Keeton

Ruth Urice Keeton -- daughter of a postmaster, wife of a college vice president, mother of three, and political activist at a time when few women were in the political arena -- will be honored tonight by the Women's Bar Association of Howard County.Keeton was a pioneer for women in the county, said Bobbie Fine, immediate past president of the Women's Bar Association."We didn't even think of another name," Fine said of the association board's decision to name Keeton as recipient of its first recognition award for local women.

The Columbia Forum, a nonprofit think tank based in Columbia, has decided to eliminate its paid staff and focus on achieving community-improvement goals it outlined in a report this fall."