Labor Day

Labor Day is a special kind of portal in the calendar year. Pools close and schools open. More than the first day of spring or even Memorial Day, Labor Day is the slamming of the door on one season and the beginning of another. A new school year is a fresh start in a way that New Year's Day cannot match. It is new shoes and a new teacher and a chance to begin again. Even if your children are grown and gone, the first day of school still has that hint of promise: remembering the scent of freshly sharpened pencils, seeing the school buses lumbering through your neighborhood.

With its dizzying number of storylines, Monday night's Maryland-Miami game hardly feels like a season opener. How can an early-September game — with the weather still warm and humid and students having barely arrived on campus — produce drama so rich? It's the regular-season debut not only of Maryland coach Randy Edsall but of Miami coach Al Golden. It's Miami's first game since eight players were suspended by the NCAA for accepting impermissible benefits from now-jailed former booster Nevin Shapiro.

This schedule will be in effect Monday: County offices Government offices and courts: Closed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties. Libraries: Closed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties. Schools: Closed in all jurisdictions. Trash: No pickup in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties. In Carroll, Frederick and Harford, check with contractors. Howard has no recycling pickup.

Judging by the questions prospective guests ask when they call her beachfront hotel, some people seem to think that Ocean City got washed away by Hurricane Irene, says longtime employee Carol Dickel. "They're asking, 'Are you still there? Is everything OK? Can we come down?'" Dickel is quick to reassure callers that the 180-room Castle in the Sand hotel held up well and has fully reopened. Like Dickel, many hoteliers and merchants at Maryland and Delaware resorts are eager to show Labor Day travelers that there is life after Hurricane Irene.

Send info about openings and closings to healthcalendar@baltsun.com. What's open •The Maryland State Fair at the Timonium Fairgrounds will re-open Sunday at noon following an inspection of the grounds and rides. •The Town of Ocean City will reopen to the public Sunday beginning at noon. The beach will be open but access to the surf will be restricted. •The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show at the convention center in Baltimore will open at 11 a.m. Sunday.

HAMPSTEAD - The "What A Gem," car show will be held Labor Day Monday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Elite Auto Works, 1111 S. Main St., Hampstead. The show will include antiques, street rods, customs, trucks, imports, motorcycles and other vehicles. There will be music, door prizes, a moon bounce, face painting and food available. The event will be held rain or shine. Admission is free, but cars that wish to enter are asked to pay $10, with proceeds benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project through the Hampstead American Legion Post No. 200. For more details, call Tim, at 410-239-8765.

For years, Baltimore has been a city divided on east-west lines. East Baltimore political organizations vie with those in West Baltimore. The city's high schools have spirited crosstown rivalries, such as Dunbar and Douglass. Loyalties on the college landscape - Coppin State and Morgan State for example - often divide along the same east-west axis. But on Labor Day weekend, the city's orientation will change; Baltimore will become a north-south town. The Baltimore Grand Prix , a series of races Sept.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves has not had the season he had expected, which is one reason he is eager to come to the IndyCar Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 2-4. No one has driven the track that will be set up here in the next eight weeks, and that means every driver will be on a level playing field. Castroneves, who grew up racing on street courses in his native Brazil and around the world, considers that an advantage. "I'm really excited to race there," Castroneves said this past weekend.

Opening day for Laurel city pools is Saturday, May 28 when both the Laurel Municipal Pool, 901 Main St., and the Greenview Drive Pool, 14403 Greenview Drive, are open from noon to 8 p.m. Pool hours are 4 to 8 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 8 p.m. on weekends through June 17, which is the last day of school for Prince George's County schools. Beginning June 18, pool hours are noon to 8 p.m. through Labor Day. The city offers season passes and swim lessons. For rates and schedules, call Laurel Parks and Recreation at 301-725-5300.

Fredi Gonzalez, high on Cubs general manager Jim Hendry's list of managerial candidates, remains the front-runner to replace the Braves' Bobby Cox . … Tony La Russa and Colby Rasmus (above) have a strained relationship, but it's hard to see the Cardinals trading Rasmus if they re-sign La Russa. The interest in him would be huge. … Don't look for the Rays to pass the Yankees, who have been in first place after Labor Day in 41 seasons and failed to hang on to first only twice, in 1906 and 1944.