Survey

The Baltimore Sun partnered with WorkplaceDynamics, a Philadelphia-based HR metrics firm, to determine the region's top workplaces. Beginning in June, The Sun ran articles and advertisements encouraging employees in the region to nominate their companies as top workplaces. WorkplaceDynamics then invited those companies, as well as other organizations in the region, to participate in the program. Anyone could nominate a company. The sole requirement was that the organization employ at least 50 people in the Baltimore metro area.

Century High School in Sykesville was one of 23 Maryland high schools - and the only school in Carroll County - to earn a spot on Newsweek magazine's annual ranking of "America's Best High Schools" The listing, released this week, placed Century High as the No. 20 high school in Maryland, and ranked No. 854 in the country. The Newsweek survey ranked what it considers the "best" 1,000 public high schools in the nation. The list was based on six components provided by school administrators - graduation rate (25 percent)

Maryland, according to a new survey of business titans, is the 40 th most business-friendly state, down from 37 last year. Or, put another way, we are the 11 th least friendly. Those are the findings by Chief Executive magazine's annual survey . Business leaders were asked to rate states based on their taxes, regulations, living environment and quality of workers. According to the magazine, Maryland's "income-tax increases on 'middle class' nick and frustrate business owners.

The hunter-backed effort to bring wild elk back to western Maryland is gaining some steam, though fierce resistance remains in key quarters. A survey done by pro-hunting groups finds that nearly three-fourths of Marylanders asked favor restoring the large, majestic ungulates to the state's mountainous region, which hasn't seen any of the animals since the 1700s. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been working with the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to review the biological, social and economic feasibility of restoring the species in the state.  The telephone survey, done by Responsive Management , a Virginia-based polling firm, was underwritten by the two foundations, according to a DNR press release about it. While the survey found widespread public support for bringing elk back to Maryland, the survey also found a strong current of opposition among some western Maryland farmers and others  who feared the large animals could jeopardize their livelihood, spread disease or damage their property.

A new survey of integrative medicine centers shows that the most commonly treated ailments are chronic pain, gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress. The survey was conducted at 29 centers, including the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine , by the Bravewell Collaborative , a nonprofit foundation that advocates for and researches integrative medicine. This kind of medicine purports to treat the whole patient - physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. -- through use of alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture and massage.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is the best airport of its size in the world, according to a survey by Airports Council International. BWI ranked No. 1 for airports serving 15 million to 25 million passengers in the Airport Service Quality 2009 survey released Wednesday. BWI was the only U.S. airport to place first in any size category, despite not being ranked in any category in the 2008 ASQ survey. The rankings are based on 275,000 questionnaires completed at more than 100 airports worldwide.

Do you think of cooking as an art or a necessity? Whatever your reason for pulling out the pans, we want to hear about it. Answer our third annual reader survey that appeared in the Taste section on March 16 or go online to www.baltimoresun. com/tastesurvey. Please respond by tomorrow. We will print the results later this spring.

The hunter-backed effort to bring wild elk back to western Maryland is gaining some steam, though fierce resistance remains in key quarters. A survey done by pro-hunting groups finds that nearly three-fourths of Marylanders asked favor restoring the large, majestic ungulates to the state's mountainous region, which hasn't seen any of the animals since the 1700s. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been working with the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to review the biological, social and economic feasibility of restoring the species in the state.  The telephone survey, done by Responsive Management , a Virginia-based polling firm, was underwritten by the two foundations, according to a DNR press release about it. While the survey found widespread public support for bringing elk back to Maryland, the survey also found a strong current of opposition among some western Maryland farmers and others  who feared the large animals could jeopardize their livelihood, spread disease or damage their property.

- There's been a sharp drop in the percentage of America's children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an impact. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, found that the percentage of children who reported being physically bullied over the past year had declined from nearly 22 percent in 2003 to under 15 percent in 2008. The percentage reporting they'd been assaulted by other youths, including their siblings, dropped from 45 percent to 38.4 percent.

Baltimore ranked sixth in a survey of the least-costly U.S. cities in which to do business, tax firm KPMG reported Thursday. KPMG's study — which reviewed 27 large metropolitan regions — examined 26 cost factors in each market, including labor, taxes, real estate and utilities, in 19 industries over a 10-year period. The tax firm cited Baltimore's lowest suburban office lease costs and low property-based taxes as reasons for its high rank. Cincinnati topped the list, followed by Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; and Dallas-Fort Worth.

