Clerk S Office

An attorney who was jailed and disbarred for making illegal photocopies at the Howard County Circuit Court clerk's office is underwriting his son's election campaign to replace the clerk who turned him in to police.Melvin Gary Rybczynski, through his title search company across the street from the Ellicott City courthouse, has donated $3,500 to the campaign of his son, Matthew G. Rybczynski -- more than half of what he's raised.The elder Rybczynski's company conducts title searches at the court clerk's office.

The Anne Arundel County clerk of the court is facing his first primary challenger since being elected in 1994, and the race for register of wills is wide open following the retirement of 20-year officeholder George M. Nutwell Jr., in two of this month's quieter political contests. With no Democrat seeking to become clerk of the court, the race will end Sept. 12 with the Republican primary. Seeking a fourth term, Robert P. Duckworth, 66, of Crofton is facing Howard Neugebauer III, 23, of Pasadena.

High concentrations of mold were found in three courtrooms and in office areas of the state's attorney and court clerk in Howard County's circuit courthouse, county officials said yesterday. Environmental testing on the old, cramped building revealed four different fungi, none of which is dangerous but all of which might cause allergic reactions in employees who may be sensitive to the substances, according to an update circulated yesterday to building employees. Mold ranging from common fungi to mildew to "bread mold" was found in five samples taken from the three courtrooms, from two samples taken from peeling paint on a stairway wall in the state's attorney's office and from two areas in Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport's space, according to the update.

OWINGS MILLS County begins review of development rules Baltimore County officials joined yesterday with builders, community leaders and environmental activists to begin weighing changes in the county's development and environmental regulations. County Executive James T. Smith Jr. called the yearlong review, launched yesterday with a meeting in Owings Mills, "a great step forward" toward updating county regulations. Smith, who has promoted redevelopment in the county, said he hoped the "Builders for the Bay Roundtable" would produce consensus on how to protect the county's natural resources while providing more flexibility to builders in redeveloping sites.

At first glance, they don't seem like politicians at all.They never discuss abortion rights, controlling development, better county schools or tougher law enforcement. They don't debate, or hold many fund-raisers. Their signs are few and their media advertisements fewer.But for the candidates running for Clerk of Circuit Court, Register of Wills and Orphan's Court Judge, the issues are many and the jobs important.And the battle for votes could be tough.In the race for Clerk of Circuit Court and Register of Wills, Democratic challengers are trying to unseat incumbents who have held their jobs for more than a decade.

The clerk's office for the Anne Arundel Circuit Court is projecting a budget surplus of more than $500,000 for the fiscal year completed June 30, the second year in a row it has had money left over.Circuit Court Clerk Mary McNally Rose said yesterday that her office estimates it will have $539,490 left over from the $3.56 million it was allocated by the General Assembly.When she assumed office midway through the 1991 fiscal year, she inherited a projected $200,000 deficit, but the year ended with a $24,000 surplus.

Baltimore County police are searching for a thief who slipped into an unlocked office in the County Courts Building in Towson and walked off with Monday's receipts -- $203,129.93 worth of cash and checks. All but about $3,000 was in the form of checks made out to the clerk of the Circuit Court and stamped "For Deposit Only."The checks were for such things as land transfer taxes, recording fees and filing fees, said William Allen, chief deputy of the clerk's office.The checks cannot be cashed, and yesterday the clerk's office was calling people who had written the checks to ask for replacements.

The Democratic candidate for clerk of Howard County Circuit Court contends that the Republican incumbent does not have the experience to manage the office, even after four years at the post.But Margaret Duly Rappaport charges that her challenger has no administrative or supervisory skills to oversee one of the busiest offices in the county courthouse.The experience issue is one of several dividing points between Mrs. Rappaport and Leslie Jean Cale of Ellicott City in the race for clerk.Mrs.

The Howard County Courthouse was evacuated for about 45 minutes yesterday morning after officials noticed a strong gas odor coming from one corner of the building. Deputies interrupted Circuit Court proceedings, which had just started, about 9 a.m. to say the fire department was on its way to look for the source of the odor. Employees and spectators were allowed inside after fire officials who inspected the building and took meter readings said they could find no evidence of a natural gas leak and the smell dissipated, according to a fire department spokesman.

A title searcher was banned from the Howard County clerk's office for more than a week after he says he lightheartedly -- and crudely -- compared Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport to a stubborn farm animal and a rear-end body part. Rappaport's Jan. 13 order barring title searcher Frank Neubauer III from using the office, which is the primary source of his research, was lifted yesterday, but not before it sparked allegations that the clerk, who has held the job since 1990, was tromping on Neubauer's constitutional rights.

