The market trying hard not to sell out

prepared with local ingredients. This is the fine line that Vogel must walk: While her store will stock products from the Chesapeake states, those items won’t always be made with local ingredients. It’s a necessary compromise to keep her shelves stocked. It was most important “that I was a local company and that I manufactured locally,” Maroon says about the qualifications to become a Glen’s supplier. “It’s part of my plan to get everything locally” as the company grows. Vogel knows where to draw the line, however. When a Virginia peanut producer told her the company was going to shift its warehouse operations to New Jersey, Vogel was ready to cancel her orders. She couldn’t stomach the thought of all that fossil fuel burned to truck Virginia peanuts to New Jersey, only to have the goods shipped right back to the District. Her stance led to a surprising result: The company agreed to package and send Vogel her orders straight from Virginia. Jay Rosengarten, Vogel’s uncle and an adviser for Glen’s, can appreciate his niece’s challenges with finding the right products. He and his brother, Glen (Vogel’s dad and the man for whom her market is named), had encountered similar difficulties in trying to stock their first Food Emporium in Manhattan. Their goal was to diversify their existing Shopwell supermarket chain by expanding into the gourmet grocery business under the Food Emporium banner. “We spent a lot of time traveling all over the world trying to find product,” Rosengarten remembers. “We were very fussy about who we were doing business with.” The Food Emporium, however, had several advantages over Glen’s Garden Market in preparing for launch. It was part of a revenue-producing chain; Jay and Glen Rosengarten had the luxury of time and corporate cash to lay the groundwork for their debut store in 1980. The Food Emporium was not exclusively a gourmet store, either. Its specialty products would be stocked among the standard items on the shelves, blurring the line between gourmet and mass-manufactured foods. Glen’s Garden Market will be more like a year-round farmers market. Its produce will ebb and flow with the seasons. Some staples of the American household, such as paper towels and soaps, probably will never find their way into Glen’s, which is part of what concerned Vogel’s mother and uncle when they first learned of the concept. They couldn’t see how the project would


The market trying hard not to sell out

difficulties in trying to stock their first Food Emporium in Manhattan. Their goal was to diversify their existing Shopwell supermarket chain by expanding into the gourmet grocery business under the Food Emporium banner. “We spent a lot of time traveling all over the world trying to find product,” Rosengarten remembers. “We were very fussy about who we were doing business with.” The Food Emporium, however, had several advantages over Glen’s Garden Market in preparing for launch. It was part of a revenue-producing chain; Jay and Glen Rosengarten had the luxury of time and corporate cash to lay the groundwork for their debut store in 1980. The Food Emporium was not exclusively a gourmet store, either. Its specialty products would be stocked among the standard items on the shelves, blurring the line between gourmet and mass-manufactured foods. Glen’s Garden Market will be more like a year-round farmers market. Its produce will ebb and flow with the seasons. Some staples of the American household, such as paper towels and soaps, probably will never find their way into Glen’s, which is part of what concerned Vogel’s mother and uncle when they first learned of the concept. They couldn’t see how the project would be profitable. “Quite frankly, I almost had a nervous breakdown,” Brody recalls. “I knew what the expenses would be.” But true to her meticulous nature, Vogel commissioned an in-depth market study to determine whether Glen’s could generate enough revenue to sustain the business. The numbers were encouraging, and they improved when Vogel made the critical decision to treat her operation like a restaurant as much asa market. She hired Sean Sullivan, a trained chef who had previously worked at Matchbox and the Hamilton, to lead her kitchen operations. Sullivan and his team will be transforming local ingredients into sandwiches, salads, pizzas, sausages, soups, pickles, pastrami, bacon and many other house-made products, available for takeout or dining in. Glen’s will have 26 seats inside and an additional 16 outside for customers who will have the option to pair their food with one of eight local beers on tap or perhaps a Virginia or New York wine available by the glass. It was the emphasis on prepared foods that convinced Jay Rosengarten that Glen’s could turn a profit: “That was the tipping point for me,” he says. The National Grocers Association is hard-pressed to determine how groundbreaking Glen’s Garden Market will be.


