Concern

When Mount St. Mary's travels to Homewood Field for Tuesday evening's showdown with No. 5 Johns Hopkins, the Mountaineers will be playing their fourth game in 11 days. But coach Tom Gravante said he is not worried about fatigue being a factor in the team's 1-2 record over this stretch. The players were given Sunday off after Saturday night's 13-5 loss to Towson, and Gravante said they looked refreshed at Monday morning's practice. “They looked recharged this morning,” he said Monday morning.

Federal education officials warned Wednesday of deep cuts to school systems such as Baltimore's if lawmakers fail to avert across-the-board spending reductions - leaving local schools uncertain how many teachers and programs they can retain next year. The U.S. Department of Education would be required to cut $1.3 billion in aid for poor and disabled students under the federal budget sequester set to take effect Friday. About $24 million of that aid would be cut from Maryland schools, threatening jobs and programs in Baltimore, Prince George's County and other jurisdictions that rely heavily on the funds.

A bipartisan group of governors expressed concern Saturday over the impact looming federal budget cuts will have on their states but had few ideas for how to break the latest fiscal impasse gripping Congress. Most of the nation's governors, including Maryland's Martin O'Malley, are in Washington attending a meeting of the National Governors Association - an annual gathering that this year happens to fall just days before $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending reductions are set to begin.

The raw-food movement has grown in popularity among pet owners for a few years now, with people eschewing commercially produced food in favor of raw meats, vegetables, bones, and fruits for their furry family members. But a new study in the Journal of American Science says the same raw diet that works for zoo animals simply isn't enough for domesticated cats. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, in Omaha, Neb., published a new study last week that said cats, in particular, who eat a raw-food diet miss out on valuable nutrients and risk increased pathogens.

As a motorcyclist, I am always fascinated by the concerns of bicyclists as to helmets ("Helmet bills gets objections from bike advocates," Feb. 13). If you switched the mode of transportation, you would see the same arguments apply. Yet motorcyclists are not allowed the same opportunity afforded the others. We are required to wear helmets, period. Bicyclists are only required to wear them if they are under 16 years old. Both bicyclists and motorcyclists have to obey the laws that apply to all motor vehicles including speed limits, stop signs, yield signs or any other traffic control devices.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to make it easier for veterans and their spouses to work in Maryland received warm reviews Tuesday from lawmakers and the Defense Department, but nurses suggested it could leave patients in the hands of unqualified workers. Testifying on behalf of the Veterans Full Employment Act, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said easing the transition into the civilian workforce is part of a "sacred obligation" society has to veterans. A Department of Defense official praised the plan as among the most comprehensive in the nation, while Del. Susan W. Krebs, a Carroll County Republican, called it "probably one of the best bills we're going to pass this year.

Dr. Ben Carson says he didn't anticipate the reaction to what he considered his common-sense remarks as keynote speaker this month at the National Prayer Breakfast. But after video went viral of the trailblazing black neurosurgeon taking jabs at Barack Obama's health care overhaul a few feet from the president himself, some want the famed doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to parlay the attention into a new career: politics. "Here you have this guy who has been a celebrity minority for 30 years coming out and making the conservative case better than a lot of conservatives can," said Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for National Review Online.

Loyola's quest to repeat as national champion begins with a road trip this Saturday to an opponent that has already played two games. Delaware is 1-1, following a season-opening 12-10 win against High Point with a 9-8 loss to No. 17 Bucknell. But more than the Blue Hens' record, Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey is leery about Delaware's head start. “The thing we're always concerned about when we open up with Delaware is that they've got a couple games under their belt,” he said Thursday morning.

Development of new hospital planned by I-95 in Havre de Grace could be pushed farther into the future because of the uncertainty over federal health care mandates, the hospital company's chief executive said Thursday. Lyle Sheldon, president and CEO of Upper Chesapeake Health, told members of the Havre de Grace Chamber of Commerce the timing of the hospital's development will be influenced by such issues as federal insurance reimbursement rates and whether state regulatory officials determine the project is economically viable.

As Carroll County's largest employer, Carroll County Public Schools should be considered a good investment, according to Superintendent Steve Guthriet. During a Tuesday, Feb. 5, budget hearing and forum, one of several scheduled to be held around the county, Guthrie outlined the various issues facing the school system and stressed that the system was an excellent investment. "It is valuable to Carroll County as an entity," Guthrie said to the 75 people gathered in South Carroll High School's auditorium for the evening session.