County

Sunday 5/5 Wine and art Sykesville will host a Fine Art and Wine Festival on May 5 at noon, on Main Street. More than 60 artists, local and national wine, food and live entertainment. Wildflower walk Walk through Hashawha at Bear Branch Nature Center, 300 John Owings Road, with a naturalist on May 5 at 1 p.m. Learn about flowers' lore and uses. Cost is $5. 410-386-3580. Family sounds Carroll County Community Concert Association presents Fabulous Family Entertainment on May 5 at 3 p.m. at Westminster High School, 1225 Washington Road, Westminster.

How bad is traffic at Falls and Joppa roads in Baltimore County? It depends whom you ask, and the answer could determine whether the county allows additional growth near the intersection. A dispute over the intersection near Green Spring Station, a collection of shops, restaurants and offices in Lutherville, was the subject of a County Council discussion last week. Council members are scheduled to vote Monday on the county's "basic services maps," which identify deficiencies in the county's sewer, water and transportation infrastructure plans.

Spring show The Muddy Creek Artists Guild's fifth annual spring show, "Artists on the Half Shell," concludes, Sunday, May 5, at Galesville Memorial Hall, 925 Main St. Works by members include more than 250 paintings, pastels, photographs, prints, sculpture, pottery, textiles, jewelry and mixed media. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission. Information: muddycreekartistsguild.org. 'Evolution' Collage and paintings by C.L. Bigelow will be on view through June 25 at Gallery 333, 333 Dubois Road in Annapolis.

The demise of steelmaking at Sparrows Point last year landed like a body blow on eastern Baltimore County. With 2,000 jobs and a 125-year-old legacy lost in the shutdown and subsequent liquidation of assets, the cost to families, to the local economy and to the very social fabric of a close-knit community was immense. Yet, nearly one year after RG Steel filed for bankruptcy, the outlook for the 3,300-acre property is significantly brighter. The potential for redevelopment could yield as many as 10,000 jobs within 10-15 years as new businesses - particularly those related to the Port of Baltimore - take the place of steelmaking.

A Baltimore City police officer was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation after he attempted to alert residents about a two-alarm fire in the Bolton Hill neighborhood Saturday afternoon. Fire department spokesman Capt. Roman Clark said the officer suffered minor injuries. He was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The blaze in the 1800 block of Eutaw Place began around 2:30 p.m. and was placed under control about two hours later, he said.

Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey is a man who looks like the embodiment of the nickname that is all anybody calls him by. Short and unassuming, he said this week he made an effort to enjoy the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, a race he has, like any trainer, dreamed of winning. But the Hall of Famer knew, really, that there's only one way to truly enjoy the Kentucky Derby: win it. Running over a sloppy Churchill Downs track that left 19 contenders caked in mud, McGaughey's horse Orb found stable footing and a late lead in the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby today.

As a teenager in the mid-1990s, he moved with his parents to the United States from Pakistan. The family sought and received political asylum. They settled in Baltimore County and operated a gas station. The boy attended Owings Mills High School. His cricket skills helped him excel at baseball, the quintessential American game. "He always seemed like such a nice young man," said the chair of the English department. The nice young man graduated in 1999. He picked up a job as a data administrator with the Maryland Office of Planning.

Thursday, May 9 School news The Board of Education holds a regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. in the board room at 10910 Clarksville Pike in Ellicott City. Both the afternoon session and an evening session, which convenes at 7:30 p.m., begins with a public forum, when members of the public may address the board on any topic other than those for which a formal public hearing process exists. Information: 410-313-6680. Bird club meeting During the monthly meeting of the Howard County Bird Club, U.S. Department of Agriculture biologist Jonathan Leden presents, "Protecting Birds and Airplanes Around Local Airports" at 8 p.m. at the Robinson Nature Center, 6692 Cedar Lane in Columbia.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman is asking law enforcement professionals from other jurisdictions to examine the county's troubled police department. Since she took over in February from disgraced former executive John R. Leopold, Neuman said Friday, her office has received a steady stream of anonymous notes alleging problems in the agency. Leopold was convicted of criminal misconduct in office for directing his police protection detail to perform political and personal tasks.