Locations

Pool supplier NAMCO LCC is closing four Maryland locations, the company announced Friday. The stores, in Glen Burnie, Perry Hall, Westminster and Frederick, will close after their inventory is sold. Deep discounts will be offered on inventory beginning Saturday, NAMCO said. In all, the company is closing 14 stores. In addition to the Maryland locations, stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey will close, according to a statement from the company. The New Jersey stores operate under the name Branch Book.

Someone's been making off with the big industrial batteries that provide backup power at traffic signals in Baltimore, and now the thefts are being investigated by the city inspector general's office, which looks into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse in municipal government. A representative of the battery's manufacturer said the thieves, whoever they are, most likely would have tried to sell the 54-pound batteries as scrap for their lead content. Russell Conelley, an agent in the IG's office, confirmed in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that it is investigating battery thefts reported to have occurred along Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore and Wilkens Avenue in Southwest Baltimore.

Nordstrom Rack, the discount affiliate of high-end department store company Nordstrom Inc., is opening an outlet in Columbia this spring. The roughly 41,000 square foot store opening at Columbia Crossing shopping mall will be the fourth Nordstrom Rack location in Maryland, Nordstrom Inc. said in a statement Monday. The three Rack stores currently operating in the state are in Annapolis, Gaithersburg and Towson. Nordstrom also has four department store locations in Maryland: Columbia, Towson, Bethesda and Annapolis.

Heavy Seas Alehouse is opening a second location in Rosslyn, Va. The new Heavy Seas will occupy nearly 6,000 square feet at the base of an office tower at 1501 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn, two doors down from Roti Mediterranean Grill. The restaurant is scheduled to open later this year. Heavy Seas Alehouse is part of $2.5 million in capital improvements planned to renovate the lobbies and retail spaces at 1501 and 1515 Wilson Boulevard, according to a statement released by Monday Properties, the Arlington, Virginia-based real estate investment firm that manages the properties.

Maureen Skelly remembers her trip to the beach after she graduated from high school. She and her friends spent every last nickel and didn't have enough cash to pay the toll on their way home. They had to go into the toll office and fill out a form promising to pay the money at a later date. Now that her son, Sean, is a senior at River Hill High School, she is hoping he will make wiser decisions during his Senior Week in Ocean City. "I wanted Sean to come and hear and get educated about appropriate behavior," said Skelly, sitting in the auditorium at Reservoir High School on Wednesday before a two-hour talk.

A backgammon table and a dart board: Those were the closest sports-related activities the Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille offered customers when it opened more than 30 years ago with a single location in Ocean City. The original owners first decorated the bibliophile-themed pub with stacks of books. Then they sold the bar to two former jocks from Salisbury University who immediately added a couple of televisions and began courting sports fans to come watch their favorite game. Today, the Greene Turtle is one of the area's best-known watering holes, with 16 restaurants in Maryland and Washington.

Beginning at 10:30 Saturday night, ice will be distributed to city residents at the following locations: 4501 Reisterstown Road 601 Cherry Hill Road 1700 N. Gay St. 1601 Baker St.

The Harford County Department of Public Works, Recycling Office has announced the location and availability of recycling for Christmas trees and similar greenery following the holiday season. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility will be open Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility is at 3135 Scarboro Road in Street. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site will be open on Saturdays only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site is at 703 N. Tollgate Road in Bel Air. For additional information, contact Robert Ernst, recycling program ,manager for Harford County, 410-638-3417 or crernst@harfordcountymd.gov .

Below is a list of the 10 locations where the most citations from the school zone speed cameras were issued. The citations shown were issued between November 2011 through December 2012. School(s) Location Citations Hours Centennial HS/ES and Burleigh Manor MS Centennial Lane (Ellicott City) 4,378 463.68 Long Reach HS Old Dobbin Road (Columbia) 3,695 322.76 Hollifield Station ES Rogers Avenue (Ellicott City) 2,937 250.9 MD School for the Deaf Old Montgomery Road (Columbia)

Merritt Athletic Clubs and the Michael Phelps Swim School are partnering on additional swim-school locations. The Michael Phelps Swim School will expand from a single location at Meadowbrook Aquatics Center to include the Merritt Athletic Clubs' Towson, Eldersburg and Canton locations. Swim classes include personal safety, stroke development, water sports and games, personal growth and rescue skills.

