Shutdown

Federal inspectors are at Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant this week to investigate an unexpected shutdown of both reactors last week, which a plant spokesman said apparently was triggered by melting snow leaking through the plant's roof. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent a five-member "special inspection team" Monday to the 1,750-megawatt plant near Lusby in Calvert County, which is owned by Constellation Energy. It's expected to remain there all week, NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci said.

When the Orioles brought in Freddy Garcia in late March, he seemed destined to be depth as a fifth or spot starter in the back end of the rotation. But Thursday night against the Washington Nationals, Garcia turned in the performance of an ace in the Orioles' 2-0 victory at Camden Yards . The right-hander threw eight shutout innings and allowed just three hits while striking out six on 113 pitches in the Orioles' third win in the past four games. He retired 14 straight batters from the second to the sixth innings, and he retired 21 of the final 22 Nationals he faced.

As one of the many Baltimore Gas and Electric PeakRewards customers who had air conditioning turned off on the afternoon of July 22 for a few hours, I disagree with op-ed writer William Yeatman that I was a helpless victim of the government ("Blame government, not BGE, for turning off the AC," Aug. 9). Of my own free will, I signed up for PeakRewards and I have received approximately $60 per summer for the past three years. This was the first time that I was inconvenienced. I really doubt that anyone in the "heat-sensitive population" would have signed up for this program and it is thus unlikely that they were affected.

Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in southern Maryland restarted one of its two reactors Thursday after fixing the mechanical problem that caused its shutdown two days earlier, a Constellation spokesman said. Unit 2 reconnected to the regional electric grid at 8:50 a.m. after workers fixed a faulty coupling on a pump feeding water into one of two steam generators at the plant, said Kory Raftery, spokesman for Constellation Energy Nuclear Group. Operators shut the reactor down Tuesday morning after vibrations caused the pump to stop operating, Raftery said.

There's always a great temptation after a political tussle like last week's federal budget showdown to immediately declare a winner and a loser. House Republicans can claim victory by setting the budget-trimming agenda in Washington, while Senate Democrats can claim they successfully defended against an ideological assault on women's health, Head Start, public broadcasting and other popular programs. The reality is that both won, but only in the sense that they were saved from themselves.

The Russian owner of Sparrows Point said it plans to extend a partial shutdown of the Baltimore County mill through the first quarter and will temporarily lay off more than 1,000 people by Christmas as it grapples with low demand for steel. On Thursday, Severstal notified state officials, as required by law, about the layoffs that are expected to occur by Dec. 19. The number of employees whose jobs would be suspended includes 668 who have been out of work since July, when company officials first announced a shutdown of the plant's primary operations.

When you look at the Ravens' defense, it's hard to find a weakness. The unit has a Pro Bowl player on the defensive line and a couple at linebacker and in the secondary. The Ravens might have as much overall defensive depth as they had in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. But there is one problem area. The Ravens don't have a shutdown cornerback. They have solid players and good depth, but they don't have that big, physical corner who can take out the other team's No. 1 receiver. Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison wants to find one before the Kansas City Chiefs come to Baltimore for the season opener Sept.

The general manager of the Sparrows Point steel mill in Baltimore County told a county economic development official that part of the plant will shut down temporarily this summer, putting hundreds of employees out of work. Baltimore County Economic Development Director David Iannucci said during a budget work session with the County Council Monday afternoon that general manager Thomas Russo told him the blast furnace would be temporarily shutdown in June. Iannucci said he was told the shut down would affect at least a third of the plant's 2,500 workers.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's opponents like to complain that his White House sometimes seems to be run by 19-year-olds. Today, they will be at least partly right.As part of the shutdown of the federal government forced by the budget deadlock between the president and Congress, most of Mr. Clinton's staff has been deemed "nonessential" and will be taking the time off.In their absence, much of the daily work around the president's office will be handled by college-age interns, who work at the White House for free and so are not affected by the budget squeeze.

DALLAS -- President Bush stepped up his attacks on Congress yesterday for the impasse over the federal budget and warned that he is prepared to shut down the government once more if the lawmakers prove unable to come up with a budget plan that he finds acceptable by Friday."

