Ideas

Thanks for a balanced op-ed page on Jan. 4 when you had Gov. Martin O'Malley patting himself on the back for his meaningless and justly-forgotten "Believe" campaign ("O'Malley: believing worked") right next to Marta Mossburg's intelligent commentary with suggestions that could actually improve the state of Maryland ("Md. needs fewer laws, not more"). One would hope that the former writer would take a break from his voodoo financial funds-shifting and gerrymandering and read the latter one's suggestions.

When Mount St. Mary's took the unusual route of redshirting attackman Cody Lehrer, midfielder Eric Ososki and long-stick midfielder Mark Burns so that they would be able to use their final year of eligibility in 2013, the move appeared risky but well-conceived with the winner of the Northeast Conference tournament earning the league's first automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. But a 0-3 start in conference play capped by a 12-11 loss to Robert Morris on April 14 eliminated the Mountaineers from contention for the four spots in the Northeast tournament.

If the O'Malley administration keeps taxing everything we do, what we buy, the bridges we cross, etc., we will soon be taxed for the pets we have. Oh no! I shouldn't have mentioned that! Senora McGuire, Dundalk

Baltimore teens Rickya'h Brooks and Marquise Robinson never really feel welcome at the Inner Harbor. They say police cast a judgmental eye on all kids who go there, especially African-Americans. And they're frustrated that the waterfront mall provides little entertainment for young people and restricts their access to shopping. They and a dozen other inner-city youths have been working for the past year on a proposal to change all that. Wednesday night, they gathered at West Shore Park to begin presenting the ideas of their Inner Harbor Project - recommendations to encourage a dialogue between youth and businesses, establish goodwill with police and limit youth-on-youth violence.

I spoke with a friend/fellow bride-to-be recently who brought up something I hadn't really considered before. In terms of wedding planning, when is it appropriate versus inappropriate to copy off of another bride's ideas? Obviously in the world of social media, especially Pinterest, it sometimes can be hard not to copy, but typically that's taking an idea from a stranger who you don't even know. That, I think, is completely appropriate…and I'm very grateful to all of the strangers whom I have snatched ideas from during the planning process.

I would like to compliment Dan Rodricks on yesterday's column ("Angry Americans: What do you want?" Oct. 5). His succinct description of the economic situation was a breath of fresh air in a poisoned atmosphere of so-called conservative rants against taxes, spending and incumbents. I understand that we tried their recipe for success when we had the last economic crisis in this country. It was called "The Depression. " These groups are more effective in their public relations drumbeat than in the consistency of their logic, and the media, by and large, do not present a balanced account.

Something really important to me for the wedding is to make sure my mom is honored in a special way. As a little bit of background, my mom was a single mom most of my life and raised three kids (eventually four but the littlest came much later), while going to school and working full time. Somehow she managed to raise us all to be strong individuals who can succeed at anything we put our mind to. I think having to deal with hard times made her a better mom, and I wouldn't change a thing about how she raised me if I could.

Federal workers are in the trenches daily, so they're likely to be the first to spot waste - and to come up with ways to save taxpayer dollars. That's the theory behind the Obama administration's Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) Award, a contest in which federal workers submit ideas to reduce costs. The prize: a meeting with the president in the Oval Office to present the money-saving idea. Matt Ritsko, a financial manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, won last year with a suggestion to create a "library" for unused tools and materials that could be checked out like books.

John Palasits envisions an electronic menu that would enable restaurant customers to place their orders when ready instead of summoning a waiter. Rhyan Guidry foresees a personalized hairstyling studio that would teach patrons to do their own locks. And Justin Carmona is exploring opening a gym that would cater to patrons six days a week but reserve the seventh for high school teams' training. The three were among 13 Howard Community College students seeking to create and market their business ventures in a three-to five-minute product-pitching competition called "Rocket Marketing," which was held at the school this month.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein's recent comments about Maryland's juvenile justice system are disturbing and woefully out of sync with current best practices in juvenile justice ("Bernstein: juvenile justice system is 'not good'," June 1). There should be consequences for youth who commit criminal offenses, but they need to be based on what research tells us about adolescent development and what does and doesn't work with juvenile offenders. We know, for instance, that for the majority of youth incarceration isn't the answer.

