Faster

The debate over regulating hunting in Howard might not be over, despite passage of a County Council bill revising the rules. The council rejected proposals to require advance notice of hunting and to prohibit shooting toward playgrounds or recreation fields, but those elements could return as new legislation, said Chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, sponsor of the amendments. The council also revived and approved a separate bill last week meant to encourage faster construction of below-market priced homes for limited income families.

Arecent report from the Abell Foundation finds that housing for low-income families in Baltimore is being torn down by the city's housing authority a lot faster than any replacements are being put up. City housing officials challenge the report's conclusions and insist that reduced funding, particularly from the federal government, has limited their options. The federal government's disinvestment in public housing is clear - and should be reversed. But the city should do more - and do it faster - to create more livable spaces for the city's poor and working poor.

The psychology of soccer is sometimes as important as the skills, strategy and individual matchups.An example of the importance of the mental aspect was No. 1-ranked River Hill's 14th straight victory yesterday.After playing a dominant but scoreless first half in which the Hawks held 10th-ranked Wilde Lake to one shot while hitting two crossbars and one upper post, River Hill had to battle its own complacency in the second half before achieving a 3-1 victory."I'd like us to be more focused than we were today because then we play faster and crisper," River Hill coach Bill Stara said.

Maryland's U.S. senators and a congressman laud Gov. Parris N. Glendening in a new television commercial airing in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore, courtesy of the state's Democratic Party.What the ad says: Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes introduces Glendening as a decisive leader who moved to protect the Chesapeake Bay after last year's outbreak of a fish-killing microbe. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski calls the Democratic governor "a fighter" who created the "toughest standards in the nation" for public schools, and Rep. Albert R. Wynn of Prince George's County says the state gained 150,000 jobs during Glendening's tenure.

Editor's note: A little boy wishes that he could whistle, and finally figures it out.Oh, how Peter wished he could whistle!He saw a boy playing with his dog. Whenever the boy whistled, the dog ran straight to him.Peter tried and tried to whistle, but he couldn't. So instead he began to turn himself around - around and around he whirled ...faster and faster ...When he stopped everything turneddown ...and up ...and up ...and down ...and aroundand around.Peter saw his dog, Willie, coming. Quick as a wink, he hid in an empty carton lying on the sidewalk.

Buying a PC is easy. Prices are lower than I've ever seen; machines are more powerful and (with rare exceptions) even the no-name machines work fairly reliably.Yet most folks strain and fret too much when getting ready to buy a PC. They study magazines, ask friends, consult psychics and hang out in computer stores. Truth is - until recently - you could do pretty well by deciding how much you can afford to spend on a PC, then shopping for the most powerful machine you can find in that price range.

As one progresses north at 50 mph - careful, not a smidgen faster - along the immaculately maintained Natchez Trace Parkway, beside densely wooded forests in southern Mississippi and over the rolling hills of Alabama and Tennessee, the primary sensation is serenity.Could there possibly be a more soothing travel experience? And is there any wonder that this 434.2-mile, two-lane connection between Natchez, Miss., and Nashville, Tenn. - introducing an ever-changing panorama of scenic, recreational and cultural treasures - was selected as one of the first six All-American roadways by the Department of Transportation?

INDIANAPOLIS -- You could see that Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller wanted so badly to leap for joy because, up to this point in the Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls, he had nothing to celebrate. Up until yesterday, Miller had been a no-show for the Pacers, a superstar being held firmly in the defensive pocket of Bulls guard Ron Harper.It took until the 12th quarter of the series, but Miller finally made his debut yesterday. And when he did, he exploded, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points on an injured right ankle to help lead the Pacers to a 107-105 victory over the Bulls at Market Square Arena.

From time to time, readers ask me why I don't have an online archive of past columns. Some even suggest that I put my old columns together in a book.While I appreciate the kind words, there's a good reason for not doing so. It would be too embarrassing.There's an old saying in this business that today's news is tomorrow's fish wrap, and nothing gets older faster than technology reporting. Take the little piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago on $1,000 computers.I described in detail what buyers could expect for a grand, and on the day I wrote it, I told the truth.

The Orioles' decision-makers are contemplating a series of changes, some for this season and some for next season. Apparently, they also have seen enough of the self-satisfied, underachieving team they put together.What the decision-makers should do in the coming months is clear.What they will do isn't.What they should do is stop playing solely for the present. Start looking to the future, too.No trade should be made unless it makes the club younger, faster and hungrier.If Roberto Alomar and/or Rafael Palmeiro and/or anyone else is traded, at least one top prospect should be included in the return package.

