Obligations

WASHINGTON - As John Gilchrist sat on the Maryland bench in the closing minutes of yesterday's 84-72 loss to Clemson in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at MCI Center, the junior point guard tried to wipe away a steady stream of tears. Gilchrist's tears weren't from the pain in his left ankle, which he rolled late in the first half and caused him to miss much of the second half, but from a season of pained performances by the Terrapins that continued with a third straight loss to the Tigers.

I did a double take reading your editorial that excused Maryland lawmakers for raiding $1 billion from the state's transportation trust fund to spend on other programs ("We all benefit from transit, and we should all pay for it" Mar 25). Let's explore the logic further. Imagine your neighborhood bank loans an individual money to start a small business. That individual changes his mind and instead uses the money to remodel his home. With a straight face, he informs the bank he's not going to repay the first loan, but expects a second one because he's finally getting around to starting that business.

Philosophically, one of the dangers is we've made debt a four-letter word. I wonder what it will do to a generation that will go to college without any personal sacrifice. You start taking loans away, and you start saying, `Here's a free ride.'" - LEE COFFIN, dean of admissions at Tufts University, who opposes the move by Harvard and other universities to eliminate loan obligations for students from upper-middle-class families

Todd Huff isn't the first Baltimore County councilman to be arrested for drunk driving, and if he's convicted of the crime, he won't be the first in that regard either. And we will not delude ourselves by expecting him to be the last to face such charges - at least not in a nation where 1.4 million people are arrested annually for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But the circumstances of Mr. Huff's arrest are disappointing to say the least and raise serious questions about his judgment - not only in his choice to get behind the wheel of his county-owned vehicle after drinking enough at the Towson Elks Lodge to record a .20 on an alcohol breath test but in telling police after his arrest that he wanted to call "Jim Johnson," an obvious reference to the county's police chief.

Your spouse says you need to work on your marriage. You don't need more work. And, besides, a marriage shouldn't need work. The relationship should just come naturally, be spontaneous -- right?Spontaneous would be nice, but that's not happening or your spouse wouldn't be advocating "work."With job, chores, kids, finances -- that stressful stuff -- you can't muster the effort to "work" on your marriage.Since you associate it with stressful things, the word "work" is getting in the way here.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it had cut its pension obligations by $3.9 billion and its retiree health care obligations by $19.3 billion because of employee buyouts and cost-cutting agreements with the United Auto Workers union. Even so, GM carries $62 billion in future retiree health care obligations on its books. The automaker has long maintained that legacy costs put it at a disadvantage against its global rivals. The expense adds $1,500 to the cost of every vehicle it builds in the United States.

Human Genome Sciences has an enviable $1.55 billion in cash, but as the company released its third-quarter earnings report yesterday, its executives once again were dogged by questions about how long even that amount will last. The reasons: The Rockville-based company is spending heavily to develop eight drugs in clinical trials; simultaneously, it has acquired or is constructing buildings for research, administration and manufacturing, requiring it to set aside a growing amount of its cash as collateral for the off-balance-sheet borrowings that back them.

NEW YORK -- General Motors Corp., the country's largest manufacturer, is being forced to acknowledge how much maintaining the heartbeat of America really costs.Last weekend it announced it had obligations of $16 billion to $24 billion for post-retirement health care for workers. Subtract what GM is committed to pay -- but yet to fund -- for pensions, and the result is a company with no net worth.GM's plight is likely the most egregious example, but it is not the only company in the midst of revealing corporate destitution to the public.

Less than half of Maryland's 260,000 families entitled to child support actually receive it. For 123,000 families on welfare, the situation is even worse: 75 percent of these families never receive support payments from spouses. The link between the two groups is more than coincidental. Too often, the state must close the gap between what children need to survive and what they get from absentee parents.In the '80s, states and the federal government put real teeth in collection efforts, using Social Security numbers and computers to tap wages, income tax refunds and even lottery winnings of spouses responsible for support payments.

Bethlehem Steel Corp. said yesterday that, because of a seasonal slowdown, softer-than-expected demand for steel and the short Thanksgiving workweek, about 700 workers will be temporarily off the job next week. The bankrupt steelmaker will virtually cease operations on its finishing side, which is easier to start and stop than the steel-making side of the plant. The workers can either take accrued vacation time or be on temporary layoff and apply for unemployment benefits. Workers on the steel-making side of the Sparrows Point plant will not be affected.

