Mid Atlantic Region

Unless you suffer from triskaidekaphobia - the irrational fear of the No. 13 - you're probably looking forward to the new year. Most people do, as evidenced by the giant crowds that gather all over the world on New Year's Eve to celebrate its arrival. That's all well and good, but if you're a sports fan in this particular area, it's not quite that simple. There is a lot to look forward to, especially with the NFL playoffs set to feature both the Ravens and Redskins this weekend, but 2012 is going to be a pretty tough act to follow.

Charles J. "Chuck" Valle Sr., a retired sales executive and World War II veteran, died Friday of heart failure at his home in Phoenix, Baltimore County. He was 91. The son of a stonemason and a homemaker, Charles J. "Chuck" Valle Sr. was born in Rochester, N.Y., and moved with his family in 1924 to Federal Hill. Mr. Valle was a 1940 graduate of Southern High School, where he was an outstanding football and basketball player. Mr. Valle enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941 and served aboard the aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto as a member of a gunnery crew from 1943 to 1945.

I LIVED in the place of my birth until I reached middle age... my environment remained much the same. Then came the period of suburban developments which have mutilated vast areas."

Looking for that perfect Valentine? Or maybe you and your true four-legged love are looking to share the snuggles this year. Either way, Columbia's Camp Bow Wow is gearing up for its fifth annual Cupids and Canines event to be held Feb. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center, Ellicott City. More than a dozen animal-rescue organizations from the mid-Atlantic region will be on-site that day to help match up orphaned dogs with their human soulmates and send them to their forever homes.

After the events of Sept. 11, it might seem as if there is no place a person can go to get away from the onslaught of grim news. But locally, and in much of the mid-Atlantic region, there are many spiritual retreats that will welcome you and provide a quiet, temporary home, free from the news and disturbing images of terror and war. While these retreats are generally affiliated with a religious group, they welcome guests of all faiths. Most offer basic housing, an unstructured schedule and the chance to meditate, think or just quiet your mind in an out-of-the-way setting.

Mike Shaffer scooped up the basketball on the rebound, pivoted in his wheelchair and lofted a long, arcing pass to Robert Tucker as he streaked down the court. The ball bounced once. Tucker snatched it while guiding his own wheelchair and shot a layup. It was another two points for their team, the Maryland Ravens, as they cruised to their second win in a tournament game yesterday in Lansdowne. On the fast breaks, the pair make wheelchair basketball look easy, even graceful. As six teams battled through the 8th Annual Baltimore Invitational Basketball Shootout, the competition among players from around the Mid-Atlantic region was intense.

A cocaine trafficking ring that for years distributed "vast amounts" of Honduran cocaine throughout the mid-Atlantic region has been busted, and three Maryland residents and 25 Virginia residents involved have been arrested, according to federal prosecutors. The drug ring, based in Northern Virginia, routinely paid couriers to fly into the United States from Honduras with cocaine stashed in shoes, decorative wooden frames and other "innocuous items" that would blend in with their luggage, according to a statement on the bust released Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

More than 200 nurses from the mid-Atlantic region are expected to attend the March of Dimes Perinatal Nursing Conference to be held March 14-15 in the Baltimore Convention Center, March of Dimes officials said.

BASEBALL Little League World Series 8 P.M. [ESPN]: The Hagerstown team that won the Mid-Atlantic region will play a team from Indiana in the first round of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

ToadNet Inc. a privately owned Internet service provider located in Severna Park, has acquired Radicus Internet LLC, a Baltimore-based Internet service provider. The acquisition of Radicus Internet, which provides access and related services to business and residential customers in the mid-Atlantic region, further expands ToadNet's reach into the mid-Atlantic market. Radicus Internet's more than 1,300 business and residential customers gain access to ToadNet's full range of Internet services provided through its regional network.

Unless you suffer from triskaidekaphobia - the irrational fear of the No. 13 - you're probably looking forward to the new year. Most people do, as evidenced by the giant crowds that gather all over the world on New Year's Eve to celebrate its arrival. That's all well and good, but if you're a sports fan in this particular area, it's not quite that simple. There is a lot to look forward to, especially with the NFL playoffs set to feature both the Ravens and Redskins this weekend, but 2012 is going to be a pretty tough act to follow.

