Youth

Ask Michael Cera, the star of "Youth in Revolt," if he has lost his virginity, and he answers "Yes" before adding that good, if dusty, chestnut: "Now, I'm trying to get it back." Recycled jokes about lost virginity are a lot like movies that mine the humor of the same subject: Depending on the execution, they veer wildly between trite and funny. In the case of Cera's quip - spoken with his halting, thoughtful, almost squeaky voice - it falls solidly on the humorous side. With "Youth in Revolt," in theaters today, director Miguel Arteta ("The Good Girl")

Students at Youth's Benefit Elementary School in Fallston received a big surprise Thursday morning when they learned their school was the grand prize winner of $25,000 in the Scott Shared Values Box Tops for Education Sweepstakes. Scott Brand and General Mills, two companies that have made supporting education a key element of their businesses, announced the prize during a special assembly at the school. Youth's Benefit will be awarded 250,000 eBoxTops valued at $25,000 to be used toward educational needs.

IT'S NOT EASY convincing 18-year-olds that their vote matters. They feel ignored by politicians. And it's just as hard to get politicians to spend scarce time and money on an electorate that refuses to cast a ballot. In the 2000 presidential election, only 32 percent of eligible 18-to-25-year-old voters cast ballots, compared with 58 percent of voters over 25. An increase of only 20 percent among the 25 million 18-to-25-year-old voters would be enough to dramatically change the outcome of an election.

In response to a letter to the editor from Andy Lazris regarding a claim that the Columbia Association is not willing to support high school swim teams, please allow me to offer another perspective. When CA was approached by the group wanting to rent pool time for the schools' swim programs, the time slot the schools desired (and the volume of space they wanted) was unfortunately already heavily programmed; CA offered times that were, unfortunately, not workable for the program.

Orrin S. Webb, a University of Maryland medical records worker who was a founder of a Druid Hill Park summer basketball program for at-risk children, died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday at his Pikesville home. He was 49. Born in Baltimore, he began his schooling while in Germany where his late father served in the Army. After returning, he was raised on Carrollton Avenue and attended Booker T. Washington Junior High School. He was a 1979 graduate of Polytechnic Institute, where he played basketball and football.

Baltimore City Councilman Nick J. Mosby (D-District 7) plans to introduce legislation Monday that would ban liquor store owners from selling non-alcoholic goods to people under 21. Mosby said the purpose of the legislation is to prevent teens in Baltimore from developing a habit of entering liquor stores to buy items. He said entering liquor stores is already "normalized" behavior for city youth, and banning the practice could create a demand for other stores to open in city neighborhoods.

You wouldn't guess it, but if you pair two analysts -- one with a Department of Defense agency and the other working in network security -- you'd get Little Lessons Tees, an online T-shirt business specializing in positive statements. Married analyst couple Chris and Jada Williams happen to be parents of a toddler and started their business of selling youth T-shirts last year. “We found it difficult to find uplifting T-shirts for our son (Jacob, presently age 3)

Hoping that discipline and rigorous training will shake some sense into young offenders, state officials agreed yesterday to set up Maryland's first boot camp for juvenile delinquents.The Board of Public Works awarded a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization a $7.8 million contract to run the program for three years at a Juvenile Services facility in Doncaster in Southern Maryland.Modeled in some ways after boot camps for adult prisoners, but with a greater emphasis on education and vocational training, the new program will handle 30 young men at a time.

The Baltimore Police Department opened a new Police Athletic League center in O'Donnell Heights yesterday, enabling the agency to move out of a makeshift office with a capacity of 50 to a building that can accommodate 300 youths.The Southeast Baltimore facility is one of 27 centers throughout the city that are the centerpiece of Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier's youth initiative.The new center, in the 1200 block of Gusryan St., replaces one in the O'Donnell Heights housing complex.Col.