Attitude

When the race for Baltimore County executive began, I thought I would vote for the winner in the Democratic primary between Joe Bartenfelder and Kevin Kamenetz because of their years of experience on the County Council. Then, according to the article "Kamenetz calls for unity in Balto. Co. " (Sept. 16), Kenneth Holt, the Republican Mr. Kamenetz will face in November, says he thought Mr. Kamenetz ran an "ugly campaign ... based on attack ads, false statements, a lot of information that was not honest.

George's, the restaurant at the Wyndham Peabody Court Hotel in Mount Vernon, is a sleeper. It hasn't completely shrugged off its hotel-amenity feeling, but it's getting there. George's is making an effort to reach out. There's a good sampling on the beer list of local brews. George's runs smart specials, available both at the bar and in the dining room, like a Monday burger night and a $12 Wednesday comfort-food entree. Still, on a few weeknight visits, there was more action at the bar. And credit a game bar staff with patiently and steadily building a base of neighborhood regulars, who have started coming in for dinner, too, and bringing their friends.

If "relinquishing our freedom" will save lives, I'm all for it. Writer Chris Millirons can bleat all he wants about a right to drive while using handheld cell phones, he's out of step with reality ("Cell phone ban: how quickly we relinquish our freedom," Readers respond, March 30). Do I have a "right" to drive while drunk? It's been proven that talking on a cell phone is a similar impairment. People who cannot exist without being perpetually connected suffer a form of addiction.

The FBI had previously been warned by the Russian government that the 26-year-old Boston bombing terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev was being radicalized ("Bombing suspect faces U.S. charges," April 23). The FBI interviewed him and then just opened the door and said have a good day. No further attention was given him by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Why? When he left the United States and went to Russia in 2012 for six months, there was no questioning of him by the FBI at his return.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Is it the creativity on offense, or his work at the defensive end?Is it the way his team usually wins, or how he was nearly a part of Arkansas' run to the NCAA title last season?None of the above. With Michael Lloyd, the topic of discussion is usually his scarlet letter, and in his case, the A stands for attitude.The putdowns and pained expressions that were accepted on (( the playgrounds of Baltimore don't always sit well with teammates, coaches and referees. As the biggest star on a Dunbar High team that was the nation's best and now as the point guard for Syracuse University, Lloyd has labored to get his emotions under control and cease being his own worst enemy.

You may have noticed that the best way to sell something these days, whether it's a product or your very self, is to package it with a bit of attitude.Consider that the jersey of Latrell Sprewell, who got an involuntary paid vacation because he tried to give P.J. Carlesimo a finger necklace without a clasp, sells more than that of any other New York Knicks player. Meanwhile, David Robinson and Tim Duncan of San Antonio, both solid citizens whose only hook is sterling play, are thought of as weird or even worse, freaks, because they aren't weird or freaks and don't carry "attitudes."

The Ravens have made one basic mistake from the day they arrived in Baltimore.They think they're a better team than they really are. That attitude cost them yesterday when they took a 21-3 halftime lead over the Cincinnati Bengals and thought they were good enough to sleepwalk their way through the second half and still escape with a victory. After all, Denver did it two weeks ago against the Ravens when it gave away a 21-3 lead and still won, 45-34.They found out they're not good enough to do that and blew a 24-21 game to the Bengals while losing for the first time when they've been favored.

I'M STARTING an athletic shoe company. All I need is to line up some endorsements, and I'm all set. My shoes will be all about attitude. You know, just do it. It's your planet.T-shirts, too, I want to do T-shirts. With some pithy phrases: No fear; Second place is the first loser; I'm the bus driver - I take everyone to school.I know this won't be easy. All of those phrases are taken. Most of the best attitude-endowed athletes are taken. But there are athletes out there, I know it.You think I could get the University of Nebraska football team?

IF THERE IS ONE thing policemen hate, it's an attitude. The display of a little deference can make all the difference between a hefty ticket and being sent on your way with the admonition to slow down from now on. In the case of David R. Lemmon, the Baltimore City firefighter arrested for speeding Mondaywhile trying to get his sick baby to the doctor, attitude accounts for why he ended up in handcuffs -- despite circumstances that cried out for leniency.This...

CHICAGO -- It's an attitude, not a strategy. The Orioles hit the ground running this year, and they have sprinted to one of the best starts in club history.There are obvious examples. Mark McLemore steaming home from second base on a sacrifice fly in Tuesday night's victory over the Texas Rangers. Brady Anderson stealing 12 bases in his first 14 attempts. But truly to appreciate the team's dramatic turnaround, you have to read between the base lines. The subtle things are what make it apparent that the Orioles have undergone a serious attitude adjustment.

Annapolis is swimming in wine bars these days. The choices include the deeply cool Red Red Wine on Main Street, Justin Moore's food-forward Vin 909 over in Eastport and the accessibly cozy Grapes Wine Bar on Forest Drive. Crush Kitchen and Winehouse got there first, though, back in 2010, when it opened on West Street as Crush Winehouse. Crush is a big, inviting space, loud and lively, with a smartly arranged layout of banquettes, four-tops and high tables.

The Census Bureau announced last week that it is dropping the use of the term "Negro" to describe black Americans in its population surveys. I suspect few will mourn the word's passing. Today Americans of African descent, especially younger ones, almost universally prefer to be called African-American, people of color or simply black. The bureau reports that the number of blacks who self-identify as Negroes has dwindled to fewer than 50,000, most of them older people living in the South.

It is not unusual to see art that tackles social and political issues, but there's still something startling about Jeffrey Kent's solo show "Preach!" at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park. The Baltimore artist zeros in on opposition by some African-Americans, especially in churches, to same-sex marriage. Kent employs provocative imagery, including minstrel figures in blackface, and an evocative substance: cotton. The impetus for the recently completed project goes back to 2008.

Stevenson has earned the No. 1 ranking during the regular season on several occasions, but this winter is the first time that the program has been deemed the top team in Division III in the preseason. Accompanying that lofty ranking is usually the pressure of living up to that billing, but Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene said that's not the case. “We've been No. 1 in the country before. We've been there and done all that stuff,” he said. “I think in the end, it's no different than what we've been through before.

Two points about The Sun's coverage of tree cutting by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. ("A bid to trim power outages," Dec. 23). First, I told the management of BGE at a meeting held with them by the Baltimore City Forestry Board in 1987 that their aggressive tree pruning was not working and to return to the old method. I also suggested that they contribute to city street tree planting instead of planting under power lines, as was their practice at the time. They refused on both counts.

For November, I'm cultivating an attitude of gratitude. You might have seen people giving thanks for something daily on social media. I'm posting each day this month on Facebook acknowledging the things (and people) big and small that I am lucky to have in my life. Maybe it sounds hokey, but for me, it works to keep me focused on the good and away from the negative chatter and the snark that can surround us. And I've noticed that when I'm keeping my eye out for positive things to post about, I notice even more of them.

KENNETT SQUARE, PA. -- Barbaro's attitude and appetite were upbeat again yesterday, as the vigil over the injured Kentucky Derby winner reached an uneventful 57th day at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. Dr. Dean Richardson, chief of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, said in a statement that Barbaro got another restful night Saturday and remains in stable condition. "His vital signs are good and his attitude remains positive," Richardson said.

Happy is the lot of a family in a position to pay $14,615 on a 1980 tax obligation.Rwanda is where the Tutsi are trying to overthrow the Hutu; in Burundi, it's the other way round.At least Don won't have to worry about the legislature ever again.The official attitude toward responsibility for fixing up Memorial Stadium is to leave it to the Canadians.

Del. Heather Mizeur writes that she plans to introduce legislation in January to ban fracking in Maryland until the oil and gas industry agrees to fund a study of the "potential threats" of the process ("No studies? No fracking," Sept. 13). Ms. Mizeur raises several arguments about the alleged harm of fracking, yet one wonders what study would determine whether it is safe. Her statement that the reason for her bill is that the commission studying the matter "does not have dedicated resources to fund this issue" is laughable, since the legislature could have created funding for the study but chose not to so. Ms. Mizeur can't seem to understand that the industry has legitimate grounds to be wary of paying a "fee" to fund a study that will be based more on politics than on science.