Spring

I was very happy to see that additional development was barred at Green Spring Station and that common sense prevailed in our county's decision making. Anyone who travels through this intersection during the week days, especially rush hours, can tell you this is a failing intersection that it fully deserves its "F" rating. To those legislators who upgraded it as a "D" rating, I would suggest that without major improvements in place beforehand, any further development at Green Spring Station would overnight decrease its rating to a "F". For this reason, I believe the restriction that prohibits development only near "F" rated intersections should be expanded to include "D" rated roadways and intersections; this is only common sense, guys.

Stevenson's 18-2 record and No. 4 ranking in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll has been aided by Division III's sixth-ranked offense and 14th-ranked defense. But another pillar of the program's success this season has been ground balls. The Mustangs entered the week ranked second in the nation in ground balls per game (47.4), and that number will improve after the team collected 70 loose balls in an 18-6 pummeling of Christopher Newport in the first round of the NCAA tournament Wednesday night.

Nutritionists from the University of Maryland Medical Center regularly contribute a guest post. The latest post is from Catherine Schroeder, dietetic intern. Spring showers inspire the growth of a colorful array of fruits and vegetables to decorate your dishes, tempt your taste buds and nourish yourself naturally. Vibrantly colored produce adds visual appeal to any dish without the use of synthetic dyes or additives. More importantly, these brightly colored foods pack a powerful nutrition punch.

The activities room on the far side of Lutherville Laboratory Elementary School on York Road is full of jazz dancers dressed in black leggings and tank tops on a recent Wednesday afternoon. The room smells of team spirit, the beat of the music races through the floor up to my chest. The dancers are under the instruction of Brittany Brothers, graduate of Towson University, and her assistant, Morgan Colburn , a senior at Maryvale High School. Brothers and Coleburn are just two of about 15 dance staff with the Lutherville Timonium Recreation Council Tap/Jazz program.

After seven years running his own kitchen at Salt , his Upper Fells Point restaurant that put duck-fat fries, Wagyu sliders and changing menus on Baltimore's food map, Jason Ambrose is stepping aside. Ambrose is turning over Salt's day-to-day kitchen operations to Brian Lavin, who joined the Salt team in 2010 and has been the restaurant's sous-chef for about a year and a half, according to Ambrose. "I made a decision I was going to take a step out," said Ambrose. "Brian came to me as a line cook with a tremendous interest in food.

A vote by the Baltimore County Council on Monday will bar new development at Green Spring Station in Lutherville for the near future. Developers cannot build near intersections graded "F" under the county's "basic services maps," which identify deficiencies in public infrastructure throughout the county. The council approved the maps Monday. The intersection of West Joppa and Falls roads near Green Spring Station — which has shops, restaurants and offices — had been labeled failing for about a decade, and the planning board recommended "F" again this year.

NEW YORK -- Carnegie Hall put out the purple Monday night to welcome the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for the opening of Spring For Music, a week-long festival showcasing American orchestras playing adventurous programs. Ravens-colored cloths adorned the seat backs of the musicians' chairs and the conductor's podium; more cloths were handed out to audience members to wave on cue in a salute to Baltimore. That cue came before the music started when an announcer from local radio station  WQXR interviewed the BSO's high-profile booster, Gov. Martin O'Malley, onstage.

How bad is traffic at Falls and Joppa roads in Baltimore County? It depends whom you ask, and the answer could determine whether the county allows additional growth near the intersection. A dispute over the intersection near Green Spring Station, a collection of shops, restaurants and offices in Lutherville, was the subject of a County Council discussion last week. Council members are scheduled to vote Monday on the county's "basic services maps," which identify deficiencies in the county's sewer, water and transportation infrastructure plans.

Anne Arundel Community College's Kauffman Theater at the Pascal Center for Performing Arts is proving to be fertile ground for people searching for entertainment bargains. The center offers such options as dance troupes, jazz ensembles, world-class guitar concerts and performances by the AACC Concert Band. The major spring concert season kicked off last weekend with classical concerts by the college's Symphony Orchestra and the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. If these opening classical concerts signal the caliber of what lies ahead, music fans are in for a treat.

Despite damp weather to end the month, April 2013 was drier than normal, continuing a trend of below-average precipitation that has persisted since Hurricane Sandy's deluge last October. Through the end of the month, 10.4 inches of rain have fallen at BWI Marshall Airport so far in 2013. April's tally was an inch shy of normal, at about 2.2 inches. That was a third consecutive month of below-normal rainfall, and the fifth in six months. The trend began in November, a month after Hurricane Sandy helped bring nearly 9 inches of rain to BWI. January 2013 was also slightly above normal, at 3.64 inches.