Society

WJZ meteorologist Bernadette Woods is leaving the CBS-owned station to join a non-profit firm in New Jersey focused on climate change, she said Wednesday night. Woods, who has been with WJZ for seven years, said she will remain at the station helping with the transition for the next month. After that, she, her husband and their two children will be moving to Princeton, N.J., where she will join Climate Central as staff meteorologist. "I'm very excited about the opportunity in Princeton," she said.

Sunday's musical splendors, for me, started with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society's season finale in the afternoon at Grace United Methodist Church. The cleverly constructed program gave audiences a chance to compare different settings of the same texts. Tom Hall, longtime artistic director of the chorus, chose a good number of pieces with spiritual texts, mixing in a little Shakespeare along the way. The composers represented were decidedly tonal in orientation, and several shared a rather generic style (I would have loved at least one walk on the wild side)

As the referendum on same-sex marriage moves forward to the November election, I offer the following points on why I oppose same-sex marriage. The basic thrust of many supporters of same-sex marriage is to argue that same-sex marriage is a civil right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that it is a corollary of the unalienable rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as stated in the Declaration of Independence....

Is the American body politic suffering from an autoimmune disease? The "hygiene hypothesis" is the scientific theory that the rise in asthma and other autoimmune maladies stems from the fact that babies are born into environments that are too clean. Our immune systems need to be properly educated by being exposed early to germs, dirt, whatever. When you consider that for most of human evolutionary history, we were born under shady trees or, if we were lucky, in caves or huts, you can understand how unnatural Lysol-soaked hospitals and microbially baby-proofed homes are. The point is that growing up in a sanitary environment might cause our immune systems to freak out about things that under normal circumstances we'd just shrug off. Hence, goes the theory, the explosion in asthma rates in the industrialized world, the rise in peanut and wheat allergies and, quite possibly, the spike in autism rates.

With all due respect to Jay Hancock , his recent statement regarding how high income Maryland residents should be taxed illustrates a number of fallacies that drive policies that will destroy this nation: "Should the 1 percent at the top of the pole pay much more in personal income tax to help rescue the society that has been so good to them? Of course. But that taxation needs to be done at the federal level, where there is less opportunity to avoid it. " Mr. Hancock writes ("Something's making Maryland's millionaires leave," Dec. 4)

The politicians want to take away our guns again ("Battle lines form in gun debate," Dec. 19). But they don't realize why we were given the right to bear arms from the get go. It all goes back to that time in 1776 when we revolted against tyranny by the king of a foreign land. Sure, we have guns to hunt with, to protect ourselves, our families and our property, and also for leisure. But that's not why the Constitution grants us this right. The right to bear arms and form militia is for one main reason: That if and when the politicians decide to trample and burn the Constitution and form their own dictatorship, we have the right to take back our government by force.

As a psychologist who has spent more than a year in the Middle East, I have been following with great interest the commentary following the massacre in Afghanistan by the U.S. soldier last Saturday ("Killings of 16 appall Afghans," March 12). Almost all of the opinions expressed by leaders, pundits and talk show listeners betray a fundamental cultural myopia. They seek to find the pathology in the individual and not in the wider society. We think that the soldier must suffer combat fatigue from multiple deployments or suffer from post traumatic stress disorder or another mental illness and rush to declare the incident an isolated one of a rogue soldier.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people would interact exclusively through persuasion. Force would have no place as a means of social interaction. Yet the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, paradoxical as that may sound. When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or use of force. The gun puts a 100-lb. woman on equal footing with a 220-lb.

To those opposed to tougher Maryland gun laws, I can only say that we have to start somewhere ("Battle lines form in gun debate," Dec. 19). The answer cannot be that criminals will get guns anyway so law-abiding people must have them as well to protect themselves. We are living in a society where the character and moral differences between the good guys and the bad guys are blurring. The country is awash in paranoia and fear. The reasons for the good guys to be armed may be purer and nobler than the reasons for the bad guys.

The only "good and substantial reason" citizens should need in order to obtain a concealed carry permit for their firearm is that we live in a society some of whose members have no respect for the lives of others ("U.S. appeals panel upholds Md. gun law," March 22). As it stands now, the only people who pack guns are the criminals who prey on innocent citizens knowing that the odds of their victims carrying a weapon in Maryland are close to zero. So criminals have nothing to fear.

