Discussions

Discussions continue between Advantage International, promoter of the LPGA Championship, and host site Bethesda Country Club on whether the club will play host to the event next year.Following the June tournament, the second year the championship had been at Bethesda, the word was that a decision would be made by the end of July regarding a contract for next year. It appears likely the event will return to Bethesda, but the issue is still under discussion."We sent a letter to Bethesda stating our intent and our concerns and I understand they are meeting to talk about it," tournament director Hal Seward said yesterday, speaking for Advantage.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough visited the Baltimore regional office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday to discuss efforts to address the agency's persistent backlog of veterans disability claims. The Baltimore office, which serves half a million veterans in Maryland, is among the nation's worst performers in processing claims, The Baltimore Sun has shown in a series of stories. McDonough's visit was not announced and was not open to reporters. McDonough met with managers in the office as well as employees who handle the claims processing.

It is not precisely true that Americans don't talk about race. Race informs our discussions of everything from crime to education to who got picked for American Idol. We talk race in the lunchroom with people who look like us, yell race at the television when irked by people who don't. We read race in our newspapers and magazines, then write race in letters and e-mails to editors. January rolls around and we celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. February sweeps in and we observe Black History Month.

Jason Collins' coming out received large media fanfare. Brittney Griner's was met with something close to a yawn. The debate over what caused the difference has been pretty public, with some pointing to sexism , others to the way heterosexual men react to gay men and one commentator noting that society doesn't perceive lesbian athletes to be playing against type in the same way it views gay male athletes. Addressed in all three perspectives is the widespread perception that lesbian athletes have an easier time being open about their sexuality on the court and in the locker room.

As another Orioles season ends Sunday at Camden Yards, team officials will enter the beginning stages of planned renovations to the 18-year-old stadium. Janet Marie Smith, the Orioles' vice president for planning and development, said discussions about Camden Yards enhancements are still in the "conceptual stage" and the team will likely meet with Maryland Stadium Authority officials in late October to go over the plans. "We've got some ideas that we are working on, and we're kind of getting them priced out," said Smith, who presided over the original design and construction of Camden Yards.

WESTOVER - Betsy Mueller rarely speaks up in her philosophy classes at Salisbury University. But there's one place she comes alive - surrounded by convicted felons at the state prison. "On the outside, I don't have a voice. But here, I've realized that to entertain discussions with inmates sparks the discovery that I do have things to say," the senior from Cockeysville said this week at the Eastern Correctional Institution. "It's been a breakthrough in my world." Mueller is one of 20 Salisbury students who belong to a most unusual book group - and one of the bolder town-gown ventures a college has ever tried.

It's been more than two decades since Warren J. Spector attended St. John's College in Annapolis, but the Wall Street banker can vividly recall the conversations the school inspired among students - some of them lasting well into the night. "One of the things that's unusual about St. John's is that it's a community - one that fosters a continual discussion," said Spector, a 1981 graduate who is president and co-chief operating officer of Bear, Stearns & Co. in New York. "You're in a classroom having a discussion, and then you leave, and you're still in it. Then, at 10 p.m., you go to the campus coffee shop, where everyone is still discussing."

This year's pick for One Maryland One Book, the statewide reading program, is "King Peggy," a tale about a Washington, D.C., woman who is unexpectedly chosen to be King of Otuam, a 7,000-person village in Ghana. Peggielene Bartels, a secretary, faced reluctant male elders and a host of other problems as she adjusted to her fairy tale role.  Arriving in Otuam, she finds that the "town has no running water, no doctor, and no high school; the king's palace is in ruins, and the town coffers are empty.

The tone of civic discussion shifted noticeably this week in the aftermath of the tragic attack at the Boston Marathon, an attack that narrowly missed Harford County participants in the storied footrace. Discussions and name-calling relating to the usual public policy discussions has been taking a back seat to a shared sentiment across the American spectrum of viewpoints that such mindless and cowardly acts of violence have no place our society, be they the actions of intruders or violent homegrown terrorists.

Mobil Oil Corp. said yesterday that although it had discussed trading U.S. chicken legs for Russian oil, the discussions had ended.Mobil had declined to comment for a story about the negotiations that appeared in Wednesday's editions of The Sun. But the company said it was no longer considering the deal because it had been unable to reach an agreement with the Russians.John Lord, a spokesman for the Fairfax, Va.-based oil company, said that Mobil continues to "hold discussions for a variety of projects" involving oil in the former Soviet Union.

Late Ravens owner Art Modell might face an easier path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame if the museum follows through on tentative discussions of putting "contributors" in a different voting pool than players. Modell, who brought pro football back to Baltimore, made a list of 15 finalists for the 2013 class, the first time he had gotten that far in the voting since 2001. Modell's death last September at age 87 seemed to spur a reconsideration of his candidacy, which has always been divisive because he moved his franchise from Cleveland.

