Option

Less than a week after saying there was a "50-50 chance" he would remain with the Orioles, pitcher Scott Kamieniecki re-signed with the club for two years at $6.2 million plus an option for a third, solidifying a rotation that still has room for another addition.For now, Kamieniecki, 33, is pegged as the fourth starter behind Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key, but could be bumped to the fifth slot if the Orioles sign another free agent or make a trade. They remain in the running for Willie Blair, an eight-year veteran who pitched for Detroit last year.

College Park -- It is a lofty standard that has long been drilled into the minds of Duke basketball players, but it is one the young Blue Devils had to be reminded of this season: "Losing isn't really an option for us here," sophomore forward Josh McRoberts said. "It's not something we accept." Maryland@Duke Tonight, 9, ESPN, 1300 AM, 105.7 FM Line: Duke by 5

Ignoring prevailing sentiment and the recommendation of a committee that worked six months to create five commissioner districts, the Carroll County legislative delegation approved a voting district plan yesterday that had been widely rejected by residents. The 5-to-2 vote by the delegation favored a voting district map, known as Option One, that separates towns in North Carroll, placing Hampstead with Gamber and Finksburg and putting Manchester in a district that includes Taneytown and the county's more rural areas.

Carroll school administrators don't want to crowd students into the new Piney Ridge Elementary School in its first year.Instead, theywant to open with fewer students to allow growth in the school, which opens in September off Freedom Road, south of Route 26.Under the administrators' plan -- known as Option A -- the schoolwould start with about 490 students. Two other redistricting optionswould bring enrollment close to or over capacity, which is 600."What we heard loud and clear from the citizens that participated in the two public meetings we had was a general concurrence that Piney Ridge should open with room to grow," said Vernon F. Smith Jr., director of school support services.

There's a sinking feeling among technology stock investors this summer - a feeling of history repeating. At the start of 2002, the bear market had been raging for nearly two years. Then came a wave of corporate scandals that showed the Enron Corp. debacle of late 2001 was no one-off affair. As shares of Tyco International Ltd., Adelphia Communications Corp. and WorldCom Inc. all collapsed in the first half of 2002 amid allegations of extensive financial fraud by their executives, demoralized investors wondered whether they could trust any number on corporate balance sheets and income statements.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NationsBank Corp. said yesterday it will probably buy at least 25 percent of Gartmore PLC, taking advantage of Banque Indosuez's decision to sell its 75 percent stake in the London-based investment management firm.NationsBank is a 50-50 joint-venture partner of Gartmore in the ownership of Nations Gartmore, which combines Gartmore's international asset management capabilities with NationsBank's ability to target U.S. customers.When it formed the joint venture earlier this year, NationsBank took an option to buy up to 25 percent of Gartmore if Banque Indosuez sold its controlling stake.

TORONTO -- Even if Eric Davis' season is over, his career with the Orioles likely will continue.Team owner Peter Angelos has said Davis can return to the club next year if he desires. The right fielder was playing this season on a one-year, $2.2 million contract with a club option for 1998.According to terms of the contract, the option would become automatically vested if Davis achieved 500 plate appearances, something he had done only once in the past five seasons.Davis, who declined an interview request yesterday, said in a tape shown during Wednesday's game that he hoped to return to the club.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has settled fraud claims against five former SafeNet employees, including a chief executive officer who resigned in 2006 amid a stock option scandal. Former CEO Anthony A. Caputo and Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Mueller were charged in a civil complaint with backdating stock options to inflate their value between 2000 and 2006.

The Orioles announced Thursday that they won't exercise third baseman Melvin Mora's $8 million option for the 2010 season, an expected move that will likely end the tenure of one of their most productive and popular players over the past decade. The team could try to re-sign him for less, but that appears unlikely with Mora coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career and both sides seemingly ready to head in different directions. "We'll see how the offseason unfolds," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said.

A Maryland House of Delegates committee has heard testimony and reviewed a map that divides Carroll County into five new commissioner districts, but it may take several weeks to make a recommendation before sending the measure to the Senate. Although the county legislative delegation submitted the map as an emergency bill, the hearing process and an ensuing debate are delaying the campaign for the commissioner race and preventing candidates from filing for office. The map is critical to the expansion of the board of commissioners from three to five members this year.