Killer Bees

WESLACO, Texas -- There is no talk of killer bees at Andy's Cafe 2 here, no panicked calls to the City Hall in nearby Alamo, not even a mention of the bee invasion in the Beeville Bee-Picayune.But over the next few years, the Africanized honeybees will have a dramatic impact on beekeepers and agriculture as they cause a reduction in both honey production and pollination.And their long-awaited arrival here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley last week set off speculation about possible effects on everything from lawsuits to wearers of beeswax-based hair replacement systems.

If you think you've had a hard day at work, imagining wearing a long beard composed entirely of killer bees. "A full seven pounds," says Ruud Kleinpaste, a New Zealand entomologist, writer, educator and broadcaster who's the host of Animal Planet's new series Buggin' With Ruud (Wednesdays at 8 p.m.), which premiered this past week. "I had 50,000 killer bees on my face. It's mad." Asked if this is some sort of childhood fantasy fulfilled, Kleinpaste says, "No, no, God, no, get on. Do I look that deprived?

As two of the top high school tennis players in the state, Franklin seniors Beatrice Grasu and Brooke Rogers have every reason to be embroiled in a fierce rivalry. After all, they not only compete for the No. 1 singles ranking on their own team, but they contend for regional and state high school championships. They're also long-time competitors on the junior tennis circuit - Grasu is ranked fourth in the U.S. Tennis Association's Mid-Atlantic girls 18's, Rogers 31st. However, these 17-year-olds have not let the competitive nature of the sport win out. Instead, they built a friendship around their common interest.

For a little bug that becomes a national obsession every 17 years, the cicada hasn't left much of an impression on America's movie screens. That's assuredly strange, given Hollywood's predilection for jumping on any trend that comes within earshot and milking it for every dollar possible. There have been movies about the Lambada, Halley's Comet, Valley Girls, Jim Jones, roller boogie, ninja turtles, The Gong Show and Martha Stewart. But those bizarre insects that show up seriously en masse every 17 years; that cause the squeamish to squeam even more than usual at the thought of squishing a handful of them with every step; that force educated people to cower in fear as though the sky were falling, moving spring cookouts indoors and warning their children to stay inside ... About those bugs, the movies have said practically nothing.

If you think you've had a hard day at work, imagining wearing a long beard composed entirely of killer bees. "A full seven pounds," says Ruud Kleinpaste, a New Zealand entomologist, writer, educator and broadcaster who's the host of Animal Planet's new series Buggin' With Ruud (Wednesdays at 8 p.m.), which premiered this past week. "I had 50,000 killer bees on my face. It's mad." Asked if this is some sort of childhood fantasy fulfilled, Kleinpaste says, "No, no, God, no, get on. Do I look that deprived?

TUCSON, Ariz. - From under logs, behind water meters and in the eaves of houses, they're swarming, mad as hell after two years of drought and not going to take it anymore. Africanized "killer" bees are having a coming-out party this spring, making their presence felt from the Mexican border to the Grand Canyon. "Big time," says Justin Schmidt, an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I'm getting buckets of them." Fire departments in the state's largest cities are being called out a half-dozen times each day to ward off attacks with chemical foam and treat sting victims.

Wireless heart A picture of a key enzyme in AIDS virus infections has been created by a team of Yale University scientists in a discovery that may accelerate development of new AIDS-fighting drugs, according to a report published today in the journal Science.Thomas A. Steitz, head of the Yale University research team, said that by knowing the shape of the AIDS enzyme, reverse transcriptase, researchers will be able to more quickly find drugs that effectively disable the AIDS virus with minimum side effects.

Speed has always been on the top of the Blast's most wanted list.* OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: The Blast did not exercise its rightof first refusal on Chris Simon and Chris Haywood, two rookie draft choices a year ago; midfielder Richard Chinapoo, 34, who returned to the Blast last season from Dallas; and defender Tim Wittman, 27, whose "durability" has become a question mark in the eyes of Blast management.* ENGLISH CHAMP COMING: It's official. The Maryland Bays, the defending American Professional Soccer League champion, will take on English League Cup champion Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday, July 30, 7:30 p.m., at Cedar Lane Park in Columbia.

"The Banker Bees" from Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. were declared the winners in Carroll County Literacy Council's "Ferst Anyule Spelin Be" held Nov. 12.The team of Lynne McCarty, Beverly Wells and Marie Clouser defeated the "Bonds Meadow Bombers" from Bonds Meadow Rotary Club to take the championship. Bombers' members were Edmund O'Meally, Spencer Gear and David Peloquin.Active cheering by the "Carroll Bulldogs" earned them the Team Spirit Award.The fund-raiser earned more than $3,000 for literacy council programs.

