Interests

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.

As a freshman at Kenwood, Trevis Buckhanon Jr. was targeted regularly by opponents looking to embarrass the gangly big man. The son of a former Douglass star and Baltimore City hoops champion, the younger Buckhanon had been raised to play football, and only recently gave up the gridiron to focus on basketball - which he started playing in seventh grade. So despite Buckhanon's 6-foot-4 stature, freshman year on Kenwood's JV squad was a challenge. “They came at me,” Buckhanon said.

The several gerrymandered congressional redistricting plans now being considered by the General Assembly are self-serving and cynical. The heavy-handed manipulation of Maryland's voters is an crass perversion of how districts should be drawn, and it points up the corruptive danger of long-term one-party rule. Supreme Court rulings and federal laws require that congressional districts must be contiguous, compact, and equally populated. Please explain how any of the proposed districts meets the definition for being compact.

Right-hander Jason Hammel had fluid drained from his sore right knee this week and says he believes he is improving - certainly enough to make Friday's scheduled start and stay on the active roster. "I really feel like just getting me out there every fifth day is going to help the team," said Hammel, who is 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA. "Obviously, I don't want to kill the [bullpen], but I think missing me for a couple of weeks right now is probably not in the best interest of myself or the team.

The recent Republican presidential candidate debate in Las Vegas put a new spotlight on the issue of U.S. spending on foreign aid, although it may have escaped the notice of many ("Republicans take off gloves in Vegas debate," Oct. 19). Times are tough and Americans need to understand why it is vital that we continue to send development aid overseas: It increases jobs here in the U.S. and keeps our homeland safer. My firm is an international development company that employs American workers (and local partners as well)

Shibley Talhami's article "Egypt's revolt and America's Role" (Feb. 16) is right on target regarding our government's interest in democracy in the Middle East. Its sudden enthusiasm for the need for democratic reform in Egypt is a good case of how our foreign policy can shift with the wind. Our State Department has previously mentioned the need for the Egyptian government to respond more to the needs the people, but that was about it. No strong demands change were voiced until events in the last two weeks forced us to dramatically raise the volume of our protests.

On Saturday, I crossed the Baltimore Grand Prix track via the skywalk between the Pratt Street Pavilion and the Gallery. Racecars were speeding around the track, so I lingered for a moment to see what my tax dollars had bought. But only for a moment, because then three police officers ordered me to move along. Now, I know that it wasn't for crowd control or a safety issue - there were only three other civilians on the bridge besides me, and I have seen far more people congregate on that bridge for a parade on Pratt Street without risking a collapse.

EVERYONE is in favor of protecting the best interests of children, and almost everyone seems to believe that those interests can be readily identified. When compared with idealized "best interests," blood ties may often appear less compelling, particularly in an age when an increasing number of children are being raised in nontraditional or nonbiological families. With sad regularity, wrenching cases continue to arise in which judges are called on to decide whether the "rights" demanded by biological parents should outweigh the "interests" of their children, as asserted by some other person.

ONE AXIOM about politicians continues to ring true: They never fail to disappoint. Newly appointed state Sen. Robert R. Neall's decision to register as a lobbyist while serving in the Maryland General Assembly is profoundly disillusioning.Even though Mr. Neall says he has registered as a lobbyist so as to comply with Anne Arundel County's strict ethics law, he has created an impossible conflict of interest. His two clients are developers. One is Driggs Construction, which is planning a $300 million townhouse complex near Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Tavern owners want a chunk of the action. So does the state fair in Timonium. Casino interests are sniffing around. With the legalization of slot machines an unsolved riddle in Maryland, the debate over expanded gambling has devolved into a battle royal among special interests since the General Assembly last considered the issue. As lawmakers ready for a return to Annapolis this week, eyes remain fixed on House Speaker Michael E. Busch, the leading critic of slots, who some believe might be surreptitiously scuttling Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s top priority by allowing competing forces to gnaw it to death.

