Recent stories by Jean Marbella

9:31 PM EDT, June 13, 2013

Ban on patenting DNA cheers researchers

Researchers hailed the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that bans the patenting of human DNA, saying it would expand access to genetic testing for disease at lower cost to patients.

10:00 PM EDT, June 10, 2013

Details about Edward Snowden's life in Maryland emerge

Edward Joseph Snowden, the government contractor who revealed the National Security Agency's massive telephone- and Internet-surveillance program, has left few public clues about his life growing up in Crofton and Ellicott City.

4:16 PM EDT, June 8, 2013

Exelon wants to build it, with our help

On the day Exelon's gleaming new office tower opens on Harbor Point, I wonder if anyone will remind the company, "You didn't build that."

10:34 PM EDT, May 25, 2013

Baltimore mayor officiates at lobbyist wedding in Vegas

One thing that happened in Vegas last week certainly won't stay in Vegas: The lobbyists Lisa Harris Jones and Sean Malone were married there before about 100 well-wishers, who included some of Maryland's top government officials — including the wedding officiant, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

8:28 PM EDT, June 6, 2013

At 30, Charlestown Retirement Community comes of age

Engelina van Opstal remembers having a problem with the air conditioning in her apartment at Charlestown Retirement Community and calling for someone to come repair it.

8:36 PM EDT, May 18, 2013

Oxbow wins 2013 Preakness, beating Derby winner Orb

No Triple Crown winner this year, no first-female-jockey-to-win, no sunshine? No problem, said those who flocked to Pimlico Race Course on Saturday and waited out a midafternoon downpour to watch Oxbow leave behind Kentucky Derby winner Orb to capture the 138th Preakness Stakes.

8:56 PM EDT, June 1, 2013

Shootings get city's summer off to violent start

First a bicyclist was hit by a stray bullet last Sunday afternoon on Kirk Avenue. Then a man was shot in his car several blocks away on East 32nd Street near Lake Montebello early Monday. A half-mile from there, a man police were trying to question barricaded himself in a house Tuesday.

10:15 PM EDT, May 17, 2013

Michael Phelps throws water on reports that he'll return to the Olympic pool

He's back ... unless he's not.

7:56 PM EDT, May 17, 2013

Sidewalk chefs serve up taste of Pimlico

After 25 Preaknesses, Annette Thomas has her routine, and recipes, down pat.

9:49 PM EDT, May 14, 2013

PREAKNESS 2013

Jockeying for position

Behind a door just off the paddock area of Pimlico Race Course, several jockeys are prepping for the day's races. They're handicapping the competition, comparing notes on horses and, in at least one case, going through a yoga sequence: reaching back to pull one leg high overhead in the Dancer's Pose, touching nose to knee for the Pyramid.

Under Armour founder Kevin Plank sees himself as the underdog

4:19 PM EDT, May 9, 2013

FROM SUN MAGAZINE

Under Armour founder Kevin Plank sees himself as the underdog

Kevin Plank may have sold the first Under Armour shirts from the back of his car, but as his reach has grown, so too have his wheels: These days, he jets around the world, recently to five Asian cities in six days, but managed to get back home to Baltimore to watch a member of his celebrity-filled stable of athletes play in a game.

10:00 PM EDT, March 29, 2013

Aren't the Supremes ready for their close-up?

Unless you waited in line for five days to get one of the coveted audience seats at the Supreme Court, you probably experienced this week's oral arguments on same-sex marriage as something of a Ken Burns film.

7:42 PM EDT, April 13, 2013

Chief judge of Maryland Court of Appeals retiring

Maryland's highest-ranking judge, Robert M. Bell, likes that his courthouse is dedicated to his predecessor, pointing out that the letters etching Robert C. Murphy's name on the building's exterior are filled in gold paint to make sure even nighttime drivers can see it.

11:29 PM EDT, March 26, 2013

Dixon to give talk, consider return to politics

Former Mayor Sheila Dixon plans to kick off a local foundation's speaker series next month as she weighs a possible return to politics, having completed probation on the criminal conviction that forced her from office.

5:28 PM EDT, April 6, 2013

Title IX law scrutinized as universities cut teams

The men who play baseball and soccer at Towson University, run track at the University of Delaware and wrestle, swim or golf at any number of other colleges all heard the same reason when their teams were cut: Title IX.

3:21 PM EDT, March 23, 2013

Massage parlor arrest highlights trafficking problem

The ad that led to the arrest of a Towson massage parlor owner this month was typical for such businesses, boasting as it did of the availability of "new young girls."

5:24 PM EDT, March 16, 2013

One judge, two guilty politicians: Dixon and Leopold

Does John Leopold have Sheila Dixon to blame?

10:20 PM EDT, March 13, 2013

Baltimore Catholics see fresh outlook from new pope

Surprise turned into joy as Baltimore Catholics celebrated the election of the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, saying it offered an often-hidebound church a chance for rejuvenation.

9:27 PM EDT, March 12, 2013

Following the papal conclave from afar

Roman Catholic cardinals went into a virtual news blackout Tuesday as they began to elect a new pope, but that has only heightened interest in what's happening behind the closed doors of their conclave.

9:12 PM EDT, March 11, 2013

Awaiting the white smoke of papal announcement

As their church's cardinals gathered in Vatican City to select a new pope, Catholic schoolchildren in the Baltimore area joined the worldwide buzz over the secret balloting process in an online chat with a fairly well-placed source: Archbishop William E. Lori.

