Radar

City officials said Friday that they no longer have complete confidence in the accuracy of their speed cameras' radar systems and have instituted a new "reasonableness" test on two cameras known to have issued erroneous tickets. "We now know we can't just rely on radar being 100 percent accurate," said Frank Murphy, the city's deputy transportation director for operations. "It is incumbent upon us as the operator to make sure what's being issued is accurate. " Murphy's comments came after a Baltimore Sun investigation showed that a series of vehicles received speed camera tickets at two cameras along Cold Spring Lane even though the cameras' own pictures proved the vehicles were traveling too slowly to warrant the tickets.

A wind power project proposed on the lower Eastern Shore that's struggling to overcome objections from the Navy has a new, airborne worry - bald eagles. Federal wildlife biologists say the population of the once-rare national bird has grown so much that there are about 400 bald eagles along the mid-Atlantic coast, including 30 nests within 10 miles of the project in Somerset County, and three in the immediate vicinity. Declaring the area "extremely attractive" to the birds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has warned the developer of the Great Bay wind project that it "appears to present significant risk to eagles" and urged it to scale back its plans.

Two years after C. William Struever's real estate empire collapsed and the once-ubiquitous developer dropped off Baltimore's radar, the urban visionary has reappeared as a managing director of a new company, working on the same kinds of projects that helped make his name. Struever is one of the founders of Cross Street Partners, a real estate venture made up of 28 employees who all once worked for Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse, the company that changed Baltimore's landscape and that of other East Coast cities before coming apart in the throes of the recession, leaving a trail of lawsuits and unfinished developments.

Even though Chris Davis and Adam Jones have carried the majority of the offensive load in the Orioles lineup through the first 11 games, right fielder Nick Markakis has quietly had a solid start to the season. Markakis' go-ahead solo homer in the third inning of yesterday's 5-3 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium gave him hits in nine of the first 11 games. He's also homered in two of his past four games. "That's where I like to be,” Markakis said after Saturday's game. “I like to be under the radar.

Your weather forecast is about to get more accurate. The Sterling, Va., office of the National Weather Service (which covers the Baltimore area) in late February received equipment that uses what is known as dual-polarization technology. What that means is the office has upgraded from two-dimensional to three-dimensional radar that sweeps the skies on both a vertical and horizontal plane, giving it a clearer picture of rain, snow or hail before it reaches the ground. That means better estimates of rainfall rates, hail presence and size, and the location of the line between rain and snow.

When Paul Azinger took the job as U.S. Ryder Cup captain four years ago, he did so only after wrangling an overhaul of the roster process that doubled his wild-card picks and set a later selection date. Azinger wanted the hottest players going to Valhalla, suggesting he would even take a Nationwide Tour guy if he scored back-to-back wins right before selection day. That never came into play, but the philosophy paid off when Azinger's team of upstarts ended Europe's streak of three wins.

Baltimore transportation officials have set high expectations for the city's new speed cameras, telling state lawmakers the devices won't be susceptible to errors that plagued the system over the past three years. "We won't have this problem moving forward," said Barbara Zektick, acting deputy transportation director, at a recent briefing for the city's legislative delegation. "The new cameras have tracking radar," said Frank Murphy, the agency's acting director. But radar experts say tracking radar isn't necessarily the cure-all it might seem.

Based on a 2011 campaign of a career-high 13 sacks, six forced fumbles and two interceptions, Terrell Suggs has been regarded as one of the top candidates to be named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But the Ravens outside linebacker said that achievement is the last thing he is worrying about. “I just ask myself how many Defensive Players of the Year - with the exception of [Green Bay Packers cornerback] Charles Woodson - have Super Bowl rings,” Suggs said Wednesday.

When a program captured five national championships - most recently in 2011 - it's almost impossible to be ignored. But that's how Virginia has been feeling this season. Despite a 5-1 record, the No. 13 Cavaliers have been coasting through February and March without much media scrutiny or fanfare. And that doesn't bother coach Dom Starsia one bit. “This is a year in which we're better served to be able to work on ourselves for a while before we step out,” he said Friday morning.

The local Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group announced the sale of its first wind shear detection radar to a commercial airline yesterday.Miami-based cargo carrier Arrow Air and parent International Air Leases Inc. have ordered 20 MR-3000 radar systems from the Westinghouse unit based in Linthicum, with an option for 100 more.Arrow President Richard Haberly said the units cost about $100,000 each, and the full order would likely exceed $10 million. He said the radar warns pilots when they are flying into wind shear conditions in time to change their course.

