Cell Phones

I question some of the assertions in a recent letter to the editor ("Ehrlich's talk of Obama's radicalism strains credulity," July 25). For example, the writer claims that "European social democracy" has provided "lower poverty" than found in the United States, but he fails to state what he means by "lower poverty. " Nor does he identify the source of his information. Is the "poverty" he mentions "absolute" or "relative" poverty? Did he take into account the fact that different countries measure poverty in different ways, or that standards of living vary from country to country?

Baltimore County residents can now sign up to receive emergency alerts from the county on their cell phones and through email, officials announced Monday. The county's emergency notification system provides information in emergency situations, such as severe weather, incidents involving hazardous materials, and utility outage notifications. The system, which has been operating since 2007, previously allowed the county to send alerts only to residents with Verizon or Comcast land lines.

Maryland's highest court has upheld a law allowing police to listen in on cell phone calls that suspects make outside the state, a tool that authorities say is key to fighting the drug trade. The 5-2 Court of Appeals ruling is a victory for law enforcement, said Brian Kleinbord, chief of criminal appeals division for the Maryland Attorney General's Office. "It means that drug dealers can't evade a wiretap by driving their cars across the state line. " But dissenters argued that multi-state wiretaps are the latest example of police using advances in technology to chip away at privacy rights.

The case before the Maryland Court of Appeals is straightforward. Detectives in Montgomery County got a warrant to intercept cell phone calls of a suspected drug dealer. They caught him in the act and made an arrest, finding marijuana in his suitcase. A jury convicted the man and he was sentenced to five years in prison. But he argued that the cops exceeded their authority. The telephone conversation the cops picked up was placed in Virginia, and was made to another man in another state.

West Belvedere Avenue 2500 block, between 9 and 9:30 a.m. April 26. Wallet with ID and cash stolen from Blue Point Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Man left wallet in sweatshirt pocket in his room while he went to bathroom and returned to find wallet missing. Croydon Road 100 block, between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m. Aril 23. Copper drainpipe stolen from outside of house. Derby Manor Drive 3800 block, between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. April 27. 40-inch Toshiba TV, Kindle Fire, 32-inch Vizio TV stolen from residence.

More than 600 cars brought unwanted household items and other recyclables to the second Clear Your Clutter Day held Saturday at Harford Community College. "We had an overwhelming response with 623 cars coming through," Nettie Owens, the owner of Sappari Solutions and the event's organizer, wrote in an e-mail thanking those who participated. The four-hour event was held in one of the HCC parking lots. "That does not include the many cars who got in line, waited an hour and decided to move on before actually coming through," Owens continued.

Weather radios have been the de facto means of weather emergency communication for decades, but the National Weather Service is bringing its warnings into the 21 st Century. Starting in May, the agency will begin texting tornado, flash flood and other warnings to wireless users in the affected county. There is no need to sign up for the alerts, but not all cell phones are capable of receiving them. The alerts will have special tones and vibrations that will be repeated twice, and they will display messages of up to 90 characters.

On the heels of a successful inaugural event last spring that drew nearly 200 cars, Sappari Solutions and Harford Community College are hosting a second Clear Your Clutter Day Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Clear Your Clutter Day offers Harford county residents a convenient opportunity to get rid of household clutter in an environmentally-responsible way and also provides attendees information on organizing, donating and other area...

I admit I was one of the skeptics when it comes to the NFL draft. When ESPN started televising it in 1980, I said: "Big guys in pricey suits walking across a stage - who's going to watch that?" Yep, I'm a regular visionary. A Nostradamus for our times. All that happened was that the draft turned into one of the biggest events on the sports calendar, as well as a TV ratings King Kong. But let's face it, whatever the NFL touches turns into ratings gold. Look at all the fans who tune in to the scouting combine in Indianapolis to watch beefy players do the vertical jump and three-cone drill.

Federal authorities said they have rescued a 15-year-old girl from being prostituted by a Washington man who had advertised her on the Backpage website and took her to College Park to meet a man. Melvin Longwood, age 31, was indicted on charges of transporting a minor for the purposes of prostitution. Authorities, working with the National center for Missing and Exploited Children, allege he used the girl between September and February. The investigation began with a report of a missing teenager from Virginia.