Step Forward

Will this be the year when that elusive magic touch arrives at Howard and Lexington? My eyes have glazed over while I've read stacks and more stacks of redevelopment plans for Baltimore's old downtown shopping district. Seriously. There were proposals for Lexington Street during the mayoral administration of Theodore R. McKeldin. That's a long time for a place to be ailing - 40 years and counting.

No. 11 Washington College's 10-7 victory over Colorado College in the first round of the NCAA tournament Wednesday propelled the team to a second-round matchup with No. 4 Stevenson Saturday night. The outcome also gave the program its first win in the postseason since 2008. “It's big,” coach Jeff Shirk said Friday morning. “I think it helped the guys gain some confidence. Last year, we experienced the tournament, but this year, we experienced a win. I think it's a pretty big steppingstone in trying to get where we're headed.” Last season, the Shoremen dropped a 5-4 decision to Goucher in the NCAA tournament first round.

By this time in the preseason, first-year Washington Wizards coach Gar Heard figured he had his starting lineup in place, his playing rotation nearly set and his sights firmly set on the start of the 1999-2000 NBA season.It hasn't happened, with starting center Ike Austin and shooting guard Mitch Richmond still out with injuries and point guard Rod Strickland skipping two practices last week without permission.But after taking a couple of steps backward in Thursday night's preseason loss in Cleveland, the Wizards took a step forward in a 112-99 win over the Cavaliers last night at Baltimore Arena.

Despite allowing a wind-aided, two-run homer to Michael Young in his third inning of work on Sunday afternoon against the Phillies, Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman said his second start felt much better than his first. “A little bit of everything [was better],” Tillman said. “My timing was better. I had a little more command of my pitches. The first time out, I felt a little awkward. I felt much better this time and I'm happy with that.” Tillman needed just 25 pitches to get through his first two innings of work, allowing just a pair of leadoff hits.

As dance years go, 1995 was slightly above average in the Baltimore area -- even though this city's dance scene continues its crazy dance of one step back and one step forward.The step back is the disappearance of Dance on the Edge in the fall lineup. When Diane Ramo built her Dance on the Edge Series in the late '80s, she marketed it to urban professionals. She worked with the Baltimore Museum of Art, a location readily identifiable with culture, and she worked with dance companies that were on the cutting edge.

Y'all come to Bawlamer! It is unique in having the same chain attractions as everywhere else.The Japanese used to be evil because they out-produced us. Now they are positively wicked because they obstinately refuse to prosper.The only people who really object to managed health care are patients and physicians.Will the real Orioles please step forward?Pub Date: 7/17/98

You will know if it is really peace when the Kosovar people go home.The real George W. Bush is about to step forward. That will either close the Republican nomination, or open it up.The bonanza is so big for Maryland you have to be grateful to the tobacco industry for making it possible.Will Hillary Clinton turn out to be the Kweisi Mfume of New York?Pub Date: 6/04/99

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Olympic hockey coach Ron Wilson expressed his disappointment last night that no one has accepted responsibility for the damage that occurred in the Olympic Village following the team's loss to the Czech Republic in Nagano, Japan, on Feb. 19, and released his frustration over the speculation about the incident."

Hard cash could be waiting for you to claim it. Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer's office has recently identified $10.2 million in unclaimed funds belonging to 28,674 people - an average of $355 apiece. The names will appear in a 32-page advertising supplement next week in newspapers across the state. Residents can also search for their names online at www.marylandtaxes.com. "We keep that money in perpetuity until it's claimed by the rightful owners," said Michael D. Golden, a Schaefer spokesman.

It's been nearly two months since former City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. was murdered in the parking lot of the Northwood Plaza during a botched robbery at a popular jazz club. Since then, police have released surveillance tapes of three masked suspects in the case and linked the gun used in the crime to an earlier robbery at a nearby gas station through ballistics tests. Last week, police also announced that they recovered DNA evidence from the crime scene that could identify the killer if matched with that of a suspect.

