Tom Ridge

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge endorsed Daniel Bongino in his uphill campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, becoming the latest in a string of high-profile Republicans who have backed the former Secret Service agent's first run for office. Ridge, who served as the nation's first Homeland Security Secretary and who many expected was on Sen. John McCain's vice presidential short-list in 2008, follows Sarah Palin, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, all of whom have endorsed the Severna Park Republican in recent weeks.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge endorsed Daniel Bongino in his uphill campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, becoming the latest in a string of high-profile Republicans who have backed the former Secret Service agent's first run for office. Ridge, who served as the nation's first Homeland Security Secretary and who many expected was on Sen. John McCain's vice presidential short-list in 2008, follows Sarah Palin, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, all of whom have endorsed the Severna Park Republican in recent weeks.

WASHINGTON - Inasmuch as U.S. intelligence and military efforts haven't been able to find Osama bin Laden, maybe they should switch to a search for Tom Ridge. It's true that there have been some recent sightings of President Bush's director of homeland security. It's been reported, for example, that he has met with officials of the National Governors Association and the National League of Cities to reassure them that he is aware of the federal financial help they need for the new security tasks placed on them in the wake of the Sept.

Baltimore's Martin O'Malley and about four dozen other U.S. mayors are urging the federal government to require railroads to inform local governments of any plans to transport hazardous materials through their communities. In a letter to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge this week, the mayors pointed to this month's Norfolk Southern train derailment in South Carolina, which led to the rupture of a tank car carrying chlorine. Nine people were killed and about 250 injured by the release of the toxic chlorine cloud in the small town of Graniteville.

IN HIS SPEECH to the Congress and the nation 10 days ago, President Bush wisely announced the creation of a new Cabinet-level office devoted to homeland security and named Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania to lead it. With his military background, wide experience and highly regarded political and personal skills, he is a promising choice. But what should Ridge do with his new job? Most discussion of the president's proposal to date has focused on process and personalities rather than substance.

Baltimore's Martin O'Malley and about four dozen other U.S. mayors are urging the federal government to require railroads to inform local governments of any plans to transport hazardous materials through their communities. In a letter to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge this week, the mayors pointed to this month's Norfolk Southern train derailment in South Carolina, which led to the rupture of a tank car carrying chlorine. Nine people were killed and about 250 injured by the release of the toxic chlorine cloud in the small town of Graniteville.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- If you want to chart the presidential campaign of 1996, this is as good a place to start as any.2 (Those of Hispanic descent may be of any race)Political lineupGovernor: Tom Ridge (R), elected 1994U.S. Senators: Arlen Specter (R), elected 1980Rick Santorum (R), elected 1994House of Representatives: 21 total (11 D, 10 R)Registered Voters6,389,163 -- (March 1996)Democrat -- 49.3%Republican -- 43.3%Other -- 7.4%How State Voted in Recent Presidential Elections:1992: Clinton (D)

Schedule of participants at tonight's session of the Republican National Convention: 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: University of Mississippi student Nic Lott leads Pledge of Allegiance. Country singer Lorrie Morgan sings national anthem. The Rev. Mark Craig, pastor of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, delivers invocation. Philadelphia Boys' Choir performs. Nancy Brinker, breast-cancer advocate, speaks. Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee speaks. Phyllis C. Hunter, Texas literacy program expert, speaks.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Utah's Rick Majerus is coaching in another NCAA tournament, but world events have dampened his enthusiasm for this year's event. In fact, he says the tournament should be halted because of the U.S. war in Iraq. "My father was one of seven brothers, and all of them were in the service," Majerus said yesterday. "My father was in Okinawa. I had an uncle die in Normandy. I had classmates die in Vietnam. One-third of the people we have over there are reservists. Where I swim, the hotel where I live, the restaurant where I eat, some of the people who work there are in the National Guard.

COLLEGE PARK -- In a speech peppered with references to 9/11 and the war on terror, Tom Ridge, the U.S. secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, urged graduates of the University of Maryland last night to enter a life of public service. Addressing several thousand students at commencement exercises at the Comcast Center, Ridge said public service does not necessarily mean working for the government. "In this day and age, work worth doing can mean that you are contributing in ways that say `Let's roll' or `Play ball.

