Virginia

Gardeners are forever looking for something to wrap a flower bed around. There has to be a bed along the front of the porch, and others might be carved out around a garden shed, a birdbath or the trunks of shade trees. For many people, there's another opportunity right out by the curb: the mailbox. A garden bed around a mailbox gives gardeners a chance to put their horticultural stamp where it's sure to show. In the midst of handsome shrubs, interesting ornamental grasses or hard-working annual and perennial flowers, a standard-issue mailbox on a post becomes a piece of functional art. When there's a flower bed to visit, the trip out to the mailbox is much more interesting, even if the postman brings nothing but bills.

Molly Fernandez (McDonogh) scored her 100th career goal and Mackenzie Cyr (Winters Mill) recorded a team-high three points as the seventh-seeded Penn State women's lacrosse team edged visiting Canisius, 14-13, in an NCAA Division I tournament first-round game Friday night. The Nittany Lions (13-6), who secured their first 13-win season since 1999, advanced to the NCAA second round and will face Massachusetts Sunday at 1 p.m. Cyr recorded her sixth hat trick of the season, while Fernandez had two to reach the 100-goal plateau.

Contributor Larry Hogan has written one more anti-O'Malley screed comparing Virginia to Maryland, but he has ignored the facts about the two state governments ("Look to Va. For how to grow private investment," Feb. 3). According to theU.S. Census Bureaustatistics for 2010, Maryland state government has 88,318 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees while Virginia has 124,709. Who has the "bloated state government," Mr. Hogan? And how is Virginia more prosperous than Maryland when the average household income in Maryland is $70,000 per year compared to Virginia's $61,044?

As reported by Rusty Weiss on January 10, 2013, "…. a federal judge struck down the attempt to regulate stormwater runoff as a breach of authority. The judge, U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady, ruled that the EPA had exceeded their authority in trying to regulate stormwater runoff into a Fairfax County creek because it was a pollutant. " By not appealing its own EPA demand, Maryland's Tax and Spend government has not acted in the interests of taxpaying citizens. Instead, our elected officials add this new "rain tax" to: recent "sin" tax increases, recent sales tax increases, recent road and bridge toll increases, recent increases in licensing and other fees, recent state income tax increases - the list goes on. Furthermore, the "rain tax" is the result of demands made by a Federal Agency, which is responding to a President's executive order (May 2009)

A Northern Virginia baking company is moving its operations to Prince George's County, where it will employ 60 people, with plans to nearly double its workforce in the next three to five years. Gold Crust Baking Co. of Alexandria, a 10-year-old company, produces more than 20 million pounds of dough annually for hotels, restaurants and caterers in the Mid-Atlantic region. The company tapped financing support from Maryland Economic Development Corp., a quasi-state agency that pursues job creation projects, to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

Maryland's run to the College Cup fell one game short Friday as No. 2 seed Virginia topped the Terps, 3-0, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA men's soccer championship at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers' first goal came in the fifth minute when Neil Barlow 's cross from the near sideline misdirected off the Terrapins' back line and into the back of the net. After the goal, Maryland regrouped quickly and had a pair of shots at...

On August 22, 2006; VIRGINIA DAVIS WHEELER On Friday friends may call at the VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 5151 Balto. Natl' Pike, where the family will receive friends from 10:30-11:00 A.M. with services to follow. Inquiries to (410)233-2400

On February 16, 2004 VIRGINIA. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST INC, 1101 East North Ave, on Sunday after 2 p.m. where services will take place on Monday at 1 p.m. See www.marchfh.com

On March 24, 2003, VIRGINIA D. PEACH (nee Dorsey), beloved wife of the late Francis T. Peach Sr.; devoted mother of Virginia Peach Mix, Francis T. Peach Jr. and Marie Louise Alascio; loving mother-in-law of G. Warren Mix; loving grandmother of George Warren Mix Jr., Suzanne Mix Rich, Gregory Nelson Mix, Rebecca Mix Taylor, George Byerly Peach, William Francis Peach, Kimberly Ann Woodward, Samuel Santo Alascio Jr. and Francis Joseph Alascio; also survived...

