Grant

I'm old enough to remember the 1986 amnesty for undocumented immigrants ("Citizen status is seen for millions," Jan. 28). I recall it was guaranteed never to happen again and the matter was settled. Now, nearly three decades later, we're back at square one. Millions apparently will be pardoned and soon wending their way to citizenship. I was surprised by Vice President Joe Biden's recent comment at this month's congressional swearing in ceremony. He stated that the Latinos "are the center of the future of this nation.

Even as they celebrate clearing a legal hurdle, worries of stem cell research grant money evaporating constantly weigh on scientists like Dr. Ted Dawson, whose projects at Johns Hopkins Hospital have helped inform treatment of neurological diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. A three-year court battle by two researchers to stop stem cell research using human embryos ended Monday when the Supreme Court declined to review the case. Scientists like Dawson say that frees up grant opportunities and are relieved — for now. "It takes some of the uncertainty out," Dawson said.

Sen. John C. Astle, considered one of the swing votes on a possible repeal of the death penalty, said Thursday that some opponents of capital punishment are jumping the gun in counting him as an ally. Astle, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, said he has an open mind on the issue but wants to hear the arguments on both sides. He said backers of repeal have yet to lobby him. Gov. Martin O'Malley, a supporter of repeal, has weighed in, Astle said. The senator said the governor raised the issue when Astle came to O'Malley's office to ask for his help with an event on women's cardiac health.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will grant Baltimore County disaster aid to help pay for damage from Superstorm Sandy, officials announced Thursday. Under the grant program, the federal government will reimburse the county for expenses, including storm preparation, debris removal and damage to public facilities related to the October storm. Officials estimate that storm preparations and damage cost the county $3.4 million, said county public safety spokeswoman Elise Armacost.

Maryland has received a $375,000 federal grant to help launch a program to curb domestic violence, state officials announced Wednesday. The state is one of six that received grant money, which it will use on  a program to help health care providers play a larger role in helping those who may have been victims of domestic violence. Under the program to launch later this month, health care providers will have access to training to help identify and assist domestic violence victims.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded nearly $500,000 for activists to offer West Baltimore children holistic services from "cradle to college to career," under the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. The Promise Neighborhoods grant, one of 17 awarded in 2012, will be used toward further development of a strategy to combat poverty in the Upton and Druid Heights neighborhoods through a collaboration of the University of Maryland School of Social Work, faith-based organizations, such as Union Baptist Church, public schools and the city's B'More for Healthy Babies, among other partners.

Harford Grant Academy, a 12-week program that provides training in grant research, proposal development, grant-writing skills and grant management, graduated it first class on Dec. 5. It is believed to be the first of its kind in Maryland, according to its organizers. The academy was founded earlier this year by the Community Foundation of Harford County, Harford County Department of Community Services, Harford Community College and Harford County Public Library to assist area nonprofits in increasing their capacity for fundraising and resource development.

Sherri Ingram-Hudgins steps into the homeless resource center on U.S. 1 in Jessup on the cold, rainy afternoon after Christmas, just about two years to the day since she began her effort to help people living on the margins. The place has been open more than an hour and is already crowded with people stopping in to do laundry or use a computer, get a meal, maybe pick up donated clothing or canned goods. She walks into the meeting room she's been using for gatherings of a nonprofit organization she founded in the spring as a kind of experiment — giving small, direct cash grants to help people get a job, or a place to live, or perhaps to aid them in achieving better health or emotional well-being.

The federal government has sent more than $1 million in aid to the Eastern Shore to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and continues to process requests, emergency management officials said Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has received 619 applications for assistance since the Obama administration reversed its initial denial and agreed to provide disaster aid to individuals in Somerset County affected by the storm. The city of Crisfield was particularly hard hit by heavy flooding that damaged hundreds of homes.

The state Board of Public Works approved Wednesday a $75.2 million grant to help pay for upgrading Baltimore's Patapsco sewage treatment plant, Maryland's second largest. The facility, which can treat up to 63 million gallons daily from the city and parts of Anne Arundel and Howard counties, is in the process of improving its removal of nitrogen, one of the nutrients in sewage that can cause algae blooms and other water quality problems in the harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. Roughly half the project's $327.7 million cost is being paid for with grants from the state's Bay Restoration Fund, which draws revenues from the "flush fee" that every homeowner and business must pay. The city is putting up nearly $49 million, with the remainder coming from other loans and grants, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.