Residents

Just when Washington looked like it was completely preoccupied with the scandals, real and imaginary, swirling around the White House, a group of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate managed the unexpected (and, these days, extraordinary): They agreed on something. The vote Tuesday night in the Senate Judiciary Committee to forward to the floor a massive overhaul of the nation's immigration system was, to be sure, a small step and doesn't guarantee success in the full Senate, much less the House of Representatives.

Police in Howard County are warning elderly residents to watch out for financial scams. The warning comes after an 86-year-old Elkridge man wired $151,000 to cover what he believed were taxes on a fake $1.6 million prize check, police said. Police are investigating the theft and fraud case. The victim has received letters and phone calls over the last month from people claiming to be from Publisher's Clearing House, company attorneys or IRS representatives, police said. The man was sent a fake prize check and told he would be able to cash the check once he paid the taxes and received an activation code.

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

With plans to demolish 1,500 vacant houses in the next three years, Baltimore officials and the few remaining residents in largely vacant blocks are beginning the early stages of the most delicate of relationships. About 80 residents - each of them representing the last one or two households living in blocks that are otherwise entirely vacant - are to be uprooted this year, the city to take their homes by eminent domain, demolish the structures and establish community gardens. They bring 80 different opinions that the city must respond to. Norma Green, who lives in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Upton, where the city plans to tear down at least several blocks of vacant homes, spoke at a community meeting Tuesday evening in Druid Heights.

A nonprofit housing development corporation begins construction today on an apartment complex for seniors in Glen Burnie -- where, its spokeswoman says, market studies show a large elderly population and a "tremendous need" for such a facility."

Nine residents living in two townhouses were displaced early Saturday morning after a fire broke out and extended up to the roof. Howard County Department responded to the fire in 9300 block of Indian Camp about 4 a.m. Firefighters brought the two-alarm fire under control within an hour and no one was seriously hurt. One firefighter suffer a minor leg injury and was treated at Howard County General Hospital. The Red Cross is working to assist residents who have been displaced. Howard County Fire Marshals were investigating to determine the cause of the fire.

I always thought that the homes in Ruxton were well designed and constructed with great care and that the landscaping was excellent. Ruxton would seem to be a perfect place to live judging by outward appearances. Recent letters and articles printed in this newspaper reveal a very ugly side of the local population. I assume that there must be some decent people living in Ruxton, but they must be in hiding. The merits of the case these sons and daughters of Colonel Ruxton Moore are trying to make ("No retreat in Ruxton," May 1)

A Tuesday auction for a key commercial building in Baltimore's Patterson Park neighborhood was canceled after residents struck a deal to purchase it. A group of six neighbors finalized a contract on Monday with lender M&T Bank, which was owed more than $790,000 on the property after the collapse of the Patterson Park Community Development Corp. The nonprofit had used it as a headquarters and rented out the first floor to a restaurant, which also closed. The neighbors' group did not disclose the purchase price.

Glenwood residents Steve and Natasha Kavakos welcomed the arrival of twins on June 29, 2012. Kendall Ann Kavakos at 8:56 a.m., weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Brixton Louis Kavakos at 8:58 a.m., weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces. Colton, 19 months, waited at home for his new siblings. The children's grandparents, Louis and Diane Kavakos and Terry and Joyce Losonsky, all live in Columbia.

Water had been restored to all Baltimore County residents by Thursday afternoon after a power outage to a pumping station interrupted service Wednesday, according to city and county officials. Residents and businesses whose running water was restored overnight had been urged to conserve water earlier Thursday. Most of the customers from Lake Avenue in Baltimore to Sparks who were affected by Wednesday's outage, caused by an electrical fire in the power lines leading to the Hillen Road pumping station, should have had some running water this morning, according to Baltimore's Department of Public Works.

A pair of Baltimore residents filed suit Monday accusing the city of breaking the law by allowing toxic chemicals to leach into the Patapsco River from the South Baltimore site where a casino is now under construction. The lawsuit is the second to raise environmental concerns about development of the Horseshoe casino on Russell Street. It contends that the city's deal with CBAC Gaming, a coalition led by Caeser's Entertainment, exposes city taxpayers to having to pay for cleaning up contamination from the site.

Forest Hill resident Thomas Franklin Keller earned the rank of Eagle Scout on Nov. 6, 2012. A ceremony was held on May 4 in recognition of his accomplishment. "I'm honored to be an Eagle Scout," said Keller, who spent 201 hours collecting more than 2,000 food items that were donated to Centre United Methodist Church in Forest Hill. "It felt good giving back to the community that's helped me," said Keller, a member of Troop 809 out of Jarrettsville. Keller has received numerous certifications, including a letter from former President Bill Clinton, a Harford County proclamation and Maryland flag, a Maryland Senate Resolution and a Maryland General Assembly official citation.

Loading his earthly belongings into a laundry cart that he rented from Campus Services, Johns Hopkins University freshman Austin Dennis made several trips from his dormitory room to his car on residential Greenway at North Charles Street, opposite the Homewood campus May 15. It was move-out week for Hopkins students as the school year ended, and Dennis, an economics major, was catching a flight that night to his hometown of Miami, Fla., where he...

A University of Maryland, Baltimore County student was stabbed early Saturday in a residence hall on campus, police said. About 6 a.m., two men who knew each other started fighting inside Erickson Hall, said Maj. Paul Dillon of the university's police department. The student was stabbed in the arm during the fight, Dillon said. The injury is not life-threatening, he said. Cody Kradz, 22, was arrested off campus and charged with first- and second-degree assault in the stabbing, Dillon said.

Edward H. "Ham" Welbourn Jr., a retired insurance executive and World War II veteran, died April 29 of complications from dementia at the Blakehurst retirement community in Towson. He was 98. The son of Edward H. Welbourn, who owned Rennous Kleinle Brush Manufacturers in Catonsville, and Emma Dawson Welbourn, a homemaker, Edward Hambleton Welbourn was born in Baltimore and raised in Catonsville. After graduating in 1934 from the Gilman School, Mr. Welbourn enrolled at Haverford College, where he was a government major and earned a bachelor's degree in 1938.

Even the most jaded observer must acknowledge there's something admirable about the desire of so many living on Smith Island to see their community survive and prosper. Residents of this marshy (and shrinking in both population and real estate) archipelago on the lower Eastern Shore have had to overcome much in recent years, particularly as their chief means of livelihood, harvesting the seafood bounty of the Chesapeake Bay, has declined. But it's one thing to admire the hard work, independence and faith of Smith Island's residents - who number a mere 276, according to the 2010 Census - and it's another to deny the reality of their circumstances.

Residents of Dundalk and Mays Chapel say they plan to join forces for a Saturday rally to protest the sale of the North Point Government Center in Dundalk. Although they live on different ends of the county, residents in both communities are angry about land decisions made by county officials. Some Mays Chapel residents have fought to stop the county from building a new elementary school at a park. In Dundalk, some are fighting the planned sale of the North Point Government Center.

Baltimore County officials gave proper notice of its meeting where residents could testify about a new stormwater fee, according to state panel that rules on open meeting complaints. In an opinion this week, the Open Meetings Compliance Board said county documentation shows it met legal requirements to advertise a County Council work session where the public could comment on the fee, as well as the legislative meeting where the council voted to adopt it. Both meetings were held in April.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require businesses getting large city contracts or financial support to hire 51 percent of new workers from Baltimore. "My council colleagues believe this is a fair thing to do," Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, the bill's lead sponsor, said after the vote. "We have an unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. We need to get Baltimore City to work. There are qualified people in this city that can do these jobs.