Security

Salisbury transfer Eric Law picked up a rebound on the edge of the crease and scored with 13.4 seconds left to cap a historic comeback and give No. 4 seed Denver a 12-11 win over fifth-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament quarterfinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. The game, played before an announced 7,749, was the first men's lacrosse quarterfinal held at a venue not on the East Coast. Denver, the first team in men's quarterfinal history to win after trailing by five goals or more, will face No. 1 seed Syracuse in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas said Saturday that the Preakness brand “has changed dramatically” in the last few years, citing an attendance bump in the infield celebration and increased security all around the racetrack.   “The crowd in the infield is up, and the wagers are coming in,” Chuckas said. “All in all, it's pretty much what we expected, and we'll continue to fine-tune it.”   Speaking with reporters just after the seventh race Saturday at Pimlico Race Cource, Chuckas acknowledged that the Jockey Club has sought to find a balance between catering to old-school horse racing fans and drawing in new crowds who could become racing enthusiasts.

Baltimore's housing office has disbanded its security unit, laying off seven sworn police officers, the agency said Thursday. The duties of the Lease Enforcement Unit - which investigates criminal activity in public housing to determine if a resident has violated his or her lease - will be assumed by housing's Inspector General's office, which investigates fraud, waste and abuse, said Cheron Porter, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Housing. "The Housing Authority of Baltimore City budget has suffered cuts generally over the past couple of years and with sequestration, more cuts could be on the horizon," Porter said in an email.

In a pair of low-slung green stables manned by security guards and watched by 24-hour surveillance cameras, a pack of brawny young horses will be monitored, poked and assessed down to the blood in their veins. The horses set to race in the 138th Preakness are to be kept under a microscope from their arrival at Pimlico Race Course until they burst from their starting gates Saturday — not only to avoid injury but also scandal. "It's become more sophisticated," said David Zipf, 72, the Maryland Racing Commission's longtime chief veterinarian for thoroughbred racing.

Navy's women's lacrosse players made it clear that they are not in the NCAA tournament this time to enjoy the experience. After three years of first-round losses, the eighth-seeded Mids are in it to win. Monmouth, which lost in a play-in game last season, apparently had the same idea. The Hawks made 11th-ranked Navy work for everything it got Friday, especially in the first half. Monmouth scored first and was within one until the final 7.1 seconds of the first half, when Mids senior attacker Jasmine DePompeo dished out the first her five assists and sparked a five-goal run that carried Navy to a 12-6 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for its first NCAA tournament win in six years as a Division I program.

The Social Security Disability Insurance system is supposed to provide a financial safety net for workers and their families in the event that a serious medical impairment prevents them from working ("Judges sue Social Security over 'quotas' on disability decisions" April 29). But it's really a parachute that often fails to open in time, sending the individual into a financial free fall with years of uncertainty over whether or not they are going to hit the ground - and it only opens for about a third of applicants.

The Hollywood Diner will continue with its current operator, Richard T. White, at least for the immediate future. The Board of Estimates pulled the diner's lease termination from its agenda after Comptroller Joan M. Pratt agreed to give White more time to secure funding. The board was to decide at Wednesday morning's meeting whether to terminate White's 18-month lease early; the original lease wasn't set to expire until next spring. But in a side room prior to the Board of Estimates meeting, Pratt informed White that her office was granting him more time to right the diner's finances.

Towson became the second team in Division I (after Lehigh) to seal its path to the NCAA tournament when it knocked off No. 9 Penn State, 11-10, for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship last Friday. So unlike area neighbors like No. 5 Loyola, No. 11 Maryland and Johns Hopkins, the Tigers enjoyed last weekend. “It was actually pretty nice after being away for four days,” coach Shawn Nadelen said with a chuckle Sunday night. “It allowed our guys to catch up with some of their school work, and it gave us two days of a little extra rest.

There are 875,000 on the terrorist watch list ("U.S. launches internal review," May 1). Unbelievable! This speaks out against the effectiveness of our immigration screening system and homeland security apparatus. Do I feel unsafe as I travel about my country? You bet I do, and it is a heavy topic of conversation. What are we to do about this? Just wait for the next 9/11 or Boston calamity? Even the dummies who voted in the past election are getting scared. However, we can all rest assured that Washington has the answer.

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, we heard strong proclamations from the president that "justice will be served. " It should be. Our spirit of justice is based on the principle that punishment should outweigh any benefit derived from perpetrating crime - a premise that has guided our nation since its earliest days. However, we expect more. The punishment should be harsh enough to send a strong message to others that they, too, will suffer if they attempt to hurt the American people.