Citi

United Way of Washington County and Citi partnered for a second year to provide books and related activities to 530 area youths in support of United Way's Day of Action and Summer Learning Day and Citi's Global Community Day on June 21.  Day of Action was started four years ago by United Way Worldwide as a time for people to come together and take action to work on their community's pressing issues.  June 21 was also designated as Summer Learning Day...

Citi of Hagerstown shone as the Mason Dixon Heart and Stroke Walk's top team and top sponsor. With 195 registered walkers, Citi was named top team of the 2012 Mason Dixon Heart and Stroke Walk, held Sept. 23 in Greencastle, Pa. Citi's $21,792 walker income represented 19 percent of the overall event's walker income. The company also led the way as the event's top sponsor. The American Heart Association recognized the top fundraisers for the Mason Dixon Heart and Stroke Walk. Top walkers who earned status as $1,000 VIP Club members included event top walker Jean Ellis, $6,583)

LJ's & The Kat Lounge LJ's & The Kat Lounge was named a winner of OpenTable Diners' Choice Awards for the top 100 restaurants in the United States that specialize in American food. The list of winners is derived from more than 10 million reviews submitted by Open-Table diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Five Maryland restaurants made the list, including Volt in Frederick, Md., and three in Baltimore. Based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between November 2010 and October 2011, the 100 award-winning restaurants received the highest scores.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup, still partly owned by the government after a rescue during the financial meltdown, is giving raises to top executives that could amount to millions of dollars. CEO Vikram Pandit, who is drawing a salary of $1 for the second year in a row, did not get a raise, but the chairman of the bank hinted it plans a big payout for him next year. The announcement Friday by Citi, which remains weaker than most of the large American banks two years after the meltdown, raised questions among experts on corporate governance.

The Boys & Girls Club will hold Fun Night Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Hancock High School cafeteria. Activities include obstacle course, basketball spot shot, physical fitness challenge, miniature golf, coloring contest and financial fitness challenge. Refreshments and prizes will be provided. The first 25 participants will receive a T-shirt. The event is sponsored by Citi as part of its Global Community Day initiative. For more information, call 301-733-5422.

Hundreds of children in Washington County will now be able to act out what they learned this summer. The United Way of Washington County on Friday distributed “Literacy Kits” to more than 530 area children for the agency's Day of Action and Summer Learning Day. The kits include a book, a bookmark, and a way to act out the book with an object, which could include a Frisbee, a game, or a friendship bracelet kit. Officials showed up at...

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Many extra hands put a fresh coat of caring on Washington County this year. Volunteerism was up more than 15 percent Wednesday, this year's Day of Caring, according to Jenny Fleming, the community impact director for United Way of Washington County. About 700 people helped with fix-it-up projects throughout the county, compared to 600 last year, she said. After gathering in the morning for breakfast at Hagerstown Community College, individuals and 33 teams scattered to 60 sites to work.

At the annual Habitat for Humanity dinner auction, the competition to eat first stimulates the flow of fundraising revenue. A $45 ticket was enough to get in the door this year at Hagerstown Community College's Athletic, Recreation, and Community Center. But those who wanted to get their buffet-style meals before everyone else paid extra for the privilege. The winning bid was in the $600 range. The right to be second, third and fourth added a total of $1,400 more to Habitat's proceeds for the evening.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The United Way of Washington County might not have made its monetary fundraising goal for 2008, but in a time of scarce resources and record need, generosity cannot be measured in dollars, organizers said at a celebration luncheon Friday. Instead, organizers focused on the energy and creativity volunteers used to collect $1,631,326, or about 81 percent of United Way's $2 million goal. "If I could do one thing differently this year, it would be our measures of success," United Way Executive Director Leah Gayman said.

SMITHSBURG -- Several years ago, Brian and Renee Goodwin learned something about themselves. First, they discovered they could master construction skills. But more importantly, they found they could use those skills to help change lives. Over the past few years, the Goodwins have volunteered with fellow employees at Citi to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity of Washington County. Saturday morning, they volunteered again. "This is important to us," Renee Goodwin said.

Attorney and former Hagerstown City Councilwoman Kelly S. Cromer has been indicted by a Washington County grand jury on three counts of felony theft and two counts of perjury, according to court records obtained Tuesday. Cromer was indicted on three counts of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, the court records said. The money was allegedly taken from the estate of a woman who died in 2011 and from two of her grandchildren, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that $6,376 was stolen from each of the woman's two adult grandchildren between December 2011 and Sept.

