Speed

(NOTE: To download Liam's full cheat sheet for all of Saturday's races, click here . Following is his analysis on the Preakness Stakes.)   There are always lots of hard luck stories in the Kentucky Derby, and some of those hard luck horses come to the Preakness looking to set the record straight. Several of those guys are here to take on Orb. And a handful more Derby grumblers are skipping the Preakness to set their sights on the Belmont. However, recent history shows that the Derby winner tends to back up the Derby win and beat most if not all of those Derby finishers again.

A task force appointed last year by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to study the city's speed and red-light camera program violated Maryland law when it met behind closed doors in March, the state Open Meetings Compliance Board ruled this week. The task force also violated the open-meetings law by not giving reasonable advance notice of meetings and by failing to take proper minutes, the board said in the ruling published Monday. While the decision carries no penalty, a judge could assess a $100 fine on members who "willfully" participated in the meeting.

With nearly every eye at Pimlico fixated on either the uncatchable leader, Oxbow, or the Kentucky Derby winner and heavy betting favorite, Orb, Itsmyluckyday cruised under the radar to earn a little bit of redemption in Saturday's Preakness. After failing to challenge Orb on the muddy track at Churchill Downs two weeks ago and finishing near the back of the pack, Itsmyluckyday finished in second place in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "We did run our race, but we just weren't lucky enough to win," trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

The emailed directive went out midmorning April 16 from a Baltimore City traffic engineer: No more speed camera tickets are to be issued from the camera in the 3900 block of The Alameda. Less than five hours later, an engineering supervisor wrote another email, stating that the city's entire speed and red-light camera network was being suspended. The emails, provided by the city in response to a Public Information Act request, offer a glimpse at how transportation officials made a major decision about a controversial program that has caused recurring headaches for the city and many motorists.

The Sun cannot be seriously reporting on the effectiveness of speed cameras ("Highway work zones are deemed safer now," April 15). Maryland highways chief Neil J. Pedersen said Wednesday at a news conference that "his employees and contractors have noticed a decrease in the number of vehicles going more than 10 mph over the speed limit in work zones." Mr. Pederson also said "police have also noticed fewer crashes." "Noticed" is how we are to measure success, what someone "notices"?

Sunday's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, has gotten a good deal of attention for injecting its receiving corps with a good deal of speed. The Ravens have taken notice, but their strategy heading into Sunday's season opener for the AFC North rivals remains unchanged. “We just play the same,” cornerback Lardarius Webb said. “It's about technique and playing ball. Most wide receivers in the league have speed, and most teams draft receivers because of their 40 time. Most of the people we guard run a 4.3. If you've got a 4.2, it's a little bit different, but you have to respect everybody's speed.

Wide Receiver Torrey Smith, the Ravens' second-round pick out of Maryland, got into the game a couple of times Sunday, but I'm not sure he understands his role, or the plays that are called. Smith is supposed to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, player on the roster, yet a couple of us in the pressbox repeatedly watched him jog through plays. It's hard to see this on the TV screen because the cameras don't show the entire field. But there were at least two occasions when he came soft off the line of scrimmage and ran without a purpose.

I remember seeing the movie "Speed" in 1994 and thinking the premise — a load of commuters in a city bus rigged to explode if its speed falls below 50 miles per hour — was a little far-fetched. But that was before today, when I was viciously held hostage by my vehicle's electrical system. Of course, Sandra Bullock could certainly play me in this sequel, but she'd have to spend months at the gym snack bar enjoying muffins and fruit smoothies to achieve my current fitness level.

Two of the city's six mobile speed cameras were moved to new locations this week: One on northbound Van Dusen Road, between Laurel Park Drive and Olive Branch Way; and another on Sandy Spring Road, near Phillip Powers Drive. The cameras were installed and activated Monday, July 18, in anticipation of schools opening next month, according to city officials. Other speed camera locations in the city include one on Seventh Street, at Main Street; two on Cherry Lane; and a second camera on Van Dusen Road.

