Chart

Venice, Calif. -- Dennis Reid, an astrologer along this beachfront strip of tarot card readers, spray-paint artists and street comedians, inserts a disc into his laptop computer, pulls up the chart of O. J. Simpson and scrolls to June 12, the day his former wife was murdered."

Millennial Media's stock has lost three-fourths of its value since the Canton company went public a year ago as an established force in the mobile advertising market. Ask CEO Paul Palmieri about that, and he'll repeat what he deems wise words from a prominent contemporary. "I care very much about our share owners, and so I care very much about our long-term share price," Palmieri said, quoting from an interview Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos gave to the Harvard Business Review in January.

Given the urgency of teams at the top of the draft to trade back, there was a lot of talk about the draft-value chart. Personnel director Eric DeCosta said the Ravens don't follow the chart but use their own as a guideline. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ravensblog)

Junior college transfer Deon Long, a promising wide receiver, will begin practicing at Maryland atop the depth chart. The team released the chart as it prepared to open spring practices. Long, from Iowa Western Community College, may play right away. The Terps could have a dangerous receiving corps, with Long joining star slot receiver Stefon Diggs and others. Long is from Washington D.C., and attended New Mexico as a redshirt freshman. He told The Baltimore Sun's Matt Bracken recently: “Being a successful JUCO player, it gives me a lot of confidence to prove to people that I deserve to be on this level.

The Department of Agriculture's new dietary chart is not worth the money spent for an extra year of study on it, according to 82 percent of callers to SUNDIAL, or 185 out of 225. Forty callers (17 percent) say it was worth it.Most callers (167 out of 220, or nearly 76 percent) say the new chart will not have an impact on the way they eat, while 53 lTC callers (24 percent) say it will.

The hottest single at the Record Town music store in Mondawmin Mall is "Power of Love" by Celine Dion. I know this because Record Town posts a list of its top 20 singles for the convenience of customers.Salt 'N Pepa, Bryan Adams and Ace of Base made the list. So did Culture Beat and Toni Braxton and Queen Latifah. But I stare at the posted chart -- and stare at it some more. I get real close and squint and stare again. But try as I might, I can't find anything there by the notorious rap group 2 Live Crew.

Its very appearance can cause a sweat. Or outrageous bursts of non-work-related research. It can trigger spontaneous plagiarism from the desks of office mates. It is, of course, the NCAA tournament chart - the brackets - used to help basketball fans bet on the college games in office pools. When it shows up on printers and copiers, the symbolism is unmistakable: March Madness has arrived. But what gives the symbol its awesome power? Does the magic lie in its art or its function? "There are 64 teams - anything that can go from 64 to two is a marvel in how simple it is," said Cary Murnion, a partner at Honest, a New York design firm, who likened the chart to a hieroglyph for the basketball tournament.

With five separate votes, a series so technically convoluted that the process provoked chuckles from several of the members, the Howard County Council unanimously approved a new school enrollment chart yesterday that will limit development around crowded county elementary and middle schools in 2006. "Is everybody still with us?" east Columbia Democrat David A. Rakes asked at one point, as Chairman Guy Guzzone, a North Laurel-Savage Democrat laughed, saying, "I just want it to be legal."

New enrollment projections reluctantly approved by the Howard County Board of Education last week could reopen the development floodgates around 12 schools, lead to more redistricting in the next month and cause the planned northeastern elementary school to be deferred. The figures have a hefty impact that could be devastating if they're inaccurate, board members said - and history suggests they probably are. "It's such an imperfect chart that you have to question whether we should just scrap the whole thing and start over," board member Courtney Watson said.

The weeks before Thanksgiving are traditionally a busy time for the recording industry, as big stars race to get new albums out in time for the Christmas rush. But today's slate of new releases is so star-studded that industry pundits have already dubbed it "Super Tuesday." Among the biggest stars coming out today are Garth Brooks, whose "Double Live" recaps his 1997 Central Park concert; Jewel, who follows up her septuple-platinum debut with "Spirit"; and Mariah Carey, who celebrates her string of chart-topping hits with "#1's."

