Submission

Every year, I look to summer as a time for vacations, baseball and Fourth of July celebrations. But in recent years, my expectations have been diminished, because frankly, I dread June - the month the Southern Baptist Convention meets to conduct its annual business session. After the convention, I find myself trying desperately to explain to friends and acquaintances alike that I while I'm a Southern Baptist, I'm not one of those Southern Baptists, the ones who've taken over.For example, I have found myself in the awkward position of trying to explain why the convention denounced Disney last year, calling for a boycott to protest some Disney programs and company polices, including health benefits for same-sex partners of company employees.

While driving around Howard County, you have probably seen a blue sign stuck in the ground beside the road and wondered, "What was on that sign I just passed?" And if you have gone back to read it, you might have asked "What did the information mean?" The blue sign contains information announcing a pre-submission community meeting. The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) requires developers to hold these meetings close to the proposed development site at a convenient location and time to inform neighborhood residents of proposed residential, commercial or governmental development.

LOS ANGELES -- An aggressive young prosecutor and a veteran Los Angeles police sergeant squared off in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial yesterday, dramatically disagreeing about how much force police officers were entitled to use in arresting Mr. King.Sgt. Charles L. Duke testified for the police officers accused of violating Mr. King's rights, and he vigorously defended their actions.He told jurors, for instance, that Mr. King continued to pose a threat even after he had been knocked to the pavement with a series of baton blows because his movements continued to suggest that he was defying police orders to stay down.

The latest theme for b's weekly photo contest was "Sweat" and these are the finalists. Use the poll on the side to cast your vote. Voting ends Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. Best of luck to the nominees. Image 1 Image 2 Image 3  

THE TOP FIVE 1 Cowboys Their big-play offense looks unstoppable. 2 Giants Took a tough - but necessary - stand against Plaxico Burress. 3 Titans Nasty again, as in the Steve McNair days. 4 Eagles Blitzed the Steelers into submission. 5 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger will need a run game tomorrow. THE BOTTOM FIVE 28 Raiders An embarrassment on and off the field. 29 Browns Vastly overrated coming into the season. 30 Lions Starting over again. 31 Chiefs It's Damon Huard's turn in the revolving door.

Elected officials and political hopefuls would not have to submit substance abuse disclosure statements to the State Ethics Commission.The Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee voted, 9-2,against the bill co-sponsored by Sens. Larry E. Haines, R-Carroll, Baltimore, and Howard R. Denis, R-Montgomery, that would have requiredpoliticians and candidates to file the statements periodically.The sponsors proposed the legislation as a way to demonstrate that elected officials are not "above the law."

Basement Waterproofing Nationwide of Edgewood was recently given the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland's Torch Award for Outstanding Ethics in the Market Place for the second time. The company also recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. It won this award the first time in 1997. Stephen Taylor is chief executive officer of the business, which has nearly 100 employees. Christmas parade participants sought The Bel Air Economic and Community Development Commission is soliciting participants for the town's 2007 Christmas parade, set for Dec. 2. Floats, mobile units, antique cars, marching units and color guards are among the entrants sought.

NEW YORK -- Michael Milken, who built a financial empire on high-risk bonds, asked to do penance for his multiple confessed crimes by working on the risky streets of Los Angeles with the city's Police Department."

I MUST INFORM your readers that The Sun's Dec. 15 editorial, "$20 million question . . . Wyndham Hotel: City Hall offered subsidies Paterakis developers did not even ask for," is incorrect and misleading.Having reviewed the record to test my recollection that, as I was quoted, the parking revenue bonds had "been there from the beginning," here are the facts:From the developers' submission dated Dec. 12, 1996, responding to the Baltimore Development Corp.'s request for proposals: "We propose that the city issue $25 million in tax exempt parking revenue bonds to support the proposed development."

*TC This is the traditional month for coming to grips with the changes you want to make in your life. For the well employed, January is the best time to scope out the year ahead. And for the unemployed and unhappily employed, January is the best job-hunting month. Here are a few resolutions to aim at.Get a jobMake a list of three job search channels you haven't tried. Job fairs are for workers of all ages; think of each encounter as a screening interview and follow up with a letter and telephone call.

