Property

On a recent weeknight evening at the North Point Government Center, four young women were singing the barbershop classic "Goody Goodbye" in the auditorium. Upstairs, boys tangled on wrestling mats as parents and coaches watched. In the six decades since it was built, the center at Wise Avenue and Merritt Boulevard has become a gathering spot for Dundalk residents. Kids play soccer on the fields during spring, residents gather for fireworks in July, and theater buffs act in plays throughout the year in a community performing arts program.

Editor: On the Editorial, "Worth Looking At," here are comments which may be helpful. 1.  The Brick House is unique in the actual Bel Air area. The property went on the National List of Historic Places with adjacent Lirio[dendron]43 years ago. 2.  The l835 House also has strong ties to Howard Kelly, M.D., a founder of JHU Hospital. His family lived in the Brick House, then owned it. 3.   Many petitioners support acquisition. A number are Harford County notable achievers.

Do you think the property tax assessment you recently received is too high? Interested in filing an appeal of your assessment? On Tuesday, Live Baltimore is hosting a session where homeowners who just received assessment notices can learn how to file an appeal. Property owners who would like to contest their new assessment have until Feb. 11 to do so. The workshop will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the nonprofit's storefront office, 343 N. Charles St., and an employee of the state's Department of Assessments and Taxation will be on hand to answer questions.

At any given time, it's fair to say there are at least a few properties on the market in Harford County that could be described as historic, if the definition of historic simply means old. One such property was brought to the attention of the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners last week when a representative of its owner approached the commissioners about the possibility of the town buying the mansion. The house in question, owned by Judith Graybeal Eagle, is on 2.85 acres near the entrance to the Liriodendron Mansion, a noteworthy property owned by Harford County and operated as part of the county parks system.

Baltimore County school Superintendent Dallas Dance has recommended closing Eastwood Center Elementary Magnet Program after this school year, drawing outrage from parents in Dundalk. School system officials presented the recommendation Tuesday evening to members of the Board of Education at a meeting packed with Eastwood parents. A board vote on the closure is scheduled for March 5. "Common sense would dictate at least another school year to prepare," parent Michael DiMarzio told the board.

Baltimore County residents: Feel free to get nosy about your neighbors' property taxes. A new online database from The Baltimore Sun allows users to find the assessed value and the amount of tax paid for any Baltimore County home or commercial property . The database contains numbers from the tax year that ended June 30, 2012, and gives users multiple search options. In addition to looking up a property by address, users can search by the property owner's name, the assessed value, the tax amount or the credit amount.

A day after testifying at a public hearing before the county school board, Mays Chapel residents who oppose the construction of an elementary school at a nearby park took their concerns to a County Council work session on Tuesday. The council is considering a resolution that would authorize the county to swap 10 acres near Padonia and Roundwood roads for an adjacent parcel, the same size, that the school board owns. The 700-student Lutherville area school would be built on the now county-owned site to alleviate overcrowding in schools along the York Road corridor.

Petition signature collectors have hit the streets again in Baltimore County for a referendum effort on development issues - this time targeting a recent County Council bill that would protect a Middle River project from an earlier referendum challenge. Last month, County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, a Middle River Democrat, sponsored and won approval for a bill that would let a Middle River development proceed, even if the zoning is overturned through a pending referendum attempt.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge has given the go-ahead for Citigroup to sell property in South Baltimore's Westport neighborhood that is owned by developer Patrick Turner, according to court records. In November, lender Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. filed a foreclosure action against Turner-affiliated companies, alleging they owed nearly $32 million on a 2007 loan. Several parcels of land -- 2401 through 2417 Kloman Street -- were secured as collateral for the loan, according to court records.

Terry Musika, an accountant and expert witness who worked in business fraud and patent damages claims, died of pancreatic cancer Dec. 18 at his Hunt Valley home. He was 64. The co-founder of Invotex, a Fells Point business, he was a legal economics expert in lawsuits involving corporate giants Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung. He also immersed himself in Baltimore legal affairs and testified in numerous local cases. "He was considered one of the top intellectual property damages experts in the country," said a colleague, Debbie Pavlik, his firm's marketing manager.