Courier

The loss of computer tapes containing personal information on more than 135,000 Johns Hopkins employees and patients - the data possibly tossed in a trash bin - is spurring consumer protection bills in Annapolis, including one to force prompt disclosure of such breaches. "Every time you see a corporation or any organization lose data, it's going to strengthen the hand of those of us who say we need better protections for consumers," said Del. S. Saqib Ali, a Montgomery County Democrat and former software engineer who has sponsored several bills dealing with the issue.

WIMBLEDON, England -- They were coming to the end of their epic match, Jim Courier fading, Tim Henman lunging, Wimbledon coming to life yesterday as the rain clouds parted and the stars went back to play.For 4 hours and 30 minutes, in a tug of war that stretched over three days of sun, rain and wind, they had slugged it out, exposing their frailties and their hearts, reminding everyone why Centre Court remains the great tennis stage.And when it ended, there was Henman at the net, slamming a forehand volley off the scarred grass, the ball bouncing harmlessly away from Courier and the crowd roaring for the last British hope, roaring for an improbable Henman triumph, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7)

A courier for a notorious Bulgarian counterfeiting ring was sentenced yesterday to eight months in federal prison for bringing nearly $63,000 in phony $100 bills to Maryland.The bills are believed to have been printed on a secret offset press somewhere in Bulgaria, home to one of the world's largest counterfeiting operations, U.S. Secret Service agents said. More than $3.5 million of the counterfeit U.S. bills suspected to have been made there have surfaced around the world.Valeri Gueorguiev, 37, who carried counterfeit money in Maryland and elsewhere for the ring, apologized for what he had done at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

WASHINGTON -- Another thunderstorm rolled through the William H. G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, disrupting the Legg Mason Tennis Classic for the second time in three days last night, but this time play was able to resume and two-time defending champion Michael Chang advanced to the quarterfinals with an easy victory.The rain delay of 1 hour and 30 minutes was actually longer than Chang's third-round match. The No. 1 seed needed just an hour and eight minutes to dispatch Martin Damm, 6-4, 6-1."

The year of the journalistic mea culpa hit yet another low last night when Don Hewitt, the esteemed executive producer of "60 Minutes," went on air to apologize for a phony report.In 30 years, it was the first time Hewitt, the man who invented the TV newsmagazine genre, appeared in such a role on screen. And, while the transgression for which he apologized is worrisome enough, even more troubling is what it says about the effect of competitive pressure on television journalism in this era of wall-to-wall newsmagazines.

WASHINGTON -- Jim Courier, his red hair covered by a white hat, his lanky body clothed in sweat-drenched whites, looked like a dish towel searching for a dryer yesterday afternoon on the Stadium Court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.The former world No. 1 player, who last week anchored the United States' Davis Cup victory over Belgium, could be forgiven if he wondered what had possessed him to ask for a wild card into this tournament that was being played under a scorching July sun that raised temperatures on the court to well over 104 degrees.

A courier for Homestead Publishing Co. died yesterday when his station wagon was hit head-on while he was making deliveries near Aberdeen, state police said.Charles J. Bowman, 66, of Upper Falls was traveling west on Route 156-Aldino Road shortly after 11 a.m. when a car crossed the center line and struck his car, state police said. The driver of the other car, Tracey L. Smith, 25, of Aberdeen, was not injured, police said.Bowman worked part time for the past four years for Homestead, which publishes the Aegis and is owned by Times Mirror Co., publishers of The Sun. "He was very gregarious, joked around, and people liked him a lot," said John F. Patinella, president of Homestead.

PARIS -- For many years Jim Courier has carried the dusty standard for American men around the clay courts of Europe. He has been sliding across baselines and wiping grit from his eyes for a decade with only occasional help from Michael Chang, who, like Courier, has won the French Open title.Courier has even learned French, a language that will serve him well as he makes airline reservations to wing his way back to Florida after losing in the first round of the French Open yesterday. Magnus Larsson of Sweden, ranked No. 39, defeated the 22nd-ranked Courier, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 6-4.Courier -- who won here in 1991 and 1992 and was the runner-up in 1993 -- had never lost in the first round at Roland Garros.

If you were driving north on the Jones Falls Expressway and spotted a man walking south along the shoulder, would you find it odd? Would you care? Would you pull over and ask if he needed help? If you had a cellular phone, would you report him to police?My answers to those questions are no, not too much, probably not and maybe. I've seen young men walking along highways and, unless they appeared to be in distress, I never gave them a second thought.Two years ago, while traveling through New York state, I passed a man and woman holding a baby (with no vehicle in sight)

NEW YORK -- Opening Night had crackled with the long-awaited and highly anticipated commencement of The Comeback.Night 2 had a similar theme -- with former champions simultaneously beginning their 1995 U.S. Open runs only yards apart on the Stadium and Grandstand Courts. But Night 2 -- with Jim Courier and Mats Wilander the featured attractions -- couldn't come close to matching the sizzle of Monica Seles' evening."I wonder if we can sell our night-session tickets," a young woman wondered aloud, while noshing at the food court.

