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Polka dot plantBotanical name: Hypoestes phyllostachyaPronunciation: hy-po-ES-tessFamily: Acanthaceae (Ancanthus)Origin: MadagascarClass: Annual/houseplantDisplay period: Year-roundHeight: 10 inchesEnvironment: SunShow me a plant with pink foliage and it's almost a certainty I'l want it for my own. I was so smitten, in fact, with Pink Splash Select -- a superior variety of polka dot plant developed by Pan American Seed -- that I couldn't resist buying a...

Graduates of the Johns Hopkins University's master's program in science writing have explained the prospects of life on Mars, the promise of neuroscience research and the ethics of animal testing on the pages of Scientific American, Nature and Popular Science, on the airwaves of NPR and in books. But after 30 years among a small tier of similar programs across the country, the tiny one-year program has trained its last writers in the art of translating science for the layman. Hopkins officials discontinued it this month, citing a decline in applications that rendered it not selective enough.

Addressing a longtime need in the organization, the Orioles selected Florida high school shortstop Manny Machado with the third overall pick in Monday night's first round of the 2010 amateur draft. Machado, who hit .639 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs in 29 games for Brito Miami Private, was considered the top prep position player in the draft. "If Machado stays at shortstop, you have a potential All-Star offensively who is no worse than average with the glove," said Keith Law, a writer for ESPN.

In light of Johns Hopkins president Ronald J. Daniels accepting the recommendation of a seven-member special committee to explore joining a conference, university athletic director Tom Calder and men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala participated in a conference call Friday afternoon. Here are a few highlighted quotes from the conference call. Athletic director Tom Calder on the timetable for researching potential conference: “There really isn't any timeline. We've got to put a lot of time into this and make sure that if we are going to go into a conference, we do all of our homework and that we do what's best not only for the athletes and the team but the university also.” Coach Dave Pietramala on the timetable: “From our perspective, this is an exciting opportunity and the decision to seek conference affiliation is a monumental decision, which means the next decision is as equally as big because you want to continue to move into a positive direction, and you want to find the right place.

Maryland women's basketball coach Chris Weller has been named to lead the 1994 U.S. women's select team, by the USA Basketball Staff Selection Committee, a move that could be a springboard toward coaching the national entry in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.Weller, who has won 385 games and eight Atlantic Coast Conference titles at Maryland in 19 years, was coach of the 1992 USA select team that won the gold medal at the Jones Cup competition in Taiwan.The select team is made up mostly of college players who have little international experience.

As millions of Americans prepare to feast on football and fowl, Legg Mason Inc. yesterday served up its 15th annual Thanksgiving List, a selection of a dozen stocks that historically has left investors' portfolios fatter than Legg's mutual funds.Many investment firms offer selected stock portfolios for their clients at various times of the year. Legg Mason's has attracted a following beyond the company's regional base, probably because of its consistent performance: The list has bettered the Standard & Poor's 500 index 12 out of the 15 years since its introduction, with a 28.7 percent average annual return, compared with the S&P's average 16.9 percent annual return, assuming reinvestment of dividends in both cases.

The race to select the location and developers for a proposed $97 million building to house the federal Health Care Financing Administration entered the backstretch yesterday as Baltimore officials picked a team of local favorites to represent the city's interests in the bidding process.Baltimore's Center City-Inner Harbor Management Inc. said yesterday that it pared down an original field of 21 contestants to one finalist: a joint venture between the Rouse Co. of Columbia, Baltimore's Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. and developer Daniel P. Henson III, also of Baltimore.

In three consecutive days, Matt Hobgood won a national baseball award, attended his high school's spring sports banquet and was selected fifth overall by the Orioles in Tuesday's amateur draft. "If you'd sit me down and asked how to plan out the week, I don't think you could plan it out any better than that," said Hobgood, a hard-throwing right-hander from Southern California who became just the second high school pitcher in two decades to be selected by the Orioles with their first pick.

Darra and David Williams were running out of hope for having a baby without cystic fibrosis when they heard about technology capable of helping them select healthy embryos - as well as their child's gender. At an Irvine, Calif., clinic, now-familiar technology was used to fertilize her eggs with his sperm. But in a Brave New World twist, doctors at Coastal Fertility Medical Center then pulled a cell from each resulting embryo to test it for defects such as the cystic fibrosis that runs in David's family, as well as for its sex. Four were healthy - three boys and a girl.

