Region

A cold rain mixed with sleet brought a rude awakening to many Tuesday morning after three straight days in the 60s in Baltimore. Reports of the wintry precipitation cropped up across the state, according to reports on Twitter. WBAL-TV forecasters Tom Tasselmeyer and Ava Marie reported a wintry mix on TV Hill in Woodberry about 10 a.m., while Foot's Forecast saw some in Towson. Others tweeted about it in Scaggsville, Glen Burnie and Columbia. A cold front passed through the region late Monday night, with temperatures still in the lower 60s shortly before midnight at BWI Marshall Airport but dropping to a low of 42 degrees early Tuesday.

Washington's WUSA and Baltimore's WBFF were the top news stations in their respective markets at the 55th Emmy Awards of the National Capital/Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. The awards ceremony was held Saturday night in Baltimore. WUSA won 11 regional Emmys, including two for Lesli Foster in the categories of best anchor and best consumer news series. Reporter Andrea McCarren won five Emmys for categories ranging from best single crime story to best serious report feature news.

A dense fog advisory was issued Sunday night for the entire Baltimore region, with conditions expected to continue through Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The fog first covered the Eastern Shore and crept across the Chesapeake Bay into Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary's counties before the weather service expanded its advisory just before 10:45 p.m. to include most of the rest of the state, including Baltimore City and Baltimore, Carroll, Howard and Harford counties.

A trio of soaking rains in the past week has pushed rainfall totals above 6 inches across Central Maryland, nearly twice the normal monthly totals. At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 6.21 inches have fallen so far, with just over half of the month to go. The record for the month is just shy of 10 inches, set in 1972. Rainfall estimates based on radar and models show bands of 6-8 inches of rainfall across much of the Baltimore metropolitan area, from northern Anne Arundel County into eastern Howard, across Baltimore City and southern Baltimore County and up along the Chesapeake Bay in Harford County.

WITH THE ELECTION behind them, area elected officials should find time to read a recent report comparing metropolitan Baltimore's performance against seven other cities'. The reason: The report finds sluggishness that could spell trouble. Only in the quality of life -- among five gauges -- does the Baltimore region compare well with Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, says the report from the Goldseker Foundation. All the economic measurements suggest long-term vulnerability.

Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered a blunt message to Marylanders after the major snowstorm within five days dumped more than 20 inches of snow on parts of the Baltimore region: Don't expect a return to normalcy for days. Maryland roads would continue to be "perilous" through Thursday, he said. And in a briefing at the state emergency response center, he defended local governments that have been besieged by complaints about unplowed or partially cleared streets -- while seeming to speak directly to those who have been griping.

A flash flood warning is in effect for northern Baltimore, southern Baltimore County and central Howard County until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. As much as two inches of rain had fallen within an hour across the areas under warning, and up to two more inches were expected in the next hour, the service said. The warning means flash flooding is either occurring or is "imminent," the service said. krector@baltsun.com twitter.com/rectorsun

Every March, the NCAA tournament sells the myth that th little guys have a chance against the big boys.Here's the cold, hard truth: In the 13 years since teams have been seeded, three of 52 Final Four slots have been filled by a team in the lower half of a region. N.C. State and Kansas, who won it all in 1983 and 1988, respectively, both as sixth seeds, are the lowest seeds to win.In addition, only twice in the past 11 years has the Final Four had fewer than two No. 1 seeds.That's just the way it is. Some things will never change.

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich was on target when he said this question should have been asked of President Clinton in his first debate with Bob Dole:''Mr. President, for four years you have lived within a mile of poverty, drug addiction, violence, ignorance. For four years, your administration has shown no leadership. How can you explain this? Why have you neglected the nation's capital?''It is indeed true: While battered, pothole-ridden Washington slipped into fiscal chaos, while Marion Barry's return to the mayoralty made an ugly joke of home rule, while a congressionally created financial control board flounders, Mr. Clinton has remained on the sidelines, silent.

Catonsville home care business named to top 100 in region Linda Cromwell, president and CEO of Catonsville-based Being There Senior Care, was among those selected for the 2012 Top Minority Business Enterprise Award. Cromwell was among the 100 women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia honored during a May 4 ceremony at the University of Maryland University College. She was also among the top 100 women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District of Columbia for 2009.

