Helicopter

The Sun's editorial on the rescue of a deer from the Patapsco River was so one-sided and closed-minded, I couldn't believe it ("Oh, deer!" Dec. 21). Whatever happened to compassion for living creatures? Instead, The Sun upheld the fines given to the two men who decided to rescue a deer stuck in the ice — unlike the people whose job it was to do this. I feel the Department of Natural Resources could have made more of an effort, particularly seeing how a pair of deer were rescued in Minnesota.

William M. "Pops" Palmer Jr., a retired career Marine Corps officer and Vietnam veteran who later became a commercial pilot and educator, died Tuesday at his Sykesville home of complications after colon surgery. He was 65. William Merrill Palmer Jr., the son of an insurance salesman and a Stewart's department store manager, was born in Baltimore and raised in Arbutus. He was a 1963 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and began his college studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology before being appointed to the Naval Academy.

Gov. Martin O'Malley ponied up about $10,000 for a campaign trail recreational vehicle and $1,189 for Amtrak trips. Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. doled out about $20,000 for a fashion show that doubled as a gubernatorial fundraiser and $3,000 for helicopter travel. Those items are among nearly $10 million in expenses for the two leading candidates for governor, documented in their final pre-election campaign finance reports made public over the weekend. Ehrlich, a Republican, reported spending about $3.5 million; O'Malley, a Democrat, about $5.8 million.

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $72 million contract Wednesday to purchase six new helicopters — larger and faster than those the state police now fly — to begin the replacement of the state's emergency medical fleet. The three-member board unanimously ratified the contract with Agusta Aerospace Corp. of Philadelphia, the only company among four manufacturers that submitted a final bid. The contract includes an option for the state to acquire up to six more AW139 helicopters at the same price of $11.7 million each, plus an inflation adjustment.

Members of the lacrosse community recalled the former Naval Academy player killed in Afghanistan this week as a tough player who, with his teammate brothers, was a respected competitor. Brendan Looney, 29, a Silver Spring native, was among nine U.S. military personnel killed in a helicopter crash Tuesday in southern Afghanistan. He was a lieutenant in the Navy SEALs and a 2004 Naval Academy graduate, according to the Military Times website. "When you played the Naval Academy, you always felt the presence of the Looneys on the field," said former University of Maryland men's lacrosse coach Dave Cottle, who lives in Edgewater.

Your article, "Did Delegate pay enough for helicopter stunt?" (April 30) shows how government tries to cover up the true cost of an immature stunt, at the expense of the taxpayer. Del. Jon Cardin's use of the police for his stunt clearly shows he is not able to decide what is morally right. He continues today to refuse to state who the friend of a friend is who set it up and refuses to state who was with him. As a former police officer, I don't think some civilian friend arranged this stunt.

Maybe Jon S. Cardin should demand a refund. Or maybe Baltimore should ask him for more money. It all depends on how you determine the cost of using a police boat and helicopter for last August's mock raid staged to help the state delegate from Baltimore County propose to his girlfriend. Yes, the ill-advised stunt in which cops stormed a boat and pretended to arrest his girlfriend, only to hand her an engagement ring, robbed citizens of valuable police resources and was arguably an abuse of power.

A crash on the eastbound William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge blocked traffic this morning, WBAL radio reports,. A Medevac helicopter landed to facilitate a hospital trip, the station reported. The bridge is now open.

- A medical helicopter crashed in stormy weather over western Tennessee early Thursday, killing its crew of three, around the same time another helicopter company had declined to go on a flight in the area because of the weather conditions. No patients were on board the helicopter operated by Hospital Wing when it crashed in a field about 55 miles northeast of Memphis around 6 a.m., authorities said. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating this crash, has been working to make medevac flights safer after a rash of accident.

B y Norris P. West Like everyone else, when I think of black history during this month, the usual names come to mind: Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois. But I also have gained a greater appreciation over the years for living black history - stories and experiences of people you might meet in your neighborhood, at the supermarket or at the fitness club. The fitness club - the Columbia Athletic Club, to be specific - is the place where I met Charles DeShields six years ago. When I got to know him, it was apparent that his life embodies so much of 20th Century African-American history.