Heat

ISSUE: A new requirement that Anne Arundel County police personnel cover up their tattoos - even if it forces bike patrol or animal control officers to don long sleeves, pants or turtlenecks in scorching heat - has the rank and file hot and bothered. The policy, among the strictest in the state, requires that all personnel, including volunteers, cover up visible tattoos when they are on duty. The aim of the policy shift is "to promote the uniformity of appearance ... to maintain neutrality ... to foster discipline and to encourage public confidence," according to a memo sent June 22 by Col. James E. Teare Sr., the police chief.

As far as I know, there is not an official beginning to the meatloaf season. But as soon as the weather gets cold, the wind gets raw and the sun goes down early, I get a hankering for this comforting food. Meatloaf can be made with veal or pork, but mainstream meatloaf, the kind I tasted recently, is made with good old ground beef, some chopped onions, egg and the products of the cook's imagination. It is a dish designed to fill you up, heat you up and send you back into the cold world with a warm glow.

My attic has natural ventilation. It has triangular vents at the top side walls of my home. How do I know whether I have enough attic ventilation? My attic gets so hot in the summer, you can barely breathe up there. It is impossible to stay up there more than a few minutes. How much soffit ventilation should I have? What is the best way to cool my attic naturally without any electric-powered fans? I applaud you for trying to ventilate your attic the old-fashioned way. But without moving large amounts of air in a short amount of time through your attic space, I doubt you will ever get its temperature cool enough to make it tolerable to spend much time there.

Exercising al fresco is one of the great pleasures of summertime. But heat waves and humidity can turn a refreshing long run into a sweat-drenched experiment in heat exhaustion. Overheating causes fatigue and dizziness. That's annoying enough. As internal temperatures rise above 100 degrees, athletes may experience cramps, headaches, nausea and vomiting. By the time core temperatures reach 104, the body rebels from hyperthermia. If the athlete keeps pushing and internal temperatures pass 104 degrees, the athlete risks "organ failure and death from heat stroke," says Dr. Aurelia Nattiv, professor in UCLA's Department of Family Medicine, Division of Sports Medicine.

This week's menusEach day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilySteak...

What's cooking? You are.The great July bake-off ended yesterday at 99 degrees at BWI -- 14 degrees higher than when the month began. In between were 21 days when temperatures were over 90.The month had only one record-breaking day -- 102 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on July 5 -- but July set a record for the number of days exceeding 90.Relief should arrive this afternoon, as a cold front sweeps down from the upper Midwest. Tomorrow through Thursday look even better, with highs in the 80s instead of the 90s, said John Margraf, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va."

Marguerite Greaver's three-story rowhouse in the 1800 block of W. Pratt St. lacks heat, has faulty wiring and a hole in a first-floor wall. Just a few minor problems, she says.Major problems, says the city. So officials have given Greaver, 78, until Tuesday to fix up the place or move out. They know she suffers from cancer and has little money.The officials are trying to help her relocate.Greaver, who is a widow, doesn't want to move from the house where she has lived since 1970, and which she says is paid for."

MY RECENT trip "down the ocean" was supposed to be relaxing. I anticipated introspective walks on the beach, visits to my favorite used bookstore, a cooling dip in the surf and lots of tennis. The reality was different.In years to come, I'll refer to this trip as the vacation of the plagues. There were three, starting with the heat. I've never been one to complain about hot, humid weather. It used to be that during July and August, while the rest of my family crowded under the beach umbrella I'd spread out my towel.

* Item: Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce* What you get: 10-ounce to 19-ounce cans* Cost: About $1.09 to $2* Preparation time: Varies with recipe* Review: In an effort to bring enchiladas onto our menus more -- especially now that flour and flavored tortillas are so popular -- Old El Paso has retooled its enchilada sauce with great results. The tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic, red pepper and other spices has some heat even in its mildest flavor (It comes in mild, medium and hot). But it wasn't overpowering enough to send me running for the antacid.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Don't ask Harrisburg defender Mike Williams what happened last night when he attempted to leave his end with the ball and the score tied at 10 with the Blast.One instant, Williams had control and was sizing up the field. The next, he was reaching with his foot. Nothing. Out of nowhere came Barry Stitz to relieve him of the ball.Slowly but surely Baltimore's steadiest player advanced on Heat goalie Doug Petras. He waited, waited and Petras committed. Good night.Stitz cuffed the ball into the goal, giving the Blast a 12-10 lead it held for the last 9: 17 of play.

