Staff

WJZ meteorologist Bernadette Woods is leaving the CBS-owned station to join a non-profit firm in New Jersey focused on climate change, she said Wednesday night. Woods, who has been with WJZ for seven years, said she will remain at the station helping with the transition for the next month. After that, she, her husband and their two children will be moving to Princeton, N.J., where she will join Climate Central as staff meteorologist. "I'm very excited about the opportunity in Princeton," she said.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough visited the Baltimore regional office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday to discuss efforts to address the agency's persistent backlog of veterans disability claims. The Baltimore office, which serves half a million veterans in Maryland, is among the nation's worst performers in processing claims, The Baltimore Sun has shown in a series of stories. McDonough's visit was not announced and was not open to reporters. McDonough met with managers in the office as well as employees who handle the claims processing.

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

The Baltimore City Detention Center had the nation's second-highest rate of sexual contact between jail staff and inmates, according to a U.S. Department of Justice study released less than a month after federal prosecutors accused corrections officers at the jail of sleeping with gang members. The report, released Thursday, also found higher-than-average rates of inmate abuse at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup. Women in prison are generally subjected to more abuse than men, and nearly 13 percent of inmates at that facility reported being abused either by a fellow inmate or staff member.

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.

On Thursday, the day the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, a 47-year-old Baltimore woman went to the drugstore, and pulled out her debit card to pay for a prescription refill. But she didn't have enough money in the account to cover the $425 charge. So she asked the pharmacist and staff for a favor. "I asked them to break up the prescription to give me one-third," says the woman, who would not allow her name to be published because she didn't want to disclose her medical conditions.

Heavy Seas Alehouse has posted a "Meet the Staff" video on You Tube in which their staff members talk about their Heavy Seas pours, beer cocktails and menu items. What a great idea. It's not overly produced or slick; it's just right, and it makes me want to go right now. And another thing -- I recognize some of these faces from Heavy Seas' opening week back in February. Heavy Seas uses social media about as well as any restaurant in Baltimore. Of course the video took more effort than a Tweet, but it's still surprising how bad so lazy Baltimore restaurants are with social media.

We have been incredibly touched by the heartfelt support our customers, long-time friends, colleagues and employees have shown us since fire swept through the Mt. Washington Tavern Oct. 31 ("Fire destroys tavern," Nov. 1). We have spent the days since taking stock of the damage and destruction left behind and creating a plan to move forward. We are grateful no one was harmed in the fire, and we are in awe of the amazing outpouring of support people have shown us. The more than 500 Facebook posts, e-mails and phone calls have made it clear that the Mt. Washington Tavern was so much more than a business; it was a Baltimore institution.

Becoming news reporters was the farthest thing on the minds of many current members of The Aegis staff on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Most of them were still in school and hadn't even thought about where their career paths might lead. For the veteran news staff members who watched the horrific events unfold in our newsroom, 10 years hasn't dimmed the vividness of their memories of that tragic day about where they were when they first heard the news that our county had been attacked.

The staff at the Aberdeen Post Office flexed a little extra muscle in December, above and beyond its regular holiday rush. Over the course of several days, a team of five employees processed shipments totaling in excess of 1,000 pounds – all postmarked to various military installations overseas. These packages contained an assortment of comfort items that had been collected and assembled by volunteers of an organization known as "Some SAY Support. We SEND Support," or S5. Members of S5 recently visited the Aberdeen post office to personally thank the postmaster and her staff, whose stellar customer service made these shipments possible.

Baltimore schools chief Andrés Alonso went to Annapolis last year seeking approval for a bold $2 billion plan to replace many of the city system's crumbling buildings. The idea didn't even make it out of committee. Prospects still looked bleak in January when the Senate president described the financial package as "ridiculous. " But by the end of the legislative session in April, a $1 billion version of the proposal had cleared both chambers by overwhelming margins. The plan - signed into law Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley - went from ridiculous to reality because of hard work by scores of people in both Baltimore and Annapolis, and a host of political forces were in play.

The state Public Utilities Commission will schedule a formal hearing on whether to make Uber Technologies, which lets Baltimore customers hail a town car by smart phone, abide by regulations that govern taxi companies. The app-driven startup company Uber entered the Baltimore market in January, raising the ire of local cab companies that said it was skirting state regulations. Century-old Yellow Cab filed a challenge with the commission, contending that Uber should not be allowed to operate here until it complies with the same safety and insurance regulations as traditional taxi and limo companies.

Education observers were split Tuesday on whether the city's school board should launch a nationwide search to replace schools CEO Andrés Alonso or give the job of taking on the district's daunting challenges to his hand-picked successor. Some, such as principals union president Jimmy Gittings, said they'll push for the board to name interim CEO Tisha Edwards as permanent superintendent. School officials said late Tuesday that Edwards, Alonso's chief of staff, would not have to obtain a state waiver despite lacking the teaching experience typically required by state law for the post.

College lacrosse Fletcher, Ratliff among Loyola's eight ECAC award recipients Loyola senior defenseman Joe Fletcher was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, and senior long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff was named Specialist of the Year. Both also were named to the All-ECAC first team. Senior attackman Mike Sawyer , junior attackman Justin Ward (Old Mill), senior defenseman Reid Acton and senior midfielder Davis Butts were named to the second team.

Four Israeli high-tech firms plan to soon open offices or add staff in Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Tuesday, the third day of his eight-day economic development trip to Israel and Jordan. The four companies are Shekel Scales, Askimo, Roboteam and Hybrid Security, O'Malley said in a statement. Shekel Scales, which builds retail, industrial and healthcare scales for precision weighing, opened an office in Owings Mills earlier this year, according to the governor's statement.

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.

Former Orioles manager Dave Trembley, who had been a minor league instructor with the Atlanta Braves, has been hired to be on the big league staff of new Houston Astros manager Bo Porter. The exact position has not been announced, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Trembley ended up as Porter's bench coach. Trembley managed Porter in the minors. Tha Astros also hired John Malee as hitting coach and retained Doug Brocail (pitching coach) and Dave Clark (position unspecified). “A manager is only as good as his coaching staff and I'm confident these four will contribute to a terrific staff that can help us accomplish our goals,” Porter said in a team news release.

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.

Another night, another oh-for at the plate for an Orioles designated hitter. On Wednesday night, it was Nolan Reimold who kept his glove in the clubhouse and took some hacks as the designated hitter. He was hitless in four at-bats -- with three strikeouts -- in a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Through 14 games, the Orioles have gotten just three hits in 53 plate appearances from their designated hitters. So just how poorly have their designated hitters performed? Seven National League teams have gotten more production from their pitchers than the Orioles have from designated hitters.

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...