Last week's latest round of budget cuts, a hefty $454 million in reductions that included layoffs, furloughs, and hits to community colleges, health departments, road repair, public safety and local aid, has heightened the urgency to bring slot machines to Maryland as voters approved overwhelmingly last year. The national economic recession is shrinking state and local government faster - and perhaps more painfully - than expected. The potential hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue generated by slot machines would go a long way toward alleviating that discomfort.

THURSDAY THE FUNKY DIVAS OF COMEDY: Baltimore's Ayanna Dookie (who has an amusing Beyonce routine) hosts a night of serious funny peppered with serious attitude as dished out by "Funniest Mom in America" Meshelle, stand-up comedian Alycia Cooper (originally from Maryland, but currently working in Los Angeles) and D.C.-based stand-up comedian Erin Jackson. The jokes are on you at Magooby's Joke House, 9306 Harford Road in Parkville, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call 410-356-1010 or go to magoobys.

TURNBERRY, Scotland - - One year after the Royal and Ancient Golf Club boldly held a British Open with Tiger Woods 4,230 miles away - and somehow pulled it off - it's holding one with him present to the delight of most everybody, and Woods. Negotiating the callous crosswinds of Turnberry in 2009 trumps trying to get from one room to another in 2008. "My day consisted of trying to get from the bed to the couch and then from there back to the bed," Woods said Tuesday, recalling last year's week at Britain's Royal Birkdale club.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III was to be hospitalized overnight Saturday for observation after falling ill during a 10-mile charity run in Druid Hill Park in the morning. "At this point, it's just not looking like it's anything critical," police spokesman Anthony J. Guglielmi said Saturday afternoon, describing the overnight stay at Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a "standard 24-hour observation." Doctors performed unspecified medical tests and Guglielmi said "things look OK."

Maryland gasoline prices may not be as high as last summer, but they have risen faster than in any previous year. Since the beginning of the year, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Maryland has increased 63 percent to $2.58 - a steeper climb than last year's march to a record $4.05, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. The steady climb since the market bottomed out at $1.58 Jan. 2 has raised fears of a return to $3 or $4 gasoline. With gas prices up $1 per gallon since the beginning of the year, some Maryland families are feeling a pinch that even memories of last year's sky-high prices can't ease.

The debate over regulating hunting in Howard might not be over, despite passage of a County Council bill revising the rules. The council rejected proposals to require advance notice of hunting and to prohibit shooting toward playgrounds or recreation fields, but those elements could return as new legislation, said Chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, sponsor of the amendments. The council also revived and approved a separate bill last week meant to encourage faster construction of below-market priced homes for limited income families.

7 p.m. [Animal Planet] From the Yahoo description: "Examining lions that have taken to swimming in order to survive in the African wilderness of Botswana's Okavango Delta." If you're reading this, Michael Phelps, we sense a new training technique with lots of incentive to swim faster.

It's chilly by the pool in Dundalk. "Is it my imagination or has it been unseasonably low this August?" asks Lauren Zielski Paneto. "We loved swimming in July. ... But this whole month of August ... our pool sits useless 'cause the water is too cold!!'" My, you're a delicate thing. It's been cool - about a degree below the long-term August average, with 13 days so far below the norm. Radiational cooling on clear, dry nights might also be draining your pool's heat. So swim faster.

NEW YORK - Nine times out of 10, cutting costs makes sense. It's painless to go without an expensive lunch every day or to live without the latest and most up-to-date television or cell phone. But there are some purchases that you shouldn't cut back on. In fact, cutting back on these can do more harm than good. From Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money, consider these three occasions when you shouldn't cut back: *Car maintenance. If you ignore car maintenance, it will only come back to bite you. Follow your car manual and bring your car in for tune-ups at the recommended mileage.

Hometown -- Baltimore Members --William Cashion, bass; Samuel T. Herring, vocals; Garrit Welmers, synthesizer; Samuel Ortiz, drummer Founded in --2006 Style --new wave pop Influenced by --Aphex Twin, the Smiths, Liquid Liquid, Fleetwood Mac Notable --Though the band's first full-length album, Wave Like Home, has nine tracks, it's only 30 minutes long. It will be one of the first albums released on Wham City's new record label, Cashion said. Quotable --"I think we played the songs faster than we were used to playing," Cashion said.