Community

Regarding Jay Hancock 's "Restaurants run hot and cold on Groupon deals" (June 7), it is clear that Groupon and similar programs may not be appropriate marketing tools for all businesses. At Katzen Eye Group, however, we are using social marketing tools as a community resource. Through Groupon, we are reaching uninsured patients and providing them with the opportunity to access vision care services. According to a recent CDC survey of more than 11,000 adults over the age of 40 with moderate to severe visual impairment, nearly 40 percent failed to seek treatment over the past year because of cost or lack of insurance.

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.

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.

If casinos are such a good deal for a state, lets see how the Atlantic City casinos step up to the plate and provide money for the New Jersey people who have lost their homes. Tony Buechner, Baltimore

Residents of Carroll County 2nd Commissioner District -- those generally in Hampstead and Finksburg -- are invited to attend a question-and-answer meeting with Commissioner Haven Shoemaker on Wednesday, March 20. The meeting will be held in the large meeting room of the Finksburg Library, 2265 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm and end at about 9 p.m.

Reisterstown mourns the passing of Charles Edward Nevin Murray, who died Feb. 27 at age 78. Mr. Murray, known to all as "Silk," joins the ranks of others who have served their community and made a difference in so doing. . Silk's father, Charles Henry Stanley Murray, was the town's first dry cleaner in the 1940s, and its only dry cleaner for many years. The business, Silk's Cleaners, was located on Main Street, where the Wawa now stands. The family lived behind the store.

The Abell Foundation, a decades-old Baltimore philanthropic institution that increasingly invests in technology startups to spur economic growth in Baltimore, said Monday it is paying $75,000 to fund a study to investigate the needs of the city's technology and innovation community. The newly formed Innovation Alliance, a group of technology veterans and entrepreneurs led by attorney Newt Fowler, will lead the study. "If Baltimore is going to progress economically, it needs to focus on startups and transferring the large amount of [university]

Our Savior Lutheran Church is hosting a communitywide Easter egg hunt Saturday, April 7 from 10 a.m. to noon at 13611 Laurel Bowie Road. 301-776-7670.

With regard to the piece on state-run public TV, David Zurawik gets to the heart of the matter when he says, "the community-based formula, as practiced at WETA in Washington, is vastly superior in terms of guaranteeing editorial independence and community access. " ("Chris Christie's take on state-run public TV outlets — like MPT," July 5.) While Gov. Martin O'Malley may be completely blameless, the door is wide open for the abuse of power by less-then-honorable officials.

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.