Central Maryland

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will preside over a mass wedding of same-sex couples at this year's Baltimore Pride Celebration, with the event drawing interest from couples as far away as Atlanta, according to organizers. In November, Maryland became one of the first states to have same-sex marriage approved by voters in a referendum. "After doing so much work on this — on the ballot initiative — we thought, how do we really celebrate this?" said organizer Carrietta Hiers, who plans to marry her partner of nearly 13 years, Tonya Cook, at the ceremony.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will preside over a mass wedding of same-sex couples at this year's Baltimore Pride Celebration, with the event drawing interest from couples as far away as Atlanta, according to organizers. In November, Maryland became one of the first states to have same-sex marriage approved by voters in a referendum. "After doing so much work on this — on the ballot initiative — we thought, how do we really celebrate this?" said organizer Carrietta Hiers, who plans to marry her partner of nearly 13 years, Tonya Cook, at the ceremony.

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

R.E. Michel Co. Inc., a Glen Burnie-based distributor of heating and cooling supplies, was host to 21 plumbing and sanitary pipe distributors from Western Europe on Oct. 17.Mulligan/Griffin and Associates Inc., a land development company, and Mulligan/Griffin Property Managers Inc. are relocating to 15204 Omega Drive, Suite 100, in Rockville.Westland Printers Inc. in Burtonsville received a $3.19 million revenue bond from the Maryland Energy Financing Administration to install energy-saving equipment and make building improvements.

State officials were right last week to postpone approval of a Department of Juvenile Services contract to increase the capacity of the privately owned Silver Oak Academy juvenile residential treatment facility in Carroll County. The department wants to double the number of beds there, from 48 to 96, in order to reduce the backlog of youthful offenders awaiting treatment in overcrowded lockups. Getting more troubled young people out of detention centers and into treatment where they can receive the help they need is certainly a worthy goal.

Central Maryland's rate of homeownership, the proportion of households that are owner-occupied, was slightly lower in the fourth quarter of 2012 than during the same time a year earlier, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Just over 65 percent of occupied homes in Baltimore and six surrounding counties - Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne's - were owned by someone who lived there, the Census Bureau reported. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the homeownership rate in the region was 67.5 percent.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch across Central Maryland for Wednesday, warning of a risk of wildfire spread. With relative humidity down around 25 percent, gusty winds up to 30 mph and dry brush and twigs, the advisory is in effect from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening. "OPEN BURNING OF ANY TYPE IS CONSIDERED VERY HAZARDOUS THIS TIME OF  YEAR," an earlier special statement cautioned. "ACCIDENTAL ESCAPED DEBRIS BURNS ARE THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF  WILDFIRES.

Meals on Wheels launches Central Maryland Web site Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland recently launched a new Web site, www.mealsonwheelsmd.org. The Web site offers information on Meals on Wheels and resources available for the homebound, including how to obtain home-delivered meal service, daily client menus, volunteer applications and upcoming events. A page for Howard County is available. Information: 410-558-0932, Ext. 3025.

Mission: To educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, understand business and economics and be work-force ready. Junior Achievement hopes to develop a desire in young people to stay in school and appreciate lifelong learning and to develop positive attitudes toward work. Throughout the school year, Junior Achievement volunteers present hourlong economics-oriented lessons to students in grades kindergarten through 12. Latest accomplishment: Junior Achievement of Central Maryland received the Peak Performance Award from Junior Achievement Inc. for 79 percent program growth during the 1997-1998 school year and achieved the highest growth rate of Junior Achievement offices throughout the country.

Organizers of this year's Baltimore Pride celebration have chosen Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to serve as grand marshal in recognition of her support for the gay community. The GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland is hosting the annual parade and block party in Mount Vernon and the festival at Druid Hill Park - the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender gathering in the state - on June 15 and 16. "Mayor Rawlings-Blake's commitment to the LGBT community has been undoubtedly one of the best records in Maryland and for the City of Baltimore," the center said Tuesday in a statement.

