Growth Rate

Baltimore County may have the most seniors in Maryland, but an oft-repeated claim about the group's growth rate is just a myth.When the issue of graying is discussed, it is often stated that Baltimore County's senior population is growing at a rate second only to that of Dade County, Fla. Currently, Baltimore County has about 136,000 people age 60 and over.But in truth, the county's growth rate among seniors is not even the highest in Maryland, says Pamela T. Causey of the Maryland Office on Aging.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. The Commerce Department also said Friday that the economy grew a little better than previously thought in the January-March quarter. It raised its estimate to a 2 percent rate, up from 1.9 percent. Growth at or below 2 percent isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month.

Government officials revised their estimate of the U.S economy's fourth-quarter growth sharply lower yesterday, to a lackluster 2.2 percent annual rate from 3.5 percent, as initial estimates of U.S. corporations' inventory plans proved overly optimistic. Although the Commerce Department routinely revises its quarterly estimates of the nation's gross domestic product, yesterday's markdown was the biggest change in 13 years. Nonetheless, the new figure was precisely in line with economists' expectations, and it generated little stir on Wall Street or among economists.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. The Commerce Department also said Friday that the economy grew a little better than previously thought in the January-March quarter. It raised its estimate to a 2 percent rate, up from 1.9 percent. Growth at or below 2 percent isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month.

The County Council expects to amend the 1990 General Plan to reduce the projected growth rate over the next decade, Chairwoman Shane Pendergrass said last night.Ms. Pendergrass, D-1st, was responding to a suggestion from Greg Brown, president of the Cherry Tree Farm Neighborhood Organization in southeastern Howard."I recommend the council make a dramatic move" to lower the annual growth rate of 2,500 new homes over the next 15 years that is called for in the general plan, Mr. Brown said."I think we're looking at an amendment that would do just that," Ms. Pendergrass told him.Like most of the more than 115 people at last night's public hearing, Mr. Brown had planned to testify in support of a resolution by Councilman Charles C. Feaga, R-5th, to amend the general plan and do away with a so-called mixed use development in Fulton.

ANNAPOLIS - Southern Maryland's population grew by 18.2 percent from 1990 to 1997, the fastest growth rate in the state, according to new figures from the Census Bureau.But in raw numbers, Southern Maryland's growth was dwarfed by the Washington suburbs. Prince George's and Montgomery counties grew by a total of 112,000 people, more than a third of the entire state's growth for the time period.Baltimore's close suburbs of Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties matched the Washington suburbs, growing by nearly 113,000 people, or 8.6 percent.

Suburbia continued to spread out from Maryland's cities last year, with mostly rural Cecil and Calvert sharing top billing as the state's fastest-growing counties, according to population estimates released yesterday. The annual figures reported by the Census Bureau confirmed the rippling suburbanization that persists across the state, despite its nationally recognized Smart Growth policies aimed at concentrating development in and around cities and towns. `The fact that our outlying counties are the ones that are growing the fastest certainly points to the fact that maybe ... we haven't turned the supertanker of sprawl around yet," said Dru Schmidt-Perkins, executive director of 1000 Friends of Maryland, a group advocating more compact development.

Maryland's population continues to spread out, even as its overall growth is slowing, the latest census estimates show. Relatively lightly populated Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland counties experienced the highest growth rates in the state in the 12 months ending last July 1, while Howard County joined the big suburban jurisdictions of Montgomery and Baltimore counties as the leading gainers in absolute numbers of residents. For the first time, however, at least in recent years, Prince George's - the state's second-most-populous jurisdiction, after Montgomery - and Anne Arundel counties lost people, by census estimates.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy didn't merely shine in the third quarter. It sparkled. Economic growth in the July-September period raced ahead at a breathtaking 8.2 percent annual rate, a full percentage point above the government's 7.2 percent estimate of a month ago, the Commerce Department said yesterday. It was the highest quarterly growth rate in gross domestic product - the value of all goods and services produced within the United States - in almost 20 years, and was embraced by President Bush as proof of the effectiveness of his administration's economic policies.