ATLANTA - Tom Ridge never made it to the mountaintop. But if he stays lucky, Mr. Ridge may get out of the Homeland Security Department without seeing a terrorist strike on his watch. It's not that his efforts were so stellar or the safeguards he put in place so effective. He has simply enjoyed good fortune. President Bush has been lucky, too. Many voters were convinced that he has made the nation safer simply because U.S. territory has not been struck in three years. But that's hardly because of the president's persistence in fighting al-Qaida.

WASHINGTON - By one important measure, Tom Ridge has had a successful run as the nation's homeland security chief: There has not been a major terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001. And yet, Ridge might be better known to Americans as the man who launched a color-coded alert system that became the butt of jokes on late-night television. Ridge learned the hard way that keeping the country terrorism-free brought little glory and was no guarantee of a smooth ride. From the start, he faced bureaucratic turf fights and confusion over which congressional committees had oversight over the many agencies gathered under his department's umbrella.

TODAY WE HAVE some urgent breaking news, defined as "news that happened at some point in the past year and we just now found out because we're way behind in our mail." Our first breaking item, brought to our attention by alert reader Don Bovaird, is an alarming report in the May 28 Erie (Pa.) Times-News, which devoted most of its front page, and an entire inside page, to this story. What happened, in brief, was that an 18-year-old male got sick and defecated in ... well, in his briefs.

WASHINGTON - It's a sign of how controversial Carlton Sherwood is right now that when asked where he would be last night, the man who inspired Sinclair Broadcast Group's upcoming anti-Kerry program said: quite possibly, jail. The journalist who produced Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, the film that Maryland-based Sinclair will use as part of a show on many of its 62 stations nationwide this week, said he would hand out free copies of his film at a Philadelphia area theater last night.

COLLEGE PARK -- In a speech peppered with references to 9/11 and the war on terror, Tom Ridge, the U.S. secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, urged graduates of the University of Maryland last night to enter a life of public service. Addressing several thousand students at commencement exercises at the Comcast Center, Ridge said public service does not necessarily mean working for the government. "In this day and age, work worth doing can mean that you are contributing in ways that say `Let's roll' or `Play ball.

The one thing we don't need in the midst of the current election-year battle over who is most responsible for the nation's vulnerability to the 9/11 attacks is a reckless, propagandistic, Rambo-esque, made-for-TV movie that attempts to exploit the grief, fear, confusion and anger still being felt from those attacks. But that is exactly what NBC offers tonight with Homeland Security, a jingoistic docudrama about the agency set up in response to 9/11 by the Bush administration. Airing a docudrama as rife with political baggage and emotionally charged stereotypes as this one, at a time when the country is debating just what President Bush and his advisers knew before the attacks, suggests an appalling lack of social responsibility by the network.

One of the clubs that made Canton hip is back. And hipper than ever. In March 2003, a fire swept through the Good Love Bar, forcing owners Patrick Radoci and Jason Sanchez to close the business. Now, after months of renovation, the new-and-improved Good Love has reopened. Jason says you'll notice the hip-yet-comfy feel is intact, but changes have been made, as he and Patrick opened up the floor plan to give the place a more spacious feeling. On the first floor, the exposed brick walls have been painted white, and the old cement bar is gone.

SAN DIEGO -- With no official duties until last evening's convention session, most of the Maryland delegation spent the day at play -- getting a tan, sightseeing on Coronado Island or fishing in the Pacific.A few of the more ambitious members, though, went to work -- on their political careers.Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Baltimore County attended a party for the chairman of the House Commerce Committee, which he might like to join. The committee handles a variety of issues affecting businesses, which, in turn, contribute generously to members' campaigns.

One of the clubs that made Canton hip is back. And hipper than ever. In March 2003, a fire swept through the Good Love Bar, forcing owners Patrick Radoci and Jason Sanchez to close the business. Now, after months of renovation, the new-and-improved Good Love has reopened. Jason says you'll notice the hip-yet-comfy feel is intact, but changes have been made, as he and Patrick opened up the floor plan to give the place a more spacious feeling. On the first floor, the exposed brick walls have been painted white, and the old cement bar is gone.

HARTFORD, Conn. - Hardly a day goes by now that does not bring more bad news for three-term Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland. The Republican governor, who has admitted he lied about paying for work that was done on his weekend cottage by state contractors, was served last week with a subpoena from a legislative committee that is considering whether he should be impeached. On Friday, the commission issued more subpoenas to his aides and others. The state panel's inquiry is just one of three that have been launched to investigate questions about the governor's apparent conflicts of interest and favorable deals.