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.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has interceded with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of Carnival Cruise Lines after the company threatened to pull its business from Baltimore over a pending air-quality regulation that would require large, ocean-going ships to burn cleaner fuel. O'Malley spoke twice with Bob Perciasepe, acting EPA administrator, since late May to support Carnival's request for what the governor's press secretary called a waiver from the agency's cleaner-fuel mandate.

Researchers hailed the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that bans the patenting of human DNA, saying it would expand access to genetic testing for disease at lower cost to patients. In a unanimous decision, the justices said Myriad Genetics did not have exclusive rights to the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes that are linked to significantly greater risk for breast cancer and thus should not be the only company allowed to test for it. "Myriad did not create anything," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for his fellow justices.

Researchers hailed the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that bans the patenting of human DNA, saying it would expand access to genetic testing for disease at lower cost to patients. In a unanimous decision, the justices said Myriad Genetics did not have exclusive rights to the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes that are linked to significantly greater risk for breast cancer and thus should not be the only company allowed to test for it. "Myriad did not create anything," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for his fellow justices.

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."

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...

Starting June 1, there will be fewer restrictions for Maryland wineries that want to sell wine and offer samples at farmers' markets. New rules passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley will remove limits on the number of days a winery can attend markets each year. “There were a number of restrictions in the law that kept wineries from attending as many markets as they like,” said Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association.

We live in a time of great change in terms of our medical care: how we access it, how it is coordinated, and who pays for it. The change we face in health care is kind of like going back to the future; like the house calls of old, more health and long-term care will be provided within the local community. And with greater access to care, people will increasingly become more responsible for paying for care and navigating care delivery. We are seeing revealing new trends as today's younger seniors are rightfully and fortunately remaining engaged, aging in place, and only episodically interacting with hospitals and medical centers while rehabbing or receiving transitional care in our skilled nursing centers.

Summer is just getting started, which means you're likely jonesing for a beach vacation. But before you pack the car and head toward the Bay Bridge, you'll want to make sure you're well informed. No matter where you're heading - Ocean City, Delaware's beaches or Assateague Island - cocktails and the beach don't mix; if you're caught consuming alcohol you could face hefty fines. If your pampered pooch is tagging along, you'll also want to find a pet-friendly hotel and keep pup off the beach; in Ocean City, dogs are not permitted on the beach or Boardwalk from May 1 through Sept.

We are in a rain delay at Camden Yards And if official word comes that there will be no further play today, the Orioles win, 4-2. There will no be suspension of play or going back to the fifth inning (with the Orioles up 2-1). Some quick explanation from official scorer Mark Jacobson. If play had been suspended after four and a half innings with the Orioles up 2-1, the Orioles would have won because it would have been an official game. But because the sixth inning was started, and the Angels scored a run to tie on Josh Hamilton's homer, that changed things.

The NCAA Women's Lacrosse Rules Committee has recommended several rules changes for next season, including that players on the defensive team be allowed to move through any portion of their goal circle when their team is not in possession of the ball. Currently, only the goalkeeper is allowed to be in the defensive goal circle, with the exception of a player entering the crease after the goalkeeper has moved outside the goal circle. Under the recommended new rules, only the defender marking the player with the ball within a stick's length could remain in the goal circle.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman said Wednesday she'll hire 100 firefighters now that the fire union has won an arbitration case dealing with firefighters' schedules. Neuman said she'll ask the County Council for $3 million to pay for the new firefighters and add fire training academy classes. The county had proposed moving firefighters from a "one day on, three days off" schedule to a "one day on, two days off" schedule. Firefighters work 24-hour shifts. Neuman said in negotiations earlier this year that the county "put an attractive financial package on the table" to try to convince firefighters to agree to the new schedule, but no deal was struck and the issue ended up in arbitration.

A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that police in Maryland and elsewhere can continue the warrantless collection of DNA from people arrested - but not convicted - of serious crimes. The 5-4 decision upheld a state law that allows investigators to take genetic information from arrestees, a practice followed by the federal government and about half the states. Police generally compare suspects' DNA to records from other cases in hopes of developing leads. The case, which amplified a long-running debate over the limits of government search-and-seizure powers, began with a challenge from a Wicomico County man linked to a rape after his DNA was taken in an unrelated arrest.

Much as I am in sympathy with Lucy Ferriss's latest post at Lingua Franca , I fear that something she says may be subject to a dangerous misinterpretation: As I've said before, people want rules. Students, for instance, take notice when they start reading “to the Senator and I” in the newspaper, and when “with she and her brother” receives tacit approval from writing instructors. They may even notice that “I like he and she” has started sounding OK. A little time passes, and they begin to doubt whether me , him , us , and them ever were correct to say in a predicate construction or prepositional phrase.

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 County Board of Appeals panel has ruled against a community group fighting a planned medical office building in Catonsville. The three board members on Thursday affirmed an earlier decision by a county administrative law judge who had approved a proposal for Whalen Properties' Southwest Physicians Pavilion, finding that the development plan meets legal requirements. The Kenwood Gardens Condominium Association had filed its appeal in March, pointing to developer Steve Whalen's conviction in January for making illegal campaign contributions to county politicians.

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.