Is medical marijuana for you?

By Barbara Ruben and Robert Friedman
Posted on November 05, 2018

Washington Beacon Two years ago, Scott Deiter ruptured several discs in his neck. Four neck surgeries later, “between the residual pain from the surgeries and daily migraines, I really couldn’t function because of the pain,” he said. Deiter felt opioid pain medication impaired him too much to work, so he turned to cannabis “in desperation.” “It worked the first time ... READ MORE

Heated book on climate change

By Robert Friedman
Posted on October 29, 2018

“I really believe it is the greatest challenge of this century — that our children and grandchildren will suffer significantly in their lives if we do not act.” That’s the message that geologist, environmental scientist and author Ned Tillman, 68, would like to convey as he writes, speaks and takes whatever steps he can to help slow down what he believes could become a calamitous ... READ MORE

Recalling Unitas vs. Shula

By Carol Sorgen
Posted on October 22, 2018

Jack Gilden first heard the little-publicized story of the acrimonious relationship between Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas and former Colts player-turned-winning-coach Don Shula when he was a 15-year-old student attending a journalism conference at the former Colts training complex in Owings Mills. “Even at that time I thought, ‘That would be a great book,’” said the... READ MORE

He teaches life lessons so kids can thrive

By Glenda C. Booth
Posted on October 15, 2018

During his working career, Bob Argabright, 76, was a “turnaround specialist” with the Chesapeake Packaging Corporation. When an operating unit had problems, the packaging company sent him to trouble spots to find solutions. Today, Argabright is a turnaround specialist of a different kind. Almost every day since his 2004 retirement, he has gone from his condominium in The Bluffs to... READ MORE

A local podcasting pioneer

By Barbara Ruben
Posted on October 08, 2018

In 2014, Paul Vogelzang found himself packing up his desk at computer technology company Oracle as part of a company layoff. “That was a shock to the system in every way,” said Vogelzang, who lives in Reston, Va. “At 58, it was tough to get a job, particularly in the technology sector, which apparently wants to have a younger workforce. It was a rough kind of divorce, in the sense... READ MORE

Is medical marijuana for you?

By Robert Friedman
Posted on September 25, 2018

Howard County Beacon After two surgeries and many downed opioid pills, Stephanie Brooks, 60, still suffered “spinal pain, depression, anxiety and difficulty sleeping,” she said. So Brooks (not her real name) decided to visit Remedy Columbia, one of six state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Howard County, to try one of the thousands of different strains of cannabis... READ MORE

Celebrating a visionary’s success

By Carol Sorgen
Posted on September 18, 2018

Rebecca Hoffberger, founder and director of the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM), turns 66 in late September. Most years, her birthday celebration is a cake shared with her staff as they install the upcoming year’s annual exhibition. This year, however, Hoffberger wants a different kind of celebration: She has chosen to honor a few of the individuals who inspire her through “an... READ MORE

Men help each other find their calling

By Catherine Brown
Posted on September 11, 2018

In the book Halftime: From Success to Significance, author Bob Buford compares life to the game of football. As he explains, your success in the second half of your life depends on your halftime strategy. That idea guides a group of retired men who gather twice a month in locations around Richmond to plot out the second halves of their lives. Gordon Prior ran a busy dentistry practice ... READ MORE

Celebrating Area Artists

By The Beacon
Posted on August 21, 2018

From limestone sculptures and stained glass, to photos from as far away as the Galapagos, to paintings that detail faces old and young, to poems that evoke love and loss, more than 900 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and poems poured into the Beacon’s Celebration of the Arts — our art competition for amateurs over 50. Not only was the number of entries impressive; the... READ MORE

From CIA to pageant circuit

By Barbara Ruben
Posted on August 15, 2018

Karen Moore won her first competition at age 4. To reach the microphone in a talent contest at her nursery school teacher’s church, she had to stand on a chair. She crooned a song called “God Bless Us All,” popular in the early 1950s. Now 69 and a resident of Hyattsville, Md., Moore has continued to wow pageant audiences over the years. She was once a finalist for Cherry Blossom... READ MORE