Secretary

A cabal of corrupt corrections officers and members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang enjoyed nearly free rein inside the Baltimore City Detention Center, federal authorities allege, smuggling drugs and cellphones into the jail and having sexual relationships that left four guards pregnant. An indictment unsealed Tuesday names 25 people - including 13 women working as corrections officers - who face racketeering and drug charges. Twenty of the accused also face money-laundering charges.

If former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hoped she could segue quietly into private life as she pondered a presidential bid in 2016, that fantasy has been abruptly harpooned in the resurrection of the political squabble over the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's hearing into the failure of the Clinton-led State Department to respond in a timely fashion has made clear that the issue will haunt her and any political aspirations she may have between now and the next presidential election.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently received a gag gift of protective headgear after she suffered a concussion and blood clot near her brain after a fall. While Clinton can now make light of the injuries, a blood clot can be a serious health risk that can lead to death. Dr. James L. Frazier, III, a neurosurgeon at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, talks about the dangers. What causes a blood clot to form in the brain? A blood clot or thrombus can form in the arteries that supply blood to the brain.

Gov. Martin O'Malley picked an Annapolis veteran Thursday to oversee the waning years of his administration, appointing as chief of staff a man who has worked under four governors and earned respect in the environmental community for his candor. Department of Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin will take over for the final 18 months of O'Malley's administration, as the governor decides whether to set his sights on the White House and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown launches a campaign to succeed O'Malley.

Sarah L. Howard, a former social club membership secretary who had lived in Baltimore, died June 18 of heart failure at her home in Greenville, S.C. She was 52. Sarah Little Howard was born in Baltimore and raised in Cockeysville and Towson. She was a 1976 graduate of Dulaney High School. She was also a graduate of Towson Stratford Business College. In 1970, she was the recipient of a scholarship to study classical piano at Peabody Institute Preparatory School of Music.

(From the Maryland Politics blog) Maryland's embattled Juvenile Services secretary is stepping down to pursue "an opportunity in a different state," the agency announced this afternoon. The secretary, Donald W. DeVore, is the first cabinet-level departure since Gov. Martin O'Malley won a second term. DeVore's last year has rocked by the murder of a teacher, apparently at the hands of a student, at the Cheltenham Youth Facility in Prince George's County. State auditors also recently turned up chronic problems with the agency's procurement and bureaucratic procedures.

Oden Bowie, the former secretary of the Maryland Senate and grandson of Maryland Gov. Oden Bowie, died Oct. 23 at the Arbor at Baywoods in Annapolis of complications from a fall he suffered at his home last month. He was 97. His daughter, Ambler Bowie Slabe, said he had spent his entire life at Fairview, the Bowie home in Prince George's County. She said he was the sixth generation of his family to reside there. "He was respected and admired by everyone," said Maryland Senate President Mike Miller.

Madeline R. Downing, a retired secretary and former longtime College Park resident, died March 3 at Maryland Shock Trauma Center of injuries suffered in a Howard County automobile accident. The Charlestown retirement community resident was 90. Madeline Redmond, the daughter of a farmer and a schoolteacher, was born and raised in Montpelier, Vt., where she graduated in 1936 from St. Michael's High School. After passing the civil service examination, Mrs. Downing moved to Washington and went to work for the old War Department before World War II. In 1943, she married Matthew Patrick Downing, who was serving in the Army.

M. Helen Bopp, who worked as a legislative secretary for her brother, the late state Sen. Joseph L. Manning, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Jan. 21 at Oakland Manor Assisted Living in Sykesville. The former Catonsville resident was 97. Margaret Helen Manning was born in Baltimore and lived on Light Street in South Baltimore. She earned a diploma at the old St. Mary's Star of the Sea Commercial School and began work at age 14 as a typist at Schloss Brothers clothing manufacturers.

Ruth C. Mann, a former secretary and cafeteria worker, died Tuesday of complications from a stroke at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The Sparks resident was 89. Ruth Catherine Moran, the daughter of a postman and homemaker, was born and raised in East Baltimore. After graduating from Seton High School in 1939, she attended a local secretarial school, then worked as a secretary. During the 1970s, she worked in the cafeteria of Stoneleigh Elementary School. She was married in 1943 to James L. Mann Sr., a buyer for the state of Maryland, who died in 2000.

Gov. Martin O'Malley on Thursday named the head of Department of Natural Resources as his new chief of staff. John R. Griffin, 66, will take over for Matthew Gallagher, who will leave the administration at the end of May to lead the Goldseker Foundation . O'Malley described Griffin as "  the heart and soul of Maryland's environmental agenda" in a release announcing the appointment.  Griffin began in the Department of Natural resources...

Madeline L. Healey, a homemaker who was an executive secretary to two Maryland first ladies, died of an intestinal blockage April 5 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The former Annapolis resident lived in Cockeysville and was 92. The daughter of Alva and Nannie Duvall, she was born in Baltimore and raised on Poplar Grove Street in Walbrook. A 1939 graduate of Forest Park High School, she met her husband, William H. Healey Jr., when both were teens living in the same neighborhood.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate will hold a confirmation hearing on Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Over her decades of public service, Ms. McCarthy has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting public health with pragmatic solutions to our pollution challenges. In short, she has proved that she is a true public health champion. While Ms. McCarthy's most high-profile accomplishments came from her work strengthening and modernizing historic clean air standards to ensure that Americans will be able to breathe easier over the long term, she has dedicated her entire career to keeping kids safe from chemicals, ensuring we have clean and safe drinking water, and tackling the environmental health issues that really matter.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told parents, students and educators in Baltimore County on Wednesday that while Americans might not agree on gun control legislation, they must work together so that children can grow up without fear of violence in schools. At a town hall-style meeting before a packed auditorium at Loch Raven High School, Duncan said communities must have tough conversations to address the violence that has hit schools across the country - including those in the county that hosted him Wednesday.

Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska who survived a stormy confirmation hearing to become the new secretary of defense, had a coming-out party of sorts last week before the National Defense University, the government's graduate school for American and foreign military officers. Mr. Hagel, who had been reminded in that hearing that he once described the Pentagon and U.S. military he would be taking over as "bloated," elaborated on the notion in gentler but nevertheless specific terms.

Just as they did when Thomas E. Perez was nominated to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Republicans are seeking to hold up his confirmation to head the U.S. Department of Labor, using any excuse they can think up, no matter how flimsy. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama criticized Mr. Perez, a former Montgomery County councilman and Maryland labor secretary, for his one-time service on the board of CASA de Maryland. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa complained that the president had nominated Mr. Perez for a cabinet post despite a congressional investigation into the Civil Rights Division and questions about whether he engineered a quid pro quo with the city of St. Paul, Minn.

Maryland's deputy secretary of labor stepped up Thursday as interim secretary, filling a job emptied when Alexander M. Sanchez left this week to become chief of staff to Baltimore's mayor. Scott R. Jensen worked two stints at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From 2007 to 2009, he was a special assistant to the secretary, focusing on expanding unemployment insurance benefits to part-time workers and aligning adult education — including in correctional facilities — with the state's workforce development system.

This week marks the third anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. For Marylanders, that means a health care system that is stronger than it was three years ago, and a future that looks even brighter. Marylanders who have health insurance now have more security, thanks to new insurance market reforms and consumer protections put into place by the law. Preventive services like mammograms and flu shots are newly available for free to 1.5 million people with private insurance plans. About 48,950 Maryland Medicare beneficiaries with the highest prescription drug costs have saved an average of $768 on their medications.