Retirement

With the announced near term political retirement of now state Sen. and former County Executive James Robey, it is worthwhile to consider what might be his most enduring legacy, namely raising Howard County state income tax rates from one of the lowest to the highest in the state. In particular, in light of the many tax rate increases in other areas imposed on Howard County residents since that time, and the presently proposed increase in real estate taxes before the County Council, it may be asked whether these increases could have been prevented or greatly reduced with a different set of decisions about what the future of Howard County would be with respect to development.

We baby boomers get blamed for just about every economic hiccup, because there are so many of us. And our children are particularly furious because they believe the crisis in Social Security, which may affect their ability to retire, can be laid at our feet like kindling for a burning at the stake. They are convinced we boomers, with our outsized appetites and sense of entitlement, are going to consume everything on our way to the cemetery, right down to the amount of ground we leave for those who die after us. But data from the Social Security Administration itself, provided by chief actuary Stephen Goss, demonstrates that boomers are not the pig-through-the-python that we have been described as being.

David Poyer is a retired naval officer, and most of the 34 thrillers that he's written draw on his experience serving in the waters of the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific, Caribbean and Persian Gulf. So it was inevitable that at some point he'd take on the whale of all tales, "Moby Dick. " But try as Poyer might, he couldn't figure out how to write the sequel to Herman Melville's great American novel. Then one day, while the 63-year-old Poyer was teaching a creative writing course at Pennsylvania's Wilkes University, the solution came to him in a flash: "When I'm brainstorming with students, my brain doubles its IQ after a short period of time from my usually reptilian torpor at home," the 63-year-old Poyer said in a telephone interview.

Horse racing Retired Hall of Fame trainer Kelly dead at 93 Hall of Fame trainer Thomas J. Kelly died Friday morning at St. Catherine's West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., after a brief illness, according to his son, Timothy D. Kelly . He was 93. Kelly, who was born in Pikesville, conditioned 65 stakes winners, including Plugged Nickle, 1980's champion sprinter who won that year's Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack,...

As a financial services representative and small business owner, I see firsthand the challenges many Hispanic Americans in our community face in accessing affordable ways to get retirement savings help. More than 60 percent of Hispanic workers don't have access to an employee-sponsored retirement plan, which is why opening an Individual Retirement Account is important. The Hispanic American communities that we live and work in have an urgent need for retirement saving advice and products.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's chief of staff will step down in May to head the Goldseker Foundation in Baltimore, the nonprofit plans to announce today. Matt Gallagher, who has worked with O'Malley for 13 years and ran Baltimore's CitiStat operation, will succeed the retiring Timothy D. Armbruster. Armbruster ran Goldseker for 34 years, focusing its philanthropy on neighborhood revitalization and economic development. "I've always felt a strong connection to the city, and this was a particularly exciting opportunity that hasn't been available in a generation," said Gallagher, 40. O'Malley expects to announce Gallagher's replacement today.

Orioles minor league outfielder/first baseman Conor Jackson - who was the final cut in major league spring training this season - has abruptly retired, Triple-A Norfolk announced today. Jackson, who signed a minor league deal this offseason, had a spectacular spring, hitting .302/.327/.528 with three homers and six RBIs in 22 games with the Orioles. In the final days of spring training, the Orioles chose Steve Pearce over Jackson for the final spot on the Opening Day 25-man roster.

Maryland's highest-ranking judge, Robert M. Bell, likes that his courthouse is dedicated to his predecessor, pointing out that the letters etching Robert C. Murphy's name on the building's exterior are filled in gold paint to make sure even nighttime drivers can see it. As Bell approaches retirement, mandatory when he turns 70 in July, he scoffs at the notion that his name might someday grace a building as well. But then, his name is forever etched in legal history by virtue of the Supreme Court case Bell v. Maryland.

Sandy is the 77th name to be retired from the World Meteorological Organization's Atlantic hurricane season lists, joining memorable storms to hit Maryland like Irene, Isabel, Gloria and Agnes. Sara will replace it on a list that will next come into use in 2018. The WMO maintains six sets of lists that it rotates through. The organization chooses to change the names on the lists only when a storm is so deadly or costly that reusing its name would be inappropriate or insensitive, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Anne Arundel County Fire Chief John Robert Ray, who has been with the department for 35 years, announced Friday that he will retire on May 1, according to the department's spokesman. Ray had served in every division of the fire department when he was appointed chief in 2008 at the age of 52. He oversaw changes that included implementing billing for emergency medical services and pushed for mandating sprinklers in new homes in the county. In the news release, Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman wished Ray well.