Ideas

North County High School freshman Jack Andraka stood on the auditorium stage, speaking about the invention that earned him the $75,000 grand prize at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Behind him stood Dr. Anirban Maitra, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University's department of pathology who gave Jack use of his lab to craft his invention, a cheap and effective "dipstick-sensor" method of testing blood or urine to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer and other diseases.

This weekend, Rob and I flew to Aiken, South Carolina, to attend the wedding of our friends, Maxine and John. After missing our morning flight, enjoying a beverage at City Café while we waited for the next flight, landing in Charlotte and driving the nearly three hours to Aiken, we were not exactly in peak condition when we ran in (late) to the rehearsal dinner. We made apologies, and because we were in the South, were met with two plates of food kept warm for us, two cocktails kept cold, and nothing but warm forgiveness for our Yankee lateness.

Thanks for a balanced op-ed page on Jan. 4 when you had Gov. Martin O'Malley patting himself on the back for his meaningless and justly-forgotten "Believe" campaign ("O'Malley: believing worked") right next to Marta Mossburg's intelligent commentary with suggestions that could actually improve the state of Maryland ("Md. needs fewer laws, not more"). One would hope that the former writer would take a break from his voodoo financial funds-shifting and gerrymandering and read the latter one's suggestions.

An idea that mushroomed out of the Baltimore Tech Facebook group back in November , led by local tech guru Mike Subelsky , is coming to fruition this month. That's right: Geeks On A Train. The idea of better connecting the Northeast tech/geek/entrepreneur/investor community with a day-long train ride is heppening May 24, starting in Washington DC. The event is being spearheaded now by the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, which has details on how to participate on its site . Subelsky will be riding on the train, he tells me, but the GBTC has taken the initiative and pulled it all together.

I would like to compliment Dan Rodricks on yesterday's column ("Angry Americans: What do you want?" Oct. 5). His succinct description of the economic situation was a breath of fresh air in a poisoned atmosphere of so-called conservative rants against taxes, spending and incumbents. I understand that we tried their recipe for success when we had the last economic crisis in this country. It was called "The Depression. " These groups are more effective in their public relations drumbeat than in the consistency of their logic, and the media, by and large, do not present a balanced account.

John Palasits envisions an electronic menu that would enable restaurant customers to place their orders when ready instead of summoning a waiter. Rhyan Guidry foresees a personalized hairstyling studio that would teach patrons to do their own locks. And Justin Carmona is exploring opening a gym that would cater to patrons six days a week but reserve the seventh for high school teams' training. The three were among 13 Howard Community College students seeking to create and market their business ventures in a three-to five-minute product-pitching competition called "Rocket Marketing," which was held at the school this month.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein's recent comments about Maryland's juvenile justice system are disturbing and woefully out of sync with current best practices in juvenile justice ("Bernstein: juvenile justice system is 'not good'," June 1). There should be consequences for youth who commit criminal offenses, but they need to be based on what research tells us about adolescent development and what does and doesn't work with juvenile offenders. We know, for instance, that for the majority of youth incarceration isn't the answer.

If the O'Malley administration keeps taxing everything we do, what we buy, the bridges we cross, etc., we will soon be taxed for the pets we have. Oh no! I shouldn't have mentioned that! Senora McGuire, Dundalk

A friend and I are planning to drive to Alaska and spend a month fishing and exploring. Any ideas of what to see and do in Canada and Alaska? Your likely driving route through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory will take you through such Canadian towns as Vancouver, Prince George, Whitehorse and Dawson City. Each city has its own charm and interesting sights, but you won't want to linger too long if you intend to reach Anchorage in a few days. For ideas, check out the North to Alaska Web site (northtoalaska.

Taneytown officials will meet with Land Design Research International Inc. next week to discuss the urban planning company's ideas for revitalizing the Taneytown square area at Baltimore Street and Route 194.The city hired Columbia-based LDR International to do the revitalization study and create a strategy for rejuvenating what the city will call its Town Centre.LDR International is supposed to define sites for development, renovation, off-street parking, signs, overhead utilities and road widths.

