Phenomenon

It has been a year since the climate pattern known as La Nina ended, the longest period of so-called "neutral" conditions since 2004. And there is no sign of the phenomenon, or its counterpart El Nino, through summer, climate forecasters say. La Nina, known for bringing mild winters to the mid-Atlantic, was last active from August 2011 through April 2012. The phenomenon is marked by warmer-than-average Pacific Ocean surface temperatures around the equator. But since May of last year, those water temperatures have been in "neutral" territory, too cool for a La Nina but not cold enough for El Nino.

It has been a year since the climate pattern known as La Nina ended, the longest period of so-called "neutral" conditions since 2004. And there is no sign of the phenomenon, or its counterpart El Nino, through summer, climate forecasters say. La Nina, known for bringing mild winters to the mid-Atlantic, was last active from August 2011 through April 2012. The phenomenon is marked by warmer-than-average Pacific Ocean surface temperatures around the equator. But since May of last year, those water temperatures have been in "neutral" territory, too cool for a La Nina but not cold enough for El Nino.

Whether you accept the political or the non-political version of the rapprochement between William Donald Schaefer and Kurt L. Schmoke, you have to agree a more friendly relationship between the governor of Maryland and the mayor of Baltimore is devoutly to be wished. For more than six years these two politicians have been bickering to the detriment of all concerned. If they are now ready to be pals, let us rejoice.It's fun to speculate Mr. Schaefer longs to return to City Hall in the 1995 election, and needs to get Mr. Schmoke out of the way by elevating him right into the governor's chair.

When Venus passed between Earth and the sun 251 years ago Tuesday, scientists scribbled down observations that helped calculate a rough estimate of the size of our solar system. Using crude telescopes, they watched the yellow planet move across the sun's face as a tiny black disk. There is little more the same rare phenomenon, known as a transit of Venus, will reveal about our closest neighbors in space when it occurs again Tuesday. But astronomers will be watching nonetheless, hoping it will teach them to better discover and investigate planets that are much farther away and could sustain life.

MILWAUKEE -- Whether it's by calculation or just plain orneriness, Democrats seem to like punishing their presidential front-runners, or at least making them sweat a bit before finally anointing them as their party's nominees.Gov. Bill Clinton is experiencing the discomfort now after his narrow defeat by former Gov.Jerry brown in the Connecticut primary.And Brown enthusiasts in Wisconsin and in New York are hoping to administer another dose of the same medicine to him on April 7.As far back as 20 years ago, front-runner George McGovern got a taste of it when Democrats less liberal than himself threw their support behind Hubert Humphrey in what was then known as ABM. Those initials were commonly used at that time as the abbreviation for anti-ballistic missile, but in this case they meant Anybody But McGovern.

WASHINGTON -- What's been said about the weather -- that everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it -- could be said right now about the Ross Perot phenomenon and the reaction of the George Bush and Bill Clinton campaigns.For weeks now, Perot has energetically blotted out the sun of publicity for the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential candidates by popping up on television with more frequency than Jay Leno, and by continuing to give newspaper interviews while contending he is busy doing his homework.

PHILADELPHIA -- A man who builds a show around himself and calls it "Lord of the Dance" is not shy.But what's surprising about Michael Flatley, who comes off as arrogant and obnoxious in even the most sycophantic magazine profiles, is how self-effacing he manages to be in the midst of all the hype.On the best-selling video of "Lord of the Dance" and in the show itself, which will play Aug. 30-31 at the Baltimore Arena, Flatley is larger than life: erupting onstage in a firestorm of steps, strutting off to thunderous applause, returning with an unfeigned smile of joy to bask in the applause.

Two Baltimore cousins were sentenced to prison last week for their roles in an armed robbery at a Chinese restaurant that became an Internet phenomenon last year when a video that showed witnesses laughing was posted on YouTube. David Jefferson, 17, of the 2700 block of Tivoly Ave., and Kevin Johnson, 15, of the same address, were sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder and other charges in the August 2008 robbery at the Chinese Cuisine Carryout at 2700 Harford Road.

Washington - Barack Hussein Obama will complete a remarkable breakthrough when he is sworn into office on Tuesday. As the first African-American president, he will immediately, and forever, stand apart from the 42 white men who preceded him. But his significance goes beyond that indelible achievement. Obama will also become America's first global president, taking charge under the shadow of what he calls "the worst recession since the Great Depression," a worldwide contagion with no end in sight.

Scientists have recorded the clearest video image yet of the elusive blue jet, a spectacular flash sometimes observed zipping above thunderstorm clouds by airline passengers and pilots. This brilliant phenomenon, scientists say, may provide a previously unrecognized electrical bridge between clouds and the charged layer of the upper atmosphere, or ionosphere. After studying the phenomenon for seven years, Pennsylvania State University electrical engineer Victor Pasko said he was "very excited" finally to see one with his own eyes from the roof of an observatory in Puerto Rico in September.

Don Gerding of Rodgers Forge couldn't believe it when he heard the news that former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan had died. "It was upsetting," he said. Gerding worked with the former Oriole pitcher the 1970s and 80s, when Flanagan did some rep work in the printing and engraving business for Dempsey & Carroll while he was still pitching at Memorial Stadium. "He was a 33rd Street phenomenon," Gerding said. Flanagan, a Cy Young Award winner who became a television announcer and top executive with the club, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday afternoon on his property in Sparks, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation into his death.

The high-pressure system that has roasted much of the Northeast in recent days brought with it other unpleasant summer visitors: soot and smog. For most of the week, a "Code Orange" alert has been in effect in Maryland as seniors, young children and those with health issues such as asthma that might make them sensitive to polluted air have been advised to stay indoors. That's because such pollution, known as ground-level ozone — formed when sunlight interacts with certain emissions (chiefly from cars and electric-power generating plants)

Two Baltimore cousins were sentenced to prison last week for their roles in an armed robbery at a Chinese restaurant that became an Internet phenomenon last year when a video that showed witnesses laughing was posted on YouTube. David Jefferson, 17, of the 2700 block of Tivoly Ave., and Kevin Johnson, 15, of the same address, were sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder and other charges in the August 2008 robbery at the Chinese Cuisine Carryout at 2700 Harford Road.

Washington - Barack Hussein Obama will complete a remarkable breakthrough when he is sworn into office on Tuesday. As the first African-American president, he will immediately, and forever, stand apart from the 42 white men who preceded him. But his significance goes beyond that indelible achievement. Obama will also become America's first global president, taking charge under the shadow of what he calls "the worst recession since the Great Depression," a worldwide contagion with no end in sight.

BEIJING - Michael Phelps touched the wall today, looked up at the scoreboard to find his time, then closed his eyes. He winced in pain, needing a moment to collect himself. This one hurt. It also felt pretty darn good. Phelps won his sixth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, and set his sixth world record in as many events, cruising home in 1 minute, 54.23 seconds to win the 200-meter individual medley. He is now just one gold medal away from matching Mark Spitz's record of seven, set at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, and has two events remaining: the 100-meter butterfly and the 400-meter individual medley.

meatpaper.com The online version of the new journal Meatpaper is about meat "as a provocative cultural symbol and phenomenon," write the editors. You can read articles on kosher animal slaughter and on an artist who has made a map of the world out of Spam.

The massive Howard Stern media blitz is over, leaving in its wake remnant thoughts about what New Yorker writer David Remnick cleverly calls "over-the-counter counterculture," or the mainstreaming of edginess. Does a pop phenomenon -- Howard Stern, alternative rock, Courtney Love, the nodding-out-on-heroin look, "independent" movie-making -- remain edgy once it has been mass-packaged and presold? And if a healthy, lip-jobbed Courtney Love is making Oscar presentations, and Howard Stern has topped the box-office list, who will become the new rebels?

The doorbell rang the other day, and I answered it. (This has to be one of the most compelling openings ever written.) A group of my son's friends were at the door, so I let them in. (The excitement builds.) Shortly thereafter, the volume control on our speaking voices boosted several decibels, and enthusiasm reverberated throughout our house. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and yet everything happening was out of the ordinary. The air crackled with an irrepressible static that would present a serious challenge to even the dryer sheet industry.

Defensive back Bruce Laird brought his Baltimore Colts playbook with him to San Diego when he was traded to the Chargers 25 years ago. Like many other just-traded players before and since, Laird didn't even think twice about supplying inside information on his former team's plays. "I mean, you're wearing different colors now and you're there to win," he said.