THE QUESTION: How many marriage licenses are taken out in Anne Arundel County? And how many of them result in weddings performed by court clerks? THE ANSWER: Marriage licenses are issued by the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court. In 2004, the office issued 4,056 marriage licenses. Of those, clerks performed 1,224 weddings, according to the clerk's office. The weddings are done during business hours in the small chapel in the historic section of the courthouse. They are civil ceremonies, and they can be -- and have been -- personalized.

A scientist's report has confirmed what a mold-detecting dog sniffed out two weeks ago: There are mold growths on the carpeting, ceiling tiles and books in the Howard County circuit clerk's office. A laboratory analysis of five samples collected by the dog's handlers, David and Rondra Marcelli of Westminster, found various types of fungi on four, most prominently on a piece of ceiling tile, according to a report from Oregon-based Mould- Works. The mold found in the tile, Chaetomium globosum, can produce toxins and was the "most prevalent" fungus found in the samples, according to the report.

With his handler leading the way, Barney, the mold-sniffing mutt, made his way through the damp confines of the Howard Circuit Court clerk's office yesterday and put his nose to the ground. He checked out the floor, the books, the file cabinets, the chairs, even the stained ceiling tiles that his handler, David Marcelli, laid on the ground. Barney's signal for suspected mold was straightforward and obvious - a whiff of the fungus and the 2-year-old chocolate Labrador-German shepherd shorthaired mix would sit and nod his nose at the source.

After weeks of eight-hour days spent working in offices that smelled distinctly like a locker room -- sweaty, musty and dirty-sock-like -- some employees in the Howard circuit clerk's office were so frustrated recently that they talked about staging a sickout. "It got to the point the smell was still around. People were sick," said Katherine Beane, who is executive assistant to Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport. "We were just a bit fed up." But after a weekend away, and with the air somewhat better, they shelved the idea.

After weeks of eight-hour days spent working in offices that smelled distinctly like a locker room - sweaty, musty and dirty sock-like - some employees in the Howard Circuit Court clerk's office were so frustrated recently that they talked about staging a sickout. "It got to the point the smell was still around. People were sick," said Katherine Beane, who serves as executive assistant to Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport. "We were just a bit fed up." But after a weekend away, and with the air somewhat better, they shelved the idea.

A title searcher was banned from the Howard County clerk's office for more than a week after he says he lightheartedly -- and crudely -- compared Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport to a stubborn farm animal and a rear-end body part. Rappaport's Jan. 13 order barring title searcher Frank Neubauer III from using the office, which is the primary source of his research, was lifted yesterday, but not before it sparked allegations that the clerk, who has held the job since 1990, was tromping on Neubauer's constitutional rights.

After weeks of eight-hour days spent working in offices that smelled distinctly like a locker room -- sweaty, musty and dirty-sock-like -- some employees in the Howard circuit clerk's office were so frustrated recently that they talked about staging a sickout. "It got to the point the smell was still around. People were sick," said Katherine Beane, who is executive assistant to Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport. "We were just a bit fed up." But after a weekend away, and with the air somewhat better, they shelved the idea.

THE QUESTION: How many marriage licenses are taken out in Anne Arundel County? And how many of them result in weddings performed by court clerks? THE ANSWER: Marriage licenses are issued by the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court. In 2004, the office issued 4,056 marriage licenses. Of those, clerks performed 1,224 weddings, according to the clerk's office. The weddings are done during business hours in the small chapel in the historic section of the courthouse. They are civil ceremonies, and they can be -- and have been -- personalized.

The Howard County Courthouse was evacuated for about 45 minutes yesterday morning after officials noticed a strong gas odor coming from one corner of the building. Deputies interrupted Circuit Court proceedings, which had just started, about 9 a.m. to say the fire department was on its way to look for the source of the odor. Employees and spectators were allowed inside after fire officials who inspected the building and took meter readings said they could find no evidence of a natural gas leak and the smell dissipated, according to a fire department spokesman.

At least one manager for the campaigning Baltimore County judges is promising to heat up what is already one of the most political judicial races in county history. "It will be intensive and extensive during the weeks to come," said Larry Simmons, who is working for the "sitting judges" ticket. That ticket includes Alexander Wright Jr., Ruth A. Jakubowski and Michael J. Finifter, the three people recommended to the bench by the county's judicial nominating committee and then appointed by the governor.