How Can We Make Every Day Earth Day? (Sponsored)

Here are some family activities you can do to foster environmentalism. Sponsored by Sony.

Very few events are celebrated around the globe, but Earth Day is. This year, it’s come and gone. But we’re here to ask: What can we do to show our love of the earth on that day, and every day? On May 31st, Sony will release After Earth, an action-packed movie that takes place 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave. It’s the kind of scenario that makes you want to donate to Greenpeace, recycle everything, and start biking every where, immediately. So, in honor of Earth Day, Patch has teamed up with Sony to present these ideas for making every day Earth Day. How can we make every day Earth Day? Begin with little things. Easy things. Obvious things. Things we take for granted each day, and use and/or abuse because of …

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FDA Approves OTC Emergency Contraception for 15-year-olds

But the FDA's decision does not satisfy a recent court ruling that emergency contraception be made available without age restrictions.

The FDA announced Tuesday it had approved over-the-counter sale of an emergency contraceptive for women and teenagers 15 and older. Plan B One-Step is now the third emergency contraceptive on the market in the United States, according to the FDA. It is the only one available to women younger than 17 without a prescription. Proof of age will still be required to purchase Plan B One-Step, which is manufactured by Teva Women’s Health Inc. It will be available in stores that have pharmacies, but will be on the shelves in the family planning or female health aisles. The FDA’s announcement comes a few weeks after a judge’s ruling that emergency contraception be made available to all ages. Tuesday’s decision, which doesn’t allow sales to girls …

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Is Ellicott City Trashy?

Or is it visitors to town that are leaving their mark in the streets? And what can be done to keep downtown clean?

Last week was Earth Day and to commemorate the day, local merchants and residents hosted "Keep it Clean: Event to Clean, Beautify Historic Ellicott City."  While some people were on their hands and knees picking up trash and planting pocket parks in the Historic District, others were dropping their trash along Frederick Road, according to Denise Stanco. "Between Highs and the river I picked up 3 straws, 5 plastic lids, eight paper cups, and a bottle of Gatorade," she wrote in a blog post. "This is clearly an area where some participants were parked." But it's not just visitors, according to one user. "[Main Street just before Rogers Avenue] is looking pretty trashy thanks to one particular person who thinks she lives in Baltimore city and …

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Check out Ellicott City Patch Blogs

See what your neighbors are saying and start your own blog!

Group's Later School Start Time Task Force Bill Passes House

Now the group is asking for help getting HB 1462 through the Senate.

2013 Otakufest

Obsessed with anime? You're in luck.

School Start Times and Crime - What's the Connection?

This advocate says we'll see less crime if we change school start times. What do you think?

Proposal Day: Share Your Engagement Story, Ellicott City

Wednesday is National Proposal Day and Patch wants to know how your proposal went, or how your dream proposal would go.

Wednesday is Proposal Day. This one seems like it may be more dreamt up by the jewelry stores than by Hallmark, right? Seriously though: this holiday does exist. As Huffington Post tells it: "A man named John Michael O'Loughlin invented the holiday after his cousin's boyfriend strung her along for years without sealing the deal decades ago, Holidash says. Enough already, he thought, and dedicated a day to marriage proposals." We'd love to hear your proposal stories—maybe it was romantic, funny or a disaster, or maybe it just hasn't happened yet. Let us know. Did you or your significant other involve the Ellicott City community with your proposal? And if you're planning to propose Wednesday, let us know, too—email sean.welsh@patch.com and …

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School Start Times Debate, Anniversary for Howard County Medical Center and More from Patch Bloggers

Here are this week's top posts in Howard County.

Here are some highligths of this week's Local Voices from Patch sites in Howard County. If you have something on your mind and want to contribute to Patch, just go to the front page of this Patch site and click "Start a Blog" under the top stories. Have a question about blogging on Patch? Email Associate Regional Editor Lisa Rossi at lisa.rossi@patch.com Starting School Later does not have to cost more: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Support HB 1462 - A Maryland Task Force for Later School Start Times: Another reader, a cofounder of a national initiative on the subject, pushes statewide legislation to allow later school start times. HCGH Celebrates its 40th Anniversary This Year…

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Sequestration, Papal Retirement and the Best of Maryland Local Voices

Here are the best of this week's Local Voices posts from Maryland Patch sites.

Here are some of the best Local Voices posts in the past week from around Maryland's Patch sites. Remember, if you have something on your mind, it's quick and easy to join the conversation. Just click "Start a Blog" under the top story on our front page. Sequestration: We Have a Choice: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin talks about the impact budget cuts mandated by sequestration will have on Maryland. Gratia Benedictus XVI: In Montgomery County, a reader wonders what the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI will be. Benedict stepped down from the papacy on Thursday. Starting School Later Does Not Have to Cost More: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Marks Changes Position On County Cars for …

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