levitz said that he sentenced Layton, a registered sexual offender, to the maximum prison time not only to punish him but to prevent him from having future contact with boys.

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY: Stevenson University's Relay for Life Committee, comprised of 26 students, celebrates a tremendous turn out for this year's event to support the American Cancer Society. The following THREE students were granted an achievement for participating in community service at Stevenson University: Elaina LoPresti of Kingsville, Stephen Nyitrai of Bel Air and Benjamin Tucker of Aberdeen. THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI: The following local residents recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines: Nichole Schulz of Stewartstown, Pa., at Elon University, Brittinay Nicolette of Fallston at Lynchburg College; Trevor Hirsch of Bel Air at Salisbury University; Faith Reilly of Bel Air at Salisbury University; Bethany-Kate McBee of Fallston at Salisbury University; Danika Nolan of Forest Hill at Salisbury University; Carlee Loeser of Jarrettsville at Salisbury University; Jeannine Mason of Bel Air at University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Tylynn Pettrey of Joppa at University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Matthew Morkosky of Joppa at University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Candice Mitchell of Belcamp at University of Maryland University College; Vincent Tucciarella of Forest Hill at University of Maryland University College; Katherine Garnet of Parkville at University of Maryland University College; and Carrie Rizer of Bel Air at University...

Five traffic incidents, including two in Baltimore County, prompted road closures during Friday morning's commute, according to the state Department of Transportation. A single-vehicle crash in Baltimore County on the outer loop of Interstate 695 at the Northwest Expressway exit closed the left outer loop shoulder at 8:43 a.m., DOT said. Also in Baltimore County, a four-vehicle collision on Interstate 95 South at the 63.9 mile marker has closed one of two southbound traffic shoulders at 8:34 a.m., DOT said.

Lewis E. Porter, a retired civil engineer who during his more than four-decade career designed roads and highways for the Baltimore County Department of Public Works, died May 18 from mesothelioma at his Wiltondale home. He was 75. The son of an accountant and an artist, Lewis Emil Porter was born in Baltimore and raised in Howard Park. After graduating from the Polytechnic Institute in 1955, he served in the Army. Mr. Porter earned a degree in civil engineering in 1964 from the Johns Hopkins University and worked as a surveyor for Sutcliff Surveying Co. In 1967, he began his career with the Baltimore County Department of Public Works, where he designed roads and highways until retiring in 2000.

Two early morning incidents in Baltimore County on Friday sent victims to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the county police. Baltimore County Police Corporal John Wachter said that at 1:53 a.m., officers responded to Excape Night Club on the 10000 block of Pulaski Highway in Middle River after receiving a report of a stabbing. Police discovered a man suffering from multiple stab wounds. The man was taken to an area hospital for injuries that Wachter said are not believed to be life-threatening.

Eileen M. Derry, a homemaker and hospital volunteer, died May 9 from complications of diabetes at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 79. The daughter of farmers, the former Eileen Mary Rothgaber was born in Baltimore and was raised on the family farm in Taneytown and on 25th Street. After graduating in 1953 from Eastern High School, she briefly studied nursing at the old Baltimore City Hospital. She married James Derry in 1953 and the couple later settled in White Marsh, where they raised their family.

A disabled vehicle in Baltimore County on Interstate 95 North prior to the MD 43 White Marsh Boulevard exit has closed the right northbound traffic lane at 8:47 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation. A disabled vehicle in Baltimore County on Interstate 95 North prior to the MD 43 White Marsh Boulevard exit has closed the right northbound traffic lane at 8:47 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation. Earlier incidents hampering traffic in Anne Arundel County have been cleared, DOT said.

The subject of closing costs is frequently raised in Mailbag inquiries -- how they are calculated, the major components, and whether they vary among Maryland's 24 subdivisions -- the City of Baltimore and the 23 counties.The best way to calculate closing costs is simply go to a lender, real estate agent or title company -- they are usually happy to do the math for a potential customer.In general, closing costs in Maryland are about 5 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price.Major components of the closing costs are the state and local transfer and recording costs, lender charges and about 13 months' escrow for real estate taxes.

Baltimore County police identified a 40-year old woman who was charged after brandishing what an officer believed to be a gun before he shot her multiple times in Pikesville early Saturday. Stephanie Kamlot threatened an officer with a metallic replica of a large-caliber semi-automatic handgun after he ordered her to drop it several times, causing him to shoot Kamlot, according to a police statement. Kamlot was shot in the upper body and taken to a city hospital for treatment, police said.

John Richard "Dick" Irwin, a tough, accurate veteran police reporter with a heart of gold whose signature Police Blotter became required reading for both crime aficionados and the just plain curious, died Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center of complications from diabetes. Mr. Irwin, whose career at the News-Post, News American, The Evening Sun and The Baltimore Sun spanned more than 40 years, was 76. "He had the mutual respect of the police. He was an honest man, and he didn't like when people tried to fudge things with him. He believed that the police had to be as transparent as possible, and he was right," said Bill Toohey, former Baltimore County police spokesman.

Traffic flowed toward the end of rush hour on Wednesday without unscheduled road closures as the state Department of Transportation reported no incidents at 9:12 a.m. It marked an unusually quiet morning for local roads, as many thoroughfares remained incident-free, including on such collision hot spots as Interstate 695 in Baltimore County. Morning long delays on the commuter bus service continued through 9:10 a.m., according to the Maryland Transit Administration.