No. 14 Syracuse (2-0) at No. 1 Virginia (3-0) Sunday, 4:30 p.m. The Orange won last year's meeting, 12-10, at the Carrier Dome, but that was only the second time in the past nine contests that Syracuse had prevailed in the series. The Orange has surrendered just 16 goals in two games this season, but can that retooled defense contain a Cavaliers offense headlined by reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Steele Stanwick (Loyola) and fellow senior attackman Chris Bocklet?

Two Baltimore-area residents were killed in a small plane crash in Virginia on Saturday, the Virginia State Police said Sunday. The men were identified as Berry Raymond Newgent, 73, of Davidsonville, and Thomas Berry Newgent, 51, of Westminster. Berry Raymond Newgent was the pilot and owner of the experimental plane, and Thomas Berry Newgent the passenger, police said. The plane attempted to land several times, likely at a nearby airstrip, and crashed in a field in Suffolk, police said.

Top seed and No. 1 Maryland beat Virginia, 13-9, on Friday at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C., to advance to its sixth straight Atlantic Coast Conference women's lacrosse championship game. The Terps (18-0) were led by Katie Schwarzmann , Kelly McPartland, Brooke Griffin and Alex Aust, who each had a hat trick. Schwarzmann moved to third all time in career goals at Maryland (221). Maryland, seeking its fifth straight ACC title, plays third-seeded host North Carolina on Sunday at 5 p.m. No. 12 Navy 9, Lafayette 8: Lindsay Rheiner scored her second goal with 11:10 left for a 9-7 Mids lead and host Navy (17-1)

Kim Kolarik (South River) made six saves and Liza Blue (Garrison Forest) had a career-best four goals to power visiting Virginia to an 10-7 upset over No. 8 Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday. The fifth-seeded Cavaliers (10-8) face No. 1 and top seed Maryland (17-0) in today's 1 p.m. semifinal. The Terps previously beat Virginia, 18-10, on March 1. The Cavaliers held a 6-3 advantage at halftime because of hat tricks from Blue and Casey Bocklet.

While Maryland goes back to the drawing board, Virginia will find itself playing for the ACC men's lacrosse championship and maybe even a berth in the NCAA tournament. Those prospects might have seemed unlikely a little more than two weeks ago, with the Cavaliers mired in a six-game losing streak, their longest in nearly 50 years, and the Terps ranked No. 1 nationally. But they were driven home Friday evening, when unranked Virginia bounced top-seeded Maryland in the ACC tournament semifinals 13-6 at Kenan Stadium.

At 6-7, Virginia's only hope for avoiding its first absence from the NCAA tournament since 2004 is upsetting No. 4 Maryland this Friday and then disposing of either No. 1 Duke or No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday to capture the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Cavaliers figure to be downright ornery as they fight for their postseason lives, and coach John Tillman acknowledged that he is worried about the Terps (9-2) matching their opponent's intensity at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. “That's certainly a concern,” he said during his weekly conference call Tuesday.

An Ellicott City man died over the weekend after an accident on the Tough Mudder obstacle course in West Virginia, the first such death in the three-year history of the outdoor run that bills itself as "probably the toughest event on the planet. " Avishek Sengupta, 28, was with a half-dozen friends on the course Saturday when he encountered the "Walk the Plank" obstacle, in which participants jump into a deep pool of muddy water 15 feet below a wooden platform. Sengupta jumped in but did not resurface and was later flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., where he was taken off life support Sunday.

Horse racing Retired Hall of Fame trainer Kelly dead at 93 Hall of Fame trainer Thomas J. Kelly died Friday morning at St. Catherine's West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., after a brief illness, according to his son, Timothy D. Kelly . He was 93. Kelly, who was born in Pikesville, conditioned 65 stakes winners, including Plugged Nickle, 1980's champion sprinter who won that year's Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack,...

Dunbar junior quarterback William Crest verbally committed to West Virginia on Friday, according to multiple reports. Crest helped the Poets win the Class 1A state championship last fall, throwing for two touchdowns in Dunbar's 39-0 victory over New Town at M&T Bank Stadium. He threw 14 touchdown passes overall last season as the Poets went 13-1 to win their third straight 1A title. Rivals.com ranks Crest as a four-star prospect and the No. 205 overall recruit in the Class of 2014, while Scout.com has him as a three-star prospect and the No. 30 quarterback in the graduating class.