When a program captured five national championships - most recently in 2011 - it's almost impossible to be ignored. But that's how Virginia has been feeling this season. Despite a 5-1 record, the No. 13 Cavaliers have been coasting through February and March without much media scrutiny or fanfare. And that doesn't bother coach Dom Starsia one bit. “This is a year in which we're better served to be able to work on ourselves for a while before we step out,” he said Friday morning.

Baltimore transportation officials have set high expectations for the city's new speed cameras, telling state lawmakers the devices won't be susceptible to errors that plagued the system over the past three years. "We won't have this problem moving forward," said Barbara Zektick, acting deputy transportation director, at a recent briefing for the city's legislative delegation. "The new cameras have tracking radar," said Frank Murphy, the agency's acting director. But radar experts say tracking radar isn't necessarily the cure-all it might seem.

The Army is planning to move an over-the-horizon radar system, with more than 100 soldiers and a pair of giant, blimp-like aerostats that fly as high as two miles up, to Aberdeen Proving Ground in the fall, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said Thursday. Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said commanders chose the Army base in Harford County for the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, because offers FAA-approved restricted airspace and allows for testing weapons tracking over water.

The specter of federal budget reductions has meant hundreds of jobs lost at Northrop Grumman Corp. in Maryland, but as the defense contractor vies to build a key Navy radar system, that same cost-cutting pressure could boost the importance of Northrop's Baltimore-area operations, company leaders said. The company, along with rivals Raytheon Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., is a finalist for what could be a $16 billion program to supply the next-generation radar system for Navy surface ships.

Editor's note: Each week, InsideMdSports.com provides this blog with a Maryland recruiting feature that previously appeared as premium content on its site. Missing an entire season with an injury can be tough for a young player, especially when it's a career-threatening one. That was the case for 2015 Gonzaga College (D.C.) point guard Bryant Crawford , who missed his freshman year of high school ball as a result of a fractured tibia suffered during a scrimmage before the season began.

City officials said Friday that they no longer have complete confidence in the accuracy of their speed cameras' radar systems and have instituted a new "reasonableness" test on two cameras known to have issued erroneous tickets. "We now know we can't just rely on radar being 100 percent accurate," said Frank Murphy, the city's deputy transportation director for operations. "It is incumbent upon us as the operator to make sure what's being issued is accurate. " Murphy's comments came after a Baltimore Sun investigation showed that a series of vehicles received speed camera tickets at two cameras along Cold Spring Lane even though the cameras' own pictures proved the vehicles were traveling too slowly to warrant the tickets.

Even though Chris Davis and Adam Jones have carried the majority of the offensive load in the Orioles lineup through the first 11 games, right fielder Nick Markakis has quietly had a solid start to the season. Markakis' go-ahead solo homer in the third inning of yesterday's 5-3 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium gave him hits in nine of the first 11 games. He's also homered in two of his past four games. "That's where I like to be,” Markakis said after Saturday's game. “I like to be under the radar.

Anxiety over federal budget cuts has big U.S. defense contractors slimming down, but an Israeli aerospace company is counting on expansion here. Israel Aerospace Industries' new ELTA North America subsidiary officially opened its headquarters in Howard County on Monday with a plan to go from nine employees to 100 in the next four years. ELTA, which makes radar and other defense electronic systems, will manufacture products from a small Fulton location with room to grow. The company's ribbon-cutting event drew both of Maryland's U.S. senators, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, the governor and the lieutenant governor, all eager to praise the company for picking Maryland after considering six states.

When a police officer operates a radar unit to check speeding cars, he is usually trained and certified to operate a radar unit and to testify in court concerning the readings it obtained ("Not so fast," Nov. 20). Usually, the radar unit is calibrated at the beginning of each shift with a tuning fork. So how can a stationary radar speed camera operate 365 days a year in extreme heat and cold and still be accurate? This does not make any sense. I bet if the speed cameras were not producing great numbers of tickets, it would make your head spin to see how fast the technicians were out checking each unit.

My biggest fear: How will I charge my phone? After its battery dies, how will I keep up on #Frankenstorm and #sandy on Twitter? How will I get the latest strike probability model? How will I know what's afoot on Foot's Forecast? This is the kind of in-the-dark that I fear: an information blackout. By now, I'm good on batteries for my flashlights. I have the water jugs from last year's Irene preparations, so I'll refill them. With all the Halloween candy I've stocked up on, I won't starve.