Baltimore County

Before sunrise Monday, Kevin and Shelley Taylor set out from their Millersville home to a new employment center for the Maryland Live! Casino, a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills mall seeking workers for 1,500 jobs. Having tracked the progress of what will be the state's largest casino, the Taylors believe the facility could provide opportunity for their five-member family. Though Kevin Taylor has a job, he wants a better-paying one. And Shelley Taylor has been out of work for several months.

Behind the nondescript storefront with its necessary neon window signs, Towson Best does indeed serve some of the best Cantonese food in the Towson/North Baltimore area. A group of young and unfailingly friendly owners and staff greet all who enter and set the tone for casual lunches and dinners that make you not only want to return for the food and but also to patronize a place run by such nice people. The room is divided by long planters. To your right is a tidy eight-stool sushi bar with its pristine fish and smiling chef, small booths and a few tables.

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

Patterson Mill fell one win short of a second straight trip to a state baseball final, losing 6-4 to Patuxent in the Class 2A semifinal Thursday at Shipley Field in College Park. The Huskies (19-5), who lost to St.Michaels, 4-0, in last season's championship game, led 4-1 before the Panthers rallied for four runs in the fifth. Patuxent had three doubles, a single and a pair of walks in the inning. In Saturday's 2A title game at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Patuxent will play Williamsport, which beat Loch Raven, 3-0, at 4 p.m. Boys lacrosse Carroll County 7, Baltimore County 4: Taylor Schmitz (South Carroll)

The Rev. Marion C. Bascom, a leading Baltimore civil rights activist remembered for his lifetime quest for social justice, died of a heart attack Thursday at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 87 and lived in Reservoir Hill. "A giant has fallen," said former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, a close friend and a member of Douglas Memorial Community Church, where Mr. Bascom was pastor for 46 years. "He affected thousands of lives in our community and was a positive life force.

After a seven-year delay, Randallstown residents cheered Monday over an announcement that a Walmart will open on Liberty Road next year. Officials and residents have long hoped that the store — a planned $9 million, 160,000-square-foot supercenter with groceries and a pharmacy — would revitalize the aging commercial corridor, encouraging other national retailers and restaurants to set up shop in the affluent, largely black community....

Who doesn't love a tree? Apparently, criminals. Researchers have found that leafier places in Baltimore tend to have lower crime rates than those with few or no trees. A new study looking across Baltimore City and Baltimore County has found that with few exceptions, the frequency of crimes reported in a particular block or neighborhood goes down as the tree cover gets thicker. Just a 10 percent increase in leaf canopy was associated with a 12 percent drop in crime, it concluded. The study, published online in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, supports arguments by advocates that environmental factors, and not just more police, can fight crime.

Kevin Plank can't help himself. The Under Armour CEO might know, in his heart of hearts, that his horse is a long shot against the world's finest 3-year-old thoroughbreds. His farm manager, Tom Mullikin, describes the dark bay colt as more "grinder" than star. But Plank's own rise, from blindly ambitious college kid to billionaire apparel mogul, is an underdog tale. So he can't help but play Joe Namath and talk big about his colt's chances in the 137th Preakness Stakes. "Tommy, did you guarantee on Tiger Walk?"

Idle hands are the devil's workshop. That's the premise of Project One Thousand, a volunteer program to find 1,000 summer jobs for Baltimore County high school students."

With cannon booms, a drum roll and the Navy at the ready, the state unveiled its plans Thursday to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, a series of events designed to showcase Maryland's role in the conflict. The Pride of Baltimore II, numerous Navy vessels, the Coast Guard's Eagle and at least 10 other tall ships, many from foreign shores, will berth at the Inner Harbor in June to launch the commemoration. Organizers expect about 1 million people to attend the weeklong event.

In less than five minutes, Tom Kiefaber said, he was left with nothing. "They've taken my home, my principal residence. They've taken my job," Kiefaber, the one-time owner and operator of Baltimore's storied Senator Theatre , lamented Thursday morning. He was standing feet from the steps of the Baltimore County courthouse, where minutes earlier his home and 8 acres on York Road in Sparks had been auctioned off. "My mission at this point is to retrieve my home from this corrupt nonsense," he said.

