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.

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.

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?

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.

A prominent Ellicott City blogger and businessman was stabbed to death by his daughter's 19-year-old boyfriend, who plotted with the 14-year-old girl to kill him so the two could run away together, Howard County police said Friday. Dennis Lane, 58, was found before dawn in his Winding Ross Way home. Police charged Jason Anthony Bulmer and Morgan Lane Arnold, both students at Mount Hebron High School, as adults in his killing; they both face conspiracy and murder counts. Both were held without bail, according to online court records.

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.

Letter writer Gary Bohlke suggests that Coppin State University has failed and should be closed ("Admit Coppin is a failed institution and close it," May 7). I disagree strongly. The outreach programs at Coppin State receive high marks. As a current month-long visitor to Baltimore, I have participated regularly in outreach programs at Coppin, and my experiences there have been nothing short of fabulous. Coppin's wellness program offers Baltimore residents use of modern athletic facilities for various sporting activities at a very low cost.

DEPENDING ON who you are, the Parks Heights Avenue-Reisterstown Road corridor is either bathed in a nostalgic glow or is defined by the harsh realities of crime and grime. A turn-of-the-century "streetcar neighborhood," the area experienced rapid racial change in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by the loss of its middle-class social glue in a flight to the suburbs.Despite sporadic city efforts over three decades, nothing has managed to arrest the deterioration of the area that is home to about 17,000 Baltimoreans.

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.

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.

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.

The formerly city-owned Barclay Recreation Center will make its debut as a privately run community center May 18, serving the Charles Village area, including the Abell, Oakenshawe, Harwood and Old Goucher communities. A grand opening celebration, possibly with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in attendance, is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 2900 Barclay St., in the Charles Village area. The Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks last year turned over the underutilized, 7,300-square-foot facility to the city public school next door, Barclay Elementary/Middle, to operate as a social and education center in a public-private partnership with the nonprofit Greater Homewood Community Corp.

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.

As a proud Morgan State University alum, I was pleased to see Sunday's editorial about the situation involving President David Wilson ("Morgan's big mistake," Dec. 16). Along with many other interested alumni, I was pleased when Mr. Wilson's appointment was announced. I was not familiar with him, but his resume and pledge to move our school forward offered hope for a bright future. The announcement from the Board of Regents that his contract would not be renewed, with no explanation, therefore came as a shock.

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.

As he stood in front of hundreds of kids last year at his football clinic at Calvert Hall, Ray Rice made a promise to those in the crowd. “When I make promises, I like to keep them,” the Ravens running back said today. “I made a special promise. We said that we were going to bring a Super Bowl back to Baltimore.” The comment was met with loud cheers by those who attended the second annual Ray Rice Day in Baltimore. “Being involved in the community is just something that, winning the Super Bowl or not, I know I'd be out here doing Ray Rice Day again and I'd be telling the kids the same message every day,” Rice said.