Living it up in Maryland!
Great Falls, Maryland
Anne Arundel County residents: Why we love living here
Summer is a busy time for Anne Arundel County residents.
From Maryland Hall to the Chesapeake Arts Center to an old church housing the Severna Park Community Center, residents love the diverse options for entertainment and learning in the county.
Some are busy teaching musical theater, others competitively bowling or making colorful ceramics. For some, summer is a time to spend time along the county's 533 miles of shoreline.
Glen Burnie
Richard Burkman, the leader of Glen Burnie Masonic Lodge No. 213, said Glen Burnie is like a small, quaint New England town.
"It offers all the little town things, like the carnival, the ice skating ring, Little League sports," Burkman said, referring to the century-old tradition of the Glen Burnie Carnival, held in late July and early August.
Burkman graduated from Glen Burnie High School and now lives in the area with his wife.
Burkman said one of the biggest draws of his home in Glen Burnie is the lack of traffic and abundance of green space.
"When you get off on Crain Highway and drive around the neighborhood, I feel at home," Burkman said.
When he was younger, he remembers, the local movie theaters held a matinee every Christmas for children. The event organizers handed out stockings with candy cane and fruits.
It was the kind of small-town gesture that Burkman loves about Glen Burnie.
The Little League also has a special place in the heart of Joe Wozniak, 70, who moved to Glen Burnie from Baltimore City about 30 years ago. He said the county was a great place for him to rise his kids.
He has fond memories of coaching his two sons on a Little League team, particularly the 2009 to 2012 seasons.
Wozniak is still active in sports around the county. Every Wednesday, he bowls with his summer league team at Glen Burnie Bowl.
But he's worried that bowling — a sport he has enjoyed since the 1950s — is dying.
So he is recruiting to get more bowlers into alleys in the county.
Severna Park
An old church, with its wood floors, open space and large windows, in Severna Park is one of Kerrie VanDenBerghe's favorite places.
The 54-year-old Pasadena resident practices iaido and kendo, two forms of Japanese sword art, at the former church and now the Severna Park Community Center.
She likes her quiet neighborhood in Pasadena, where she has lived with her family for about three decades. But it's the calm, open space of the community center that makes her feel rooted to the area.
After practice, she and her friends sometimes will go to Brian Boru Irish Pub or to the Park Tavern in Severna Park.
She said she likes the quiet neighborhood after moving around for her and her husband's military career, which included three years in Japan.
She was captivated when she saw young children in Towada, Japan, practicing kendo in the early 1980s.
About 14 years ago, she saw an advertisement in the Maryland Gazette for a kendo class at Anne Arundel Community College and has practiced ever since.
The sword arts are not just exercises in concentration and skill, but a way to bond with her friends and her son, who is a sensei.
As she gets older, she's adapting her form to physical limitations.
"I don't move as well as I use to," VanDenBerghe said.
Annapolis
Annapolis natives Lajuan Johnson and Rodney Saluzzo squinted under the sweat on their eyebrows while playing basketball outside the Roger "Pip" Moyer Community Recreation Center.
Saluzzo, 41, and Johnson, 36, both graduated from Annapolis High School and live in the city's Primrose Acres community near Truxtun Park. They became friends a couple years ago.
Saluzzo said he loves Annapolis because it's small city with a lot to do.
It's easy to get to malls, restaurants and parks, he said. And he lives down the street from the recreation center, where he goes to play basketball with his neighbor.
Since January, they've played basketball together almost every day, often outlasting other community members on the courts.
Saluzzo said he lost about five pounds, and Johnson said he has more energy since he's starting playing.
"We'll be here all day," said Saluzzo.
While newer cities with their malls and sprawl seem identical to Nina Fisher, she found Annapolis "authentic," she said.
Fisher, 58, likes Annapolis for its historic buildings and natural beauty.
A freelance science writer and environmental advocate, Fisher said her family has lived in the city for three decades.
She stuck around after her kids went off the college in hopes of seeing a healthier, cleaner Chesapeake Bay.
Fisher is the board president of the Scenic Rivers Land Trust and a master watershed steward.
"You want to see the results of your effort come to fruition," Fisher said.
She also loves the city for the community organizations that are part of her routine, such as running with the Annapolis Striders and doing ceramics at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.
On a summer afternoon, Fisher dipped her unfinished clay soap dish — or spoon rest — into a bronze-green color mixture.
"Maryland Hall is a good resource for any creative urges buried inside," said Fisher.
Credit: Cindy Huang; chuang@capgaznews.com
Billy Goat Trail, Great Falls, MD
Howard cities rank among top 10 'Best Places to Live'
ifth time's still the charm: Columbia and Ellicott City have once again placed among the top 10 "Best Places to Live," according to Money Magazine's biennial ranking of small cities.
The two towns were jointly recognized as the sixth best small city in the United States by the magazine, which looked at 780 other cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000 in making its decision. This year is the fifth consecutive time since 2006 that Ellicott City and Columbia have ranked among the top 10 cities on the list.
And this year, Eden Prairie, Minn., the town that County Executive Ken Ulman has jokingly called an archrival in speeches about Howard's quality of life, was nowhere to be found on the list. Columbia and Ellicott City nearly clinched the first-place spot on the list in 2010, ranking second only to Eden Prairie. In 2012, the Howard County towns ranked eighth, while Eden Prairie came in third.
The rankings are based on a Money Magazine analysis that takes into account "great jobs, strong economies, affordable homes, excellent schools and much more," according to the magazine.
Of Howard County, Money Magazine wrote: "Ellicott City has quaint older homes and a charming downtown. Columbia is a planned community stocked with pools and sports facilities... and other practical amenities. Though the two unincorporated places have their own unique feel, they function as a single city in many respects. For residents, that means shared access to parks, rec facilities and a diverse and outstanding school district. The area is also rife with good jobs -- many of which require only a short commute."
McKinney, Texas, a Dallas/Fort Worth suburb, claimed first place in this year's rankings. Rounding out the list were Maple Grove, Minn. (#2), Carmel, Ind. (#3), Castle Rock, Colo. (#4), Kirkland, Wash. (#5), Clarkstown, N.Y. (#7), Ames, Iowa (#8), Rochester Hills, Mich.. (#9) and Reston, Va. (#10).
Two other Maryland cities made the top 50 list: Rockville placed 24th and Bowie was number 28.
Ulman attributed Howard's sixth-place finish to its quality of life.
"I'm thrilled when our community receives national recognition," he said. "What is most gratifying is that ths ranking is based on the very things we work hard on every day: great schools, a model public health community and a thriving local economy."
Credit: Amanda Yeager, ayeager@tribune.com