Since the weekend, Las Vegas has served as a sort of glitzy Maryland West -- with government and business leaders from the state attending the Global Retail Real Estate Convention in droves. With galas and events at casinos, the annual four-day conference of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which ended Wednesday, serves as the ultimate business-government networking event with more than 20,000 in attendance. Mayors and various county executives have been attending for years (former Mayor O'Malley's delegation spent $80,000 on the trip in 2002, for instance)

The Baltimore County Council unanimously approved Thursday the spending plan proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz for the coming fiscal year, a $1.65 billion operating budget that includes no furloughs, layoffs or tax increases. The lean budget, which goes into effect in July, relies heavily on savings from retirements, attrition and reorganizations in county agencies. The county will have 7 percent fewer employees than in the previous year. The council emphasized that local government would have less to work with as employees try to deliver the same level of services.

The owner of the financially ailing Sparrows Point steel plant is idling operations there, warning 1,975 workers Thursday that they would be laid off starting next month. The news, the latest casting doubt on the future of the Baltimore County facility, came as RG Steel is shopping the steel mill and its other assets to potential buyers. RG Steel informed the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations that layoffs would begin June 4 and continue through June 18. The state said the company would be laying off 1,714 hourly and 261 salaried workers, losses that would be a significant blow to the economy.

George and Demie Wilhelm, of Bel Air, announce the engagement of their daughter, Angela Denise Wilhelm, to Davis Nolan Linton, son of Tom and Michele Linton, of Pylesville. Wilhelm is a 2004 graduate of Bel Air High School and a 2008 graduate of Towson University with a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education. She is a kindergarten teacher in Baltimore County. Linton is a 2002 graduate of C. Milton Wright High School of Bel Air and a 2006 graduate of West Virginia University with a bachelor of science degree in multidisciplinary studies.

A 24-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Wednesday for a Christmas-Day carjacking, the Maryland U.S. attorney's office announced. Tyrone Royster and an accomplice were on the 3300 block of West Coldspring Lane on Dec. 25, 2010, when a man pulled over to give them a ride, according to court documents. One of them pressed something against the driver's neck and demanded money. When the victim tried to take off his jacket to access his cash, Royster told the conspirator to shoot.

It began with a $15 bike and ended with three gold rings for $45 -- and in between, yesterday's Baltimore County Police Department auction had bounty aplenty for bargain hunters.Car radios, tools, coolers, coats, clothes, lawn mowers, lamps, curtains, tires, tureens, lawn chairs, televisions, suitcases, fishing rods, fans, bedding, backpacks and even illuminated plastic statues of Joseph and Mary -- the dusty, diverse inventory from the police property department was a discount shopper's dream.

Bus contractor ends operations in Baltimore area TOWSON -- As many as 30 schools in Baltimore County were affected by a delay in school bus service yesterday after a local transportation contractor announced that it would shut down its Baltimore operations. Laidlaw Inc. told employees Monday that it would end its operations based in Baltimore. Five or six drivers employed by Laidlaw did not report for work with the schools yesterday. Other drivers had to cover those routes, mostly in the southwest county, and they will do so until the school year ends Friday, said Rita Fromm, schools transportation director.

Either County Councilman David Marks and county Chief of Staff Don Mohler are untruthful or they are sadly misinformed about the Baltimore County budget ("Balto. Co. Council poised to adopt 'bare-bones budget,'" May 17). The county is laying off the entire staff of the Medicaid Waiver Program. This is a program committed to keeping the elderly who qualify for nursing home care in their own homes or those of relatives. Instead of retaining the current staff, the case management responsibilities will be farmed out to temp agencies.

Stephanie Posey and Ryan Dougherty were joined in marriage on Feb. 11, at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, in Baltimore. The Rev. Martin H. Demek celebrated the nuptial Mass. The bride is the daughter of J. Steven and Debra Posey, of La Plata. The groom is son of Thomas and Robin Dougherty, of Parkville. Presented in marriage by her father, the bride was attended by her close friend, Cara Myers, matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Brianna Twait, Caitlin Dougherty, Amy Ziegler, Jessica Watts, Taryn Igoe, Megan Loewe, and Stephanie Cox. Best men were Kevin Stern and James Hardesty.