David Ignatius: Boston attack appears to be from IEDs, probably by ‘lone wolf’

“Nothing broken but my heart,” was the subject line on an e-mail from one of the Boston Marathon runners to his friends Monday night after the bombs had detonated near the finish line. And every American shared some of that trauma as a classic sporting ritual was turned into a scene of mayhem. As the FBI and Boston police gathered evidence Tuesday, a preliminary picture emerged: The two bombs were rudimentary “improvised explosive devices,” or IEDs, left on the ground and detonated by remote control from a cellphone or other electronic device. The bombs were packed with metal objects, such as nails and ball bearings, like the IEDs that have been so deadly in foreign battlefields. Because the bombs were placed on the ground, they did maximum damage to people’s legs — a cruel irony at the finish line of America’s premier event for distance runners. The bombs were not complicated or made of high-velocity explosives. They were simple and easily replicable. U.S. intelligence didn’t pick up any threat stream about Boston or the marathon before the event, nor any terrorist “chatter” about the attack afterward. That doesn’t rule out al-Qaeda involvement, but this attack doesn’t resemble anything the core group or its major affiliates have done in the past. Officials can only speculate at this point about perpetrators. But the early evidence looks more like the work of a lone individual or a small group than that of a larger terror network. If it’s part of a broader terror plot, then it represents a new and cruder approach. Terror attacks that fit the same pattern are the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1996 pipe bombing at the Atlanta Olympics and the 2011 pipe-bomb plot in Spokane, Wash. In each case, the chief attackers were lone wolves. Officials are focusing on the basics: They’re analyzing all the surveillance data gathered in the area around Boylston Street, before and after the bombs went off, and all the forensic evidence at the crime scene. The intelligence agencies are listening on every circuit they have overseas and the FBI is doing the same at home. As on Sept. 11, 2001, the most effective counterterrorism force is the public. Officials argue that the most important lesson is this: If you see something, say something. Public vigilance will be the most effective defense against crude attacks that are easy to organize and hard to detect.


Boston Marathon: Everyday runners vow to keep running, ‘one foot in front of the other’

less of a hokey reminder than some distant goal, out there in the future. Maybe you can reach it again someday, but it won’t be easy and it won’t be soon. In the meantime: “You try and think of other things. You make the workout a little harder. You focus on your breathing. You try and be as normal as you can.” They’ll be out there again Wednesday morning, too, all these runners — including the self-dubbed “Zombie” group of Howard County enthusiasts that meets every Wednesday at 5 a.m. and does seven to 12 miles through the planned neighborhoods of Columbia. “We’re those crazy people, out there at 5 a.m.,” said their leader, Dwight Mikulis of Ellicott City. “We’re going to push on.” The next thing the running community is going to have to face, of course, is what to do about all the upcoming events — the 5Ks and 10Ks and marathons and ultras, both the local ones and the ones in far-flung places that draw from across the globe. Do you still put on your event? Do you cancel it? Do you stash policemen at every quarter-mile? Do you still take that cross-country trip for the destination marathon you’ve been training for all these months? On Tuesday, organizers of this weekend’s GW Parkway Classic, a 10-mile and 5K race, sent an e-mail to entrants warning of “enhanced security measures that will require your cooperation and patience.” Organizers of the Pike’s Peek 10K & Kids Fun Run, scheduled for Sunday in Rockville, have worked with local police to beef up the security presence for the event. “It takes a lot of dedication, resilience and hard work to prepare for any race, especially a marathon,” said Karen Kincer, president of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club. “You get the nothing’s-going-to-stop-me attitude. It’s not going to stop us. Things might be different now, but it’s the nature of the type of people we’re talking about. They don’t give up.” And so, yes, George Banker, the local running legend from Oxon Hill — 63 years old, with 92 marathons under his belt at last count — will be out there for number 93, the Potomac River Run Marathon on May 5. “You start to look forward: Do I stay home and not run anymore? No, but maybe I will be a little more vigilant when I’m out there,” Banker said. “I’ll


Travel industry cautious about bombing aftermath

the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Airlines, in particular, hemorrhaged jobs and revenue as would-be travelers remained on the sideline, unsure about whether it was safe to take a trip. “Terrorism has had effects historically on travel, but until we know more about exactly what happened, I don’t know that you could really make a judgment call on how it would affect travel going forward,” said Mike McKean, founder and chief executive of the Knowland Group, a District-based data company that gathers information on meetings and events in the travel industry. Gloria Bohan, founder and president of Omega World Travel in Fairfax, worried the bombings could discourage some from attending big events. The bombing “causes doubt, apprehension. It’s got to have an economic impact,” Bohan said, especially if the hassles of entering the United States dissuade foreigners from vacationing here. Still, because this week’s attack took place in a public space, and not on airplane or other form of transport, it may not deal a blow to the travel industry in the same way that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks did. Indeed, that seemed to be the view of investors. Indexes that track airline and hotel stocks fell roughly 4 percent on Monday before bouncing back Tuesday. “I don’t think travelers will at all be concerned about this,” said Fred Malek, chairman of Thayer Lodging, a private equity firm that invests in the hotel industry. “It’s an isolated incident and not related to travel.” Destination D.C., a tourism marketing organization for the region, said that Tuesday was mostly business as usual for it. Robin McClain, the organization’s director of communications, said the group’s visitor information number received three phone calls Tuesday inquiring about any repercussions here. “We really aren’t handling anything differently, we’re just trying to assure anyone that may inquire that Washington is at a heightened state of alert,” McClain said, but that its tourist attractions remain open and ready for business. Their hope, McClain said, is that travelers are receptive to their message. “Our hearts go out to the folks that are affected yesterday by what happened,” McClain said. However, “People in the tourism industry, we don’t want the takeaway to be to not go and travel and have those experiences that can be so great.” More on this story: When others ran away, this bystander ran in 8 facts about terrorism Essay: Why the terrorists can’t win


