Programs

Sen. Rand Paul is recruiting plaintiffs - and seeking donations - for a class-action lawsuit against the National Security Agency. “Dear Patriot,” the Kentucky Republican wrote Thursday in an e-mail to supporters. “I'm looking for ten million Americans to stand with me and sue the federal government and TAKE BACK our rights. “Can I count on your help? “Without it, I truly fear where our fragile Republic could be headed …” Paul, who is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, told a Fox News interviewer this week that he would be asking Internet providers and telephone companies to join him in a lawsuit against the electronic eavesdropping agency based at Fort Meade.

The Baltimore County Public Library's Summer Reading Club launches Monday, offering programs for kids of all ages. The club is free and features the opportunity to win prizes. Library officials say reading four to five books during the summer can help prevent the loss of reading skills acquired over the school year. Materials for the club will be ready for pickup starting Monday. People can sign up at local library branches or online at bcpl.info/summerreading . Elementary school kids will receive a game board to fill out with stickers throughout the summer as they read books.

Starting today, the city Department of Recreation and Parks plans to provide free summer camps for some Baltimore youths for the first time in nearly two decades, officials said. "Budget cuts forced many of these programs to stop in the late 1970s, so this will be the first time in 20 years that a lot of these playgrounds will host free summer programs," said Lynn Baker, assistant to the director of Recreation and Parks. Offered through a grant from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program received through the Department of Social Services, the "Playground Program" will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 11. Children ages 5 to 12 will participate in sports, take nature classes, produce arts and crafts, and work on fitness.

For three hours each work week, Bert Rice walks laps around Burba Lake at Fort Meade — part of a mission by the federal government to build a healthier workforce. Rice, 76, a retired Army colonel and former Anne Arundel County councilman working as a civilian on the garrison staff at Fort Meade, is one of thousands of federal workers who participate in health and fitness programs designed to lower the government's health care costs, increase productivity and better recruit and retain employees.

If you like your life laid out in black and white (or even color), there's a software publisher somewhere who has your number.Appointment programs, calendars, schedulers and other time organizers have long been among the most popular personal software titles.Some people use these programs primarily to keep track of personal events, such as meetings, appointments, birthdays and the like. Others use them to publish calendars of events for their office, school or club.If you're primarily interested in calendars that look good in print, the new Calendar Creator Plus for Windows from Power Up Software will do the job -- and then some.

The history, current state and future of oyster production in the Chesapeake region are the subject of a four-part Sunday afternoon discussion series at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels . State of the Oyster , the first in a planned annual series of public programming initiatives called Community Conversations, is being presented by the museum in conjunction with the Maryland Humanities Council. The program is accompanied by an art exhibition featuring work by Chesapeake artist Marc Catelli and photographer Heather Davidson.

Kudos to all the programs that have contributed to the reduction in infant mortality in Baltimore. ("Md. infant mortality hits record low," August 24). I would like to mention two highly effective programs: Family Support Centers and Home Visiting programs, both of which build trusting relationships within communities in order to effectively engage women in prenatal care and partner with new mothers to ensure that their infants thrive. Located in five Baltimore neighborhoods with high rates of teen parenting and poverty, Family Support Centers reach out to pregnant women and new parents, engaging them in programs/services that increase the odds for child health and well-being.

Op-ed contributor Brian Gaines is right that we've got a long way to go when it comes to making sure Maryland's next generation is sufficiently educated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ("No. 1 isn't good enough," Jan. 23). But he overlooks one outstanding way to help do the job: After-school programs. Ample research demonstrates that high-quality after-school programs can have a significant impact on students' attitudes about STEM fields and careers, their knowledge and skills in those areas and even their likelihood of graduating and pursuing a STEM career.

The vast majority of people who participate in gun buy back programs are like me. Law abiding people who are looking to unload worthless, unsafe firearms. Criminals do not turn in their illegally obtained and illegally possessed weapons. These are nothing more than feel good programs. I turned in my worthless firearm that was unsafe to fire and received a $100 dollar bill. I used this $100 to purchase so called "high capacity" magazines that are currently in the process of being banned in this state.

Several top programs from around the country will be in Baltimore this weekend for the Gilman Duals wrestling tournament. The meet, which will take place Saturday at the school, also features local teams No. 1 McDonogh and No. 4 Archbishop Spalding -- in addition to the host Greyhounds. Notable schools from out of the area in the one-day event include: Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), Germantown Academy (Pa.), St. Christopher's (Va.), St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) and Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.)

