Larry Walker

Theodore J. Sophocleus, a Democratic county executive candidate, defended his $400-a-month county pension yesterday during a debate at the Arnold Senior Center.At the same time, the former county councilman, who voted in 1989 to sweeten his pension, lashed out at rival Robert Agee.Mr. Sophocleus said Mr. Agee is attempting to escape responsibility for his role in the pension vote.Mr. Agee was chief aide to former County Executive O. James Lighthizer, whose administration proposed lowering the retirement age from 60 to 50 and increasing benefits for elected and appointed officials in the plan.

When he picks up the newspaper to read about the Anne Arundel County executive's race, Larry Walker knows where to look for his name. It'll be in the last sentence of the last paragraph, often accompanied by that hated word, "neophyte."Not that he expects to see his name at all. Half the time reporters and columnists don't even mention that he's a Democratic candidate."Even Louise Beauregard" -- the daffy Annapolis lady who runs for something in every state, county or city election -- "gets more press than I do," he says.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Orioles assistant general manager Frank Robinson met with Johnny Oates behind closed doors before last night's game to assure the manager he was not trying to undermine Oates' job security.The meeting followed a pair of Washington Post reports that, citing unnamed sources, questioned Oates' job security. Some thought Robinson, who has said he might be interested in managing again, might have been the source, a charge Robinson denied in a Sun story Monday."Frank Robinson is a lot more secure and a lot stronger in the game than to have to undermine or back-stab to get someone's job," Oates said.