Classes

Patrols at Towson U. ramp up amid threat University police are stepping up campus police patrols this week after an anonymous threat indicated something would happen today at Linthicum Hall, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Police are investigating the threat, received Friday, involving the liberal arts classroom building near the center of campus, said Carol Vellucci, assistant for communications to University President Robert L. Caret. Although the threat "did not seem to have a high level of credibility," Vellucci said, officials sent an e-mail and text message to students and posted a notice on the university Web site.

The morning sun was slanting through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the Well's yoga studio as instructor Jennifer Stukey swept the wood floor, preparing for the first class of the day. "I think it's such a great space to be in," said Stukey, who has been a yoga instructor for the center since it opened in November. "It's something that old Ellicott City has been wanting and needing for some time." The Well, described as a "community space for yoga and the healing arts," is run by Leslie Lewart, formerly the owner of Rugs to Riches, her daughter, Amy Meilman, and friend Lance Isakov.

Hospital schedules workshop on babies Howard County General Hospital's community health education program will present "Happiest Baby on the Block," a workshop on how to soothe crying newborns and promote more restful sleep. The program, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is designed for parents of babies up to 3 months old. It will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 7 at the hospital's Wellness Center, Suite L-9 of the Columbia Medical Center, 11055 Little Patuxent Parkway.

Ilchester Elementary School sold more than 700 tickets to Thursday's baseball game between the Orioles and Boston Red Sox. "It went beautifully. Our game was last night, and we had a ball," said Jill Schutzman, teachers' secretary at the school. The school sold 745 tickets, she said. A portion of the price of each ticket will go to the school to purchase computer software. Two families at the school purchased tickets and donated them to children who might not otherwise have been able to attend the game.

Kindermusik Demo Days plans free classes at HCC The Music Institute at Howard Community College, formerly known as the Musical Arts Center, has announced that it will offer Kindermusik classes from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday as part of Kindermusik International's Demo Days, a program offering free musical instruction to children around the world. Peggy Durbin, the center's licensed Kindermusik teacher, will lead classes at the Children's Learning Center on the college's campus, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia.

There is a sign in the fitness club that I belong to urging members to sign up for something called Yogilates. "You should sign up," a woman said to me the other day. I told her I don't sign up for anything I can't pronounce. "Oh, it'll be fun," she said. No, it won't. If there's one thing I've learned in 25 years of going to fitness clubs, it's that this sort of exercise is never fun. Look, over the years I have watched people work out with free weights, Nautilus machines, circuit-training machines, rowing machines, ab rollers, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, Stairmasters and treadmills.

Spalding benefits from store program An Anne Arundel County private school was among the largest grant recipients in Giant Food's 2006-2007 A+ BonusBucks program, the company announced last week. Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn collected $11,594, part of $2 million the supermarket chain gave to more than 3,000 schools in the past school year. Giant's A+ BonusBucks program allows customers to assist schools by making purchases with their Bonus Cards. Schools receive points for every dollar a customer spends using his Bonus Card.

Oakland Night Music Series, sponsored by the Town Center Community Association, will present Tres Amigos, a local band specializing in Latin, Brazilian and popular music, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia. Admission to the informal concert is free, but donations for the performers are encouraged. Musicians interested in performing at Oakland Nights should contact Patricia Loeber, 410-730-4744. Hickory Ridge plans family bingo night The Village of Hickory Ridge will sponsor a Family Night Bingo from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Hawthorn Center, 6175 Sunny Spring.

THE ISSUE: Howard Community College has added dozens of new noncredit courses to its continuing-education offerings for the fall. What classes are you planning to take or what classes would you like to see offered? YOUR VIEW: Send e-mail responses by tomorrow to howard.speakout@baltsun .com. A selection of responses will be published Sunday. Please keep your responses short and include your name, address and telephone number. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published.

Slayton House Theatre in Wilde Lake Village Center will show the sixth of nine films in its Marvelous Movies and More film series, the 1955 classic, Rebel Without a Cause, at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Film critic Mike Giuliano will lead a short discussion after the film. Dessert and coffee are provided. The cost is $7; $6 for senior citizens and students. Raffle prizes will be offered, and those who attend are encouraged to bring old tapes, digital video discs, compact discs and books to trade, sell or exchange.

