Western Maryland

As the American Cancer Society approaches its 100th birthday in 2013, we've embarked on a landmark national study, the Cancer Prevention Study-3, with the goal of creating a cancer-free world. We'd like to congratulate residents of the Baltimore region for their incredible response to volunteering to participate in this study, and we want to thank The Sun and the Aegis for their excellent coverage that has helped spread the word. So far, more than 2,100 people in the Baltimore region and Western Maryland have enrolled.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett began his unsuccessful campaign for another term with an unusual meeting: a one-on-one chat over dinner with his Democratic rival. Bartlett and his challenger, John Delaney, met alone for two hours in a Frederick restaurant after the April primary to talk about politics, family and their childhoods. The secret meeting set the tone for a race that remained courteous despite the hyper-partisanship playing out just down the road in the nation's capital. Bartlett, a 20-year incumbent, found himself in a battleground district when state lawmakers redrew its boundaries last year.

The mood was celebratory Tuesday night at Arcos Restaurant in Fells Point, where the Dreamers - students brought to the United States illegally as children, who now want to pursue higher education here - won their battle for in-state tuition breaks at the state's public colleges and universities. "This means so much to me, my parents and my family - who are the other dreamers," Nathaly Uribe, a senior at Glen Burnie High School who was 2 when her parents brought her from Chile, said while keeping an eye on election results at the Mexican restaurant on South Broadway.

The latest forecasts for a post-Election Day nor'easter bring a lot more of what isn't needed -- heavy rain along the Atlantic coast and possible snow in Western Maryland. The boundary between the two could fall right around Baltimore. Models show the biggest risk for heavy snow inland , from Western Maryland into eastern Pennsylvania and eastern New York on Wednesday and Thursday. Forecast maps for Wednesday show snowfall  possibly stretching from the mountains to Frederick and Carroll counties in Maryland, approaching the Baltimore area.

Nov. 10, 2001: Johns Hopkins defeats archrival Western Maryland, 21-14, in Westminster, ending the latter's 33-game Centennial Conference winning streak. Zach Baylin's 15 receptions (three for touchdowns) set a school record for Hopkins (6-3). Western Maryland (now McDaniel) slips to 8-2. Nov. 8, 1998: Four sacks by defensive end Michael McCrary and a game-ending interception by Duane Starks in the end zone lift the Ravens (3-6) to a 13-10 upset of the visiting Oakland Raiders (6-3)

While the headlines about the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy earlier this week seemed to focus on "dodging a bullet," don't tell that to the thousands of hospital teams in Maryland who were prepared to handle the worst and, in some areas, are still feeling the effects of the storm ("Maryland's lucky break," Nov. 1). The 95,000 people who work in Maryland's hospitals listened to the radio and television reports about businesses and offices shutting down in preparation for the storm.

Despite well-known challengers and widespread dissatisfaction with Washington, most of Maryland's incumbents in the House of Representatives appear to be cruising to re-election - a result of convoluted congressional districts and large Democratic majorities in most parts of the state. From the Eastern Shore, where Republican Rep. Andy Harris is running against a write-in candidate, to Baltimore, where Rep. Elijah E. Cummings enjoys a 4-1 Democratic enrollment advantage, seven of the Maryland's eight House races have received little attention.

A nor'easter appears poised to rumble over Maryland next week, as residents on the state's eastern and western edges are still shoveling out snow and sand from this week's massive storm. The nor'easter could swoop across the state as early as Wednesday, spilling an inch or two of rain and pushing seawater onto a coastline already saturated by Sandy, a hurricane turned post-tropical cyclone. "If we didn't just have Sandy, we'd probably still be talking about the chance of minor coastal flooding," said Kristina Pydynowski, a senior meteorologist with Accuweather.

One hundred miles as the crow flies. Or maybe it's the difference between a king and a queen in your poker hand. But most of Maryland is feeling pretty lucky this week, thanks to that small a break. With apologies to all those harmed by Hurricane Sandy, including residents of the flooded lower Eastern Shore and snowbound Western Maryland, the mega-storm's effects here would have been far worse had Sandy's center crossed 100 miles or so to the south. By Tuesday, we learned the advantage of being on the less powerful end of a hurricane - New Jersey and New York received far greater damage.

With one day before Hurricane Sandy was expected to knock out power for much of the area, Marylanders like Rob Reichel spent Monday braving the wet and windy weather to ensure their families had what they needed to get through the storm. "We wanted to cook another nice dinner tonight while we still have power," said Reichel, 48, as he shopped at the Giant on York Road in Baltimore. He said he was motivated by the need for more milk and other provisions, along with "a little curiosity" about Sandy.