Programs

The Maryland Humanities Council has awarded $3,000 to the Handel Choir of Baltimore for a series of 10 preconcert seminars that will examine choral works by Handel, Bach, Haydn and Mozart.The grant is part of $61,920 that the humanities council recently gave to public humanities programs in Maryland. A list of some of the other grant recipients follows.Baltimore County Office of Planning and Zoning: $5,770 for "Past and Future of a Planned Suburb: Community History and Community Planning for Middle River."

Marylanders can knock up to $8 off the cost of a morning visit to Baltimore's National Aquarium, under a program announced Monday. The "Maryland Mornings" promotion discounts adult admission by $8 and child admission by $4 for visits that start before noon Sunday through Friday. "Maryland Mornings is one of the ways for us to show our appreciation to our fellow community members," Aquarium CEO John Racanelli said in a news release. "National Aquarium may have a reach that spans across the country and world, but our roots are in Maryland and many of our conservation and education efforts are based here.

With the school year beginning, parents across the land are looking at their computers and wondering if their kids should be using them for something more productive than blasting Klingons into another dimension.That means the search for "educational" software begins. To be honest, I've never had much luck with it. My kids would rather watch the weather channel for a couple of hours than put up with a lot of the programs I've tried out on them."Dad, I do this stuff all day in school. Why do I have to do it at home?"

Tipper Gore said in Baltimore yesterday that states are not ready to run programs that serve people with mental disorders, although impending federal Medicaid reform would give them control over those programs.In an interview with reporters at the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy's national conference, Mrs. Gore, the wife of Vice President Al Gore, said she has been meeting with panels of state health officials to discuss how states would administer block grant programs for health care.

Once the exclusive tools of architects and professional designers, computer-aided design, or CAD, programs are becoming increasingly available to do-it-yourselfers who are as comfortable with computer software as with building hardware.Although not as detailed as the CAD programs used by the pros, the personal-computer versions are sophisticated enough to give clear, professional results (no more drawing out plans on grocery bags or napkins).They provide enough functions to design one room or a whole house and the landscaping around it. In some cases, they also calculate how much material is required and how much it will cost.

About 50 Carroll County schoolchildren gathered yesterday at the Westminster library branch to learn about a range of programs designed to provide them with assets - including empowerment, positive values and a commitment to learning - that will help them make sound decisions. Members of a newly formed coalition, ACTIVE Alliance for a Healthier Community, sponsored the event, calling for new programs - from faith-based marriage counseling to greater availability of long-term care for substance users - to combat juvenile violence and drug use. The proposals drafted by the ACTIVE (Adults and Children Together Improving Values and Ethics)

Carroll volunteers who sponsor recreation programs for children and adults want county officials to know their activities fill an important need and deserve to receive county money.Leaders of Carroll's recreation councils say they were upset recently when some members of the county Planning Commission said recreation projects were not a high priority in the budget."We were concerned with the misinformation or lack of understanding of what recreation councils do for the county," said Kevin G. Null, president of the New Windsor council.

Acknowledging that alcohol abuse accounts for a large share of the school's disciplinary problems, the Naval Academy announced two new programs yesterday to curb drinking among its 4,000 students. One program will enlist the help of local bars and liquor stores to prevent underage and excessive drinking by midshipmen, while the other will collect statistics to dispel the perception that most students drink heavily. "I've been here 3 1/2 years, and where we have had egregious conduct, it's been where someone drank too much and didn't use their judgment," Superintendent John R. Ryan said at an afternoon news conference.

Harbel Housing Partnership, Patterson Park Neighborhoods Initiative and Belair-Edison Housing Service, all Baltimore-based programs, are sponsoring free homeownership programs for first-time buyers and new homeowners in October.Harbel's workshops are slated for 6: 30 p.m. Oct. 8 and Oct. 15 at St. John's of Hamilton, 5315 Harford Road.Part one will cover housing affordability, credit, mortgages and Baltimore County's settlement expense loan program. The second session will provide information on working with a Realtor, contracts, settlement costs and home inspection.

Towson State has restored its men's and women's swimming programs, which had been cut Aug. 11 as a cost-saving measure.Athletic director Bill Hunter announced the reversal yesterday but did not say whether the swimming teams would survive past the 1992-93 school year. The men's and women's indoor track and field teams, also cut Aug. 11, were not given a reprieve."The university has reconsidered its suspension [of swimming] primarily because the students who would want to compete intercollegiately had no recourse for this year," Hunter said in a statement.