The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is suing the Renco Group — parent of bankrupt RG Steel — for allegedly attempting to "evade liability" for the steelmaker's pension obligations. The agency is seeking $97 million from the New York holding company, which created RG Steel in 2011 to buy the Sparrows Point steel mill and other facilities. RG Steel rapidly failed and sought bankruptcy protection last May. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Monday, alleges that Renco sold 24.5 percent of the steelmaker, of which it had been sole owner, in January 2012 with the "principal purpose" of avoiding pension liabilities.

Even the most ardent fans of Mitt Romney ought to take the latest of President Barack Obama's reelection ads to heart. Here's its point: 537. That's the number of votes (along with a favorable Supreme Court ruling) that decided who won Florida - and the presidency - in the contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. This year's election is shaping up to be just as close, with the latest polls suggesting the outcome could turn on a relatively few voters in states like Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado and even tiny New Hampshire.

Baltimore County will borrow up to $260 million for its pension system and pay off the debt over the next 30 years, under legislation approved Monday by the County Council. The council's 7-0 vote will let the county invest the borrowed funds in the stock market, a move that carries risk but that county officials say will close a gap in pension funding while saving money in the long run. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's administration proposed the move, contending the county is financially stable enough to withstand the risk.

Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels told the Baltimore Development Corp. board Thursday that the academic powerhouse has a moral obligation to "share our bounty" with the city. Daniels said that he sees Hopkins students, faculty and staff as privileged and that each has a responsibility to help revitalize Baltimore by addressing homelessness, preparing children for good jobs, ending violence and reversing significant health problems. "You can't sequester our institutions from the community," Daniels told the development board at its monthly meeting.

The proposed marriage between the Big East Conference and the Navy football program has been put on hold — indefinitely. As the league appears set to announce its plans Wednesday to add five schools, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said Tuesday night that "there were too many obstacles" to overcome for the Midshipmen to join for football only as early as 2014. Among the roadblocks, Gladchuk said, were Navy's bowl tie-ins through 2016, an existing television deal with CBS Sports that runs through the 2018 season and its game contracts with a number of schools going for several years, including one with Notre Dame though 2026.

For the past two decades, many in Maryland have worked tirelessly to eliminate lead poisoning and to protect our most vulnerable children and families. It has required a lot of heavy lifting - organizing and educating parents, children and homeowners, strengthening enforcement standards and compelling property owners to become partners in primary prevention. Through all of this, Maryland has been blessed with great public sector leadership that understood that by eliminating the tragic and costly impact of lead on our children, schools, juvenile justice system and communities, we would all reap great benefits.

Miami. -- Theresa Funiciello, firebrand agitator for the rights o welfare recipients, once howled in the face of a New York welfare commissioner: ''Don't talk to me about clients' obligations! Read the law, mister! Welfare is an entitlement. The obligations are yours!''The year, I think, was 1982, barely 18 months into the first Reagan term and hardly the best time for welfare-rights types. Yet the commissioner, a burnt-out public servant acquainted with grief, merely shook his head.As a legal matter, she was right.

The tablecloth might be 100 years old, maybe older. Or maybe it's my age. Anyway, I feel old ironing it. But it is still a thing of beauty.With intricate blue cross-stitch on the border, pastel flowers in each corner and a cornucopia centerpiece, it's a masterpiece of needlework.I hate to iron, always have. I will scrub your floor, but don't bring me your ironing. I thought I retired the iron when I retired.As I stand here pressing the large cloth, however, I am thinking that Thanksgiving is a splendid holiday.

As a Catholic, a 20-year member of the Virginia General Assembly, the author of Virginia's 2006 voter-approved one-man, one-woman Constitutional Marriage Amendment, and a graduate ofMaryland public schools, I take issue with Gov. Martin O'Malley's insinuation that Baltimore's archbishop should remain silent while the governor attempts to alter marriage — nature's most fundamental relationship for mankind. In his Aug. 2, 2011, letter to Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, the governor points to areas of agreement, but then gratuitously adds that he would never presume to question the archbishop's right to define or administer the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Former Navy Lt. Billy Hurley III played on the same victorious 2005 Walker Cup team as PGA Tour professionalAnthony Kim. Kim, 26, is approaching $1 million in PGA Tour prize money this season. Hurley, 29, who competes on the Nationwide Tour, a developmental circuit, has won less than 10 percent of that during his entire pro career. A big reason for the difference is that Hurley spent the first five years of his career fulfilling his commitment to the Navy. Now he's making up for lost time.