Weather disasters including tornadoes, the derecho storm and Hurricane Sandy caused at least $48 million in property and crop damages in Maryland last year, the costliest since 2003, according to data released Thursday. Five people also died from extreme weather - high temperatures, for the most part - and 10 people were injured. The data do not include things like traffic deaths or electrocutions from downed power lines, considered to be indirectly caused by the weather, said Brenton MacAloney, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Silver Spring.

Teamwork is the special sauce of success in any organization. Without it, there would have been no Super Bowl parade for the Ravens on Pratt Street and no renewed buzz about the Orioles' building on last season's remarkable progress. At a broader level, teamwork improves lives and community conditions for all. At United Way of Central Maryland, our mantra is "Give. Advocate. Volunteer. " This week, we celebrate National Volunteer Week, and I ask everyone to join me in thanking the thousands of volunteers across our region who gave of their time last year to improve the lives of others.

"Cirque de la Cuisine" is the theme of the 21st Annual Culinary Extravaganza to benefit the clients of Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Grand Lodge Hunt Valley , 304 International Circle, Hunt Valley. Tickets are $150. For information call 443-573-0929 or go to mealsonwheelsmd.org . Jerry Edwards of Chef's Expressions Catering and Consulting will head up the slate of top chefs in the area who will be participating in the event including Nancy Longo (Pierpoint)

In the year since Exelon Corp. acquired Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group, the company has donated more than $300,000 to first-responders in the region. It is handing out thousands of free trees to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers. It is helping fund energy-efficient homes for low-income residents. That's much like the year before the merger, nonprofits say. "They're carrying out their volunteer commitments at a very high level," said Elise Lee, chief development officer for United Way of Central Maryland.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch across Central Maryland for Wednesday, warning of a risk of wildfire spread. With relative humidity down around 25 percent, gusty winds up to 30 mph and dry brush and twigs, the advisory is in effect from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening. "OPEN BURNING OF ANY TYPE IS CONSIDERED VERY HAZARDOUS THIS TIME OF  YEAR," an earlier special statement cautioned. "ACCIDENTAL ESCAPED DEBRIS BURNS ARE THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF  WILDFIRES.

I got hooked on hunting crows with a rifle when I lived in Uniontown. Central Maryland is smack in the middle of one of the nation's largest crow flyways.Back in the 1940s and 1950s, during the height of crow hunting popularity, New Windsor, Uniontown, Taneytown and Silver Run were hotbeds of crow-hunting activity. Crows were gunned by the thousands and town shoots were common.This was shotgun hunting that closely resembled waterfowling tactics. Hunters used blinds, decoys and calls to lure the crows into range.

The holidays have brought few on-court gifts for Francis Scott Key's girls varsity basketball team. Because of Monday's bad weather, the struggling Eagles have practiced just once in the last week, and in yesterday's first-round game of the second annual Central Maryland Basketball Tournament at Atholton, coach Brian Hollingsworth's 1-4 team faced defending champion Damascus of Montgomery County.Unfortunately for Hollingsworth and his Eagles, there was no exchange counter to switch tournament pairings.

With a winter storm watch in effect and the possibility of several inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday in Central Maryland, officials at Baltimore Gas and Electric have put out a call for up to 500 out-of-state utility workers to be prepared to help in the aftermath of the storm. BGE officials said they are preparing for a storm that "will likely bring heavy, wet snow and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour across the majority of its Central Maryland service area. " The utility warned customers to prepare for possible outages Wednesday and Thursday.

Central Maryland's rate of homeownership, the proportion of households that are owner-occupied, was slightly lower in the fourth quarter of 2012 than during the same time a year earlier, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Just over 65 percent of occupied homes in Baltimore and six surrounding counties - Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne's - were owned by someone who lived there, the Census Bureau reported. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the homeownership rate in the region was 67.5 percent.