10:00 PM EST, March 8, 2013

Civil War sailors laid to rest, 151 years later

Eleven years ago, Navy Capt. Barbara "Bobbie" Scholley dived more than 230 feet into the ocean to help bring back the past: two sailors killed when their Civil War battleship sank in 1862.

12:51 PM EST, March 2, 2013

Mary J. Corey, first woman to lead Sun newsroom, dies of cancer

Mary J. Corey, whose personal warmth was matched by a drive that led her to become the first woman in The Baltimore Sun's 176-year history to head its newsroom, died Tuesday of breast cancer.

4:09 PM EST, February 23, 2013

Few saw warning signs in case of Hopkins doctor accused of secretly taping patients

Fanya O'Donoghue had just learned she was pregnant when she happened to meet a group of nurses at a social gathering. She was looking for an obstetrician, and asked them whom they would recommend.

11:33 PM EST, February 22, 2013

Multiple car crash in Arundel leaves drivers injured

A multi-vehicle collision on Solomons Island Road in Harwood left one driver with life-threatening injuries and two other drivers and a passenger with a range of serious and minor injuries around 4 p.m. Friday, Anne Arundel County Police said.

3:44 PM EST, March 2, 2013

You think your workplace is bad

Let's say the CEO of your company is retiring, but he's going to keep an office at headquarters and the services of the same secretary as the new guy.

10:14 PM EST, February 22, 2013

Freezing rain, icy roads expected early Saturday

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory in the Baltimore area until 6 a.m. Saturday, saying freezing rain and a trace accumulation of ice could pose travel hazards.

5:56 PM EST, February 22, 2013

St. Paul's girls school names new head

A New Orleans educator has been named the new head of the St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville.

12:36 PM EST, February 16, 2013

Former student protesters remember civil rights battle over the Northwood Theatre

Movie tickets at the Northwood Theatre cost just 90 cents back in 1963. But for some, the price of admission was considerably higher.

10:08 PM EST, February 22, 2013

Woman attacked by own dog in Edgemere, police say

An Edgemere woman was attacked by at least one of her two pit bulls and seriously injured Friday afternoon, Baltimore County police said.

8:22 PM EST, February 15, 2013

Woman stabbed in Arundel Mills parking lot

A 36-year-old woman was stabbed in the hand by a man who demanded her purse in the parking lot of Arundel Mills Mall Friday afternoon. Police arrested a Baltimore County man who led them on a chase that ended when he crashed the SUV he was driving into a building in West Baltimore.

7:04 PM EST, February 15, 2013

Baltimore firefighter indicted on federal prostitution charges

Federal prosecutors have taken on the case of a Baltimore City firefighter accused of running a prostitution ring, alleging that he lured women to the city to work for him from as far away as Texas and South Dakota.

9:28 PM EST, January 29, 2013

Katrina still haunts Super Bowl celebration

Bathed in colorful lights and swathed in banners, including one featuring Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, the Superdome seems to have been polished to a fine sheen for Sunday's Super Bowl.

8:41 PM EST, February 15, 2013

Police resume some training at academy

The Baltimore City Police Department will resume some training at its academy early this week after all operations there were halted in the wake of an instructor shooting and critically wounding a recruit on Tuesday.

6:23 PM EST, February 15, 2013

Md. fire marshal bans sky lanterns

Maryland's Fire Marshall has banned sky lanterns, the increasingly popular paper balloons that are sent aloft by the heat of a candle or fuel cell suspended from the bottom.

9:57 PM EST, February 1, 2013

Raven shares his pain to help another

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain seems an unlikely victim of bullying – as an adult, that is. But as a child, he was mocked for his threadbare clothing and the place he called home for about a year — a Salvation Army shelter.

1:18 AM EST, February 4, 2013

Power outage darkened Superdome, unnerving fans, disrupting momentum

A power outage darkened the Superdome in the third quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday night, an unnerving experience for a stadium that had been the refuge of last resort for many when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.

9:42 PM EST, January 25, 2013

Hampstead Ravens share name and winning tradition

For this youth football team, "Play like a Raven" isn't just an idle slogan. They are the Ravens — the Hampstead Ravens, that is.

12:55 AM EST, February 4, 2013

Ravens hold on to win Super Bowl, 34-31

Ravens fans had waited 12 years for another Super Bowl victory, and they packed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, dwarfing 49ers rooters in both numbers and volume.

3:32 PM EST, January 19, 2013

There's more to Baltimore than prisons

I once sat with a group of inner-city Baltimore kids, mostly 12-year-olds, who were being asked what they wanted to be when they grew up.

8:44 PM EST, January 21, 2013

Super Bowl-bound Ravens fans snap up flights, hotels

New Orleans may be the Big Easy, but for Ravens fans following their team to the Super Bowl next month, it's also likely to be a Big Expense.

9:13 PM EST, January 31, 2013

New Orleans hums with Super Bowl and Mardi Gras

— In a city where even funerals turn into parties, New Orleans rarely lacks for an excuse to strike up the band, boil up some crayfish and swirl together a daiquiri.

11:45 PM EST, January 20, 2013

Jean Marbella: Super Bowl is next stop on Baltimore's ride to remember

Baltimore has always had a past, and even at its lowest points, it looks hopefully to whatever the future has in store. It's the present that seems to elude the city.