A survey of 549 community-based organizations suggests that housing discrimination is on the rise, particularly targeting disabled individuals, immigrants, minorities and families with children, according to the nonprofit Consumer Action . Locally, Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. has said it found similar problems. The organizations, which has sent “testers” out in the region to inquire about available housing, filed suit last year and in 2010 over alleged discrimination.

Maryland, according to a new survey of business titans, is the 40 th most business-friendly state, down from 37 last year. Or, put another way, we are the 11 th least friendly. Those are the findings by Chief Executive magazine's annual survey . Business leaders were asked to rate states based on their taxes, regulations, living environment and quality of workers. According to the magazine, Maryland's "income-tax increases on 'middle class' nick and frustrate business owners.

Rebounding from near-collapse four years ago, the Chesapeake Bay's blue crabs are more plentiful than they've been in nearly two decades, with a record crop of young, Maryland officials announced Thursday. The annual winter survey of Maryland and Virginia waters found an estimated 764 million crabs baywide — two-thirds more than last year and the highest since 1993, officials said. The number of juvenile crabs nearly tripled to 587 million, the most seen since the survey began 22 years ago. That should mean there'll be plenty of the crustaceans available this year, especially in late summer.

Many Americans aren't exercising despite all the health messages about obesity and staying in shape, according to a new survey. The report by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association found that 68.2 million people, or nearly 24 percent of people surveyed, were inactive in 2011. That means that they didn't participate in 119 activities, such as swimming and basketball, identified by the organization.  The number of inactive adults jumped 1.6 pecent from the prior year and 8 percent over the past three years.

Baltimore ranked sixth in a survey of the least-costly U.S. cities in which to do business, tax firm KPMG reported Thursday. KPMG's study — which reviewed 27 large metropolitan regions — examined 26 cost factors in each market, including labor, taxes, real estate and utilities, in 19 industries over a 10-year period. The tax firm cited Baltimore's lowest suburban office lease costs and low property-based taxes as reasons for its high rank. Cincinnati topped the list, followed by Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Two Maryland restaurants - Cindy Wolf's Charleston in Baltimore and Briand Voltaggio's Volt in Frederick - are on a newly published list of the Top 100 Restaurants in America. The fifth annual Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2012 were determined by the Opinionated About Dining Survey, for which more than 3,000 registered voters contributed more than 70,000 reviews. Charleston placed 64th and Volt placed 72nd. The survey, which is published by the Opinionated About Dining blog, relies on the opinons of passionate diners who describe how strongly they would recommend a restaurant and why. Here are the survey's top 10 restaurants.

According to The Daily Beast , Ocean City ranks No. 2 on its list of the 20 Most Popular U.S. Beaches , coming in ahead of Miami Beach, Honolulu, Coronado, Nags Head - just to mention a few destinations that were lower on the list. Surprised? Well, um, a little. But it must be true - they used math! To calculate the Top 20, the survey utilized data on 200 beaches from the nonprofit United States Lifesaving Association (USLA). Here's what The Daily Beast had to say about how it came up with the list: "We considered the 2010 total beach-attendance figures from the USLA as well as the total resident population of each beach town, according to the census, to determine which beaches had the most visitors overall, as well as those that lure the most guests compared with residents.

Whether it's coffee, cocktails, tea or juice, we want to know what you're drinking. There's still time to take part in our fourth annual reader survey online at baltimoresun.com/tastesurvey. Please respond by March 14, and look for the results this spring.

It is a truth universally acknowledged (apologies to Jane Austen) that years of falling home prices have left a lot of folks stuck in place, unable or unwilling to sell. But here's a chart that really underscores how much that has affected shorter-term owners. The figures , which come from a National Association of Realtors survey of U.S. sellers who then bought something else, are striking: 25 percent of people in the 2011 survey owned the place they sold for five years or less, compared with an average of more than 40 percent in 2003 through 2009.

A new survey of integrative medicine centers shows that the most commonly treated ailments are chronic pain, gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress. The survey was conducted at 29 centers, including the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine , by the Bravewell Collaborative , a nonprofit foundation that advocates for and researches integrative medicine. This kind of medicine purports to treat the whole patient - physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. -- through use of alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture and massage.