Eds: Good afternoon. Here are the Capital News Service stories tentatively scheduled to move Friday, Dec. 14. If you have any questions, please call Adrianne Flynn in the Annapolis bureau at 410-626-1008 or Steve Crane in the Washington bureau at 202-628-1677. Or you may e-mail us at aflynn@jmail.umd.edu or scrane@jmail.umd.edu. Thank you.

WASHINGTON - Richard Hutchison will likely make a little bit money of this year from his farm: While prices were low, the harvest was good. But Hutchison is living on a razor's edge: Like most farmers in the state, he rents much of the land he farms and agricultural rents have been steadily rising as prices have been flat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said average cash rents on Maryland farmland went from about $54.20 per acre last year to $55.50 per acre this year, as development pressures drove up the value of the state's dwindling agricultural acreage. Slug: CNS-Farm Rents. About 550 words.

By Marie Beaudette.

WASHINGTON - John Hall has seen farmers try to make sense of conservation programs. And he has seen them continually running into roadblocks. They want to help the environment, but there are so many conservation programs out there, "I think sometimes the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing," said Hall, of the University of Maryland's Cooperative Extension. But farmers could be helped under a plan in Congress to create a national pilot project on the Delmarva Peninsula, bringing conservation and environmental clean-up efforts under one roof and making it easier for farmers to participate in such programs. Slug: CNS-Conservation Corridor. About 600 words.

By Marie Beaudette.

ANNAPOLIS - Zalee Harris has been fighting the effects of slavery since she was born. Now, the Temple Hills resident wants to free Maryland's children from the school system that she says enslaves them. Harris created "Education Doctors," a group that, through its extensive Web site and frequent e-mail workshops, attempts to educate the public about the wrongs of the school system. Her crusade started as a child, when she would follow her mother to work as a house cleaner in Dallas. "I saw her being treated like a modern-day slave," said Harris. "I knew I would not be a slave to any system that would restrain me." Slug: CNS-Education Emancipation. About 800 words.

By Justin Paprocki.

BALTIMORE - Harriet Berlin loves to collect the little oddities that make costumes perfect -- tutus and tiaras from Russia and masks from Italy. That penchant for perfection makes the Baltimore County woman the go-to gal for some of Maryland's -- and the country's -- beautiful Nutcracker ballets. Slug: CNS- Exotic Costumer. About 800 words.

By Nora Achrati .

WASHINGTON - Jean Phillips had a problem. She couldn't get help on her Frederick County farm, and the workers she did hire were either unable to do the work or untrustworthy. Rafael Fortuno had a problem, too. He missed his family back in Mexico, but when he went home, he missed the money and freedom he enjoyed in the United States. Then Phillips met Fortuno. She got a reliable worker and he got a boss who let him go home in the winters to see his family, and guaranteed him a job in the spring. The Phillips-Fortuno partnership is being repeated on farms across Maryland, with farmers and seasonal workers forming long-term, long-distance and, sometimes, personal relationships. Slug: CNS-Farm Labor. About 1,000 words. First in the "Labor Delivery" series. With CNS-Visa Program, CNS-Hard Labor and CNS-Bridging Cultures.

By Robyn Lamb.

WASHINGTON - The number of H2A visas issued in Maryland, for foreign laborers to come here for farm work, has grown steadily over the last five years, officials say. Supporters say that is a good thing, giving farmers the workers they need and bringing them under government auspices so that workers cannot be exploited. But others say the visas are simply a government-sanctioned way for America to exploit cheap labor from overseas, keeping costs down and crushing any chance that wages and working conditions can improve. Slug: CNS- Booming Business. About 700 words. Part of the "Labor Delivery" series. With CNS-Farm Labor, CNS-Hard Labor and CNS-Bridging Cultures.

By Robyn Lamb.

THURMONT - While conditions have generally improved for the migrant workers who help harvest Maryland's crops, one thing remains the same -- the work itself can be brutal. A typical workday starts at sun-up and lasts for another 10 or 12 hours, and the workweek often tumbles into Sundays. And for many migrants, work is all there is: Away from home and lonely, they have little opportunity for entertainment. Slug: CNS-Hard Labor. About 600 words. Part of the "Labor Delivery" series. With CNS-Farm Labor, CNS-Visa Program and CNS- Bridging Cultures.

By Robyn Lamb.

WASHINGTON - Robert Black hired Simon Gonzalez and his two sons to pick fruit 15 years ago. Since then, there has been someone from the Gonzales family -- with its 10 brothers -- working in Black's orchards in Thurmont from May to November every year. During that time, his Mexican workers have become something of a second family for Black, who has visited their hometown, speaks a passable, heavily accented Spanish full of slang phrases and knows what a good tortilla is. Slug: CNS-Bridging Cultures. About 400 words. Part of the "Labor Delivery" series. With CNS-Farm Labor, CNS-Visa Program and CNS-Hard Labor.

By Robyn Lamb.

HYATTSVILLE - Like many Americans, Philip Whitlock has seen the best in the human spirit since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A consummate volunteer at ShareDC, Whitlock has witnessed a large volunteer increase at the food packing and distribution warehouse. Three months after the attacks, Whitlock hopes the benevolence of others becomes a long-lasting trend, rather than a brief surge that has become customary during the holiday season. Slug: CNS-Generous Gentleman. About 800 words.

By Alan Brody.

WASHINGTON - For 29 years, Baltimore resident Al Payne has played Santa, personally delivering gifts on Christmas Eve to needy children and families. His "sleigh ride" was set back this year when a Thanksgiving eve fire destroyed two full truckloads of toys he planned to deliver. But he is not giving up. "I don't let these things stop me," said Payne, a longtime postal worker who gets some leads from letters to Santa at the Baltimore post office. "We are going to have a successful season regardless." Slug: CNS-Determined Santa. About 600 words.

By Kristyn Peck.

WASHINGTON - For the past four Octobers, Karin Sheppa had gathered her Crofton middle school students and got them started making Christmas tree ornaments. It was a little out of season, but the ornaments were destined for Maryland's tree in the Pageant of Peace, and they had to be delivered by early November. After Sheppa left her job for the birth of her daughter 18 months ago, the tradition continued with a group of 15 Arnold elementary and middle school students she gathered to make the fabric snowmen, penguins and snowflakes that hang on Maryland's tree on the Ellipse. Slug: CNS-Tree Topper. About 400 words.

By Marie Beaudette.