Towson

Want to pick and choose not just the color of your sofa, but the legs, cushions, pillows, piping and other details? A new sofa store in Towson will allow you to customize your couch. The Sofa Store recently opened in 50,000 square-foot site at Luskin's Hill, off Cromwell Bridge Road. The store was vacated by discounter Syms three years ago.  

College baseball Towson eliminated with 14-9 loss to VCU Junior first baseman Brent Mikionis had three hits and drove in five runs as fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth (34-24) overcame an early 3-0 deficit to post a 14-9 victory over sixth-seeded Towson (27-31) in an elimination game at the Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament in Harrisonburg, Va. Playing their third CAA tournament game in 25 hours, the Tigers fell to the Rams in a game that ended well after midnight Thursday.

Kenneth Donald Pezzulla, an attorney who assisted immigrants in buying their first homes and later helped develop an Ocean City condominium, died of a sarcoma Aug. 26 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 81 and lived in Lutherville. Born in Endicott, N.Y., he played football and basketball while a student at Union Endicott High School and attended Augusta Military Academy in Fort Defiance, Va. He joined the Army and was assigned to Munich in post-World War II Germany. He conducted research and gathered evidence for the Nuremberg war crimes trials as a member of the 17th Airborne Division's War Crimes Group.

Behind the nondescript storefront with its necessary neon window signs, Towson Best does indeed serve some of the best Cantonese food in the Towson/North Baltimore area. A group of young and unfailingly friendly owners and staff greet all who enter and set the tone for casual lunches and dinners that make you not only want to return for the food and but also to patronize a place run by such nice people. The room is divided by long planters. To your right is a tidy eight-stool sushi bar with its pristine fish and smiling chef, small booths and a few tables.

They have survived badly sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments, mild concussions and more than their share of poor shooting days. Ralph Piersanti, one of the oldest in a group, has had two heart attacks. But they keep playing a game that used to be thought of for mostly younger men and women. Three times a week, more than two dozen men in their 60s, 70s and even a few like Piersanti, in their 80s, typically show up at the Bykota Senior Center in Towson - normally thought of as a place for more placid activities such as bingo and line-dancing - to play basketball.

Christine Shultz , of Lutherville and Isabel Galupo , of Towson have been named to the dean's list at Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y., for the fall 2011 semester. Stephanie Hogge , of Baltimore has earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. Alexandra Price , of Timonium, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University's College at Florham, Madison, N.J., has been named to the dean's list for the fall 2011 Semester.

YES, THAT $25,000 gold medal they draped around the neck of Towson University President Mark L. Perkins at his inauguration was an example of wretched excess, even if taxpayers didn't pay for it. But the $850,000 mansion in Guilford, with its $600,000 in renovations? In the garden of college and university presidential residences, it's a common marigold. Million-dollar, even multimillion-dollar homes for university presidents are common across the country. They're usually supplied, along with cars, country club memberships, lucrative corporate board positions (paying well into five figures)

Mahlon B. Prettyman, 58, Realtor in Towson Mahlon B. Prettyman, a Realtor in Towson, died Friday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore from complications from Crohn's disease. He was 58. Born in Morristown, N.J., he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he majored in psychology, and enlisted in the Army. He served in Vietnam as an intelligence officer in 1968 and was awarded two Bronze Stars. He married Thea Benzeleski in 1969 and the couple lived for several years in Ijamsville, Frederick County, where he completed a master's degree in management at then-Frostburg State College.

For years, a carefully dressed door-to-door salesman was known by his simple greeting: "Edward Angell. I sell Mason Shoes -- all leather arch support and cushioned insoles."It was Edward Carlton Angell's natural-born salesmanship and genial personality that kept him trudging area streets and banging on doors for more than 30-years selling mail-order shoes and, at Christmastime, cards.Mr. Angell, who was known as "The Shoe Man," drowned Sept. 21 in a pond while visiting his brother's farm in Millen, Ga. He was 81.Mr.

It's probably safe to say that no other lingerie display has ever whipped up so much concern in Towson.The display in the window of the Love Ones Lingerie shop at 402 1/2 York Road features a female mannequin dressed in leather scanties. She is holding a bullwhip that is looped around the neck of a male mannequin, who is similarly attired in a leather jockstrap and a harness.The shop's arrival in early December startled many shoppers.It also offended York Road merchants' sense of the town's family image.