No one makes whiskey any longer on Sollers Point Road in Dundalk, where the old distillery stands empty, the weeds poke through the paving and graffiti marks the brick walls. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons closed its bottling plant there in the late 1980s, and it's been empty for years, considered an eyesore by many neighbors and the scene of several recent fires. The latest owner of these desolate 14.5 acres is planning a redevelopment, and one of his ideas involves moving county-owned offices there, freeing up a nearby property for "big box" stores at one of the biggest crossroads in Dundalk.

Facebook has launched a program to promote organ donation, which grew from a conversation between the social media company's chief operating officer and a Johns Hopkins surgeon already passionate about the cause. COO Sheryl Sandberg and Dr. Andrew M. Cameron took the chat they had about the shortage of organs at their 20th college reunion at Harvard University and turned it into reality. Facebook announced Tuesday a new organ transplant initiative that could reach hundreds of millions of people around the world.

News Roundup •••• “Halo 4” got a November 6th release date, announced in completely subtle fashion through a 10-minute spot on “Conan.” Details of the gameplay have already started to surface. To make you feel especially old, it will have been 11 years since the original “Halo” came out. [ Team Coco ] •••• Bethesda released the debut trailer for Arkane Studios' new first-person action game “Dishonored.” Based on the cinematic clip, it definitely looks like a must-play.

Three Maryland lawmakers are leading vastly different approaches in Congress to address the growing influence of so-called super PACs and other political nonprofits that have poured money into campaigns, raising concerns about the outsized influence of special interests. As the impact of federal court decisions rolling back campaign finance restrictions continues to play out in this year's presidential election, proposals by Maryland Reps. Chris Van Hollen, John Sarbanes and Donna Edwards - all Democrats - are aimed at overhauling the system.

Some people may object to Gov.Martin O'Malley's proposal to raise the sales tax to "pay for highway and transit projects" ("O'Malley looks at sales tax increase for roads," April 4). Well, why not? It seems perfectly logical, since we are using gas tax proceeds to pay for windmills and lottery receipts to subsidize light rail projects! Here's an idea for the governor: let's use bottle tax revenue to pave pot-holed streets and build new schools in Baltimore! Such logical thinking could easily propel him into the vice president's office next fall!

For many years, Havre de Grace elected officials have lamented that no one from "up on the hill" has gotten involved in the city's politics or sought public office. Well, this year, they can stop lamenting. Four of the seven candidates for the three seats up for election on the Havre de Grace City Council are new to the world of politics and three of them come from one community. Robert Sawyer, Barry Scarborough and Joseph Smith all live in the Bulle Rock community, in the overall scheme of things, a new development in Havre de Grace.

In the 1976 movie Network, anchorman Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, famously bellowed, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." Today, rather than stick his head out a window and scream, he might have created a Web site instead, like Mike Vallerie, a businessman in Baltimore, just did. Vallerie, who owns a trailer rental and storage business in South Baltimore, has, by his estimate and to little avail, written more than a hundred letters to members of Congress and to newspaper editors, who typically want him to trim his loquaciousness to 800 words or less.

REMEMBER Bruce Babbitt? He's the former Democratic governor of Arizona who ran for president in 1988 with a dramatic new idea to reduce the budget deficit. Babbitt proposed "means-testing" of federal programs so the benefits would go only to people who needed the money. Guess where Babbitt ended up: back in Arizona. Guess where his idea ended up: in President Bush's fiscal 1992 budget proposal.In his State of the Union address last month, Bush said the new budget process Congress implemented late last year will be "a battle of ideas, not a bidding war."

Wednesday night's 7-5 victory over York helped No. 9 Stevenson improve to 5-1 with the lone loss occurring last Saturday against No. 4 Lynchburg. The Mustangs figure to get a stiffer test this Saturday when they must travel and meet No. 3 Cortland. In fact, the team's next two contests against the Red Dragons (3-0) and No. 2 Tufts (2-0) might provide the players and coaches with some context on their strength as a national championship contender. “I think that's probably a fair assessment,” coach Paul Cantabene said Thursday.

Someone, years ago, planted an oak tree on a narrow, forlorn divider toward the edge of a barren parking lot by a large building near my home. Largely ignored, this lone tree staunchly persevered and sank its roots deep into its diminutive field. It was noticeable, not because of the tree itself, which was just a modest, slight thing, but because of its acorns. They were everywhere - a bumper crop heaped upon the ground, where one had to tread carefully to keep one's feet firmly planted.