Lot

ASHBURN, Va. - One of the factors that contributed to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 23-20 win against the Ravens last Sunday was the Ravens' questionable decision to play the entire fourth quarter without giving running back Ray Rice a single carry or targeting him once in the passing game. Because of that omission, several members of the Washington Redskins - the Ravens' opponent this Sunday - said they fully anticipate that they will see a lot of Rice at FedEx Field in Landover. “We get the short end of the stick.

A Reisterstown home that sold in September for $1.25 million stood out because of its large, wooded lot. "Most of the properties in the area are on one acre or a portion of an acre," said Susan Hartman, the agent who sold the 10-year-old property. Hartman is with O'Conor & Mooney Realtors in Lutherville and sells residences across the state, she said. But this five-bedroom home sits on a piece of land that is nearly 22 acres, making it one of the largest lots in the Beaverbrook subdivision.

Goodier Baker, a homebuilder based in Lutherville, has acquired six lots in Ellicott City for the construction of single-family homes that will start in the mid- to upper-$500,000s, the company announced Tuesday. The homesites, near Rogers Avenue along High Ridge Road, are each about one-half acre. Buyers there will be able to choose from three new floor plans that the company is developing. The plans range from 2,700 to 3,300 square feet, according to the company's statement. Goodier Baker plans to begin developing the sites in the next few months and expects homes can be complete by the spring of 2013.

" Bible camp's cancelled. " -- Gyp Rosetti The rubble of Babette's Supper Club is still smoking and the echoes of last week's blast are still ringing in Nucky Thompson's ears. An episode like "The Milkmaid's Lot" could have gone down a very reflexive road. This might have been Nucky's episode to dream he's a different person while he recovers from his wounds (looking at you, Tony Soprano). Instead, Steve Buscemi turns in a stellar performance as a shell-shocked Nucky who just wants all his rivals dead and a pony for his stepdaughter.

The State Highway Administration will more than double the number of parking spots at the Davidsonville Park and Ride lot, a move officials say is a response to increased demand. Plans call for adding 240 spaces to the 210 now there. Construction, likely to start next summer, is expected to be completed next fall, said SHA spokesman David Buck. Some days the free lot — on Route 424 off U.S. 50 — is so full that drivers who don't find a space leave vehicles lined up along the lot's inner curbs and grassy islands.

Less than a week before the U.S. election, former president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev berated America and all but endorsed the sitting president and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner at an event I attended in Houston. Speaking last Thursday from a podium built by oil money and introduced by a socialite teetering in a French shoemaker's trademarked red-soled heels, he admonished those in the audience to scrap free enterprise for "sustainability. " Taking a theme from Barack Obama's campaign, Mr. Gorbachev said, "The goals of economic growth should not depend on super profits and overconsumption," to vigorous applause at the Wortham Center as the banners of major oil company arts patrons benignly welcomed visitors in the grand foyer.

Big Lots announced it is opening a new store at the Kent Towne Market in Chester on Friday, Nov. 16th. The opening will kick-off with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. at the new store at 24 Kent Towne Market.  The Ohio-based retailer said it would also be donating $2,500 to Bayside Elementary School. Big Lots, which sells deeply discounted merchandise, has more than 1,450 stores nationwide.  

A 9,000-square-foot house on nearly five acres in the heart of Howard County sold in September for $1.5 million. The Colonial at 13320 Wicklow Place in Clarksville was custom-built in 1996. The key selling points were features that typically aren't seen in modern houses, said Richard Watson, the seller's agent. "It's all brick," he said. "New construction and large houses will not be brick. " The other unusual details include a leather-and-mahogany-paneled library with a marble fireplace and a two-story foyer with a curved staircase and cherry inlaid hardwood floor.

In 2008, Paul Tough's first book, “Whatever It Takes,” told the story of the Harlem Children's Zone, a massive effort to leverage a pre-birth-through-high-school system of education services to change the trajectory of 10,000 children in one 97-block area. In his new best-seeling book, “How Children Succeed” - recently praised by commentators ranging from conservative David Brooks to liberal Nicholas Kristof - Mr. Tough examines the lifelong impacts of stress during childhood and the noncognitive skills, like grit and curiosity, that could help mitigate early learning deficits.

This is bigger than Big Bird or even binders full of women. The first two presidential debates and vast public reaction have raised too many media-related questions to be addressed in one column. But the ones involving huge conversations in social media demand a closer look - especially in terms of who's doing the talking and how representative or biased they might be. Tuesday's town hall showdown generated 12.24 million comments on Twitter and Facebook, making it the top political event of all time in social media.