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By Ravi Umarji | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

The Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG) held a press conference at Blair on Feb. 14 to encourage Maryland to adopt more stringent vehicle emission standards. MaryPIRG released the statement at Blair because of the significant effects that the new standards could have on the area: Due to the school's location, students at Blair are subject to the emissions of nearly half a million cars that pass the school each day. "We have some of the worst air quality in the nation," said MaryPIRG director Brad Heavner. "In five of the past six years, Maryland has been among the top 10 states in worst air pollution."

Incoming freshman class reduced

By Kristina Hamilton | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

lair expects some relief in its overcrowding next school year as a result of a significantly lower number of incoming freshmen, according to Downcounty Consortium (DCC) numbers released to school officials on Feb. 16.

Look out for these bracket busters

By Michael Bushnell | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

NCAA analysis: Austin region

By Adith Sekaran | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Their number one seed the Duke Blue Devils leads the Austin bracket, however they are not the favorites to win Austin and make the Final Four despite the fact that Duke is arguably the best-coached team in the tournament.

NCAA analysis: Syracuse regional

By Pratik Bhandari | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Of the four regional brackets, Syracuse arguably boasts the most talented teams from top to bottom. Even the number ten seed, N.C. State, has a chance of getting to the Sweet Sixteen.

Hardcore Gamers never hit pause

By Eric Glover | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Generation "X" is so three consoles ago. Now, a new generation has found its ecstasy in more than its X-button; these gamers are trading zzz's for the Z-button, finding a sense of direction in the D-Pad and pressing Y as a "why not" to the sexy pleasures of virtual vice. We press the game's buttons; it presses ours.

"Ice Princess" takes the silver

By John Silberholz | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

An invisible skate carves a pristine, icy surface, signaling the opening of Tim Fywell's "Ice Princess," the latest Disney success to hit the big screen nationwide.

Romano's Macaroni Grill serves more than just pasta

By Shannon Egan | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Located in the heart of downtown Silver Spring lies Romano's Macaroni Grill, a delicious Italian restaurant with rich entrées, friendly waiters and tasty deserts. Macaroni Grill, however, does not serve pasta alone as its name implies. There's also pasta, including pizza, chicken, soup and vegetables- something for every Italian food lover.

Active Tuberculosis found in MCPS

By Karima Tawfik | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Two MCPS students were diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) in January, prompting MCPS to conduct skin tests between Feb. 8 and 10 for 229 students and faculty members who had been in contact with the diagnosed students.

An unfair penalty for Blair ice hockey

By Armin Rosen | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Although the Blair Community Ice Hockey Team was down 9-2 late in its Feb. 20 playoff game against Howard High School, defeat was far from the minds of the Blazer faithful. This was, after all, a come-from-behind team, a team that had earned its first ever playoff berth after a winless season the previous year.

Exploring the counterculture world of religious rap music

By Avi Wolfman-Arent | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Hip-hop is more than a sound; it is the voice of a generation. It is a way of life: The beats are captivating, the words are poetic and the result is as raw as the inner-city streets from which it emerged.

NCAA analysis: Chicago Region

By Erik Kojola | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

The Chicago region is led by the no. 1 seed overall, Illinois, who had a nearly flawless season loosing only once late in the season. However, Oklahoma State is a team that was a contender for a no. 1 seed and could've been named one if the Big 12 championship had been played after the selection was made. Despite being the top-seed, Illinois was placed in the region with possibly the strongest no.2 seed. Also, Arizona and Boston College had been earlier candidates for no. 1 seeds until both teams suffered a couple of key losses. Arizona is lead by talented guard Salim Stoudamire who is averaging 18.2 points per game and is an excellent outside shooter and defender. Alabama the no. 5 seed in the region has the potential to be a season spoiler and is one of the sleepers in the region. Last year the Crimson Tide made it to the elite eight and have a talented combination of guards and big-men.

New look for historic local Seminary

By Karima Tawfik | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Centered in the midst of Forest Glen, a series of aging fortress-like buildings known as the National Park Seminary tower over a green landscape. Within the premises, broken glass litters the walkways, gutters hang uselessly from sagging rooftops and graffiti scores the walls of the buildings.

God shows Blazers the light

By Julia Penn | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Everyone is always talking about it. Supposedly, guys are always thinking about it. Approximately 47 percent of teens are doing it. It - that loaded three-letter word that is the constant focus of everyone's attention: sex.

Blair's teens in green

By June Hu | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

If you forgot to wear your green garments on St. Patrick's Day, today, March 17, consider yourself warned. "I will personally hunt you down and give you a good finger-wagging," junior Sean O'Brien cautions to all Blazers who do not wear green on the day that honors Ireland's patron saint. Oh, yeah, and not just any shade of green either. "Kelly green, that's the hardcore Irish color," O'Brien adds in a picky manner.

NCAA analysis: Albuquerque region

By Michael Bushnell | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Of all four regions, Albuquerque might be the weakest, and as a result, the hardest to predict. The Washington Huskies, thanks to conference tourney losses by Kansas, Kentucky, and Wake Forest, was able to pull a surprise number 1 seed in the region. The balance in the bracket means that as many as seven teams have a legitimate shot of winning this bracket and a trip to the Final Four in St. Louis

Sudan: a crime against humanity

By Nora Onley | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Genocide (noun): the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political or ethnic group, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Events like the Holocaust and the genocides in Rwanda and Somalia bring to mind horrifying images of violence and death. These same atrocities - rape, murder and displacement - have been perpetrated daily by the Sudanese government militias upon the inhabitants of the Darfur region of Sudan, while the world has passively watched from the sidelines.

Photo: Happy St. Patrick's Day

By Christopher Consolino | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Sophomores Maggie Sullivan (right) and Shante Henderson (left) flaunt their green outfits on St. Patrick's Day.

Photo: "Ice Princess" movie poster

By | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: More St. Patrick's Day Spirit

By Christopher Consolino | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Media Center specialist and Blair's "Spirit Lady," Susan Madden, is dressed up for St. Patrick's Day.

Photo: St. Patrick's Day Spirit

By Christopher Consolino | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Freshmen Markisha Walker (left) and Saletta Taylor (right) show off their green spirit.

Athletically sound and college bound

By Ellie Blalock | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

When senior varsity girls basketball co-captain Brittany Higgins received her first college recruitment letter in her junior year, it meant not only that she was one step closer to playing college ball and hopefully to her dream of someday playing in the WNBA, but also that she had just become, in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) jargon, a "recruited prospective student athlete."

Blair tops competition at county science fair

By Varun Gulati | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Twenty-one Blair students garnered over 100 awards, more than any other school in the county, at the 2005 Montgomery Area Science Fair held at Montgomery County Fair Grounds from March 11 to March 13.

Blair's Career Center provides for students in stressful times

By Varun Gulati | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

You've seen the banana-colored pages towards the front of your planbook. You've doodled on them, folded them into creative designs or even flat-out ignored them. But what are those pages really for?

MCPS should look to the Magnet

By Pria Anand | March 17, 2005, midnight | In ‎Latest »

This year, Blair's Magnet Program boasts four finalists in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search and will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Washington Post Magazine. Last year, the average Magnet SAT score was estimated at almost 400 points above that of the rest of the county by the MCPS Department of Shared Accountability. And for the past 10 years, the Magnet has had more National Merit semifinalists than any other school in the state.