Team Members

Ex-execution official testifies about injection, A former Maryland execution commander said yesterday that no one on the state's execution team monitors the anesthetic depth of an inmate in the moments before the final deadly chemical is injected "because we're not even trained to do that." The former execution commander testified in federal court in Baltimore in a courtroom closed to the public to protect his identity. As reporters listened to the testimony from another courtroom, he was referred to throughout the proceeding as "Mr. Z."

A nursing assistant and a paramedic who have examined the arms of death row inmate Vernon L. Evans Jr. testified yesterday in federal court that they spotted numerous veins that could be used to deliver the fatal doses of drugs used in the state's lethal injection procedures. The witnesses - both members of Maryland's execution team - said they stood by their assessments despite the contradictory findings of Dr. Thomas Scalea, a surgeon and the physician in chief at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

York Road in the heart of Towson would be narrowed to a single lane in each direction with on-street parking. Traffic lights would be replaced by four-way stop signs. A cable car, or maybe a trolley, would loop through the district. And the parking lot near Trader Joe's below Joppa Road might be used on weekends as a "canyon" for festivals, farmers' markets and concerts, with the side of the Towson Town Center parking garage that looms overhead used as a large screen for visual presentations.

Duke University will field a men's lacrosse team next season, but the program and those connected to it have been changed by rape charges against three players and a barrage of media attention. The university has accepted a campus committee's recommendation to reinstate the suspended program, said an official close to the program who spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made. The university might announce the decision at a media briefing planned for today. Restarting the program, which is certain to be a welcome move in the tight-knit, Eastern lacrosse community, poses a variety of challenges.

Durham, N.C. -- By indefinitely suspending its men's lacrosse season, Duke University has addressed the short-term matter of whether the team would continue to play while an investigation continues of an alleged sexual assault at an off-campus party. But long-term issues remain, not only about the team's future but also about how Duke and other universities can foster athletic team "cultures" that don't presume their members are above the rules, according to officials associated with college sports.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University said last night that it won't allow its nationally ranked men's lacrosse team to play any more games until questions are answered about allegations that an exotic dancer was sexually assaulted by team members at their house on the edge of campus. "Sports have their time and place, but when an issue of this gravity is in question, it is not the time to be playing games," Duke President Richard H. Brodhead said at a news conference. The alleged March 13 attack - which developed racial overtones because the accuser is black and says her attackers were white - has raised a number of issues at the elite school that revels in its athletic and academic achievements and is fond of using the term "student-athletes."

We've placed a large full-length mirror near the entranceway to our Baltimore facility that team members and visitors pass. Across the top of the mirror, we post banner messages such as "Smile! You're entering a world-class organization and we're glad you're here!" We change the messages every few weeks and send an e-mail announcing that the first 10 team members who come to the human resources office to state the new message receive a small prize. Change is the key to making this work.

The adventure begins in a submarine and includes searching for an ancient shipwreck, identifying species of fish and returning a beached dolphin to its ocean home. Although the challenges are set in ocean depths, students from across Maryland will attempt the missions from dry land with programmable robots they constructed with LEGO bricks. A team from Bel Air - called the Robomaniacs - will defend its state title at the FIRST LEGO League state competition Saturday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The adventure begins in a submarine and includes searching for an ancient shipwreck, identifying species of fish and returning a beached dolphin to its ocean home. Although the challenges are set in ocean depths, students from across Maryland will attempt the missions from dry land with programmable robots they constructed with LEGO bricks. A team from Bel Air - called the Robomaniacs - will defend its state title at the FIRST LEGO League state competition Saturday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Now comes the gruesome, painstaking and respectful task of identifying the dead. Though crews are still searching for survivors, the focus in New Orleans and across Hurricane Katrina's path is turning to the regimented work of finding, recovering and identifying bodies. Federal disaster officials have already dispatched two complete mobile mortuaries to Louisiana and Mississippi. One has been established in Biloxi, Miss.; the other is operating in a warehouse in St. Gabriel, La. Called DMORTs, for Disaster Mortuary Teams, they include a full complement of professionals and highly specialized equipment for processing, identifying and preparing the remains of disaster victims for burial.