Standards

In response to the Sun's editorial "Not No. 1 in reform" (Dec. 22), why not make the National Board Certification for teachers the litmus for teacher tenure in Maryland? Teachers cannot sit for the National Board Certification until they have completed three full years of teaching in the same school district and must submit a portfolio, which should include video recordings, examples of student work and documentation of accomplishments outside the classroom that impact student learning.

I was intrigued by your recent article about the Garrett County sheriff's refusal to enforce the state's new gun control law ("Sheriff won't enforce gun law," June 6). The really interesting part of the article was the quote from H. Scott Curtis, chief counsel to the attorney general's office of courts and judicial affairs, who said sheriffs and state's attorneys have an obligation to enforce state laws. "They have to consider the oath that they took when they took office and that is an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Maryland and Maryland laws," Mr. Curtis said.

The state school board voted Tuesday to recommend that students maintain a C average to be able to play sports in public high schools over concerns raised by some educators and coaches that marginal students might drop out without the incentive of sports. The decision, passed with two dissenting votes on the 12-member board, will take effect next school year. While advocates say the minimum grade standard will motivate student athletes to do better in school, critics, including board member Kate Walsh, who voted against the standard, say schools should not discourage struggling students from staying in school.

Tudor charm is in abundance at 711 Chumleigh Road in the Baltimore County neighborhood of Stoneleigh. Sitting on almost a quarter of an acre, this white stucco home is being offered for $889,000. "This is one of the finest examples of a Stoneleigh home that has been lovingly renovated and restored," said listing agent Ashley Richardson with Long & Foster Real Estate. "Such incredible care was taken to perfect every detail, down to the repointing of the stonework, the slate roof on the addition and the copper flashing.

British writer Aldous Huxley once observed that the only "completely consistent" people were dead. If so, then the majority of Maryland's highest court can be congratulated for producing incontrovertible evidence that they are still very much alive and breathing. In a 5-2 decision released Tuesday, the Court of Appeals ruled that just because a person's signature on a petition for referendum is so sloppy that it is impossible for someone else to read doesn't mean that signature should not be counted.

The lawsuit brought by several Baltimore are homeowners against the largest residential real estate team in the state is the direct result of the Maryland Real Estate Commission ignoring the rules governing brokers and the required course work needed to become a broker ("Lawsuit alleges fraud in real estate deals," Dec. 20). Recently, the commission allowed sales people, like Creig Northrop, to form teams without having the required training a broker must have. There is a reason brokers must have training, prior to managing salespeople.

Maryland energy regulators on Tuesday adopted new regulations designed to improve electric service and reliability in the state. For the past year, the Maryland Public Service Commission has been working to improve new reliability performance standards for each of the state's utilities, including Baltimore Gas and Electric. The standards set rules for tree trimming and customer service performance and require greater accountability by the utilities. Hanah.cho@baltsun.com Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

The Senate reached an important milestone Thursday when it voted overwhelmingly to approve an energy bill that, if enacted, would require the first major increase in vehicle fuel efficiency since federal standards were imposed in 1975. The "if" is a big one. The Senate measure emerged much compromised with several of its key parts missing. Nonetheless, this turning point - in a chamber that could barely muster three dozen votes for similar proposals in the past - gives momentum to perhaps even stronger action by the House over the next few months.

IT DOESN'T TAKE a brain surgeon to understand the dangers of overworking young doctors who are in training: sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, medical mistakes. But implementing an 80-hour work week for residents might require the expertise of a professional just as highly educated. It sounds simple, but it's a change that Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and other teaching hospitals are grappling with. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has cited Hopkins for violating work hour rules in its 106-resident internal medicine program, which could endanger the program's accreditation.

Berkeley, Calif. -- HOORAY for history controversy! For years, we've agonized and anguished over how our schools teach math and science -- as we should. But history bonds us together as a people, as Americans. Isn't it time we gave it serious attention?Two recently published volumes, entitled the "National Standards for United States and World History," give us that opportunity. But let's make the discussion honest, fair and civil -- not mean-spirited misrepresentations.From Rush Limbaugh to the Wall Street Journal editorial writers to the former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Lynne Cheney, critics complain that the "Standards" which are more guidelines than rigid "standards")

In his recent commentary ("Punishing honesty at the Naval Academy," May 28), Professor Randall Leonard has missed the point of the honor system but has, perhaps inadvertently, raised a different but valid point. Midshipmen are, or should be, taught to tell the truth at all times. The honor system applies to all midshipmen, regardless of their class standings. Only a pathological liar speaks untruthfully when he or she has nothing at stake. The U.S. Naval Academy honor system requires honesty in spite of personal cost.

