Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

BASEBAWL Cal Ripken wasn't the only one who got choked up during his Hall of Fame speech. John Travolta, who became friends with the Iron Man while filming Ladder 49 in Baltimore and attended the festivities in Cooperstown, seemed beside himself. See for yourself at http:--web.baseballhalloffame.org/sightssounds. Fast-forward to the 1 hour, 28 minute mark in the induction ceremony, when Ripken gets to the part about his children. The camera pans to Ripken's son and daughter, and Travolta can be seen seated right behind them.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend has no illusions that her first book might serve as a springboard back into elected politics. The book - a reflection on her personal faith mixed with a broader look at America's religious traditions - argues that the Catholic and Protestant churches have lost their way in recent decades, falling short of the Christian concept of social justice as they've been "hijacked" by political conservatives. "This is a book you can only write when you're out of politics," says Townsend, who served two terms as Maryland's lieutenant governor and is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy.

Hired in the 1970s to lead a Pennsylvania training school when he was only in his mid-20s, Donald W. DeVore has since developed a reputation as a nationally recognized expert in juvenile justice, adept at parachuting into states to help improve programs for troubled youth. Advocates said yesterday that they are eagerly awaiting DeVore's arrival in Maryland, where he is expected to be tapped by Gov. Martin O'Malley to lead the state's struggling Department of Juvenile Services. He would leave his post as director of Connecticut's Bureau of Juvenile Services, a position in which he has ordered the closure of an expensive and highly controversial school after drastically reducing its population.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. had hoped his election as Maryland's first Republican chief executive in decades was the start of a historic realignment toward true two-party rule. In his few post-election comments, Ehrlich said the state has indeed shifted - but away from his party. His tenure, he suggested, was a blip, and his defeat all but inevitable in a state accustomed to one-party government. "It's clear in Maryland that there is a direction people are more comfortable with," Ehrlich said on WBAL-AM last week.

Four years ago, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. became the first Republican in 36 years to capture the governor's mansion, racking up big leads in some of Maryland's fastest-growing suburbs. Ehrlich's 66,000-vote victory over Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend prompted some political observers to speculate in 2002 that Maryland had reached a political tipping point. Conservative sentiment in the state's growing exurbs, pundits said, finally had overwhelmed the traditionally Democratic strongholds of Baltimore city and Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

CLARIFICATION A map that accompanied an article in yesterday's editions about a poll in the race for governor should have been titled "Candidates by region," not "Candidates by county." The map intended to show that Mayor Martin O'Malley and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. were statistically tied in the Greater Baltimore region, which includes Baltimore City and Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford and Carroll counties.

Hollinger ad details health care record State Sen. Paula C. Hollinger hit the airwaves yesterday with a 30-second television ad in her bid for the 3rd District congressional seat. The ad details Hollinger's record on health care issues, describes a bill she wrote to tax some energy company profits and says she'll "lead the fight to end Bush's war in Iraq." "She's the shortest member of the Senate," the ad says. "But wherever she goes, she leaves behind the biggest footprints." Hollinger, a Pikesville Democrat, faces seven other candidates in the primary.

Anne Arundel County Sheriff George F. Johnson IV added to his list of Democratic endorsements this week by picking up the support of County Councilwoman Barbara D. Samorajczyk, an outspoken opponent on growth who had pondered her own run for the county's chief executive post. Samorajczyk, a Democrat and two-term council member who is prohibited from seeking a third term, made her announcement before a crowd of 50 people Wednesday at the Arundel Center, according to a Johnson campaign news release.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he is angry at "revisionism" from political opponents who question a much-repeated story about Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele being pelted with Oreos during a 2002 campaign debate in Baltimore. Versions of the story have been repeated over the years by Ehrlich, Steele and their supporters in describing what they call a pattern of racial slights against the black Republican, and accounts of the event have spread widely. Speaking on Stateline with the Governor on WBAL-AM yesterday, Ehrlich said he would not tolerate questions about the veracity of the incident.

A federal investigation criticized by Democrats for its election-year timing in 2002 officially ended yesterday when prosecutors dropped charges against a former state agency head accused of misusing grant funds - allegations that tarnished Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at a critical point in her campaign for governor. U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis dismissed the indictment against Stephen P. Amos, former director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, at the request of interim U.S. Attorney Allen F. Loucks.