Metro

The Maryland Higher Education Consortium will consider students with at least 60 credit hours and a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. The deadline for applying is March 1.

Hearing on Clean Power Rule Postponed

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The Maryland Department of the Environment canceled a public meeting of its Air Quality Control Advisory Council scheduled for tomorrow at its headquarters in Baltimore. A new date will be announced this week.

The meeting was to discuss the Clean Power Rule, a measure proposed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) to limit pollutants emitted by coal-burning power plants. Julie Oberg, a department spokeswoman, said the session was postponed to allow further review of comments made by representatives of the power industry and environmental groups at the council's Jan. 11 meeting. She said the council will hold its next meeting within two weeks.

Clean Power is Ehrlich's alternative to the Healthy Air Act, a bill proposing more stringent limits on power plant emissions.

Man Sentenced in Anthrax Hoax

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A Baltimore man has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for mailing several letters containing white powder and threatening anthrax poisoning, including two that were sent to district courthouses on opposite ends of Maryland.

Robert Finch, 35, pleaded guilty in October to mailing a threatening communication. He was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. attorney's office said.

According to court documents, Finch mailed letters with white powder to the district courts in Garrett County and Worcester County, as well as to a former police chief of Jamestown, Ky., and to the police department in Kenai, Alaska. In all four cases, tests of the white powder revealed it was not anthrax.

Finch also admitted that he mailed a letter threatening the life of Baltimore County State's Attorney Sandra O'Connor and her family. And he sent a letter to Jamestown Elementary School in Kentucky, which was attended by the daughter of a former law enforcement officer. The letter threatened to blow up a bomb unless $75,000 was paid. All the letters were mailed last March.

VIRGINIA

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Fairfax Gives Griffin 4.5 Percent Raise

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Fairfax County supervisors approved a 4.5 percent pay raise for County Executive Anthony H. Griffin yesterday, which brings his base salary to $213,960.

The raise was part of an evaluation process, instituted last year, in which Griffin's performance in various categories was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5. Supervisors also wrote brief essays with feedback for Griffin.

Fairfax School Superintendent Jack D. Dale remains the county's highest paid official, with an annual salary of $237,000.