Maryland Center

Former Baltimore Raven Orlando Brown died of a diabetic complication that is rarely fatal but can sometimes be quick to strike - and he might not even have known he had the underlying disease. The 40-year-old died in his Inner Harbor condominium Sept. 23 from diabetic ketoacidosis, but there were no signs he was taking insulin to treat diabetes or that a doctor had ever diagnosed him with the disease, according to the state's chief medical examiner. "We did not manage to find any evidence at the scene that indicated he had a medical diagnosis of diabetes," said medical examiner David Fowler.

The University of Maryland Medical Center will send layoff notices to employees at the end of the month as it looks to cut costs in the wake of federal budget cuts and what it and other state hospitals have called inadequate rate increases. Jeffrey Rivest, president and CEO of the Baltimore hospital, sent an email to managers Tuesday that said individual letters regarding layoffs would be given out June 25, 26 and 27. The number of people who will lose their jobs still is being finalized, said spokeswoman Mary Lynn Carver said.

As part of the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship speaker series, Andrew Kreinik, senior growth advisor for the Small Business Development Centers, will speak on "Think Global - SBDC Export Assistance Program" Friday, April 20 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at 9250 Bendix Road North, in Columbia. The focus is on the benefits of exporting for small businesses, support services available and which export activities are making it easier to export. Learn about the resources, financing and cost-free consulting available.

Summer health, safety tips The Department of Health offers sun and water safety tips, Lyme disease information for prevention and detection, as well as food safety recommendations designed to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses at picnics, barbecues and other outdoor activities. Visit the "Hot Topics" section of the health department's website, http://www.aahealth.org . Diabetes-healthy living A diabetes educator leads a program offering suggestions on how to make nutrition and exercise changes to help achieve weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and prevent diabetes.

Maryland center Alex Len has been named ACC Player of the Week. The sophomore from Antratsit, Ukraine set career highs in points (23) and rebounds (12) in the Terps' 72-69 loss to Kentucky at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Friday. Len shot 10-for-18 from the floor, and also contributed four blocks, which tied a career high. North Carolina State guard Rodney Purvis was named ACC Rookie of the Week after his 16-point performance in the Wolfpack's 97-59 win over Miami (Ohio)

COLLEGE PARK -- No one knew quite what to make of Alex Len when he arrived at the University of Maryland a year ago. On the one hand, he was a 7-foot-1 center with enough athletic ability to execute a perfect cartwheel before dunking the basketball at Maryland's Midnight Madness celebration. On the other, he was a kid who spoke so little English that he sometimes struggled with coaching instructions, who appeared timid when jostled by the well-muscled inside players of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mark Turgeon can barely bring himself to utter the words NCAA tournament these days. The superstitious Maryland basketball coach will begin shaking his head before a reporter can complete a question about Maryland's chances of advancing to what Turgeon has euphemistically referred to as the “four-letter word” tournament. While Turgeon considers it premature to speculate on Maryland's prospects, he knows that the team suffered a setback when it lost Tuesday night, 69-58, to a Boston College team that shut down Maryland center Alex Len. “I just don't get it,” Turgeon said afterward.

Summer health, safety tips The Department of Health offers sun and water safety tips, Lyme disease information for prevention and detection, as well as food safety recommendations designed to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses at picnics, barbecues and other outdoor activities. Visit the "Hot Topics" section of the health department's website, http://www.aahealth.org . Diabetes-healthy living A diabetes educator leads a program offering suggestions on how to make nutrition and exercise changes to help achieve weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and prevent diabetes.

Crabbing season officially begins in Maryland today, but the Chesapeake Bay's blue crabs apparently haven't gotten the word. My colleague Richard Gorelick reports that watermen, seafood dealers, restaurateurs and state natural resource officials all believe that chilly bay water temperatures lately could mean a meager harvest for now. "The cold temperatures are likely to keep early catches low," Brenda Davis, blue crab program manager of...

- Bulkier and more self-assured, Maryland center Alex Len appears poised for a breakout season after an uneven freshman year in which he said he struggled to adjust to the physical nature of the American game and to understand play calls because of his limited English. "I didn't understand a lot of plays," the 7-foot-1, Ukraine-born player said Tuesday in his first interview since joining the Terps last year. "I wasn't getting it, so it was really hard. I was really like confused on the court.

Damonte Dodd was looking forward to starting his Maryland career in the fall of 2012 when the Terps coaching staff floated the idea of delaying his arrival to College Park by a year. “We came to an agreement that I'd go to prep school,” said Dodd, who spent the past year at Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va. “Honestly, I really needed it from a basketball standpoint. I'm actually glad I went. I already come from structure, [so] the military part wasn't really that hard for me. [It was just about]

The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training's Baltimore complex is full of neatly made beds and shining-clean floors, a military-like environment for homeless former service members working to get their lives back on track. Its executive director, a retired Navy lieutenant, would love to expand the nonprofit so he can take in families — children as well as their veteran parent. But as David T. Clements works to pin down new funding for that effort, he's worried about the money he's already got. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently warned the center to expect a cut in grant funding of more than 3.5 percent, which Clements said would hit late next year.

Anna Whetstone, 23, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 17. She was a high school junior in Hershey, Pa., playing on her school's field hockey team when she got hit in the head with a ball. "I was feeling fine at the time," she said, but over the next few days she had trouble with balance and "wasn't feeling well overall. " Computed tomography scans and an MRI discovered the telltale lesions that are signs of the degenerative disease. After the diagnosis, Whetstone switched from playing to coaching field hockey, but she continued dancing and she earned a neuroscience degree, with honors, at Moravian College in Pennsylvania.

Sixteen health centers in Maryland will share in $1.7 million in federal funding to help enroll uninsured residents in health plans under health care reform. The money is part of $150 million the federal Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it was making available to health centers around the country. The money will be used to hire new staff, train existing staff and hold community outreach events. Health centers will help consumers understand their coverage options and determine their eligibility.

Editor: A recent Aegis editorial about the health of the Chesapeake Bay ("Stormwater fee set low in Harford the best of a bad situation," April 23) is [off base]. Certainly the job of restoring the Bay is far from finished, but the Aegis is incorrect in asserting: "the degree to which the overall health of the bay has improved is hard to gauge. " Numerous recent reports from government agencies, and academic and non-profit researchers show significant improvements in the Bay. Most recently, the Chesapeake Bay Program (an arm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

The Maryland Small Business and Technology Development Center, Central Region, is offering a three-hour course, Smart Start Your Business — Howard County, Thursday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Road North, in Columbia. The course is recommended for new start-up businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Presentations will be made by an attorney, an accountant, a banker and an insurance professional, covering topics such as business legal structure; registering business name; federal, state, county and local tax information; and how to obtain funds for investment.

The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training's Baltimore complex is full of neatly made beds and shining-clean floors, a military-like environment for homeless former service members working to get their lives back on track. Its executive director, a retired Navy lieutenant, would love to expand the nonprofit so he can take in families — children as well as their veteran parent. But as David T. Clements works to pin down new funding for that effort, he's worried about the money he's already got. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently warned the center to expect a cut in grant funding of more than 3.5 percent, which Clements said would hit late next year.

The Maryland Small Business Technology and Development Center, Central Region is sponsoring Lunch and Learn, Ten Easy Tips for Better Sales and Marketing, Wednesday, April 24, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Road, North, in Columbia. Business coach Deborah Gallant, of Bold Business Works, will present ideas and techniques to boost the bottom line. Bring your own lunch. There is no cost but registration is required by Monday, April 22. To register, go to http://www.centralmdsbdc.org/trainings . For more information, call 410-837-4928