Maryland House

The take-away from your article about the closing of Maryland House was that both the Maryland Transportation Authority and Areas USA are centered on short-term greed ("After nearly half a century, Maryland House to close its doors," Sept. 7). The MTA's greed is money-centric, while Areas USA's greed is people- and culture-centric. The new Maryland House will be smaller because, as the MTA's Harold Bartlett explained in the article, "we're getting two new facilities without spending state money.

Back in 2005, a manager at the Starbucks Coffee shop at the Maryland House Rest Stop on I-95 just south of the Aberdeen exit told an Aegis reporter that particular Starbucks was one of the busiest in the world. It would be easy to chalk the claim up to hyperbole, exaggeration or the inexperience of a possibly not-so-worldly coffee shop manager, but anyone who has done a little research on the subject knows the claim is far from wild. Going back years before that, Marriott, the food service giant that has the restaurant contract for the Maryland House and many other rest stops across the country, also confirmed the Harford County rest stop is among the busiest.

At one minute past midnight on Sept. 16, a state landmark known by millions of motorists will go dark. Employees will say their goodbyes before the doors and off-ramps are barricaded at Maryland House, the Interstate 95 travel plaza in Harford County that opened in 1963. Within weeks, wrecking crews will level the neo-Georgian brick structure to make way for a new building, the flagship of an ambitious public-private partnership valued at a half-billion dollars. The same night, the smaller Chesapeake House in Cecil County will change as new vendors replace old ones.

The Maryland House Travel Plaza on I-95 near Aberdeen will close for reconstruction on Sept. 15 for at least a year, the Maryland Transportation Authority said Thursday. When the Maryland House closes at midnight on Saturday, Sept. 15, the Chesapeake House Travel Plaza near North East in Cecil County will remain open for business, with a full complement of new food concepts opening in phases through early October, MDTA said in a news release. Food service, however, will be limited the week of Sept.

A state prisoner pleaded guilty Thursday in the 2006 fatal attack on a popular Sunni Muslim inmate leader at the now-closed Maryland House of Correction. William James Taylor, 42, pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. A 25-year sentence will run at the same time as his current life sentence for murder, according to court records. The arrangement does not allow him to return to court to ask a judge to shorten his sentence, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County prosecutors said.

As taken from the pages of The Aegis dated Thursday, July 5, 1962: A study of the future development and needs of Harford Junior College was presented by Engelhardt and Leggett, an educational consultant firm in New York City, to the college Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board of the College. The report indicated that by 1966 the enrollment of Harford Junior College would reach 700 students, 350 daytime students and 350 evening students, and by 1972, at least 1,000 students would be enrolled.

Michael E. Busch is speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. But he's also the only Democrat among three delegates from the highly competitive 30th Legislative District in Anne Arundel County. So on the issue of casino gambling, Busch faces one of those dilemmas that no politician can find comfortable. The chief opponent of a casino in Prince George's County, which the House  has so far blocked, is  the owner of the Maryland Live Casino at Arundel Mills  -- not in Busch's district but in his home county.

Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage The 2012 Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage includes visits to more than 50 private homes, gardens, farms, churches and historic sites across five Maryland jurisdictions: Bolton Hill (Saturday, April 28); St. Mary's County (Saturday, May 5); Talbot County (Saturday, May 12); Howard County (Saturday, May 19); and Anne Arundel County (Sunday, May 20). Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 the day of the tour. Lunches are offered on the county tours for an additional charge.

Thanks to the Maryland House of Delegates members who voted for Gov.Martin O'Malley's bill to legalize same-sex marriage. It is a fair bill that will allow married same-sex couples and their children to obtain all the civil rights in the state of Maryland that married heterosexual couples and their children currently possess. It will also protect religious institutions from having to perform same-sex marriages if that is against their beliefs. So it is a win-win situation for all concerned.

Anne Arundel County Del. Robert A. Costa will never get mistaken for a liberal. The Republican firefighter from Deale is a proud member of the National Rifle Association and aU.S. Army veteran who sports a 78 percent lifetime rating from the conservative-leaning Maryland Business for Responsive Government. But on the matter of same-sex marriage, Mr. Costa was the first, and so far, only, House member from his political party to cast a vote in favor, sending the legislation to the House floor this week on a 25-18 dual committee vote.