This year's Easter egg hunt is over, but not for the DVD fanatic. Here are a few Easter eggs hidden on your favorite DVDs. Remember, these have not been laboratory-tested - they are reports from the field by die-hard fans, and a few favorites from Netflix film critic James Rocchi. The Ring: To play an extended version of the videotape, highlight Play on the menu, hit the Up button on your remote, then Select. Memento: Special Limited Edition: To watch this movie-in-reverse in chronological order, select Special Features from the main menu of the second disc.

College football Ex-Navy coach Hardin selected for HOF Former Navy football coach Wayne Hardin will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced Tuesday. Hardin is the 24th person affiliated with the Naval Academy to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the third head coach, joining Gil Dobie (17-3 at Navy from 1917 to 1919) and George Welsh (55-46-1 at Navy from 1973 to 1981). Hardin will be officially inducted at the National Football Foundation's awards dinner Dec.10 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and will be enshrined in the summer of 2014 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

The sweat and nerves that accompanied St. Mary's journey to the NCAA tournament turned into a leisurely jaunt after the team had upset reigning national champion Salisbury, 13-11, in Sunday's final of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament and earned the automatic qualifier. It was a relaxing moment for a Seahawks program that had never advanced to the NCAA tournament until Sunday. “Well, it definitely took a little pressure off,” coach Chris Hasbrouck said with a chuckle Monday afternoon.

Jim Siedliski is the Big East associate commissioner. He is also the chair of the NCAA selection committee, succeeding former Johns Hopkins and Towson coach Tony Seaman. Siedliski, VMI coach Brian Anken, Ohio State senior associate athletic director Heather Lyke Catalano, Hartford associate athletic director Ellen Crandall and Fairfield athletic director Gene Doris were charged with filling out the 16-team field for the upcoming NCAA tournament. Siedliski addressed the rationale behind awarding the top seed to Syracuse, the deliberations over inviting Duke, Penn State and Loyola instead of Bucknell, Penn and Princeton, and the reasoning involved in leaving Johns Hopkins out of the field for the first time since 1971.

After last Saturday's 8-4 victory over No. 13 Johns Hopkins, No. 5 Loyola was thought to be a lock for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament if the reigning national champion did not repeat as Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament champions this week. Few expected the Greyhounds to fall to No. 8 Ohio State in a conference tournament semifinal, but that is what happened as the Buckeyes pulled off an 18-11 upset at Hobart in Geneva, N.Y., Thursday night. Now Loyola's tournament profile is in question, and it is an unsettling situation for the players and coach Charley Toomey as they await to hear their fate Sunday night when the NCAA selection committee unveils the 16-team field.

For the second time in three weeks, a somewhat surprising loss dropped Maryland out of the top five in the latest Rating Percentage Index list - also known as RPI - released by the NCAA Monday evening. Friday's 13-6 setback to unranked Virginia (7-8) caused the Terps (9-3) to slip from No. 3 in RPI to No. 7. Maryland encountered a similar fall after losing to Johns Hopkins, 7-4, on April 13 and slipping from No. 4 to No. 8. Perhaps the only positive outcome from the loss to the Cavaliers was their move up to No. 20, which gives the Terps a fourth top 20 victory.

The newest alderman on the Annapolis City Council will be downtown resident and activist Joe Budge. The Annapolis Democratic Central Committee selected Budge on Tuesday night to replace former Alderman Richard Israel, who resigned earlier this month. Budge is a retiree and a 10-year resident of Annapolis who has frequently appeared before the City Council representing the Ward One Residents Asscociation. Budge earned votes from five of the nine members of the central committee.

The players, managers and coaches should select the starters for baseball's All-Star Game, respondents to "It's Your Call" said this weekend.The 373 callers opposed selection of the starters by fans (57 to 43 percent) and felt even more strongly that the media should not select the team (76 to 24 percent). But they approved of the players, managers and coaches (56 to 44 percent) making the choices, which currently are made by fans."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

Select fresh apricots based first on aroma and then color. A whiff of apricot fragrance is more important than smooth, blushing skin. Choose fruit with a good, even color that is free of bruises or nicks. Never select fruit tinged with green. These might rot before they ripen.Store apricots in an airtight bag or container because they readily pick up flavors from other fruits.For the best flavor and nutrient content, eat apricots while they're still slightly firm.Pub Date: 8/09/98

Growing up in the farming community of Fort Morgan, Colo., Ravens rookie offensive lineman Ryan Jensen would never have been mistaken for a future NFL draft pick. Although his older brother, Seth, had played defensive tackle at Nebraska, Jensen weighed just 210 pounds as a high school senior and was virtually ignored by major college recruiters. So Jensen accepted a scholarship offer to Division II Colorado State-Pueblo, where he bulked up to 317 pounds and emerged as an All-American.