Laura

Barbara Simpson had pestered her 17-year-old daughter to record the carols that she sings every Christmas Eve service at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Severna Park. Churchgoers had started asking Laura Simpson if she planned to record. But Laura didn't seem interested, until her mother suggested that she sell the CDs to raise money for a charity. "Then, in her mind, there was a reason to do it," Simpson said. Now, what started as a holiday keepsake for the proud Severna Park mother has turned into a fundraiser for displaced children in war-torn Uganda.

Back to the futureANDREW C. Carpenter, spokesman for Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, commenting on the fact that the county does not have an official Web site: "We'll drag ourselves kicking and screaming into 1993 one of these years."-- Cheryl Tan`More wishes than wallet'IN OFFERING an update recently on preparations for the next fiscal year budget, Annapolis Mayor Dean L. Johnson said planning was going well.But he lamented: "We've got a lot more wishes than we have wallet."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Shortly after 4 in the morning, D. Wayne Lukas was back to work at Pimlico.He had just won the Preakness the day before with Charismatic, achieving two-thirds of the Triple Crown. Yet he and his wife, Laura, a couple immersed in horses, had returned to the Pimlico stakes barn in the deep black of night.After the Preakness, they had collapsed into their room at the Cross Keys Inn and called room service. They ordered cheeseburgers and milkshakes.They drank no champagne. They did not celebrate with friends.

THIEVES READ. The older ones, especially, the ones who have learned the tricks. Sometimes they get their ideas from newspapers. They read obituaries and funeral notices to learn when the homes of mourners are empty and vulnerable to burglary. They read classifieds that tell of open houses, garage sales and yard sales, which give those less skilled at burglary (or too old to climb through windows) opportunity for deception and theft.Thieves read. The ones who had a notion to go to Laura Rosenberg's moving sale probably got it from reading the ad she'd placed in this newspaper two weeks ago.Here's a notion: Return Laura Rosenberg's rings.

At least five people -- three of them children -- were killed in fires across Maryland yesterday, including an 11-year-old girl who was trapped on the second floor of her Southwest Baltimore rowhouse as she ran for water to douse the blaze.Police identified the girl as Laura Ashley Newton of the 500 block of S. Gilmor St.Laura had run upstairs to get water for her mother, Theresa Newton, to put out a kitchen fire. She was declared dead at the scene of the fire."She was saying, `Help me! Help me!

"The Muse," Albert Brooks' fitfully funny comedy of Hollywood manners, is a strange animal. By turns biting and breezy, it also remarkably retrograde, ultimately sacrificing wit to less interesting likability. Even though the movie is full of Brooks's characteristically caustic lines, he winds up pulling his punches, resulting in a toothless series of vignettes rather than an insider satire on a par with, say, "Bowfinger."Not that Brooks hasn't come up with a terrific premise. He plays Steven Phillips, a middle-aged screenwriter who can feel his career sliding into irrelevance.

Westminster High School has announced its honor roll for the second quarter of the 1998-1999 academic year.Students earning all A's on their report card were:Tenth grade: Jennifer Bockmiller, Diana Bode, Troy Borneman, Jon-David Byers, Diana Carr, Angela Casey, Laura Coons, Jameson Cowan, Kari Davidson, J. Duke IV, Sean Finch, Kirsten Graff, Katherine Henshaw, Zachary Hepler, Carrie Jackson, Catherine Johnson, Benjamin Joy, Michael Lueking, Heather MacGregor,...

I'm glad this isn't one of those columns where they have a mug shot of the writer up by the headline. It seems as though the picture rarely matches what the columnist writes about. Sure, there's Dave Barry, whose goofy-looking mug is fairly consistent with his topics. One look at that face and you're not surprised to read about boogers and spontaneous livestock explosions. In fact, over time, you come to expect it.But then there's a newspaper columnist known as "Dr. Laura," whose picture sports a grin that beams from ear to ear. Seeing that domineering smile, you'd expect to read nothing but cheerful, upbeat advice.

Visitors to the Laurel Park barn of Ben Feliciano Jr. sometimes mistake the young trainer for his hired help.Callers remark that it's wonderful how well his father is doing as a trainer.And patrons at the track can't help but think that the smiling trainer in the winner's circle looks remarkably like that nice young man who used to park cars.After tolerating such unintended slights, Feliciano received his just deserts when the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association named him the state's Trainer of the Year.

"I read the book 'Butterflies and Moths' by David Carter and there were more butterflies than there were moths. The real pretty moths live in other countries but the monarch butterfly lives in America. If you're interested in butterflies and moths, this is the book for you."- Jeremy Cross,Leith Walk Elementary"I like 'Christmas in the Big Woods' by Laura Ingalls Wilder because it tells you about Laura and Mary's life, and it has really good pictures."- Jesse Rice,Eldersburg Elementary"The best book I ever read is 'Stay!