The sales force for the port of Baltimore travels the country and the world, looking for business. It could be farm equipment manufactured in the Midwest on its way to Australia or furniture coming from South America or Alabama-built Hondas headed for Russian dealerships or outdoors gear ordered by U.S. retailers. "We want it," said Richard Powers, director of trade development. Baltimore's sales plan, formed several years ago, targets autos, containers, farm and construction equipment, forest products and passenger cruises.

An educational testing firm is planning a job fair Friday for positions at its new facility in Baltimore County. Prometric says the event is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Hampton Inn Baltimore/White Marsh, located at 8225 Town Center Drive. The company is hiring customer-service employees for its new location in White Marsh. Job seekers should bring copies of their resume and be prepared to meet recruiters and hiring managers, the firm said. The company has corporate headquarters in Canton, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ETS. People also can search for Prometric jobs at prometric.submit4jobs.com . alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

UPDATE: O'Malley's spokeswoman, Raquel Guillory, said late Wednesday that the governor had a meeting with the mayor and discussed "the history of the case and the formation of the task force. " O'Malley thanked Rawlings-Blake for the city's participation on the Maryland Prison Task Force, which "made the case with state and federal partners," Guillory said. She added that the governor asked for the city's "continued  participation as we work to expand this beach-head and follow this case as far and high as it goes.

I had my bachelorette weekend recently and it made me think about all of the different options available in and around Baltimore. There really is something suitable for every bride. For example, mine was an entire weekend in one of my favorite places on earth - Ocean City, MD. While the weather was a bit chilly it was perfect for me to be at the beach, enjoy all of my favorite restaurants and bars and relax with the women in my life who mean the most to me. Other weekend getaways in and around the area include Annapolis, D.C., Deep Creek, Philadelphia or even Atlantic City.

Maryland's gaming control commission granted Rocky Gap Casino Resort preliminary approval Friday to begin gaming operations on May 22, pending the results of a controlled demonstration two days prior. Rocky Gap would become the state's fourth casino, and its smallest. Evitts Resort, a subsidiary of Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment, plans to have only 558 slot machines and 10 tables games available, and has said it will hire 250 employees for its gaming operation. The casino will be open 24 hours a day. Table games will include blackjack, roulette, three-card Poker, Mississippi Stud and craps.

Dallas-based chain of bakery/cafes La Madeleine Country French Café is eyeing the Baltimore area, with plans to open up to eight new franchised locations. A Baltimore-area restaurant is expected to open in the next year, with several more opening shortly after, a company spokesman said Monday. The restaurants in the Washington, D.C., market "are doing extremely well, and the company's momentum in the mid-Atlantic region is fueling its growth toward Baltimore," said Jason Gilbreth, the spokesman.

Two of the city's six mobile speed cameras were moved to new locations this week: One on northbound Van Dusen Road, between Laurel Park Drive and Olive Branch Way; and another on Sandy Spring Road, near Phillip Powers Drive. The cameras were installed and activated Monday, July 18, in anticipation of schools opening next month, according to city officials. Other speed camera locations in the city include one on Seventh Street, at Main Street; two on Cherry Lane; and a second camera on Van Dusen Road.

We knew these were coming, but they managed to open without our noticing. We need some new scouts. Stone Mill Bakery opened a second cafe a few months ago in the Stevenson Village Shopping Center. It operates much like the one in Green Spring Station , except there's no dinner service and none planned for now. Ordering is done at a counter, but the food is delivered to the table. The cafe is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. And last month, Greg Nalley opened his second Nalley Fresh location on Schilling Circle in Hunt Valley.

Pool supplier NAMCO LCC is closing four Maryland locations, the company announced Friday. The stores, in Glen Burnie, Perry Hall, Westminster and Frederick, will close after their inventory is sold. Deep discounts will be offered on inventory beginning Saturday, NAMCO said. In all, the company is closing 14 stores. In addition to the Maryland locations, stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey will close, according to a statement from the company. The New Jersey stores operate under the name Branch Book.

I've always liked to get work done in short, aggressive bursts. From term papers in high school to cleaning the apartment last Saturday - I'll wait, wait, wait and then with head down and eyes narrowed, blitz all that needs to get done in one fell swoop. When moving to Baltimore, Sam and I looked at 15 apartments in two days. We were practically delirious when we signed our current lease, so I count us fortunate to have made a good choice. Shopping for a wedding venue was not much different: one Saturday, four locations.