Participation

Landlords in Howard and Montgomery counties cannot turn away low-income renters who pay for their housing with federal vouchers, Maryland's highest court ruled yesterday. The unanimous ruling upholds fair-housing laws in those counties and, housing advocates say, provides momentum for a drive to pass a statewide law requiring landlords to accept rental vouchers. Such a law, advocates say, would make it easier for poor people to live in affluent communities with better jobs and better schools.

The Community Law Center likes its clients so much that it invited them all to a Client Celebration at the Baltimore Urban League building and gave a good number of them awards.The center, a private organization of five staff lawyers and about 40 volunteer lawyers, provides free legal representation to Baltimore City community associations. Its executive director is Anne Blumenberg.Clients such as the Harlem Park Revitalization Corp., the Franklin Square Community Association, the Druid Heights Community Development Corp.

The Carroll County school system is asking for public input as it begins planning how to spend its money next year.Beginning today, residents can call a toll-free number and answer automated questions about the 2000-2001 operating budget, school officials said.The line will be open 24 hours a day through Sept. 30. Officials stressed that answers are confidential and callers will not be contacted as a result of their participation.Results of the survey will be made public when the budget process begins, officials said.

MANY PEOPLE ask, "How can we keep our investment club successful when members lose interest?""It's always easiest at the beginning," says Black Enterprise, February, in a fine article, "Ways to Make Your Investment Club Prosper." The story adds, "Whenever a new club meets, everyone is enthusiastic. There's never a problem getting members to research stocks, but several years later it's different. Excitement fades, club members slack off and many stop coming to meetings."Walter Clark, of Gruntal & Co. in Baltimore, says, "A few members end up doing 80 percent of the work.

EVEN THOUGH 1997 is already a few days old, it is not too late to make -- and keep -- a few New Year's resolutions.As a community, we should resolve to devote some attention to our children.Although public officials can point to the county's improved test scores from the last round of the Maryland School Performance Program tests, many Anne Arundel schools have children who are struggling and not receiving the attention they need.In a large school system, these children are often unable to receive the attention they need in order to overcome their learning problems.

75 years ago Assistant Secretary of the Navy Col. Theodore Roosevelt addressed the U. S. Naval Academy commencement exercises. This is the last of the wartime classes. -- The Sun, June 2, 1922.A popular minstrel show put on by the volunteer fire department of West Annapolis was again a hit. The popular end men was Clinton Shaw and Will Rogers. -- The Sun, June 16, 1922.A separate ceremony for 18 male members of the graduating class of Annapolis High was held yesterday. They were denied participation in the regular June 14 commencement because of participation in a hazing incident.

According to a recent study by the Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America, 75 percent of people 16 and older participate in some form of "muscle-powered" outdoor recreation and the number of participants is increasing.Nontraditional outdoor sports such as mountain biking, in-line skating and rock or mountain climbing are growing most rapidly, according to the survey.The study, which did not survey hunting and fishing activity, found that backpacking and tent camping maintained growth rates of 12 and 11 percent in 1994.

WASHINGTON -- Based strictly on the Commission on Presidential Debates' principal yardstick for participation, it's hard to argue against its exclusion of Reform Party candidate Ross Perot. He clearly does not have a ''realistic'' as opposed to a ''theoretical'' chance of being elected, as the commission stipulated to qualify.There is also merit in deciding that there will be one-on-one debates between the two major-party nominees, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, so that voters can evaluate their differences without the distraction of Mr. Perot.

EVERY FOUR years, Independent Sector surveys volunteer participation and giving to charitable causes among young people. It provides a useful companion to a similar survey of adults, which this year shows that young people outpace adults in their volunteer activities. That's something grown-ups should keep in mind next time they utter those timeless complaints that the younger generation is going to the dogs.In 1996, 59 percent of teen-agers reported volunteering in the past year, compared to only 49 percent of adults.

EVERY YEAR when the Scholastic Assessment Test scores come out, the choir on the right hauls out the hymnals and sings: "See, money makes no difference!"The song goes something like this: The states that score well on the SAT are relatively low-spending. Conversely, high-spending states such as Maryland perform relatively poorly -- in Maryland's case in the middle of the national pack.Southern politicians swell with pride. Mississippi, one of the poorest states economically, ranks in the teens among the 50 states if only raw scores are considered.