10:12 PM EST, January 12, 2013

It's only a game, until it isn't

I guess it will happen at some point. A kid in Baltimore will come across a faded black-and-white picture, or notice all those blue #19 jerseys, and he won't quite believe it: "We had a football team before the Ravens?"

1:26 PM EST, January 6, 2013

Glen Burnie fire claims life of 50-year-old woman Saturday

A 50-year-old woman died early Saturday after a fire in a Glen Burnie home, the second fire-related fatality in Anne Arundel County of the new year.

6:23 PM EST, January 17, 2013

Will Ravens' Flacco be hurt by Sports Illustrated cover?

The Baltimore Ravens proved last week that they could beat not just the Denver Broncos but the Las Vegas oddsmakers who had predicted their defeat. But can they now beat the Sports Illustrated jinx?

9:16 PM EST, January 11, 2013

Against the odds, fans want to get even

With the Ravens 10-point underdogs and facing the better-than-ever Peyton Manning, fans should just start packing up their purple gear and accepting the end of their football season today — or so the experts seem to be saying.

6:40 PM EST, January 4, 2013

Officer involved in Baltimore shooting identified

Baltimore police identified the officer who shot a man in Belair-Edison on Wednesday afternoon as Calvin Moss, 44, who is assigned to the special enforcement section of the Northeast patrol division.

6:09 PM EST, January 5, 2013

Glen Burnie fire claims life of 40-year-old woman Saturday

A 40-year-old woman died early Saturday after a fire in a Glen Burnie home, the second fire-related fatality in Anne Arundel County of the new year.

8:51 PM EST, January 4, 2013

Calvert Hall principal retires

Calvert Hall College principal Louis Heidrick plans to retire at the end of the current academic year after 48 years at the Catholic boys' high school.

7:37 PM EST, December 6, 2012

First marriage licenses issued to Maryland same-sex couples

Even before pressing the elevator button to the sixth floor of the courthouse, Jessie Weber and Nancy Eddy were grinning so broadly that fellow passengers guessed their destination: the marriage license office.

10:26 PM EST, January 4, 2013

N.J. man arrested with 350 pounds of marijuana

A New Jersey man stopped by a state trooper in Worcester County was arrested on drug charges after more than 350 pounds of marijuana were found in the van he was driving, officials said Friday.

2:19 PM EST, November 24, 2012

Is Baltimore father a protective parent or kidnapper?

Donald Shields may not be in the running for father of the year, but I'm not sure he should be sitting in jail either.

1:26 PM EST, December 1, 2012

Formstone would be banned on new buildings under proposal

Frankly fake but authentically Baltimore, the Formstone that swaths many a rowhouse may seem low-brow or even tacky to some.

11:37 PM EST, November 6, 2012

Change takes time, Maryland voters say

If four years ago they voted for historic change, on Tuesday, Maryland supporters of President Barack Obama cast their ballots for patience.

January 5, 2013

True blue in a sea of purple

Once upon a time, no one around here would have blinked at Deborah Lawler's order for a sheet cake to serve at her football party — a blue horseshoe design with a "Go Colts" inscription.

6:14 PM EST, December 30, 2012

2012 in review

It won't take much more than a few minutes into the new year to see the impact of the old one, with Baltimore's City Hall opening at midnight to begin performing same-sex marriages under a law that takes effect on Jan. 1.

2:42 PM EST, November 17, 2012

In Petraeus sex scandal and others, a double standard

OK, I'm done. I've had my fun clicking through every last story, tweet and meme about Betraeusgate.

10:31 AM EDT, November 3, 2012

Marbella: Looking forward to the quiet of the voting booth

I've come to think of it as the political equivalent of global warming: Election season seems to get longer and more heated every cycle.

5:18 PM EST, December 29, 2012

A year of challenges for city residents

A year ago, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gave an inaugural address that was both lofty in vision and grounded in reality — the poetry of growing Baltimore by 10,000 residents in the next decade tempered by the prose of how to get there.

7:07 PM EDT, October 6, 2012

Orioles welcomed home for long-awaited playoff date

They clinched their post-season berth in an airplane over Florida and secured their spot in the divisional series in Texas. But for a town awash in orange and fans beyond thrilled, the Orioles are now fulfilling what the late comedian George Carlin said, in a routine about the sweetness of the sport, is the object of baseball:

3:32 PM EST, December 15, 2012

Adam Lanza and the unanswerable questions of Newtown

What next?

9:17 PM EST, December 8, 2012

The mystery of the counselor who wasn't

Who is Shawn Nowlin? Or perhaps we should be asking: Why can't the Baltimore school system answer that question?

9:25 PM EST, November 9, 2012

Supreme Court will review Md. DNA law

Maryland's DNA law, which allows police to take samples of suspects' genetic material for possible matches to other crimes, will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court next year, the justices announced Friday.

8:55 PM EDT, October 30, 2012

Debate over Question 6 focuses on 'teaching' gay marriage

I was taught a lot of things in school, some of them terrible: History class was filled with warfare, algebra with endless solving for x.

8:50 PM EST, November 8, 2012

'River' subsides, Charles Street businesses re-open

After a day in which they temporarily became waterfront businesses, shops and cafes on North Charles Street began reopening Thursday, when the river created by a massive water main break at 20th Street receded.

11:50 AM EDT, October 6, 2012

Aquatic club coach out after allegation of misconduct revealed

A longtime coach at the Baltimore swim club that has turned out several Olympians — including Michael Phelps — resigned after an allegation of "inappropriate conduct" with a female athlete was revealed, officials of the sport's national governing body said Friday.