Loyola women's lacrosse coach Jen Adams has been chosen as the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association's Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the second time, as announced today by the organization. This spring, Adams turned what could have been a rebuilding year for Loyola into one of the most successful seasons ever for the Greyhounds. Despite losing 73 percent of its scoring from 2011, Loyola won its second straight Big East Conference title - knocking off then-No.

ADVERTORIAL CONTENT After what was easily the longest economic downturn in recent times, momentum is building and national headlines are trumpeting news of economic gains. In the residential housing sector, these swiftly-changing market dynamics certainly offer more opportunity for buyers and sellers than what we've experienced in recent years - but the recovery-driven changes in real estate have also left some consumers' heads spinning. In some areas of the Mid-Atlantic region, those who want to buy houses aren't always finding options that meet their needs at the price point they were expecting and sellers are sometimes surprised to find that their homes are on the market weeks or even just days before they receive offers.

This boxed wine, made in California for a Baltimore-based startup company and distributed in the mid-Atlantic region, fills a useful niche. In quality terms, it's a cut above most boxed red wines, though the price is correspondingly higher. And the 1.5-liter box — equivalent to two standard bottles at $11 each — fills a useful niche that that's been left vacant by most competitors. The company also makes a merlot and a chardonnay, each of which is equally worthy of a recommendation.

Catonsville home care business named to top 100 in region Linda Cromwell, president and CEO of Catonsville-based Being There Senior Care, was among those selected for the 2012 Top Minority Business Enterprise Award. Cromwell was among the 100 women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia honored during a May 4 ceremony at the University of Maryland University College. She was also among the top 100 women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia for 2009.

A cocaine trafficking ring that for years distributed "vast amounts" of Honduran cocaine throughout the mid-Atlantic region has been busted, and three Maryland residents and 25 Virginia residents involved have been arrested, according to federal prosecutors. The drug ring, based in Northern Virginia, routinely paid couriers to fly into the United States from Honduras with cocaine stashed in shoes, decorative wooden frames and other "innocuous items" that would blend in with their luggage, according to a statement on the bust released Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

U.S. Tennis Association age-group national tournaments begin all over the country Sunday, and five Baltimore-area players will be competing in three of them.Among girls, Kate Boomershine, 16, ranked 10th in her age group nationally, will travel to San Diego for the national 16s, and Kristen Mesmer, 14, heads to Atlanta for the national 14-and-under competition.Joey Atas, 14, the No. 1-ranked player in the Mid-Atlantic region in the 14-and-under boys; Gary Simonette, 13 and sixth in the region; and Chase Dawson, 14 and No. 8, all will travel to San Antonio.

* Long & Foster Real Estate, the largest real estate company in the mid-Atlantic region, reported record October sales of $728 million on 4,479 transactions -- a 25 percent increase over October 1992.The 31 Long & Foster offices in the Baltimore region had $131 million in sales for October, a 16 percent increase; the 16-office Southern Maryland region, $65 million, up 8 percent; the seven-office Washington area, $37 million, up 58 percent.

Redmer Insurance Group has named Bel Air native Kelly Mee as manager of commercial lines insurance. Mee, a Baldwin resident who is a licensed insurance agent, brings 22 years of experience in administrative, personnel and financial settings. At Redmer Insurance Group, she will oversee the sale of commercial lines insurance throughout the mid-Atlantic region. She most recently served as account executive in the arts insurance department at Maury Donnelly & Parr Inc., an insurance agency and broker headquartered in Baltimore.

The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. is coming to Pikesville. The first location of the Boca Raton, Fla.-based restaurant chain in the Mid-Atlantic Region will be located in Hooks Village, in Pikesville and will open sometime in the early spring, developers say. The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. is known for a proprietary water treatment system that replicates the quality of Brooklyn's water, which is thought by some to be the secret ingredient...