Opportunities

Before sunrise Monday, Kevin and Shelley Taylor set out from their Millersville home to a new employment center for the Maryland Live! Casino, a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills mall seeking workers for 1,500 jobs. Having tracked the progress of what will be the state's largest casino, the Taylors believe the facility could provide opportunity for their five-member family. Though Kevin Taylor has a job, he wants a better-paying one. And Shelley Taylor has been out of work for several months.

Ahmaad Simmons and Jamar Peete may not have known it at the time, but they had a lot in common. Both grew up in Baltimore and had dreamed of playing football at the college level. Both were natural athletes who were handed lacrosse sticks early in high school because of their God-given ability. A few years into their lacrosse careers, both had the idea of popularizing the sport among inner city youth. But the cross-town high school rivals, Simmons of Baltimore City College and Peete of Walbrook, never got along.

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

Salisbury's defensive display in Sunday's 7-2 victory over Stevenson in an NCAA tournament semifinal at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury helped that unit overtake Cabrini as the stingiest defense in Division III, surrendering just 4.8 goals per game thus far. One reason why opponents are having trouble scoring on the Sea Gulls is that their man-down defense is nearly as imposing. That unit ranks sixth in the nation after allowing opposing offenses to score on just 13.6 percent (19-of-140)

This letter is written in response to the article "Panel urges obesity tests for kids as young as 6" by Kelly Brewington (Jan. 18). Ms. Brewington has done a thorough review of this topic, and we applaud the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for calling attention to this alarming trend, a trend that has significant impact beyond just the weight of our community. Research is clear that poor nutrition and physical inactivity has broad reaching consequences. America's childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last 30 years, exposing 9 million kids to a variety of potential long-term health consequences.

- Given what's happened in the past two years, catcher Ronny Paulino isn't fazed by his current situation. That's what happens when you've been traded three times, suspended for failing a drug test and faced with a career-threatening health condition. "To go through tough times, you know you can handle adversity," said the 30-year-old Paulino. "So I can now take advantage of opportunities. " Paulino signed a minor-league deal with the Orioles in late January and was considered a long shot to make the 25-man roster.

Amid growing interest in cybersecurity, and with the new national Cyber Command located at Fort Meade, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman has appointed a commission to look for economic development opportunities. Co-chairs of the 13-member commission will be Larry Cox, vice president of SAIC, the private cybersecurity firm in the county's Gateway Business Park, and Richard Roca, the recently retired head of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in southern Howard County.

Just when things were starting to look up for the Orioles, they banged face-first into their glass ceiling again this weekend. They battled back to the .500 mark with an impressive five-game winning streak at Camden Yards, but faced with an opportunity to rise above sea level for the first time since mid-April — and a very ripe opportunity to beat one of the hottest young pitchers in the game late Friday night — they showed again why they are...

The Orioles had the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning and managed just one run. Catcher Chad Moeller led off the second inning with a triple and the seventh inning with a double - and didn't score either time. Nick Markakis, the potential tying run, was thrown out attempting a stolen base for the second out of the eighth inning after his single had cut the Los Angeles Angels' lead to one run. An Orioles team that spent the first week and a half of the baseball season finding ways to win is now discovering ways to lose on a daily basis.

It's speculation to suggest that Navy might have avoided Saturday's 14-9 loss to Bucknell at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium if the offense had been more successful on extra-man opportunities. But with a 2-of-6 showing, the Midshipmen are just 3-of-17 on man-up chances. That's 17.6 percent for the season. Navy was 2-of-5 on extra-man opportunities in the fourth quarter, but coach Rick Sowell was left wondering what might have been if the offense had succeeded on a man-up chance with 4:32 left in the third quarter after the Bison had scored four straight goals.

In its fifth year, the Park Quest program run by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources closed its registration for 1,000 families in less than two hours Monday. Told that the spots went as fast as Springsteen tickets, program director Barb Knisely said, "That's what everyone is saying. " Those signed up for the free program have between May 26 and Sept. 3 to complete 10 quests at the 23 participating state parks to qualify for the program's Rendezvous extravaganza at Patapsco State Park on Sept.

Campaign 2012 is now joined. The darts heretofore traded between the Obama and Romney camps now have extra-sharp tips. And it's going to stay this way through to Nov. 2. Most pundits predict a "razor close" and "particularly ugly" campaign. I concur. So, which storyline is a political junkie to follow in light of the 24/7 coverage given to this race for the ages? Which subplot is most instructive with regard to the ultimate outcome? A few thoughts for your consideration: •Youth.

Left-hander Dontrelle Willis has dropped his grievance against the Orioles, and will return to the organization tomorrow, his agent confirmed. Willis, the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and 2005 NL Cy Young Award runner-up, was signed by the Orioles to a minor-league deal during spring training to be a situational left-handed reliever. Two weeks ago, he left Triple-A Norfolk saying he was told he was getting his release , but the Orioles contended that was never the case and he left without the club's permission.

Clouds blocked our view of the recent Lyrid meteor shower, but there is another chance to see “shooting stars” this weekend. The Eta Aquarids are expected to peak in the early mornings of Saturday and Sunday. The meteors come from a cloud of debris left behind by Halley's Comet, according to NASA. While the famous comet only comes by once every 76 years, twice a year Earth passes through its debris, for the Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October. The meteor shower is best viewed from the southern hemisphere, according to NASA, but provides a show up north here, too. Watch for them in the southwest sky before dawn.

Towson's four-game losing skid includes setbacks of 8-3 to No. 10 Penn State on April 14 and 6-3 to St. Joseph's this past Saturday. Surrendering eight and six goals would usually be an opportunity for wins, but coach Shawn Nadelen said an offense that has scored just three times in the second halves of those four contests has ramped up the pressure on the defense to be even stingier. “It's decent,” Nadelen said of the defense. “But as far as where we've been leading up to that game, I wouldn't be overly excited or confident that we'd be able to win that game, knowing that we've only scored three goals three times and five goals in the previous four games.

NEW YORK - As smoothly as this early season has started for the Orioles, they know they'll never be considered serious threats in the American League East if they can't beat the New York Yankees. On Monday, in their first trip to new Yankee Stadium this season, the red-hot Orioles once again received an outstanding pitching performance from Jason Hammel, but couldn't score for him in a 2-1 defeat - their third loss by two runs or fewer to the Bronx Bombers this season.

John Hughes may need a rest. The man who did the scripts for ''Home Alone'' and ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' may be working at too heavy a pace. His newest film, ''Career Opportunities,'' plays like an afterthought, one that was never clearly developed.The film's ambitions are small, but the results are smaller than was hoped. The comedy stars Frank Whaley (''The Doors'') as a young man with little ambition but loads of charm. When he loses one more menial job, his father tells him he will have to pay rent or move out.In desperation, he takes a job as night custodian at a department store and finds himself locked in on his first night of duty.

The emergence of rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith on Sunday has opened the Ravens to a little criticism about the organization's evaluation of players. Smith caught touchdown passes on the first three receptions of his career en route to five catches and 152 yards in the team's 37-7 rout of the St. Louis Rams. But some fans have openly questioned why Smith was making his first start three weeks into the regular season and only because Lee Evans was sidelined by a nagging left ankle injury.

Get outside Wednesday and Thursday nights for chances to view the International Space Station fly over the region. Wednesday, the spacecraft will appear as a bright, swiftly moving light on the northwest horizon just before 9:44 p.m. It will move three-quarters of the way up in the sky as it goes toward the west-southwest before disappearing into the Earth's shadow about 9:47 p.m. Thursday night, look to the northwest horizon at...