"Deep" and "sitcom" are not words often used in the same sentence. But a visit to the "VEEP" soundstage in Columbia gave a glimpse of the larger cultural power of this savvy satire from HBO, returning for its second season Sunday night. I also came away dazzled by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who last year won an Emmy as best comedic actress for her portrayal of Vice President Selina Meyer. "VEEP" drills as far down into the state of the national psyche as any TV comedy has in the past 30 years.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to close five air traffic control towers in Maryland — among 149 nationwide — to comply with across-the-board budget cuts mandated by Congress, a move that could clog operations at BWI Marshall Airport. Even though the tower at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is not among the closings, the FAA decision to shut down one at Martin State Airport in Baltimore County could lead to more flights using the larger airport.

How many speed camera tickets has Baltimore City issued so far this year? How many red-light camera tickets? City officials won't say. Five weeks ago, Khalil Zaied, deputy chief of operations in the mayor's office, told members of the City Council that the lucrative automated camera enforcement network had started coming back online. More than a month had passed since the system went offline, the result of a troubled transition from one contractor to another. "What we have is now 10 speed cameras out on locations," he said Feb. 4. "We have approximately 15 of the red-light cameras on board right now also.

Soon after hearing that Hostess Brands Inc. was shutting down for good, Lisa Renee Clark wasted no time dashing out to the Wonder Hostess Bakery Thriftshop in Glen Burnie. But by midday Friday, she was almost too late. The Twinkies had sold out. Supplies of Wonder white bread were dwindling. And the shelves appeared bare of Ho Hos. Finally spotting two boxes of the cream-filled snack cakes, Clark snatched them up. "So many fun, good things from my childhood are going away," said Clark, 43, a self-employed production assistant and camera operator from Pasadena.

The Maryland Food Bank said it handed out food Wednesday to hundreds of families affected by the mass layoffs at Sparrows Point. About 2,000 workers lost their jobs after RG Steel filed for bankruptcy in late May and idled the Baltimore County steel mill. The property since has been sold to owners who are trying to find a steelmaker to restart operations but will liquidate the mill and redevelop it if they can't. The food bank, which also handed out food on Tuesday to laid-off steelworkers and others buffeted by the shutdown, said it expected to distribute more than 60,000 pounds to more than 1,700 people between the two days.

Keion Carpenter walks through the gates of his former high school, Woodlawn, making his way to a tunnel under the bleachers. He has made this walk hundreds of times before, including places like the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech. The retired NFL defensive back who now runs the Shutdown Academy - a non-profit academic institution that offers sports - bobs his head to the Jay-Z blaring from the speakers on the field and watches a 12-year-old from New Jersey break out on a long run. Carpenter walks over to the sidelines to join the other two Shutdown Academy founders, current New York Jets linebacker Aaron Maybin and Houston Texans wide receiver Bryant Johnson, snapping pictures with kids and talking football with adults who used to watch him every Sunday in the fall.

WASHINGTON -- Federal operations have shut down three times in the last decade because of failures of Congress to pass an operating budget for a new fiscal year.The previous closures lasted a day or less before the budget impasse was resolved.The first occasion was Nov. 23, 1981, when President Ronald Reagan, in a struggle with Congress, ordered the furlough of 400,000 of the government's 2.1 million employees, those deemed non-essential to protect life, national security or federal property.

ATLANTA -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his Democratic opponent, cookie entrepreneur Michael J. Coles, sparred Friday night in a fiery debate in which Coles blamed Gingrich for last year's government shutdown and Gingrich repeatedly characterized Coles as a liberal.Because the public television debate lasted only 30 minutes, the two candidates exchanged charges at a furious pace.Gingrich repeatedly linked Coles to what he characterized as the Democratic Party's liberal leadership in the House of Representatives, ridiculed him for refusing to announce his presidential preference, and made much ado about a minor violation of child labor law committed by Coles' company.

The city Department of Transportation has revised this week's overnight closures of the Jones Falls Expressway at 29th Street as crews replace collapsed drainage pipes and repair erosion that threatened to undermine the road. During the closures, traffic will be routed onto the 28th Street exit ramp. Motorists should continue left on Sisson Street, take a left on 29th Street, and then get back onto the JFX. Once the full closures are lifted, the left lane in each direction will remain off limits until the $2 million project is finished.

The Green and Libertarian parties are launching new petition drives to get their candidates for president and other offices on Maryland's November ballot after losing a battle before the state's highest court. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled Monday that state elections officials were correct to disqualify thousands of signatures on petitions previously circulated by the two parties. Many signatures were thrown out as illegible or not consistent with the voter's official registration card.