Pursuit

He kept coming back, year after year, horse after horse, trying to get another victory in the Preakness Stakes before he was done. Going into the 138th running of the Triple Crown's middle leg, D. Wayne Lukas had tried eight times since Charismatic won at Pimlico Race Course in 1999 - with 12 different entries. The best any of his horses could do was third place - twice - with Proud Citizen in 2002 and Scrimshaw in 2003. But as the 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer pointed out after 15-1 shot Oxbow took the lead nearly out of the gates and held off Itsmyluckyday by 1 ¾ lengths to give Lukas his sixth victory in the Preakness, even winning a record 14th Triple Crown race was not going to change his career plans.

The Baltimore Sun was named Newspaper of the Year on Friday in the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association awards contest and also took home the association's annual honor for "extraordinary efforts" to gain access to public records. The Sun has been chosen Newspaper of the Year seven times in the past eight years. The Washington Post won the award in 2008. The James S. Keat Freedom of Information Award, named for a former Sun editor, was granted to The Sun for its pursuit of public records relating to property taxes, speed cameras and public school spending.

Years of government pursuit came to an end Friday when former NSA employee Thomas Drake pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of "exceeding the authorized use of a computer" — a quiet conclusion to an aggressive espionage case. Drake, who warned government investigators about wasteful National Security Agency programs, was indicted last year for passing information to a Baltimore Sun reporter in 2006 and 2007. He could have received up to 35 years in federal prison under a combination of criminal charges, including violation of the Espionage Act, yet he was never charged with leaking classified information.

Gary Waddell, doesn't have a driver's license, but the 16-year-old already is feeling the pinch at the pump. At a time when gasoline prices are fluctuating between high and higher, the driving school that Waddell attends - like others around Maryland and nationwide - is wrestling with how to set its tuition for on-the-road instruction amid a volatile fuel market. "The prices are real high," said Waddell, a western Howard County resident who takes driving lessons from Arbutus-based Summit Driving School, where tuition increased in September from $369 to $395.

Two Howard County police officers were injured yesterday when their patrol cars ran into each another at the start of a high-speed chase. Pfc. Richard Cumby and Pfc. Bonita Linkins were treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore and released. Police said the crash was part of a chain of incidents that began about 1 a.m. Two other Howard officers, Stephen Crawford and John Mould, were patrolling Tarbay Drive, near Jessup, when they spotted a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu lurching up the street, slowing and braking and speeding up again.

Amtrak passengers in Maryland and other Eastern states emerged as some of the biggest beneficiaries of Florida's decision to turn down more than $2 billion in federal high-speed rail funds, as the Obama administration redirected nearly $800 million of that money into Northeast Corridor infrastructure. The windfall includes $22 million sought by Maryland for planning and engineering of a replacement for the century-old bridge that carries Amtrak and MARC trains over the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville.

A photo caption in The Sun yesterday incorrectly identified skipjack under sail on the Chesapeake. The vessel was the Caleb W. Jones.The Sun regrets the errors.

Don't look now, but the Maryland General Assembly is mulling over legislation to require motorists to put on their headlights every time they they turn on their windshield wipers.The bill, which would make it illegal to drive through an August sun shower with lights off, was proposed by Sen. William Amoss, who thinks the legislation should be approved because "it's a good bill."There is plenty room for argument on that score -- weighing, for instance, the safety benefits of headlights in the fog to, say, the increased risk posed by drivers fumbling to turn on the lights, flip on the wipers, turn down the radio and the watch the road.

CITY COLLEGE is reclaiming its stature as an incubator for college-bound students. This is an achievement to be savored, not just by the public high school's visionary leaders and high-profile alumni, but by all who care about the future of Baltimore. Excellent public schools give families reasons to stay in the city. And families with children aspiring to higher education form a core population that Baltimore should be fighting to keep. To restore academic prestige that had waned, Principal Joseph Wilson and the school's extended family held themselves and the students to high standards.