Educators and politicians rave about Maryland's public schools. And why shouldn't they? After all, Education Week, the nation's most widely circulated education newspaper, has ranked Maryland public schools in first place for the past four years. But we who study public school achievement find, based on 2011 testing, that Massachusetts public schools are in first place, closely followed by New Jersey and Vermont, while Maryland is further back in sixth place. At least that's the conclusion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

After the school year concludes, the Baltimore Sun's high school sports staff writes a story featuring student-athletes and high school coaches that have interesting jobs or unique plans during the summer.  If you have something fun lined up for the summer months, we want to hear about, it and you may be profiled.  We're looking for varsity players who will still be in high school the following school year. To pass along ideas, please e-mail Glenn Graham at glenn.graham@baltsun.com

It might be too soon to proclaim that the Orioles have returned to respectability in the American League East, but it's not too soon to take notice of the rapidly changing landscape in baseball's toughest division. The Orioles have held their own against the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox during the early weeks of the season - 9-5 after Saturday's victory at Fenway Park - and are off to a very encouraging start. The only team looking down on them in the standings is Tampa Bay, as the Rays continue to defy the conventional wisdom that you have to pay to play in this neighborhood.

A survey by the Innovation Alliance found that a vast majority of participants in Baltimore's technology community are interested in a "hub" — akin to similar spaces in New York City and San Diego — that could be used for meetings, conferences and continuous education and networking for entrepreneurs. That and other findings in a report released Monday are among the early results of an effort by the Innovation Alliance, funded with a $75,000 grant from the philanthropic Abell Foundation, to improve the environment for new-business formation in Baltimore.

If you have a college student in the family - or an interest in presidential politics - by now you've probably heard that the interest rates on Stafford student loans are set to double on July 1 unless Congress takes action. President Barack Obama has been touring college campuses this week asking that rates be held to 3.4 percent. As one might imagine, this is a message that has some traction with young voters, a crucial bloc for Democrats, and the reception at places like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where the president has taken his message, has been warm and welcoming.

Growing up in Annapolis, Tim and Trevor White were hardly inseparable. Each brother had his own set of friends and pursued his own interests: Trevor discovered a passion for film early on, while Tim seemed more adrift. But recently, a shared commitment to cinema has brought the pair closer than ever, as they work toward the release of their first full-length movie. "Jamesy Boy," shot in and around Baltimore over a five-week period that ended this month, stars Mary-Louise Parker, Ving Rhames and James Woods.

City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III, who has compiled the largest war chest in Baltimore's mayoral race, received his strongest support from contractors, unions and gambling and entertainment interests.According to reports filed this week, contributors to Bell range from the Club Pussycat on Baltimore's Block, which gave $500, to the production company of boxing promoter Don King, which gave $4,000.Among the labor organizations was the International Union of Electricians, which gave $6,000; among the business people was contractor Pless Jones, who contributed $7,000 through two of his companies.

When Maryland Republicans gathered for a fund-raiser in Washington Monday night, horse racing interests that want slots at the state's tracks were there with checkbooks in hand. William Rickman Jr., a Delaware racetrack casino operator who wants to build a track in Allegany County was a $15,000 sponsor; the Maryland Jockey Club, minority owner of Pimlico and Laurel Park, chipped in $10,000, according to state GOP Chairman John Kane. Kane said he sees no difference between racing interests and other businesses contributing money to the party.

I had such a good time with last week's by-the-numbers baseball and softball breakdown that I'm going to throw another one out there. We have had more than enough interesting results come through since last Friday, so here is some food for thought. Keep in mind, these numbers take into account only UCBAC baseball and softball teams, and only those games played through Wednesday. Zero: The number of UCBAC baseball and softball teams with perfect overall records. This went from one to none on Monday afternoon, when the North Harford softball team shocked the previously unbeaten Rising Sun squad, 4-0. I honestly thought the Tigers had a shot at going without a loss, considering how they were mowing through the Chesapeake Division, but the Hawks were having none of it. Consider this: last Friday the Hawks beat C. Milton Wright, 11-6, then topped Rising by shutout three days later.

Ravens' offseason voluntary workouts got started this morning with quarterback Joe Flacco in the building but as expected, without Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice . Rice, who isn't expected to attend offseason activities as his agent negotiates a long-term deal with the Ravens, may not be participating in strength and conditioning workouts, but he didn't remain entirely silent today. In a message posted on his Twitter feed, Rice said: "To all college athletes getting ready to enter the NFL just remember the business side of the league is rough #fact.