Curbing Panhandlers, Ta-Ta to Tot Lots and More BRAC Bricks and Mortar: Patch Keeps a Close Eye on Your Government

Patch takes seriously the journalists’ credo to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Read all about what your elected leaders are doing, and how it affects you, in the Week in Regional Government.

This week, the Baltimore County Council discussed changes to panhandling and graffiti laws. Read more about the amendments to the current bill, which included a requirement of panhandlers to obtain a permit, at Catonsville Patch.


Budget cuts in and around Columbia are hitting closer to home and family, as the Columbia Association plans to rid several local playgrounds in order to save money on maintenance costs. Problematic and underused tot lots will be the first to go, with more to be removed this year. Resident input is requested, so to learn about the bill, visit Columbia Patch now.

Deputy Director of the Howard County Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative speaks about the planned expansion of the military installation. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are encouraged to become members of the BRAC Business Initiative to support the needs of the community as the area stretches and relocates more employees to accommodate future growth. has the details.


At a Laurel City Council meeting, three-term Councilwoman Gayle W. Snyder (Ward 1) announced that she would be resigning from her position June 1. A former council president and former Chair of the City of Laurel Civic Improvements Committee, as well as former chair of the city's Historic District Commission and member of the city's Tree Board, Snyder says it’s time to shift her focus and spend more time with the family. Visit Laurel Patch for the full story.


The Baltimore County Council is scheduled to vote on a measure that would provide a pension death benefit to volunteer firefighters who were previously employed by the county and died in the line of duty. If passed, its first beneficiaries would be the wife and family of Mark Falkenhan, the firefighter who died in Jan. 19 while battling a four-alarm blaze in a three-story Hillendale apartment complex. You can hear the recorded testimony of the council meeting at Owings Mills Patch.