Horizon

Enchiladas are my favorite Mexican comfort food. And rightly or not, my preference for a Mexican restaurant often depends on how well it handles this relatively straightforward dish. I've been spoiled in this regard by home-style Mexican kitchens that served pulled meats in robust brown sauces and salsas that were little more than diced jalapenos. On a recent visit to Mari Luna on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, I ordered my old standby on the strong suspicion that I'd be in for a better-than-average rendition.

Howard County's largest foundation is looking for a new leader after Horizon Foundation president and CEO Richard M. Krieg said he is planning to retire by the end of next year. Krieg, 63, a former Peace Corps volunteer and Chicago health commissioner, took over the Columbia-based, health-oriented philanthropy when it was founded in 1998. In a statement, he said "we've provided over $35 million for grants, strategic initiatives and foundation operations," while still growing the endowment from $70 million to $80 million.

With the market for Vladimir Guerrero seemingly slimming by the day, the Orioles have had recent conversations with the agent for the veteran slugger, but they still don't feel they are close to a deal. "We've had some conversations, but there is nothing on the horizon," said Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail , declining to characterize his team's chances of landing the nine-time All-Star. The Orioles expressed interest in Guerrero, who hit .300 with 29 homers and 115 RBIs for the Texas Rangers in 2010, earlier this offseason as a contingency plan had they been unable to sign a first baseman and needed to play normal designated hitter Luke Scott at the position.

Soldiers haunted by scenes of war and victims scarred by violence may wish they could wipe the memories from their minds. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University say that may someday be possible. A commercial drug remains far off — and its use would be subject to many ethical and practical questions. But scientists have laid a foundation with their discovery that proteins can be removed from the brain's fear center to erase memories forever. "When a traumatic event occurs, it creates a fearful memory that can last a lifetime and have a debilitating effect on a person's life," says Richard L. Huganir, professor and chair of neuroscience in the Hopkins School of Medicine.

With Father Patrick Carrion away, a nun led a morning service last week at St. Mary Star of the Sea, directing the gathering of 15 worshippers in Catholic hymns and prayers, and distributing the Communion that the priest had consecrated before leaving. The pastor could not find another priest to fill in for him while he left his South Baltimore congregation to take a brief vacation. He returned in time to say four weekend Masses, but in the meantime left condensed daily worship services to Sister Victoria Staub.

A new centralized health information website intended to compare local statistics with national trends and inform users of the latest medical treatments is under preparation by a coalition of health groups led by the Horizon Foundation. The coalition working on Howard Health Counts is seeking feedback from medical professionals and agencies, but expect it to be available to the public in about two months, according to Dr. Richard Krieg, president and CEO of Horizon, the health foundation formed when Johns Hopkins Medicine took over Howard County General Hospital.

Late last week my eyes were glued to my Internet browser, where a strange and sometimes baffling underwater ballet was unfolding. Perhaps you were watching the live video feeds from the BP oil well spill, too. I watched with a mixture of revulsion and pride. Revulsion at the sight of the filthy plume of oil that had been poisoning the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three months; and pride in the ingenuity of the engineers who designed the cap that finally shut it off, and in the team that was executing the mission with cool heads and steady hands.

Child care service provider Bright Horizons plans to open a 20,000-square-foot child care center this fall at Tide Point in Locust Point. It will be the 12th facility in Maryland for the Massachusetts-based company and will serve the community-at-large rather than one specific employer, according to spokesperson Bridget Perry. Bright Horizons has negotiated a 10-year lease to occupy the waterfront space formerly occupied by the Board of Child Care in the Cascade Building at Tide Point, the old Procter & Gamble plant soap factory converted to offices by Struever Bros.

INDIANAPOLIS - Duke and Butler ended an NCAA tournament to remember with a championship game you'll never forget. Butler almost did it, but Duke was just a little bit better Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Not by much - but enough. There was no Hollywood ending. Butler star Gordon Hayward missed two shots to win in the last 3.6 seconds, one a baseline jumper and then a 3-point attempt from near midcourt that nearly made it. The Big Dog won, not the underdog The final score was 61-59, but that will never be the end of it. Duke won its fourth national title and its coach Mike Krzyzewski moved his program into the upper tier of the upper echelon.

It didn't seem all that complicated a few days ago. The makeup of the five-man regular-season starting rotation didn't even seem to be in doubt when the Orioles opened pitcher and catcher workouts in mid-February. Now, all of a sudden, the most intriguing story of training camp is the pitched battle between Chris Tillman and David Hernandez for the fifth slot in the starting rotation - a competition that has crystallized with Tillman's so-so performance Friday night and Hernandez's impressive outing against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.