2:53 PM EDT, October 20, 2012

Courting dissent at City Hall

Someone pass the popcorn, there's a new legal drama unfolding at City Hall — Law & Order: Special Municipal Unit.

8:23 PM EDT, October 25, 2012

Two women fight for the ideal of marriage — but each defines it differently

Third of three articles on state ballot issues

11:25 PM EDT, October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy brings Marylanders an unexpected off-day

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.

2:54 PM EDT, September 15, 2012

Marbella: Help is rarely just a phone call away

I long ago made my peace with the fact that when you call customer service, you get a machine rather than a human. It's OK, really, I've dealt with enough monosyllabic, gum-snapping staff at various service counters to welcome those polite if automated voices.

4:38 PM EDT, September 10, 2012

Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' coach, joins consulting firm specializing in sports

Michael Phelps may have retired from competitive swimming after the London Games, but his coach is adding on work: He has signed with TSE Consulting, a global firm that specializes in working with sports federations.

8:23 PM EDT, October 2, 2012

Orioles' postseason presents happy conflicts

Baseball or Beethoven? Block party with live music, or couch party to watch the playoffs?

2:50 PM EDT, October 27, 2012

As Sandy approaches, anxiety over losing power, connections

My biggest fear: How will I charge my phone?

6:38 PM EDT, September 5, 2012

Phelps, Md. Olympians to be celebrated at Inner Harbor

Michael Phelps and other Olympic athletes from Maryland will be honored at a celebration Monday afternoon at the Inner Harbor, after which the swimmer will be named an honorary captain of the Ravens at the team's season opener.

September 22, 2012

In a world where political ads have taken over

With about a month to go before Election Day, I know it won't be long before the commercials get even more ominous. Any day now, I'm sure I'll see one that starts, in that scary-movie-trailer voice, "In a world in which …"

9:46 PM EDT, August 7, 2012

Md.'s Matthew Centrowitz finishes fourth in 1,500-meter race

If the Algerian runner had stayed disqualified. If a fellow American hadn't surged past him near the finish line. If he had run .05 of a second faster.

7:29 PM EDT, September 17, 2012

Casting out the old to celebrate new year of 5773

It's an unlikely setting for a religious ritual, behind a busy grocery store parking lot and nearly underneath a rumbling expressway.

10:30 PM EDT, September 6, 2012

As Orioles fight to be No. 1 and honor No. 8, we're on cloud 9

I died and went to heaven.

5:44 PM EDT, August 10, 2012

Let the Games finally begin

The Summer Games may be winding down, but for two Maryland Olympians, they're just beginning: Georgia Gould is a top contender for the mountain bicycling race on Saturday while Suzanne Stettinius will compete in the very final event, modern pentathlon on Sunday.

7:54 PM EDT, September 10, 2012

Phelps, Maryland's Olympians welcomed home

Arriving aboard the Pride of Baltimore II and hailed by a cannon blast from the Constellation, Michael Phelps and Maryland's other Olympic athletes were celebrated in true local style Monday afternoon by elected officials and an Inner Harbor crowd.

5:26 PM EDT, August 5, 2012

Life after Olympic stardom begins now for Michael Phelps

On the first day of the rest of his life, Michael Phelps slept in. Really in.

9:45 PM EDT, September 9, 2012

Yeardley Love gets permanent place at Notre Dame Prep

On a day filled with sunshine, music and poetry, the prep school Yeardley Love attended reclaimed her name from the tragic headlines and put it back where she spent some of her happiest days: on a playing field.

12:06 AM EDT, August 13, 2012

Parkton's Stettinius finishes 28th in final pentathlon event

She fenced. She swam. She took a horse she'd only just met over a 15-fence obstacle course. And then she shot and ran.

7:18 PM EDT, September 20, 2012

Yeardley Love's mother speaks out against violence

There is Chris Brown, these days sporting a neck tattoo that looks like ex-girlfriend Rihanna after he bloodied and bruised her. And Charlie Sheen, whose assault of his wife is somehow just another part of his troubled yet comedic persona.

3:06 PM EDT, September 1, 2012

Something to 'whinge' about

I love being awakened by the screech of racecars.

September 8, 2012

Bowman named swimming coach of the year

Bob Bowman, who coached Michael Phelps through his record-breaking Olympic career, won a title himself Friday when he was named Coach of the Year by his professional association.

6:43 PM EDT, July 28, 2012

Slow start for Phelps

Who was that swimmer in the far lane, finishing fourth and failing to medal?

8:27 PM EDT, August 30, 2012

Huguely sentenced to 23 years in prison for Love's killing

George Huguely V received a 23-year sentence Thursday for the murder of Yeardley Love, the Cockeysville native and University of Virginia lacrosse player whose death in May 2010 put drinking and domestic violence in college towns, even one as genteel and historic as this one, under a harsh spotlight.

11:00 PM EDT, August 27, 2012

Student shot at Perry Hall High School

With heightened security and trauma counselors on hand, Perry Hall High School will restart its school year Tuesday, the day after a student shot in the cafeteria was left in critical condition and another student was taken into custody as the suspected gunman.

8:05 PM EDT, August 7, 2012

Women dominating at London Olympics

The darkened arena pulsed with anticipation, the thousands of spectators roaring and their cameras flashing like giant fireflies as the boxers swaggered in, punching the air, bouncing on the balls of their feet and glaring like gladiators. And then, the chanting started for the favorite of this particular crowd:

8:52 PM EDT, August 9, 2012

Another chance for U.S. women to lift their sport

LONDON — Before the largest crowd to ever watch a women's Olympic soccer match, in a stadium synonymous with what Europeans call football, the U.S. won gold and with it, another chance for the sport to become less of a quadrennial attraction back home.

