Procedure

On July 30, The Sun published an op-ed by Mary Alice Ernish, founder of the grassroots non-profit Audit Baltimore, which contained a series of questions about the city's auditing practices. This week, Comptroller Joan Pratt, who oversees the city's auditors, provided responses. • Why have some city agencies not been audited in over three decades? The city's financial statements, which are prepared by the Department of Finance, include all of the expenses and revenues of all city agencies.

PASADENA, Calif. — His career is dwarfed by his incision. "It's the ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction while using the Palmaris longus tendon," he said. "That's why they call it Tommy John surgery. " But it is actually the Frank Jobe surgery. The Dodgers' orthopedist performed the first one in 1974 on John, who recovered to win 20 or more games in three different seasons. He went 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA in 14 playoff games. The career that was supposed to end with one faulty pitch on July 17, 1974, wound up lasting 26 years, one short of the all-time record.

An Atlanta woman is going to federal prison for injecting the buttocks of women across the country with silicone intended to be used as a paint additive or furniture polish, with one procedure causing serious injuries to a Baltimore exotic dancer. The New York Post reported in 2008 that Kimberly D. Smedley was performing the illegal operations in Manhattan hotel rooms. Smedley was charged in November after a Baltimore stripper came forward saying that an injection performed in a downtown hotel nearly killed her. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Smedley, 46, to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Operators of abortion clinics in Maryland will have to apply for licenses and meet strict guidelines under new regulations being adopted by state health officials next month. The regulations, announced by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Friday, are meant to increase oversight of surgical abortion clinics, which have faced increased scrutiny since a botched abortion at an Elkton clinic made headlines two years ago. The new rules significantly strengthen current law, which requires abortions to be performed by a licensed physician, but pose few other restrictions.

In response to Ritu Agarwal's commentary ("The high cost of waiting," June 1): While it can be frustrating to wait in a doctor's office, Ms. Argarwal fails to consider several important factors affecting the promptness of being seen at an appointed time. Doctors don't "run behind" just because they feel like it; falling behind schedule is stressful to the doctor and staff as well as the patient. There are legitimate reasons for falling behind schedule, including, but not limited to: true emergencies (a tooth knocked out on the playground)

A former head of the state's public defender office has lost a challenge to her 2009 firing, as Maryland's highest court ruled against her Tuesday. Nancy S. Forster was fired in a dispute with the agency's governing board over operation of the office that represents poor people facing criminal charges. The Court of Appeals did not rule on her contention that she was wrongly fired because the changes the board sought were illegal and would harm clients. A seven-judge majority ruled against her for procedural reasons.

A Baltimore County judge denied Mark Midei's appeal for reinstatement of his medical license, ruling that there was "substantial evidence" for the Maryland Board of Physicians to revoke it last year after finding that the Towson cardiologist falsified patient records to justify the placement of unnecessary coronary stents. The decision ends an ordeal that began more than three years ago, when an anonymous letter was sent to the state board, claiming Midei, a well-regarded physician who earned a seven-figure salary at St. Joseph Medical Center, was improperly treating patients.

Injured Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada is still holding out hope for better news, but one of the team's biggest offseason investments might need Tommy John surgery to repair his left elbow, he said before Thursday's game. Wada has already seen Orioles team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens but is planning to fly to Los Angeles this weekend to see Dr. Lewis Yocum for a second opinion on his elbow. "[My] elbow is feeling better compared to last time I pitched, but the results of the MRI was not so good as I thought it would be," Wada said through interpreter Seob Yoon . "So I'm going to get a second opinion, see [what]

For the first time since 1977, the Pulitzer Prize Board has not chosen a winner in the fiction category. Susan Larson, one of three fiction jurors who each read 300 submissions prior to forwarding three finalists, announced that the jurors were "shocked," "angry," and "very disappointed. " She added that the jurors felt so strongly about all three finalists — "Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell, "The Pale King" by David Foster Wallace, and "Train Dreams" by Dennis Johnson — that they would have been happy had any been selected.

Apparently Americans aren't happy with their chins. Chinplants are the fastest growing plastic surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. And both men and women are getting the procedure. The chin and jawline are among the first parts of the face to show signs of aging and chin implants can make people look more youthful, the group said. The procedure saw a 71 percent increase from 2010 to 2011, when 20,680 people got chin augmentation. Women had led the trend with 10,087 of the surgeries, but men weren't far behind with 10,593 procedures.