Lee Evans did not catch a pass despite being targeted four times by quarterback Joe Flacco in the Ravens' 35-7 thumping of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but that doesn't mean that the wide receiver was ineffective. Coach John Harbaugh said Evans' speed forced the Pittsburgh defense to monitor him closely, which carved out opportunities for his teammates on underneath and intermediate routes. "Lee opened up a couple crossing routes for us where he takes the top off the coverage, and if they don't run with him, Joe's going to throw to him," Harbaugh said during his post-game media session on Monday.

After a three-month delay, Baltimore has resumed posting parking ticket data on OpenBaltimore, the city government's transparency website. Officials gave no explanation for the lengthy delay in updating the site. Nothing had been added to the database since late January. That has changed, and the site now has information for tickets issued as recently as Thursday. Those include citations for parking in a handicapped zone, at an expired meter or too close to a fire hydrant, as well as speed camera tickets.

Baltimore issued more than 16,000 speed camera tickets in less than two months this year before shutting the troubled program down over a programming error, according to figures posted by the city. The numbers offer a detailed statistical look at the recent performance of the program targeted this year by state lawmakers. Officials started issuing the $40 tickets for the first time this year on Feb. 20, the figures show. But they announced on April 16 that they had again stopped citing drivers amid reports that one of the city's new cameras had been programmed with the wrong speed limit, resulting in hundreds of erroneous tickets.

Baltimore County police on Monday identified two people who died when the driver of a 2013 Ford Mustang flipped the vehicle on Route 40, near Martin Boulevard early Sunday. Emil Antonio Ledesma Vargas, 29, of the 300 block of Endsleigh Avenue, and Josseline Rico-Hernandez, 25, of the 9700 block of Matzon Road, both in Middle River, were pronounced dead at the scene. A third passenger, a 25-year-old male, was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday she's pressing her Department of Transportation to ensure speed camera accuracy after officials acknowledged that 590 erroneous tickets were issued by the city's new multimillion-dollar camera system. At the same time, the mayor said, she's committed to a program that she believes helps protect children from drivers who speed in school zones. "I'm going to continue to put pressure on the Department of Transportation to continue to improve the program and to get it right," Rawlings-Blake said.

Baltimore's speed cameras are off-line for the second time this year after officials found faults with some of the tickets issued by the city's new camera system vendor. Officials say they will void or refund nearly 600 erroneous tickets. We would be inclined to compliment the city for how seriously it is taking the responsibility to eliminate all errors from the program if there weren't something so odd about this latest twist in the Baltimore speed camera saga. According to a news release issued by the Department of Transportation late Tuesday afternoon, the city decided to shut the cameras down after finding some "clerical mistakes" involving the payment options listed on tickets and the speed limit near one camera on the Alameda.

So, we don't need speed cameras? Perhaps Matt Hersl's life might not have been saved by the presence of speed cameras, but neither was it saved even by the presence of a state trooper ("City worker killed in City Hall crash," April 10). The interstate highways around Baltimore are race tracks where speed limits are routinely ignored by 15 mph or more. To those who feel the cameras victimize them I say: There are no "victims" in traffic enforcement, only violators. Judging from The Sun's reports, Matt Hersl was a magnificent man, neighbor and friend who will be sorely missed and mourned by his family.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday she's pressing her Department of Transportation to ensure speed camera accuracy after officials acknowledged that 590 erroneous tickets were issued by the city's new multimillion-dollar camera system. At the same time, the mayor said, she's committed to a program that she believes helps protect children from drivers who speed in school zones. "I'm going to continue to put pressure on the Department of Transportation to continue to improve the program and to get it right," Rawlings-Blake said.

The city's Board of Estimates on Wednesday formally approved an overhaul of the city's speed cameras and the replacement of a police-towing company accused of overcharging customers. The panel voted 4-1 to approve a $2.2 million payment to Brekford Corp., the city's new speed camera vendor, for a purchase of 72 speed cameras. In January, the city's speed and red light camera system experienced a near-complete shutdown during what city officials called a problematic transition from previous contractor, Xerox State & Local Solutions.