Anne Arundel Community College student Liam Cunningham's muse spoke to him as he thought about a classmate who frequently brought bottles of soda to class. From that he concocted the three-minute video called "Beethoven's Fizz," which features soda repeatedly rising and falling inside a 2-liter bottle to the tune of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The video is among many entries in AACC's second annual Student Video Festival, which features submissions of original, copyright-free material that are six minutes or shorter.

The Howard County Student Film Festival is seeking original film submissions from high schoolers. The festival is open to students from public and private schools. Films must be three to 10 minutes in length, original and family friendly. Submission deadline is Feb. 26. For more information, go to hocofilmfestival.com. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; } div.talkforum .feedItemAuthor { display: none; } div.talkforum div.feedburnerFeedBlock ul li span.headline { font-weight:bold; margin:0; font-size: 12px; }

THE TOP FIVE 1 Cowboys Their big-play offense looks unstoppable. 2 Giants Took a tough - but necessary - stand against Plaxico Burress. 3 Titans Nasty again, as in the Steve McNair days. 4 Eagles Blitzed the Steelers into submission. 5 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger will need a run game tomorrow. THE BOTTOM FIVE 28 Raiders An embarrassment on and off the field. 29 Browns Vastly overrated coming into the season. 30 Lions Starting over again. 31 Chiefs It's Damon Huard's turn in the revolving door.

The fourth annual Howard County Student Film Festival, created through the Howard County Public School System's Gifted and Talented Intern/Mentor Program, is seeking original film submissions from high school students from public and private schools in the county. The films must be 3 to 10 minutes in length, original and family friendly. For additional guidelines, see www.hocofilm festival.com. The deadline for submissions is Friday. Information: hocofilmfestival@gmail.com.

Youngsters in grades six through 12 are invited to submit up to three original poems to the Howard County Library's Word Up! Poetry Contest. Winners will be invited to read their poems at a spring event and will receive cash prizes. The deadline to submit entries is March 14. The contest is being held in partnership with the Friends of Howard County Library and the Howard County public schools. Poet and teacher Michael R. Clark will help contestants and others, ages 11 to 17, revise and perfect poems they have been working on from noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Miller branch library, 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City.

For Regina King, the mightiest test in the ensemble comedy-drama This Christmas was allowing herself not to be mighty. "The majority of roles I play have the common thread of being a strong person. It was a welcome challenge to play submissive and do it convincingly," she said. It's easy to see why King is typecast. She projects a sense of confidence and physical power, even over a relaxed lunch. That, coupled with a natural screen presence, helped her graduate from the world of TV sitcoms to film, where she delivered a stirring performance in the Ray Charles biopic, Ray. But King's turn as Charles' back-up singer/lover is miles away from her work in This Christmas, which tells the story of a family reconnecting over the holidays and features a cast that includes Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine and R&B sensation Chris Brown.

"As Francesca" by Martha Baer. New York: Broadway Books. 288 pages. $22.50."As Francesca" is superficially about cybersex. But the medium is incidental to the story's point: power.That's not to say that this breathless first novel by Martha Baer, the executive editor of HotWired, always convinces with its depictions of the trade-offs between submission and dominance. But within its claustrophobic, desperate world, it's entirely engrossing.Baer's protagonist is Elaine, a number cruncher in a corporation of vague purpose, whose only real connection with people seems to be through the computer.

The Howard County Student Film Festival is seeking original film submissions from high schoolers. The festival is open to students from public and private schools. Films must be three to 10 minutes in length, original and family friendly. Submission deadline is Feb. 26. For more information, go to hocofilmfestival.com. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; } div.talkforum .feedItemAuthor { display: none; } div.talkforum div.feedburnerFeedBlock ul li span.headline { font-weight:bold; margin:0; font-size: 12px; }

Basement Waterproofing Nationwide of Edgewood was recently given the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland's Torch Award for Outstanding Ethics in the Market Place for the second time. The company also recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. It won this award the first time in 1997. Stephen Taylor is chief executive officer of the business, which has nearly 100 employees. Christmas parade participants sought The Bel Air Economic and Community Development Commission is soliciting participants for the town's 2007 Christmas parade, set for Dec. 2. Floats, mobile units, antique cars, marching units and color guards are among the entrants sought.