Covenant

THE DOORBELL rang and there stood a stranger -- a tall, slim man with close-cropped hair and clean brown eyes, whom I'll call Troy. ''Mow your lawn?'' he asked. I said yes and we negotiated a price. Troy did the work, I paid him in cash (of course) and away he went, in search of other patrons with overgrown grass.For years my husband and I have been willing co-conspirators in Baltimore's thriving underground economy. Men like Troy come by often. Men who either do not hold steady jobs or do not make enough to make ends meet.

When developers promised to build a $38 million, 700-seat elementary school in Odenton, Anne Arundel County officials embraced the proposal as a way to ease overcrowding in other area schools. They even tentatively gave the school a name: Evergreen Elementary. But plans for the school have met an obstacle. The Forks of the Patuxent, the community in which the proposed development is located, refuses to lift a covenant that the land be reserved for adult communities. Forks resident Patrick Padilla, 42, said residents who declined to lift the covenant requiring 55-and-older properties were concerned that a new housing development around the school would generate more traffic and crime without the age restriction.

IT HAS taken two centuries of struggle for America to remedy the egregious compromises that made its Constitution possible.The election of Bill Clinton, along with his running mate, another young Southerner, may mark a watershed in this historic remedy, one that holds special hope for African-Americans, for women and for all who now feel insecure and alienated from the American dream.One powerful theme ran through his speeches at the Democratic convention and on election night: the Puritan ideal of America as a covenanted society.

Covenant Community School's Lillie Happel and Mount de Sales' Katy Buck have been best friends since they were 10 years old. They grew up playing volleyball together, and it has earned both of them college scholarships. On Thursday night, however the battle lines were drawn. Chalk one up for Buck and Mount de Sales. Buck recorded 11 kills, five digs and five aces as her top-ranked Sailors (13-0) defeated the No. 10 Bravehearts, 25-14, 25-12, 25-23, in a key game for both teams. Happel had 11 kills, one block and one ace. "We joked about trash-talking through the net," said Happel, who will play volleyball at Liberty University next year.

The Columbia Association has filed five lawsuits in Howard County Circuit Court, charging homeowners with covenant violations, as it tries to address rising complaints about deteriorating -- or just plain unsightly -- properties in the 30-year-old planned community.The alleged violations range from relocating a fence without permission to failing to trim backyard trees and bushes, to refusing to remove algae from house siding and a deck."I can agree with part of the deal to try to keep this place looking nice," said William Dragovich of Chase Lions Way in Dorsey's Search, who relocated a 5-foot-tall wooden fence and is facing a lawsuit.

The Columbia Council has voted to remove the $100,000 designated in the city's proposed budget to help solve academic and image problems at some older schools. Cecilia Januszkiewicz, the council member from Long Reach who proposed including the one-time expenditure in the Columbia Association's preliminary budget, recommended taking out the funds at a work session Thursday night, saying it would be too difficult for the council to agree on how to administer them. Several villages had strongly opposed the measure.

Kings Contrivance village board members and residents criticized the Columbia Association last night for its handling of a long-standing property covenant violation and questioned its commitment to enforcing the architectural standards that distinguish Columbia."

When media personality Tavis Smiley unveiled The Covenant With Black America in 2006, Charisse Carney-Nunes, a 40-year-old mother of two, felt something was missing from the blueprint for social change: children. In an adamant voice, Carney-Nunes recalls what she announced to her colleagues at the Jamestown Project, a think tank involved with the Tavis Smiley Group to advance the goals of the New York Times best-selling book: "No movement for social change has ever been successful until you tap into the young people, reach into their hearts and minds and inspire them to get involved and make a difference."

Columbia homeowners who paint their front doors pink or whose back porches have fallen into disrepair face a greater likelihood of being caught -- and penalized -- as part of an impending crackdown on covenant violations communitywide. Under a series of far-reaching policy recommendations in draft form, residents repeatedly notified of violations would be denied access to Columbia Association facilities, such as pools and health clubs. And, under a three-year pilot program that could eventually be expanded throughout the city, homeowners in three older villages would face more aggressive property inspections.

