Lake Shore Drive

The state legislators who represent Pasadena saw a $121 million surplus in Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund and figured they might be able to get $5 million of that to widen Mountain Road and relieve some of the rush-hour traffic jams.Del. John R. Leopold has asked state Transportation Secretary David L. Winstead to use some of that money next year to put the long-delayed project "on the front burner."Mr. Leopold sent a letter this month requesting the action. State Sen. Philip C. Jimeno and Dels.

Toy poodle kennel permitted to expandA zoning hearing officer has given a Pasadena family permission to expand a 1-year-old toy poodle kennel to house up to 25 dogs.Jacqueline and John Listman have received a special zoning exception to operate the expanded kennel on seven acres on the south side of Magothy Bridge Road, near the intersection with Edwin Raynor Boulevard.Administrative Hearing Officer Robert C. Wilcox approved a new 12- by 20-foot outdoor kennel that would allow them to keep up to 25 dogs.

For more Baltimore convention information, call the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association at (410) 659-7300 within Maryland or (800) 343-3468 outside Maryland.* Oct. 20-24: Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History convention at Omni Inner Harbor. Contact Gail Hansberry, 1407 14th St., Washington, D.C. 20005. Expected attendance: 400.* Oct. 25-26: Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters national convention at Convention Center. Contact Liliana Heindel, Kahler Hall CB 9, 720 Providence Road, Malvern, Pa. 19355.

A county police officer and four other men suffered minor injuries yesterday, when a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro hit a police car on Crain Highway, county police said.Witnesses told police the driver of the Camaro, Paul William Drgos, 20, of the 7800 block of Americana Circle in Glen Burnie, was westbound on Aquahart Road shortly after 12:30 a.m. He did not stop at the red flashing traffic light at the Crain Highway intersection, police said.The police car, a 1995 Chevrolet Caprice driven by Officer Patrick Andrew Fisher, was northbound on Crain Highway in the left lane when it was struck by the Camaro.

For want of enough books, a new library planned for the Long Point Mall on Mountain Road will not open in June as originally planned.The county has purchased only a quarter of the branch's planned 40,000-book collection, and may not have the money to buy the rest, Library Director Ed Hall said."

Relief to long-suffering Mountain Road motorists came a step closer yesterday when the state set aside $500,000 to study widening a portion of the heavily traveled Pasadena route.The money will be used to analyze the environmental impact of adding a lane to the eastbound and westbound sides of Mountain Road between Route 100 and Lake Shore Drive.The one-mile stretch is three lanes wide with the middle lane designated as a left-turn lane.A State Highway Administration traffic study showed about 27,000 motorists use Mountain Road daily.

Redistricting won't cure school crowdingI would like to provide additional information for your editorial from Jan. 1, "The year ahead in Maryland."Comprehensive redistricting will not solve the problem of overcrowding in Anne Arundel County. The high schools in Anne Arundel County and the state in general are feeling the effects of the "baby boom echo."Your newspaper reported on this Aug. 2: , "Md. public high schools expected to enroll 263,000 students in 2007; Student boom strains schools in Md., nation."