Wack

The word "brilliant" is too often abused by hyperbole, unless you're describing Terius Nash, better known as the prolific 34-year-old songwriter and R&B singer The-Dream. Several of radio's most indelible hits of the past five years - including Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Rihanna's ("Umbrella") - were penned by Dream and his writing partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Besides crafting hits for others, the Atlanta singer has released four albums (three as The-Dream; the most recent, "1977," was released online last August for free under his real name)

The word "brilliant" is too often abused by hyperbole, unless you're describing Terius Nash, better known as the prolific 34-year-old songwriter and R&B singer The-Dream. Several of radio's most indelible hits of the past five years - including Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Rihanna's ("Umbrella") - were penned by Dream and his writing partner Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Besides crafting hits for others, the Atlanta singer has released four albums (three as The-Dream; the most recent, "1977," was released online last August for free under his real name)

The possibility that the two Republican incumbents might sail unopposed through the campaign for the House of Delegates seats representing much of central Carroll County propelled Robert P. Wack into politics. The Westminster Democrat has launched what he calls a bipartisan battle to unseat one or the other of his GOP opponents. "Voting without choices becomes an empty exercise," said Wack, 41, a pediatrician and father of three. "When nobody challenged the incumbents, I felt that I had to. And I saw a need for more effective representation."

Howard budget director Raymond S. Wacks does not foresee a budget-busting gap between revenue and spending this fiscal year, but he warned the County Council that falling assessments will mean flat property tax revenues for years to come. He also told council members Monday that after cost-cutting and some improvement in revenues, a feared $19.6 million shortfall last fiscal year was erased by the time the books were closed June 30. "We did not find $20 million," Wacks said.

Hospitals and City Hall aren't all that different, says Dr. Robert P. Wack, a pediatrician who is a member of Westminster's Common Council. A doctor's "job is to ask [patients] the right questions to try to help get the information out, to figure out the problem and to figure out the solution," Wack says. "The skill of listening and trying to figure out the problem is part of being a doctor, and part of being a good public servant." Wack says he has put his problem-solving techniques to use on the council by working to resolve a long-standing dispute involving cable television fees and by planning for an event that could boost the city's economy.

Three Westminster Common Council members who ran as a ticket fended off an equal number of challengers last night to retain their seats on the panel. Incumbents Thomas K. Ferguson, Suzanne P. Albert and Dr. Robert P. Wack were selected by Westminster voters to serve four-year terms on the city's five-member council. "What it suggests is that the council seems to be on the right track as far as the majority of voters are concerned," Ferguson said. The three ran on the idea that the current Common Council is a cohesive team that is dedicated to redeveloping more city properties to attract businesses, concerned with cracking down on the city's trouble spots and continuing to closely monitor the allocation of the city's resources.

Carmen Amedori knows that her mouth makes her a target. Quick with a barb, the Republican candidate for state delegate has during the past four years called her Democratic foes traitors, crooks, liars and conspirators. She has become the brashest symbol of Carroll County's gun-loving, abortion-hating, unapologetic conservatism. And she loves it. "Yeah, I'm a lightning rod and I'm outspoken," she said. "I'm sure the Democrats would like to get rid of somebody like me, who doesn't go to Annapolis for 90 days to socialize but to speak up for the principles of my constituents."

A newly formed nonprofit group will open a free health clinic this fall in Westminster, a facility that will offer primary care to as many as 2,000 needy patients annually. Access Carroll signed a lease Friday for about 2,000 square feet in a downtown office building and will begin renovations for examining rooms, medical suites and a reception area. The clinic will initially offer health care service during business hours on weekdays, but it expects to expand to evenings and weekends.

Dr. Robert P. Wack, a Westminster pediatrician who ran unsuccessfully for the House of Delegates last year, was sworn in last night to fill an opening on the city's Common Council. Wack, one of seven candidates for the post, was the unanimous choice of the council's other four members. "He has all the qualifications to be a great council member," said council President Damian L. Halstad. "He's a respected physician who has a keen interest in issues that affect the city: police, water and sewer and parking.

In the freshly painted waiting room, Annette Stoner picked up a prescription from a nurse behind a sliding-glass window. Stoner, 42, of Hampstead temporarily lost her health care benefits and could not pay for the medicine she needed, so she turned to a new health care office in Westminster for help. Access Carroll-Pathways to Health is a nonprofit group that provides primary health care services by appointment to uninsured and underinsured Carroll County residents. It opened a clinic in a third-floor office on Locust Lane at the beginning of the month.

