Impact

Citigroup announced this morning it would lay off 11,000 employees - about 4 percent of its workforce - to save money. A Citi spokesman said the layoffs are expected to have little impact in Maryland, where the company employs 3,600 workers. Less than 1 percent of those Maryland employees will be affected, the spokesman said. Citi plans to close one branch here while other affected Marylanders work in the operations and technology group, the spokesman said. The location of the branch wasn't disclosed.

NASHVILLE -- Impacted first hand by colleagues being diagnosed by cancer, public relations officials from Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs announced Monday afternoon they have organized a unique online auction to benefit Stand Up to Cancer. The cause has impacted the Orioles directly. The club's public relations director, Monica Barlow, is battling Stage 4 lung cancer. “I don't want to be a spotlight person," Barlow said. "Millions and millions of people are affected by this disease.

Why does the Chesapeake Bay Foundation refuse to take seriously the threat posed by the Conowingo Dam's inability to hold back Susquehanna River pollution? With respect to the effect of Susquehanna River pollutants, the bay foundation has taken an inexplicable U-turn in its long-held doctrine regarding pollutants and the Chesapeake. In August, the U.S. Geological Survey reported last year's Tropical Storm Lee contributed 39 percent of the sediment, 22 percent of the phosphorus and 5 percent of the nitrogen flowing through the Conowingo Dam over the entire previous decade.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and 13 other mayors on Thursday met with Vice President Joe Biden , House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other high-ranking federal officials in Washington D.C. to discuss the impact of the looming " fiscal cliff " on their cities. "He made it clear that he gets it," Rawlings-Blake said of Biden after meeting with him. "Even though he's never been a mayor, he understands the need to invest in infrastructure. " Rawlings-Blake was joined by the mayors of Denver, Minneapolis and other cities.

The Carroll County Department of Economic Development is working with the Maryland Department of Economic Development to assess the county's business losses related to Hurricane Sandy, late last month. Carroll County business owners who suffered any losses in the storm are asked to call the Carroll County Department of Economic Development to report the loss as soon as possible. The department is gathering contact information and type of loss, along with a cost estimate, and will forward the data to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, as well as the Maryland Emergency Management Association (MEMA)

Description : People from the Carolinas to the Midwest to New England, including Maryland, knew the Aug. 23, 2011, 5.8 magnitude earthquake was rare as soon as they felt its rumblings. But U.S. Geological Survey research has show just how unusual – the quake triggered landslides over an area 20 times larger than previous research has shown to be possible or likely. Researchers : USGS scientist Randall Jibson was the lead author on the study, being published in the December issue of Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland  sports. Who will be Maryland's quarterback next season -- or at least who will be in the mix? Jeff Barker: Coaches won't discuss this yet -- they've been asked. They typically don't like looking that far ahead. They've got their hands full finding enough healthy bodies at the position to make it through the rest of this season.

To those of us who had our phone/Internet/cable service interrupted for several days during the recent storm, don't forget to call your provider for a financial adjustment. I don't know of a provider that is taking the initiative to automatically make the adjustment. I called my provider to make the adjustment for the six days I was out of service. They calculated the amount that I paid per day and multiplied that by six days that I was out to arrive at a $24-plus adjustment on my bill.

A winter storm forecast to drop a few inches of snow from Philadelphia to New England was expected to mostly spare the Baltimore area, with little but flurries and cold winds overnight Thursday. The nor'easter tracked farther east than many forecast models had predicted. With a narrow band of precipitation to the storm's west, most of the rain, sleet and snow stayed over the Delmarva Peninsula and the ocean. Relatively warm ground temperatures also prevented accumulation. With a chance missed for the season's first snowfall, it could be a while before the region gets another taste of winter.

A large, two-alarm fire tore through an Odenton apartment building near Fort Meade on Wednesday afternoon, damaging 12 units and displacing about 30 people, according to the Anne Arundel Fire Department. The fire occurred in the same Seven Oaks complex that was damaged by another two-alarm fire in September. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, said Chief Michael Cox, a department spokesman. Firefighters responded about 1:11 p.m. to find fire coming from the rear of the building, burning up the complex's three stories.