Bond

It was heartening to see current and past midshipmen speak openly of the salutary effect on the U.S. Naval Academyof repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy ("Mids describe smooth transition from 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" May 21). Your article, however, overlooked one important consequence of this change - the impact on the classroom. Since arriving at the Naval Academy 12 years ago, I have felt that one of its greatest strengths is the bond of trust between faculty and students, a bond much more profound than the enforced respect of military culture.

Good weather, good crowds and a host of attractions — from rides to a dunk tank, food to raffles — combined to make a successful 2012 edition of the St. Pius X Carnival, hosted this past weekend at the church and school on York Road in Towson. During the three-day event, from Friday to Sunday, carnival patrons enjoyed rides and games, raffles, a silent auction and food that included pit beef, crab cakes, baked goods, fudge and lemonade. The event also included sales of collectibles, used books and other items.

A Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge on Thursday set bail at $50,000, cash only, for two operators of the Healthy Life Medical Group, on York Road, in Lutherville, who were arrested Tuesday evening. Gerald Wiseberg, 78, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Michael Jacob Reznikov, 51, of Brooklyn, N.Y., have been indicted by a Baltimore County grand jury on charges of conspiracy to distribute "schedule II" narcotics after a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into alleged distribution and sale of Oxycodone and other prescription drugs.

The Bureau of Public Debt announced the new rates on savings bonds. The Series I Bonds purchased today through October of this year will have an annualized rate of 2.2 percent for the first six months of purchase. That compares with an annualized rate of 3.06 percent for new bonds purchased in the previous six months. The I Bond, an inflation protection bond, offers a fixed rate for the life of the bond, and a semi-annual rate that goes up and down based on inflation. The fixed rate is 0 percent.

T. Rowe Price Group closed its high-yield bond funds to new investors as of Monday, the Baltimore money manager announced Tuesday. They include the investor class shares and advisor class shares of the $9.2 billion High Yield Fund as well as the $2.5 billion Institutional High Yield Fund. While Price will not accept new investors, existing shareholders can continue to invest in the funds. The funds were last closed in February 2004 and reopened three years ago. Investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into both funds in the last year.

The 20-year-old man charged in connection with the recent assault and robbery in downtown Baltimore of a visitor who was stripped of his clothes was ordered held on $1 million bond Saturday morning, court records show. Aaron Jacob Parsons of Rosedale turned himself in Friday night after having been linked to the videotaped incident for more than a week, as viewers tracked social media activity that appeared to show his involvement. He has been charged with robbery, assault and other crimes.

The girls stand together in their skates before taking the ice. They talk animatedly as they stretch and prepare for a long practice. "They haven't seen each other in a week," one of the mothers says in passing. The Sailors, the highest-level team in the Chesapeake Synchronized Skating club, compete nationally at the intermediate level. The girls come from counties around the state and see one another only at practice, but they're close-knit. "We're just like a family now," said Blaire Burgin, a tri-captain and a Pikesville junior.

A parade of Baltimore police officers, from rookies to a 30-year veteran, told City Council members Wednesday night that training programs developed by the department have sharpened their skills and helped build camaraderie among the ranks. But questioning about spending related to those programs was postponed as council members sought additional information from the agency. Pointing to recent police problems, such as a towing kickback scandal that is in court this week, City Councilman Brandon M. Scott called the hearing last month to question the effectiveness and costs of the training programs.

A Baltimore delegate plans to introduce legislation to create an authority to oversee a new stream of school construction money that the city would get under a plan envisioned by schools CEO Andrés Alonso. Del. Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. said his bill would trigger a referendum in which city voters would be asked to create the Baltimore City Schools Construction Authority. If voters approved, the authority would administer a lump sum that the state would provide to the city each year to meet school construction needs.