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Volt has brought back an a la carte menu. For a few years now, Bryan Voltaggio's flagship restaurant has been going with multi-course tasting menus as well as the exclusive Table 21 experience. But beginning last Friday, the Frederick restaurant began offering an a la carte menu, too. Even so, the a la carte menu is developed and designed to be approached like a tasting menu, the Volt folks say. Instead of breaking items down into conventional appetizer, entree and dessert courses, the a la carte menu has headings like Fruits and Vegetables, Pasta and Grains, Fish and Shellfish and Cheese and Dessert.

The Orioles made two outfield roster cuts before Monday's game, optioning Russ Canzler to Triple-A Norfolk and reassigning Jason Pridie to minor league camp. The moves trim the Orioles spring training roster to 38 players, including 10 non-roster invitees. Canzler, who played both outfield and first base competing for a reserve spot, recorded a .265/.324/.294 batting line this spring in 23 games. Pridie, a non-roster invitee, had a solid spring, hitting .310/.341/.548 with two homers and nine RBIs in 19 games.

This spring's competition for the fifth spot in the Orioles' starting rotation came a little bit closer to a conclusion Saturday when the team optioned left-hander Zach Britton to Triple-A Norfolk. The team also optioned infielders Jonathan Schoop and Yamaico Navarro to Triple-A and reassigned right-hander Daniel McCutchen to minor league camp. Those moves trim the Orioles' spring roster to 40 players. In five Grapefruit League outings this spring, the 25-year-old Britton had a 6.10 ERA, allowing 13 hits and seven runs in 10 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and four walks.

It still felt like winter at Oriole Park on Saturday morning, but spring was in the air and baseball was already on the minds of the fans who showed up to shop for season tickets at the Orioles' first "Tag Day" since 2009. No, it wasn't a special promotion that allowed fans to take the field and play a rousing game of touched-you-last. It was an opportunity to walk around the ballpark and sit in the seats that are still available for purchase on a full- or partial-season basis.

I want to plant a butterfly garden for my grandchildren. What plants would you suggest beyond butterfly bush? While butterfly bush quickly comes to mind, it is not the best by itself. It provides nectar but no food for the other life stage of butterflies, i.e. caterpillar. No caterpillars means no butterflies, so caterpillar food sources are important. Butterflies evolved feeding upon native plants, and some species can be very particular, only eating one type of plant. For shrubs and trees, you can try summersweet (clethra)

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles optioned third baseman Danny Valencia to Triple-A Norfolk during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Valencia, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox this offseason for cash considerations, was 10-for-31 this spring. He hit a game-winning solo home run in the Orioles' 8-7 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday in Fort Myers, his only one of the spring. The 28-year-old Valencia entered camp as a possible right-handed designated hitter because of his .316/.359/.472 career batting line against right-handed pitching.

You know how you wake up on Sunday morning and enjoy the challenge of trying to complete the crossword puzzle or the Sudoku in the newspaper? That's how NFL defensive coordinators and coaches when they wake up in the morning feel about the read-option offense, which puzzled many teams during the 2012 season. Three NFC playoff teams from a season ago -- Washington, Seattle and San Francisco -- made the read-option running game a staple of their offenses, using their poised, mobile young quarterbacks to terrorize defenses.

Saying "yes" to single-sex schools is sage advice for today's educators and policy makers ("Maryland Should Say Yes to Single-Sex Schools," Mar. 11). The writer, Christopher Summers, provides powerful points about why students deserve a variety of school options. Current research documents the high academic achievements of girls and boys who graduate from single-sex schools. Equally compelling are the stories graduates tell about their personal experiences. Listen to what students at Garrison Forest School, an all-girls school from Kindergarten through 12th Grade, tell me, "I can be true to myself.

Long before the Ravens went on their Super Bowl run, coaches and team officials had grown tired of watching opposing ball carriers tear through the middle of the line of scrimmage and pick up yards down the field. The Ravens defense fell from the NFL's elite this past season and the primary reason was its struggles against the run, normally one of the strengths of this group. The Ravens allowed 122.8 yards per game on the ground, the highest total in franchise history. The Ravens had one of the top-10 ranked rush defenses for nine straight seasons before the 2012-13 group ballooned to 20 th , the second worst ranking in franchise history.

The Orioles made a cut Sunday, sending outfielder L.J. Hoes to minor league camp. The 23-year-old Hoes hit .320 (8-for-25) in 16 games with the Orioles this spring. More than anything, the converted infielder opened eyes with his outfield defense. “I think the thing I was most impressed with is how far he came defensively. He played a good outfield here,” Showalter said. “He's been good, He was really good defensively.” Hoes, who Baseball America ranks as the sixth best prospect in the Orioles system, appeared in two games with the Orioles last year, getting one official at-bat, He is targeted for Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .300 in 82 games as a 22-year-old.