Homework

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - -As the undefeated Ravens measure themselves against the New England Patriots today, it's difficult to do the same with their starting quarterbacks. The Patriots' Tom Brady has won three Super Bowls, and the Ravens' Joe Flacco hasn't played three seasons. Flacco prefers casually walking through the front door of Bonefish Grill, and Brady tries to avoid paparazzi when whisking his Brazilian supermodel wife to the trendiest restaurants in Boston. Brady kicks back in limousines, and Flacco turns down the dealership when it wants to pick up his car for an oil change.

After every three-pointer, every dunk and every block, LeBron James turned and glared at the Boston Celtics' bench. The message was clear: Not here. James made five three-pointers and scored 29 points before dancing in his seat, and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the NBA champions, 107-76, on Sunday to move within one win of matching the 1985-86 Celtics for the best home record in league history. At 39-1, the Cavaliers can tie Boston's mark against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

By the time the dust settles, one thing will be clear: 2008 will be a year most homesellers, homeowners and lenders will want to forget. At the end of 2006, home prices had dropped 3.5 percent. At the end of 2007, home prices dipped again. As we move into 2009, home prices in 2008 had dropped by double-digits in parts of the country, according to the National Association of Realtors. If that weren't bad enough, November sales of existing homes plummeted 8.6 percent, to an annualized figure of about 4.5 million.

At one point during summer 2007, the volume of mail arriving at Bailey Webster's Towson home so overwhelmed the postal carrier that she knocked on the door asking to meet the person getting so much mail. When the door opened, she met the No. 1 volleyball prospect in the nation, a 6-foot-3 powerhouse of a hitter for St. Paul's. More than 200 coaches initially recruited her, inundating her with letters and media guides. "At one point, we were getting 25 to 30 pieces of mail just for her a day, and that doesn't include e-mail," said her mother, Cedrina Webster.

Operating a small business from home can free entrepreneurs from the costs of leasing space and commuting. But too many of them may short-change themselves when it comes to buying insurance. A recent survey commissioned by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America found that nearly 60 percent of the nation's 11 million home-based businesses do not have insurance coverage. Madelyn Flannagan, IIABA's vice president of education and research, explains that home-based business owners are at risk for financial losses associated with theft, accidental damage, natural disasters, vehicle accidents and liability if an employee suffers an injury while on the job or a business guest is hurt while visiting their business.

When Jade Wells spotted her middle school guidance counselor in the parking lot of her apartment complex, her eyes widened and a surprised smile spread across her face. The rising ninth-grader at Annapolis High School won't have Neasah Jones this year and missed seeing her welcoming face. "Are you excited about school starting?" Jones asked, wrapping Jade in a hug. "No," Jade said. "What do you mean?" said Jones, a counselor at Annapolis Middle School. Jade laughed. "Yeah, I'm excited," she said sheepishly.

For some workers looking to bolster their careers amid a slumping job market, going back to school can seem like a good choice. "When people are trying to decide whether to go back to school or not, they ask the question, 'How would this advance me in my job?'" says Susan D. Strayer, a former Johns Hopkins University career adviser and author of The Right Job Right Now. "Simultaneously, when the economy isn't doing well, you see fewer raises, advancements and promotions so you say, 'this is a good time to go back because I'm not going to miss out on anything.

Say you're having a dispute with a landlord over a lease. Or facing possible foreclosure proceedings amid the widening subprime mortgage crisis. Or being sued. Whatever the situation, you might want to seek legal advice to make sure your rights are protected when it comes to civil matters in an increasingly complex society, but with more than 33,000 attorneys in Maryland alone, it can feel daunting. Scouring the Internet or the Yellow Pages is not the only option. Several area bar associations offer referral services to help locate lawyers who specialize in certain litigation.

When River Hill High School 10th-grader Kelsey Balimtas sits down to do her homework, her cell phone and computer are always right in front of her. She would like to stay completely focused on the textbook, but honestly, she says, she just can't. Her cell phone calls to her with an irresistible buzz she can't ignore. She bounces from homework to text message to Facebook and back to homework. "I think the quality of my homework is decreased," she admitted. And so do college professors and high school teachers, who say this constantly plugged-in generation is less able to focus on subjects that take deep concentration.

It was during a meeting in mid-December with Baltimore County school officials on Towson's crowded elementary schools that Cathi Forbes realized she needed to do more than sit across the table and hope they'd do the right thing. The passion in her voice rose last week as she recalled the moment when school officials told her and a handful of other community members at the meeting that they were banking on a plan to build a school in Mays Chapel to alleviate the crowding that was forcing more students into portable classrooms each year.