Partnership

The Army Corps of Engineers expects to lift navigational restrictions on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal this week after emergency dredging removed shoaling that emerged in November. At 14 miles long and 450 feet wide, the canal is a major artery for the port of Baltimore, carrying more than 40 percent of the port's shipping traffic: roll-on, roll-off cargo, cars, fuel and coal. So when an approach to the canal becomes clogged with muck that threatens to imperil as many as 50 ships that regularly make deliveries to Baltimore — as happened to the access from the Chesapeake Bay — the folks who maintain the canal will make the earth move to restore circulation.

Jean Pfefferkorn, a Howard County Public Library staff member, posted an online item about a week ago on seasonal affective disorder, which carries symptoms ranging from increased appetite to suicidal thoughts. Dr. George Groman, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine's Howard County General Hospital, explained in another post that there's good and bad cholesterol — and the ideal number for the two combined is below 200 milligrams per deciliter. Dr. David Monroe, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, posted an item last spring on the way synthetic marijuana, known by such names as Spice and Black Mamba, is sending teen users to the emergency room.

Construction is expected to begin this month on a $72 million, 14-building apartment complex at Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County. The complex, which is being built by Picerne Military Housing and will be called Reece Crossings, should be completed by the end of next year. It is intended for unaccompanied, junior service members from all branches of the military, according to a statement this week from Corvias Group, the parent company of Picerne Military Housing. “These apartments are not something we could build on our own with our dwindling resources,” said Col. Edward C. Rothstein, garrison commander at Fort Meade, in the statement.

Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson was among law enforcement officials from around the country who met with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday to discuss ways to curb gun violence. President Barack Obama this week announced plans to make gun control a top priority during his second term, following the Connecticut school shooting last week. The incident left 28 dead, including 20 children and the gunman. "The President is absolutely committed to keeping his promise that we will act, and we will act in a way that is designed -- even if, as he says, we can only save one life, we have to take action," Biden said at the meeting.

When the owners of troubled St. Joseph Medical Center put the Towson hospital up for sale a year ago, the University of Maryland Medical System didn't hesitate to put in a bid. Medical violations by its star cardiologist had left St. Joseph in financial disarray and struggling to hang on to patients, doctors and its reputation. It faced millions of dollars in lawsuits and the prospect of a further decline. But the UMMS board and its top executives saw opportunity in the 148-year-old Catholic medical institution started by the Sisters of St. Francis.

Editor: On behalf of the staff and clients at Anna's House, I want to express my gratitude for the wonderful private/public partnership and collaboration between Harford Transit, Harford County Parks and Recreation and Catholic Charities of Baltimore. So often we focus on all of the negative circumstances around us, and during this holiday season, I wanted to share some positive news.  Anna's House is a program of Catholic Charities of...

A recent op-ed on the Guilford Elementary/Middle School vegetable garden focused on one project that didn't meet expectations ("Harvest of disappointment," Nov. 23). Yet discussions have already begun about how to incorporate the garden into the curriculum next spring, and we hope that this still can happen. The op-ed also failed to mention the many partnerships that are helping the long-struggling school improve. At the school, there are a number of great partnerships working under the auspices of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation.

When the Chesapeake Bay restoration program began in earnest in 1983, with the signing of the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement, it was hailed as the beginning of a new era of interjurisdictional partnering to save a national treasure. And so it was. With the recognition that a "cooperative approach" was needed "to fully address the extent, complexity, and sources of pollutants entering the Bay," Pennsylvania Gov. Richard Thornburgh, Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes, Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Ruckelshaus created the Chesapeake Executive Council with a commitment to "assess and oversee implementation of coordinated plans to improve and protect the water quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay. " This unique partnership of federal, state and city governments, of Republican and Democratic leadership, grew to be recognized internationally as one of the most successful multijurisdictional restoration efforts in the world.

REINA World, created in early 2011, is one of the newest joshi, or all-women, promotions out of Japan.  Mia Yim, begain working with REINA World in May 2011 and officially became part of their roster in September 2012.  Yim has wrestled all over the United States, but she considers Baltimore's Real Championship Wrestling her home company.  She's been instrumental in forming a partnership between RCW and...

After a seven-month hiatus, Real Championship Wrestling makes its return to the Du Burns Arena with RCW Reloaded on Saturday. RCW, an independent wrestling promotion based in Baltimore, was formed in June 2009 by Brad Vance and several wrestling talents, including Ruckus, Derek Frazier and others from Maryland. The company hosted its first show - “The Takeover” - June 14, 2009. Since then, RCW has become a tour de force in Maryland and in East Coast independent wrestling, with names such as The Briscoe Brothers, The Osirian Portal, Shiima Zion (TNA's Zima Ion)