Baltimore's metropolitan residential rental market has outperformed the national average due in part to the state's stable job market and because of the large number of government and military employees housed here. In 2002, Baltimore placed 12th among 70 apartment markets studied by Axiometrics Inc., a Texas-based real estate research firm. During the first quarter of 2003, Baltimore moved up to the ninth spot. The area's growth rate in terms of rental costs and occupancy stood at 3.3 percent during the first three months of this year while the national average posted a 1.8 percent decline.

Letter writer David Gosey makes the statement, "During the administration of President George W. Bush, the national debt increased from $5.7 trillion in January, 2001 to $10.7 trillion by December, 2008" and then questions why is it that now "Republicans get religion" on the subject ("Raising debt ceiling has long bipartisan history," June 7). By Mr. Gosey's own numbers, during the Bush years the debt rose $5 trillion in eight years. Under Obama, the debt has grown $4 trillion in three years.

WASHINGTON -- Armed with new evidence indicating that U.S. economic growth virtually stalled late last year, the Federal Reserve announced yesterday another half-point cut to a key lending rate in a bid to keep the economy out of recession. The Fed reduced its benchmark federal funds rate - the overnight rate that banks charge each other - to 3 percent. In just eight days, the central bank chopped its benchmark rate by 1.25 percentage points, emphasizing its concerns that the U.S. economy is going into a near stall.

Kim Letke bought her first Christmas gift of the season recently when she found the Moon Sand castle play set for her kids. But the Timonium woman believes it's probably going to be a tough season for her family because the work her husband does in the home improvement business has slowed along with housing sales. "We might be spending a little less this year," said Letke, as the stay-at-home mom watched her kids run around the play area at Towson Town Center recently. Retailers are hearing similar consumer concerns, and many merchants are braced for sluggish sales as they prepare for the holidays.

Maryland's population continues to spread out, even as its overall growth is slowing, the latest census estimates show. Relatively lightly populated Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland counties experienced the highest growth rates in the state in the 12 months ending last July 1, while Howard County joined the big suburban jurisdictions of Montgomery and Baltimore counties as the leading gainers in absolute numbers of residents. For the first time, however, at least in recent years, Prince George's - the state's second-most-populous jurisdiction, after Montgomery - and Anne Arundel counties lost people, by census estimates.

What does the future hold for my shares of Humana Inc.? - K.C., via Internet Recent success of the large health insurer is tied to its strong commitment to Medicare and its ability to capitalize on changes in that system. Membership in its Medicare Advantage prescription-drug plans exceeded 1 million in 2006, an 80 percent increase for the year. An additional 100,000 members joined during January. Shares of Humana (HUM) are up 8 percent this year after gains of 2 percent last year and 83 percent in 2005.

Government officials revised their estimate of the U.S economy's fourth-quarter growth sharply lower yesterday, to a lackluster 2.2 percent annual rate from 3.5 percent, as initial estimates of U.S. corporations' inventory plans proved overly optimistic. Although the Commerce Department routinely revises its quarterly estimates of the nation's gross domestic product, yesterday's markdown was the biggest change in 13 years. Nonetheless, the new figure was precisely in line with economists' expectations, and it generated little stir on Wall Street or among economists.

The economy grew this winter at its fastest pace in more than two years, the government said yesterday, delivering a clear sign that the recession has ended and that an expansion has started briskly. But analysts said that growth was unlikely to continue at the 5.8 percent pace of the first three months of the year, pointing to signs that the economy has weakened slightly this month. Most stocks fell yesterday as worries about profits and a report showing a small decline in consumer confidence outweighed the news that first-quarter growth exceeded even the most-optimistic predictions, analysts said.

WASHINGTON -- Call this Y6B: the year of 6 billion, a milestone the world's population is expected to reach this weekend.The birth of the planet's 6 billionth inhabitant, projected by the U.S. Census Bureau, will mark another historic first: The world's population has doubled in less than 40 years.Despite a gradual slowing of the overall rate of growth, the world population is increasing by 78 million people a year. That's the equivalent of adding a city nearly the size of San Francisco every three days, or the combined populations of France, Greece and Sweden every year, according to a coalition of environmental and population groups.