The opening night of AACC's Moonlight Troupers' production of The Glass Menagerie drew an audience of 46 at Pascal Center for Performing Arts - smaller than the cast deserved. Theatergoers who chose to skip this early Tennessee Williams work because of its familiarity, having played in the county the past two springs, might have been surprised by this unusual version. The production was carried by the professionalism of the cast, but the presentation was at times incongruous, if not frustrating, because of the unusual musical selections and set design.

Hometown: Bethesda Members: Laura Baron, guitar and vocals; Pat Quinn, bass, guitar, piano and vocals Founded: 1987 Style: rock 'n' roll Influenced by: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alex Cuba, Shawn Colvin, Rosa Passos Notable: Baron recorded and released five children's albums before switching gears and making two albums of adult-oriented music. Her most recent effort, the jazz- and bossa nova-tinged Scenes from The Avenue, came out last year. For her next album, Baron said she wants to scale back the production and pare her sound down to a more straightforward, singer/songwriter setting.

On March 20, 2009, LAURA MAY BAUER; beloved wife of the late Charles A. "Bert" Bauer; devoted mother of Lona Mason and Charles Bauer; loving grandmother of Heather Bauer. Services will be private. Arrangements by Leonard J. Ruck, Inc.

On February 4, 2009, LAURA MEACHAM WILSON, of Brooklandville, beloved wife of Bruce P. Wilson; devoted mother of Jay M. Wilson, Barbara W. Schweizer, Katharine W. Denby and Laura W. Werntz; cherished grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of six. The family will welcome friends at a reception at The Elkridge Club, 6100 N. Charles St., on Saturday, February 14 from 4 to 6 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Laura's name may be made to...

On January 31, 2009; LAURA L. COOPER; loving and devoted mother of Frederick D. Cooper, Jr.; Deborah Branch, Donald S. Cooper, Winters C. Cooper, Annette Hill, Oliver T. Cooper, Evonne Cooper, Earl M. Cooper, Oscar Cooper, Andrea Hampton, Andre Cooper and Sarah Jennings. On today, friends may call Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 4905 York Road, where the family will receive friends from 4:30 to 8 P.M. On Saturday, services will be held at First Baptist Church, 525 N. Caroline Street, where the family will receive friends from 11 to 11:30 A.M with services to follow.

On January 31, 2009; LAURA L. COOPER; loving and devoted mother of Frederick D. Cooper, Jr.; Deborah Branch, Donald S. Cooper, Evonne Cooper, Earl M. Cooper, Oscar Cooper, Andrea Hampton, Andre Cooper and Sarah Jennings. On Friday, friends may call Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 4905 York Road, where the family will receive friends from 4:30 to 8 P.M. On Saturday, services will be held at First Baptist Church, 525 N. Caroline Street, where the family will receive friends from 11 to 11:30 A.M with services to follow.

On June 25, 2008, LAURA KRISTEN GODDARD Friends may call at the family-owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home Inc., 1050 York Road (Beltway Exit 26A), Sunday and Monday 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 PM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday 9:30 AM at St. Joseph Church-Fullerton. Entombment Druid Ridge Mausoleum.

Laura A. Randisi, daughter of Jim and Mary Randisi of Towson, and Brent M. Burkey, son of Terry and Sally Burkey of Berrysburg, Pa., were married April 5 by Fr. Joseph Tuscan, OFM, Cap. at Immaculate Conception Church in Towson. A reception was held at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley. Megan Erickson was Matron of Honor. Bridesmaids were Courtney Svajian, Maureen Hartshorn and Ashleigh Burkey. Ryan Romberger was Best Man. Groomsmen were Steven Romberger, Matthew Eyer and Thomas Randisi.

MARY LAURA KOONTZ, 97 formerly of Middletown, MD, died Friday, May 16, 2008 at her residence in Saddlebrook, Arizona. She was the wife of the late Frank Koontz who died in 1977. Born February 11, 1911 in Middletown Maryland , she was the daughter of the late Noah A. and Laura C. Wiles Korrell. Mrs. Koontz is survived by daughter Evelyn K. Musavi and son-in-Law Dr. Sadri Musavi, daughter Kay K. Koontz and son-in-Law Harry Lerner, granddaughters Stacy Bergensen, Pari Pham, grandsons David and Reza Musavi.

Not long ago, the global crisis in tainted and counterfeit drugs hit home for me. My cousin Laura - high-octane teacher, wife and mom - was rushed to her local emergency room. Six weeks earlier, she had had surgery for a broken tibia and fibula. Now a vein in her leg had clotted, and she needed immediate, high-dose anticoagulation. Physically and psychologically, Laura's first hospital stay had been bad enough. Unfortunately, after the surgery, no one had told her to stop taking her birth control pills because of the risk of clotting.