Woodcock

From the character-building brutality of middle school gym class to the towers of psychobabble topping the best-seller list, Mr. Woodcock plants some succulent comedy in its antagonists and then lets the juice drain away. Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton) is the Captain Bligh of calisthenics, basketball and wrestling, and John Farley (Seann William Scott) is a former flabby student who has trimmed down in adulthood and written a self-help book, Letting Go. What brings them together 13 years after Farley leaves his class is Woodcock's courtship of Farley's captivating mom, Beverly (Susan Sarandon)

INSIDE TODAY WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TODAY'S SUN COLUMNISTS A GOP view of the Dems Bob Ehrlich isn't a big fan of Democrats or Baltimore, but there he was Tuesday night, doing commentary for Fox 45 on the city's Democratic primary. Why did the station go with the ex-Gov? Maryland baltimoresun.com/vozzella Ravens take aim at young QB The Ravens have a history of tormenting young quarterbacks, and you only have to look as far back as last season. Sports baltimoresun.com/preston OTHER VOICES Michael Sragow on The Brave One -- Movies Today Rick Maese on football -- Sports Michael Sragow on Mr. Woodcock -- Movies Today 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY 10th anniversary -- The Ottobar celebration features Glenmont Popes, a local rock band with a hard garage-rock and metal style.

Spotty bursts of rain pelted metropolitan Baltimore yesterday afternoon, but the drenching wasn't enough to reverse drought conditions.Downpours sent revelers at the Greek Folk Festival at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church running for cover under tents and awnings in East Baltimore. In Towson, some motorists on the Baltimore Beltway pulled off to the side of the road because they couldn't see in the driving rain.But Maryland's drought, which has harmed some crops, isn't over, said Andy Woodcock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va."

The Ellicott City condominium complex stood ominously before Bill Woodcock the other afternoon.Of 30 households, only six had registered Democrats.That's not good news for Woodcock, a Democratic candidate running for a House of Delegates seat in a district that has solidly backed two Republican incumbents in the past three elections.Not only that, those Republicans hold powerful leadership positions in the Maryland General Assembly: Robert H. Kittleman, the minority leader, and Robert L. Flanagan, the minority whip.

Democratic Party activist Bill Woodcock yesterday launched his campaign for the House of Delegates, vowing to make a competitive bid for Howard County's most Republican district.Woodcock, 30, of Ellicott City, acknowledged his underdog status against a pair of powerful GOP legislators known as "the Bobs" -- Del. Robert H. Kittleman and Del. Robert L. Flanagan -- who have represented District 14B for a combined 28 years.But Woodcock tried to use the experience of his rivals against them, suggesting that they are more interested in "political posturing, gamesmanship and division" than in representing the district that includes Ellicott City, western Howard and Columbia's River Hill village.

Maryland officials took precautions yesterday to battle an ice storm that never occurred, closing schools, declaring snow emergencies and dispatching hundreds of highway crews to salt area roads.But the storm that arrived in Baltimore shortly after 5 a.m. soon fizzled, turning from snow and sleet to a cold rain that caused little damage beyond a handful of fender-bender accidents."Everybody must have stayed in this morning," said state police Sgt. Jim Hare of the McHenry barracks in Garrett County in Western Maryland, where a snow emergency declared at 7 a.m. was lifted by 11 a.m.Hare said the storm left sheets of ice on many roads but caused only one accident by late yesterday: a fender bender just after 7 a.m. along Route 53 near Friendsville.

The Department of Natural Resources has sent its proposals for webless migratory bird and early resident Canada goose hunting seasons to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approval.Seasons for dove, snipe and rails are essentially the same as last year, but the woodcock season would be shortened from 45 to 30 days.According to the DNR, the decision to shorten the woodcock season was made in response to declining numbers of woodcock over the past several years. The decline is attributed to loss or degradation of habitat and poor annual hatches.

After years of delays, county parks officials say they are prepared to make their biggest purchase -- and in doing so become the guardians of Columbia's 1,000-acre back yard.The purchase of 940 acres between River Hill village and the rest of Columbia will complete the county's acquisition, planned for more than 20 years, of the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area.Officials hope to buy the property from the Rouse Co. within 30 days for about $1.5 million. Money for the purchase is allocated, although final settlement details -- including the price -- are being negotiated.

John Burroughs knewabout nature's rhythms.Stay alert, he advised, and naturewill fly by your doorstep.Recently from my city window,I saw a sharp-shinned hawkpin its prey.A few mornings earlier,a long, tight skein of Canadastolled the way north.And at another time, there werewoodcock, a nighthawk and,in the magnolia next door,a long-eared owl.Now the robins are backand Burroughs' parade begins anew.

The Howard County Planning Board approved a plan last night to preserve 646 acres of West Columbia land made famous by the mating ritual of a pheasant-like fowl called the woodcock.Within 60 days Howard County government hopes to take over the land, known as the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area."I think it's something that will be really unique in Howard County," said Aelred Geis, a Clarksville resident who is the research director for the Wild Bird Centers of America."It's nice to have such an environmentally rich area accessible to people," he said.

Federal regulators are planning to launch a broad new review of whether over-the-counter cold medicines are safe and effective for children under 12. The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that it will hold public hearings on the medications in October, the first step in what will likely be a long study that could lead to stricter age guidelines, changes in formulas and recommended dosages, and the removal of some products from the market, said...