This past season, Hood labored its way through a 3-14 season, which included a winless 0-8 record in the Middle Atlantic Conference and the jettisoning of head coach Jeremy Mattoon. But assistant coach Brad Barber predicated that the team would reverse course next spring. “Next year, I think it's going to be a totally different story,” he said. “If we have this conversation next year, I think you'll have a totally different view of Hood College lacrosse. I'm fairly confident.

Malik Carter, 17, shared a slice of pizza with his 20-month-old son Makai, who was perched on his dad's lap during the pre-Father's Day celebration this week at the Bon Secours Community Support Center in Southwest Baltimore. As part of the festivities, called "A Day with Dad," Carter and a handful of other young fathers and their children got free haircuts, ate cake and mingled with community members. One dad quizzed another about whether his baby was on "stage 2" foods yet, while two boys pulled out coloring books from their dad's gift bag. "We're trying to appreciate these young men, to show them that they are valuable" to the community and to their children, said Anees Abdul-Rahim, manager of the Bon Secours fatherhood program, which targets low-income city fathers ages 16 through 26. The parenting program is one of dozens of similar efforts in the state and around the country that try to teach men - frequently young, urban, unmarried and jobless - how to be better fathers, which for some simply means showing up to see their children.

The past four days have featured a premature attempt at the preseason rankings for 2014. Wednesday's entry includes three teams that did not finish above .500 and missed the tournament this past season. But what they do have is intrigue in either the form of a significant amount of returning experience, a potentially explosive offense or a strong presence in the middle of the field. In alphabetical order, the teams flying under the radar are: Air Force (2013 record: 7-7) Outlook: The Falcons finished in sixth place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference standings, which kept them out of the league tournament.

A British newspaper has identified a 29-year-old former Marylander as the source of the top secret documents that revealed details of two National Security Agency surveillance programs and revived debate of the agency's reach into the private lives of Americans. The Guardian reported Sunday that Edward Snowden, who was working at an NSA office in Hawaii as an employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, wanted to alert the public to the programs being conducted in their name.

Running Ripken Foundation sets 7K 'Streak' Sept. 6 The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation announced that it will host its inaugural "Streak Thru Aberdeen" 7K Run at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen on Sept. 6 - the anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig 's record for consecutive baseball games played. Proceeds from the 7K (4.3 miles) will support Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation programs, which help build character and teach life lessons to underserved youth residing in distressed communities through sports-themed programming.

Long before Karoline Hurd became involved with the Great American Backyard Campout, she and her young children would pitch tents and make s'mores behind the family's suburban home. "That's not the norm anymore," said Hurd, the senior manager of special events for the National Wildlife Federation. "Most American kids spend the majority of their time indoors. " As part of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Outdoors Month, the ninth Great American Backyard Campout is scheduled for June 22. The event is also part of an initiative to get 2 million more children outdoors for at least 30 minutes per week over the next two years.

The National Summer Learning Association has been awarded an $11.5 million grant by the Walmart Foundation to fund high-quality summer learning programs in 10 cities over three years, including Baltimore. Of that large grant, $615,000 will go to Baltimore summer learning programs — Building Educated Leaders for Life, known as BELL, and Higher Achievement. Nadia Bryan, regional director for BELL, said that her program focuses on reading and math with the goal of closing what is called the achievement gap, exacerbated by lack of academic stimulation during the summer months.

You recently carried an article describing the hardship that will be encountered by Maryland residents as a result of alcohol and gasoline tax increases and fee increases contemplated by the General Assembly ("With the state facing a $1.6 billion deficit, Marylanders are likely to feel the pinch," March 27). You failed however to discuss the much greater hardship and hazards encountered by our most vulnerable citizens as a result of budget cuts contemplated this session and enacted in recent years.

Maryland became the sixth state to offer a lottery rewards program Monday, allowing those who did not cash in to collect points instead. Players holding losing scratch-off tickets can now register online at mdlottery.com/rewards and enter ticket numbers to accumulate points, which are redeemable for prizes ranging from music downloads to big-screen televisions. "Offering this added value to Maryland Lottery scratch-off tickets is an innovative way to reward our loyal players," said John Martin, the state's assistant director for the lottery, in a statement.

Midway through its journey in Japan, the UMBC men's lacrosse team has earned victories over the under-22 Japanese national team and the Japan national squad. After arriving Thursday, the team put on a clinic for Japanese freshmen players Saturday morning and then took on a determined U-22 Japanese national team in the afternoon. UMBC jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter, but the hosts used a 5-0 third-quarter run to tie the score at 8. But the Retrievers outscored their opponents 4-2 in the final quarter to prevail, 12-10.