Centers

The Police Department and the Greater Baltimore Committee kicked off a program yesterday that aims to provide corporate support for city youths and help stop juvenile crime.The program links businesses with Police Athletic League centers, which offer after-school education and activities for youths. The businesses will participate in PAL centers in various ways, including funding projects, holding classes, donating items and providing mentors."What we're hoping to do is foster continuous relationships," said Mindy Mintz, director of public safety policy at the GBC, which focuses on improving the business climate through civic leadership.

They are religious sanctuaries without steeples, stained glass or permanently placed symbols, "interfaith centers" shared by congregations of every stripe. They were a unique tenet of Columbia's planners, but after 25 years they're drawing decidedly mixed reviews.The Howard County planned community still has America's largest concentration of interfaith centers -- four serving 14 congregations -- but now congregations are sidestepping the social experiment in cross-religion sharing and tolerance.

Facing a $65 million shortfall in next year's budget, Mayor Sheila Dixon has warned she may have to cut back the hours or close some libraries and neighborhood recreational centers to balance the books. That's especially painful during an economic downturn, when demand for these services generally goes up as people seek less-expensive alternatives to ticketed cultural and sports events. If cuts become necessary, they should be part of an overall strategic plan to strengthen these institutions over the long term, not just respond to the current crisis.

The nation's largest chain of assisted-living facilities, including about 150 residences for people with Alzheimer's disease, has come under scrutiny in recent months by state regulators over the quality of care and safety conditions at some of its centers. Over the past year, regulators in at least five states have reported that centers operated by the company, the Alterra Healthcare Corp., have inadequate or untrained staffs, failed to give elderly residents needed drugs and nutritional supplements, or failed to protect their safety.

Thirteen Maryland elementary schools were awarded $4 million in state funding yesterday to set up early child care and education centers aimed at boosting school readiness among young children. The Judith P. Hoyer Centers - dubbed "Judy Centers" - aim to provide full-time services in such areas as prekindergarten, Head Start, parent involvement, family literacy and health care. They are named in honor of U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer's late wife, an early childhood specialist in the Prince George's County school system.

The Rouse Co. said yesterday that it has transferred majority ownership and operation of its Columbia community and village retail properties to a New York company that specializes in neighborhood shopping centers. The move is part of the Columbia-based company's strategy to focus on its regional malls and community development projects, including Columbia and Summerlin, Nev. Rouse said the centers would be transferred to a joint venture, K-R Columbia Properties LLC, with a majority stake held by an affiliate of New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Kimco Realty Corp.

Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier used some facts about inner-city life to spice up a sales pitch last night to Baltimore's corporate community for contributions to the Police Athletic League."

Baltimore police are taking over the day-to-day operations of 18 Police Athletic League recreation centers from a nonprofit organization that no longer can handle running the program, city officials said yesterday. Mayor Martin O'Malley and Police Commissioner Kevin P. Clark said residents will notice no changes in the centers, which are scattered throughout the city. "It's about the kids, and we're not going to close any centers," O'Malley said. The takeover from the nonprofit Police Athletic League Inc. is expected to begin soon.

Operators of Howard's 69 day-care centers, most of whom turn away children in diapers, say they may have to roll up their sleeves and start changing to compete with eight new centers that have nearly saturated the market in the county.In the year that ended April 30, newcenters and expansions added 606 day-care slots in Howard County to make room for a total of 3,443 children, according to the state ChildCare Administration.Until now, many parents had to struggle to place a child in one of the relatively few day-care slots.

The city Police Department is reaching out to local businesses, hoping to forge partnerships that will enrich its growing Police Athletic League centers with corporate volunteers.The goal is to pair each of the 27 PAL centers with a business that will offer children teachers, mentors and supplies. Fifteen businesses have signed on to the program.It is similar to a partnership established between the Greater Baltimore Committee -- a group of top business leaders -- and city schools, which brings volunteers into the learning institutions daily.