Puerto Rico

Harold Eugene Platt, a financial vice president with the Cities Service (now Citgo) oil company and a World War II Navy veteran, died of complications from a stroke July 9 under hospice care at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. He was 86. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mr. Platt attended schools in Flushing, where he met his high school sweetheart and future wife, Elizabeth Finlay. He graduated from Duke University with a business degree and joined the Navy in 1942. Later he did postgraduate work at Harvard Business School.

WASHINGTON -- Donna Christensen, then new in Congress, was passionately opposed to the motion to impeach President Bill Clinton in December 1998. Whatever his mistakes, Christensen believed, Clinton did not deserve to be removed from office. But Christensen, who represents the Virgin Islands, could not vote. She was reduced to speaking on the House floor only after the impeachment vote and declared that if she could have, she would have voted no. "We're all generally forgotten or on the back burner," Christensen said recently, referring to herself and the four other nonvoting delegates in the House.

WASHINGTON -- The Navy should vacate its World War II-era bombing range off Puerto Rico in five years and until then curtail its bombing and gunnery practice by up to 50 days a year, according to the recommendations of a presidential panel.But the findings of the four-member panel, expected to be released soon, are being rejected by Puerto Rican leaders, who say the report does not go far enough. They are bitterly opposed to any more bombing on tiny Vieques Island, where a security guard was killed in April by an errant 500-pound bomb from a Marine Corps fighter jet."

Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library has received a $500,000 grant from the Carnegie Corp. of New York -- the legacy of 19th-century public library philanthropist Andrew Carnegie -- to improve services to youth, parents and caregivers.Surveys of Pratt patrons have found that more than half of those surveyed are parents and that a significant portion of those are single. Nearly 20 percent of library users, the survey found, bring children with them on library visits.Part of the money will be used to expand the "Family Place Project," which offers parent-child workshops and a parental collection, from two branches to eight.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After Maryland blitzed the field at the Puerto Rico Shootout, Gary Williams told his team that he didn't want the high point of its season to come in November.Yesterday, the coach and his players had to deal with the low point of their season -- a 14-point loss to St. John's in the South Regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Williams' team enjoyed a record-setting regular season, which only made the Terps' postseason shortcomings more painful.After 10 seasons at Maryland, Williams still hasn't taken the Terps to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

WASHINGTON -- Navy officials acknowledged last night that they were delaying the departure of a two-star admiral for Puerto Rico, citing the reluctance of island officials to resume talks on the future of a controversial bombing range.Rear Adm. Kevin Green had been due to arrive in Puerto Rico tomorrow to open discussions with leaders on the use of the Vieques bombing range for nonexplosive bombs.Green's appointment was a key part of a plan announced this week by President Clinton and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton ordered the military yesterday to stop its live-fire exercises at a Puerto Rican bombing range that the Pentagon says is vital to combat-ready forces, and to end military training there within five years.Under Clinton's proposal, live-fire bombing could resume only if the residents of Vieques, who have demanded that the military leave, agree to it.The president said he will direct Defense Secretary William S. Cohen to work on a proposal for resuming live-fire training that would include a $40 million community development grant for the island.

SALEM, Mass. -- If Carolina, a reddish canine with pointy ears and an affinity for nose-crinkling, could speak her mind, perhaps she would talk of her wretched living conditions in Puerto Rico and her dramatic airlift to safety.All of 20 pounds, the starving mutt was plucked from the streets of San Juan in September, nursed to health, flown to Boston and delivered to a shelter here to await a new home.For Save A Sato, the nonprofit group that saved her, it was one victory amid much sorrow.

WASHINGTON -- Citing "serious concerns" from Puerto Rico, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has delayed his recommendation to President Clinton on the fate of a 58-year-old Navy firing range there, even though a presidential panel concluded yesterday that the range should continue operating for five more years.Cohen asserted that U.S. forces must be kept "well-trained and ready." But he said there should be more discussions with officials on Puerto Rico and Vieques Island, which the Navy and Marines have long used as a live-fire range.

Lena York Roth, a devout, soft-spoken activist from New York who became a key official for the Young Women's Christian Association in Baltimore during the 1960s, died Wednesday at Wilson Health Care Center in Gaithersburg. She was 93.Mrs. Roth directed the International Center of the YWCA in East Baltimore -- which provided social activities and immigration services for thousands of women -- from 1959 until her retirement in 1970. She lived the past 29 years at Asbury Methodist Village in Montgomery County.

