Cure

As a retired educator, I read your article about growing student enrollments at area schools with keen interest ("Growing enrollments, aging schools, straitened finances," Aug. 23). In order to promote successful programs, increasing the tax base that supports public schools should be our number one priority if we are to guarantee our students the kind of education they will need in order to compete successfully with the rest of the world. Quinton D. Thompson, Towson

The number of Americans considered obese is expected to rise from the current 34 percent to 42 percent by the year 2030, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and discussed at Monday's "Weight of the Nation" conference in Washington. Diabetes, kidney failure, heart disease, and other obesity-related ailments account for countless premature deaths and as much as 18 percent of the $2.6 trillion national cost of medical care. The leading causes of obesity are consumption of fat-laden meat and dairy products and lack of exercise.

As the sun rose Sunday on the 19th Komen Maryland Race for the Cure, it illuminated a makeshift city nearly the size of Annapolis, all decked out in shades of pink ranging from the palest pastel to the hottest hue. And for one day, everyone looked fabulous in it. Cherub-cheeked toddlers. White-haired grandfathers. Rambunctious teenaged girls. Beefy men with hairy legs. "We are a community. We all have something in common," said all-in-pink Susan Willingham of Baltimore as she bounced up and down trying to stay warm.

As Baltimoreans watch gas prices soar above $4, it's worth asking: why don't we have a better public transportation system? Do we lack the imagination? In decades past, we had the imagination to fund and build our port, our tunnels and bridges, and what is now BWI Thurgood Marshall airport. They're vital everyday elements of life in Maryland now, but they took conviction at the time to build. Today, our legislators need a similar conviction to fund and build the east-west Red Line transit project.

Maryland's leg of the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, held Oct. 18 in Hunt Valley, reached its $3 million goal, the local affiliate announced this week. The final tally shows the event drew 29,000 participants, 2,000 survivors and 1,000 volunteers. More than 75 percent of the money raised stays in Maryland to finance local research programs and assist breast cancer patients. The remaining money goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure headquarters in Dallas, where it assists in national research projects, many of which take place at Maryland's top medical institutions.

An increasing body of evidence suggests that walking can cure what ails you.A Finnish study last year, significant for the large number of people who participated (16,000), showed that those who take as few as six brisk, 30-minute walks a month have a 43 percent lower risk of premature death than non-exercisers and a 29 percent lower risk than occasional exercisers.Until the 1970s, doctors and therapists commonly treated chronic back pain with bed rest. Then studies showed that being a full-time couch potato was less likely to cure patients than to make them one with the couch.

Today is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure: One-mile "fun" walk for all begins at 8:30 a.m. near Rash Field at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, followed by 5K walk/run for women at 8:40 a.m. A 5K walk/run for all begins at 9:25 a.m. Forms available at 6:30 a.m. Fee: $25. Call: 410-433-7223.Pub Date: 10/04/98

David Berdan likes the Komen Maryland Race for the Cure so much, he'll do it twice Sunday, once as the two-time defending champion of the Hunt Valley event and later as a family man whose loved ones have suffered from breast cancer . Before the race, Berdan, 30, said: "If I win again, awesome, because then I'll be interviewed and can talk about the campaign to end this disease. " In fact, the science teacher and cross-county coach at Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills did win again, topping the men's division Sunday morning.

"China is lifting a million people a month out of poverty." It is just one statement in an interesting new book titled The Undercover Economist, by Tim Harford. But it has huge implications. I haven't checked out the statistics, but they sound reasonable. If so, this is something worth everyone's attention. People on the political left make a lot of noise about poverty and advocate all sorts of programs and policies to reduce it, but they show incredibly little interest in how poverty has actually been reduced, whether in China or anywhere else.

A group of East Baltimore churches were there to let their communities know there is a "CURE" for the problems that trouble the city's streets.Clergy United for Renewal in East Baltimore, better known by its acronym CURE, attracted more than 3,000 churchgoers yesterday afternoon to the Eastside District Court Building at North Avenue and Harford Road, where they demonstrated with signs and speeches that they believe religion is the way to rid the streets of...

Few organizations have done more for women's healththan both Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading supporter of breast-cancer treatment and research, and Planned Parenthood, the country's top reproductive health care provider and advocate. To see the two organizations now at war is not only upsetting to many women's health supporters but all the more tragic because it's so unnecessary. The most charitable interpretation of events would suggest that Komen was duped by anti-abortion advocates into cutting off support for breast exams at Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country.