WASHINGTON -- The government needs $225 million and a range of new powers to protect Americans from unsafe drug imports, federal health officials said yesterday under tough questioning by lawmakers investigating a contaminated blood thinner from China. "We currently have a crisis and an opportunity to make real change," Deborah M. Autor, director of the Food and Drug Administration's drug compliance office, said at a House oversight subcommittee hearing. Autor joined Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's drug division, in asking Congress to give the agency the power to inspect foreign companies that ship drugs to the U.S., stop imports at the border if they come from factories not inspected and require American drug makers to police their overseas suppliers.

WASHINGTON --A contaminated blood thinner from China suspected in dozens of U.S. deaths has now become a worldwide public health problem, with 10 other countries detecting the often-toxic ingredient, federal investigators said yesterday. The compound, which in tests mimics the real blood thinner heparin but costs less to make, may have been added deliberately somewhere along a production chain that began on farms in China, beyond the reach of U.S. regulators. Food and Drug Administration officials also announced a major scientific breakthrough in their attempt to understand how patients got sick from the contaminated heparin.

BARBARA NOEL SMITH "Bobbie" BROOMFIELD, 75. Born June 10, 1932 in Passaic, NJ and passed March 18, 2008, in Annapolis, MD. Barbara had received a Bachelors Degree in 1953 from Mt. St. Agnes and was teacher before becoming a homemaker. Her husband Charles W. Broomfield was married in August 1953 and who passed in 1998 preceded Barbara in death. Barbara is survived by her five loving sons and daughters; Monica Postma of Stewartstown, PA, Andrew Broomfield of Midlothian, VA, Juliana Woodcock of Columbia, MD, James Broomfield of Annapolis, MD, and Rachel Fabrizi of Annapolis, MD, five beloved grandchildren also survived Barbara.

WASHINGTON -- The government is ratcheting up testing of the blood thinner Heparin and its main ingredient, as new evidence pointed to China as the source of the tainted drug that killed as many as 21 Americans. The Food and Drug Administration is now making sure that all supplies of Heparin and its key ingredient are tested for the mysterious contaminant, agency officials told reporters yesterday. Manufacturers and importers will have to conduct the sophisticated tests or government inspectors will do so before the products can be distributed in the United States.

From the character-building brutality of middle school gym class to the towers of psychobabble topping the best-seller list, Mr. Woodcock plants some succulent comedy in its antagonists and then lets the juice drain away. Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton) is the Captain Bligh of calisthenics, basketball and wrestling, and John Farley (Seann William Scott) is a former flabby student who has trimmed down in adulthood and written a self-help book, Letting Go. What brings them together 13 years after Farley leaves his class is Woodcock's courtship of Farley's captivating mom, Beverly (Susan Sarandon)

INSIDE TODAY WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TODAY'S SUN COLUMNISTS A GOP view of the Dems Bob Ehrlich isn't a big fan of Democrats or Baltimore, but there he was Tuesday night, doing commentary for Fox 45 on the city's Democratic primary. Why did the station go with the ex-Gov? Maryland baltimoresun.com/vozzella Ravens take aim at young QB The Ravens have a history of tormenting young quarterbacks, and you only have to look as far back as last season. Sports baltimoresun.com/preston OTHER VOICES Michael Sragow on The Brave One -- Movies Today Rick Maese on football -- Sports Michael Sragow on Mr. Woodcock -- Movies Today 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY 10th anniversary -- The Ottobar celebration features Glenmont Popes, a local rock band with a hard garage-rock and metal style.

On June 29, 2006, HELEN MARIE (nee Brooks) WOODCOCK, formerly of Elkridge, MD, wife of the late William Joseph Woodcock, mother of the late William C. Woodcock, cherished grandmother of William C. Woodcock, Jr, of Columbia, MD and step grandmother of Stephen William Woodcock of Cohutta, GA. Ms. Woodcock is also survived by many other relatives and friends. Friends are invited to attend Graveside Services Tuesday, July 6, 2006 at Meadowridge memorial PArk at 11:00 A.M. Direct inquiries to Slack Funeral Home, P.A., 410-465-4400.

WASHINGTON -- Circumventing normal practices, the nation's top drug regulator seized control of a request to sell the "morning-after" pill without a prescription and delayed the drug's approval, two senior Food and Drug Administration officials told lawyers suing the agency over the decision. Lester M. Crawford, then acting commissioner of the FDA, intervened in early 2005 as the agency's staff was preparing to authorize over-the-counter sales to women 17 years and older, the two FDA officials said in sworn depositions last month.

On September 12, 2005, WILLIAM A. WOODCOCK, beloved husband of Lenore C. (nee Caldwell) and the late Marian W. (nee Johnson), devoted father of John A. Woodcock and William J. Woodcock, stepfather of Merrill Carrington. Also survived by three grandchildren, two step grandchildren and a late grandson. Memorial services will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Monday at 1:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make contributions to the Hospice of Baltimore, 6565 N. Charles Street, Towson, MD, 21204 or the Church of the Good Shepherd, Boyce and Carrollton Avenues, Ruxton, MD, 21204.