Final Casting Call For 'House Of Cards' Saturday

The final casting call for the Netfilx series "House of Cards," which is being filmed in Harford County, will be held at the Bel Air Reckord Armory on Saturday.

If you've ever wanted to star in a television show, Saturday in Bel Air could be your big break. The Netflix political thriller "House of Cards," which is being filmed in Harford County, needs extras. The show's producers are holding the final open casting call for the show's first season from 1-6 p.m. Saturday at the Bel Air Reckord Armory, 41 N. Main Street. Applicants may also be considered for recurring or featured roles. The show is looking for the following: A current head shot or snapshot is required. If you're unable to attend the call and have not yet submitted your information, you can email CCSubmissions01@gmail.com. Email submissions should include a JPEG photo labeled with both name and phone number, including all sizes along …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Towson Resident Wins Nobel Prize in Physics

Adam Riess, a Johns Hopkins astrophysicist, was honored for a 1998 discovery that the universe is expanding at a faster rate. He shares the prize with two other scientists.

It was early Tuesday morning and Adam Riess had already awoken to the sounds of his 10-month-old son stirring in his Stoneleigh home. And then the phone rang. The clock read 5:36 a.m. “It's famous, it's like a 15 minute window,” Riess said. “Either someone was pulling my leg or this is 'The Call.'” It was no prank. The call was from Stockholm. Riess, an astrophysicist, and two colleagues were awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for a 1998 discovery that the universe’s expansion is accelerating. Riess, a Johns Hopkins University professor in physics and astronomy, was recognized "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae," according to a press release from the …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (6)
• Videos (2)

Alvarez Book Page

Pratt Library Offers Amnesty for Overdue Books

Baltimore's public library system is ready to turn the page on fines—if you bring the books back soon.

Do you have overdue library books? Maybe something your kid borrowed that you just found under the floor mat of the car pool wagon? This is the week to return the materials without it costing a dime. Remember Mr. Bookman the library cop from Seinfeld? You wouldn't want a visit from him. Pratt's Library's ever-popular "amnesty" for library scofflaws is in effect through Saturday, Oct. 1st. It applies to books, DVDs, CDs and a few other items but does not cover fines on E-Readers, laptops and interlibrary loan material. The maximum fine on adult or young adult cards is $6 per item. The max per item on children’s cards is $3.  The chance to bring back books without paying the fine is part of Library Card Sign-Up Month. So if you need to sign …

• Photos (1)

More Than Swag: Pet Tags for a Cause

Hampden artist Robyn Jacobs donates proceeds to animal rescues and trains interns with her pet tag business.

Robyn Jacobs wasn’t scared when two wandering, off-leash dogs—a pit bull and a mastiff mix—approached her at Rocky Gorge Reservoir in Laurel, MD, where she was walking her own dog. She’s an animal lover, and the bully breeds don’t faze her, but the dogs were skittish when she tried to read the tags on their collars and one grazed her hand with a warning bite. “It took a half an hour to get this dog’s name tag—it was all metal and I couldn’t read it,” said Jacobs, whose hand-crafted pet tags bear the animal’s name and phone number in large, black letters, which are much easier to read than engraved metal tags. “I kept thinking, if it were one of my tags, I would have been able to see it from a distance.” It’s just another reason why Jacobs …

• Photos (1)

The Barclay School Unveils Mural

Students and residents worked to complete the project throughout the summer.

On Back to School Night Thursday, the blue tarp came off the front of The Barclay School and unveiled a mosaic mural students and residents worked on all summer. The community pieced the mural together under the guidance of mixed media artist Tamara Payne. The mural, which was built around the school's entrance, is meant to reflect the people and the history of the neighborhood. It depicts horse drawn trolleys, the minor league Orioles, who once played baseball where the school stands, and the journey to the integration of Baltimore's schools. The mural, which was paid for in part with a grant from PNC Bank, is part of an effort by the Greater Homewood Community Corporation to help encourage Charles Village residents to send their kids to …

• Photos (6)