Meter

Paralympics NDP's Meyers earns bronze in 100 freestyle Becca Meyers of Notre Dame Prep and Loyola Blakefield Aquatics rallied to win a bronze medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle S13 at the London Paralympics on Sunday. Meyers, 17, who was born profoundly deaf and has Usher syndrome, finished in 1 minute, 1.90 seconds, which was 2.34 behind gold-medal winner Kelley Becherer of Boston. Meyers was in sixth place after 50 meters with a split of 30.43. More women's swimming: Swimmer Jessica Long , formerly of Middle River, finished fifth in the final of the women's 50-meter freestyle S8. Long, 20, who had both lower legs amputated before age 2, finished in 31.71 seconds, which was 0.58 behind gold-medal winner Mallory Weggemann of Minnesota.

Recently, the Maryland Public Service Commission convened to hear testimony from Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Inc. regarding news of smart meters overheating and causing fires in Pennsylvania. I attended this public hearing but was denied an opportunity to speak for several minutes along with a former delegate and other concerned citizens. The testimony that I heard only confirmed that smart meters are dangerous, intrusive, and have a tendency to break and overheat.

Four major electricity providers defended the safety of "smart meters" Tuesday at a hearing called by the Maryland Public Service Commission after commissioners read reports of similar meters overheating and catching fire in Southeastern Pennsylvania. "We've had five cases so far where the temperature threshold was exceeded," said Michael Butts, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s director of business transformation. He said BGE has installed 65,000 of the advanced meters. In all five cases, the overheating was detected by sensors in the meters and BGE was alerted, he said.

Baltimore City police released the incident report Monday morning about the woman who was attacked by a Rottweiler outside the farmers' market in Waverly Saturday. The attack took place when the dog broke the leash with which it had been tied to a parking meter, witnesses said Sunday. The attack took place about 10:15 a.m. in the 3200 block of Barclay Street, which runs beside the popular 32nd Street Farmers Market, one of the city's largest. According to witnesses, a man tied his Rottweiler to a parking meter behind one of the vendor's trucks and entered the market, where dogs are not permitted.

The news that a Southeast Pennsylvania utility company has suspended "smart meter" installations following reports that some have overheated and caused fires has prompted the Maryland Public Service Commission to schedule a public hearing Tuesday to discuss the safety of the new meters, which are being installed by utilities throughout Maryland. "Smart Meters really have me concerned even more so than before," Del. Glen Glass, a Republican who represents Harford and Cecil counties, said in a statement Monday.

A gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer is going to be appearing this weekend at the Maryland State Fair. No, sigh, it's not Michael Phelps. It's Matt Grevers, who's no slouch when it comes to prowess in the pool. And hey, let's face it, Phelps would be mobbed. With Grevers, you've got an excellent chance at face-time with a certified champion -- he won two golds in London, in the 100-meter backstroke and the 400-meter medley relay. And Grevers won't be the only Olympian at the fair.

In Beijing, Michael Phelps won eight Olympic gold medals, and six in Athens before that. Last Saturday, Ryan Lochte beat Mr. Phelps convincingly in the 400-meter individual medley. Last Sunday, Mr. Phelps built a solid lead for Mr. Lochte in the 400-meter relay, and Mr. Lochte lost it and the race. And last Monday, a very fast French swimmer and two others relegated Mr. Lochte to fourth place in the 200-meter free style. Naturally, we wish him the very best, but it is now even clearer to everyone, including no doubt Mr. Lochte, how awesomely impressive Michael Phelps ' accomplishments are. The hype about "Lochte's time" is now in proper perspective: He will achieve some good, maybe even great results, but there simply has never been anybody like Michael Phelps . Bradley Alger, Baltimore

If the Algerian runner had stayed disqualified. If a fellow American hadn't surged past him near the finish line. If he had run .05 of a second faster. Matthew Centrowitz almost medaled in the 1,500-meter race here Tuesday night, but for several might-have-beens. But the 22-year-old graduate of Broadneck High School in Annapolis doesn't play that game, and is accepting the heartbreaker of a finish in his first Olympic Games. "What I'm trying to swallow now is not a good feeling," the dejected Centrowitz said.

Juggling congratulatory phone calls from President Obama and tweets from supermodel Bar Refaeli, the most decorated Olympian ever still got the job done in the pool: Michael Phelpsswam to a second-seed finish in the 100-meter butterfly preliminaries Thursday morning. It was a nostalgic moment for Phelps as he winds down his fourth and final Games here on Saturday. "This was my last prelim heat ever," he said after coming in second overall to Chad le Clos, the young South African swimmer who grew up idolizing him and won gold to Phelps' silver in Tuesday night's 200-meter butterfly.

The morning after he became the most decorated Olympian ever, after answering congratulatory tweets from President Obama and fellow Baltimorean Josh Charles among others, Michael Phelps was back in the pool Wednesday morning, swimming fast enough to qualify as the fourth seed in tonight's 200-meter individual medley. His American rival Ryan Lochte is seeded second to preliminary heats' winner Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. Lochte earlier in the morning qualified for the 200-meter backstroke semifinals tonight, placing second to teammate Tyler Clary's first.