Rhode Island

Maryland Juvenile Services Secretary Linda D'Amario Rossi has agreed to take a similar position in Rhode Island, but she has not officially resigned from her post here, which complicates the search for her successor.Rhode Island Gov. Bruce Sundlun yesterday announced that he had offered Rossi her old job back, as director of Child and Family Services. However, because his offer includes a five-year contract and reinstatement in Rhode Island's pension plan, Rossi's appointment has to be approved by that state's legislature, a process that could take several weeks.

At St. LouisNo. 8 seed Rhode Island (25-8) vs. No. 3 Stanford (29-4)Time: 2: 40 p.m. todayTV: Chs. 13, 9Line: Stanford by 4Conference records: Rhode Island (12-4) lost in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. Stanford (15-3) finished second in the Pac-10 to Arizona.Coaches: Jim Harrick is 25-8 in his first year at Rhode Island and 383-168 overall (including an NCAA title at UCLA in 1995) in 18 seasons. Mike Montgomery is 234-131 in 12 seasons at Stanford and 388-208 in 20 seasons overall.

Sister Elizabeth Magdalen Clayton, a longtime member of the Holy Union Sisters, died of natural causes Friday at the Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River, Mass. The Baltimore native was 87. Born Charlotte Ann Clayton, she graduated from Western High School. She entered the Holy Union Novitiate in Fall River in 1934 and made her final profession of vows in 1941. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Manhattan College in New York City and a degree in science education from Catholic University of America in Washington.

CollegesBowie State -- Announced that G/F Yolanda Matthews (Milford Mill) has given an oral commitment to play basketball at the school.Rhode Island -- Suspended G Jason Alexander from the basketball team indefinitely for violation of team rules.BasketballNew Jersey Nets -- Signed F Bernard King, formerly with the Washington Bullets, for the rest of the season. Placed C Dwayne Schintzius on the injured list.

The Maryland Hospital Association has selected Rhode Island hospital association President Calvin M. Pierson to replace MHA President Richard J. Davidson, it was announced yesterday.In taking the Maryland job, Mr. Pierson, 44, relinquishes leadership over 17 Rhode Island hospitals to take responsibility for 68 Maryland hospitals under the MHA's aegis. Mr. Pierson, who had been with the Rhode Island association for seven years, assumes his new job Nov. 4."I've always viewed the state of Maryland as a very progressive state which can and does serve as a model for the country in addressing health-care issues," Mr. Pierson said yesterday.

City prosecutors drop charge against Ponson Baltimore prosecutors yesterday dropped the remaining charge that had been filed against former Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson in connection with a drunken-driving case. The ballplayer had been accused of knowingly making a false statement on a Motor Vehicle Administration application. But prosecutors said they could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Ponson, 29, was convicted by a Baltimore District Court judge of his third drunken-driving offense and sentenced in December to five days in jail.

Still wondering why it's called March Madness?The Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament was completed yesterday, with Stanford and Kentucky joining Saturday's winners, North Carolina and Utah, in the national semi- finals.And as if Valparaiso's unlikely spot in the Sweet 16 or Rhode Island's run to a regional final weren't enough, there was the way that yesterday's victors advanced.Kentucky rallied from an 18-point deficit, then survived a last-second shot by Duke, the South Regional top seed, for an 86-84 victory.

THE SUPREME COURT'S order for a lower court to review Baltimore's ban on billboards promoting cigarette smoking came as no surprise; in May, the court issued a similar order for the city's ban on liquor billboards in some city neighborhoods. In both cases, the review was prompted by the court's decision in a Rhode Island case, which included new guidelines for weighing the constitutionality of limitations on commercial speech.In that decision, the Supreme Court threw out a 40-year-old Rhode Island law banning all public advertising of liquor prices.

Contrasted to the federal government's lax and lacklusterregulation during the Reagan years, the state governments of the '80s were looking like regulatory Rambos. In they charged -- attorneys general and state regulatory agencies cracking down on monopolies, deceptive advertising, dangerous toys and chemicals, consumer fraud and much more.But if we're to take a clue from the Rhode Island deposit-insurance debacle which broke in January, the states missed a beat -- a pretty big one. It's not that they weren't forewarned.