Counseling

The last couple of times Constellation Energy tried to sell all or part of itself to an out-of-state company, Gov. Martin O'Malley's focus was almost entirely on the pocketbooks of two groups: Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers, and Constellation CEO Mayo A. Shattuck III and his fellow executives. In 2006, Mr. O'Malley, then a candidate for governor, successfully sued to force the Public Service Commission to reconsider a 72 percent rate hike and to take into account the potential benefits of Constellation's planned merger with Florida Power & Light.

The number of Baltimore City high school graduates enrolling in four-year colleges and universities has dropped in recent years as more head to two-year institutions where they are far less likely to graduate. The Baltimore Education Research Consortium at Johns Hopkins University found the percentage of city public school graduates heading to two-year-institutions rose 12 percentage points over four years to 52 percent in 2010, while the percentage of students enrolled in four-year-colleges declined 12 percentage points to 49 percent.

Top-ranked Gilman continued to pound away at Good Counsel's stout interior line after initially struggling to move the ball. And the Greyhounds eventually began to find bigger holes by the fourth quarter of Saturday's night's highly anticipated matchup between the state's top two teams. A hard run by quarterback Shane Cockerille set up a fourth-and-1 from the six with 2:50 remaining and Gilman trailing by five. But Good Counsel's defense then stopped Cyrus Jones on the next play and held on for a 26-21 victory in the final game of the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine CorpsMemorial Stadium.

Game of the Week No. 1 Gilman (2-0) vs. Good Counsel (1-0) Where : Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine CorpsMemorial Stadium When : Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Coaches : Biff Poggi, Gilman; Bob Milloy, Good Counsel Last meeting : Gilman 28-7, last season Key players to watch : Gilman : Cyrus Jones, Sr., ATH; Brian Gaia, Sr, OT/DT; Kenneth Goins, Sr., RB/DB; Devon Porchia, Sr., LB; Shane...

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Maryland and Delaware has some left over grant money and is using it to provide reverse-mortgage counseling for free until Aug. 31. Such counseling usually costs $125. If you've been thinking of getting a reverse mortgage, you can call 1-866-731-8486 to make an appointment for counseling in person or over the phone. This deal is available to U.S. citizens in all states except for South Carolina and Massachusetts. A reverse mortgage allows homeowners age 62 and up to tap the equity of their home.

Mary Lacy Fetting, a retired psychotherapist who counseled the homeless at the Franciscan Center as a volunteer, died of cancer Wednesday at her Guilford home. She was 82. Born Mary Lacy in Baltimore, she was the daughter of James J. Lacy, an iron foundry owner and state comptroller from 1947 to 1950, and the former Rose Daily. She was raised on Oakenshaw Place and Fenchurch Road and was a 1945 Mount Saint Agnes High School graduate. She was the valedictorian and president of her class.

ABC News, which has been making its own news this week with Diane Sawyer's Jaycee Dugard interview, kept the ball rolling Monday night with a report on the Christian counseling clinics run by the husband of GOP candidate Michele Bachmann. She refers to the practice owned by her and husband, Marcus, as the "family business. " Monday night's report by ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross shows the Bachmann family business, which has received $137,000 in Medicaid money, practicing a widely discredited form of Christian "therapy" that promises to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals through prayer.

TheTowson-based business, administrative and land-use law firm of Smith, Gildea and Schmidt has announced that former county executive Jim Smith, who served two terms as executive and also served as a judge and a County Council member, has joined the firm as an attorney. Smith will serve as a "counsel," assisting in litigation and business matters, administrative law and governmental affairs, according to a release from the firm on Wednesday. Smith will be working with the firm's 11 attorneys, including his son, Michael Paul Smith.

Laurel Park Six fillies and mares set for today's $75K Conniver Stakes Today's $75,000 Conniver Stakes at Laurel Park features six evenly matched Maryland-bred fillies and mares who have combined for 35 victories, including 14 stakes races, for nearly $1.4 million in earnings. Five Diamonds has been established as the 9-5 favorite when they go seven furlongs in this weekend's feature. The daughter of Flatter has finished first or second in 10 of her 12 starts for the John Salzman Jr. barn.