Strike

Marylanders should thank The Sun for showing the faces of those convicted murderers and describing their killings ("Death row: Should they die for their crimes?" Feb. 10). They are only alive today because Gov. Martin O'Malley has not acted to give them the penalty mandated by their trial and the law, giving them additional life with his countless delays. These people are alive today only because the same justice system that death penalty opponents point to as unfairly sentencing them is the same justice system treating their victims and victims' families so unfairly by keeping them alive.

President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, John O. Brennan, was about as cagey as they come last week at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Asked right off the bat by the committee chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whether he would be more forthcoming than his predecessors in apprising committee members of covert U.S. military operations abroad - particularly the administration's secret drone program of targeted killings - he vigorously affirmed that to be his intention.

Laurel Park Dynamic Strike rallies in Miracle Wood Dynamic Strike came from behind to win the $80,000 Miracle Wood Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park. Ridden by Forrest Boyce and trained by Richard Small , the lightly raced son of Smart Strike stalked the pace before closing five-wide down the stretch, just inside of Where's Dominic, and battled that horse to the 1/16th pole before edging away to win by a length. Lunar Rock rallied up the rail to take third. Post-time favorite Vegas No Show saved ground early but could finish no better than fifth.

The leaders of the Boy Scouts of America are expected to vote tomorrow on whether to scrap the organization's long-standing national ban on admitting gay Scouts and Scout leaders, and to replace it with a policy that allows the religious and civic organizations that sponsor individual Scout units to set their own rules on the issue. The ban on gay Scouts is an anachronism that flies in the face of the overdue societal trend toward greater inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance of diversity.

Dock workers and the management of 15 East Coast and Gulf ports reached a tentative agreement on a new master contract late Friday night, averting a threatened walkout on Wednesday. The six-year deal between the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents 14,500 workers, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which negotiates for ports and shipping companies, is still subject to ratification by both sides and to agreements between local unions and port managers. Details were not released.

Longshoremen and the management of East Coast and Gulf ports reached a tentative agreement on a new master contract late Friday night, averting a threatened walkout next week. The deal between the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents 14,500 workers, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance that negotiates for 15 ports and shipping companies is still subject to ratification by both sides and to agreements between local unions and port managers. Details were not released.

A 29-year-old New Windsor man died Monday after fleeing police in Finksburg, the Carroll County Sheriff's Office said. The man ignored a deputy's attempts to pull him over at 6:25 a.m. as he sped onto Old Gamber Road. The driver turned right onto Old Westminster Pike, into a parking lot in the 2200 block of Baltimore Boulevard and back on to Baltimore Boulevard when the Dodge Ram he was driving struck an eastbound Ford van. The drivers of both vehicles were transported by ambulance to Carroll Hospital Center, where the 29-year-old man died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the accident.

Dallas Dance has been superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools for less than half an academic year, but he is proving himself a quick study. The $1.3 billion budget he has proposed for the next fiscal year strikes the kind of balance that county leaders generally love best: progress with penny-pinching. The usual penurious critics may latch onto the fact that he is seeking a substantial budget increase - $41.9 million, or 3.3 percent - at a time of continued economic challenges for the county (including the closing of the Sparrows Point steel mill)

A few months ago, during my first trip to Houston, I did what anyone whose knowledge of Texas is defined almost entirely by movies and television might do. I bought cowboy boots from a man with a handlebar mustache, went to a honky tonk, got thrown off a mechanical bull and mastered the "Boot Scootin' Boogie. " If I hadn't gone back to Texas last week, this story might have ended right about there, but during my second trip, with my cowboy itch already thoroughly scratched, I paid closer attention.

A weekend strike by dockworkers from Maine to Texas was averted Friday after union and management negotiators settled a major sticking point and extended the contract deadline until Feb. 6 to hammer out the rest of a long-term deal. The announcement came from federal mediator George Cohen, who entered talks between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance in the fall. "While some significant issues remain in contention, I am cautiously optimistic that they can be resolved," he said.