Laid

Employees at the idled Sparrows Point steel mill will be able to get unemployment assistance from the staff of several Baltimore County agencies at a public fair next week, according to the county executive's office. The program will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the United Steelworkers Union Local 9477 Union Hall, 550 Dundalk Ave, a statement Thursday said. The outreach meeting was organized by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's office to help employees laid off by RG Steel, which halted the primary steelmaking operations at the Sparrows Point facility at the end of December.

The owner of the Sparrows Point steel mill has told state unemployment insurance officials that about 720 workers at the Baltimore County plant are being furloughed and are expected back on the job March 4. Managers started telling workers last Thursday not to show up for work this week in what was described then as an "indefinite" layoff, plant employees told The Baltimore Sun. The plant's owner, RG Steel, did not give Maryland officials notice...

Sparrows Point has shut down steelmaking operations as the Baltimore County plant struggles to pay its bills and win back customers, workers said Friday. Elizabeth "Bette" Kovach, a spokeswoman for Sparrows Point owner RG Steel, did not return several calls to confirm shuttering of the mill, which employs more than 2,200 workers. But analysts and workers said that managers began meeting with employees Thursday to tell them not to report to work next week. The shutdown comes nine months after RG Steel bought the steel mill from Russian company Severstal.

As a resident of Columbia for 42 years and of Hobbit's Glen for 19 years, I would like to thank Jervis Dorton for his letter regarding planned changes to the Hobbit's Glen clubhouse . He speaks for me and many of my neighbors in Hobbit's Glen who frequent the Coho Grill and who believe that the clubhouse, as originally conceived, is a perfect fit with the surrounding residential community. The low-slung and rambling design of the building integrates it nicely with the ambient landscape, while the internal architecture creates the warm and friendly atmosphere that Jim Rouse believed should be inherent in the design of our public buildings.

I am now a former educator from Prince George's County. I taught at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland for the past two years. This is where I also spent my internship during my senior year at University of Maryland. On June 27, 2011, I was informed that I would be let go from Prince George's County Public Schools on June 30 due my seniority and budgetary reductions. I will be replaced with a tenured teacher for the 2011-2012 school year. I come from a family of teachers, and for as long I can remember, I knew what my calling was, and what I was meant to do with my life.

Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. struck a wistful tone while speaking at his first public event since two top campaign aides were indicted, saying to the mostly African-American audience at the funeral Friday for former Del. Ruth M. Kirk that a "generation of political leadership is passing us by. " Ehrlich's address at a West Baltimore Baptist church came a week after the state prosecutor's office accused workers in his 2010 gubernatorial campaign...

It's beach season! Time for a week, if you are lucky, on the coast to enjoy all that the Maryland and Delaware shores have to offer — including some really great shopping. With a built-in captive audience of second-home owners, the Mid-Atlantic coastal towns offer a variety of home furnishings and accessories boutiques with merchandise that suggests a laid-back lifestyle without being overly beachy. For me, no trip to the shore is complete without stopping into my favorite shops to see what's new. Here are a few that are worth a beach detour: Boxwood Home 39 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del. One of my new favorites, Boxwood Home is perfect for home decorators looking to create a calm, sophisticated look.

Like letter writer John Starling ("Hampden owes a lot to Denise Whiting," June 13), I too became familiarized with Hampden because of Café Hon and moved here. I have watched its owner, Denise Whiting, only become better at what she does. There have been many businesses and restaurants that have opened in Hampden because they knew it would be profitable "settling" in a neighborhood that would embrace them, and we should thank Ms. Whiting for doing that groundwork! Arlene Layton, Hampden

On Monday — the first day of the week of preparation for the Final Four for the Duke men's lacrosse team — coach John Danowski announced after dinner that he was buying tickets for the entire team to see the latest installment of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Not many coaches whose team is the reigning national champion would open the week leading up to an NCAA tournament semifinal against Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in such fashion, but Danowski is anything but usual as a lacrosse coach.

William Donald Schaefer will be laid to rest Wednesday, but Marylanders will have several opportunities to say their goodbyes to the former governor. The week's itinerary and traffic advisories are below. Monday Schaefer to lie in state at Rotunda of Maryland State House Arrival ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Doors open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Motorcade begins at Schaefer's childhood home, 620 Edgewood St., and visits other city sites, 3:09 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lexington Market, 200 North Paca St., 3:22 p.m. Washington Monument, Mount Vernon Place, 3:32 p.m. Basilica of the Assumption, 409 Cathedral St., 3:38 p.m. Hippodrome Theatre, 12 N. Eutaw St., 3:44 p.m. Camden Yards, 3:48 p.m. Federal Hill neighborhood, 3:58 p.m. Schaefer Statue, Inner Harbor, 4:08 p.m. National Aquarium, 501 E. Pratt St., 4:12 p.m. Little Italy neighborhood, 4:18 p.m. Fells Point Plaza, South Broadway and Thames Street, 4:25 p.m. Lloyd Street Synagogues and Jewish Museum, East Lombard Street and Lloyd Street, 4:33 p.m. Healthcare for the Homeless, 421 The Fallsway, 4:38 p.m. Motorcade times are approximate Schaefer to lie in state at Rotunda of Baltimore City Hall Arrival ceremony at 5 p.m. Doors open 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. These streets will be closed to accommodate the motorcade on Monday: Saratoga Street between Gay and Holliday Streets, 3 p.m.–6 p.m. Lexington Street...