Permission

Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a method that seems to address the major hurdles — a website that supplies free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Baltimore County prosecutors will not be allowed to use information provided by James D. Laboard's lawyer on the night that the off-duty police officer allegedly killed a Randallstown teenager, a judge ruled Friday. During a criminal motions hearing, Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander ruled that the lawyer's decision to talk to detectives violated attorney-client confidentiality. Prosecutors said the ruling would have little effect on the case. Laboard, a Baltimore County police officer, is charged with two counts of manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Christopher Brown.

Orioles minor league pitcher Dontrelle Willis has reportedly left the club's Triple-A affliate in Norfolk without the organization's permission after being placed on the minor league restricted list, but the Orioles appear to have no plans to release the left-hander. Willis, the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and 2005 NL Cy Young Award runner-up, was signed by the Orioles in the spring to become a situational left-handed reliever. He had signed with the Phillies in the offseason but was released midway through spring training.

If there is a single work that captures the essence of America in sound and movement, it's "Appalachian Spring," the ballet with music by Aaron Copland and choreography by Martha Graham that premiered in 1944 at the Library of Congress. Although the sonic part of the piece is never out of earshot, thanks to the perennially performed orchestral suite Copland fashioned from the score, the opportunity to experience the music and dance in its original form doesn't come around every day. Since last fall, students at the Baltimore School for the Arts have been delving into the ballet from every angle, preparing for "An Appalachian Spring Festival," an interdisciplinary project that includes an art exhibit, a concert and panel discussions.

The Orioles have granted the Boston Red Sox permission to interview Rick Peterson for their pitching coach position, and he will interview for the job, an industry source confirmed. Peterson spent this year as the Orioles' director of pitching development. He was previously a pitching coach for the Oakland Athletics , New York Mets , and Milwaukee Brewers . Peterson will be the second member of the organization to interview with the Red Sox this offseason. Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale interviewed for Boston's managerial job, which ultimately went to John Farrell.

WASHINGTON - I went to President Bush's White House news conference Thursday to see how he was wrestling with the momentous issue of Iraq. One line he uttered captured all the things that were troubling me about his approach. It was when he said: "When it comes to our security, we really don't need anybody's permission." The first thing that bothered me was the phrase, "When it comes to our security." Fact: The invasion of Iraq today is not vital to American security. Saddam Hussein has neither the intention nor the capability to threaten America, and is easily deterrable if he does.

The County Council has given permission to MCI Inc., which owns a microwave tower in the Carsins Run area near the Interstate 95 Maryland House rest stop, to install a water line into the property to connect the county's public water service."

MCI Metro, a subsidiary of MCI Communications Corp., applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission today for permission to compete with Bell Atlantic Corp. in the local telephone market.The Maryland filing was part of the first major offensive launched by the nation's second-largest long-distance company in its long-expected assault on the regional Bells' near-monopoly hold on the nation's local telephone business.MCI also applied today to provide local phone service in four other states: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and Washington.

WASHINGTON -- Another state -- North Dakota -- got a federal court's permission yesterday to start enforcing an anti-abortion law as the impact of the Supreme Court's latest ruling on that issue continued to spread across the country.Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney S. Webb of Fargo, N.D., ruled that the state's 24-hour waiting period and government-required doctor's medical-legal discussion of the abortion procedure to a woman seeking an abortion could now be enforced, 18 months after he had originally blocked it from going into effect.

The Orioles have cleared a significant hurdle in their search for a successor to general manager Pat Gillick: The Cleveland Indians granted them permission to interview assistant general manager Dan O'Dowd. But access to O'Dowd, a leading candidate, is conditional, according to sources familiar with the talks.Indians owner Richard Jacobs and general manager John Hart stipulated that O'Dowd's availability is contingent upon an agreement that no Indians personnel follow O'Dowd to Baltimore for a specified length of time.