Tear it down. Fix it up. Keep it here. Move it there. Many at Pimlico Race Course Saturday, from celebrated trainers to $2 bettors, offered thoughts of what to do with Old Hilltop, the methuselan home of the 138 t h Preakness Stakes. The Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the track, has agreed to renovate both Pimlico and Laurel Park with a share of the state's slots revenue - an estimated $112 million in matching funds, if the organization ponies up the equivalent.

John Rzeznik, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls, should know a thing or two about wedding songs. He wrote the inescapable hit "Iris" in 1998, which plenty of newly married couples have played for their first dance, including, most famously, singer Avril Lavigne in 2006. And yet, for his own upcoming wedding in July, Rzeznik has no clue what song he and his fiance, Melina Gallo, will dance to. "I'm just happy that I'm getting married. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm still a guy," Rzeznik said from his Los Angeles home recently.

ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra provided color commentary for fifth-seeded North Carolina's 16-7 rout of Lehigh and Cornell's 16-8 upset of sixth-seeded Maryland in a pair of NCAA tournament first-round contests this past weekend. The former Syracuse All-American midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @paulcarcaterra, will be part of the crew covering Saturday's quarterfinals in College Park and Sunday's quarterfinals in Indianapolis. Carcaterra offered his perspective on results that impressed and surprised him, concerns for the top two seeded teams and the most interesting quarterfinal.

The Orioles bounced back from a 6-0 deficit to win, 9-6, in 10 innings Friday night against the Minnesota Twins. Among the highlights was Jim Johnson breaking Randy Myers' club record with his 35th consecutive regular-season save (dating back to last year). Here's some of the postgame chatter from the clubhouse: Johnson on his record-setting 35 th consecutive save: “I wasn't thinking about it obviously. I was just thinking about watching us chip away. I thought it was a great team win. Everybody kind of chipped in. … Good effort out of the bullpen, guys had great at-bats and we ended up pulling it out.” Johnson on whether breaking Myers consecutive saves' record means something special: “It's not really anything I'm focused on. It's great, but our ultimate goal is our team record at the end of the year and going further than that.

When Jill Smokler - more widely known as Scary Mommy - starts talking about motherhood, you'll hear a lot about sleepless nights, green snot and having kids walk into the master bedroom at the most inopportune times. Does she think her children are amazing and love them to death? Definitely. But mothering them didn't come naturally. As she says in her new book, "Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)," what does come naturally is "Food. Sleep. Comfort. Privacy.

I'm writing in response to the opinion article titled "Death: Let's talk about it" (editorial, Dec. 29). While I agree with the point made that having discussions and making plans regarding actions to be taken or not taken at the end or near end of one's life are important, I differ in opinion as to who should be involved in those discussions and plans. Such discussions and decisions should be between family and, if wanted by the individual, physician and attorney. The federal government is not needed and should not be involved in such matters and should have no justification to dictate or mandate what should be the ultimate personal decision.

BALTIMORE Discussions planned today, tomorrow on book `Holes' Discussions are planned across the city this month for Baltimore's 2005 book selection, Holes by Louis Sachar. Organized by the city's Department of Recreation and Parks and the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the discussions aim to encourage Baltimore youth to continue reading during the summer. The next discussion is set for 2 p.m. today at the Mount Royal Recreation Center, 120 W. Mosher St. Another discussion on the book is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Curtis Bay Recreation Center, 1630 Filbert St. BALTIMORE Planning panel hearing set on Mount Vernon renewal The Baltimore Planning Commission will consider the controversial Mount Vernon urban renewal plan at a public hearing tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Waxter Center for Senior Citizens, 100 Cathedral St. The goal of the plan is to encourage development in Mount Vernon, a historic neighborhood centered around the Washington Monument.

Jim Siedliski is the Big East associate commissioner. He is also the chair of the NCAA selection committee, succeeding former Johns Hopkins and Towson coach Tony Seaman. Siedliski, VMI coach Brian Anken, Ohio State senior associate athletic director Heather Lyke Catalano, Hartford associate athletic director Ellen Crandall and Fairfield athletic director Gene Doris were charged with filling out the 16-team field for the upcoming NCAA tournament. Siedliski addressed the rationale behind awarding the top seed to Syracuse, the deliberations over inviting Duke, Penn State and Loyola instead of Bucknell, Penn and Princeton, and the reasoning involved in leaving Johns Hopkins out of the field for the first time since 1971.

The necessity of a two-income family today often leaves parents scrambling for child care and juggling countless responsibilities. It is no wonder that young parents today may feel overwhelmed. There is good news, though, and a place to go to find some much-needed guidance. Jewish Community Services is offering a new parent discussion series that addresses some of the challenges of parenthood. These groups are free and open to the public once a month on Tuesdays, meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center at 3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue.