Rules

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

Congress passes laws and usually the appropriate agency can write regulations implementing the law. However, the regulations cannot contradict the law. Nevertheless, with respect to the tax law provision 501(c)(4), that is exactly what happened. Under this provision, the government provides a tax exemption to nonprofit organizations who operate exclusively for social welfare ("White House aide: Obama didn't know of IRS policy," May 20). The implementing regulation and the advice from the IRS is self-contradictory.

Orb's path to the finish line in the second leg of the Triple Crown remains uncrowded. Normandy Invasion, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, dropped from contention for Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness on Sunday. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Rick Porter decided to stick with their original plan and point the horse toward prestigous races for 3-year-olds later in the summer. That leaves Orb, the colt co-owned by Baltimore County resident Stuart Janney III and Ogden Mills "Dinny" Pipps' stable, with only seven confirmed challengers at this point.

This year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view event left us with some unanswered questions but also some new beginnings. In the main event (a rare moment in WWE history where all wrestlers in a final match on PPV weren't on a full-time WWE schedule), Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a cage match. Lesnar went up 2-1 on "The Game" and is likely poised for another future match in WWE (not against Triple H), perhaps at Summerslam or Wrestlemania 30. Questions coming out of this match are: will Triple H wrestle again?

This year's Extreme Rules pay-per-view event left us with some unanswered questions but also some new beginnings. In the main event (a rare moment in WWE history where all wrestlers in a final match on PPV weren't on a full-time WWE schedule), Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H in a cage match. Lesnar went up 2-1 on "The Game" and is likely poised for another future match in WWE (not against Triple H), perhaps at Summerslam or Wrestlemania 30. Questions coming out of this match are: will Triple H wrestle again?

Two major developments unfolded on Monday's episode of WWE RAW. The first was a big one in many ways - Paul Heyman revealed a new client, Michael McGillicutty, now known as Curtis Axel (Curtis after his father "Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, Axel after his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig). Though many fans complained about it not being a bigger name (RVD was speculated throughout the day), this is a great move and an even greater opportunity for a superstar to not only have instant credibility being aligned with Paul Heyman (arguably the greatest mouthpiece in pro wrestling history)

Let me say more compactly what I tried to say earlier today . The presacriptivist/descriptivist debate is increasingly sterile. Hard-shell prescriptivists trumpet indefensible bogus rules, and hard-shell descriptivists, the ones who proclaim, "Prescriptivism must die," overlook the real need to prescribe reliable advice on writing. It comes down to this: Effective writing requires making sound choices about grammar, usage, syntax, and diction, considering subject, occasion, and audience.

Only politicians would "correct" the problems with speed cameras by creating more bureaucracies and rules ("Penalty pitched for bad tickets," Dec. 11). Get rid of the bloody things. We didn't need them for our first 100 years on the road. We don't need them now. Thomas F. McDonough, Towson Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

A mong the stranger sights at the height of our snowstorm's second act might have been the couple - dressed in shorts and T-shirts - walking blissfully along Pratt Street. Love, or an abundance of spirits, apparently conquers all, including the elements. "They were hand in hand," recalled a smiling, almost disbelieving Reggie Coates, who watched the snow waltz that was captured on a surveillance camera and shown live on the big screen to delighted workers hunkered down in Baltimore's Emergency Operations Center.

Baltimore County Councilman Sam Moxley will not seek political office this year, he said Friday. When the Democrat announced earlier this year that he would leave the council after four terms representing Catonsville and Arbutus, he said he was considering a run for clerk of the court. He says now he has ruled that out. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my years in public service, and I will continue to look for ways to serve my community," Moxley said. "I am not sure where the future will lead me, but I am looking forward to the journey."

The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts more teams in the NCAA women's lacrosse quarterfinals than any other conference - No. 1 seed Maryland, No. 3 North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. Those teams have posted a .822 winning percentage against non-conference teams this season. Boston College also made the tournament, but fell in the first weekend as ACC teams went 6-1. Only two ACC teams will make it to the final four, however, since in Saturday's semifinals Maryland will play Duke in College Park and North Carolina will play Virginia in Chapel Hill.

Here are my predictions for WWE Extreme Rules:  BROCK LESNAR VS. TRIPLE H: CAGE MATCH I think Brock Lesnar needs the win here, because I see him continuing on for another big match, while I see Triple H returning in the future only if absolutely necessary. Perhaps Paul Heyman's "newest" client (or clients) interferes in this match, helping Lesnar get the win. Because it's a cage match, neither superstar has to be pinned or submitted, one can simply exit through the cage, which means that the loser doesn't look as weak in a loss.

The state Public Utilities Commission will schedule a formal hearing on whether to make Uber Technologies, which lets Baltimore customers hail a town car by smart phone, abide by regulations that govern taxi companies. The app-driven startup company Uber entered the Baltimore market in January, raising the ire of local cab companies that said it was skirting state regulations. Century-old Yellow Cab filed a challenge with the commission, contending that Uber should not be allowed to operate here until it complies with the same safety and insurance regulations as traditional taxi and limo companies.

In response to Page Croyder's article on one-party rule having evil consequences for the state of Maryland ("One-party rule in Maryland exacerbates jail scandal," May 10), that sounds like a condemnation of the Republican Party's failure to present an agenda that would promote cross-party votes. True, Gov. Martin O'Malley's political ambitions have caused him to become myopic and hopefully he will come to his senses and realize he doesn't stand much of a chance for president because of this scandal (and other issues)

If you read about language, grammar, and usage, you're as likely to come across rubbish and codswallop as anything else. Thus there is joy at the arrival of a new voice of sense and informed judgment. Stan Carey of Sentence First heralded the arrival last week of Caxton , a new blog on language. Today's post at Caxton includes a reminder about the rules of language that rule-mongers would do well to keep in mind. And it is not novel information, coming from the pen of John Colet, humanist of the English Renaissance and dean of St. Paul's (d. 1519)

A "go home" Raw (the last episode before a pay-per-view event) is always watched with extra attention, mostly because critics have the same question -- did this particular show do anything to increase my interest in buying the pay-per-view on Sunday? Lately, many of these critics have answered no. Many people feel that Raw last night was no different -- that it was flat, lacked spark and didn't do very much to push the figurative "buy rate" needle. These, of course, are criticisms that always arise for this particular (mostly monthly)

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — The first item on the rules sheet the PGA of America handed out last week warned players to watch out — they could be hitting out of one of the 900-plus bunkers at Whistling Straits and not even know it. "That might mean many areas outside the ropes that might contain many footprints, heel prints or even tire tracks from golf cars or other vehicles," said Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the rules committee, which even...

When it comes to politics, I no longer have any respect for our elected officials. I will not vote for an incumbent. First, there were guidelines as to how many casinos would be available for bidding. Maryland Live abided by the rules and gave the state a class operation. Now, a new casino opportunity is being touted forPrince George's County("A home run for the state," June 15). Gee, I wonder if Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has anything to do with it? Will he benefit under the table?

A Baltimore teenager pleaded guilty to murder Monday as his trial was set to begin, following a failed attempt last week to have a confession withheld from jurors in the case. Markell Shelton Jones, 18, shot and killed Freddie Jones Jr. at the Yau Brothers Chinese carryout on Greenmount Avenue on Halloween 2011 during a bungled robbery attempt. The attack was captured on surveillance cameras and police released the footage to the press. After Markell Jones' family recognized him on television, his grandfather called police to have him taken into custody, according to testimony at a motions hearing last week.

Months after trading veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers following a contract dispute, the Ravens waited until the seventh round to draft a wide receiver. Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta attributed that to how their draft board stacked up with only a few elite receiver prospects like former Dunbar star Tavon Austin, but didn't rule out the possibility of acquiring an established receiver prior to the regular season. "I think the hunt goes on," DeCosta said Monday night during The Baltimore Sun Sports Forum.