The replacement of all of Baltimore's speed cameras and the police department's decision to beef up the review process for the tickets they generate are welcome signs that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration is taking seriously the need to correct problems with the system. Those steps hold the promise of eliminating many of the technical and human errors that have led to some motorists getting tickets they clearly did not deserve. But they do not eliminate the need for the General Assembly to enact reforms to the state's speed camera law to correct other flaws in how they are used in the city and other jurisdictions.

Right-hander Jason Hammel took a significant step toward returning to the Orioles' starting rotation Tuesday, throwing a bullpen session off a full mound for the first time since re-aggravating a right-knee injury two weeks ago. Hammel threw 35 pitches in the Orioles' bullpen before Tuesday's game and tested out a new knee brace that he said was similar to a quarterback brace and was very helpful in keeping his knee stable. “I was actually surprised,” Hammel said after the session.

Those who have followed the years-long saga of the Gateway School site in Clarksville might be experiencing deja vu after County Executive Ken Ulman's announcement last week that the county had reached a deal to sell the 7.8-acre parcel for $5 million to a developer for a commercial project that would stand out for its environment- and pedestrian-friendly design. If the statement had a familiar ring, it's because the county made essentially the same announcement in May 2010 - the same price, the same land on Clarksville Pike across from the River Hill village center, the same developer and the same celebration of the promise of the project.

Orioles left fielder and leadoff hitter Nolan Reimold attributes his recent offensive tear to making one small step forward. Literally. Reimold, who entered Wednesday's game against the White Sox with home runs in each of his last four games, said he's made a small adjustment at the plate that is helping him see the ball better. “I have been striding too far, and it was making my head move a little bit and I was pulling off,” Reimold said. “So I've been working on having a smaller stride.

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts' work this spring has been confined to the back fields of the Ed Smith Stadium complex, but on Tuesday he took a considerable step forward in his recovery from multiple concussions by participating in pre-game batting practice and fielding drills before the Orioles' Grapefruit League game against the Rays.   “I think my doctor would probably agree that getting in an environment where there's a lot going on, that's a big step because that's a part of the progression ... trying to re-acclimate into those environments,” Roberts said.

Perhaps lost in the cacophony of the debt ceiling debate in Congress was news that the federal government will now require insurance companies to provide a substantial list of preventative care measures for women, including mammography, domestic violence counseling and breast-feeding support, without requiring a co-pay or a deductible. If you heard anything at all about this, it was probably conservatives complaining that the list also includes birth control pills and the dreaded morning-after pill, which interrupts the fertilization cycle before a fertilized egg can attach to the uterine wall.

The old tent revival song asks us, "Will there be any stars in my crown when at the evening the sun goeth down, when I walk with the blessed in the mansions of rest, will there be any stars in my crown?"Well, there is someone in our county that has at least 32,000 stars in his or her crown.A generous donor stepped forward during the first week in June, contributing $32,000 to the Carroll County Human Services Program, and this Carroll countian wishes to remain anonymous.Here is a truly generous donor, one who wishes to keep his or her good deeds hidden from the public.

The National Security Agency has awarded a $282 million contract to a California company to redesign the way the agency sifts through the flood of foreign e-mails, telephone calls and faxes it intercepts each day -- a step forward in its efforts to haul a Cold War-era approach to eavesdropping into the digital age. The award, the agency's largest in recent years, comes amid continuing criticism in Congress of missteps by the country's intelligence agencies....

The Ravens' season ended several weeks ago, but quarterback Joe Flacco remains a hot topic of discussion. So far this offseason we have heard that Flacco was irked by the firing of quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn , that coach John Harbaugh thinks the Ravens can "win championships" with Flacco and that the three-year veteran was the "king of holding the ball too long" in 2010 . Flacco came and remained under fire after the Ravens' stomach-punch...

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has a deep and distinguished history of commitment to urban education in Baltimore, dating back to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's pioneering work more than 200 years ago. Yet, the rich educational tradition of Catholic education faces formidable challenges on a number of fronts as Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien leads an ambitious renewal of Catholic education through an organizational reset of archdiocesan schools. The Cristo Rey Network, a national consortium of 24 urban Catholic high schools, has been overcoming these challenges through its new model of education for more than a decade.