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Along the brick streets of Annapolis' historic downtown this week, public works employee Kevin Brown deployed the newest weapon in the city's arsenal. Steam arose from beneath the brass bristles of Brown's contraption as it pulverized the dark, sticky smears flecking the sidewalk at the corner of Main and Francis streets. Now that Annapolis has emerged from a budget crisis, Mayor Joshua Cohen said, he has focused attention on beautification efforts, including a new website for reporting problems with city service and a $17,000 investment in a "gum buster" that Brown used to eradicate chewing gum from bricks in the historic district.

Jojo Girard, half of the popular morning duo Jojo and Reagan on Mix 106.5 FM, has been let go, he said Thursday. Girard confirmed to The Sun that he was told immediately after his show Thursday that his contract would not be renewed. Girard posted on Facebook: "have joined the ranks of the unemployed at least I'm not alone. " He then told The Sun, "They opted not to pick up my contract. " He declined to elaborate until he could speak to his attorney. Calls to the station's head of programming Dave Labrozzi were not immediately returned.

The first season of "Chef Race: U.S. vs. U.K.," a chef competition show on BBC America, is drawing to a close. There are only two episodes left. During Tuesday night's episode, which begins at 10 p.m., the contestants will be making a stop in Baltimore. Here's the episode description from the "Chef Race" website : "It's the penultimate leg of the race with only four chefs (2 Brits and 2 Americans) remaining. Starting in Bedford, Penn., with nothing but a sack of potatoes each, the teams are charged with 'trading up' to acquire other ingredients for a cook-off at a trendy Baltimore restaurant.

The family of Annie McCann, the Virginia teenager found dead near a Baltimore housing project in November 2008, have increased the reward they're offering for tips in the case - to $15,000 - and launched a new website .  Dan and Mary Jane McCann have been fighting the city since their daughter mysteriously ran away from their Fairfax County, Va., home on Nov. 2. An autopsy determined that Annie, 16, had died from a lethal does of lidocaine...

Baltimore is Monday's photo of the day on NASA's Earth Observatory website, giving a glimpse of Charm City by night as seen from space. You can see the photo above, or check out a larger original version as well as an annotated copy on NASA's website . The image was captured using a high-powered digital camera on Oct. 16 by the space station crew, which includes two NASA astronauts. The image has been enhanced for better contrast and to remove lens reflections. It gives a nice view of bright arterial roadways, as well as black darkness across the region's parks, cemeteries and waterways.

Dunbar Armored has been in the armored-car business for nearly 90 years. But the Hunt Valley-based company now is branching into a new way to protect banks' and businesses' money and valuables: cybersecurity. The company is launching a subsidiary, Dunbar Digital Armored, early next year to tap into the growing need to protect online transactions for its thousands of bank and retail customers. Dunbar will focus its cybersecurity products on small and mid-size companies that are looking for tech-savvy solutions but don't have the deep pockets or cybersecurity expertise of the big banks.

This caught my eye this morning: Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, lost a court battle in trying to defend its Terms of Service language from lawyers who are suing the company for losing the online data of 24 million customers. Most businesses who operate websites and even mobile apps have what's called a "Terms of Service" contract that explicitly states the legal relationship between the company and the user. In most cases, the TOS will require users to engage in less-costly arbitration before filing a lawsuit, should a problem arise.

Claims that Ellicott City is haunted are old hat. The historic mill town dates to the 1700s, is the subject of a new paranormal book and offers ghost tours. It has survived hurricanes, devastating floods, fires and hooligans - making it an ideal setting for ominous, history-infused tales. So ideal that Trip Advisor has just named Ellicott City to its list of 10 spooky American getaways to celebrate Halloween. The travel guide website includes it among such infamous U.S. haunts as Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., Roswell N.M. and Salem, Mass.

The Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their world famous tradition of ball handling wizardry, basketball artistry, and one-of-a-kind, high-flying family entertainment to Harford County in late December. The hard court phenoms will be on display at Harford Community College's new APG Federal Credit Union Arena, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m., according to the college's website. Reserved seating is available from as low as $25 to $65. Upper baseline seats are $25 with upper courtside seats at $30. Lower baseline seats are $35 and lower courtside seats are $40. Magic Circle seating is $65. Tickets can be purchased through phone at 443-412-2211 or by visitng the HCC website at http://www.harford.edu .

Federal agents in Baltimore helped lead an operation that this week seized and shut down nearly 700 U.S.-based websites linked to the sale of counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs as part of an international effort to upend the global online drug trade. The local operation, known as Bitter Pill, was part of an international initiative led by Interpol that spanned 100 countries and confiscated 3.7 million doses of counterfeit medications worth an estimated $10.5 million, according to federal officials.