Baltimore County police officers from several precincts were called to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium on Saturday after the promoter of a weekend motorcycle show said he asked a gang to leave. The Pagans, a rival of the Hells Angels, were asked to leave by the organizers of the Timonium Motorcycle Show about 1 p.m., police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said in an email. She said additional police support was requested because the department was concerned about a possible confrontation after the Hells Angels were displaying their colors, which motorcycle clubs were told not to do during the event.

The Orioles have granted the Boston Red Sox permission to interview Rick Peterson for their pitching coach position, and he will interview for the job, an industry source confirmed. Peterson spent this year as the Orioles' director of pitching development. He was previously a pitching coach for the Oakland Athletics , New York Mets , and Milwaukee Brewers . Peterson will be the second member of the organization to interview with the Red Sox this offseason. Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale interviewed for Boston's managerial job, which ultimately went to John Farrell.

Before there was "Sex and the City," there was "Sex and the Single Girl," Helen Gurley Brown's hall pass for women to have the job, the man, the money and all the sex they wanted. The iconic editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, with its bosomy Cosmo girls on the cover dripping with pearls and promising pleasure, died Monday at the age of 90 after a brief illness. She had reported to her pretty, pink corner office in the Hearst Building in Manhattan almost daily until her death. "It would be hard to overstate the importance ... of her success...

Orioles minor league pitcher Dontrelle Willis has reportedly left the club's Triple-A affliate in Norfolk without the organization's permission after being placed on the minor league restricted list, but the Orioles appear to have no plans to release the left-hander. Willis, the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and 2005 NL Cy Young Award runner-up, was signed by the Orioles in the spring to become a situational left-handed reliever. He had signed with the Phillies in the offseason but was released midway through spring training.

Baltimore beer drinkers, rejoice. Soon you will likely be able to hoist freshly poured growlers of your favorite brew at locations throughout the city. The Maryland General Assembly is poised to approve a measure this week that would make Baltimore the first jurisdiction in the state where refillable containers of draft beer will be widely available. Versions of the measure has passed both the House and Senate, which are in the process of working out minor differences. The law would take effect in July.

The Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams and and one other team have contacted the Ravens and received permission to interview Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta for their general manager opening, a league source said. The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday night that the other team is the Chicago Bears. None of the interviews have taken place as of now, but that could change in the next couple of days. The Colts and Rams have already started their interview process and it is believed that DeCosta, the heir apparent to Ravens general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, is at or near the top of their respective wish lists.

CSX Transportation Inc., which has been struggling to reduce its costs, has won the right to cut its train crew sizes from four to three on almost every mile of its 18,800-mile system.By winning the United Transportation Union's permission to cut one brakeman from its train crews, CSX has caught up with most of its major railroad competitors, according to Jeffrey Medford, who follows the rail industry for Wheat First Securities in Richmond, Va.As recently as 18 months ago, Richmond-based CSX had an average of 4.3 workers on each train, Mr. Medford explained.

Integrated Health Services Inc., the bankrupt health care provider, has received court permission to hire a broker and sell more than half of its corporate campus in Sparks. If the sale goes as planned, the land could bring top-tier office development to Baltimore County and an infusion of cash to the troubled company struggling to reorganize. IHS sought the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's permission to hire TriAlliance Commercial Real Estate Services LLC of Towson to market the property, which the health care provider bought in 1997 for $6.2 million.

The Orioles' search for a new top executive is progressing, with the club receiving permission to interview Arizona Diamondbacks senior vice president Jerry Dipoto and Toronto Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava, who are both expected to be in Baltimore next week. The Orioles also have sought permission from the Florida Marlins to interview assistant GM Dan Jennings but are still awaiting word. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is out of the country and has not responded to the request.

They came asking for zoning for a car dealership, a landscaping company and a wedding chapel, saying that without proper approvals they would have to move their businesses. Others came with "Keep South County Rural" stickers, to protest proposed zoning changes that they said would intrude upon their way of life. One hundred and thirty five people testified before the Anne Arundel County Council on a bill that could yield broad zoning changes in the Annapolis and more rural South County areas.