New Members

Gov. Martin O'Malley has appointed two new members to the Baltimore County school board, only days after he told two current members who sought reappointment that they would be leaving the board at the end of June. Cornelia Bright Gordon, a Towson resident who is the chief attorney for the Legal Aid Bureau in Baltimore City, and Michael J. Collins, who lives in Essex and is chairman of the State Board of Contract Appeals, are taking over positions that will be vacated on July 1 by Earnest Hines, president of the board, and Meg O'Hare.

These groups meet regularly. 50+ Professionals - Singles social group for professionals ages 50 and older. New members are currently being accepted. Group meets for social events such as happy hours, brunches, dinners, theater, concerts, book clubs and more. 410-813-4071. Awana - Fridays, September-June, 7-9 p.m. For ages 3-11. Games, prizes and stories to learn about God. Elkridge Elementary School, 7075 Montgomery Road, Elkridge. 410-796-2727 or 410-465-3726.

Six new members were recently appointed to three-year terms on Harford Community College's Advisory Board by the college's board of trustees.Two other members were reappointed.New members to the advisory board include Dale R. Bowlus Jr., of Darlington; Christine Gree, of Bel Air; Harry E. Hopkins, of Bel Air;Helene L. Klair, of Churchville; Howard S. Klein, of Forest Hill; and Dr. Earl J. Lightcap Jr., of Abingdon.Reappointed were PatriciaBrown, of Joppa, and Donald C. Kerr Jr., of Fallston.

Richard D. Norling of Darlington and Cordell E. Hunter Sr. of Havre de Grace were appointed to the Harford Community College Board of Trustees by Gov. Martin O'Malley this week. O'Malley also reappointed the board chairman Bryan E. Kelly and board members Doris Carey and John Haggerty. Richard Norling is the statestat Director for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the former chair of the Harford County Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission. He also formerly served as chair of the Budget Advisory Board to the Harford County Council in 2000-2002.

A Columbia martial arts school has been ordered to stop signing up new members or taking payments from old ones until it complies with state regulations governing Maryland health clubs, according to the state attorney general's office. Get Your Kicks LLC, also known as the Jhoon Rhee Institute, did not register with the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division as required under the health club law or post a bond that would ensure customers of a refund should the school close, according to a news release issued by the office Tuesday.

WHETHER THE THREE new members of the Columbia Council can erase the group's reputation as a rubber-stamp for the Rouse Co. is unknown. Seven of the 10 council members are incumbents, so the newcomers won't be able to change much unless they forge some alliances. Then, too, observing council business from the inside may even convince the new members that the council has been making the right decisions in overseeing recreational amenities for Howard County's planned city.Six spots on the council were up for election a week ago. Only three races were contested, but the challengers won each of those seats.

WASHINGTON -- House Democratic leaders, hoping the nex Congress will be known more for substance than gridlock, are moving quickly to get their new troops in line and to pledge support to their party's chief executive.At the same time, House leaders expect that legislation vetoed by President Bush -- such as a family leave bill -- will find quick approval in the first few months of next year. "The difference being that the president will sign them," said House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, D-Wash.

Baltimore County's school board will grow from 10 to 12 members, and the county's state senators made sure that Gov. William Donald Schaefer, and not his successor, will pick the two new members.The bill enacted by the General Assembly in its final hours Monday will give Mr. Schaefer a chance to decide on four board members -- the two new members and two current members whose terms expire in July. A conference committee of three senators and three delegates worked out the compromise.The chief Senate architect of the timing was Janice Piccinini, a north county Democrat.

WASHINGTON -- From all the campaign sound and fury, you would have expected the 110 new members of Congress to swoop in like revolutionaries, sweeping out the old order and creating a new one.But as the freshmen assembled for the first time yesterday on Capitol Hill, they did what the old pols do: They met behind closed doors.Any talk of upending congressional traditions and the iron rule of seniority was muted. These rookies say they're more interested in being team players than in changing the rules of the game.

PRESIDENT Clinton can claim a foreign policy victory of historic magnitude in the unanimous invitation of membership by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, effective in 1999. Once "defended" by the Soviet Union and Warsaw Bloc against West Germany and the United States, these countries will instead be defended by NATO against their former protectors, moving the border of "the West" 300 miles eastward.Mr. Clinton had staked his prestige on admitting these three countries and no others, after President Jacques Chirac of France pushed for admitting Romania and Slovenia along with them.

It's a terrible time for the Anne Arundel County Council to be engaged in a protracted standoff over the replacement of one of its members. The body's prestige was harmed enough by the circumstances that led to the removal of Democrat Daryl Jones, who is currently serving time in federal prison for failing to file income tax returns for several years. It has not been helped by the use of a racial slur by one of the council members during deliberation over Mr. Jones' replacement, and it has further been damaged by the seeming indifference of some members of the Republican majority about whether residents of the 1st District have any representation.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold was smiling and upbeat Saturday after eating at a diner in his hometown, part of a county he has led for more than five years and where he now faces the political and legal fight of his career. Just one day before, Leopold was indicted on corruption charges alleging he used his taxpayer-funded security detail to arrange sexual liaisons and to defeat political adversaries. But he didn't want to discuss the allegations on his way out of the Double T Diner in Pasadena.

Members of the Anne Arundel County Council said Tuesday that they see no end in sight to an impasse over the selection of a new colleague, as they remained deadlocked through a second round of voting on a replacement for the incarcerated Daryl D. Jones. Supporters of one of the candidates, Peter I. Smith, accused County Executive John R. Leopold's administration of working behind the scenes for rival Michael J. Wagner, a longtime friend of a Leopold aide who died this month. Wagner, a former state senator, said he was encouraged to apply for the vacant District 1 seat by Dennis M. Callahan, who was the county's chief administrative officer until his death Feb. 8 from a heart attack.

On Feb. 9, more than 40 women attended the first meeting of the Catonsville Women's Giving Circle for 2012. The interest, enthusiasm, and networking demonstrated was incredible! Women of all ages and backgrounds gathered to socialize, learn, and create a plan for the year. The Catonsville Women's Giving Circle (CWGC) is a philanthropic organization, established in 2011, as a means for women to collectively provide financial resources to organizations that improve the greater Catonsville area — places where we work, play, shop, school and recreate.

Ten people submitted applications to the Anne Arundel County Council by Friday's deadline for candidates to fill the seat vacated by former Councilman Daryl D. Jones. The applicants are: Lewis A. Bracey, a retired police officer from Hanover; Gloria J. Criss, a retired federal worker from Severn; Vicki L. Fleming, a retired federal worker from Hanover; Richard W. "Rik" Forgo, an Air Force veteran from Linthicum; David R. Hlass of Hanover, a salesman; David M. Jones, a utilities analyst; Mary M. Rosso, a former delegate from Brooklyn Park; Peter I. Smith, a federal worker from Severn; Michael J. Wagner, a former delegate and senator from Ferndale; and Steven D. Wyatt, a federal worker from Linthicum.

As we come to the close of another challenging year on the economic front for many, local nonprofit groups throughout the area are struggling to make ends meet and address growing needs in the community. These groups and the people they serve need our help more than ever. Below is a listing of local helping organizations seeking donations of either money or items, or both. In this season of giving and Thanksgiving, please share your blessings, by giving to those less fortunate.

Anne Arundel chapters of the National Association of Retired FederalEmployees (NARFE) are searching frantically for new members, trying to win the nation-wide Million Member Game.As part of a nationwide promotional campaign to gain "A Million or More by '94," thereby doubling the national organization's membership, the NARFE chapter or individual member who recruits the most members by 1994 will receive prizes.The prizes include weekends for two, a trip to Las Vegas to the convention headquarters and national recognition.

A celebration for freshmen members of the Maryland state legislature was evacuated about 11:15 p.m. Thursday when the Annapolis bar in which it was held caught fire. Gov. Martin O'Malley and House Speaker Michael E. Busch were among at least 50 lawmakers who rushed out of the smoky building. Four firetrucks arrived at the bar, O'Brien's, on Main Street in Annapolis. It did not appear that anyone was injured. The fumes from the blaze were apparent on the second floor of the bar. The governor's security noticed the smell and quickly escorted O'Malley to his black SUV. Upon seeing the governor leave, dozens of lawmakers and lobbyists followed suit.

The Community Foundation of Harford County has elected Kathleen A. Beck and Kenneth M. Ferrara to its board of directors. Each will serve a three-year term. Beck serves as vice president for wealth management for PNC Bank in Baltimore, a position she has held for the past five years. She is responsible for overseeing wealth-managed accounts and cultivating new relationships in the Baltimore area. Prior to PNC Bank, Beck worked at J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., in Washington, D.C., and at T. Rowe Price Associates in Owings Mills.