A group of black men with visions to improve Baltimore were awarded grants between $10,000 and $20,000 for youth job training, the development of a debate camp at Morgan State University and teaching former prisoners to urban farm. The grants, collectively worth nearly $200,000, were announced Tuesday by BMe, a network of black men working with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to strengthen communities. "BMe is based on a simple truth, that there are thousands of black men who are assets to their communities - and if the rest of us got behind people like these, the city would have more to celebrate," said Trabian Shorters, founder of Black Male Engagement, or BMe. "They are men from all walks of life.

A few guidelines come along with being part of a bridal party. You generally have to buy a dress and shoes, get your makeup and hair done but most importantly be there for the bride and partake in the important events leading up to the wedding. These events usually include the bridal shower and bachelorette party. One of my bridesmaids is my cousin, Taylor, who will only be 16 at the time of these events. It won't affect the shower obviously but I worry about her not being able to be involved in the bachelorette party.

Government leaders are asking us to out-innovate, out-export and out-work our competitors in order for the United States to turn this economy around. But what if our own government was instituting policies that proved to be some of the biggest obstacles in achieving those goals? For more than four decades, I have dedicated my life to developing novel medical technologies, such as implantable insulin pumps, rechargeable implantable pacemakers, heart stents and more. These therapies have improved the health and saved the lives of millions of patients in America and throughout the world, and spurred the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

If you ever find yourself looking for an excuse to eat more cupcakes, 11-year-old Krissa Hillman has a good one. The fifth-grader from Bollman Bridge Elementary School in Jessup is the creative mastermind behind Cupcakes for Literacy, a business that sells baked goods to benefit local schools, libraries and reading programs. "Literacy is a big part of life. You have to read everything," Hillman said. "So what better way to help people understand than though something everyone likes?"

It's no mystery that the crossroads of Routes 1 and 24 in Bel Air is a traffic tangle, so it's perfectly reasonable that the Bel Air town government would want to spend at least a portion of an unexpected $200,000 highway windfall on a study of the intersection. When it comes down to doing the study, though, figuring out what's wrong isn't really the issue. Figuring out how to disperse traffic at busy times of day is going to be the part that, if someone can figure out, is worth spending a fair amount of money on. There's no reason, however, to expect a good resolution to the difficult problem at hand.

President Barack Obama wants to invest an initial $110 billion in a study of the human brain that could have benefits as great as those achieved by the Human Genome Project. Maybe the first study should be done on the one-track minds of tea party Republicans who will undoubtedly oppose funding for the study because their brains are fixated on the single idea that government can do nothing right. After that, researchers could move on to figuring out Sarah Palin's brain. Perhaps they could answer this question: How can a person with so little knowledge and so little interest in acquiring knowledge imagine she has what it takes to be president of the United States?

Taneytown officials will meet with Land Design Research International Inc. next week to discuss the urban planning company's ideas for revitalizing the Taneytown square area at Baltimore Street and Route 194.The city hired Columbia-based LDR International to do the revitalization study and create a strategy for rejuvenating what the city will call its Town Centre.LDR International is supposed to define sites for development, renovation, off-street parking, signs, overhead utilities and road widths.

In the 1976 movie Network, anchorman Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, famously bellowed, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." Today, rather than stick his head out a window and scream, he might have created a Web site instead, like Mike Vallerie, a businessman in Baltimore, just did. Vallerie, who owns a trailer rental and storage business in South Baltimore, has, by his estimate and to little avail, written more than a hundred letters to members of Congress and to newspaper editors, who typically want him to trim his loquaciousness to 800 words or less.

A moment of silence, please, for the death of the combined reporting bill in the General Assembly. The corporate tax reform measure passed away suddenly last week, the result of a 7-6 vote by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, which has developed a nasty habit of killing the bill annually. In lieu of flowers, supporters ask that angry letters be sent to lawmakers. It came as no surprise, of course, but that doesn't make the death of combined reporting any less frustrating.

The Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber has created a new series of networking, educational and fun events bringing BWCC members together on the first Thursday of each month. "Go from Awkward to Awesome!" will be held Thursday, April 4, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the BWCC office, 312 Marshall Ave., Suite 104. The series is open to all members and their employees who want to enhance networking skills, share best practice ideas and learn how to build lasting relationships. There is no cost for BWCC members.