Kathleen Parker: The day after the Boston bombings

“I” went to Fenway Park. It’s those right-wing gun nuts. Clearly a Muslim. Round ’em up. Blame the gays. Where’s Bush? President Obama More security, more intel, that’s what’s needed. Sure. More cameras, more spot checks, longer lines. The gift of terror isn’t fear; it’s loss of freedom. We are unafraid. Be very afraid. “We want you to be vigilant,” says a stern official. “We do have a threat . . . but we want you to go about your business.” Okay. But who did it? The Taliban in Pakistan says, “Not us.” Would the real terrorist please stand up? Black helicopter alert: Did someone really ask Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) whether the bombings were a “false flag” so government could take away our guns? “No,” deadpans Patrick. “Next question?” A radio jock says, “Something’s very fishy.” A badly burned Saudi student is a “person of interest.” Ban marathons, quips a poster (posts a quipster?) on National Review Online. Too many high-capacity runners. No race needs more than seven runners. The jokes begin, not because anyone thinks anything is funny. Dark humor helps us breathe when reality is too terrible. Is it too soon to say unpleasant things about Roger Ebert? Margaret Thatcher wouldn’t mind. “We have to be right all the time,” says Tom Ridge, former head of homeland security. Only police states get things “right” all the time. How do you screen 26,000 backpacks? You don’t. Tagg Romney is talking Parents of children from Newtown, Conn., were among spectators watching the race, the last mile of which was dedicated to the 20 children and six adults who were killed by another maniac. And now a word from our sponsors. The psychic brutality of such events, whether an elementary school shooting or a bombing at the finish line of a marathon on a glorious spring day, is singularly too much. Cumulatively, they have a killing effect on the human soul. We can say all the right things and hug our children more tightly. We can make pronouncements and promises. But the deep, mortal wound of man’s inhumanity to man continues to be unfathomable. The challenge isn’t only to prevent the next act of terror. It is to avoid becoming accustomed to the horror. Read more from Kathleen Parker’s archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. Read more from Opinions: E.J. Dionne Jr.: Patriots’ Day defiled


Harold Meyerson: Taking the ‘service’ out of the service sector

Wal-Mart’s shelves. Businessweek reports that “pallets of merchandise are piling up in its stockrooms as shelves go unfilled” and overworked employees can’t find the time to restock the products. According to the minutes of a Feb. 1 managers meeting that the magazine obtained, Bill Simon, the company’s U.S. chief executive, acknowledged that Wal-Mart was “getting worse” at stocking shelves. The company has placed or tied for last among department and discount stores in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for several years. Wal-Mart is no J.C. Penney, however: For many shoppers, disgruntled or not, it’s still the only game in town. One lesson that emerges from the experience of low-end retailers is that putting workers in crummy, low-wage jobs tends to yield crummy service as well. McDonald’s earnings have fallen, the Wall Street Journal reports, and a management webcast to franchise owners acknowledged that customer dissatisfaction is rising in part because “service is broken.” But are mass retailers compelled to skimp on labor costs by slashing their workforce and paying the minimum wage or close to it? Some of the most successful retailers follow a different path. As MIT management professor Zeynep Ton argued in Harvard Business Review last year, Costco and Trader Joe’s pay their workers far more than many of their competitors, offer their employees opportunities for promotion and enjoy markedly lower worker turnover and far higher sales per employee than their low-road counterparts. Sales per employee at Costco are nearly double that at Sam’s Club. Problem is, the Wal-Mart model of employment and service not only reflects but also reinforces the declining economic prospects of the majority of Americans. The nation’s largest private-sector employer has used its market power to impose its low-wage model all along its supply chain, leaving millions of Americans with no shopping option other than the kind of discount, and frustrating, experience that Wal-Mart provides. The U.S. economy that Wal-Mart has built — with plenty of help from Wall Street and the government — is in the shape of a downward spiral, and it will take all our ingenuity, and a mass movement for worker power, to free ourselves from that path. Read more from Harold Meyerson’s archive or follow him on Twitter. Read more from Opinions: Harold Meyerson: It’s not the left that’s changed; it’s the economy Ro Khanna: Five myths about manufacturing jobs Robert Samuelson: An economy that’s tearing our society apart


