Community

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

Hey there! My name is Mattia Tomay, and I'm a World Heritage Italian exchange student in Aberdeen. Did you know that April was National Volunteer Recognition month? I bet in every community there is someone that with his/her goodwill and talent help some other people, and that many times we forget to thank. I want to take this opportunity to thank the people who have been so important and fundamental to the great experience that I'm living in the USA. Firstly, to my amazing American family: My mom and dad (Tom and Cindy Beilman)

Angie Miller and her steely-eyed focus transmitted into the homes of 10-plus million American Idol viewers won her 50,000 followers in the Twitterverse the week of the show's Top 10 reveal -- nearly 18,000 more social media fans than her next highest competitor. More than two months later, the 18-year-old  Beverly, Mass., native tripled her followers, effectively blowing away the other wannabes on the cyberspace portal. Why then didn't the magic of the 140-character phenomenon carry her into Thursday's finale?

The Laurel Leader won six awards, including a first-place award for photography, in the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association's 2012 editorial contest. The awards were for newspapers in Division D, non-dailies with a circulation more than 20,000, and were announced at the annual MDDC luncheon Friday, May 17. The newspaper's 2012 awards include: • First place Feature Photo for Phil Grout's cover photo "Flip Dip," of Laurel Municipal Pool lifeguard Bubba Mullins and his dog, Rusty, playing at Doggy Dip Day at the pool.

William Coleman says he's had the carpet he bought four months ago cleaned three times because of the clay that has washed into his front yard.Mardella Brown, an 87-year-old great-grandmother, says sand seeps into the basement of her red-clapboard home every time it rains.Jane Wade, a retired teacher, says trucks rolling by her house shake the street so violently that she fears they are going to pTC crack the foundation of her home.All three residents of the 1700 block of Rittenhouse Avenue in the southwestern Baltimore County community of Bloomfield say their complaints are inspired by the same thing -- a truck storage yard at the end of their street.

The 19-year-old man charged with fatally stabbing Dennis Lane allegedly told investigators that his girlfriend had instructed him to kill her father and his fiancee, specifying the number of times each was to be stabbed in the throat - 10 for him and 15 for her. Jason Anthony Bulmer charging documents In a conversation at school hours before the Ellicott City blogger and businessman was killed, Jason Anthony Bulmer said, 14-year-old Morgan...

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

Bikram Yoga Baltimore has opened its third location in Locust Point and is offering free yoga Saturday to introduce people to the new studio. The 90-minute class will start at noon at the studio in the McHenry Row development. It will be held on the patio outside of the studio. Bikram Yoga Baltimore also has studios in the Tack Factory Building in the Harbor East/Little Italy community and on Cranbook Road in Cockeysville.      

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.

One overlooked victim of globalization is corporate community citizenship. As CEOs, bankers and investors all attempt to squeeze every last penny of shareholder value, we have lost sight of how corporations can and should shape and define values within a community. Three decades ago, CEOs like Jack Moseley, Hank Butta and BGE's George McGowan ran their businesses and built community. They worked together and invested their assets in making this city better. Sadly, they are no longer admired or regarded highly for their important involvement in the redevelopment of Baltimore's downtown.

Visit the new City of Laurel Community Garden and meet one-on-one with Laurel City Council members at a garden open house Saturday, June 1 from 9 a.m. to noon. The CLCG garden is located behind Laurel Presbyterian Church, 7610 Old Sandy Spring Road. Representatives from the University of Maryland's Master Garden Program will attend, and there are activities planned for children. During the garden open house, City Council members will hold Bagels with the Council as an informal way to meet with constituents outside of regular City Council meetings.

Manuel M. Nicolaides, an attorney who served for many years on the Baltimore County property tax appeals board, died of congestive heart failure Monday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Timonium resident was 92. "Manny served with distinction for many years on the Baltimore County Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board, including as its chairman," said attorney Peter G. Angelos. "I had the greatest affection for Manny, who was my friend for over half a century. "He was always upbeat, smiling and optimistic.

Even the most jaded observer must acknowledge there's something admirable about the desire of so many living on Smith Island to see their community survive and prosper. Residents of this marshy (and shrinking in both population and real estate) archipelago on the lower Eastern Shore have had to overcome much in recent years, particularly as their chief means of livelihood, harvesting the seafood bounty of the Chesapeake Bay, has declined. But it's one thing to admire the hard work, independence and faith of Smith Island's residents - who number a mere 276, according to the 2010 Census - and it's another to deny the reality of their circumstances.

The Jarrettsville Lions welcome new member Robert Ronica, center, along with his sponsor, Dan Miller, right, and Club President Dave Goff. Robert, a Jarrettsville native, would like to serve his community.

Carmel Quinn, a homemaker and volunteer, died of a heart attack Sunday at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. The Timonium resident was 83. Born Mary Katherine Carmel Fay in Belturbet, in County Cavan, Ireland, she moved to Baltimore in 1952 after her marriage to Dr. Michael Kevin Quinn, a physician and general practitioner who was also born in her hometown. She worked as a receptionist briefly at Mercy Medical Center after moving to Baltimore. Mrs. Quinn lived in the Hampton section of Towson for many years and played tennis with friends and neighbors.

"The New Normal" was supposed to be the new normal. After "Modern Family" brought two gay dads into the spotlight on ABC, NBC was bringing audiences a show that put a gay family at its center. "The New Normal" executive producer Ryan Murphy had already shown two gay teens' first sexual encounter on "Glee. " There was little concern his new show's central couple (Bryan and David) would be the chaste, sexless gay men generally seen on primetime television. I tuned in eagerly when the show premiered, elated to see a romantic gay duo given the amount of screen time generally reserved for straight sitcom leads.

Editor: I am a resident of Cedarday Drive. I just read your article in The Aegis on-line. I believe that you only have one side of the story and should spend some time and understand our concerns. The county government including Mr. Craig have not been interested in listening to our viewpoint. In fact, his secretary told one of my neighbors that he did not want to talk to "those people!" It seems as though this project is going to go through despite the outcome of the meeting on the 21st.

Even though there was no formal lighting ceremony this year, an Edgewood couple wants to remind their fellow residents that the community's Christmas tree is alive, well and fully decorated. Sam and Donna Gibson, longtime residents active in the community, say they made sure the tree near the Edgewood MARC station did not go neglected. Standing next to the tree Thursday morning, the Gibsons wanted to remind everyone that even though there was not an official tree lighting because of construction by the station, the tree is decorated and lit at night for people to come and see. The Gibsons both talked about how grateful they are for the community and the people in it. They said they just wanted to make sure they could spread some holiday cheer.

Tomorrow, Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to sign into law the most comprehensive gun control legislation Maryland has seen in at least 25 years, a bill that will not only help guard against a mass shooting incident, like December's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but will also help fight the day-to-day violence that plagues Baltimore and other communities. The bill has become doubly important with the failure - at least for the moment - of attempts to tighten gun laws on the federal level, both because it will make Marylanders safer and because it can serve as a model for other states as they seek ways to address gun violence.

A group of black men with visions to improve Baltimore were awarded grants between $10,000 and $20,000 for youth job training, the development of a debate camp at Morgan State University and teaching former prisoners to urban farm. The grants, collectively worth nearly $200,000, were announced Tuesday by BMe, a network of black men working with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to strengthen communities. "BMe is based on a simple truth, that there are thousands of black men who are assets to their communities - and if the rest of us got behind people like these, the city would have more to celebrate," said Trabian Shorters, founder of Black Male Engagement, or BMe. "They are men from all walks of life.