Metro

New Baltimore Port Director Named

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) yesterday appointed a new director for the Port of Baltimore to replace the popular former director, whose politically messy departure led to acrimony in the legislature over the administration's handling of the port.

F. Brooks Royster III, 54, is a 33-year veteran of the maritime industry. He was chosen from a field of nearly 30 candidates to be executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. For the past three years, he has been the executive officer of the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co. He will assume his new post June 1.

Ehrlich praised Royster, saying: "This is an incredibly competitive business. He understands what it takes to be successful."

Royster replaces James White, who resigned in February over the objections of shipping interests. Democratic lawmakers accused the administration of mismanaging the port, pushing White out of his job and replacing senior port staff members with political appointees.

VIRGINIA

Arlington Teachers Receive Tech Grant

Five eighth-grade teachers at Arlington's Gunston Middle School have received a 2005 Hewlett-Packard "Technology for Teaching" grant worth $35,000 that is designed to improve learning through classroom use of technology.

The grant includes five HP Tablet PCs, five HP multimedia projectors, five HP digital cameras, an HP Officejet All-in-One, a $500 stipend per teacher and a professional development program to support teachers' use of technology.

The five teachers who submitted the proposal, "Living Healthier Lives," were math teachers Charlene Wentz and Linda Allen, physical education teacher Josh Merck and science teachers Nadia Robles and Lisa Warden. Starting this fall, their students will research "healthy life choices," then collect and analyze data about them.

Gunston is one of three K-12 schools in Virginia and 174 nationwide to receive grants totaling $6.2 million in cash and equipment.

New Housing Unveiled at Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir yesterday unveiled the first of 15 military neighborhoods to be built on base as part of a nationwide public-private partnership designed to revamp military housing.

The three-bedroom townhouses, averaging 1,850 square feet of living space, might cost as much as $500,000 if they were off base, given the region's booming real estate market. But the rental costs and utilities will be covered by the monthly housing allowance -- for example, $1,400 a month for Spec. Awilda Rodriguez, her husband and three children.

The new housing is part of the Army's Residential Communities Initiative, which calls for private contractors to build modern housing for soldiers at 45 Army installations across the country.