Issa challenges National Parks on severity of cuts

with a lengthy opening statement that detailed the effects of the $153 million cut the agency is being forced to take through the end of September. More than two-thirds of the total will come from the agency’s operating accounts, Jarvis told the committee, which means that each of the national parks and agency programs is required to shave 5 percent of its budget, he said. Parks were directed to prioritize the cuts so as to affect the fewest number of visitors during the busy summer season, and that is probably what the budget office representative who briefed the committee staff was referring to, Jarvis said. The National Park Service took a series of belt-tightening measures last year — before the spending cuts appeared to be inevitable — to deal with the possibility of smaller budgets, Jarvis said. He estimated these steps, which include leaving close to 900 permanent jobs unfilled, hiring 1,000 fewer seasonal employees, and cutting back on travel, overtime, supplies and equipment, will generate more than $63 million in savings. “The impacts of not filling permanent positions will be felt throughout every area of park operations,” Jarvis said. The automatic cuts, known as sequestration, kicked in March 1 and are the result of Congress’s failure to trim the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a decade. Federal agency budgets will be cut by $85 billion by the end of September, with the total split between the Defense Department and the rest of the government. Additional spending cuts would come in future years as long as the sequester remains in effect. U.S. Park Police will be the only permanent employees who have to be furloughed, Jarvis said. All 767 National Park Service employees and officers will be furloughed for 14 days in order to get $5.1 million in savings. Leaving so many permanent positions unfilled and having fewer seasonal employees will mean delayed road openings, reduced hours of operation for park programs and services, and fewer patrols, Jarvis said. Vacant natural resource management positions will make it difficult for parks to collect water quality data and monitor the condition of threatened and endangered species. Guided park programs and opportunities for direct contact with park rangers will also be reduced, he said. Some maintenance and repairs at parks will be deferred, Jarvis added, and there will be decreases in janitorial services for comfort stations and other public facilities. — Associated Press


Boston Marathon bombs had simple but harmful design, early clues indicate

carry out more of these attacks.” (Photos: Aftermath of the attacks) What appeared certain was that the bombs unleashed a relatively modest explosive force, compared with more lethal improvised explosive devices or suicide bombs in Iraq or Afghanistan. Yet the twin explosions were powerful enough to shatter windows and sever the limbs of multiple bystanders who were close to them. The fact that the bombs were not powerful enough to gouge craters in the sidewalk or inflict structural damage on nearby buildings suggested to some investigators that they had a common explosive such as black gunpowder, rather than something like plastic explosive. Black powder is widely sold at sporting goods and discount stores. DesLauriers said pieces of the bombs and residue have been sent for testing at the bureau’s laboratory at Quantico. “The black powder, or smokeless powder, you can buy in Wal-Mart or gun shops. It’s used for hobbies,” said Michael Bouchard, a former assistant director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “All you need is a fuel and an oxidizer, and the Internet is great for explaining how to do this.” Bouchard said the shock wave and hail of shrapnel might have caused more casualties, except for the fact that the bombs were probably placed on the ground and surrounded by tightly packed crowds of spectators who absorbed the worst of the impact. “There were so many people around it, they took the brunt of the blast,” Bouchard said. “They shielded the runners.” Other experts said they suspect that a single person or small group was probably behind the attack, in part because there has been no claim of responsibility. Several international terrorist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, have so far disavowed having any role in Monday’s bombing. “The location of the explosive devices in the crowd at the finish line indicates that the intent was to cause mass casualties rather than targeting specific individuals or assets,” said Alexia Ash, head of North America forecasting for Exclusive Analysis, a security consulting firm. Ash said the culprit clearly achieved “effective operational security. . . as well as the capability to construct several small but effective IEDs.” Other clues to the design of the bombs emerged when emergency room physicians in Boston confirmed that many victims suffered shrapnel wounds. Some who were standing near the bombs were struck dozens of times by what appeared to be BB-like


