by Caitlin Johnston, CNS David M. Johnson knows how to convince people. The 65-year-old spent the majority of his adult life as an advertising executive in New York City, with

GRANOLAPARK • BY GILBERT Dear Readers, "What have I DONE?" That's what Jarrett Smith, officially the Takoma Park Ward 5 councilmember-elect, is probably thinking. What he did was win

COMMUNITY • BY JULIE WIATT Bill Murphy’s life course shifted when he took in a homeless man to share his dorm room in a Catholic college in Worcester. Bill

COMMUNITY • BY JULIE WIATT How wide is the human heart? How elastic is the concept of home? Over the past 30 years Sharon and Bill Murphy answered these

ARTS • BY ROB KOENIG He was born in a French-speaking town in West Africa and barely spoke English when he arrived as a refugee in Silver Spring

EDUCATION • BY KIRSTY GROFF The April 3 Maryland primary helped narrow the field of candidates to the top two candidates in each race for the Montgomery County

EDUCATION • BY MIKE BOCK Though supporters praised Gov. Martin O'Malley and the legislature for an overhaul of year-to-year education funding requirements, education leaders are calling for a

TRANSPORTATION • BY TIM EBNER, CNS Scroll down for an interactive map of the path of the proposed Purple Line. Proposed construction on the Purple Line will not begin

PETS • BY TEIGHLER DOAK DC resident Ethel Taylor saw an empty space in the local market for dog owners and filled it with suds. The Doggie Washerette provides

EDUCATION • BY ROB BOCK, CNS In a roundtable discussion today at the U.S. Department of Education, Maryland's best teachers evaluated and discussed innovative ways to recruit, prepare,

MARYLAND • BY MARK MILLER, CNS When the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area logged a population increase last decade, the most dramatic changes came in outlying counties like Charles

TEENS: BY KELSEY MILLER, CNS Of the 279 female youth committed to residential treatment centers in Maryland in 2010, approximately 80 percent were accused of nothing more serious than

EDUCATION • BY LIZZY MCLELLAN, CNS In the wake of recent incidents that gained state and national attention, the Maryland General Assembly is considering legislation that would put

COMMUNITY • BY SARAH KRAUT

HEALTH • BY LIZZY MCLELLAN, CNS At Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, nutrition information is posted to a bulletin board for students to peruse as they stand

SPORT REPORT • BY TEIGHLER DOAK With the springlike weather here in Takoma Park and Silver Spring areas, one might think that the local high school sports scene

EDUCATION • BY TIM EBNER, CNS Maryland schools are moving closer to overhauling the way that they evaluate teachers, putting more emphasis on student performance and test scores. The

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY TIM EBNER, CNS Cash-strapped Maryland county leaders say they can't afford to pay their share of rising costs for schools and are asking

KIDS' VOICE • by Sandy Moore Ten-year-old Mira Subramanian is sitting on her favorite sunny spot on the family couch, talking about what a typical day looks like