Bells tolled and bugles sounded at Hagerstown City Park Tuesday evening as the community paused to remember emergency personnel and those in the armed forces who lost their lives in the line of duty. Some stopped to reminisce in front of the 9/11 memorial at the park about the day 12 years ago, a beautiful late summer day not unlike Tuesday, when two planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon was attacked, and passengers fought with hijackers as they brought down an airliner near Shanksville, Pa. Remembrance in the Park was a tribute to lost lives, at war and at home, to terrorist attacks and other emergencies.

Have you ever heard of arresting people before they commited a crime? Yes, but only in science-fiction movies.  The American criminal justice system does not work that way. Therefore, much of police work is reactive.  But what about the other side of law enforcement? What do we do to reduce and suppress criminal activity? Specifically, what do we do about gangs in our city? The answer - especially when confronting potentially violent criminal gangs - is we do everything allowable by law. Take for example the April 2013 violence near Bethel Street.  The Hagerstown Police Department (HPD)

Hagerstown officials are considering changing the city's noise ordinance which has not been updated since 1996. Kathleen A. Maher, the city's planning director, said Tuesday that the proposed changes were needed to clearly state what entities enforce the ordinance and clean up wording that was considered confusing.  “It makes it clearer what the city's intent is,” Maher told the Hagerstown City Council during a work session at City Hall. New provisions include adding a statement of intent, which was not included previously, and clear definitions of contained terms such as “excessive noise,” “plainly audible” and “day time,” according to a memorandum to the five-member council.

Residents and businesses were recognized Aug. 27 at the mayor and Hagerstown City Council's regular session as part of the annual Highlight Hagerstown Awards. The Hagerstown Beautification Advisory Committee recognizes citizens and organizations that are instrumental in boosting the curb appeal of the city of Hagerstown through landscaping and/or facade improvements at their property. The awards are given based on a number of factors, including decorative fencing, walkway improvements, flowerbeds and gardens, window boxes and facade improvements.

Dozens of people listened to the acoustic sounds of Brian Keith & Kerch perform rock and folk music Sunday afternoon at Hagerstown's City Park. The concert was part of the Arts in the Park summer Sunday series, said Heather Holman, president of Historic City Park Neighborhoods 1st. The neighborhood group and the City of Hagerstown's Parks and Recreation Division have partnered on the series, which has held events on several Sundays this summer....

Opera? In Hagerstown? Really? Yes, yes and yes! I had read Lifestyle colleagues' stories about the Hub Opera Ensemble. Friends who had attended performances told me how good they were.  I had to see for myself. Seeing - and hearing  - are believing. In 2010 Francesca Aguado and Caitlin Budny cofounded the community opera company. As their plans developed, they approached Joseph Marschner at Hagerstown Community College. Marschner, now chairman of the English and Humanities Division and assistant professor of music and drama, was glad to help.

A list on a news and opinion website that ranked Hagerstown among the 15 worst cities to have a baby is rankling local leaders, who called the survey flawed and meaningless. They aren't alone. Sean Mussenden, a lecturer at the University of Maryland at College Park who is an expert on digital journalism, said such surveys are “Facebook bait.” The Daily Beast featured the list titled “The 15 worst cities to have a baby, from New York to Miami,” with Hagerstown ranked fourth on the list.

Residents Tuesday night fired a double-blast of criticism at the Hagerstown City Council and Mayor David S. Gysberts over growing city crime and their handling of the potential move by the Hagerstown Suns. Six speakers and one person who submitted comments for Councilwoman Penny Nigh to read aloud brought up the issues during a public comment period in a council meeting at City Hall. Residents in the Jefferson Street area complained about unruly youths congregating in their neighborhood, gangs, drug use, thefts, destruction of property and other offensive behavior.

“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” gets off on the wrong foot with its terrible title. It's bad enough when sequels have that annoying colon, but “The Mortal Instruments” is not yet a series, so there's no need for this film to differentiate itself from other films. It would be like presumptively putting a “1” at the end of the title; it might make sense down the line if the film spawns sequels, but we don't know that yet. What if this film bombs and they don't make any sequels?