Chad Barnhill, the general manager of the Horseshoe Casino that will be constructed along Russell Street, is in Cincinnati today to observe a sort of soft opening (the Cincinnati newspaper is live blogging the event ) for the Horseshoe Casino there that will open its doors Monday. Though Barnhill knows the Horseshoe brand well, having served as general manager for the one located in the City of Bossier City ( which is the official name, according to the website which lists among its top news items the fact that the city pool is accepting applications to be a lifeguard this summer )

There's a Starbucks and an Outback Steakhouse and a growing young tech company. Soon, a Harris Teeter grocery store and a Target will be built. All are helping to draw new residents to Canton. But where to park? "I don't know of any small part of Canton where there isn't a parking problem," said Darryl Jurkiewicz, president of the Canton Community Association. His organization has been pushing city officials for months to find solutions. The Boston Street corridor in Southeast Baltimore has become the latest ground zero for a familiar battle.

For four years, Mount St. Mary's relied on T.C. DiBartolo as its undisputed starting goalkeeper. Now after one season, the team could make a change in the net. Despite the return of junior Chris Klaiber, coach Tom Gravante said he isn't sure who will start in Saturday's scrimmage against Lehigh. “We are having issues,” he said. “Right now, the kid that looked to be the No. 1 goalie at the end of the fall season was [sophomore] Adam Borgogelli. He looked great this fall.

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, bolstered by fourth-quarter and year-end revenue numbers that exceeded projections, made bold promises about the future of his Baltimore-based company during its fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday. Amid a reorganization of the footwear department and questions about how the sector was performing, Plank laid out a plan to continue building profit by focusing on shoe sales and through short, intense bursts of marketing meant to better spread word about new products.

Earlier this morning, we featured a chart from baseball statistician Bill Arnold that listed Orioles' executive vice president Dan Duquette's lifetime record at an impressive 930-786. That winning percentage places him fifth among the men who held the general manager position (or similar duties) for the 30 MLB teams in 2012. Pretty impressive. Frankly, it was better than I realized. But if you dig a little deeper, the numbers could be even more eye-popping. Duquette left Montreal and joined the Boston Red Sox in February 1994.

Maryland football coach Randy Edsall was asked this week whether he had ever started a true freshman on the offensive line. There was a long pause. If Edsall, in his 14th year as a head coach, had ever started a first-year line player before this season, he couldn't recall it. Which means true freshman Mike Madaras will make history of sorts when he gets his first start at tackle against visiting Wake Forest in Maryland's Atlantic Coast Conference opener Saturday. Redshirt freshman Andrew Zeller is also making his first start at guard.

In what could presage a major re-examination of Howard County's school crowding problems, the County Council is expected tomorrow night to delay an annual vote to adopt charts controlling which school districts will be open and which will be closed to development in 2006. The effect of the delay will leave large sections of the county - including the entire west and the northeastern school regions - closed to builders until the county resolves three issues, according to several council members.

After the team's season-opening win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens made a change in their depth chart, leapfrogging Dennis Pitta over Ed Dickson as the starting tight end. The promotion has played out on the field, where Pitta has garnered more playing time than Dickson. Pitta played 43 of 61 snaps, 50 of 69 and 42 of 72 in games against the Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, respectively. Over the same span, Dickson played 38, 40 and 39 snaps. Pitta has developed into quarterback Joe Flacco's favorite target.

There was no disputing that the Ravens' top three cornerbacks last season were starters Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams and top backup Jimmy Smith. The first cornerback off the bench after that trio was Danny Gorrer. Whether that scenario plays out this year is up in the air. Webb, Williams and Smith are back, but Corey Graham, a Pro Bowler for his prowess on special teams, was signed to a free-agent deal in March. A month later, the organization selected Asa Jackson in the fifth round of the NFL draft.