3:26 PM EDT, July 22, 2012

Smooth sailing for Olympic windsurfer Farrah Hall of Annapolis

First, the spot she won on the Olympic team for the Beijing Games was taken away and given to a competitor. Then, after making this year's team, she learned her sport would be dropped from the Games after London.

10:22 PM EDT, August 12, 2012

London Olympics close with more music and much praise

It must be true: All good things indeed must come to an end — a fireworks-strafing, confetti-showering and rock-god-reviving end if you're talking about the Summer Olympics that concluded Sunday.

3:42 PM EDT, July 25, 2012

Michael Phelps to pass on opening ceremonies, get ready for his final Olympics

You can take Michael Phelps out of Baltimore. You can send him to his fourth Olympics. But what does he do during his downtime?

7:33 PM EDT, July 10, 2012

Michael Phelps 'doesn't have to work as hard,' U.S. swimmer Tyler Clary says

Having swum in Michael Phelps shadow for most of his career, Tyler Clary finally made his first Olympics — and promptly dissed the guy who is headed to his fourth.

2:59 PM EDT, August 29, 2012

Perry Hall High student charged as adult in cafeteria shooting

Charged as an adult in the Perry Hall High School shooting, 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr., was held without bond Tuesday as a portrait of a withdrawn and occasionally bullied student with a troubled home life emerged through interviews with classmates and court documents.

7:21 PM EDT, August 1, 2012

Schmitt moves into spotlight

Bob Bowman was done, or so he thought. Something of the Michael Phelps Whisperer to the media, he can be counted on for insights, such as on Tuesday night after the Baltimore swimmer became the most decorated Olympian ever after winning a gold medal as anchor of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team.

6:33 PM EDT, July 24, 2012

Schmitt emerges from Phelps' shadow

As a kid, Allison Schmitt's sport was soccer. She even had a Mia Hamm Barbie doll. If she imagined back then that she would find herself at the Olympics someday, it would have been as a teammate of Hope Solo and Alex Morgan.

9:42 PM EDT, July 27, 2012

London Olympics begin with a flourish in Opening Ceremony

With Shakespearean flourishes and pogoing punk rockers, and featuring the actor who plays James Bond on service to his actual majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the United Kingdom opened the Olympic Games on Friday night in a hip and humorous fashion.

8:50 PM EDT, August 1, 2012

Michael Phelps still has work left to do

On the first full day of his life as the most-decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps went back to work — those medals don't start winning themselves just because you've hit 19, after all. But first he had to attend to his correspondence.

9:53 AM EDT, July 21, 2012

Phelps looks to put stamp on perhaps the greatest Olympic career ever

In Michael Phelps' telling, one of the greatest Olympic careers almost began with a skinny dip. It was the first trip out of the country for the kid from Rodgers Forge, and he gawked like a tourist — not at monuments or museums — but at the famous swimmers competing in Sydney.

12:20 AM EDT, July 3, 2012

Dara Torres can't muster speed to make sixth Olympics

Out-sprinted by swimmers born after she won her first gold medal in 1984, Dara Torres failed in her quest for a sixth Olympic Games Monday night.

11:00 PM EDT, July 2, 2012

Phelps won't try to match heights set by ... Phelps

Omaha, Neb. — Michael Phelps' eight gold medals in eight tries in the 2008 Beijing Olympics might never be duplicated.

10:53 PM EDT, July 1, 2012

Michael Phelps beats Ryan Lochte in 100-meter butterfly

Surging to one of his trademark late-breaking finishes,Michael Phelpswon his final event — the 100-meter butterfly — at the Olympic qualifying trials Sunday night, and heads to London likely to swim the same eight races that produced his record-breaking gold-medal haul.

6:52 PM EDT, July 25, 2012

Bob Bowman has proven to be more than Michael Phelps' coach

If you made a flip-book of the hundreds of photographs they've posed together for over the years, you would seeMichael Phelpsgrowing up before your eyes, getting taller and more muscular, while his coach, Bob Bowman, looks remarkably the same.

10:52 PM EDT, June 29, 2012

Michael Phelps finishes second to Ryan Lochte in semifinals of 200 IM

Michael Phelps, who turns 27 on Saturday, said his mother and sisters always say how hard it is to find a birthday present for him. And indeed, what he wants to open they can't exactly wrap.

9:59 PM EDT, July 1, 2012

Elizabeth Pelton has disappointing third-place finish in 200M backstroke

Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel were the top two finishers in the 200-meter backstroke Sunday, earning spots on the Olympic team. Former North Baltimore Aquatic Club swimmer Elizabeth Pelton came in third.

6:28 AM EDT, July 27, 2012

London gears up for Olympics as only the British can

The Olympic torch came to Brixton on Thursday, and so did Amy Cohen.

9:52 AM EDT, June 29, 2012

Notebook: Phelps out of Friday's 200 backstroke

Baltimore's Michael Phelps has scratched from Friday's 200-meter backstroke preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, his coach Bob Bowman said Thursday.

10:21 PM EDT, June 28, 2012

Phelps adds 200 butterfly to London lineup

— Michael Phelps added a third event to his London lineup Thursday night, powering ahead in the final leg to win the 200-meter butterfly race at the Olympic swimming trials — and also, in a sense, to touch home.

12:37 AM EDT, May 19, 2012

Milestones for old media and new

You know that question of who, dead or alive, you'd want to invite to a dinner party?

10:51 PM EDT, June 29, 2012

Lezak makes 100-meter freestyle team

Jason Lezak, the anchor of the thrilling 400-freestyle relay in Beijing, claimed a spot on the Olympic men's 100-meter freestyle team after a top-six finish in the event Friday.

9:40 PM EDT, June 26, 2012

Lochte beats Phelps again, this time in 200 freestyle semifinals

If Michael Phelps is going to come in second to Ryan Lochte, as he did again Tuesday night, he may find some comfort in the whisper of this particular margin: the Baltimore swimmer finished .02 seconds behind his rival in their semifinal heat in the 200-meter freestyle.

9:24 PM EDT, May 14, 2012

Veterans battle with the calendar

— First, a reality check: Almost nowhere but at a meeting of the Justin Bieber fan club would a 30-year-old, let alone a 22-year-old, be considered old.

11:28 AM EDT, July 3, 2012

From Sun Magazine: Phelps family values

Hilary Phelps was approaching the finish line of her first Ironman triathlon. Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" was playing. She was wrung out from more than 14 hours of swimming, cycling and now running, certain that there wasn't a single drop of liquid left inside her.

8:50 PM EDT, May 3, 2012

UVa. coach, officials sued over Yeardley Love's death

Sharon Love has sued the University of Virginia men's lacrosse coach and other athletic officials for negligence in the 2010 death of her daughter, Yeardley, saying they ignored previous violent, drunken behavior by the player who was ultimately convicted of murdering her.

8:14 PM EDT, June 6, 2012

Jamal Lewis among star athletes to land in bankruptcy

It might have been trash-talking, but Jamal Lewis made good on his promise. The young Baltimore Raven broke the single-day rushing record by running for 295 yards in the 2003 home opener at the stadium newly rechristened for the company that had bought the naming rights, M&T Bank.

6:52 PM EDT, June 23, 2012

Once more, Michael Phelps dives into Olympic waters

On Saturday,Michael Phelpswill turn 27. No surprise, he'll spend the birthday where he's spent much of his previous 26 years: in a pool, chasing gold.

9:49 PM EDT, June 27, 2012

Phelps and Lochte continue rivalry in swimming trials

— And now, they're even: Michael Phelps bested Ryan Lochte in a stroke-for-stroke 200-meter freestyle race at the swimming trials here Wednesday night, with the two rivals both qualifying to match up against each other in the London Games next month.

10:56 PM EDT, June 25, 2012

Phelps can't catch Lochte but does officially qualify for London Olympic Games

Michael Phelpsfinished second in the 400-meter individual medley to arch-rival Ryan Lochte in the opening act of the Olympic swimming trials here Monday, but both qualified for the London Games, setting the stage for another duel over their sport's most challenging event.

9:03 AM EDT, April 28, 2012

Marbella: In brothers' trial, does nobody trust police, courts?

It is all too common in city courts to see witnesses reluctant to testify, even under threat of imprisonment, or developing amnesia over what had happened in front of them.

4:53 PM EDT, June 19, 2012

Phelps to swim in seven races at Olympic trials in Omaha

Previewing what he might swim in his final Olympics in London, Michael Phelps has entered seven races in next week's qualifying trials — including the exciting but exhausting 400-meter individual medley.

8:05 PM EDT, May 12, 2012

Phelps finds the positives in his last event before the Olympic trials

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Michael Phelps remembers this as the city where he "came back," prompting his coach Bob Bowman to ask with mock innocence, "from where?"

10:34 PM EDT, June 25, 2012

Maryland well represented at Olympic swim trials

Dana Vollmer got the first women's race, the 100-meter butterfly, off to a blazing start, setting a U.S. Open and trials record in the preliminaries with a 56.59-second finish. It lasted only until the semi-finals Monday night, when it was broken by a 56.42 finish by … Dana Vollmer.

8:00 PM EDT, June 1, 2012

Contemporary Museum hopes to reopen

For the Contemporary Museum, which abruptly announced last month that it was suspending operations, the challenge going forward may be implicit in its name: How does it stay contemporary?

2:22 PM EDT, June 16, 2012

Modern pentathlon: Perfect sport for Suzanne Stettinius

Like many Olympic athletes not named Michael Phelps, Suzanne Stettinius is both training and fundraising in these final weeks before the Summer Games. She's made appeals via Facebook and her blog and, next week, will host a party at a Baltimore County tavern where among the auction items will be a date with the athlete herself.

11:20 PM EDT, May 1, 2012

Wallenda to walk over Inner Harbor

Believe it or not, a seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallenda family plans to walk a high wire above Baltimore's Inner Harbor on May 9.

3:09 PM EDT, May 5, 2012

Groceries seeking ways around wine sales ban

Unlike most other states, Maryland shoppers have to make one extra stop for a cabernet to go with that steak they bought on sale at the supermarket —grocery stores in the state are generally banned from selling alcohol.

2:46 PM EDT, May 5, 2012

Groceries seeking ways around wine sales ban

Unlike most other states, Maryland shoppers have to make one extra stop for a cabernet to go with that steak they bought on sale at the supermarket —grocery stores in the state generally are banned from selling alcohol.

