Open The Door

POLICE* Westminster: A resident of Liberty Street reported someone forced open the door of her car and stole a car phone Thursday. She estimated the loss at $200.

Given how low the expectations were for President Barack Obama's highly publicized trip to the Middle East, it may not be saying much to declare that he exceeded them. But given the precarious state of Israeli-Palestinian relations, it would also be easy to underappreciate just how crucial his efforts may prove to be in the long quest for a lasting peace in the Middle East. When Mr. Obama arrived in Israel, he faced many who believed that the possibility of a two-state solution was on its death bed, if not gone already.

You open the door and -- Oh, no! Look out! -- objects of every imaginable color, size, shape, function and vintage tumble out on top of you.98112.)

That was no small development heard the other day from the longtime president of the Maryland Senate, Thomas V. Mike Miller. The white-haired gatekeeper of the General Assembly said he would allow a vote to repeal the death penalty on the Senate floor, presumably bypassing the committee that usually blocks the legislation from getting there. This from the politician who once declared: "If there's a gallows, I'll pull the lever. If there's a gas chamber, I'll turn the valve. If it's lethal injection, I'll insert the needle.

Police logElkridge: 6300 block of Rowanberry Drive: Someone pried open the door of a construction trailer at Calvert Plumbing, cut its lock and took a large amount of copper wire Sunday or early yesterday, police said.

Police logJessup: 7900 block of Oceano Ave.: Someone stole a fax machine, tools and an answering machine from Stephen Noll Construction Wednesday night after prying open the door to a construction trailer.Pub Date: 10/15/96

POLICE LOG* Marriottsville: 700 block of Driver Road: A .357-caliber Magnum handgun and other items were stolen from a home Monday after someone kicked open the side door, police said.1200 block of Marriottsville Road: A burglar kicked open the door of a house and its garage Monday, ransacked the interior and stole cash, a car phone and video games, police said.

POLICE LOG* Scaggsville: 8400 block of Cherrystone Court: A burglar removed a screen from a home's front window and stole two credit cards while residents were asleep Monday morning, police said.* Savage: 8400 block of Fair St.: Someone pried open the door of the Savage Park maintenance shop Sunday or Monday and took a chain saw and grinder, police said.

POLICE LOG* Harper's Choice: Little Patuxent Parkway/Harpers Farm Road: A man reported he was approached by two men in a possible carjacking attempt while at a traffic light early Monday. One of the suspects demanded he open the door of his 1987 Oldsmobile while the other tried to open another door. Police said the man drove off unharmed.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Howard County.Ellicott City: 2700 block of Turf Valley Road: A 1995 EZ-Go golf cart was stolen Wednesday.Savage: 8400 block of Dorsey Run Road: Someone tried to steal a 1997 Chevrolet Lumina early Thursday.West Friendship: West Friendship Elementary School, 12500 block of Frederick Road: Someone tried to force open the door of a storage shed Wednesday or Thursday. No entry was gained.West Friendship: 3400 block of Rosemary Lane: Someone kicked in the front door of a house Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue of racial preference in college admissions on Wednesday, and that ought to be a concern for those who believe such policies have provided countless opportunities for minorities - and enriched the educational experience for whites. There is a growing movement in this country to eliminate affirmative action on the grounds that it's no longer needed - or was even helpful in the first place. Granted, this can be a complex issue, and even the most liberal interpretations of the race-conscious policy acknowledge that a balance must be struck to make colleges diverse but also keep the admissions process fair and merit-based.

Bryant McKinnie's continued absence due to personal reasons may have forced the Ravens offense to shift Michael Oher from right to left tackle and rotate rookies Kelechi Osemele and Jack Cornell and Cord Howard at right tackle, but offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said he's not worried about not having McKinnie in camp. In fact, Cameron said McKinnie's absence has opened the door for others along the offensive line to get reps in training camp that they might not have gotten. “You just let it play out,” Cameron said.

Drunken-driving accident fatalities have been on the rise in Maryland. In 2009, 162 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes, a sharp increase from the year before. But time and time again, a key committee in the Maryland General Assembly has refused to support an effective prevention measure that has worked well in other states. This year could be different. The House Judiciary Committee is holding hearings this week to consider legislation intended to expand the use of ignition interlock devices that force drivers to prove their sobriety by blowing into a breathalyzer — both to start the vehicle and at periodic intervals while driving.

For more than 25 years, the highly regarded Sequoia Fund was closed to new investors. But this past spring, the mutual fund once again flung open its doors to bring in more assets. Sequoia has plenty of company. As stock prices fall and redemptions rise, many mutual funds that were off-limits for years are suddenly open. A year or so ago, about 200 out of the 7,000 U.S. mutual funds were closed, says Russel Kinnel, director of mutual fund research at Morningstar Inc. Now, it's about 40 or 50. Investment companies close funds to new investors for all sorts of reasons.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Baltimore was a major beneficiary last weekend, as organizers of the annual Artscape festival took a pressing need for more space and turned it into a creative way to promote an emerging arts district. This year's new, expanded layout reinvigorated the 27-year-old event - billed as America's largest free public arts festival - by providing room for a wider range of activities that gave people more to see and do than ever. The expanded mix of activities, in turn, brought more people to the 100-acre Station North Arts and Entertainment District in one weekend than months of planning sessions by city agencies and consultants plotting which properties to redevelop and what uses to introduce.

It is not an everyday sight at Fallston High School: a 4-foot mechanized Santa Claus in an orange T-shirt grooving down in the hallway. On top of that, as the Santa began gyrating and singing a Christmas song, three students danced along with the automated decoration. The three seniors -- Christopher Hecker, Nicholas Hess and Joseph Dove -- joined forces to create the display as part of a door-decorating contest begun at the school this year. "We wanted to do something really different," said Dove, 17. "We wanted to create a door that people will stop and notice."

As you get older and you can afford to eat well, your metabolism shrinks to that of a common warbler. A cruel irony. That is why, at pricey restaurants, you see old coots pay $35 for a big, white plate with three scallops on it and a dollop of rice and some emulsified celery. That is all the food they need, plus a pipkin of prune pate for dessert. They are not ranch hands, after all. They're not NFL linemen. But eating habits die hard, and the holidays roll around, and the old guys shuffle up to the chow line and load up, and around midnight they are whinnying in their stalls, begging to be shot and put out of their misery.