Life and death on Heartbreak Hill

the use of my hotel room. She could shower, change, get her bearings and get on her way to find family and friends without the chill factor. But suddenly, our walk through the crowds turned into a run. We heard a crushing explosive sound followed right away by another and then the Edvard Munch ‘screaming’ mouths of hundreds of frightened people who were quickly replaying September 11th without wanting to think it. Megan warmed up and thanked me, for nothing, I thought, but a simple kindness now overshadowed by human cruelty. And for some reason, this little gift to a stranger seemed to take on more mental significance than I could imagine in a world where people kill strangers for no reason that I will ever fully comprehend. When I returned to my room and saw my book cover staring at me, I thought of my own sudden meditations on life and death. I tried to prepare people to die better on the assumption that they would have the time to get their thoughts and finances and wisdom and regrets in order. Who am I kidding? One block over to the right, and it could have been me on the stretcher in the picture that keeps playing over and over on NBC coverage. And I understood with clarity the ancient Jewish saying that one should repent the day before one’s death. Since we never know when that will be, repent today. I had followed my own advice, bought our plots, wrote an ethical will, made sure our financial wills are in order and made my burial requests. I have tried to prepare as best I can, mulled over mistakes, considered regrets, tried to squeeze a little meaning and love from each day. I thought I was ready. I am not. But at least I have the basics in place. A young woman who was running the marathon with her mother told me that the explosion happened when they were at mile 24. Instead of ending the marathon then when it was officially shut down, her mother redirected them. The two of them ran another 2.6 miles with the help of a GPS and finished their own race. Some marathons have finish lines. Some don’t. Some people create their own finish lines. There were runners who came close to a finish line Monday but did not cross it and will never


Boston Marathon bombings: Investigators zero in on possible suspect

then by terror. They formed, if fleetingly, a community, and they reacted as one: Runners still in shorts on a brisk day rushed to give blood — so many that hospitals stopped accepting donations. Bostonians used social media to invite stranded runners to spend the night in their homes. Some spectators ran not away from the explosions but toward them, grabbing onto any cloth they could find to stanch the flow of blood from people they had never seen before. More of the injured would have died if strangers and emergency crews hadn’t immediately contained the bleeding, said Joseph Blansfield, program manager at the Boston Medical Center trauma unit. “Tourniquets are a difference maker; tourniquets can save a life,” he said. As she supervised a triage center for runners still looking to recover belongings and make their way home, Boston Health Commissioner Barbara Ferrer said, “So many volunteers have stepped up in so many big ways and small ways with thousands of acts of kindness.” Students at Boston College said they would walk the final five miles of the race route on Friday because, as organizers of the effort said, “we decide when our marathon ends.” Away from the site of the bombings, Boston sprang back a bit on Tuesday with Red Sox Nation resiliency — at least as much as it could, given that 12 blocks of the city’s Back Bay neighborhood remained cordoned off as the most complex crime scene in city history. Less than 24 hours after the attack, diners sat at tables adorned with white napkins outside 5 Napkin Burger. At Dartmouth and Stuart streets, the corner Starbucks was offering free coffee and pastries. A few blocks away, city officials delivered 1,500 gear bags that had been waiting at the finish line for runners who didn’t get to complete the race. Along several city blocks, investigators continued the search for physical and digital clues. A federal law enforcement official said the FBI was examining cellphone activity on towers near the scene — data that could be useful if the explosives were detonated by phone. If the data yield suspicious numbers, investigators can get the subscriber’s billing information. If the phone was a disposable model, it’s possible to learn where it was bought. Surveillance cameras near the point of sale could provide further clues, former prosecutors said. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security


Faith in Boston

would otherwise seem random and hopeless. But to name the problem is far easier than to deal with it. Though his statement has nothing to do with God, I took comfort in the words of a Presbyterian Minister: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Fred Rogers was a living example of such compassion on and off the television screen. We have seen the same on the streets of Boston. And so when we turn to religion in this troubled time, we should not ask, “where is God?” but, “how can I help?” Compassion is bandaging up a leg and lending a shoulder to cry on. It is driving one runner home and giving another money for a meal and a train ticket. These are the stories I have heard in the wake of the explosions. Compassion is one of the greatest resources religions can offer Boston right now. Vigils show not only sympathy, but solidarity across religious lines. And so we pray for the dead, the injured, the loved ones; the responders and all who offer care and protection; we even pray for the perpetrators of the violence. When politics and law come to dominate the story of the Boston Marathon tragedy, we must remember compassion and the comfort we found in one another Monday afternoon. This year marked my first running of the Boston Marathon, and throughout the race I was amazed by volunteers’ kindness and spectators’ enthusiasm. Roughly 27,000 athletes put in millions of miles of training, but the race could not have happened without the support of thousands of helpers. Every cup of Gatorade poured for racers, every cheer, every clap contributed to a marvel of collective human achievement. The physical and psychic wounds are most visible here in Boston, but the pain radiates outward with every runner’s return home. The grief extends even to those who knew not a single runner, who have never set foot in New England and who have never run a race. Religion can help to heal these wounds. We are brought together by trust in a higher being, or deeper meaning, or the promise of paradise. Even lacking this, we come together as humans inhabiting the same space, extending warmth and compassion to one another.


