California

OAK VIEW, Calif. — Ray "Windmill" White, a veteran of 60 professional fights, pulls a paperback from a shelf in his office, opens "The Ultimate Book of Boxing Lists" and thumbs through it. Finally spotting his name, he looks up and smiles. "So," the 72-year-old proudly announces to a visitor, "out of all the fighters that ever lived, I made the top 10. " Page 88 confirms it. White, a 6-foot-4 former light heavyweight best known for throwing behind-the-back punches and other unorthodox blows, has been deemed by authors Bert Sugar and Teddy Atlas the fifth most awkward fighter in boxing history.

Right-hander Kevin Millwood, who was the Orioles' Opening Day starter last season, is now in Irvine, Calif., working out and waiting for a job. For the past week, Millwood, 36, has been training at a Southern California facility run by his agent, Scott Boras. Millwood works out every morning, running, lifting weights and throwing. Every two to three days he has thrown a bullpen side session, and he expects to pitch to college hitters next week. "I am just kind of keeping going, staying in shape and getting my arm ready to go when something does happen," Millwood said.

Though I understand your logic in calling for illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition at Maryland colleges and universities ( "College bound, but undocumented," Jan. 24), I absolutely disagree with you. If we, as Maryland citizens, keep welcoming illegal immigrants to come to this sanctuary state for things like reduced tuition, subsidized housing, food stamps, drivers licenses and free medical care, we will become the California of the East Coast, a bankrupt state wondering why we let it happen.

Duff Goldman has just baked a cake of Baltimore's Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. And it looks just like the city's most famous landmark — right up to the statue of the nation's first president that stands atop its tower and down to the fine black piping that mimics the wrought-iron fence at its base. Only with Goldman, it's never enough, is it? Just two hours before he's supposed to deliver the cake and emcee the annual holiday monument-lighting ceremony alongside Gov. Martin O'Malley, the rock 'n' roll chef decides that what the cake really needs are fireworks inside its tower — real fireworks that explode and keep on exploding out of the cake for several minutes.

A California-based solar energy company announced Monday it is expanding to Maryland, where it plans to offer homeowners and businesses the option to lease rather than buy photovoltaic systems. SolarCity, headquartered in San Mateo, has acquired Clean Currents Solar, the solar installation division of Clean Currents, an independent green energy company based in Rockville that now markets solar and wind power in the mid-Atlantic region. Claiming more than 10,000 customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Texas, SolarCity said it plans to begin offering zero-down, 20-year solar leases in Maryland and Washington, D.C., in mid-February.

Let it be known now and for time immemorial that Karen Shouse and Caralyn Wichers love their children. There is no other plausible explanation for why the two suburban moms spent Friday night in the Hard Rock Cafe listening to two dozen renditions, one after the other, of Justin Bieber's "Baby, Baby, Baby. " Thirty-one teenage girls and one boy vied for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to California to attend the Feb. 9 movie premiere of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" — and possibly even meet the singer.

Sourcefire Inc., a Columbia-based cybersecurity company, said Wednesday it acquired for $21 million a California company that specializes in providing digital protection to users of Internet-based computing networks. Sourcefire said it was paying $21 million cash for Immunet, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company. The deal included $17 million paid out immediately and $4 million paid over the next 18 months if Immunet reaches unspecified milestones for its software targeted for business use, which it plans to roll out this year.

TeleCommunication Systems Inc. of Annapolis, which specializes in secure mobile communications for military and commercial clients, said Monday it plans to buy Trident Space & Defense LLC, of Torrance, Calif. Trident specializes in engineering and electronics solutions for global space and defense markets. The amount of the deal was not disclosed but TCS said it involved a mix of cash and three million shares of Class A common stock. Trident, which projects revenue of about $40 million for next year, is owned by Admiralty Partners Inc., a private equity firm.

Tuesday's ruling by a California federal district court judge ordering an immediate halt to the U.S. military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay servicemen and women puts the Obama administration in a difficult bind, but the real problem is Congress' refusal to face up to the fact that the original law establishing the policy is badly outmoded and needs to be changed. The Justice Department could seek to have the decision overturned on appeal, even though President Obama opposes the current policy, as do a majority of members of Congress and 70 percent of Americans.

The First Amendment to the Constitution holds such an important place in our society — socially, politically and legally — that special rules exist when our government attempts to abridge the cherished right to speak freely. The right is not absolute. It can be restricted, and — as in the case of not being allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded theater — sometimes it has been, but only if the government can provide a "compelling" basis for the restriction; never if the basis rests on a myth.