Love

I'm confused about choosing a color to paint my kitchen. I've heard that green is the color of the year. And then I hear about gray being the new neutral. What are the best colors to paint the kitchen? A kitchen should be an inviting gathering space, so warmer or brighter tones are ideal, such as deep ivories, rich coppers, luscious reds, golden yellows and yellow-greens. Be sure to take countertops, appliances and floors into consideration when selecting your color. You'll want something that complements these accents and flows naturally into the surrounding rooms of your home.

"Could people like Bob Dole, even Ronald Reagan -- could you make it in today's Republican Party?" Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday" asked former Senate Majority Leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole. "I doubt it," Mr. Dole replied. "Reagan wouldn't have made it. Certainly, Nixon couldn't have made it, because he had ideas and -- We might have made it, but I doubt it. " Let me state up front that I have incredible respect and admiration for Mr. Dole. He's an American hero and was a politician of undisputed integrity.

The small but heavy package arrived in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and was delivered around lunchtime. Cam Cameron ripped open the package and gazed at his championship ring from Super Bowl XLVII, the one the Ravens went on to win after relieving him of his duties in December. The dazzling ring weighed 380 grams, was encrusted with 243 round-cut diamonds and crafted in 10-karat white gold with yellow highlights. Without a hint of resentment, the team's former offensive coordinator who was at times the most-scrutinized man in the Baltimore area, said he appreciated the gesture from the Ravens and their owner, Steve Bisciotti.

Orioles' right-hander Freddy Garcia isn't going to throw eight scoreless innings every time out like he did Thursday night against the Washington Nationals in the Orioles' 2-0 win. In fact, he hasn't done that since Sept. 19, 2006 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. That's nearly seven years ago. Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was 14 back then. So Garcia isn't going to make a habit of pitching that deep into games, we know that. But when he is mixing his pitches effectively and keeping them low in the strike zone, the 36-year-old can still be victorious.

WJZ meteorologist Bernadette Woods is leaving the CBS-owned station to join a non-profit firm in New Jersey focused on climate change, she said Wednesday night. Woods, who has been with WJZ for seven years, said she will remain at the station helping with the transition for the next month. After that, she, her husband and their two children will be moving to Princeton, N.J., where she will join Climate Central as staff meteorologist. "I'm very excited about the opportunity in Princeton," she said.

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

They don't make many power couples like this: He's a self-proclaimed whistle blower, the focus of international headlines and Obama administration ire. She describes herself as a "world-traveling, pole-dancing super hero. " Edward Snowden and Lindsay Mills lived in a modest blue clapboard house with white trim here in a Honolulu suburb until about six weeks ago. Their former neighbors described them as quiet and private. On Sunday, Snowden announced that he was responsible for leaking secrets about America's telephone and Internet surveillance pograms to the media, reviving a global debate about Big Brother-style government surveillance of private citizens.

Hello rose lovers and welcome to Season 9 of The Bachelorette!  It's been a long 77 days for us 'Bachelor' fans, but I am back and ready to bring you the play-by-play as we follow Desiree on her second chance at love, which is sure to be filled with testosterone-fueled drama! The “journey for love” starts as Des drives up in a dingy Honda Accord and gazes at her new Malibu beach pad.  Chris Harrison greets her at the Malibu beach house door and takes her for a tour of her new digs.  As they walk from room to room, we are reminded of Des' humiliation as she begged Sean not to let her go last season.

April 1 is the official start to the blue crab harvest in Maryland. But don't reach for your mallet just yet. "It's not time for crabs," said Jessica Borowski, a manager at Midtown BBQ and Brew. "It's too cold out. " The crabs seem to agree. The Chesapeake Bay's water temperature hasn't risen enough for the crabs to become active - and catchable. Consumers set on Maryland crabs will see limited availability for now - and prices to match. Prices for Chesapeake Bay crabs are typically high at the start of the season, and people who want them in April will have to pay even more than usual.

Josephine Grace "Joey" Gay, a 7-year-old child born in Columbia who died Dec. 14 in the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting, was recalled by her family for her "indomitable" spirit, love of the color purple and her generosity. In a statement released Thursday, her father, Robert "Bob" Gay, and her mother, the former Michele Hartman, acknowledged the "love and kindness pouring in. " They said, "We see how evil is defeated. " They said their daughter was "autistic and severely apraxic.

Wedding date: April 20, 2013 Tom's story: Tom Gloss, 59, grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. He is a retired federal employee. His mother, Wilma, is a homemaker and his father, Norman Gloss Sr., is deceased. Jim's story: Jim Flower, 63, grew up in LaSalle, Ill. He owns James E. Flower Insurance Agency in Owings Mills. His mother, Darlene, and his father, James E. Flower Sr., are deceased. Their story: Tom and Jim met in July 2001. Both had been previously married, gotten divorces and were looking for love.

Hello rose lovers and welcome to Season 9 of The Bachelorette!  It's been a long 77 days for us 'Bachelor' fans, but I am back and ready to bring you the play-by-play as we follow Desiree on her second chance at love, which is sure to be filled with testosterone-fueled drama! The “journey for love” starts as Des drives up in a dingy Honda Accord and gazes at her new Malibu beach pad.  Chris Harrison greets her at the Malibu beach house door and takes her for a tour of her new digs.  As they walk from room to room, we are reminded of Des' humiliation as she begged Sean not to let her go last season.

When passersby drive through West Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester community, they won't see flags symbolizing unity or notice traces of an affluent town. What they will see is a neighborhood once riddled with drug trade and prostitution, now being transformed with the help of activists like Pastor C.W. Harris. A native of Sandtown-Winchester, Harris is one of 15 BMe Leadership Award recipients being recognized as black men doing their part to better Baltimore. Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, BMe (Black Male Engagement)

Frances M. Finney, who overcame poverty, earned a college degree and became a city school teacher, died April 19 from heart failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Guilford resident was 82. Frances Mae Hopkins was born in Baltimore and was raised in her maternal grandmother's Etting Street rowhouse. "Like many African-American families in the 1930s and 1940s, she grew up poor and remembered being taunted by others because of the neighborhood where she lived," said a daughter, Joyce E. Stewart, who is director of implementation and compliance for the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.

The One Love Foundation announced Thursday that North Carolina's Zoe Skinner (Towson High) and Loyola's Jason Crane (Chesapeake-Anne Arundel) have been selected as the 2013 Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award winners.  Now in its third year, the award celebrates selfless acts of initiative and commitment performed by Division I lacrosse players; it is named after the former Notre Dame Prep and Virginia player.  Skinner and Crane are being rewarded...

Succulents aren't just for the desert anymore. These heat and humidity lovers, with their dramatic leaf shapes and their striking colors, are the answer to the Mid-Atlantic summer and perfect for containers, pots and window boxes, even vertical gardens. And they have one more advantage. "I love the idea of having plants but not actually having to take care of them," said Catonsville DIY blogger Jocie Hagan, who offered a workshop on planting succulent dish gardens recently at Home Depot in Ellicott City.

I overhead two teenage boys boasting about the many new whiskers that had sprouted on their faces during their summer vacation from school. I stopped short of chuckling out loud, though, because when I was their age I counted my whiskers, too. Although it was tempting, I also stopped short of suggesting a method that's supposed to hurry their whiskers into sprouting early. According to Mediterranean folklore, teenage boys growing up in villages throughout southern Europe rub onto their faces an ointment of olive oil, rosemary leaves and the ashes of a plant called "lad's love" ( Artemisia abrotanum )

Ok, love might be a little strong. But if you think the place where you work is one of the best, the Sun would like to know. One of our assistant business editors is compiling a list of the top workplaces. You can nominate your employer here . Of course, given all the layoffs in recent years and the survivors having to do more for less, we probably would get a better response if we polled for the unhappiest places to work.  

Coppin State University is a mess, and the problems go well beyond its abysmal six-year graduation rate of 15 percent. A report to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents by a committee assigned to study the school in the wake of former President Reginald Avery's departure found massive mismanagement, inefficiency and indifference. The state puts more resources per student into Coppin than any other institution in the university system, and it gets the least return. That's bad for the taxpayers, but it's worse for the students whose dreams of advancement go unfulfilled.

Now comes the Baltimore Sun editorial staff that just recently blasted the Second Amendment rights to gun ownership ("Ban assault weapons," March 22) raising the roof that the press' First Amendment Rights have been trumped on because of the gathering of AP phone records by the Obama administration's attorney general ("An assault on press freedom," May 15). Either the Sun editorial staff thinks their readers are too stupid to know the hypocrisy of their positions on these two issues, or they actually believe supporting the Constitution is a menu of pick and choose.