Pace

Despite it being one of the hottest summers on record in Baltimore, "code red" air pollution days are at their lowest levels since 2009.  There has been only one "code red" day, considered unhealthy for everyone -- June 29, the day intense heat fueled the deadly derecho storm. That is according to AirNow, an air-quality website maintained by a handful of federal government agencies. There have been 14 days with "code orange" conditions in at least part of the Baltimore area so far this summer.

The glare hasn't gone anywhere. Even in training camp practices, Ray Lewis' scowl, which has almost dared opposing teams to run his way for nearly two decades in the NFL, remains omnipresent. But the long-time face of the Ravens' vaunted defense has a different look this summer. A lean Lewis reported to training camp last week and acknowledged he is probably the lightest that he's been since he arrived in Baltimore as a rookie in 1996, burdened by questions about whether he was too small to hold up at middle linebacker.

Baltimore surpassed its annual total of 90-degree days last week but is still equal to or behind tallies of hot days for the past two years. Twenty-one days in July have reached 90 degrees or above at BWI Marshall Airport so far this year. That makes 34 days at or above 90 so far this year -- four more than the annual norm of 30 days. At BWI, two days reached 90 in May and 11 did in June. But despite the seemingly high tally, 2012 is on pace with 2011 and won't meet the pace 2010 set through the end of July.

When Christopher Booher opens his email at work, a robotic voice rapidly reads the words to him. As a blind employee at the National Institute of Mental Health in Rockville, Booher relies on the screen-reading software. But the 33-year-old says it's not just technology that makes him comfortable at work. When he interviewed for a job as a grants manager four years ago, the supervisor was open to working with someone who is blind. "That sort of drew me toward this," Booher said.

Lights flipped on and air conditioners started humming across the Baltimore region amid a storm cleanup of hurricane proportions Tuesday, but the rate of power restoration slowed as workers focused on isolated outages and faced the potential for more severe weather. Many power outages are stretching into their fifth day, and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. officials warned that rounds of thunderstorms Tuesday night and Wednesday could threaten plans to tackle the remaining 126,000 by the end of the weekend.

The number of Maryland homes and apartments expanded by 10,000 from mid-2010 to the middle of last year, according to new Census Bureau estimates -- still far below the pace of expansion the state is used to seeing. From 2001 to 2006, the annual increase ranged from 23,000 to 26,000 units. Then builders hit the brakes. Housing expanded by 19,000 units in 2007, 14,000 in 2008 and just under 9,000 in 2009. You've all heard the reasons a thousand times: Housing bust, recession, greater difficulties getting financing whether you're a home buyer or a builder.

When John Greeley aggravated the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the second quarter of Johns Hopkins' 8-2 loss to Navy on April 21, the junior midfielder joined sophomore defensive midfielder Phil Castronova (knee) as Johns Hopkins players whose status for 2013 was in question. Coach Dave Pietramala said the uncertainty regarding their return has been lifted somewhat as he has received positive reports from the school's medical staff on their recovery. “It's my understanding that both - and obviously, Phil is far ahead of John just because of the timing of the injuries - will be full go from the first day of practice in the spring,” Pietramala said.

Before walking into BangBang Mongolian Grill, take a deep breath. It might be your last chance to relax until dinner is over. The new addition to the Can Company in Canton, which opened in February, promotes its healthy, do-it-yourself meals with exclamations like "An Explosion of Flavors Await!" and, splashed across a bright red wall, "BRING IT!" Fans of Tony Horton's P90X videos will chuckle - the energetic fitness guru uses "Bring it!" as his catch phrase. That's appropriate because BangBang's shares the same manic energy that Horton exudes in front of the camera.

Women's college lacrosse Church's 7 points pace Gettysburg in 1st round Hannah Church (Mount de Sales) and Katie Blumenthal each contributed seven points as host Gettysburg (18-1) won, 22-7, over Cabrini (10-9) in the first round of the NCAA Division III women's lacrosse tournament on Wednesday. Church had four goals and three assists; she is two points shy of Katie Ceglarski (266 points) for fourth on the Bullets' all-time points list. Gettysburg will host Denison at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the second round.

Under ideal conditions, Aaron Magid, of Halethorpe, was the top finishing at the Arbutus 5K Spring Fling which originated at the Arbutus Fire Hall on April 21. Magid, 29, posted a time of 18:45.5 which translated to a 6:03 mile pace. The top female runner was Jess Ivy, of Columbia. She finished in 20:18.5, a pace of 6:33. Results 1. Aaron Magid 18:45.5 2. Jack Ivy 19:22.7 3. David Jun 20:03.1 4. Martin Goode 20:07.6 5. Jess Ivy 20:18.5 6. Rich Handler 20:45.