Unranked North County showed No. 15 Severn a little bit of everything last night, running off to a 68-59 victory.North County (2-0) rained three-point jumpers on the visitors, worked the ball inside for high-percentage shots, played aggressive defense, rebounded well and simply out-hustled the Admirals most of the game."

If you don't believe that America's war on terrorism threatens your freedoms, any one of a collection of new works will change your mind as well as advise you of the rights and liberties that are in true jeopardy. They address the effect of the war on terrorism on civil liberties, and contain one remarkably consistent theme: The federal government has overreacted to the terrorism threat and, in doing so, has traded freedoms of all Americans for an illusion of security. This reality is supported by overwhelming evidence.

As two of the top high school tennis players in the state, Franklin seniors Beatrice Grasu and Brooke Rogers have every reason to be embroiled in a fierce rivalry. After all, they not only compete for the No. 1 singles ranking on their own team, but they contend for regional and state high school championships. They're also long-time competitors on the junior tennis circuit - Grasu is ranked fourth in the U.S. Tennis Association's Mid-Atlantic girls 18's, Rogers 31st. However, these 17-year-olds have not let the competitive nature of the sport win out. Instead, they built a friendship around their common interest.

Oh, they're out there, all right. It's almost dusk, and you can see the little savages everywhere in this damp lot in Fort Howard on the eastern tip of Baltimore County, buzzing and flittering and working themselves into a king-hell blood-lust. Keith Roberts, in shorts and a T-shirt, stands there calmly and waits for them. Within seconds, two mosquitoes land on his arm, three or four more are feasting on his legs, another is enjoying a buffet on his finger. "It's biting pretty good," he says of that one. "Look how fat he is!"

TUCSON, Ariz. - From under logs, behind water meters and in the eaves of houses, they're swarming, mad as hell after two years of drought and not going to take it anymore. Africanized "killer" bees are having a coming-out party this spring, making their presence felt from the Mexican border to the Grand Canyon. "Big time," says Justin Schmidt, an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I'm getting buckets of them." Fire departments in the state's largest cities are being called out a half-dozen times each day to ward off attacks with chemical foam and treat sting victims.

"The Banker Bees" from Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. were declared the winners in Carroll County Literacy Council's "Ferst Anyule Spelin Be" held Nov. 12.The team of Lynne McCarty, Beverly Wells and Marie Clouser defeated the "Bonds Meadow Bombers" from Bonds Meadow Rotary Club to take the championship. Bombers' members were Edmund O'Meally, Spencer Gear and David Peloquin.Active cheering by the "Carroll Bulldogs" earned them the Team Spirit Award.The fund-raiser earned more than $3,000 for literacy council programs.

About a quarter mile from the Chesapeake Bay, near an asphalt parking lot at Sandy Point State Park, there hangs a sentinel of sorts from a cypress tree.It is Maryland's first line of defense against the "killer bee" -- I. Barton Smith Jr.'s baited bee trap.Smith, chief bee colony inspector for the state Department of Agriculture, has 36 bee traps hanging in parks, near docks, on farms and on private tracts along the bay to see whether the Africanized honeybee -- which has killed four people in the Southwest and hundreds worldwide -- has arrived in Maryland.

Baltimore television will never be the same. Starting today, the city becomes an overnight metered market for the Arbitron and Nielsen ratings services. And that means the once relatively sleepy world of the nation's 22nd largest TV market, will move into the competitive world of big-time TV.Baltimore area viewers got their first taste of the new world order for local TV yesterday, with news of Sally Thorner's quarter-of-a-million-dollar move from WMAR (Channel 2) to WJZ (Channel 13) after 10 years at Channel 2's anchor desk.

Oh, they're out there, all right. It's almost dusk, and you can see the little savages everywhere in this damp lot in Fort Howard on the eastern tip of Baltimore County, buzzing and flittering and working themselves into a king-hell blood-lust. Keith Roberts, in shorts and a T-shirt, stands there calmly and waits for them. Within seconds, two mosquitoes land on his arm, three or four more are feasting on his legs, another is enjoying a buffet on his finger. "It's biting pretty good," he says of that one. "Look how fat he is!"

Unranked North County showed No. 15 Severn a little bit of everything last night, running off to a 68-59 victory.North County (2-0) rained three-point jumpers on the visitors, worked the ball inside for high-percentage shots, played aggressive defense, rebounded well and simply out-hustled the Admirals most of the game."

Baltimore television will never be the same. Starting today, the city becomes an overnight metered market for the Arbitron and Nielsen ratings services. And that means the once relatively sleepy world of the nation's 22nd largest TV market, will move into the competitive world of big-time TV.Baltimore area viewers got their first taste of the new world order for local TV yesterday, with news of Sally Thorner's quarter-of-a-million-dollar move from WMAR (Channel 2) to WJZ (Channel 13) after 10 years at Channel 2's anchor desk.