Boston Marathon bombing threatens the few true communities we have left

2001. Organizers of other road races, such as our own Marine Corps Marathon, will re-evaluate their own security measures. So will team owners and facility managers. We’ve gotten more or less accustomed to bag searches and security wandings at the airport, at arenas and stadiums, even at schools — too accustomed, perhaps. The violations of our personal space are so ubiquitous, it’s easy to forget a time when they simply didn’t happen. But now, at least for a time, they again will be reminders of the world we live in, of who and what is lurking out there, waiting to strike. There will be less grumbling in line at the airport and at the turnstile. It won’t last, but we’ll be more vigilant. For awhile. For some sports fans, turnstiles will no longer be an appealing option. Many already are choosing the comfort of their living rooms and high-definition televisions over the time and money necessary to attend events. Will this drive more people into their basements? Will we, as a society, continue to turn inward, choosing communication with strangers via Twitter over talking to fellow fans in neighboring seats? So many communities aren’t communities any longer; they are fragmented by social or political or economic differences. Sports communities remain. College fans gather at local watering holes to watch games with their fellow alums. NFL season ticket holders become fast friends with the fans in the seats around them, even if they meet just eight Sundays a year. And the running community is one of the strongest. Runners often run alone, but they have shared experiences, and they’re incredibly supportive of each other. Even people on opposing sides can find common ground at sporting events. Cardinals fans will be thrown together with Nats fans next week at Nationals Park. They’ll root for different outcomes, but they’ll have a love of baseball in common. When Pittsburgh comes to Verizon Center, I always see couples walking hand in hand on F Street, one in a Penguins jersey, the other in a Caps jersey. They love hockey, just not the same hockey team. Even the most shy among us can strike up a conversation based on a jersey. Those experiences are what will be lost if spectators decide to avoid sporting events, and that’s a shame. We have very few communities to spare these days. For m ore by Tracee Hamilton, visit washingtonpost.com/hamilton.


China reports another spate of bird flu

disease, most importantly closing down chicken markets. And many urban residents who keep pigeons as pets are trying to figure out what to do with their beloved birds. So far, it does not appear that this strain of bird flu has spread from person to person, which government officials have stressed. But one new case involves a 4-year-old who has tested positive for the flu virus without showing any symptoms; a World Health Organization official in Geneva said the child might have caught it from “close and prolonged contact” with one of the other patients. “I think we’re in unknown territory,” Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in an e-mail. “The risk is that the H7N9 virus mutates so that it no longer just jumps from birds to people, but starts to go from people to people as in all the big flu pandemics.” Hotez said there is “no evidence this has happened yet, but it’s something that requires vigilance.” He added that “the likelihood of a true pandemic is still small — but not zero.” Various ramifications The bird flu, which has killed more than one in every five people who have caught it, poses a political as well as public health challenge for the Chinese government. In 2002, an epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out in Guangdong, but the Chinese government under then-president Jiang Zemin did not report it to the World Health Organization until February 2003, after reports appeared elsewhere. Even then, the government underestimated the number of cases, hindering a more effective response, according to its critics. Ultimately, SARS infected 8,273 people and killed 775 in 37 countries. When Jiang’s successor, Hu Jintao, took office in March 2003, he and his premier, Wen Jiabao, sought to distinguish themselves by providing more information about the SARS epidemic. Now people are watching whether newly installed President Xi Jinping and provincial and local leaders fully disclose the extent of the bird flu, or whether they try to play down the number and severity of cases to avoid any economic impact from a flu scare. And the economic impact could be considerable. Since reports of flu surfaced two weeks ago, China’s poultry sector has sustained losses of more than $1.6 billion, an official at the country’s National Poultry Industry Association told the Reuters news agency


