Residents

No fireworks for the Fourth of July? Residents of Loch Raven Village exploded when they heard their beloved tradition was in jeopardy. The spark of civic protest was lit when residents learned that the Associates of Loch Raven Village, a volunteer group that manages and pays for the show, was told it would have to pay for a $3,100 fence around a construction site at Loch Raven Academy where the display is held. The group, whose funds come from voluntary membership dues and fundraisers, said it could not afford to pay for the fence and the fireworks show, which alone cost over $8,000.

The residents who purchased expensive townhouses and single-family homes in a western Howard County community in the state's most expensive ZIP code ended up with views of open, grassy slopes, proximity to a golf club, capacious living rooms with high ceilings, open floor plans, extra bedrooms and countryside-like quietude. For their money - around a half-million dollars and significantly more in many cases - they also bought a headache: A truck rumbles down their street several times a day to cart away sewage because the community's on-site sewage plant does not work.

Evacuated residents return to complex Residents who were evacuated from their apartments in the Virginia Towers complex in Towson were able to return yesterday. About 150 senior and disabled residents who live in the 15-story high-rise were evacuated Wednesday morning after firefighters detected carbon monoxide in some parts of the building. An underground electrical cable burned - for reasons unknown - and caused the odorless, dangerous gas to seep into the complex, fire officials said.

Huge glass tower diminishes Canton As a 20-year resident of an original Canton Square townhouse, I am certainly not opposed to progress. Indeed, my tiny house has increased in value tremendously with all of the rehabs and new construction in the area. But a 240-foot, sparkly glass tower does not belong here. Not only will it dwarf every other structure nearby, but with its modern design it will look hideous in historic Canton ("Panel OKs high-rise in Canton," Feb. 23). Modern glass, high-rise office buildings and condos are fine in downtown development areas set back from the waterfront.

The latest news out of the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills is depressingly familiar: grim and unsafe conditions, substandard medical care, neglect, inaccurate records and more, according to the most recent inspection. Maryland Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers says the numerous shortcomings at the state residential facility for the developmentally disabled are "completely unacceptable" - and he's right. Even if Mr. Colmers and Gov. Martin O'Malley can't yet commit to shutting the facility down, Rosewood ought to be better than this.

The latest in a string of reports describing serious problems at Owings Mills' Rosewood Center may lead the state to close the long-troubled institution for the developmentally disabled, key lawmakers said yesterday. A report released this month by the state's Office of Health Care Quality detailed numerous findings of neglectful and potentially dangerous treatment of some of the facility's 165 mentally retarded residents and a general failure to comply with federal and state standards of appropriate care.

NEW ORLEANS -- Two years after their city was nearly annihilated by a huge levee failure, the residents of the New Orleans neighborhood Gentilly acknowledge that their surroundings still look bad. But they also insist that things slowly are getting better. Just 31 percent of Gentilly's 16,000 addresses were reoccupied or renovated as of March, according to a survey by a Dartmouth professor. But another 57 percent were being fixed up. Private citizens, not the government, deserved the credit, residents said - a source of grim humor among those laboring to mend the neighborhood.

The federal government is attempting to oust the management agency of Bywater Mutual Homes Inc., saying it has neglected the Annapolis public housing community. Residents and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials have agreed to upgrade and repair the 35-year-old townhouse complex - on HUD's condition that the Whetstone Co. step aside as the manager. Whetstone, which is fighting the terms of the agreement, is scheduled to meet with the two sides Friday at HUD headquarters in Washington.

After nearly 20 years of battling a powerful utility -- and gaining a major victory -- some activists might have celebrated loudly, then returned to the normal business of life.Not the residents of the Solley community in northern Anne Arundel County.Although the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. recently announced an end to its policy of using fly ash as fill in Brandon Woods Business Park, area residents aren't ready to celebrate yet.They vow to keep pressing the utility giant on environmental and safety issues related to fly ash -- the gray dust and chunks that are a byproduct of burning coal at BGE's Brandon Shores and H. A. Wagner electricity-generating plants.

Havre de Grace rests like a jewel on the shores of the Susquehanna River, a town of 12,000 where antiques shops and an ice cream parlor share space with restaurants. It is not unusual to spot a neighbor biking down to the marina to walk the wooden promenade or feed the ducks.At the heart of the town is Harford Memorial Hospital, an 85-year-old institution in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood."It's a community hospital," Havre de Grace City Manager Mary Ann Lisanti said of the hospital, the town's largest employer and one of the largest in Harford County.

The two dozen or so residents from South Baltimore's Riverside neighborhood turned off Light Street and onto Heath, a parade of people confronting crime and grime. It was a routine Citizens on Patrol walk, a central part of the Police Department's outreach to residents. Two people, a man and a woman strung out on drugs, simply wouldn't leave. Warned to move on, they came back. Finally, as residents watched and patience wore thin, Sgt. John Kowalczyk sat the couple on a curb on Heath Street and slapped on the cuffs.

Baltimore County public works crews continued cleanup efforts Monday throughout the Dundalk neighborhoods flooded when a major water main broke Friday and spewed the torrent into more than 100 homes. "Our focus now is on cleanup, damage assessment and restoration of utilities," said Elise Armacost, spokeswoman for the county Fire Department. About 33 homes, most of them on McShane Way, were still without power Monday, she said. County inspectors were working with the plumbers and electricians hired by residents to repair damage.

Residents of an aging Annapolis public housing community that is in the midst of a controversial redevelopment project said Wednesday that they have been without utilities repeatedly for the last two weeks. About two dozen residents of College Creek Terrace, a 70-year-old development in downtown Annapolis that is being redeveloped - along with nearby Obery Court - into a publicly funded and privately managed complex, aired their complaints to housing officials during a tense meeting in an outdoor courtyard.

Earl Wilder was suffering from Alzheimer's disease when he moved to Harmony Hall a year ago. The retired transit worker and World War II veteran got a room on the upper floor of the Columbia assisted-living facility, a section reserved for residents requiring the most intensive supervision. When Wilder showed he was able to care for himself, he was moved to the general population area of Maryland's largest assisted-living home. "He was viewed not to be a risk to himself or others," said Harmony Hall general counsel Joe LaVerghetta.

A lively night life and after-hours scene are indispensable to city living. But the charm fades quickly when it's accompanied by gunfire. Since last year, residents of Mount Vernon and Mid-Town have been trying to rid their neighborhood of Suite Ultralounge, a bottle club located in the basement of the Belvedere Hotel that has been linked to a string of shootings, robberies and assaults in the area. But on Monday, a city court judge ruled that the club can remain open - at least for now - despite a nearly yearlong effort by the city liquor board to shut it down.

Consumer affairs officials are warning Howard County residents about a water quality sales scam being pushed by door-to-door promoters. Rebecca Bowman of the county's Consumer Affairs Office said residents have been finding notices on their doors offering free water testing. Those who accept and leave a water sample and completed questionnaire are later told that the test revealed the need for purification equipment, which the person then tries to sell them. The name of a testing company is not provided.

The city trash truck rolled slowly backward down the Wyman Park alley early yesterday morning, its veteran driver responding to calls from the two-man crew tossing cans and bags into the back like a choreographed dance routine. Only there was nothing routine about this day. Yesterday was the start of the city's new trash and recycling program. It was the first big change in four decades, and these workers and residents were facing shifts that sparked both hopes and fears. Hopes were for a city that recycles more, throws away less and keeps its streets and alleys more tidy.

Group homes are no panacea; Rosewood will be missed In your editorial on the closing of the Rosewood Center ("Rosewood's reckoning," July 5), you write, "The strain of this transition on some residents and their loved ones has no doubt been significant. For some, Rosewood has been their home for decades. It's no surprise that not everyone is pleased with what has taken place. Group homes can have their faults, too." In fact, not everyone is pleased with the closure of Rosewood, and for good reason.

Last Tuesday marked the official closing of the Rosewood Center, the state residential facility for the developmentally disabled. The day came none too soon, given the center's troubled past. Eighteen months ago, Maryland Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers promised that Rosewood's 166 residents would find a better quality of life in community-based settings. So far, that appears to have been the case, at least for most. The strain of this transition on some residents and their loved ones has no doubt been significant.

No fireworks for the Fourth of July? Residents of Loch Raven Village exploded when they heard their beloved tradition was in jeopardy. The spark of civic protest was lit when residents learned that the Associates of Loch Raven Village, a volunteer group that manages and pays for the show, was told it would have to pay for a $3,100 fence around a construction site at Loch Raven Academy where the display is held. The group, whose funds come from voluntary membership dues and fundraisers, said it could not afford to pay for the fence and the fireworks show, which alone cost over $8,000.