Running back Ray Rice welcomed the heat and humidity to Ravens training camp at McDaniel College in Westminster with open arms. Temperatures reached the high 90s, and the heat index exceeded 100 Monday. "It's great to us, as a team, pushing through this stuff because these are when games are won in the fourth quarter," Rice said. "You're going to get these games where it's going to be tough. That's what training camp is for." While Rice was receptive, the weather took a toll on some of his teammates during Monday's practice.

The first Code Red heat alert of the summer on Monday proved no match for the record books - or for anybody who could find a little shade. The temperature rose to 94 degrees at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport at 3:16 in the afternoon, well short of the record of 100 degrees set in 1900. In the city, the temperature reached 97 degrees at the Maryland Science Center at 3 p.m. Cooler weather is expected later today. City schools officials closed numerous buildings at 11 a.m. Monday. Senior centers promoted their air-conditioning, but directors said they noticed little, if any, additional foot traffic.

With some of the highest temperatures of the summer predicted through Tuesday, Baltimore city's health department issued the year's first Code Red Heat Alert and announced Sunday that the city will open emergency cooling centers and provide free bus passes to help residents seek shelter from the heat. Interim Health Commissioner Olivia D. Farrow declared the alert after the National Weather Service forecast a potentially hazardous combination of high temperatures and humidity for the next two days.

A Baltimore summer seemed to last forever when I was a child. Things were so languid during July and much of August that many of the city's downtown department stores would close early on summer Saturday afternoons. It was that dead downtown. City noise quieted. If you rode a transit bus, you avoided the rear seats over the motor. They heated up, and air conditioning in transit vehicles was a distant dream. The movie houses, which promoted their cool air, had a corner on cool comfort.

The thought of trying to sweat in the heat and humidity can keep some people on the couch. Here are ways to make hot-weather workouts more appealing: * Pick a good time. Exercise in the early morning or evening, when temperatures are cooler. A recent study by London researchers showed people do best in the morning in hot conditions, because their core body temperature starts out lower. * ... and place. Look for shaded, grassy areas rather than hot pavement, especially if you work out midday.

Even when Mother Nature throws us for a loop - with, say, a string of 90-degree days in April - we can rely on the steady hand of bureaucracy. Or a bum valve. Or whatever it was that kept the heat on at a Mount Vernon senior citizens high-rise throughout this week's unseasonable heat wave, leaving hundreds of residents sweltering. "The heat's got to stay on until May 10 or May 15," said Joe Warren of United Presbyterian Ministries, which owns the 16-story Westminster House at 524 N. Charles St. He said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires heating systems in buildings with subsidized apartments to be kept operational until one of those dates.

After every three-pointer, every dunk and every block, LeBron James turned and glared at the Boston Celtics' bench. The message was clear: Not here. James made five three-pointers and scored 29 points before dancing in his seat, and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the NBA champions, 107-76, on Sunday to move within one win of matching the 1985-86 Celtics for the best home record in league history. At 39-1, the Cavaliers can tie Boston's mark against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

New Orleans is going back to the playoffs, thanks in large part to dramatic plays from Rasual Butler and David West. Butler hit a game-tying three-pointer with no time remaining in regulation, West hit the winning jumper with 8.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Hornets stunned the host Miami Heat, 93-87, on Tuesday night. Chris Paul finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Peja Stojakovic added 24 points for the Hornets (48-29), who not only clinched their postseason berth but also stayed thickly in the hunt for home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Howard's big night lifts Magic past Heat nba Dwight Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, passing Wilt Chamberlain as the youngest player to reach 5,000 rebounds, and the Magic kept its grip on the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the host Heat, 101-95, on Monday night. Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:32 remaining for Orlando (55-18), which stayed percentage points ahead of the Boston Celtics in the East. Dwyane Wade scored 42 points for the Heat (39-35)

The moment of truth arrived last week in a green-and-white envelope - a BGE bill. I opened the invoice slowly, then ran to consult last year's records. It was like opening a report card or a set of SAT scores. For the past 30 winters, I've lived in a drafty, 1870s Baltimore house where each room registers a different temperature. An upstairs bedroom would be Miami and one a flight down will feel like Garrett County. When my father visits, he wears heavy sweaters. Some friends say I have a tape recorder to emulate the sound of a furnace running.