Column

Rashod D. Ollison's pop music column does not appear this week.

It's Armed Forces Day dear readers. Saturday is also the running of the 137th Preakness, part of the Triple Crown. After the Kentucky Derby, now Maryland gets to shine. Lots of hoopla and black-eyed Susans will be the fare at the Pimlico Racetrack. Regretfully, Havre de Grace lost out of this and many other races, when the famous Havre de Grace Racetrack, nicknamed "The Graw" on Old Bay Lane, closed in 1950, and its races were transferred to Pimlico. Much of our ol' racetrack still stands on the grounds of the Maryland National Guard.

Although I look forward to the upcoming calendar of outdoors and recreation events, I will miss Candus Thomson 's "Outdoors Girl" column, whose final publish date was Sunday, Aug. 14. In a sports page full of male writers covering male-dominated team sports, Outdoors Girl gave me the breath of fresh air I need as an active woman who would rather be in the woods than in the gym. I only hope that the end of this column will not mean the...

Last week we talked about the binder of Aberdeen police history donated by retired First Sgt. James Testerman to be included in the Aberdeen Room Archives and Museum. The history is long and illustrious, so we will continue this week. As we said previously, the police department moved to the building that housed the Aberdeen Fire Department in the 1960s. When Aberdeen Fire House 1 was completed in 1974, and the fire department moved from the corner of North Parke Street and West Bel Air Avenue, the police department was able to expand, and was renovated.

As a serious article, Marta Mossburg's column is a failure ("Driven to distraction: After hand-held cell phones, what will they ban next?" April 13). As a spoof, the column is a failure. There were too many extreme statements to take the article seriously, but just enough truth to make one wonder if it should be taken seriously. True, the date of April 13, 2012, is a tip-off...or is it a typo? What in the world was this column all about? Obviously not everything in the article could be true.

Candy Thomson's Outdoors column is one of the best features of the Sun. I look forward to reading it, and find it to be a valuable, educational resource for the community. There are plenty of news sources for national, state, and "sports news," but I subscribe to the Sun for the local news coverage. Candy's Outdoors column is an important part of that local coverage, and is unique to the Sun. At a time when the reading public is ever more focused on Maryland's natural resources, how could the Sun cancel such a needed source of information on this topic?

I believe the Baltimore Sun made a grave mistake by canceling Outdoors Girl Candus Thomson 's column. As president of the Maryland Watermen's Association, I often locked horns with Candus, but I always felt that she showed both sides of an issue and was always fair, and even though a bit controversial, it was good for the public and paper sales. The thousands of recreational and commercial fishermen, hunters and outdoorsmen and women in the state need her column, or one like it, to represent their interests.

I want to congratulate The Baltimore Sun on its steady capitulation to the paranoid conservative segment of our population - the righties who accuse any publication or broadcast of liberal bias simply because they allow a cross-section of viewpoints. The latest in this surrender to the right is the bringing on-board of former Maryland Gov.Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.as a columnist ("Ehrlich and The Sun: Once enemies, now partners," Jan. 29). Wouldn't it seem more fitting to replace the late Ron Smith with someone from the center instead of the right, another libertarian, perhaps?

Former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who had a tumultuous relationship with The Baltimore Sun while in office, will now contribute regularly to its pages, writing a column focused on national politics. Ehrlich, who was Maryland's governor from 2003 to 2007, said the weekly op-ed column will offer an outlet for his writing as well as a platform to reach a broader audience. The column will appear Sundays, starting Jan. 29. "I think both sides had to think very long and hard" about the arrangement, said Ehrlich, who acknowledged that close advisers expressed mixed reactions, given his strained history with the newspaper.

It's Armed Forces Day dear readers. Saturday is also the running of the 137th Preakness, part of the Triple Crown. After the Kentucky Derby, now Maryland gets to shine. Lots of hoopla and black-eyed Susans will be the fare at the Pimlico Racetrack. Regretfully, Havre de Grace lost out of this and many other races, when the famous Havre de Grace Racetrack, nicknamed "The Graw" on Old Bay Lane, closed in 1950, and its races were transferred to Pimlico. Much of our ol' racetrack still stands on the grounds of the Maryland National Guard.

