County

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.

The Baltimore County Public Library's Summer Reading Club launches Monday, offering programs for kids of all ages. The club is free and features the opportunity to win prizes. Library officials say reading four to five books during the summer can help prevent the loss of reading skills acquired over the school year. Materials for the club will be ready for pickup starting Monday. People can sign up at local library branches or online at bcpl.info/summerreading . Elementary school kids will receive a game board to fill out with stickers throughout the summer as they read books.

Forecasters are watching an expected outbreak of severe weather from Illinois to Maryland that some are likening to last June's derecho; one meteorologist predicted it would be a "multi billion dollar storm" causing massive power outages. Storms were developing in Illinois and Wisconsin early Wednesday evening, bringing tornado threats from there through Indiana and into Ohio. Meteorologists say conditions could be conducive for those storms to strengthen into a massive squall line packing up to 70 mph winds, large hail and heavy rain.

Joseph E. Emerson, a lawyer who was the former deputy county attorney for Frederick County, died Wednesday from cancer at his Frederick home. He was 77. The son of Capt. Alexander L. Emerson, who was known as the "man with the maul" as head of the Baltimore Police Department's old vice squad, and Loretta Beavin Emerson, a homemaker, Joseph Edward Emerson was born in Baltimore and raised in the 4100 block of Edmondson Ave. He attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, and what is now Loyola University Maryland, and studied for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary & University from 1957 to 1962.

A waterspout zipped across Baltimore harbor Monday afternoon, tossing pieces of a warehouse roof into the air, and at least one other tornado was reported in the area as storms brought heavy downpours and flooding. In Fells Point, cars sat in standing water and sandbags were placed at doors to prevent water from entering businesses. In the Inner Harbor, 1.74 inches of rain had fallen by 5 p.m. - all but a half-inch of it in the span of an hour before 4 p.m. Steve Fogleman, a Glen Burnie attorney and chairman of the Baltimore liquor board, was driving north on Interstate 95 just south of the Fort McHenry tunnel a little before 4 p.m. when he noticed a rotating cloud and something whipping through the air near Silo Point.

Gambling started Wednesday afternoon at the Rocky Gap Casino Resort right after the state approved the opening of its fourth casino, one that Western Maryland leaders hope will lure not only gamblers but also their families to a region eager for more tourist dollars. "It's open and jamming," said Scott Just, the general manager of the resort near Cumberland. "There's a couple hundred people in there. They were pressing up against the ropes. " The $35 million casino, located in what was the lakeside golf resort's conference center, will be open around the clock.

On behalf of the Hilltop / Maple Community Association, I would like to publicly thank Baltimore County Councilman Tom Quirk for his efforts to preserve open space in our neighborhood. We went to him at the beginning of the current rezoning cycle and asked if he supported the down zoning of several parcels of land in the Sawmill Branch valley. He not only supported our request, but submitted the changes himself, which saved our community a great deal of time and money. The two issues he submitted total almost 27 acres and were the only ones in the 1st District to get an RC 8 zoning, which is the most restrictive resource conservation designation.

A leaf-removal program has been discontinued after 25 years, saving Prince George's County $2 million. Some county residents say they raked their leaves to the curb as they had for years and expected they would be vacuumed up by the county. But they were surprised to learn the leaf-removal program had been cut. Susan Hubbard of the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation says a notice about the program being discontinued went out to community representatives over the summer.

Meeting with all county department directors for the first time Wednesday, Commissioner-elect Elmer C. Lippy Jr. let them know what was foremost on his mind: the looming $2.5 million budget shortfall.The newly elected Board of County Commissioners -- Democrat Lippy, 70, Republican Donald I. Dell, 65, and returning Republican Julia W. Gouge, 50 -- assume office tomorrow, less than a week after the departing board imposed a hiring freeze and asked agencies voluntarily to cut spending to compensate for the projected deficit.

BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Laronja Owens Annapolis, junior Owens, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard, is the first in the illustrious history of Annapolis boys basketball to crack the 1,000 career points plateau as an underclassman. The only All-County first-team repeater has scored 1,065 points in two seasons, leading the Panthers to two county titles and an overall record of 49-3, none of the losses to a county team. "Laronja is one of the top three point guards we have ever had," said 25-year Annapolis coach John Brady.

Baltimore and Harford counties have struck a deal on trash collection they say will benefit taxpayers in both places. Beginning next year, a Baltimore County contractor will take Harford County paper, plastic and other recyclables to a single-stream recycling facility in Cockeysville, which could generate $60,000 a month for Baltimore County. And in 2016, Harford County trash collectors will deliver garbage to Baltimore County's Eastern Sanitary Landfill near White Marsh, where it will then be shipped to an out-of-state landfill.

Baltimore County fire officials have temporarily suspended a search that failed to turn up a 26-year-old man reported missing Saturday afternoon after falling from his kayak in Gunpowder Falls. The 26-year-old man was reported missing around 4:30 p.m. by a friend who was kayaking with him in the river near Belair Road, in Kingsville, according to Lt. Jay Ringgold, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Fire Department. Several crews were still on the scene at 8 p.m., but had not been able to locate the man, he said.

Howard County police are investigating a crash that injured a motorcyclist when a car allegedly failed to yield the right of way. The accident occurred Saturday at approximately 5:29 p.m., when the driver of a 2013 Dodge Dart was attempting to exit Ducketts Lane and turn left onto northbound Washington Blvd., according to a release from the department. The motorcyclist was struck while traveling southbound on Washington Blvd. Police said the motorcyclist, whom police did not identify pending notification of family members, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma center and was listed in critical condition.

The Harford County Department of Emergency Services urges Harford County residents to prepare for a squall line of thunderstorms with heavy rain, lightning, hail, high winds and higher tides as a result of a fast moving and severe weather event approaching the region Thursday. As storm moves across the state, Harford County and other areas of Maryland could feel the effects, the county government warned in a news release issued Wednesday. The Harford County Department of Emergency Services recommends residents to prepare for the storm by reviewing their storm survival plan and restocking any needed food, water or other supplies to get them through the storm.

Gardening volunteers The Howard County Conservancy seeks Wednesday morning drop-in gardening volunteers from 9:30 a.m. to noon to help maintain its themed and native plant gardens. All levels of experience welcome. For information, call Tabby Fique at 410-465-8877 or go to hcconservancy.org . Arts camp volunteers The Howard County Arts Council is accepting applications for volunteers for its Visual and Performing Arts Summer Camps. Applications can be downloaded from the "Getting Involved" page of HCAC's website at hocoarts.org . Duties of the unpaid position include preparing classrooms and materials for the day's activities, supervising campers in art-related activities and monitoring campers during breaks, lunch times, etc. Volunteers must be 15 years of age by Sept.

'Walking into Light' Landscape iPhoneography by Karen Klinedinst is on view through Aug. 2 at the Adkins Arboretum's Visitors Center, 12610 Eveland Road near Tuckahoe State Park in Ridgely. A reception will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22. Hours and information: 410-634-2847, ext. 0; or adkinsarboretum.org . 'Perspectives in Color' An exhibition by Martha Alexander Walker is on view through Sunday, June 23, in the gallery of Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, 611 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd.

Carroll commissioners have adopted a no-smoking policy for all county buildings effective Friday.

Carroll County could save up to $200,000 by sharing with the developers the cost of replacing a bridge in a new Finksburg subdivision, the county's public works director said yesterday.The county commissioners voted unanimously to pay $170,000 or half the cost of replacing the bridge over Lawndale Road -- whichever is less -- with the developers of River Downs, a 130-lot development that is to include an 18-hole golf course.The bridge spans the Patapsco River, which runs through the 600-acre parcel owned by Gaylord Brooks Realty Co. of Baltimore County.