Even online sleuths question the wisdom of crowdsourcing Boston investigation

Apparently convinced they could supplement the FBI’s Boston marathon investigation, Internet vigilantes on Reddit, 4chan and other online message boards began their own crowdsourced sleuthing shortly after midnight on April 17. But as annotated photos from the scene went viral, some of the self-styled sleuths seemed to back off their quest — noting, as many critics had already, that vigilante meddling could hurt innocent people. “You may get lucky and your pet suspect turns out to be the bomber,” reads a warning post on the Reddit thread “findBostonbombers.” “But I’ve seen at least 10 people singled out, and not all of you are correct. You should be very very careful about picking and choosing who you think might have killed three people and wounded many more, based on where they were standing and if they were carrying a backpack or not.” In many cases, that type of circumstantial “evidence” is all the hivemind is running on. One man, dubbed the “blue robe guy,” has been flagged repeatedly on Reddit for holding a black and silver backpack over one arm, rather than on his back. Two of Reddit’s other favorite “suspicious males” are noteworthy, commenters write, because they have a backpack in some early photos, and do not seem to have it in others. They also appear to be of Middle Eastern or African descent, a fact not lost on vigilantes. On 4Chan, one user posted an aerial photo from the marathon with bold red text superimposed over one man: “1: ALONE 2: BROWN 3: Black backpack 4: Not watching,” it says. Reddit users eventually noted that the man in question might not have been watching because he — like other men on the scene wearing black jackets, khaki pants and army boots — could have been law enforcement. And there are, notably, at least five other people carrying black backpacks in the very same frame. As Will Oremus notes over at Slate, this type of crowdsourcing, as futile as it looks, has proven effective before. Last year, for instance, a Redditor identified the make and model of a car involved in a hit-and-run after looking at a photo of its right headlight. But vigilantism could also have very serious consequences, both for the innocent people whose photos are now annotated all over the Internet, and for the ongoing investigation itself. Reddit appears to have woken up to the fact: Shortly


Terror, torture and truth

used interrogation techniques on detainees that constitute torture, that there is “no firm or persuasive evidence” that this torture produced information of value, that the torture was authorized by the highest level political leaders, that the Office of Legal Counsel “repeatedly gave erroneous legal sanction” to torture, and that medical professional violated their professional ethical obligations when they participated in the torture and coercive interrogation. The report also documents problems that are on-going today and need immediate address: the high level of secrecy about rendition and torture of detainees is not warranted, that the Army Field Manual has been amended (2006) to arguably permit cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and should be changed, and the transfer of detainees from U.S. control to Afghanistan control has resulted in the infliction of torture in violation of international obligations. As I noted earlier, the forced feeding of hunger striking detainees at Guantanamo should be stopped, as it is abuse. In addition, a majority of the task force finds the indefinite detention at Guantanamo “abhorrent and intolerable.” One detainee lawyer interviewed for the report called indefinite detention “moral despair.” Even today, do the American people want to know the truth about the torture of 9/11 detainees? Do we want to know how many actually died from torture, how many were rendered to “black sites,” and the legal gymnastics employed to bypass the law? Do we want to know about detainee abuse that continues even today? Past, present and future, the only way to free yourself and your nation from complicity in great evils is to face the truth, honestly and without excuses. That is why Scripture teaches that when you know the truth it will set you free. Telling the truth about the past doesn’t change the past, but it enables you live honestly in the present, and even avoid some of those mistakes in the future. But what has happened, since we have not rigorously examined this literally “tortured past” of our country, is that grave mistakes are continuing to be made. Forced feeding clearly continues at Guantanamo, as, of course, does indefinite detention. The actual way forward is for there to be more transparency. The Senate Intelligence Committee should release its report as well. The many diverse faith-based members of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, of which I am a proud member, have been working through an interfaith effort to encourage


