Discourage

To lower costs, discourage migration to MarylandMarcia Myers' article in The Sun July 22 got my blood to boiling again. I just find it difficult living in a state full of tax-and-spend career politicians. When it comes to actually solving day-to-day problems of the state, they jerryrig some commission to come up with a report that is worded in such a way that the only solution is to raise taxes.I am going to do them a big favor and provide the answer. I guarantee that the cost of the report from the 30-member transportation commission was more than that.

Two investment companies have resolved a lawsuit over Baltimore County regulations intended to discourage hyperinflated bids for properties at tax auctions, an issue in several Maryland counties.Harry L. Chase, lawyer for Fundco Inc. and Heartwood '88 Inc., said the suit was resolved last week after Baltimore County agreed not to require proof that his clients had the money to buy the properties on which they successfully bid.He said his clients were only required to give the county general financial information about their companies.

Two investment companies have resolved a lawsuit over Baltimore County regulations intended to discourage hyperinflated bids for properties at tax auctions, an issue in several Maryland counties.Harry L. Chase, lawyer for Fundco Inc. and Heartwood '88 Inc., said the suit was resolved last week after the county agreed not to require proof that his clients had the money to buy the properties on which they successfully bid.He said his clients were only required to give the county general financial information about their companies.

My 8-year-old has shown an interest in young adult horror books. I'm happy he wants to read, but I'm concerned that he may be influenced by this type of literature. What should I do?It is rare for a child to sustain interest in reading material that is completely beyond him. We concur that reading is such a positive activity that we are loathe to discourage a child who is eager to read, almost without exception. However, there are certainly situations in which we would recommend trying to attract children to different, but equally engaging, material.

Havre de Grace.-- Sripriya Natarajan, a Roland Park Country ** School junior, achieves a perfect 1,600 score on her Scholastic Aptitude Test this spring. Only a handful of students manage such a feat each year, and so she is appropriately admired and interviewed.Her success Ms. Natarajan -- ''Priya'' -- attributes primarily to her reading, which she started when she was 4. Now, as a teen-ager, she reads constantly and omnivorously. The animation in her voice makes it plain that to her, reading isn't a chore or an obligation.

As Carroll County's newly elected state's attorney, Jerry F. Barnes has the opportunity to change a number of long-standing practices of the prosecutor's office. Beginning the selective use of polygraph tests on rape victims, however, should not be among those changes.Even if lie detector use would be a "one-in-a-thousand kind of thing," as Mr. Barnes said, testing rape victims demeans them and sends the wrong message to the community. We can't fathom the motives of Mr. Barnes, who this fall unseated the county's prosecutor of 20 years, Thomas E. Hickman.

Carroll County's newly elected state's attorney, Jerry F. Barnes, has the opportunity to change a number of long-standing policies of the prosecutor's office. Beginning the selective use of polygraph tests on rape victims, however, should not be among those changes.Even if lie detector use is a "one-in-a-thousand kind of thing," as Mr. Barnes said, testing rape victims demeans them and sends the wrong message to the community.We cannot fathom the motives of Mr. Barnes, who this fall unseated the county's prosecutor of 20 years, Thomas E. Hickman.

Attempting to discourage prostitution along Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park, the County Council last night unanimously passed an anti-loitering bill that includes an attention-getting $1,000 fine.The bill, which goes to the county executive for his signature, was introduced by Councilman George Bachman, a Linthicum Democrat. The measure could give frustrated police officers a means to drive away suspected prostitutes.Under the bill, someone refusing an officer's request to move on would be subject to a citation or arrest, with a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in jail.

Discouraging private ownershipIt seems we cannot pick up a paper, listen to the radio or watch TV without some genius from D.C. espousing yet another idea to help straighten out the economy. Now they want to eliminate the so called "breaks" on deducting mortgage interest payments and property taxes.It is noted that those "subsidies" exceed what we are giving to the poor.Don't these geniuses understand that because of the never-ending property tax I will never really own my home? Don't they understand that elimination of these "breaks" will discourage home ownership?

The U.S. State Department is bringing a little color into your life. Beginning this week, all new American passports will turn from blue to green.The change is part of the State Department's efforts to discourage counterfeiters, said Gary Sheaffer of the agency's Bureau of Consular Affairs in Washington. The changes are taking place nationwide.Mr. Sheaffer said that passport design is periodically upgraded to incorporate new technologies that discourage counterfeiters and forgers."This passport has some very nice features,," he said.