Calendar 50+EXPO : The Howard County Department on Aging will sponsor a 50+ EXPO from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia. The expo features more than 140 exhibitors, workshops, a health fair, food, entertainment and free shuttle service from The Mall in Columbia. A live benefit auction will start at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. For information, go to the Office on Aging Web site at howardcountyaging.org or call 410-313-6410 or TTY: 410-313-5927.

Free flu shots, FluMist The Howard County Health Department will hold a Drive Thru Flu Clinic between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today at 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive just off Route 175. Vaccine to prevent seasonal influenza will be offered free to those older than 6 months. FluMist is available along with injectable vaccine, but neither will protect against the H1N1 virus, for which a separate inoculation will be needed in the fall. The program is available to everyone, including non-Howard County residents.

$30,000 raised to fight Crohn's disease, colitis Funds raised to fight against Crohn's disease and colitis were collected by employees of Sandy Spring Bank in Olney. More than $30,000 was raised through the support of family members, friends and clients. In addition, on June 20 about 100 employees and family members walked in the "Take Steps to be Heard" event held by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCFA) at the Tidal Basin in Washington. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects about 600,000 people in the United States, many in their teens.

German-style music The Old Stein Inn offers musical entertainment from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays at the Biergarten/Bierstube Restaurant, 1143 Central Ave. East in Edgewater. Performers include Sylvia and Peter on Saturday, Heidi and the Heimat Echo on July 18 and the Magic Mountain Trio on July 25. Information: 410-798-6807. Rowing classes The Annapolis Rowing Club is offering Learn to Row classes in sweep rowing in eight-person shells with coxswains. Experienced club members teach rowing fundamentals and safety procedures.

The B&O Railroad Museum presents "A Visit From Isaac Ridgeway Trimble," 1 p.m. Saturday at 2711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City. Alan Walden, journalist and broadcaster, portrays Gen. Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, who was born in Virginia, lived in Maryland and joined the Confederate Army. Program is about 45 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. Call 410-461-1945 for more information. Master gardening advice Master gardeners will answer questions about plants and gardening from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Miller library, 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City.

More than 1,100 sailors from around the world are in Annapolis for a three-day regatta that will decide local and regional bragging rights for 21 classes and serve as the tuneup for the J/24 world championships next weekend. The National Offshore One Design regatta, which begins Friday and takes place at the mouth of the Severn River and in the Chesapeake Bay, traditionally draws the largest number of competitors in the nine-event series that stretches from coast to coast. This year, 265 boats have been entered, with more expected before racing begins.

The National Art Honor Society at Howard High School will sponsor "Empty Bowls," a fundraiser for Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday in the school cafeteria, 8700 Old Annapolis Road, Ellicott City. Admission is $10 and includes a soup-and-bread dinner and a ceramic bowl. The ceramic bowls were created by Howard High students, teachers and families. The soup comes from teachers, parents and other members of the community. Proceeds will go to Grassroots, Howard County's 24-hour crisis center and homeless shelter.

I ask the question after re-reading more then 325 comments on Read Street about the Stephen King/Stephenie Meyer fan-feud. (It started when King said the author of the best-selling Twilight series couldn't write; her fans retaliated.) Many are teeming with misspellings, the sort that grate on the soul. I've made my peace with abbreviations common in texting and Twittering: u, cant, ur, omg, lol, idk. Others are counter-culture spellings - lyfe, skilllz, etc. - that impart a certain edginess.

Maryland may rank No. 1 in the nation for the percentage of its high school graduates who pass an Advanced Placement test, but behind that distinction is a wide disparity between counties and high schools. Even among some of the best schools in the Baltimore region - and from one high school to the next within the same counties - students have widely different course offerings and results. For example, 46 percent of the graduates last spring at Broadneck High School in Annapolis had passed at least one AP test compared with less than half that percentage at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.

The Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road, is offering two new classes. A free Cardio Groove Fitness class will be offered from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. March 4. The low-impact class is designed for ages 50 and older. Tracy Cox (e-mail cox@freedomfitness.info) will lead the class. Reservations are not needed. A Cardio Groove class will be offered from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, starting March 9. The session runs through April 29. The cost is $69 for 14 classes.