A waterspout zipped across Baltimore harbor Monday afternoon, tossing pieces of a warehouse roof into the air, and at least one other tornado was reported in the area as storms brought heavy downpours and flooding. In Fells Point, cars sat in standing water and sandbags were placed at doors to prevent water from entering businesses. In the Inner Harbor, 1.74 inches of rain had fallen by 5 p.m. - all but a half-inch of it in the span of an hour before 4 p.m. Steve Fogleman, a Glen Burnie attorney and chairman of the Baltimore liquor board, was driving north on Interstate 95 just south of the Fort McHenry tunnel a little before 4 p.m. when he noticed a rotating cloud and something whipping through the air near Silo Point.

When people talk about the top places to work, the same words pop up again and again - purpose, flexibility, collaboration, respect, challenging and rewarding. Does that describe your company? Do you enjoy going to work? Does it feel more like a team or even a family? The Baltimore Sun is seeking nominations for its third annual list of the region's top workplaces. Last year, 80 companies were recognized as Top Workplaces in the Baltimore area, with nursing home operator FutureCare topping the list for large employers for a second year in a row. Anyone can suggest a company - employees, customers, executives, even interns.

Fire departments from Baltimore and Harford counties responded to a house fire Saturday evening in the Kingsville area. According to the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, the call came at about 6:44 p.m. regarding a fire in the 11500 block of Sherwood Road, Kingsville. Due to a lack of fire hydrants in the area, additional fire engines with large volumes of water were requested, according to JMVFC. Firefighters used chain saws to cut the roof open, allowing the smoke and heat to escape, while personnel also searched the home for occupants, but none were found.

A two-day regatta for disabled sailors takes place this weekend in Annapolis. The Don Backe Memorial CRAB Cup, hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club, honors the memory of the Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating's founder and former executive director. Don Backe died in April. This marks the 21st anniversary of the event run by the CRAB organization. A fleet of Freedom Independence 20 class sailboats that are modified to make them accessible for those who are disabled are used in the race.

After beating Florida Atlantic on Friday in the Chapel Hill regional of the NCAA baseball tournament, Towson's reward was a matchup with No. 1 overall seed North Carolina in front of the Tar Heels' fans at Boshamer Stadium. While starting pitcher Brandon Gonnella and the rest of the Tigers battled to stay in the game, they came up short in an 8-5 loss. Towson, in its first NCAA tournament since 1991, will take on Florida Atlantic again Sunday at 1 p.m. in an elimination game.

Asked which he would have thought less likely in March -- that Towson would still have a baseball program after the season or that this season would still be going on in June -- Tigers coach Mike Gottlieb didn't hesitate with his answer. “This was less likely,” he said after Towson beat Florida Atlantic, 7-2, on Friday in the first game of the Chapel Hill NCAA baseball tournament regional. “Throughout the month of March, after we were told there would be no baseball in the future, the kids played hard.

NEW YORK -- When smog descends on the Eastern Seaboard, it respects neither state lines nor the boundaries of nature preserves and parks, fouling the air above cities, villages and even the coast of Maine.Now, under a little-noticed section of the recently approved Federal Clean Air Act, 11 Atlantic Coast states and the District of Columbia metropolitan area must make special efforts to control smog under legislation intended to foster increased regional cooperation to combat environmental problems.

Low home prices, falling interest rates and financial help from Baltimore City have created a surge in city sales over the past few months, while the real estate market in surrounding counties has sunk into a deep slump.June sales soared in the city, up 19 percent compared with last year, continuing to buck a regional trend, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors said last week. In May, city sales jumped 10 percent, while the number of contract signings awaiting settlement surpassed the previous May's figures by 14 percent, a greater jump than anywhere else in the region.

Three industry groups from Baltimore and Washington said Thursday that they've banded together to "solidify" the region as the top place for cyber-related business growth. The new Baltimore-Washington Cyber Task Force - formed by the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore - will work with other groups on the effort. They want to capitalize on the U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, which oversees the operation and defense of the military's information networks.

Melancholy fits the game of baseball like a batting glove. For every moment of heroic achievement, there is one of misery and despair; for each Bobby Thomson "shot heard 'round the world" to win the 1951 National League Pennant for the New York Giants, there's a Bill Buckner error to cost the Boston Red Sox the 1986 World Series. That doesn't make baseball a bad sport, it makes it a great one. Overcoming adversity is the nature of baseball, and if adversity didn't sometimes win, it wouldn't be much of a game.