Green

This year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view event left us with some unanswered questions but also some new beginnings. In the main event (a rare moment in WWE history where all wrestlers in a final match on PPV weren't on a full-time WWE schedule), Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a cage match. Lesnar went up 2-1 on "The Game" and is likely poised for another future match in WWE (not against Triple H), perhaps at Summerslam or Wrestlemania 30. Questions coming out of this match are: will Triple H wrestle again?

For too long, many environmentalists have been ambivalent about nuclear energy. It conjures fears: meltdowns, cancers, Chernobyl, Fukushima, overtones of nuclear bombs. Yet, we also know that nuclear power provides 70 percent of all the greenhouse gas-free electrical power in the United States (hydropower, in which dams block many great rivers like the Susquehanna to fish migration, provides much of the rest). Neither does nuclear energy produce the nitrogen oxides of fossil fuels that are a major Chesapeake pollutant, or the mercury from coal plants that contaminate so much of our seafood.

I'm confused about choosing a color to paint my kitchen. I've heard that green is the color of the year. And then I hear about gray being the new neutral. What are the best colors to paint the kitchen? A kitchen should be an inviting gathering space, so warmer or brighter tones are ideal, such as deep ivories, rich coppers, luscious reds, golden yellows and yellow-greens. Be sure to take countertops, appliances and floors into consideration when selecting your color. You'll want something that complements these accents and flows naturally into the surrounding rooms of your home.

(An earlier version of this post included incorrect information about Maryland Gas & Electric, its pricing and whether it offers a "green" gas plan involving carbon offsets. The Sun regrets the errors.) ---------------- (Another in an occasional series of guest posts by GreenLaurel.com blogger Laurel Peltier) Marylanders have a choice in purchasing electricity for their homes to buy "green" power generated by wind turbines. They don't have as many options when it comes to natural gas for heating and cooking, but there is one company offering consumers a convenient if slightly pricier way to reduce the climate impact of their fuel choice -- through carbon offsets.

Just when Washington looked like it was completely preoccupied with the scandals, real and imaginary, swirling around the White House, a group of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate managed the unexpected (and, these days, extraordinary): They agreed on something. The vote Tuesday night in the Senate Judiciary Committee to forward to the floor a massive overhaul of the nation's immigration system was, to be sure, a small step and doesn't guarantee success in the full Senate, much less the House of Representatives.

The average golfer enjoys water about as much as the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz . " Those teeing up at Eisenhower Golf Course, a tree-lined public layout in Crownsville, might have even worse nightmares than the norm. Thick, native grasses up to 3 feet high surround every creek and pond, reaching toward the sky as though part of a fiendish plot to snag wayward shots. "I tell the players we have great sales at the pro shop," says course superintendent Mike Papineau in joking reference to the fact that golf courses resell the balls they find in hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday it has awarded $4.6 million for "green" job training to dislocated workers and others in Baltimore and Prince George's counties. The grant recipient, H-CAP Inc., will provide training to prepare job seekers and entry-level environmental services for "new and emerging green occupations" in the health care industry, the department said. The grant also will cover workers in California, New York, Washington and the District of Columbia. Separately, the Associated Builders and Contractors announced it has received a $90,000 grant from the Turner Foundation in Atlanta to help provide training in green building and sustainability practices.

N o doubt, many environmentalists around the Chesapeake Bay wish Howard Ernst would go away. His recent criticism of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and suggestion that its president, William C. Baker, resign, isn't the team spirit they'd hope for as green organizations rally for vital federal clean water legislation in 2010. Mr. Ernst, a Naval Academy professor and author of the new book, "Fight for the Bay," may be the skunk at the garden party, but from bad oysters to gas leaks, we ignore unpleasant odors at our peril.

On March 5, Mr. Green Visitation Wednesday, 2 to 8 pm., 2140 N. Fulton Ave. Services Thursday, 12:30 wake, 1:00 funeral.

On May 18, 2008, ROBERT VAN GREEN; beloved son of Elizabeth J. Green and the late John A. Green, Sr.; survived by devoted brother, John A. Green; nephew, John A. Green, IV, and a host of other relatives and friends. On today, friends may call VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 5151 Baltimore National Pike from 4-8 P.M. Private funeral services and interment will be held on Thursday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Mount Carmel Christian Church, c/o Robert V. Green, 2900 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21216.

