By Joe Surkiewicz Allegany County, located near Maryland's mountainous western edge, has a population of only 74,000 people. But 15 percent of them earn less than the federal poverty level -- and many have civil legal problems that require a lawyer.

By Robbie Whelan Advocates of the state's Smart Growth policy, including former Governor Parris N. Glendening, reacted with disappointment to Tuesday's decision by Maryland's highest court that they say goes against the state's vision for efficient, environmentally friendly development.

By Massey, Charles; Szente, Judit Conditions in Buffalo, New York, parallel those in cities elsewhere across the United States. The public school population nears 75 percent children of color, with over 80 percent qualifying for the free or reduced-price lunch program-a primary indicator of poverty.

By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun May 20--

By DAVID DISHNEAU HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Rescue crews were working to reach two coal miners believed buried beneath 75 feet of rock and dirt from a collapsed wall of an open pit mine in the western Maryland mountains, an emergency management official said.