Unless you want a fight to break out at a cocktail party or a family reunion, conventional wisdom has it, don't talk religion or politics. I did both in this space last Monday, and then I crawled in a bunker and waited for the fireworks to begin. "Be prepared," my editor warned. "The long knives will come out. " "There's going to be a cross burning in your front yard," a friend warned; another asked if I had hired bodyguards. In that column, I talked of how difficult it was to be a Catholic woman these days, what with the church fathers taking up the cudgel against American nuns, not to mention the odd teacher struggling to get pregnant or the heartbroken teenage girl dumped by a guy on the eve of her prom.

When the Maryland Court of Appeals issued its disheartening ruling declaring pit bulls "inherently dangerous," I was pleased to see that there were those who thought the issue wasn't that simple. So you can imagine my consternation, disappointment and anger when I read Dan Rodricks ' column on the subject ("Pit bulls: Own them at your own risk," May 1). Mr. Rodricks' column is not only misguided and reductive but clearly shows a lack of good journalism in its failure to investigate the claims he makes.

We'll say this much: Trevor Pryce is an interesting fellow. The former Ravens defensive lineman penned a column for The New York Times this weekend , the point of which was to say that being retired at age 37 is boring. This is no doubt a fascinating piece of work. No less than Jason Whitlock, the Fox columnist who revels in his belief that he tells all of the most difficult truths, gave it a shout out on Twitter. And it's true that Pryce gives us a very vivid idea of what happens when the games are gone.

As copy desks gradually pass into history at the hands of sharp-pencil corporate functionaries who do not believe in editing, let us spare a moment to rescue from You Don't Say 's archives a handful of the heroic moments of the craft.     GREAT MOMENTS IN COPY DESK HISTORY I   On an otherwise uneventful evening in May 1982, the copy desk at The Cincinnati Enquirer was at work on the first edition. Webb Matthews was following the wire services.

Some things I've been wondering about: When willRobert L. Ehrlich Jr.write a coherent column without offending even the widow of the late Ron Smith? What is the difference between asking a bunch of questions and writing a thoughtful column? Does Robert Ehrlich wonder why he was a one-term governor? Paul Douglas, Reisterstown

Regarding Dan Rodricks ' column on the problems created on the Anne Arundel County Council "when its only black member went off to federal prison for failing to file a tax return" ("An embarrassing deadlock in Arundel," Feb. 26). Let's get the facts straight: It was not just one year's tax return, it was multiple years of tax returns. Why does Mr. Rodricks attempt to minimize the seriousness of the crime or gloss over it? Also, isn't the issue who is best qualified the fill the vacancy, not whether he is white or African-American but who will do the best job for the constituents?

Re: Ending Candy Thomson's outdoor column. I cannot believe how shortsighted the Baltimore Sun is to end Candy's column and blog. Her column was essential reading for those who care about our incredible natural resources. She shined light on those who broke the law and abused the bay's bounty, and held elected officials accountable for their stewardship (or lack thereof). Her column educated, inspired and amused. How could you take that away? John Surrick, Annapolis

Peter Morici's piece "Obama's faith in liberalism" (Feb. 21) was written in such a way that the reader could easily have inserted the words liberal or conservative, left or right, etc., in various places in the text and it would still be intelligible. One example: "Liberal/conservative policies are based more on faith than reason. " Later he says that such policies have "little foundation in facts or modern economics. " Facts or economics? Mr. Morici unfairly reduces Obama's understanding of the financial crisis to the idea that it was caused by "lack of regulation" - then goes on for five paragraphs to explain his point of view.

I feel compelled to write a response to Pete Pichaske's Feb. 9 column entitled "Counting down the days until Wegmania finally arrives in Columbia. " I was drawn to the article because of my interest in learning about the opening of Wegmans in Columbia. However, when I came upon the seventh paragraph, I was amazed at what appeared to be an insensitive comment which stated, "Of course, that was Prince George's County, long considered the ugly stepsister of the Washington area, a county hungry for anything upscale and trendy.