I was very happy to see that additional development was barred at Green Spring Station and that common sense prevailed in our county's decision making. Anyone who travels through this intersection during the week days, especially rush hours, can tell you this is a failing intersection that it fully deserves its "F" rating. To those legislators who upgraded it as a "D" rating, I would suggest that without major improvements in place beforehand, any further development at Green Spring Station would overnight decrease its rating to a "F". For this reason, I believe the restriction that prohibits development only near "F" rated intersections should be expanded to include "D" rated roadways and intersections; this is only common sense, guys.

A Roland Park resident has created a "passport" to Druid Hill Park. Janet Felsten, founder and director of the nonprofit group Baltimore Green Map, introduced the green-colored passport April 19 at a Baltimore Green Week kickoff party in the conservatory. Felsten said she created the 20-page, passport-shaped booklet on cover stock paper as a companion to a detailed map of Druid Hill Park that she made in 2010. The purpose of the map and the new passport is partly to point out places of interest in the 745-acre park, which is home to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Druid Lake and the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens, among other attractions.

A vote by the Baltimore County Council on Monday will bar new development at Green Spring Station in Lutherville for the near future. Developers cannot build near intersections graded "F" under the county's "basic services maps," which identify deficiencies in public infrastructure throughout the county. The council approved the maps Monday. The intersection of West Joppa and Falls roads near Green Spring Station — which has shops, restaurants and offices — had been labeled failing for about a decade, and the planning board recommended "F" again this year.

How bad is traffic at Falls and Joppa roads in Baltimore County? It depends whom you ask, and the answer could determine whether the county allows additional growth near the intersection. A dispute over the intersection near Green Spring Station, a collection of shops, restaurants and offices in Lutherville, was the subject of a County Council discussion last week. Council members are scheduled to vote Monday on the county's "basic services maps," which identify deficiencies in the county's sewer, water and transportation infrastructure plans.

Before Green Day won over Broadway with an ambitious anti-war album, it was a simple-minded punk trio from Berkeley with an album called "Dookie" and song titles such as "Geek Stink Breath" and "Words I Might Have Ate. " While the band's sound has evolved greatly since forming in 1987, Green Day has maintained a knack for writing songs with lasting appeal. Here are five that still hold up well. "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" (from 1992's "Kerplunk!") This isn't the best song for name-checking the protagonist of "The Catcher in the Rye" (that honor belongs to Piebald)

Michael Mayer knows a thing or two about coming of age. The Maryland-born director won a Tony Award for his work guiding the 2006 Broadway hit "Spring Awakening," which chronicles teens getting a grip on their budding sexuality. In 2010, he directed "American Idiot," a punk rock musical based on the Green Day album of that name, which follows a group of cynical, spent youths as they seek excitement in a big city. Mayer didn't just direct the latter, but collaborated on the book with Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong.

On Tuesday, December 2, 2003, ISADORE GREEN, devoted brother of Florence Green, Carl Green and Bess Weinstein and the late Reuben Green and Nathan Green, beloved Uncle of Faye Harting, Stuart and Bonnie Weinstein, Sharon Green, Len and Lisa Weinstein and Inez and Nathan Schapiro, beloved great-uncle of Todd Weinstein, Matt Weinstein, Brooke Weinstein, Jeremy Harting, Alex Schapiro, Elizabeth Schapiro, Austin Weinstein and Madeline Weinstein. Services and Interment at Tifereth Israel Anshe Sfard Congregation Cemetery, Rosedale on Thursday, December 4 at 12 Noon.

Leave it to Stevenson coach Paul Cantabene to find a scoring threat in a former defensive player. After spending the first three years of his career as a short-stick defensive midfielder, Peter Green has blossomed as a weapon for the No. 4 Mustangs (15-2), leading all midfielders with 27 goals and 38 points. The Hereford native and graduate has scored three more goals than the combined number of shots he took in his first three seasons, but to hear Cantabene - who has built some of Division III's most prolific offenses in recent years  - talk, this is what he and staff anticipated from Green.

You don't need to be a scratch golfer to enjoy Mountain Branch Grille & Pub. Though the restaurant is located on the grounds of Mountain Branch Golf Club in Joppa, it is open to golfers and non-golfers alike (the course is open to the public, too, and golf memberships are also available). It's no surprise that Mountain Branch is a popular spot for weddings: The space - with exposed rafters, stone accents and enormous windows overlooking the course - is jaw-dropping. Fortunately, the food and service are just as impressive.