Tickets are now available for the Catonsville Historical Society's 16th Heritage Homes Tour to be held on May 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Owners of eight local residences will showcase a variety of interesting architectures, modernizations, decors and furnishings, as well as springtime gardens and landscape treatments at the 19th and 20th century homes on the tour. Tickets for the tour will be informational brochures and cost $25. Send check payable to the Catonsville Historical Society to: Catonsville Historical Society, c/o The Wilderness B&B, 2 Thistle Road, Catonsville, Md. 21228.

As Maryland Historical Society librarian Francis O'Neill described the winding route to reconstructing the history of Baltimore's homes, a small but eager crowd paid close attention. No one made for the exits, even as he laid new twists on old turns. "We're not Google," said his colleague, Eben Dennis. "There's not one place you can plug in a keyword and get a photo. " But for those willing to put in some effort, the society has almost a million pictures of buildings from the city and beyond.

On Thursday, April 18, lawyers and judges from Maryland's courts will share their expertise and personal experiences to help area students learn about law and society. Students attending the Civics and Law Academy will meet face-to-face with judges and other legal professionals to discuss a variety of topics, including juvenile rights, criminal law, free speech and the law in the technology age. The April 18 session will be held at North Harford High School in Pylesville, and will include more than 100 students from North Harford, Joppatowne, Bel Air, Edgewood, Aberdeen, Fallston and Havre de Grace high schools.

It's springtime, and with the beautiful weather and perfect light comes an age-old ritual as artists set up their easels around Maryland. You can find them working in a variety of mediums in Druid Hill Park, roadside in the Green Spring and Worthington valleys, along the winding stone-lined streets of Ellicott City, or on the wharves of St. Michaels and Rock Hall. And among the artists will be many members of the Baltimore Watercolor Society, the nation's third-oldest such organization.

Nonprofit organizations abound in Howard County, and Howard Magazine highlights who they are, what they do and how you can help. Name: Howard County Autism Society Who: Judy Grusso, executive director What is your mission? The Howard County Autism Society provides information, support and advocacy and promotes awareness of autism that values the dignity and uniqueness of each individual.    What kinds of programs and services do you provide? Last year, we served more than 2,000 people.

The Humane Society of Harford County Inc. and Pets for Patriots Inc. have joined forces to give active, disabled and retired military service members and their families the gift of a pet's unconditional love, while providing dogs and cats with a second chance at life. Through this partnership, Pets for Patriots will connect our area's loyal service men and women to the humane society, which will introduce them to eligible homeless dogs and cats that are looking for permanent homes. Individuals are eligible from any U.S. armed forces and at any stage of their careers – active, reserve, National Guard, retired or veteran.

Mr. Bauer still has conceptual difficulty in dealing with the issue of extending the right to civil marriage to those of the same gender ("Supporters of gay marriage confuse facts with opinion," letter, June 14). Nowhere in his letter can he articulate an answer to the key question of what harm society would suffer from extension of this right, let alone entertain the thought of how society might actually benefit. If anything, his letter inadvertently makes the case for the opposite of what he advocates.

It's about time The Sun reported on the millions of dollars spent on unused textbooks in the Baltimore County school system ("Officials question millions spent on Balto. Co. tests and curriculum," Nov. 12). This is something that has been going on for a long time. I retired as a classroom teacher and mentor for Baltimore County in 2001. While in my last position, mentors often discussed the many books on various ability levels and subjects that were left in their original packaging in the book room.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. " - Thomas Jefferson My recent column on the challenges associated with the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program elicited numerous and very personal stories from readers about how individual (disabled) recipients depended on the program for daily maintenance. And, many asked, how dare I (and others of my ilk) question such a vital program?

To say that, and I quote Daniel Rodricks, "Ben Carson had firmly developed, antiquated beliefs that he wants a wide audience to hear," is an understatement ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). Dr. Carson is an admirable man because of the contributions in pediatrics that he has made throughout his career, but as a human being and as a member of our society, he needs to educate himself and understand that this is 2013 and we, as a society, need to evolve.