J eff Brauner of Baltimore likes the name Hortense but hasn't heard of a Hurricane Hortense in a while. He wonders what became of the name. Alas, it was retired after flooding from a Hurricane Hortense in 1996 caused 39 deaths and $217 million in damage in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico saw 24 inches of rain; 20 inches fell in the Dominican Republic. Hortense was replaced by the name Hanna.

David Wright sliced a two-run single that capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning last night, and the injury-riddled Team USA qualified for this weekend's World Baseball Classic semifinals with a 6-5 win over Puerto Rico in Miami. Wright's hit with one out eliminated Puerto Rico from the tournament. "That situation is what you dream about when you're a kid," he said. The Americans advanced to the next round in Los Angeles. It was an especially sweet victory after Saturday's embarrassment against Puerto Rico that triggered the mercy rule when the Americans fell 10 runs behind, ending the game in the seventh inning.

The Houston Astros and catcher Ivan Rodriguez are closing in on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, a person familiar with the talks told the Associated Press yesterday. The deal would contain $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances, the person said. Rodriguez, 37, a 13-time Gold Glove winner, hit .276 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 115 games with the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees last season. Phillies: : World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels left training camp in Clearwater, Fla., and flew to Philadelphia to have his left elbow examined by team physician Michael Ciccotti.

Baseball looked more like America's national pastime last night. Team USA avoided elimination from the World Baseball Classic, beating the Netherlands, 9-3, in Miami to ease the sting of a drubbing against Puerto Rico the night before. Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs with a homer, triple and sacrifice fly, and Team USA newcomer Brian Roberts went 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs and two RBIs. Roy Oswalt pitched four scoreless innings, then six relievers completed the 12-hitter. Roberts, the Orioles second baseman, finished a home run short of the cycle and sparked the offense only hours after joining the team as a replacement for Dustin Pedroia, sidelined by an abdominal injury.

Brodeur ties Roy; Caps win in shootout nhl Martin Brodeur tied Patrick Roy's NHL career record of 551 wins when the New Jersey goalie led the Devils to a 3-1 win over the host Montreal Canadiens last night. Brodeur was as steady as ever in making 22 saves back home in Montreal against Roy's former team, with the Hockey Hall of Famer looking on from a suite. He will get his first chance at setting the record Tuesday night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. Capitals 5, Hurricanes 4, SO:: Alex Ovechkin moved within one goal of becoming the first Capitals player with three seasons of 50 and scored the winner in the shootout, helping his team end a four-game losing streak in Washington with a victory over Carolina.

Brian McNamee says he injected Roger Clemens with drugs in a hot tub at Yankee Stadium and that among the needles he gave government investigators was one he used to inject the then-star pitcher for the New York Yankees in the summer of 2001 at Clemens' Manhattan apartment, according to the Web site sportsimproper.com. McNamee previously described injecting Clemens at the pitcher's apartment to baseball investigator George Mitchell. In addition, he told the Web site: "Sometimes it was in the Jacuzzi at Yankee Stadium."

Most of the nation returns to daylight-saving time at 2 a.m. tonight, spinning the dial ahead to 3 a.m. Officially, there will be no 2 o'clock hour. Hawaii, most of Arizona and Indiana skip the switch, as do Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The rest of us spend 65 percent of our year on DST, and "noon" comes an hour before the middle of our day.

A Baltimore woman pleaded guilty yesterday to strapping more than 7 pounds of cocaine to her body and smuggling it into the U.S from the Commonwealth of Dominica, an island in the Caribbean. Beatrice Viola West, 48, will face between five and 40 years in federal prison, though by the time she's sentenced in late April she'll have already served nearly two years. Since June 2007 until recently, she had been held in federal custody in Puerto Rico, despite repeated attempts by the U.S. Marshals Service to transfer her to Maryland.

Caribbean World Series 5 p.m. [MLB Network] Puerto Rico vs. the Dominican Republic features several familiar names. Ivan Rodriguez and Javier Vazquez play for the Puerto Rican team, which is managed by Eduardo Perez. The Dominican squad is managed by Jose Offerman, most recently in the news for charging the mound while swinging a bat in an Atlantic League game in 2007.

Top spring break destinations 1 Orlando, Fla. 2 South Florida (West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami) 3 Las Vegas 4 Fort Myers, Fla. 5 Denver 6 Phoenix 7 Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. 8 Cancun, Mexico 9 Los Angeles 10 San Juan, Puerto Rico Based on advance Travelocity.com bookings for Feb. 9- April 20, 2009.