9:52 PM EDT, May 13, 2012

Jessica Long is Baltimore's other gold medal swimmer

This Baltimore swimmer hopes to add to an already heavy stash of medals in London this summer. But in addition to training for the qualifying trials in June, there are multiple promotional demands of an Olympic year: modeling the Ralph Lauren-designed athletes attire, shooting commercials for sponsors such as Coke and speaking at media roundtables like the one held here Sunday.

5:28 PM EDT, May 10, 2012

Michael Phelps a global icon, proud Baltimore native

He's been known to compete in a swim cap decorated with the Orioles logo and has become a familiar sight at M&T Bank Stadium when the Ravens are home.

3:39 PM EDT, April 14, 2012

Politicians in Annapolis gambling away the budget

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to bury the notion of Governing. It has been suffering the ravages of age for some time now, so it perhaps would not be surprised that people gather to bury rather than praise it.

7:17 PM EDT, May 11, 2012

Phelps finishes second in 200 free at UltraSwim Grand Prix

It was supposed to serve as the trailer for the featured blockbuster swimming smackdown of the London Olympics, but viewers are going to have to wait a bit: Michael Phelps came in second in the 200-meter freestyle race at the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix on Friday evening, but not to his expected rival, Ryan Lochte.

9:24 PM EDT, March 29, 2012

Wins don't equal perfection for Phelps

–

4:46 PM EDT, April 7, 2012

From familiar to fancy, Baltimore's retail landscape shifts

Now I really feel old.

8:28 PM EDT, April 17, 2012

With 100 days to go, London calling Michael Phelps

The day began as so many have forMichael Phelps: at Meadowbrook pool in Mount Washington, where the mileage he has swum over the years would have gotten him to London a long time ago. But on this Saturday, the Baltimore swimmer's work would continue out of the water as well.

8:12 PM EDT, April 26, 2012

Yeardley Love's mother files $30 million lawsuit

The mother of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia student murdered in 2010, filed a $30 million civil suit Thursday against the onetime boyfriend and fellow U.Va. lacrosse player convicted of killing her, George Huguely V.

9:42 PM EDT, March 31, 2012

After beating Lochte in 200 IM, Phelps well on his way in Olympic preparation

INDIANAPOLIS — For someone who has lived much of his life in long, four-year arcs,Michael Phelpspacked a lot into an eventful couple of days here.

7:59 PM EDT, April 14, 2012

Phelps takes a break from training to participate in fundraiser

Out of the pool and in a formal suit, surrounded by family and friends in gowns and tuxedos, Michael Phelps looked every bit the part he was playing Saturday night: host of a fundraising gala held on the club level of M&T Bank Stadium.

10:35 PM EDT, March 30, 2012

Phelps could maybe, possibly swim 400 IM after all

That door Michael Phelps keeps slamming on ever again swimming the exhausting 400-meter individual medley race? Apparently, it's a revolving one.

8:21 PM EDT, March 28, 2012

Phelps looks both backward and forward

INDIANAPOLIS — A reflective Michael Phelpsreturned Wednesday to what he called the "birthplace" of his Olympic career, the city where he qualified for his first games and now will compete in five races over the next three days as he prepares for his fourth and final Olympics.

10:30 PM EDT, April 5, 2012

Not so good a Friday for some Orioles fans

Many fans have lost hope as the Orioles have posted a dismal record over the past 14 seasons. Now the team is starting its new season by testing the faith of some of them as well.

3:52 PM EDT, April 21, 2012

From medium hired in Jarrett case, a muddled message

When I called Nancy L. Fox and got her answering machine the other day, I considered not leaving my number or the reason I wanted to talk to her.

12:45 PM EDT, March 17, 2012

The workplace can enrich our lives or drive us crazy

Some years back, I found a letter in my mailbox at The Sun addressed to Jeanne Moreau, the iconic French actress of the 1950s and '60s, in Paris — a rather glamorous and mysterious missive, given that the bulk of my correspondence tends to come from PR people or prisoners.

11:25 PM EST, February 25, 2012

The legacy of Yeardley Love

Katherine Williams, a second-year student at the University of Virginia, never had the opportunity to meet Yeardley Love. But like other students who arrived on campus after Love's death in May 2010, Williams lives with her legacy.

9:16 PM EST, February 14, 2012

Huguely trial: Looking for answers, in faces and facts

Two years later, George Huguely is barely recognizable from either his mug shot or his lacrosse team photo. In the way that photos like that "read," based on what we all thought we knew, in the former he looked sullen, in the latter he looked smug.

March 24, 2012

Is Baltimore selling its past?

It is the clearest sign of the direction historic preservation may be going: Even a building called Government House, a 19th-century mansion in Baltimore's Midtown neighborhood, is now in private hands.

9:12 PM EST, February 18, 2012

Huguely trial puts spotlight on Charlottesville

One day when I was driving to the courthouse for the George Huguely trial, I ended up behind a cab that had not just its phone number painted on the trunk but this invocation: "Metaphors be with you."

5:31 PM EST, March 3, 2012

Marbella: Maryland and Virginia diverge over social issues

When the critical vote to approve same-sex marriage in Maryland was coming down, I happened to be in Virginia — not that far geographically, really, but at the moment seemingly a world, and a time, away.

6:59 PM EST, February 23, 2012

Marbella: In Huguely trial, we hoped for truth but got only a verdict

— Outside the courthouse, the day went from spring-like sunshine and blustery winds to a dark night of cold, hard rain.