The Wackness is a funny, touching mood piece about a New York City high-school grad named Luke (Josh Peck) and marijuana dealer who spends three months before college trading dope for therapy with his shrink (Ben Kingsley) and falling in love with the shrink's stepdaughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). It's set in the summer of '94, and underneath its jiving, wise-cracking surface, it's the cousin of Summer of '42, a previous generation's male fantasy of losing virginity to a beautiful and understanding woman.

IF I see a paparazzi shot of me that's in a magazine or something at an event, it's as if I see it from an outsider's point of view. There's like a character and then there's me. I think it's kind of entertaining. But to be written about - that aspect - I don't think anybody should have to live that way, when people are trying to pry into your life. You give, you give, you give. You talk, you talk, you talk. At a certain point you start to keep your mouth shut and then people freak out!

None of them was in office when he last worked in Howard County government, but all five County Council members say they are delighted that Raymond S. Wacks is returning as budget administrator. "It's a wise move to have a sense of knowledge and stability coming back," said council Chairman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat who took his seat in April 2006. "I was really happy to hear that. I worked with Ray on the school board, and I always found him easy to work with. His historical knowledge is invaluable," said Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat and former school board member.

Baltimore budget official Raymond S. Wacks is returning to his former post as Howard County budget director Oct. 1, county officials planned to announce today. In returning to his old job, Wacks will be the third county budget director since he left in 2005, completing a musical chairs-like rotation of suburban budget directors. Wacks retired and took a position as director of the city's Bureau of Budget and Management Research in 2005. Replacing him then was a former Prince George's County schools budget official who stayed one year before returning to a budget post in that county.

Three incumbents who helped Westminster weather a six-month building moratorium caused by a water deficit easily won new terms yesterday in a municipal election seemingly ignored by the voters. Just 411 of Westminster's 8,468 registered voters - about 5 percent - cast ballots in the election that returned Robert P. Wack, Suzanne P. Albert and L. Gregory Pecoraro to office. They received nearly three times the votes of the nearest three challengers, Charles W. Cull, William Gill and Kenneth Warren, for the three seats up for election on the five-member council.

Although Westminster recently lifted a six-month building moratorium caused by a water deficit, development issues as well as calls for greater conservation efforts are central to the City Council campaigns under way in the Carroll County seat. Six candidates, including three incumbents, are vying for three seats on the five-member council May 14. Incumbents Suzanne P. Albert, Gregory Pecoraro and Robert Wack face challengers Charles W. Cull, William Gill and Kenneth Warren. Some stalled residential developments are moving forward, but since the city's new growth and water allocation policies are still evolving, Albert, Pecoraro and Wack said their experience could help see Westminster through this transitional period.

In the freshly painted waiting room, Annette Stoner picked up a prescription from a nurse behind a sliding glass window. Stoner, 42, of Hampstead temporarily lost her health care benefits and could not pay for the medicine she needed, so she turned to a new health care office in Westminster for help. Access Carroll-Pathways to Health is a nonprofit group that provides primary health care services by appointment to uninsured and underinsured Carroll County residents. It opened a clinic in a third-floor office on Locust Lane at the beginning of the month.

In the freshly painted waiting room, Annette Stoner picked up a prescription from a nurse behind a sliding-glass window. Stoner, 42, of Hampstead temporarily lost her health care benefits and could not pay for the medicine she needed, so she turned to a new health care office in Westminster for help. Access Carroll-Pathways to Health is a nonprofit group that provides primary health care services by appointment to uninsured and underinsured Carroll County residents. It opened a clinic in a third-floor office on Locust Lane at the beginning of the month.

In the freshly painted waiting room, Annette Stoner picked up a prescription from a nurse behind a sliding glass window. Stoner, 42, of Hampstead temporarily lost her health care benefits and could not pay for the medicine she needed, so she turned to a new health care office in Westminster for help. Access Carroll-Pathways to Health is a nonprofit group that provides primary health care services by appointment to uninsured and underinsured Carroll County residents. It opened a clinic in a third-floor office on Locust Lane at the beginning of the month.