Whether you're barbecuing in Baltimore, in Bel Air or on the bay this Memorial Day, you will pay more for staple foods because our federal government continues to pit food versus fuel. Thanks to an unworkable federal energy policy, prices for animal feed have soared, burdening those farmers and ranchers that raise livestock and poultry, along with the companies that process them, with rising production costs. In addition to forcing farms and food producers to cut jobs or close their doors, the increased costs are reflected in the expanding grocery bills of every American.

Reading the article on Del. Don Dwyer's boating-while-intoxicated sentence was interesting ("Dwyer sentenced to 30 days in jail in drunken boating incident," May 14). Drinking and boating is playing Russian roulette. If you are in an accident you may survive but you may destroy others lives. He stated that "those who made the laws have an obligation to obey them. " When he found out he would have to spend 30 days in jail, his obligation ended. He's appealing his conviction. I agree completely with Judge Robert Wilcox who presided over the case.

Maryland's 2013 season could be compared to an exhilarating amusement-park ride that kept passengers highly entertained through the first half before sputtering out and leaving riders wanting more. After back-to-back appearances in the national title game, the Terps fell well short of that goal this spring, falling to Cornell, 16-8, in the first round of the NCAA tournament Sunday. With the loss, Maryland extended its national crown drought to 38 years. As frustrating as that is, however, coach John Tillman said the program will not lower the bar. “Our expectations will always be the same,” he said.

It was Dirty Finger Club Day at Linton Springs Elementary School, near Eldersburg. Out in the vegetable garden - one of a dozen "outdoor classrooms" in the meadows, wetlands and woodlands of school's spacious grounds - Anna Letaw, a volunteer who has been the dynamo behind Linton Springs' Environmental Education Program, was giving a kindergarten class a primer on gardening. "Oh, look what I found!" Letaw called out as she knelt. "An earthworm .... Can anybody tell me what earthworms do?"

When FBI agents heard on a wiretap that a Baltimore police detective was preparing to make a drug arrest based on false information, according to court documents, they decided not to intervene. The arrest of Brenda Brown went forward, and so did the federal case against Kendell Richburg. Richburg pleaded guilty last month to armed drug conspiracy charges after prosecutors said he protected a drug-peddling informant in exchange for information he needed to make arrests. Four more officers have been suspended in connection with the investigation, sources told The Baltimore Sun last week.

El Paraiso is a crowd-pleaser. Whether your friends are hard to impress foodie types, or cautious and careful when exploring a menu, El Paraiso ("the paradise" in Spanish) will make them happy. The restaurant, in a Reisterstown shopping center, serves tasty and familiar Mexican standards alongside authentic — and equally appealing — Salvadoran dishes like yuca con chicharron and beef tongue tacos. The restaurant opened in 2003, but the recipes date back much further. El Paraiso's owners, Mercedes and Maria Rodriguez, emigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador during the Central American country's civil war in the 1980s.

Hey, Bubba. Hey, Beanpole. Better start taking those books home from school. And reading them.As surely as defeat follows a Big Ten team in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, the NCAA Convention sets up shop in early January and its actions invariably lead to analysis, antagonism, anguish and apprehension -- everything but agreement. And that's covering just the a's.The august body met last week in Anaheim, home of Disneyland, which some say was appropriate, and continued its impressive run at reform.

Regarding your recent editorial on making it easier for families to commit a mentally ill relative to a mental institution against their will, Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and some state delegates apparently are missing the urgent need to clarify the state's civil commitment standards ("The tricky question of involuntary commitment," April 6). Many relatives of individuals with serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, recently testified about the consequences of the denying timely treatment under the current law. Those consequences include homicide, suicide, homelessness, job loss and permanent brain damage.

In March, 2012, Cody Sharkey was nearing the pinnacle of his wrestling career. Then a junior at Winters Mill High School, Sharkey was just three wins from a wrestling state championship. But a torn meniscus in his left knee forced Sharkey to default in his state quarterfinal match, ending his undefeated season. One year later, Sharkey completed his mission. The Westminster resident completed a 44-1 season by winning the state title at 152 pounds with a 15-3 major-decision over Sam Willingham of South Carroll at Cole Field House in College Park.