Shelter

James Bilal is already homeless and in a couple of months he will be without a home.Mr. Bilal lives in a homeless shelter located in an old firehouse at Eutaw Street and Druid Hill Avenue. In March, Mr. Bilal's unemployment checks run out, and the shelter is slated to close at the end of April.On Friday, Mr. Bilal and some other men at the shelter made a desperate plea for jobs. They asked the news media to publicize their plight and to alert the public about their willingness to work.The shelter, called Eutaw Centre, opened Jan. 16. It is operated by a coalition of homeless advocacy groups.

Neighbors and operators of a Woodstock animal sanctuary are appealing decisions by the Howard County Board of Appeals permitting the shelter to treat wildlife, but not exotic animals. Last year, the board ruled that Frisky's Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary could continue to rehabilitate animals, but county animal control - not the board - has the authority to decide when and if the group's monkeys would be removed. David A. Carney, attorney for neighbors with safety concerns, said he submitted the appeal after the board denied motions to reconsider the case based on new county zoning regulations.

The operator of a Baltimore County homeless shelter criticized for its treatment of residents will relinquish control when its contract expires in June, local officials say. Community Building Group Ltd. -- a nonprofit corporation that closed a separate transitional housing program last year amid similar complaints -- did not apply to renew its contract at the Hannah More site in Reisterstown, said a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Department of...

ANNAPOLIS -- The thin man in the black tuxedo really was Joseph Bishop, sitting there before his consomme of duck with confit ravioli and surrounded by enough fancy silverware to sink a skiff -- the same Joseph Bishop who, three weeks ago, counted himself among the homeless.Tuesday, he counted himself among 200 guests at the Loews Annapolis Hotel for a nine-course banquet to benefit the Light House shelter in Annapolis. This summer, the 45-year-old man called the shelter home.Mr. Bishop showed up at the West Street shelter June 5 without a job, money or a place to stay.

Two state agencies have begun investigating allegations of animal cruelty against the Cecil County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the state comptroller's office said it might investigate the facility's finances. The State Board of Veterinary Examiners said its investigation is under way, and several witnesses, including ex-employees of the animal shelter in Chesapeake City, said they have been contacted by state police to set up interviews. State police, who recently said they planned to start an investigation, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

A proposed shelter site in Joppa for Harford County's homeless was withdrawn yesterday in response to strong community opposition, likely restarting a search process that has been several years in the making. Faith Communities and Civic Agencies United, a consortium that has sought a shelter site since the 1990s, announced its withdrawal last night at a community meeting at Prince of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Edgewood. The group withdrew the proposal after witnessing the public display of opposition from both the community and the area's 7th District legislative delegation.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's 10-year plan to end homelessness received a boost Monday evening when the City Council unanimously approved her proposal for a 275-bed shelter on Fallsway. Dixon stressed that the new facility is part of a broader goal. "Our whole thrust is, how can we eliminate poverty in this city?" Dixon said. City Councilman William H. Cole IV said the project "is giving homeless people in this city an opportunity they have never had before." The measure garnered support from City Councilman Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who had previously been an outspoken opponent of the facility.

I am looking at a 23-year-old shingled house by a pond in suburban Chicago, contemplating the meaning of zing. It is the presence of zing, "in all its colorful forms," Traditional Home magazine says, that makes this house such a joy to behold.You would not have found the word zing in HG, a magazine that long served as an urbane arbiter of taste (may it rest in peace). But throughout their history, home magazines have been a Rorschach test of American values. If the announcement of HG's closing and the rise of magazines like Traditional Home are any indication, Americans have grown weary of visual repartee.

YANBU, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia has decided to accept and shelter all Iraqi refugees now under American and Saudi control in the south of Iraq and is building a camp to accommodate as many as 50,000 people, a senior Saudi official says.The official, Lt. Gen. Khalid ibn Sultan, a prince who commanded the Arab forces in the coalition that ousted Iraq from Kuwait, also reaffirmed yesterday the kingdom's commitment to abide by international law and "Islamic humanitarian tradition" in handling nearly 14,000 Iraqi prisoners of war who do not wish to return to Iraq.

Last winter, a homeless Jimi McPhail spent nearly three months sleeping in one Glen Burnie-area church after another.This year, having regained his financial footing, Mr. McPhail, 39, made sure the church he adopted joined those that open their doors to homeless men during the year's coldest months.The Rev. Dennis Hancock, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Brooklyn Park, said his 60-member flock considers it a blessing to offer food and shelter during the week that includes Easter Sunday.