Achieve

Inside Westminster Abbey, eight 20-foot-tall live trees lined the center aisle during the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The trees transformed the space, doing what even the most elaborate floral arrangement could not — providing a natural, living sense of permanence and an air of drama. The move was unexpected, unpretentious and bold. A potted tree on your patio or deck can have the same effect. While not every tree is well-suited for a container, there are a surprising number of options, ranging from crape myrtles to hollies.

A new report showing Maryland schools now lead the nation in efforts to boost student achievement levels has vindicated the commitment the state made more than a decade ago to adequately fund education and adopt smart policy choices that return the biggest bang for the buck. The study by Education Sector, a Washington-based think tank that tracks school reform efforts across the country, suggests that Maryland's thoughtful approach to improving education opportunities for all the state's children has positioned it to register even greater gains in the future.

JOE has maintained a perfect academic average through his 12 years of schooling. So has Tonya. Both Charles and Tyrone are presidents of the National Honor Society and captains of the football team at their respective schools. Bill earned a 780 (out of a possible 800) on the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test.America's high schools are proud to produce such high achievers and to recommend them to leading colleges and universities. And thoseinstitutions vie keenly with one another to recruit them.

That was truly, truly disturbing. It doesn't always happen, but at least once a season “Game of Thrones” delivers an amazing episode of television. Sunday's “The Rains of Castamere” was such a moment. For about 15 minutes, the show's writers, actors and directors transformed HBO into a bloody, unsettling horror movie. At the wedding reception for Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey - an arranged marriage designed to unite houses in a war against the Lannisters - Walder Frey committed a massacre, slaughtering Robb and Catelyn Stark.

Some of the most powerful Democrats in Congress appear to have forgotten that voters chose a new president last November by the largest margin in a generation. Now, President Obama is facing the most serious economic crisis in recent history and the leaders of key congressional committees are rejecting critical elements of his tax and spending plan out of hand, without discussion or debate. Many politicians see this as Washington business as usual. But Mr. Obama was elected by voters seeking real change and change requires compromise.

In less than a 30-minute span, the Ravens were happy, disappointed and hopeful as they discussed their past, present and future.Shortly after a 22-0 win yesterday against the Cincinnati Bengals in the team's first-ever shutout, the Ravens displayed the full gamut of emotions of the bittersweet victory before an announced crowd of 68,036 at PSINet Stadium.As the team gathered in the locker room for a post-game meeting, coach Brian Billick informed the Ravens they had been eliminated from playoff contention by virtue of the Buffalo Bills' 13-10 overtime win over the New England Patriots.

DEC. 31 should have been a day we celebrated for achieving a historic milestone for the Chesapeake Bay. But the celebration did not happen. A much-ballyhooed goal was missed - not by an inch, but by a mile. In 1987, Governors William Donald Schaefer of Maryland and Gerald L. Baliles of Virginia struck up an unlikely alliance. With Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey and other regional and federal officials, they set a goal of reducing the flow of polluting nutrients by 40 percent by Dec. 31, 2000.

Whatever happened to global warming?It would take a Los Angeles earthquake to drive Tonya Harding off Page 1.Russia finds reform is easier to achieve without reformers.Peace in our time! Hafez assured Bill he is a solid citizen.

Humans are the only creatures that weep, but scientists do not know what the body is trying to achieve by producing tears. -- National Geographic's The New Everyday Science Explained

?If you?re going to achieve the kinds of effects that we probably need, that it would need to be sustained certainly for some time well beyond the summer.? Gen. David H. Petraeus Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, warned last week that the struggle there would be extended just as Democratic leaders in Congress proposed legislation that would require an American troop pullout by fall of 2008.

When Towson offensive coordinator Anthony Gilardi brought up the idea of shifting Thomas DeNapoli from midfield to attack in their end-of-the-year meeting in 2012, the suggestion did not faze DeNapoli. That is because he had done it in the past. A midfielder in his junior year at Lynbrook High School in his native New York, DeNapoli moved to attack in his final season there after graduation sapped that unit of several keep players. Fast forward to last summer, and DeNapoli found himself in a familiar position.

On April 7, a Court of Honor was held to celebrate Nathan Cook achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Nathan has been a member of scouting since first grade when he joined St. Mary's Pack 937. He bridged to Boy Scout Troop 965, Havre de Grace, in 2006. Since that time he has earned numerous merit badges, held many leadership positions and attended both Philmont and Northern Tier high adventure camps. He is a member of the Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts Honor Society. Nathan's Eagle project consisted of building and installing three benches at the Harford Family House in Aberdeen.

As critics of Martin O'Malley sensed a new political vulnerability, the governor insisted Tuesday that last week's indictment of inmates and correctional officers at the Baltimore City Detention Center was "a positive achievement" in Maryland's fight against violent gangs. A day after returning from a weeklong trade mission to Israel, O'Malley said that the state instigated and acted as a full partner in the federal investigation that found widespread corruption and smuggling at the city jail.

Yawar Raza and Catherine Turner , both of Laurel, were named to the dean's list for the winter quarter at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, N.Y. Raza is a third-year student in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, while Turner, a second-years student, is in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. Alexandra Durso and Jacqueline Sams, both of Laurel, were among the 300 James Madison University students who embarked on 30 spring break trips around the country and world.

By dumping $300,000 in taxpayer funds on Towson University's baseball team, Gov. Martin O'Malley has temporarily solved one problem and created a multitude of others. The frustration that led Mr. O'Malley to intervene is understandable. But his proposal to use a supplemental appropriation to buy the team two more years sets a dangerous precedent while failing to address any of the problems in Towson's athletics department that got the university into the unwelcome position of cutting two men's sports in the first place.

Students at Howard High School emerge from cafeteria lines with plates as green as well-manicured lawns. They reach for steamed broccoli and fresh lettuce as quickly as they do macaroni and cheese and popcorn chicken. And they say they their healthful eating habits extend beyond school hours. "Away from school, I'm a big burger guy," Howard High senior Joshua Steward said. "And a burger, you know what color it is. So I try to make it greener, stacking on lettuce, tomatoes, everything to make it healthier, and it always turns out great.

The high school exit tests in Maryland and five other states lack rigor, measuring mathematics and English well below college admissions standards, according to a study released yesterday. The report from Achieve Inc., a pro-testing organization created by governors and business leaders, says the math graduation tests in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas are at about the seventh- or eighth-grade level of difficulty in the rest of the world. Passing the six states' English tests requires skills expected of eighth- or ninth-graders, the report says, and all of the tests "measure only a fraction of the knowledge and skills that colleges and employers say are essential."

"The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live and Why They Matter" By Colin Tudge Tudge declares that trees are engineering marvels and that "wood is one of the wonders of the universe." He is equally in awe over the astonishing variety of forms trees achieve around the globe, and precisely describes them, from oaks to baobabs to the mighty kauri. "Without trees, our species would not have come into being at all," declares Tudge, and now in this time of global warming, trees are key to our survival.

Stacy Keibler's appearance Sunday evening on the arm of George Clooney confirmed two things: 1. They're still an item; 2. She still adheres to a serious fitness routine. Keibler wore a beaded Naeem Khan gown and, according to Us Weekly, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Lorraine Schwartz jewels and a Tiffany & Co bag. The sophisticated, silver-and-black dress and her short, softly waved hair evoked a '20s flapper mood, far removed from the metallic gold, strapless gown she wore last year.

Colonial Players offers a gem in historical and dramatic substance in its current production of Joanna McClelland Glass' "Trying," continuing through March 2 in Annapolis. This two-person "memory play" is set in 1967 and finds Judge Francis Biddle, 81, a nonfiction character, trying to finish his memoirs with assistance from newly hired Canadian secretary Sarah Schorr, 25. She has been forced on Biddle by his wife, and the two spend the play learning to adjust to each other. Glass waited until she was in her 60s to write of her experiences as secretary to Biddle, the Harvard-educated Philadelphia patrician who became her mentor.