Progress

Navy has opened the season with back-to-back victories for the first time since 2009 and has outscored VMI and Deroit by a combined 31-14. But coach Rick Sowell knows that Tuesday afternoon's visit with No. 18 Fairfield will be a more accurate gauge of the Midshipmen's progress thus far. The Stags won a program-record 12 games last season and is widely viewed as as dark horse candidate to get past No. 1 Loyola and No. 11 Denver for the Eastern College...

Salisbury's 13-12 loss to No. 9 Lynchburg Saturday will surely result in the 10-time reigning national champion falling from its No. 1 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) preseason poll when it is eventually updated. The setback also ended a 31-game winning streak for the Sea Gulls, who had previously lost, 16-12, to Stevenson on April 16, 2011. As far as coach Jim Berkman is concerned though, the loss isn't exactly stunning considering how graduation sapped the team of six starters from last season's squad that went 23-0.

The Harbor East Management Group is holding another one of its progressive dining events. Scheduled for March 6, Sip, Savor & Stroll will take participants into some dozen popular neighborhood venues. Confirmed for the March event are BIN 604, Bond Street Social, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Kozmo's Lounge at the Marriott Waterfront, Lebanese Taverna, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Ouzo Bay, Pabu, Taco Fiesta, Talara and Wit & Wisdom. Yes, we know that some of these establishments are in Fells Point.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller reported progress in discussions with Gov. Martin O'Malley on the issue of raising money for roads, bridges and transit projects, saying the governor could submit legislation of his own to fund transportation. Miller said the governor assured him in a conversation Tuesday morning that he would work with Speaker Michael E. Busch to develop proposals that might be acceptable in the House of Delegates. "It's definitely progress. It's late in the session for moving forward but it's certainly progress,"  Miller said.

Baltimore continues to lead area school systems in improving its dropout rate, and most districts in the region are making progress in graduating more students in four years, according to new high school data released Monday by the Maryland State Department of Education. Statewide, the Class of 2012 saw steady growth in the percentage of students who earned a high school diploma in four years at 83.6 percent, up from 82.8 percent of students who graduated in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of students who dropped out in 2012 fell to 10.3 percent, down from 11.2 percent, according to the department.

The mood among the small group residents who attended an informational meeting on Finksburg's long-stalled Corridor Plan, held at Sandymount United Methodist Church on Jan. 14, was one of weariness and polite skepticism. "I'm astounded at all the people here tonight, because a lot of us have just been beaten down," said longtime Finksburg resident and former county employee Neil Ridgely. "I've been associated with this plan for 10 years," Ridgely added. "We have been going through this for a long, long time.

In what might have been President Barack Obama's most progressive speech, his second inaugural address Monday marked a distinct change from the so-called New Democrat ideology of pragmatism and compromise to a full embrace of the principles that once put the Democratic Party squarely on the side of the middle class and the poor. Better late than never. It is only because the tea party has pushed the Republican Party further to the far right - and perhaps off the cliff - that Barack Obama is seen by some as a liberal.

It's been four games since Jim Caldwell replaced Cam Cameron as the team's offensive coordinator. One might think that Caldwell is feeling comfortable with his role, but he disagreed Thursday with the notion that he is “settled in.” “I don't think we ever really feel comfortable and settled in,” he said. “But I'm a bit more familiar with some things. But it's a real challenge, calling plays and adjusting. But I've got a lot of help with assistant coaches that are on the staff.

That was no small development heard the other day from the longtime president of the Maryland Senate, Thomas V. Mike Miller. The white-haired gatekeeper of the General Assembly said he would allow a vote to repeal the death penalty on the Senate floor, presumably bypassing the committee that usually blocks the legislation from getting there. This from the politician who once declared: "If there's a gallows, I'll pull the lever. If there's a gas chamber, I'll turn the valve. If it's lethal injection, I'll insert the needle.

We who make our living lamenting the lack of progress on improving the environment must applaud when progress does rear its head, even as we refrain from clapping too hard. A decade ago, there wasn't much of anything hopeful to say about septic tanks from the bay's standpoint. I called them "outhouse technology in the 21st century" and "a 50-year-old grossly polluting waste system. " Septic tanks had mostly fulfilled their original purpose of protecting human health where central sewers weren't available by filtering bacteria in household waste through the soil.