When most people travel, the last place they want to end up is in the hospital. For me, that's always where I'm headed. About once a month, I volunteer as a courier for the National Marrow Donor Program, transporting life-saving bone marrow or stem cells to transplant patients around the world. It's a joy to help, but it can also be exhausting. (Consider how much faster you would run to make a connecting flight if you were carrying much-needed blood instead of souvenirs.) My fiancee once joked that I wasn't happy if I wasn't on a train or plane once a week.

Baltimore County police arrested one man and were seeking at least one other after a courier for Dunbar Armored Inc. was assaulted and robbed as she carried a large sum of money to a bank in Overlea, police said. About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the armed 31-year-old officer was approaching the front door of Wachovia Bank in the 6800 block of Belair Road, carrying at least one deposit bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash, when she was struck in the face by an apparently unarmed man who grabbed the bag and fled toward a getaway car, said Cpl. Walter Pepper of the county police robbery squad.

The loss of computer tapes containing personal information on more than 135,000 Johns Hopkins employees and patients - the data possibly tossed in a trash bin - is spurring consumer protection bills in Annapolis, including one to force prompt disclosure of such breaches. "Every time you see a corporation or any organization lose data, it's going to strengthen the hand of those of us who say we need better protections for consumers," said Del. S. Saqib Ali, a Montgomery County Democrat and former software engineer who has sponsored several bills dealing with the issue.

The man from Ghana refused to reveal the contents of his stomach until he reached the hospital. There, faced with the prospect of an X-ray, he started to tell Maryland immigration authorities his death-defying tale. An emigre in the United States recruited Hopkins Appau back in Africa to swallow dozens of pellets filled with heroin. He boarded a plane, arrived in Baltimore and greeted his American bosses from his motherland -- a longtime Washington municipal employee and his immigrant wife living in a suburban townhouse.

Affectionately known as Pfoto or P born October 31,1961 to Barbara Miles and Joseph Gray in Baltimore, MD. Departed this life October 15,2006 at his residence after a brief illness. He was 45 years old. Paris decided to become a photographer during his sophomore year at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 1982. His original major was graphic design and illustration, but he always liked photography, so he decided to take classes, ultimately changing his major. He started his career at the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, the oldest black-owned newspaper in the country as an intern, later staying on fulltime as a staff photographer.

Before the matches began last night at Pam Shriver's 20th anniversary Mercantile Tennis Challenge, there was a difference of opinion among the four former world No. 1 players assembled at 1st Mariner Arena on how the games would be played. "For fun," said the Martinas, Navratilova and Hingis, who exhibited little humor in the set won by Hingis, 8-4. "Is there such a thing as an exhibition with John McEnroe?" said Jim Courier, who endured through McEnroe's antics in an 8-6 victory. "There is such a thing," McEnroe said.

A 27-year-old Coast Guardsman trained to intercept drug smugglers trying to enter the United States was sentenced yesterday to more than 17 1/2 years in prison for orchestrating a cocaine shipment through Baltimore-Washington International Airport. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr. also sentenced Wendy Bens of Boston to four years of supervised release for conspiracy to import cocaine and related drug and firearms charges. Bens could have received a sentence of up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Scott A. Hax, a manager for a family-owned courier business, died of brain cancer Oct. 9 at his Rosedale home. He was 37. Mr. Hax was born in Baltimore and raised on Hillburn Avenue in Hamilton. He was a 1984 graduate of Polytechnic Institute, and played fullback on its varsity football team. He attended what is now Towson University, and worked in the drafting department of Poole & Kent Co., mechanical contractors. He left in the late 1980s to work for R.A.H. Courier Inc. For several years, he worked for air cargo firms at Baltimore-Washington International Airport before returning in 2001 as a manager at R.A.H.

An armed courier shot and killed a would-be robber yesterday at a busy shopping center in Woodlawn during the lunch-hour rush, Baltimore County police said. The courier for a check-cashing service, making an unscheduled stop at Meadows Park Shopping Center at Security Boulevard and Woodlawn Drive, also was shot. However, it was unclear whether the robber shot him or if he injured himself, police said. The courier, an employee of A&B Check Cashing Co., was released from St. Agnes HealthCare yesterday afternoon, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman.

A courier for a notorious Bulgarian counterfeiting ring was sentenced yesterday to eight months in federal prison for bringing nearly $63,000 in phony $100 bills to Maryland.The bills are believed to have been printed on a secret offset press somewhere in Bulgaria, home to one of the world's largest counterfeiting operations, U.S. Secret Service agents said. More than $3.5 million of the counterfeit U.S. bills suspected to have been made there have surfaced around the world.Valeri Gueorguiev, 37, who carried counterfeit money in Maryland and elsewhere for the ring, apologized for what he had done at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.