After upsetting No. 4 seeded George Mason in the CAA baseball tournament this morning, No. 6 seeded Towson plays again tonight. Freshman Brendan Butler was 3-for-3 and scored four runs and sophomore Zach Fisher was 3-for-6 and knocked in two runs in the Tigers' 16-8 victory over the Patriots. Towson, which lost to Delaware in 12 innings Wednesday night, will face the lowest-seeded one-loss team in the next round this evening. Towson (27-30) eliminated George Mason (33-24) from the tournament.

Towson University will receive $2 million in state and private grant funds to start a new program designed to increase production of math and science teachers. The initiative will be based on the 15-year-old UTeach program, which more than doubled the output of math and science teachers at the University of Texas in Austin and is widely regarded as a model for training teachers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. UTeach offers financial incentives for math, science and computer science majors to train and enter the workforce as teachers.

Good weather, good crowds and a host of attractions — from rides to a dunk tank, food to raffles — combined to make a successful 2012 edition of the St. Pius X Carnival, hosted this past weekend at the church and school on York Road in Towson. During the three-day event, from Friday to Sunday, carnival patrons enjoyed rides and games, raffles, a silent auction and food that included pit beef, crab cakes, baked goods, fudge and lemonade. The event also included sales of collectibles, used books and other items.

North Harford and Patterson Mill each captured their second straight regional baseball titles Friday afternoon, as the Hawks topped Towson, 7-1, in the 3A North final, while the Huskies grabbed the 2A East crown with a 5-4 victory over North Caroline. The wins set up Tuesday state semi-final appearances for each. For details on those games, please visit http://www.exploreharford.com. Playing at home Friday in the 3A North title game, the North Harford Hawks topped visiting fourth-seed Towson, 7-1. North Harford starter Ryan Stinar went six innings in the win, striking out 10 and holding Towson to three hits.

The State Highway Administration has begun a $1 million resurfacing project along a mile stretch of York Road between Towsontown Boulevard and Stevenson Lane in Towson, which officials said is designed to improve safety and traffic flow. Crews are upgrading sections of curb, gutter, sidewalk and ramps to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The project also includes cleaning and repairing inlets and drainage pipes; and installing underground and overhead traffic detectors at intersections where needed.

Colleges Towson rallies past JMU, qualifies for CAA baseball tourney Sophomore second baseman Pat Fitzgerald lined a one-out single to left field with in the bottom of the 10th inning as Towson came from behind to earn a berth in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament with a 5-4 victory over visiting James Madison (16-35-2, 10-20) on Saturday in the final regular-season game of the baseball season. The Tigers (26-29, 15-15), who entered the game needing a win to earn their first CAA berth since 2008, trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth before junior Kurtis Voytell tied it with a pinch-hit home run to left-center.

Towson (1-2) at Columbia (0-1) Time: 12:30 p.m. Site: Robert Kraft Field at Lawrence Wien Stadium, New York, N.Y. Radio: 1370 AM Series: Columbia leads 2-1. What's at stake: The home team has won each of the first three games of the series that dates to 1997. The Tigers are 3-0 against Ivy League teams at home and 0-5 on the road. Towson is coming off a 43-7 drubbing last week at the hands of No. 1 Villanova. The Lions fell to Fordham last Saturday, 16-9.

Send sports notices a minimum of two weeks before the requested publication date to Patuxent Publishing/TT Sports Notices, Third floor, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; e-mail tworgo@patuxent.com . Include date, time, location, contact information and subsection. Competitive Towson rec accepts over-40 baseball registrations for 2012 season. seniorbaseball.org or 410-446-0228. Towson rec holds registration for baseball starting this month.

The program at Goucher College's 121st commencement ceremony Friday listed speaker Ira Glass' main connection to the Towson college: His grandmother was a member of its Class of 1931. In the public radio host's remarks, he added that college President Sanford J. Ungar was his former colleague at NPR and had coaxed him into appearing. But Glass shared another connection that only a college student could best appreciate - that he lost his virginity in one of the campus dorm rooms.