ANNAPOLIS – Just days before the close of the 1995 legislative session, state lawmakers approved a reduction in closing costs for first-time home buyers, lauding it as an economic development step

ANNAPOLIS – In the front yard of her Regent’s Square townhouse in Rockville, Diane Young replaced several prickly bushes with azaleas, laid a brick walkway, arranged a flower bed with railroad ties and installed stepping stones for watering her impatiens and pansies

ANNAPOLIS – Ronald Wohl moved to a North Potomac home governed by a homeowner’s association because there was little else to choose from

ANNAPOLIS – Facing more than $300,000 in admissions and amusement taxes, the owner of a Carroll County excursion train told lawmakers Friday that the train should be exempted

ANNAPOLIS – Third grader Kathleen Gorman says that wearing her red bicycle helmet is like keeping eggs in a carton: There’s less chance to break something if it’s protected

ANNAPOLIS – Prince George’s County parents and school board members told state lawmakers Monday that County Executive Wayne Curry’s proposed school cuts would be devastating to public education in the county

ANNAPOLIS – In 1975, a 4th grade teacher at Ritchie Elementary in Capitol Heights required her pupils to study current events

ANNAPOLIS – Drivers who cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge could pay a toll if the federally owned span is turned over to Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia

ANNAPOLIS – Suzanna Greenbank told state senators Tuesday that she doesn’t want to wear a motorcycle helmet

ANNAPOLIS – Supporters of a bill that would give tax credits to Marylanders who purchase alternative fuel vehicles said Tuesday that the measure would create a market for clean fuel