Classical music fills her beige Lexus as retired teacher Maud Banks hunts for violators of the aesthetic order in Columbia. She's armed with a camera, binoculars for reading house numbers and an eye sharpened by years of bird-watching."

Wade Korvin, Archbishop Spalding, football It's not often a punter gets to be the star of the game, but Korvin called a fake punt and threw a 36-yard pass for a first down that set up the game-winning touchdown Friday night, giving the Cavaliers a 27-24 win over Cardinal Gibbons in a key Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference game. He averaged 39 yards on eight punts in the game. On one play, the ball was snapped over his head to inside the 5-yard line, but he recovered to kick it to the Gibbons 25. Korvin, a junior who also plays lacrosse, doubles as a cornerback.

What's old is new again: Drying clothes on a line instead of in an energy-sucking dryer; collecting rain in barrels to water the lawn and garden; saving kitchen scraps and yard waste to make rich compost. But too many community associations have failed to keep up with the times. Many prohibit these and other eco-friendly (and economical) activities on aesthetic grounds. Others enforce burdensome barriers of approval that might as well be a ban. It's time for state and local governments to step in and protect homeowners' rights to take these sorts of reasonable steps to improve the environment and their pocketbooks.

On June 3, 2009, Mr. MURRAY. Visitation 2140 N. Fulton Avenue, Monday 4 to 8 P.M. Family will receive friends Tuesday at New Covenant Worship Center 700 Wildwood Pkwy 10:30 A.M. funeral to follow at 11:00 A.M.

On March 6, 2009, HAROLD; husband of the late Mrs. Alice Hollinger; devoted father of Renee Jones, Terri Kobryn and Lisa Hollinger. He is also survived by three sons-in-law; one sister, Anna Harris; four brothers; seven grandchildren; two sisters-in-law; one brother-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives. Friends may call at the Gary P. March Funeral Home, 270 Fred Hilton Pass, on Tuesday from 11 A.M to 7 P.M. Family will receive friends at New Covenant Worship Center, 700 Wildwood Parkway, Wednesday from 10:30 to 11 A.M. Funeral

$59.99 for Microsoft Xbox 360. Rated Teen *** (3 STARS) Halo was originally planned as a real-time strategy game, but series creator Bungie didn't make Halo Wars, the first nonshooter in the series. Instead, it was developed by strategy veterans Ensemble Studios, the company behind Microsoft's Age of Empires and Age of Mythologies games. Ensemble was shut down by Microsoft after Halo Wars was completed. The studio's end is disappointing, especially given the quality on display here. Halo Wars - to be released today - takes place 20 years before the discovery of a Halo installation in the first game.

Anne R. Ely, an avid gardener and volunteer, died Oct. 18 of heart failure at her Stoneleigh home. She was 90. Anne Ragland was born in Baltimore, the daughter of T. Ellsworth Ragland, owner of Guilford Pharmacy. She was raised in the 2800 block of Guilford Ave. and graduated from Eastern High School in 1936. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Goucher College in 1940 and during World War II worked as a chemist at the Point Breeze works of the old Western Electric Co. in Southeast Baltimore.

A Columbia Council member proposed adding $140,000 to next fiscal year's budget last night to strengthen enforcement of covenants in the town. Tom Forno of Harper's Choice, chairman of the council's Covenant and Design Committee, asked that the council include $70,000 for a second staff attorney and $35,000 for three part-time covenant advisers in the Columbia Association budget. Forno asked for an additional $35,000 to pursue state legislation that would crack down on homeowners with covenant violations.

Columbia resident James M. Stuart has avoided a possible jail stay in a legal battle over his housekeeping, settling his dispute with Columbia Association authorities before it got to a judge.Stuart faced a contempt of court charge after being sued by the association for allegedly violating strict aesthetic rules, known as covenants. At issue were algae on the side of his house in Owen Brown, a trampoline-turned-planter in his back yard and a 1974 Corvette that CA officials thought was out of commission that he kept in the driveway.

Covenant Guild Inc. regrets the passing of ESTELLE FELDMAN, our life member and passed President and extend sympathy to the family.