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The most advanced technology for getting a message into enemy territory was once to shave the head of a slave, write the message on his scalp, then wait for his hair to grow back before sending him out. Bob Ward related this story last week to the first class of sleuths at Anne Arundel Community College's new Maryland Cybercrime Center of Excellence. But intercepting enemy communications, they are learning, now takes tools more sophisticated than clippers and razors. At the cybercrime center, one of the first of its kind in the state, students learn new methods of uncovering and unscrambling secret messages, whether hidden in computer graphics or music files.

Synthetic marijuana ranked in the top three substances abused by the nation's high school students in 2012, according to a new report compiled by the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland, College Park . The drug -- herbs treated with chemicals designed to mimic the effects of marijuana -- ranked third next to alcohol and marijuana, which 57 percent and 39 percent of students in grades nine through 12...

Carmen Whittaker needed to update her computer skills. Pat Sikorski was familiar with keyboarding, but needed to develop HTC computer skills.And both women needed jobs.Ms. Whittaker and Ms. Sikorski were prime candidates for a new course offered by Catonsville Community College's Occupational Training Center. Computer Applications for Business, a noncredit course, provides nine weeks of intensive computer training for displaced workers -- aimed at improving their marketability in the work force.

The same men who watched the walls of North Baltimore's Boumi Temple rise 39 years ago stood by yesterday as a demolition crew started razing the fraternal order's old home.Just as a light rain let up at 8 a.m., a Potts and Callahan grapple's mechanical claws chewed up the first steel beams and concrete chunks from the former Shriner potentate's office in the 4900 block of N. Charles St., purchased by Loyola College as the site of a $20 million recreation center."It's hard to see it go," said Frank Stewart, a former Boumi Temple potentate who now lives in Timonium.

Health-minded students, thespians and corporate executives might not be groups that normally have anything in common, but all have a reason to cheer with the opening today of two new buildings at Carroll Community College. "These buildings help make our campus more comprehensive," said Alan Schuman, executive vice president of administration, of the Robert Annis and Phyllis Barrett Scott Center, which includes the Business Training Center and Life Fitness Building. "It gives us all kinds of programming space we didn't have before, especially in area of the arts.

McDaniel College in Westminster plans to use a $150,000 grant to establish a Center for the Study of Aging that school officials say will help develop geriatric expertise for Carroll and neighboring counties where the elderly population is projected to see triple-digit increases by 2020. Elderly populations are expected to grow by 123 percent in Carroll, 131 percent in Frederick County and 169 percent in Howard County, college officials said. "The baby boomers are aging," college President Joan Develin Coley said yesterday.

Howard Community College has the answer for students who can't write a paper without indulging a few vices. Its new "cyber cafe" -- 10 computer work stations in the cafeteria -- allows students to check e-mail, do homework or access the campus' Web resources while drinking coffee, eating dessert or talking with friends. "It's like your house, basically," said Alex Desai, 21, an electrical engineering student from Columbia. Between classes yesterday, he was sending instant messages to a friend at George Washington University while reading a newspaper online and researching cellular telephones.

Most of the long-struggling Owings Mills Mall will be torn down starting in 2013 to make room for a $65 million retail development, a move that Baltimore County officials hope will complement other burgeoning projects in an area targeted for growth. Mall owner General Growth Properties will work with Kimco Realty to redevelop and "de-mall" the 1-million-square-foot site — a move that mirrors the remaking of a shopping area in Hunt Valley. Developers said Thursday that they did not know how much of the mall they would demolish, but they expect anchor stores Macy's and JC Penney, as well as the AMC movie theater, to stay.

Spring Fling Weekend, Western Maryland College's annual outdoor party celebrating the return of fair weather, will be held on campus for three days beginning Thursday.Comedy, music, food and other entertainment for all ages will be available. This year's highlights include Carrot Top, a nationally known stand-up comedian, and more than 20 booths and games sponsored by student organizations.All events are free unless otherwise indicated.On April 29, Carrot Top, a veteran comedian who carries his routine in six overflowing travel trunks, will appear in the Decker College Center Forum at 8 p.m. Baltimore-Washington area singer-songwriter Karen Goldberg will be the opening act.Carrot Top's humor is adult-oriented.

ISSUE: A poll conducted last month by Anne Arundel Community College's Center for the Study of Local Issues found that 60 percent of respondents reported being "not very informed" about the stances of the two candidates for county executive. YOUR VIEW: Now that the election is only two days away, do you feel informed about where Sheriff George F. Johnson IV and Del. John R. Leopold stand on the issues? Tell us what you think at arundel.speakout@baltsun.com by Thursday. Please keep your responses short, and include your name, address and phone number.