Prize

The finalists' exhibit and awards ceremony of the annual Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize will move from the Baltimore Museum of Art , where it has been held since the inaugural competition in 2005, to the Walters Art Museum next year. The relocation is necessary because of a $24.5 million renovation project that will temporarily close a portion of the BMA. Doreen Bolger, director of the BMA, called the finalist's exhibit "one of the most anticipated events of the year, and we have enjoyed working with so many talented artists in our community.

Some might look at Roddy Peters as a consolation prize for Maryland after the Terps finished second to Kentucky in their pursuit of the Harrison twins. Peters, the 6-4 Suitland point guard who announced Tuesday that he was headed to College Park next season , is not as talented as Andrew Harrison. But I think he might be a better fit for what Mark Turgeon is trying to build - or rebuild - than either of the Harrisons. He is this year's Jake Layman, a kid who not many upper-echelon programs wanted after his sophomore year in high school and was highly sought by the time he was a senior.

So many times on Consuming Interests we warn you about some fake letter or email being sent out from what appears to be a legitimate source. This latest one is real. Maryland's Consumer Protection Division has sent out letters to some residents, telling them they will be getting a refund after being duped by a Las Vegas company two years ago. That company, National Awards Service Advisory, sent out mass mailing to residents here, telling them to send in a $20 fee to claim their cash prize worth up to $3.4 million.

Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon and assistant Bino Ranson reportedly had lunch today in Texas with Aaron Harrison Sr., the father of the 6-5 twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, who are  choosing between the Terps and defending national champion Kentucky. According to a tweet by USA Today national basketball reporter Eric Prisbell - who formerly covered Maryland football and national college basketball for the Washington Post - Harrison Sr. said the lunch "went well" and that Maryland came on “strong at the end”.

Nicholas Ruth's lottery ticket held the winning numbers for a Mega Millions second-tier prize — $250,000 — and he didn't even know it. The Towson resident bought a ticket was at 7-Eleven, on Loch Raven Boulevard, and didn't check his numbers until late Saturday night. Even then, he wasn't sure. "I checked it about eight times before I realized all the numbers matched," Ruth said. "My mom checked it another 15 times. We got all excited and started jumping up and down. " He then called his brother at 1:30 a.m. The Archbishop Curley High graduate started buying lottery tickets every Tuesday and Friday when he turned 18. Winning was never a possibility, he thought, but it was the idea that kept him hooked.

The big one got away again at Saturday's Maryland Fishing Challenge finale in Annapolis. For the eighth straight year since the contest was established, no anglers caught the special Diamond Jim striped bass worth a $25,000 prize. Though the $25,000 striped bass wasn't caught, it marks the second year in which the Jim Diamond prize money was split among those who caught a fish carrying the designated tag. Instead, the nine anglers who caught fish that were tagged in the popular Maryland Department of Natural Resources' contest took home nearly $2,800 each.

Eat Maryland crab meat and win a prize. Throughout September, diners who eat at restaurants participating in Maryland's True Blue program can win a pair of tickets to the Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest, an after-hours celebration of Maryland seafood on Oct. 3 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore . Launched this spring by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the True Blue program allows restaurants serving DNR-verified Maryland blue...

Bill Woody had made up his mind prior to the 2012 White Marlin Open that this would be the last time he competed in what is billed as the world's largest sportfishing tournament. It wasn't so much how expensive sportfishing had become in the dozen years since this self-made Baltimore businessman had bought his 50-foot Hatteras, as much as it was the hours that he devoted to it. Woody said he felt he was missing out on other activities with his family. It was similar to the years when he was building the engineering and land surveying firm that he worked for and later bought from its original owners.

The winner of the 39th annual White Marlin Open in Ocean City is set to receive an estimated prize of $1.4 million after reeling in the only white marlin to qualify in the five-day tournament. William "Bill" Woody, of Pasadena, caught the 72-pound white marlin last Wednesday aboard the Blew Bayou. The payout is expected to be $1,429,092, slightly higher than the payout of $1,394,480.50 made in 2007 for an 83-pound white marlin. Woody caught the only white marlin that met the minimum requirements of measuring at least 67 inches and weighing at least 70 pounds.

The race is on to save animal lives, one adoption at a time. The 2012 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge kicks off Aug. 1. It's a 3-month competition among 50 animal shelters across the nation. Each shelter's goal is to increase their adoptions so they'll win some of the more than $500,000 in prize grants to be given away, including a grand prize of $100,000. Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter is one of the 50 contestants. They'll try to save at least 300 more cats and dogs during the months of August, September and October than they did during that same time period last year.