5:56 PM EDT, March 21, 2012

Mikulski honored as longest-serving woman in Congress

Call her Maryland's Iron Lady.

6:24 PM EST, February 12, 2012

Del. woman, 49, dies in crash; other car going wrong way

A 49-year-old Delaware woman was killed Saturday night when another car collided head-on with her vehicle as she drove on Route 9 west of Harbeson, Del., Delaware State Police said.

9:04 PM EST, February 17, 2012

A fleeting moment amid the turbulence

His aunt called him Georgie. A high school student he helped when she was temporarily stranded on campus said he was "perfectly nice."

4:03 PM EST, February 4, 2012

A downtown building not built

For a city whose last Fortune 500 company was about to be acquired by an out-of-town corporation, there was not just consolation but actual excitement over one of the deal sweeteners: Chicago-based Exelon Corp. promised to build a new downtown office building for the merged company, the first such construction in Baltimore's central business district since 2004.

6:55 PM EST, February 23, 2012

On U.Va. campus, Huguely trial a sobering moment

Sarah Wooten played lacrosse at her high school in Woodbridge, Va., but when she decided to go to the University of Virginia last year, her parents suggested she look elsewhere for extracurricular activities.

9:55 PM EDT, March 20, 2012

Outspoken bishop to take helm of Archdiocese of Baltimore

At a time when Roman Catholic bishops are waging political wars against contraception and same-sex marriage, one of the church's most hard-line generals was named Tuesday to head its historically important Baltimore archdiocese.

4:17 PM EST, January 14, 2012

A life-saving scuffle with the Baltimore Ravens?

NFL referee Tony Corrente's first encounter with Baltimore Ravens Matt Birk and Michael Oher this season floored him, literally.

7:59 PM EST, January 28, 2012

Marbella does Edgar Allan Poe: Quoth the Ravens fan, evermore

Sorry, psychics. I saw in The Baltimore Sun this week that you're going to try to contact Edgar Allan Poe from beyond the grave next month. Nice idea, hope it makes some money to save his house.

10:21 PM EST, January 16, 2012

University of Maryland lab damaged in fire

A lab at the University of Maryland College Park was damaged by an electrical fire Monday afternoon that was extinguished by firefighters, Prince George's County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady said.

6:57 AM EST, February 8, 2012

From Sun Magazine: Giuliana Rancic isn't afraid to bring reality to reality TV

Growing up in Bethesda, Giuliana Rancic thought there was nothing more glamorous than the news women she saw on TV. First at the University of Maryland, College Park, then at graduate school in Washington, she trained to join their ranks, heading with mike and camera to the White House, Pentagon and Capitol Hill.

8:42 PM EST, February 19, 2012

Huguely's trial ends with less than impressive lawyering

Maybe it was just as well George Huguely's defense lawyers screwed up their handling of a final witness, keeping him off the stand. His name: Jack Daniel.

8:50 PM EST, January 23, 2012

The heartbreak of what might have been

On a gray day that matched their mood, Baltimore football fans spent Monday with the two saddest words in the English language echoing in their heads: If only.

January 10, 2012

State progressing on Race to Top reforms

Except for a delay in a new teacher-evaluation program, Maryland has made a strong start toward achieving the ambitious school reform goals that won the state a coveted $250 million grant, according to federal officials.

6:40 PM EST, February 12, 2012

Police officer on Eastern Shore shoots man

A man was shot by police in Hurlock, Dorchester County, after allegedly driving toward two officers late Friday night, according to the Maryland State Police.

2:57 PM EST, February 11, 2012

Jean Marbella: On health care, freedom for or from religion?

I once met a smart and delightful young woman who was making her way through a demanding college program despite being a single mother of two.

4:55 PM EST, December 24, 2011

From warfront to homefront for the holidays

Alerted via Facebook, connected by Skype, Joseph Vencill was able to "be" in the delivery room for the birth of his first child even though he was serving in Iraq at the time. Still, there's only so much you can do by satellite.

9:57 AM EST, January 21, 2012

Marbella: Bring the Super Bowl to Baltimore — why not?

First with the museum, now with the hotel rooms.

9:56 PM EST, February 15, 2012

Less than six degrees of separation in Huguely trial

Even by the admittedly low standards of such affairs, this was a college reunion filled with more than the usual awkwardness and the sense of an unrecoverable time.

8:43 PM EST, January 16, 2012

Ravens fans ready to make the trek to Foxborough

Flushed with Sunday's victory and with many off work for Monday's holiday, Ravens fans have started planning their next offensive: Foxborough or bust.

4:46 PM EST, December 17, 2011

Giving back to those who make news

During this magical time of year, I get all mushy with love and gratitude for those who give meaning to my otherwise pitiful life. Who by grace of their existence imbue my own with truth, beauty and a bottomless supply of column fodder.

9:56 PM EST, December 13, 2011

Occupy Baltimore seeks new goals after eviction

Downtown businesses — and even some Occupy Baltimore activists themselves — breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday that city officials cleared the encampment that the group had set up near the Inner Harbor as part of a national protest against income disparity.

7:25 PM EST, December 30, 2011

2011: A re-wind

Fast cars zipped around downtown Baltimore streets and, it turns out, the race promoters' financial messes. A robocall that urged voters to relax and stay home led jurors to a vote of their own: guilty of election fraud. We bade farewell to an iconic mayor, and began ushering out the city's last Fortune 500 company.

12:20 PM EST, January 14, 2012

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