Vouchers

Because of lingering symptoms of a concussion suffered 16 months ago, Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts most likely will be skipping next weekend's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. A club source said it was “highly doubtful” Roberts, who played in just 39 games in 2011 because of the concussion, would be at the Jan. 21 event but it “is not completely out of the realm of possibility.” Roberts was originally slated to be there, and vouchers for one of his two joint autograph sessions had sold out. But he recently informed the club that, because he has been advised by doctors the event could cause further stress, he would not be attending.

Here's the autograph schedule for this year's Orioles FanFest, which will take place on Jan. 21 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Autograph session vouchers will go on sale Saturday morning at 10 on Orioles.com. All but one autograph station at FanFest will require the advance purchase of autograph vouchers at www.orioles.com/fanfest   for $15 each. For that price, fans will get an autograph from from each of the three or four players at that station. One autograph station will be exclusively for kids ages 4-14 and will be free of charge.

Here's an Orioles' press release worth passing on to those of you who are hoping to get autographs at FanFest later this month: "Vouchers for autograph sessions at the Orioles' 2012 FanFest will go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The list of autograph session times and participants will be posted online for preview at www.orioles.com/fanfest by 9:00 p.m. this Friday. Orioles FanFest will be held on Saturday, January 21 at the Baltimore Convention Center from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with early entry for Orioles Season Plan Holders to begin at 10:00 a.m. At this year's FanFest, the Orioles will continue an autograph policy designed to support youth charitable endeavors through OriolesREACH and reduce fan disappointment by shortening wait times.

Had a chance today to speak to Earl Weaver, the Orioles' Hall of Fame manager who will be one of the club's six icons to be honored with a bronze statue this year at Camden Yards. Calling from South Florida, Weaver said he was overwhelmed by the gesture. “It's quite an honor and something you never expect to happen in anyone's life,” said Weaver, who won 1,480 games with the Orioles and led the club to one world championship (1970) and three other World Series appearances (1969, 1971, 1979)

If you haven't booked all your nights and weekends scheduling events for Free Fall Baltimore , remember you can enjoy a cheaper visit to the National Aquarium in Baltimore every Friday evening after 5 p.m. Visitors will pay only $8 *** to visit the aquarium if they buy tickets from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday nights through March 23. The aquarium also stays open until 9:30 p.m., so this is remains a great option if you want to walk off...

Even if you enjoy buying and using daily deal vouchers, there may come a time when you experience a problem. Should that day ever come, remember VoucherComplaints.org , a site that will help you assemble a complaint letter to send to the voucher vendor. We're featuring it as our Consumer Website of the Week because the forms are pre-populated with information about state consumer laws that may be relevant to your claim. I discovered this site via The Bad Deal , a hilarious blog that highlights deals that often offer less value than promised.

Baltimore housing officials are warning that the city's homeless and others in need are being misled by deceptive fliers offering Section 8 housing vouchers. The fake fliers are circulating throughout the city, according to statement from the Housing Authority of Baltimore City. The fliers tell people to bring pay stubs, Social Security information and proof of income to the housing office to apply for a program that actually ran out of money last year. "These claims are not true," the statement from the housing authority says.

While I have little desire to get into a philosophical debate with the teachers' union over the concept of vouchers in general, I feel compelled to respond to Marietta English's commentary in The Sun about Otis Rolley's education platform. ("Balto. teachers union head: Rolley's voucher plan isn't the answer," June 22). Ms. English accuses Mr. Rolley of including vouchers in his platform as "campaign rhetoric," yet she herself relies pretty heavily on rhetoric to criticize it. For example, she cites a study of a pilot program in New York that suggests a broad voucher program would result in "a two-tiered system of schools divided along economic and racial lines.

Mayoral candidate Otis Rolley III announced last week his "platform" on the future of education for Baltimore City's youth. The cornerstone of Mr. Rolley's plan is a pledge to fund a private school voucher program to address what he has characterized as Baltimore's failing middle schools. Unfortunately, this campaign promise is neither original nor a realistic way of improving outcomes for our students. Baltimore City, as with every jurisdiction in Maryland, has an obligation to provide its youth with a quality public education open to all regardless of race, religion or socio-economic status.

After reading about Otis Rolley's platform on education ("Rolley urges vouchers, mayoral control of schools," June 12), I again found myself wondering, as I usually do: When are people going to wake up and realize that Baltimore's schools are not "bad schools"? It's the students who shape a school's environment and culture, not the teachers, administrators or building conditions. Mr. Rolley's plan for "improving education" makes little sense to me. He suggests closing five middle schools and allowing the students to attend other public schools.