Mayor Sheila Dixon's proposal to ban the sale of individual "little cigars" would probably discourage some Baltimore youngsters from buying them, but it's only the tiniest step in the right direction. The problem is more fundamental: They aren't really cigars at all, but an increasingly popular way to skirt cigarette taxes and distribute flavored tobacco cheaply, especially to young African-Americans. Unlike genuine cigars that are rolled tobacco leaf, little cigars are more like oversized cigarettes in dark brown paper.

To lower costs, discourage migration to MarylandMarcia Myers' article in The Sun July 22 got my blood to boiling again. I just find it difficult living in a state full of tax-and-spend career politicians. When it comes to actually solving day-to-day problems of the state, they jerryrig some commission to come up with a report that is worded in such a way that the only solution is to raise taxes.I am going to do them a big favor and provide the answer. I guarantee that the cost of the report from the 30-member transportation commission was more than that.

Two investment companies have resolved a lawsuit over Baltimore County regulations intended to discourage hyperinflated bids for properties at tax auctions, an issue in several Maryland counties.Harry L. Chase, lawyer for Fundco Inc. and Heartwood '88 Inc., said the suit was resolved last week after Baltimore County agreed not to require proof that his clients had the money to buy the properties on which they successfully bid.He said his clients were only required to give the county general financial information about their companies.

Two investment companies have resolved a lawsuit over Baltimore County regulations intended to discourage hyperinflated bids for properties at tax auctions, an issue in several Maryland counties.Harry L. Chase, lawyer for Fundco Inc. and Heartwood '88 Inc., said the suit was resolved last week after the county agreed not to require proof that his clients had the money to buy the properties on which they successfully bid.He said his clients were only required to give the county general financial information about their companies.

My 8-year-old has shown an interest in young adult horror books. I'm happy he wants to read, but I'm concerned that he may be influenced by this type of literature. What should I do?It is rare for a child to sustain interest in reading material that is completely beyond him. We concur that reading is such a positive activity that we are loathe to discourage a child who is eager to read, almost without exception. However, there are certainly situations in which we would recommend trying to attract children to different, but equally engaging, material.

Havre de Grace.-- Sripriya Natarajan, a Roland Park Country ** School junior, achieves a perfect 1,600 score on her Scholastic Aptitude Test this spring. Only a handful of students manage such a feat each year, and so she is appropriately admired and interviewed.Her success Ms. Natarajan -- ''Priya'' -- attributes primarily to her reading, which she started when she was 4. Now, as a teen-ager, she reads constantly and omnivorously. The animation in her voice makes it plain that to her, reading isn't a chore or an obligation.

As Carroll County's newly elected state's attorney, Jerry F. Barnes has the opportunity to change a number of long-standing practices of the prosecutor's office. Beginning the selective use of polygraph tests on rape victims, however, should not be among those changes.Even if lie detector use would be a "one-in-a-thousand kind of thing," as Mr. Barnes said, testing rape victims demeans them and sends the wrong message to the community. We can't fathom the motives of Mr. Barnes, who this fall unseated the county's prosecutor of 20 years, Thomas E. Hickman.

Carroll County's newly elected state's attorney, Jerry F. Barnes, has the opportunity to change a number of long-standing policies of the prosecutor's office. Beginning the selective use of polygraph tests on rape victims, however, should not be among those changes.Even if lie detector use is a "one-in-a-thousand kind of thing," as Mr. Barnes said, testing rape victims demeans them and sends the wrong message to the community.We cannot fathom the motives of Mr. Barnes, who this fall unseated the county's prosecutor of 20 years, Thomas E. Hickman.

Attempting to discourage prostitution along Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park, the County Council last night unanimously passed an anti-loitering bill that includes an attention-getting $1,000 fine.The bill, which goes to the county executive for his signature, was introduced by Councilman George Bachman, a Linthicum Democrat. The measure could give frustrated police officers a means to drive away suspected prostitutes.Under the bill, someone refusing an officer's request to move on would be subject to a citation or arrest, with a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in jail.

Discouraging private ownershipIt seems we cannot pick up a paper, listen to the radio or watch TV without some genius from D.C. espousing yet another idea to help straighten out the economy. Now they want to eliminate the so called "breaks" on deducting mortgage interest payments and property taxes.It is noted that those "subsidies" exceed what we are giving to the poor.Don't these geniuses understand that because of the never-ending property tax I will never really own my home? Don't they understand that elimination of these "breaks" will discourage home ownership?