NEWS
By EILEEN AMBROSE | March 17, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a month old today, but there is still a lot of confusion about the tax breaks. Tax professionals have been answering readers' questions on the stimulus package on our consumer blog at www.baltimoresun.com/consuminginterests. Here are answers to frequent questions: First-time homebuyer credit This is worth 10 percent of the purchase price, up to a maximum credit of $8,000. To get it, you must buy a house between Jan. 1 through Nov. 30 this year.
NEWS
By MICHELLE DEAL-ZIMMERMAN | March 1, 2009
Lately, it seems everything is free. Free pancakes at IHOP. Free subs at Quiznos. Free nights at hotels. Free days at Walt Disney World. Free tickets to Universal Studios. The problem is most of it is stuff you don't really want or need. (When is BGE gonna give me a month's supply of heat for free? In Neverary.) The other problem is you have to spend money to get to the free part. But here's a free offer that could have a happy ending and end up costing you absolutely nothing except a few words.
NEWS
By Gregory Karp | June 15, 2008
With wedding season upon us, a new crop of newlyweds will be trying to figure out how to agree on spending their money smarter. But because opposites can attract in both love and money, that task could derail wedded bliss. Newlyweds, whether young people or those on the second time around, need to find common ground on a number of money issues. But spending might prove particularly challenging. In fact, many longtime married couples struggle to achieve spending harmony, or at least a truce.
NEWS
By Laura Smitherman | March 15, 2008
In a move to bolster gay rights, the Maryland Senate gave preliminary approval yesterday to a bill that would allow domestic partners to make medical and funeral decisions for each other, share a nursing home room and visit at their hospital bedsides. With efforts to grant same-sex couples the same legal recognition as married couples sputtering in the General Assembly, legislation to grant rights piecemeal might be the best hope for gay-rights advocates this year. The legislature also is considering measures to exempt domestic partners from inheritance and certain real estate taxes, which proponents say are needed if broader protections are not enacted.
NEWS
March 14, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. --Fred Couples made four birdies in his opening six holes, shot 5-under 65, and golf finally felt fun. Tiger Woods couldn't hit the green with a wedge, struggled to shoot even par, and he finally looked human. The Arnold Palmer Invitational delivered a few surprises yesterday, none bigger than Couples, 48, booming tee shots, taking only 23 putts and finishing atop the leader board with J.J. Henry. "This doesn't make me the guy to beat," Couples said. "If I can play like that, it makes it a lot easier.
NEWS
By Kelly Brewington | November 25, 2007
Delonte Mohamed was taken with Satrina McDuffie's intuitive nature. She was unable to resist his "mushy side," hidden to most by a rough exterior. Within a few months, they knew: It was love. A year later, the couple are expecting a baby boy, adding to McDuffie's brood of two toddlers. Money is tight, their families disapprove of the relationship, and they bicker a lot. Still, they hope to get married one day. They're just not sure how to get there. So every Tuesday, McDuffie, 22, and Mohamed, 21, attend a counseling program at Baltimore's Center for Urban Families tailored to couples like them: young, struggling and with a baby on the way. It's part of a nationwide marriage movement aimed at combating poverty.
NEWS
By Denise Gellene | September 27, 2007
Married women who keep silent during marital disputes have a greater chance of dying from heart disease and other conditions than women who speak their minds, new research shows. But the same can't be said of married men who keep disagreements to themselves. They had the same life expectancy during the 10-year study as men who spoke out. The research, which spanned from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, was the latest to show that how couples fight affects not only their relationship but their health.
NEWS
By Stephen Kiehl | September 19, 2007
When word spread late last week that Maryland's highest court was close to a decision on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, Charles Blackburn and Glen Dehn began planning their wedding. They couldn't help themselves. They felt certain that legal recognition of their 29-year relationship was within their grasp. The wedding would be at the First Unitarian Church in Mount Vernon. Blackburn's daughter would give him away. They would "invite the world." Yesterday, those plans were put on hold.
NEWS
By Kayce T. Ataiyero | June 17, 2007
On an ordinary Saturday, the Rev. Phil Landers performs one or two weddings, allowing time in between to mingle with the guests and maybe snap a few photos. But July 7, 2007, is no ordinary Saturday. Wedding watchers say the 7/7/07 date, with its string of lucky sevens, is the most sought-after wedding day in a century, chosen by couples eager to start their lives together with luck on their side. So Landers' schedule is shaping up to be a road trip, a marathon of matrimony that will have him driving throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, marrying five couples.
NEWS
By Andrea F. Siegel | June 9, 2007
While acknowledging that police made a mistake in bursting into the wrong apartment for a drug raid, Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer yesterday cautioned that the city needs to maintain aggressive drug enforcement. She said police are investigating the incident as well as their procedures "to assure that this kind of mistake does not happen again." The report is expected within two weeks. Though she declined to comment on Wednesday's incident until she sees the report, Moyer praised the department's efforts to combat drug use and dealing.