Nobody wants to hear about perspective at a time like this. It's just too soon. The disappointment is too raw. The Ravens will be watching the New England Patriots represent the AFC in the Super Bowl even though Joe Flacco outplayed Tom Brady and – for a split second – Lee Evans had his arms around the game-winning touchdown. This one's going to hurt for awhile. Just ask Billy Cundiff, who missed a short field goal in the final seconds that would have kept hope alive. There isn't going to be a Super Harbaugh Bowl in the backyard of the evil Indianapolis Colts or a rematch of the 2001 Super Bowl that has been the Ravens' calling card for too many years now. Owner Steve Bisciotti will to have to wait at least another 12 months to light up a big fat cigar and hoist his very own Lombardi Trophy.

Pete Horrigan's letter laments the impact of the gas tax increase on Maryland families, but reading between the lines it is clear that the impact of the tax on oil companies is what really concerns Mr. Horrigan, who is president of the Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association ("Maryland gas tax increase should be a nonstarter," Nov. 2). If the price of gas goes up, oil companies worry consumers will continue to downsize and switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles and electric cars.

Dr. Lewis B. Newberg, a retired ear, nose and throat specialist who turned his personal battle with sleep apnea and snoring into a book in which he combined humor and practical medical advice for those similarly afflicted, died Oct. 22 of heart failure at his Edgewater home. He was 72. The son of a businessman and a homemaker, Dr. Newberg was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Jamaica, N.Y., where he was a graduate of public schools. After earning a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he earned his medical degree in 1964 from the Chicago Medical School.

Dr. Lewis B. Newberg, a retired ear, nose and throat specialist who turned his personal battle with sleep apnea and snoring into a book in which he combined humor and practical medical advice for those similarly afflicted, died Oct. 22 of heart failure at his Edgewater home. He was 72. The son of a businessman and a homemaker, Dr. Newberg was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Jamaica, N.Y., where he was a graduate of public schools. After earning a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he earned his medical degree in 1964 from the old Chicago Medical School.

As the sun rose Sunday on the 19th Komen Maryland Race for the Cure, it illuminated a makeshift city nearly the size of Annapolis, all decked out in shades of pink ranging from the palest pastel to the hottest hue. And for one day, everyone looked fabulous in it. Cherub-cheeked toddlers. White-haired grandfathers. Rambunctious teenaged girls. Beefy men with hairy legs. "We are a community. We all have something in common," said all-in-pink Susan Willingham of Baltimore as she bounced up and down trying to stay warm.

Despite rain and dreary skies, about 10,000 people walked and ran through downtown Baltimore yesterday, raising $550,000 to help find a cure for breast cancer."

EVERY DAY, 23-month-old Sean Michels must have two insulin injections and have his finger pricked with a needle several times to test his blood glucose. Sean has juvenile diabetes.Sharon and Timothy Michels give their son the shots and tests, hoping against all hope that a cure will be found for his disease. ''It was the most devastating thing we could imagine,'' says Sharon, 33, a homemaker. Timothy is an attorney with the Stephen L. Miles firm. They have two other children, daughters Jennifer, 3 1/2 , and Caitlin, 4 months.

David Berdan likes the Komen Maryland Race for the Cure so much, he'll do it twice Sunday, once as the two-time defending champion of the Hunt Valley event and later as a family man whose loved ones have suffered from breast cancer . Before the race, Berdan, 30, said: "If I win again, awesome, because then I'll be interviewed and can talk about the campaign to end this disease. " In fact, the science teacher and cross-county coach at Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills did win again, topping the men's division Sunday morning.

Everything you need to know about what's going on this week. MOVIES OPENING (Friday; subject to change) Johnny English Reborn The Mighty Macs  Paranormal Activity 3 The Three Musketeers NOTABLE TV MONDAY Talking Dead (series debut; midnight; AMC) The Lying Game (mid-season finale; 8 p.m.; ABC Family) Sin by Silence (special; 8 p.m.; ID) The A-List: New York: Reunion, Part 2 (special; 9 p.m.; Logo) We Have Your Husband (telefilm; 9 p.m.; Lifetime)