Forum

4545 Ammendale Road, Beltsville Prince George's County Council member Mary Lehman, who represents District 1, is hosting a forum on the plans submitted by the Redistricting Commission to adjust the county's councilmanic district boundaries. The redistricting forum will be held Monday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 4545 Ammendale Road, in Beltsville. Commissioner David Harrington and staff plan to provide an overview of the redistricting process, information on the commission's goals and priorities and the process moving forward.

When first-time mom Sarah Dorman has a parenting question, she often turns to a Facebook group of Baltimore women before her own mother. Her mother's probably not available at 3 a.m., and not familiar with the latest rules regarding infants and organic fruit or fretting over the contradictions in all those advice books - unlike some of Dorman's online peers. "It all goes through fads of what's the popular thing. What was really popular when our parents were doing it might now sound psychotic," said Dorman, 31. Three decades ago, for example, parents were told to place babies face-down to sleep, a distinct no-no today after doctors realized it increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

A new year brings renewed public discussion of climate change to Baltimore. Notre Dame of Maryland University is launching a " Green Baltimore " series of four forums in early 2013 on environmental topics, featuring experts from government, business, academia and nonprofit groups. The first session Jan. 2 will tackle the science and policy debate on global warming, focusing on the impacts in Maryland and this area. Baltimore city's Climate Action Plan will be reviewed, as will the state's draft plan for reducing greenhouse gases across Maryland.  Scheduled speakers include Danielle Schwarzmann, an economist with the state Department of the Environment, John Cookson, instructor and director of the environmental sustainability major at Notre Dame and Afred D'Agostino, a chemistry professor there.

Months after trading veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers following a contract dispute, the Ravens waited until the seventh round to draft a wide receiver. Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta attributed that to how their draft board stacked up with only a few elite receiver prospects like former Dunbar star Tavon Austin, but didn't rule out the possibility of acquiring an established receiver prior to the regular season. "I think the hunt goes on," DeCosta said Monday night during The Baltimore Sun Sports Forum.

U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings will host a public cancer awareness forum Tuesday at the East Baltimore Medical Center to provide information and resources to patients, supporters and survivors. The 10:30 a.m. forum, "From Survive to Thrive: Equipping Cancer Patients to Live Their Best Lives," will feature experts including Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Joshua Sharfstein and Dr. Michelle Gourdine, author and former deputy secretary for Public Health Services at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Laurel Advocacy and Referral services is offering a free consumer credit forum as a preliminary step to help those experiencing the consequences of a poor credit score. The community consumer credit forum will be held Wednesday, March 7 from 7-8 p.m. at the Laurel Police Department's Partnership Activity Center, 811 Fifth St. The forum will feature a panel discussion with local bankers and credit counselors, with a half hour for questions from the audience. LARS officials said the agency has found many of its clients unable to secure housing because of a poor credit score.

Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen says the team is inviting 500 area high school football coaches to a concussion forum during a minicamp next month. Speaking Wednesday at a panel discussion as part of Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill, Allen said the Redskins have sent a letter to coaches in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, asking them to attend practice at new coach Mike Shanahan 's first minicamp and participate in an information session about concussions.

Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Guthrie will be the featured speaker at a Family Forum hosted by the CCPS Parent Guides group on Monday, Jan. 7, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Board of Education offices, 125 N. Court St., Westminster. The topic will be "The Future of Carroll County Public Schools. " Light refreshments will be served, and child care and activities for children will be provided. Those attending are asked to RSVP before Jan. 3 by calling Pat Levroney at 410-386-1680, or email ptlevro@carrollk12.org .        

Put a Democratic congressman, a Republican opponent and a Libertarian challenger at the same candidates' forum table and what do you get? Agreement that some children of illegal immigrants should be afforded a way to become citizens and stay in the only country they've ever known. That was just one highlight at Tuesday night's marathon six-hour, televised candidates' forum at Howard Community College sponsored by the Association of Community Services and the League of Women Voters.

One teen spoke about attending 17 schools due to an unstable family. Another discussed the isolation she felt being raised by an unemployed single father who devoted more attention to her younger half-siblings. A third dedicated her question for the politicians to a former classmate who, when he started middle school, began selling drugs to support his family. After weeks of answering questions from religious leaders, labor organizers and talk show hosts, those vying to be Baltimore's next mayor fielded questions from an unexpected group Wednesday evening: high school students.

Mark Montgomery, president and CEO of Ports America Chesapeake, will be the guest speaker at the BWI Business Partnership's May signature breakfast and annual transportation forum, Wednesday, May 15, from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m. at the BWI Airport Marriott, 1743 West Nursery Road, in Linthicum. Ports America, the largest terminal operator in America, is responsible for the widening of the berth at Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore is one of only two ports on the East Coast that will be able to accommodate the super-sized ships expected to arrive through the expanded Panama Canal in 2014.Montgomery was honored as the Baltimore Museum of Industry's Industrialist of the Year in 2012.

Going into the Wilde Lake Candidates' Forum, I was undecided as to which candidate for Columbia Council would receive my vote: Regina Clay or Nancy McCord. After listening to their presentations and hearing their responses during the question and answer period, the answer became clear. I support Regina Clay's re-election to the Columbia Council. It is clear that Wilde Lake's much-needed turnaround is just beginning. With that in mind, I believe Ms. Clay's experience and temperament make her an ideal advocate for Wilde Lake at this pivotal time.

A little more than three weeks remain until the May 7 city election in Havre de Grace and though the campaign has been relatively quiet to date, things can be expected to heat up as Election Day draws near. This year's election features a race for mayor and for three city council seats. Mayor Wayne Dougherty is seeking a fourth term and is challenged by former city councilman Jim Miller. In the council races, incumbents John Correri and Randy Craig are seeking re-election. Challengers include former councilman Fred Cullum and two first-time candidates, Thomas Barnes and Robert Greene.

Johns Hopkins Dr. Ben Carson, who has been all over the news following a controversial appearance last week on the Fox News channel, is scheduled for a hometown Fox appearance on WBFF this week. The Sinclair-owned Baltimore affiliate will host a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the "The Proper Role of Government. " Slated to appear with Carson are Towson University Professor Richard Vatz and radio host Mike Papantonio. Here's the Fox 45 Facebook listing: Fox 45 is hosting a town hall Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m. The topic will be "The Proper Role of Government".

The Carroll County Public School System will host its final Education Forum on Wednesday, April 3, 7 to 9 p.m., at Westminster High School, 1225 Washington Road. Residents are invited to attend the session, at which Superintendent Stephen Guthrie will provide information about the school system, which is the ninth largest in the state, with more than 27,000 students; its achievements; and the challenges to its finances and education programs.

U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings will host a public cancer awareness forum Tuesday at the East Baltimore Medical Center to provide information and resources to patients, supporters and survivors. The 10:30 a.m. forum, "From Survive to Thrive: Equipping Cancer Patients to Live Their Best Lives," will feature experts including Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Joshua Sharfstein and Dr. Michelle Gourdine, author and former deputy secretary for Public Health Services at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said this week that the county will host a forum in February to discuss mental health initiatives in the county. The forum, he said, comes in response to the shootings last week in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School were shot and killed by a 20-year-old man. In a release, Leopold said, "Mental health is a key piece in our discussion about how to prevent these terrible events, which often a perpetrated by a lone gunman who goes unnoticed until the unthinkable happens.

WESTMINSTER - The Board of County Commissioners will host a forum this week on the county's solid waste disposal needs. The forum will be held at Carroll Community College, Building K, room 100, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, beginning at 7 p.m. Residents are invited to attend. The forum will include an overview of current services and demands, as well as future projected needs and options for handling those needs. The commissioners said that although incineration and waste-to-energy will be discussed as options for waste disposal, arrangements made by the prior Board of County Commissioners will not be discussed.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority is sponsoring several events in March. The Howard Tech Council networking event will be held Tuesday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Union Jack's Columbia, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia. The Central Maryland Women in Agriculture Forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 22120 Fairground Road, in West Friendship. Cost is $35 per person and includes lunch and light refreshments.

As Maryland lawmakers debate whether to ban capital punishment in the state, The Sun will host prominent advocates on both sides of the issue for its first Newsmaker Forum of 2013. National NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, who has helped marshal support for the repeal effort, and Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, an opponent of repeal, will answer questions from Sun editors and members of the audience. The event will take place from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21 at The Sun building, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore.