Black

Justin Black had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, helping fifth-seeded Morgan State beat eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman, 82-71, in the semifinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament on Friday night at Norfolk (Va.) Scope Arena. Shaquille Duncan came off the bench and had 17 points and six rebounds for Morgan State (17-14), which will play No. 7 North Carolina A&T in today's championship game. Senior forward Dewayne Jackson also scored 16 points for the Bears.

Justin Black made big baskets at the end of regulation and overtime, helping fifth-seeded Morgan State beat fourth-seeded Savannah State, 64-61, in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament Thursday night at Norfolk (Va.) Scope Arena. Black scored 20 points for the Bears (16-14), who will play eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman in today's semifinals. Bethune-Cookman ousted top-seeded Norfolk State, the MEAC's regular-season champion, 70-68 in overtime Wednesday.

A deal environmentalists thought had been worked out to stop mostly out-of-state paper mills from cashing in on Maryland's renewable energy law by burning so-called "black liquor" has come unglued. The state's only paper plant in Allegany County has backtracked on a pledge not to oppose the move in return for being allowed to keep collecting from the state's utility customers for another five years. The New Page mill in Luke and several others out of state have reaped millions of dollarsfrom Maryland ratepayers over the past eight years by taking advantage of an obscure provision in the "renewable portfolio standard" law, passed in 2004 to reduce the state's reliance on climate-warming fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Under the law, Maryland's electricity suppliers must increase the amount of power generated  from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2022.

First comes love, then comes marriage and then comes time to pick out the baby carriage - and decorate the nursery. Already the tabloids are speculating on the room where England's heir to the throne will lay his royal head when Prince William's and Kate Middleton's baby is born in July. And even though Kim Kardashian and Kanye West aren't quite in sync with the old rhyme, the gossip magazines are anticipating the extravagant nursery the couple will add to their $11 million mansion in Bel Air. Not to mention the nursery that Joe Flacco and his wife, Dana, can create for their second child with the Ravens quarterback's new $120.6 million deal.

For decades, African-Americans have been sentenced to prison at far higher rates than their proportion of the population would suggest. In 2000, black men were incarcerated at nearly eight times the rate of white men, while black women were nearly three times more likely to be imprisoned than white women. But for the first time in recent memory those disparities appear to be narrowing, according to a new study. If the trend continues it could have implications for the racial makeup of prison populations across the U.S., including those in Maryland.

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is pushing legislation to close what it describes as loopholes in state law that allow police to keep DNA samples from people never convicted of crimes. Del. Jill P. Carter, a Baltimore Democrat, said Friday she is preparing — with caucus backing — to introduce a bill that would subject all DNA collected by Maryland police to the restrictive standards used for genetic information taken from people charged with violent crimes and burglaries.

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about the old Laurel Cemetery in the city's Belair-Edison neighborhood that had once been the premier resting place for Baltimore's African-American community until disappearing when the site was redeveloped as a shopping center in the late 1950s. It was traditional during the early years of the 19th century that African-Americans were buried in "colored burial grounds" owned by black churches. In 1851, Thomas Burgan Jr., a prominent businessman, sold a parcel of land on Belle Air Avenue to several businessmen who developed the land into a cemetery for the interment of the "colored people of the city and county of Baltimore.

More African-American students in Maryland's Class of 2012 successfully passed a rigorous Advanced Placement exam than ever before, as the state continued to lead the nation in the percentage of students deemed college- and career-ready, according to data released Wednesday by the national College Board. The 11.4 percent of black students who earned a score of 3 or better on an exam still comprises a small fraction of the 29.6 percent of all Maryland seniors who passed a test. But it is among the highest percentages in the nation, reflecting the increased access and success for black students on the exams.

Black men and teens working to improve Baltimore can receive up to $20,000 for their community engagement projects, under a partnership between the Knight and Open Society foundations. The BMe partnership, or the Black Male Engagement Initiative, will provide $200,000 total in grants for city residents who submit applications by March 1 for projects designed to engage other African-American fathers, entrepreneurs, students, artists and community activists. Applications also are open to black men working on Baltimore-based projects.

A winter storm left piles of snow and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco stopped by Tommy Hilfiger's show, but the most dramatic thing about New York City this past week were Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's first looks at fall 2013. Inside the walls of Lincoln Center, designers treated the crowds to collections that mirrored the futuristic feel of science fiction, the darkness of noir fiction and the theatrical elements of a good soap opera. With so many ideas to chose from, these trends were the best of the best: Russian influences Christian Siriano said that his collection was heavily inspired by St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre.