Presence

The great are sometimes very great and sometimes very small. Inthe soaring space of a symphony hall, the violinist Midori looks momentarily lost. But on any stage, she has presence.In her presence, a roomful of young musicians at the Peabody Conservatory last spring grew silent as Dean Eileen Cline and Rebecca Henry, chair of the preparatory string department, introduced Midori. She had made her concert debut at age 11. Now 19, Midori Goto (she never uses her last name in public) stood at the foot of the stage in North Hall with its high windows and bare wood floor to talk with schoolchildren, high school boys, adolescent girls, at least one of whom, like Midori, hopes fervently to grow taller than her mother.

Baltimore-based technology company Barcoding Inc. said Wednesday it has acquired Lake Zurich, Ill.,-based Miles Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed amount in a move to increase its presence in the central United States. The Baltimore company sells bar-coding equipment and other devices. Miles, which has offices in St. Louis and the Chicago market, provides barcode and radio frequency identification equipment used to track products and locate individuals. The company, which has 14 employees, also develops software for warehouse tracking and management.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. generals running the war in Iraq presented a new assessment of the military situation in public comments and sworn testimony this week: The 149,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are increasingly part of the problem. During a trip to Washington, the generals said that the presence of U.S. forces was fueling the insurgency, fostering an undesirable dependency on American troops among the nascent Iraqi military and energizing terrorists across the Middle East. For all these reasons, they said, a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops is imperative.

The mood Tuesday inside Pickles Pub, across from Camden Yards, matched the gray rainy weather. As noontime regulars ate their lunch and quietly caressed glasses of beer amid the low-key chatter and music playing in the background, something clearly was wrong. Mick Kipp, their favorite bartender, co-worker, cook, spice maker, friend and genuine all-around character, was missing. Michael D. "Mick" Kipp, the stuntman-turned-bartender known for his zest for life and his colorful chili-pepper-decorated kilts, bandannas and earring, died Sunday from cardiac arrest at his Annapolis home.

THE REFERENDUM to reduce the U.S. military presence on poor little Okinawa was a cry from the heart of people who believe themselves second-class citizens of Japan. It may weaken Japan's coalition government because the leading Liberal Democratic Party shows no real sympathy for Okinawans on this issue, while its junior partner, the Social Democratic Party, does.Only three-fifths of eligible Okinawans voted, which is low for a Japanese election. But nine-tenths of those favored reduction of U.S. forces and reduced legal status for them, which is high for any referendum.

Ralph Harper sits on a bench on the Johns Hopkins University campus, a vigorous man of 76, in a tan corduroy jacket and khaki slacks. His hair runs silver to gray, and his eyes are a startling Caribbean-blue. Physically, Mr. Harper slips smoothly into this academic tableau, a professor emeritus perhaps, returning for lunch with the university president, or a visiting lecturer from an Ivy League school.But the tableau disintegrates as soon as Mr. Harper, an adjunct professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins, begins to talk of the lifelong odyssey that has taken him around the world and left him bereft of professional legitimacy.

Ralph Harper sits on a bench on the Johns Hopkins University campus, a vigorous man of 76, in a tan corduroy jacket and khaki slacks. His hair runs silver to gray, and his eyes are a startling Caribbean-blue. Physically, Mr. Harper slips smoothly into this academic tableau, a professor emeritus perhaps, returning for lunch with the university president, or a visiting lecturer from an Ivy League school.But the tableau disintegrates as soon as Mr. Harper, an adjunct professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins, begins to talk of the lifelong odyssey that has taken him around the world and left him bereft of professional legitimacy.

WHEN THE Academy of American Poets sought nominees to grace commemorative stamps, Langston Hughes far outpolled other lyric notables. The popularity of the Harlem Renaissance poet is but one example of, in the words of biographer Arnold Rampersad, Hughes' "risen presence in the national culture." His poems, novels, short stories, plays, librettos, translations and essays - he covered the Spanish Civil War for The Afro-American newspaper in Baltimore - are being reissued in a 17-volume collection of his works, the first ever.

U.S. Foodservice said yesterday that it has acquired St. Louis-based Allen Foods Inc. in an effort to expand its reach in the Midwest. "Allen Foods has been one of the most respected names in the food service business," Robert Gillison, vice president and treasurer of Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice, said yesterday. "We had an opportunity to do a transaction with them, and really beef up our presence in what is one of the best and largest markets in the country." Gillison declined to disclose financial terms of the transaction.

When left tackle Bryant McKinnie reported to Ravens training camp five days late, many figured that 11-year veteran would need some time to get back in shape, but would soon regain his spot on the first offense. That hasn't happened yet. McKinnie is still playing with the second offense while Michael Oher and rookie Kelechi Osemele man the left and right tackle positions, respectively, with the starting offense. McKinnie's presence would appear to set the stage for Oher to return to right tackle and for Osemele to find a spot with the second offense.

Gun-rights advocates unveiled Tuesday a 225-page report paid for by the National Rifle Association that lays out a vision for arming teachers to prevent the kind of mass shootings that claimed 27 lives at a Connecticut elementary school last year. Drafted in response to the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary, the report calls for the creation of a 40- to 60-hour weapons training course that would prepare teachers or administrators to carry guns and confront possible shooters — ideas that drew a mixed response from Maryland officials.

Towson University is trying to reassure its student population and address the concerns of national civil rights groups after a pro-white race student group recently announced it would conduct crime-watching patrols at night. Matthew Heimbach, a Towson senior and founder of the White Student Union, made headlines across the country earlier this week for the patrols, which he said were in response to a spike in black-on-white crime. Heimbach said the patrol members would be unarmed except for flashlights and pepper spray, though he had previously told Towson's student newspaper his members have gotten firearms training.

Art museums always come in handy during the holidays, when so many people are looking for enjoyable ways to while away the hours with friends and family - or to escape from friends and family. This weekend, consider checking out the Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Museum . Both esteemed venues have much to offer first-time and veteran visitors alike. The big draw at the BMA this season is the newly restored Contemporary Wing, which provides more than enough diversion and elucidation to compensate for those portions of the museum that have recently been closed off for their turn at restoration.

Baltimore police have enlisted state troopers to help with patrols as the city confronts a spike in crime, a move that puts to an end years of disagreement between the two agencies over the state force's role in local law enforcement. With the Maryland State Police now led by a former Baltimore police commander, the agencies began talking about the new arrangement over the summer, and new Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has pushed it forward as part of his plans to get more officers on foot deployments.

Justin Tucker's legs shook underneath him, and for a moment, he thought he might actually be nervous about kicking a field goal. Then he realized, as he later told his father, that the movement didn't result from any internal tension but from 88,645 Texas A&M fans literally shaking the ground as they clamored for Tucker, the kicker from archrival Texas, to miss a decisive 40-yarder. With that, Tucker knew he was exactly where he had always wanted to be, lining up to boot the biggest kick of his life at the center of a boiling football caldron, also known as Kyle Field.

Anne Arundel County government officials on Wednesday vowed an increased police presence at public schools on Friday amid rumors about a possible school attack that officials say has been determined to be unfounded. At a news conference, Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold, school Superintendent Kevin Maxwell and Lt. J.D. Batten, commander of the Anne Arundel County Police School Safety Section, sought to quell concerns about rumors of school shootings planned Friday. They declined to say which schools would have an increased police presence.

Oct. 16 1962 The Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was told that photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba.

"WHAT, THEN, is this American, this new man?" asked the visiting Frenchman Hector St. John de Crevecoeur some time in the 1780s.The answer to that riddle is rich and complicated, and it has been told and retold in our art, literature and music since the country's earliest days."American art tells the American story," wrote the critic Robert Hughes. "Americans, like any other people, inscribe their histories, beliefs, attitudes, desires and dreams in the images they make."Hughes presented his ideas in a recent book, "American Visions," which also served as the basis of a popular television series and a special edition of Time magazine earlier this year.

Annapolis police are looking for Clarence Eugene Johnson III, after obtaining a warrant charging him with first-degree murder of a Brooklyn man and the shooting of a woman Wednesday night in Robinwood public housing community in the city. Joseph Louis Johnson III, 33, was killed and Jana Jackson, 31, was critically wounded in the shootings that occurred in the 1400 block of Tyler Ave. Jackson was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, which she is critical condition, police said.

Updated Dec. 7, 2012, 5:41 p.m.: Alonso released the following statement “I have been gathering the facts. This is an important and sensitive issue and I do not want to react without understanding exactly what happened, both at the school and district level, since obviously balls were dropped. I plan to meet with central office staff on Monday if I am back and with principals on Thursday and Friday of next week. " He said he was out Thursday, the day of the parent meeting, for a family emergency.