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Baltimore police officials said Thursday the department is doubling to 25 the number of officers available to review speed camera tickets — one of several moves intended to help prevent the issuance of erroneous citations, which has cast a cloud over the city's program in recent months. Meanwhile, city transportation officials said Baltimore's new speed camera vendor, Brekford Corp. of Hanover, has delivered some new cameras and is scheduled to replace all 83 of the city's existing cameras by late March, about a month sooner than anticipated.

Uncertainty over the economy contributed to a nearly 27 percent drop last year in venture capital funding for young companies in Maryland, Washington and Northern Virginia, the first decrease since 2009, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Last year, venture capitalists invested $725.1 million in 164 deals in the area, down from $987.5 million for 163 deals in 2011. On a percentage basis, the decrease in dollars was more than twice the national average for last year, when funding dropped 10 percent to $26.5 billion invested in nearly 3,700 deals, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported.

The Orioles and their three remaining arbitration-eligible players have officially filed salary numbers for 2013. Closer Jim Johnson, who led the majors in saves with 51, asked for $7.1 million while the Orioles countered with $5.7 million. He is in his third year of arbitration and made $2.625 million last year. Starter Jason Hammel, who was 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts for the Orioles last year, asked for $8.25 million and the Orioles countered with $5.7 million. He is in his fourth year of arbitration and made $4.75 million last year.

Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees was on Bill Belichick 's staff for six seasons, so he had to deal with quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense on a daily basis. He seemed to be the perfect guy to ask how you make life uncomfortable for Brady. "Hire Tonya Harding ," Pees said. "If they were getting off the bus, I'd spray outside the bus and hope it freezes. " Pees obviously was joking, though the Ravens understand that their best chance to win Sunday's AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium is to find legal - and conventional - ways to get after Brady, who was sacked just once last week in the Patriots' 41-28 victory over the Houston Texans.

A 546-acre deer hunting area that opened in Anne Arundel County shortly after Thanksgiving and will close at the end of January has seen only seven deer taken so far, according to the deer project leader for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. But the small number of deer killed by hunters at the Crownsville Cooperative Wildlife Management Area doesn't surprise Brian Eyler. "It normally takes a year or two for new areas to catch on," Eyler said. The hunting area in Crownsville opened Nov. 26, two days after the start of the deer firearm season, and will close when the bowhunting season ends Jan. 31. Deer hunting only is permitted there, and the program will follow the guidelines for bag limits in the 2012-2013 Guide to Hunting and Trapping in Maryland.

Baltimore City health officials are right to view the over-concentration of liquor stores in poor and predominantly African-American neighborhoods as a threat to public well-being. They point to academic research showing statistically significant increases in violent crime in communities with an overabundance of liquor stores, as well as a host of other ill effects such as domestic violence, lower life expectancy, cardiovascular disease and sexually transmitted infections. But they didn't need to examine the literature to learn that.

More than 200 Maryland teachers received National Board Certification in 2012, the national standards board announced Tuesday, and will join roughly 3 percent of the country's teaching force who have earned the distinction. This year's awardees bring the number of Maryland teachers to earn the certification--hailed as the most rigorous of industry standards--to 2,421, a more than 9 percent increase over last year. Montgomery County leads the state in the total number of teachers to receive the certification (740)

Area hospitals are coping with a surge of patients with achy bodies, fevers and sore throats as the nation grapples with a flu season that has hit earlier and harder than usual. The flu virus is unpredictable, so no one knows when the outbreak will peak or how bad the season will be, but a doctor said the pieces are in place to potentially make it one of the worst influenza seasons in recent years. The principal strain infecting people this year is one generally associated with more severe symptoms, said Dr. Andrea Dugas, an emergency room physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital who is leading research on the flu virus.

Devontay Hudson moved from one foster home to another for years, but last month he was adopted by a Millford Mill family - another symbol of a statewide initiative that has sharply reduced the number of children in foster care. The Gilman School sophomore, an aspiring chemical engineer, can't remember how old he was when he entered foster care, and doesn't know much about his birth family. But ask him about his adopted family and the soft-spoken teen says he's glad to be home. "It was a blessing for me to be a part of a family," said Devontay, 15, whose adoption increased the family of Ronald Wilkins and Demetria Jackson-Wilkins to nine members.

The Ravens ended a three-game losing skid with Sunday's 33-14 rout of the New York Giants, but they can't seem to rid themselves of drawing penalties. The team was flagged nine times for a loss of 92 yards Sunday, while the Giants were penalized just six times for 52 yards. This season, the Ravens have been flagged more often than their opponent six times and have lost more yardage nine times. The team's troubles were exemplified during the offense's second drive of the third quarter.