State officials announced several partnerships and federal initiatives yesterday aimed at ending childhood hunger in Maryland in the next five years, programs that would serve more than 150,000 children living below the poverty line. Gov. Martin O'Malley, state school officials and representatives from Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit organization, said at a news conference that they were looking to enroll 65,000 students in the School Lunch and School Breakfast Program and increase participation in the federal food stamp program by 15 percent.

The national housing obsession in recent years may have dulled the urge to invest in 401(k) retirement plans. After expanding strongly throughout the 1990s, participation in 401(k) and other employee-funded retirement plans has grown more slowly in recent years, according to data released by a Washington-based research group. The number of people investing in 401(k) and similar plans climbed to 50.9 million in 2000, from 42.2 million in 1995, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Landlords in Howard and Montgomery counties cannot turn away low-income renters who pay for their housing with federal vouchers, Maryland's highest court ruled yesterday. The unanimous ruling upholds fair-housing laws in those counties and, housing advocates say, provides momentum for a drive to pass a statewide law requiring landlords to accept rental vouchers. Such a law, advocates say, would make it easier for poor people to live in affluent communities with better jobs and better schools.

MBE program needs a thorough review It's a start that the state Department of Transportation is taking a thorough look at its Minority Business Enterprise Program ("Maryland revamps minority program," May 25). We have all read about possible abuses of the program by unqualified companies seeking MBE status. But most readers are probably not aware that the qualifications for MBE status for nonprofit organizations are difficult and arbitrary. To qualify to participate in the MBE program, a for-profit organization must be run by women or minorities and have assets below a certain level.

Early next year, welfare clients on the Lower Eastern Shore will have an opportunity to participate in a welfare-to-work program at a local community college, nearly doubling the number of job slots for the program. The expansion reflects a statewide trend, as social service offices struggle to redesign their programs to accommodate tougher federal work requirements included in the welfare reauthorization legislation that took effect in October. In January, Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties will join Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury to place 15 welfare recipients in food service, landscaping, clerical and other entry-level jobs on campus, adding to the 20 to 30 work-experience job slots in the tri-county area.

The prevailing view on Wall Street is that investors can no longer count on consumers to do the heavy lifting for the economy, because they are laden with debt, pressured by high energy costs, and can't use their home equity as an ATM anymore. But Morgan Stanley economist Richard Berner's worry is the opposite of those wringing their hands about financially stressed consumers: He thinks Americans may start to see significant pay increases. So far, evidence of that is scant. In fact, economists said that workers have struggled the last few years with stagnant pay as they have had to compete with overseas workers for jobs.

Military interrogations resurfaced recently when an Army officer was convicted of negligent homicide for smothering an Iraqi general to death. He received only a reprimand. As controversial as that crime and its punishment have been, little attention has been paid to the relevance of the case to another contentious debate: Should military doctors be allowed to participate in the interrogation of prisoners? As an Army Reserve doctor twice deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, my answer is an unequivocal one: yes. First, physicians involved in questioning prisoners can prevent abuses.

Chinese New Year The lowdown -- The Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks' Carrie Murray Nature Center will host an arts and crafts event to mark the Chinese New Year on Saturday. Chinese legend holds that those born in the year of the dog share that animal's loyalty, stubbornness and eccentricity. Say goodbye to 2005, the year of the rooster, and hello to the dog days of 2006 with an afternoon of family activities. If you go -- The Nature Center is in Gwynn Falls/Leakin Park at 1901 Ridgetop Road.

Minority contractors part of Pier Six plan I am outraged at the media's recent portrayal of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church's participation in the Pier Six concert venue project ("Pier Six deal is seen as suspect," Jan. 14). This is a political smear campaign that has absolutely zero basis in fact and smacks of racism. Bethel AME's participation does not come in lieu of any required minority equity participation, minority contracting participation or any other form of minority participation in the project.

The Treasury Department's recent announcement that it would not grant a license for a Cuban baseball team to participate in the World Baseball Classic planned for March was deeply disappointing but hardly a surprise. On the contrary, it was in keeping with the Bush administration's policy of trying to seal off all contact with the Caribbean island. Cuban academics are no longer given visas to come to the United States for conferences. American scholars find it increasingly difficult to carry out programs in Cuba because of tightening U.S. restrictions.