Discussions

The text messages were pinging to and from Gov. Martin O'Malley's BlackBerry. It was the latter part of October, and Election Day was just around the corner. He and top advisers traded messages that touched on three referendum questions, all approved by voters on Nov. 6: same-sex marriage, expanded gambling and new congressional districts. In another exchange, O'Malley asked an aide to see about getting $30,000 in ad money for a fellow Democratic candidate. The election wasn't their only discussion topic.

Chris Bohjalian's novel "The Sandcastle Girls" has many traditional elements of compelling fiction - people with secrets, shocking plot twists, compulsively likable characters and a rich love story. It also describes the 1915 mass killing of Armenians - "The Slaughter You Know Next to Nothing About," as one of the characters in his book calls it. Bohjalian, who is at work on his 17th book, was inspired to write this one by the story of his Armenian grandparents. The author will talk about the novel April 22 as part of the new Baltimore Sun Book Club (see details, Page 7)

Evan Washburn did double duty over the weekend, providing commentary during the NBC Sports Network's telecast of No. 3 Duke's 12-11 decision against Harvard Saturday night and then doing the same for the CBS Sports Network's broadcast of Army's 10-4 upset of No. 16 Colgate on Sunday. The former Delaware defenseman, who can be followed on Twitter via @EvanWashburn, will provide analysis during Friday night's annual showdown between No. 5 Maryland and Navy at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Analyst Paul Carcaterra was part of the ESPN team that provided coverage of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore last Saturday. The former Syracuse All-American midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @paulcarcaterra, will be part of the crew covering No. 14 Brown at No. 10 North Carolina on Wednesday night and No. 1 Maryland at No. 13 Virginia on Saturday. Carcaterra discussed parity in the sport, the new No. 1 team in some polls, and the team with the most wins in Division I. What was the lasting impression of this past weekend's results?

Friday's editions included a Q&A with North Carolina senior attackman Marcus Holman, a Baltimore native and Gilman graduate. Due to space constraints, here are some more answers that didn't make the cut: Who is the best teammate you've played with? I would have to say that [senior midfielder] Davey Emala is a great teammate. He's a guy that just likes to take care of business. He comes to work every day. I would also have to say that [sophomore attackman] Joey Sankey - in the two years that I've played with him - is another guy that you can always count on to make the right play and you can always count on him going 100 percent.

Legislation to strengthen violence prevention standards at health care facilities across the state has been withdrawn in the Senate - ending its chances for passage in Annapolis this session. Sen. Katherine Klausmeier, a Baltimore County Democrat and the bill's sponsor, said she submitted a withdrawal letter to the finance committee Monday after stakeholders representing nursing homes and assisted living facilities expressed concerns that it would not leave room for individualized approaches to dealing with violence in varying clinical environments.

When De'ontae Smith was fatally stabbed and two friends were injured three blocks from the route of the Ravens' Super Bowl victory parade, police initially said the celebration was unrelated to the violence. As it turned out, the teen had cut school to cheer on the team. Officials have since said they didn't know enough at the time to conclusively link the events. The Baltimore Sun wanted to know: How were various city agencies talking about the stabbing in the minutes and hours after it took place?

In Howard County, we are determined to provide an open forum of discussion on bullying so that no teen has to suffer in silence. With the Council's passage of Resolution 16-2013 designating Voices for Change Youth Coalition as the designated organization to facilitate discussion among youth coupled with the county's anti-bullying task force, we are already beginning to see progress.  For those not already aware, the students members of Voices for...

Sparrows Point's landowner turned down a Maryland Port Administration offer to use part of the property for containing dredge material, but both sides said Wednesday that it's not the final word. "We're not really taking this at all as a closed-door situation," said port spokesman Richard Scher, who said the rejection came last week. "This is part of negotiating, and we recognize that. " Scher said the port has a meeting next week with Environmental Liability Transfer, which owns the land and some of the buildings on the former steel-mill property.

Following a string of recent cases in which coaches used their positions to sexually abuse children, the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation says it is trying to help sports organizations better screen people who work with young athletes. The foundation has created an online resource that offers training for employees and volunteers. The site also directs sports organization leaders to a legal research website where they can search potential staff members' criminal histories at a minimal cost.