Breathing Room

Those footsteps the Spirit heard belonged to the Harrisburg Heat.Two days ago, Harrisburg was within a half game of the Spirit, which was second behind the Cleveland Crunch in the National Professional Soccer League's American Division. Now, thanks to two straight victories, the Spirit (18-9) has a two-game lead on the Heat (15-10).Led by ex-Heat player Franklin McIntosh, who had two goals last night and has 18 points in three games against his former team, the Spirit defeated Harrisburg, 11-9, before 5,619 at the Baltimore Arena.

A big sigh of relief emanated from the Baltimore Police Department's headquarters on East Fayette Street this week. After 15 years, to hear the cops tell it, their suffering has ended. State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy is out and Gregg Bernstein is in. Baltimore's electorate put an end to the relentless backbiting, feuding and name-calling between the top prosecutor and a succession of six police commissioners over whom to blame for botched cases and repeat offenders. Inept police or a timid state's attorney?

The players' searing intensity matched the game's championship significance.The Dayton Raiders looked like a team determined to win the North-Central District American Legion baseball championship Monday at the Dayton Rod and Gun Club's Buckshot Field.The Raiders entered the game atop the district standings with 66TC record, and Dundalk, Monday's opponent, was in second place at 6-3.When Dundalk exploded for a five-run first inning, however, Dayton's first-place stature was in jeopardy.But Dayton rallied for one run in the bottom of the first, five more in the second and four in the fourth to take a 10-7 win and open some breathing room in the race for a first-half district title.

In what was viewed as the Blast's first legitimate test of the season, its performance brought an ace. The second-place Philadelphia KiXX couldn't withstand a swiftly launched barrage of goals and fell two games behind the front-running Blast last night after a 16-10 National Indoor Soccer League defeat at 1st Mariner Arena. By early in the third quarter, the Blast (4-0) was cruising with a 14-2 lead before the KiXX (2-2) closed the final gap. Baltimore has outscored the opposition 36-2 in the first half this season.

In the next year, the steel beams, towering cranes and big piles of dirt that have been a common sight during Howard Community College's building boom will give way to three new structures. A new visual and performing arts building is scheduled to be completed in June. The first of several planned parking garages is on track to open in August. And a new student services building should be ready for business in January 2007. The new buildings will offer students plenty of amenities and much-needed breathing room for departments that have been squeezed by steadily growing enrollment.

The George L. Schnader Jr. real estate development company, which has filed for protection from creditors, has seen hard times in the housing industry before.The 1974 slump in the market hit the company hard.The Schnader company, founded in 1951, went from 60 employees in early 1973 to 12 by the end of 1974.George Schnader, then the president of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said it was the worst year in the history of the housing industry. He and the association were also fighting no-growth sentiment from residents in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties.

Opponent: Hershey BearsSite: Baltimore ArenaTime: 5 p.m.Radio: WITH (1230 AM), WAMD (970 AM)Outlook: The Bandits swept the Bears in home-and-home encounters two weekends ago, closing to within a point of them for second place in the Southern Division. Hershey was struggling then, losing four in a row, but has subsequently won five of six games to open up some breathing room. Baltimore has won four of seven games contested between the longtime rivals. LW Chris Herperger will be facing his old mates for the first time as a Bandit.

The new managers of Rosecroft Raceway, the harness track in Prince George's County, will appear before the Maryland Racing Commission today to answer questions about the track's fiscal soundness.A three-person team from Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc., owners of Rosecroft, took over management of the track last week.In an agreement reached Friday with Bally's Maryland Inc., a subsidiary of the casino and hotel giant, Cloverleaf gave up ownership of Ocean Downs, Maryland's other harness track on the Eastern Shore, but retained Rosecroft and replaced Bally's management team with its own.Gerald Brittingham, president of both Cloverleaf Enterprises and the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, is leader of the new management team.

Baltimore County Savings Bank said yesterday that its insurer has agreed to pay $3.35 million as compensation for the bank's losses in an alleged check-kiting scheme last year. The Baltimore bank, which is operating under the supervision of federal regulators while it rebuilds its finances, said it is still hoping to recover more of the $10.7 million it lost in the alleged scheme. But any further recovery could take an "extended period of time" to resolve, the bank said in a statement.

Catonsville's Shamika Williams could have been thinking about a lot of things when she stepped to the free-throw line with 13 seconds left and her girls basketball team clinging to a two-point lead over Dulaney last night. A junior guard, she appeared tired during the game and had missed two free throws a little more than a minute earlier, but she wasn't thinking about either of those things. "I was thinking, `Just make these.' They were big shots and I had to make them," Williams said.

Catonsville's Shamika Williams could have been thinking about a lot of things when she stepped to the free-throw line with 13 seconds left and her girls basketball team clinging to a two-point lead over Dulaney last night. A junior guard, she appeared tired during the game and had missed two free throws a little more than a minute earlier, but she wasn't thinking about either of those things. "I was thinking, `Just make these.' They were big shots and I had to make them," Williams said.

Baltimore County Savings Bank said yesterday that its insurer has agreed to pay $3.35 million as compensation for the bank's losses in an alleged check-kiting scheme last year. The Baltimore bank, which is operating under the supervision of federal regulators while it rebuilds its finances, said it is still hoping to recover more of the $10.7 million it lost in the alleged scheme. But any further recovery could take an "extended period of time" to resolve, the bank said in a statement.

In the next year, the steel beams, towering cranes and big piles of dirt that have been a common sight during Howard Community College's building boom will give way to three new structures. A new visual and performing arts building is scheduled to be completed in June. The first of several planned parking garages is on track to open in August. And a new student services building should be ready for business in January 2007. The new buildings will offer students plenty of amenities and much-needed breathing room for departments that have been squeezed by steadily growing enrollment.

Concerned about increased use of public water, Carroll County officials are calling for conservation from residents in South Carroll, the county's most populous and largest water service area. Officials want to exercise caution because daily demand for water jumped nearly 400,000 gallons to 2.6 million gallons during the week of May 23, which was unseasonably hot. Despite milder temperatures last week, usage has not returned to lower numbers. The county would like to maintain average daily use at about 2.3 million gallons.

The Howard County Circuit Courthouse is about to get some breathing room - about 6,300 square feet of it. The state's attorney's office plans to move to roomier offices down the street in the Carroll Building next month, freeing a two-level corner in the chronically cramped building that court officials say will quickly be filled. While the changes will mean more room for the sheriff's office, one of the county's masters and other employees, court officials will have to make do with the space as is. A renovation that would rehab the space to create a fully functional courtroom, an additional master's hearing room and more jury rooms is planned.

The Howard County Circuit Courthouse is about to get some breathing room - about 6,300 square feet of it. The state's attorney's office plans to move to roomier offices down the street in the Carroll Building next month, freeing a two-level corner in the chronically cramped building that court officials say will quickly be filled. While the changes will mean more room for the sheriff's office, one of the county's masters and other employees, court officials will have to make do with the space as is. A renovation that would rehab the space to create a fully functional courtroom, an additional master's hearing room and more jury rooms is planned.

The casino operator whose bailout proposal for the state's harness tracks was rejected by track owners this week will continue to talk to them, but is losing patience with the process."

LANDOVER -- Preseason games are for players on the edge, fighting for a spot on the NHL roster, fighting to avoid another trip to the minor leagues.Last night, defenseman Jason Woolley, battling for a spot as the Capitals sixth defender, and right wing Reggie Savage, trying to avoid another season with the Baltimore Skipjacks, gave coach Terry Murray something to think about during Washington's 6-4 victory over the Boston Bruins."

COLLEGE PARK - Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski cited Maryland's maturity, but two rookies got the Terps over the hump against the top-ranked Blue Devils yesterday. Clinging to a 57-56 lead with a little more than 13 minutes remaining, Maryland went on a 10-0 run, with all of the points coming from junior college transfer Jamar Smith and freshman point guard John Gilchrist. After that spurt, the Terps' lead never got below double digits. It was a particularly sweet afternoon for Smith, who crammed six of his eight points into the game-breaking stretch despite a cold.

A lane lined with red maple trees winds past a 250-year-old stone farmhouse, a chicken coop and a barn nearly as old as the home. Morgan horses graze in the lush pastures and slurp water from clear ponds, helping to complete an idyllic South Carroll County scene that has been safeguarded from development through a preservation easement. From this homestead, Carol Hackney, 74 and a lifelong farmer, bristles at the sight of surveyors' flags and stakes. She said she has tried unsuccessfully over the years to buy the neighboring land.