Farragut

A Howard County councilman says he will give up a $9,500 pay raise for a year to contribute money to charity and return some funds to the county's ailing coffers.Councilman Paul Farragut, D-4th, said yesterday that he has asked county officials to begin paying him at the rate he earned before the annual salary for council members rose from $18,000 to $27,500 last December.Farragut said that although he has received the higher salary since last December, he is donating the raise portion of his pay from July 1 to Sept.

The County Council agreed last night to pay 10 landowners a total of $11.2 million to keep 1,861 rural acres out of development."I am very pleased that we are protecting the county's assets," Councilman Paul R. Farragut said as he cast his vote last night. Mr. Farragut, a 4th District Democrat, was instrumental in persuading county officials to tighten the criteria for admission to the program.The 10 properties, the first added to the county agricultural land-preservation program in two years, will bring to 15,794 the total number of acres preserved in perpetuity under the programAfter last night, only $7.5 million will remain in the program -- enough to preserve about 1,291 acres more, assuming last night's average price of $6,027 an acre.

WASHINGTON - The future of the Orioles' downtown Washington fan store is under review, the team says. In the interest of being good neighbors to the newly arrived Washington Nationals, the Orioles say they may move the store to another site away from the downtown. If a move were made, it wouldn't be until after the season is over. Orioles executives say they want Washington-area fans to know they aren't abandoning them. "The decision will be based first and foremost on not slighting any Orioles fans in the area," said Spiro Alafassos, the team's executive director of communications.

Neighborhoods change. To the residents of Trotter Road, that simple truth probably sounds about as empty as the promises they were given a little over two years ago by Howard County officials.At the time, residents were concerned about the advent of River Hill, Columbia's final village, and the increased traffic it would cause on Trotter Run as people tried to gain access to a rerouted Route 32. The solution, accepted by the County Council at the time, was to close off Trotter Road on both sides of Route 32, creating two dead-end streets.

Bank robberies in Baltimore and Baltimore County were down 72 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year -- a drop that bank and law enforcement officials credit to new deterrence devices and increased visibility of guards.The number of bank robberies dropped from 83 in the first four months of 1997 to 23 this year in Baltimore and Baltimore County, where most of Maryland's bank robberies occurred, according to figures released yesterday by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

The Howard County Zoning Board last night unanimously endorsed an amendment that would allow developers to build at higher density in mixed-use areas if they include moderately priced housing in their projects."

To: Paul R. Farragut, executive director of the Baltimore Metropolitan CouncilFrom: Headquarters of UBOR (Undaunted Boosters of Regionalism)Good day, Mr. Farragut. Are you ready for your next mission? As the new head of the BMC, you have the task of helping the mayor of Baltimore, the executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties and the three Carroll County commissioners forge cooperative solutions to regional problems.Given the repeated failures of local executives to find such solutions, some would call your task a thankless one with little chance of significant results.

Democrats in Howard County's councilmanic District 4 have a difficult choice to make in the Sept. 13 primary. The two candidates, James B. Kraft and Mary C. Lorsung, boast impressive credentials, not to mention fairly similar views on the issues. Both also have the backing of other prominent county Democrats; Councilman C. Vernon Gray is supporting Mr. Kraft and departing Councilman Paul R. Farragut endorses Ms. Lorsung.Because of her extensive experience with direct community service, The Sun's endorsement also goes to Ms. Lorsung.

The representatives of most local jurisdictions practice a custom known as "councilmanic courtesy." If a councilman has a strong point of view on an issue affecting his or her district, then the other council members usually will cast their votes in support of their colleague's position.But now it appears some members of the Howard County Council have developed a new method that could be called "councilmanic discourtesy."Within the past year, the council approved two separate measures that would have put new sidewalks on Northfield Road and Donleigh and Seneca drives.