The president again turns a blind eye to Russia’s misdeeds

ACCORDING TO the State Department, the government of the Russian republic of Chechnya under Ramzan Kadyrov “has committed and continues to commit such serious human rights violations and abuses as extrajudicial killing, torture, disappearances and rape.” Mr. Kadyrov, State added in an August 2011 letter, “has been implicated personally” in “the killing of U.S. citizen Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who had reported widely on human rights abuses in Chechnya.” Yet when the Obama administration released on Friday a list of Russian officials who are to be subject to a visa ban and an asset freeze because of their complicity in human rights crimes, Mr. Kadyrov was not on it. The list of names — mandated by Congress in legislation that the administration strongly resisted — is a step toward holding the regime of Vladimir Putin accountable for its abuses, but it also is another example of President Obama’s questionable catering to the Kremlin. Sixteen of the 18 names on the sanctions list are connected to Sergei Magnitsky, a whistleblowing Russian lawyer who died after being imprisoned and abused; it was his case that prompted Congress to pass the law last year. Under its provisions, the administration is required to identify Russian officials complicit in the persecution of Mr. Magnitsky, as well as in other human rights crimes, and publicly sanction them. Some advocates of the law wondered why the list was so short; some 60 Russian officials have been connected to Mr. Magnitsky’s case alone, not to mention other notorious cases such as that of Ms. Politkovskaya, who was gunned down on Mr. Putin’s birthday in 2006. There are some good reasons: An asset freeze by the Treasury Department, which can be subject to legal challenge, has to meet a relatively high standard of evidence. Administration officials concede, however, that some names were left off the list for political reasons. One is Mr. Kadyrov, who reportedly is included in a classified annex of officials who are to be denied visas but not be subject to an asset freeze. We were told that the administration did not want to target senior officeholders, out of concern that Russian reciprocation would ban members of Congress, Cabinet members or state governors (the equivalent of Mr. Kadyrov) from visiting Russia, further complicating U.S.-Russian relations at a time when Mr. Obama is still seeking to strike deals with Mr. Putin. As it is, the Kremlin issued


In Boston blasts, veterans shift into combat mode

service members have experienced since 2002, when they started using IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan.” As smoke wafted across Boylston Street and maimed marathon spectators lay across a bloody sidewalk, one veteran, an Army colonel and runner, shifted into combat mode as he crossed the finish line. He turned back into the chaos, peeled off his Team Red, White & Blue T-shirt and tied it as a tourniquet on the limb of a bombing victim. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the bombings, is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and, if convicted, could face the death penalty. The April 15 bombings killed three people and injured more than 260. A combat veteran who served in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart, the colonel later refused to allow a team spokesman to release his name after snippets of his actions were caught on video. Turning T-shirts into tourniquets is not something most spectators along the marathon course would have had much experience with. “When we’re deployed, we all carry tourniquets — nice ones,” said Mullaney, 30, of Cumberland, Md., now a graduate student at Tufts University. “When you see missing limbs, the first thing all of us know is to tie a tourniquet.” There are more than 485,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are thought to be suffering from “invisible wounds” — PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other psychological and emotional maladies, said Larry Olson, a spokesman for Team Red, White & Blue. The physical and emotional benefits of exercise have been exhaustively studied and documented. Exercising in groups brings veterans isolated by their combat experience back into their communities, Erwin said. More than 10,000 veterans and supporters in 36 states have signed up to be part of the organization, running, trail running, training for triathlons and doing yoga. “Exercise is therapeutic. It allows you to think and process. And it’s a hell of a lot better than sitting across from a shrink,” Erwin said. “Running is such a more natural and organic way for veterans to share things on their minds.” So the Boston Marathon became a maximum therapy session Monday for 17 Team Red, White & Blue participants, running the rolling hills from Hopkinton, through Natick, Newton and Wellesley, and then into Boston until, by the time Mullaney and Collazo approached, it became a war zone. “Some lady on the street said there’s been a bomb


Security video may show Boston Marathon bomb suspect; report of arrest premature

reporting, there have been no arrests made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. . . . Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.” CNN said it “had three credible sources on both local and federal levels” for its reports. “As soon as our sources came to us with new information, we adjusted our reporting.” In Boston, police barricades still ringed a 12-block area around the finish line, guarded by city police and the Massachusetts National Guard. Doug Silkwood, a runner wearing his official marathon jacket, stopped at the barricade and recalled how he’d expected his first Boston Marathon to end with “hundreds of thousands of people having a great time.” The bombings dashed all that, said Silkwood, 47, an engineer from San Jose: “It’s probably easier to protect a Boston Celtics game than an open event like the marathon,” but he said he plans to return next year, “to do it out of spite.” At Boston Medical Center, Jenny Chung, a 35-year-old teacher, was released at midday, less than 48 hours after shrapnel was blown into her chest, two inches from her heart. She wore an honorary marathon finisher’s medal and carried a teddy bear that relatives had sent her. The medal was a gift from a marathon volunteer; Chung did not run the race, but was a spectator, there to watch a friend whose run ended prematurely. Chung had been poised to video her friend’s triumphant finish when she was knocked to the ground. She felt little pain as she and her friends hurried away. Only when she got to a friend’s apartment did she see blood oozing from her chest. She went to the hospital, where doctors quickly operated to remove the fragment. Investigators collected all her clothing, including her sneakers, for possible clues, she said. At the finish line, Chung had stood with her runner friend’s boyfriend, who held a half dozen yellow helium balloons. Shrapnel from the blast cut open the boyfriend’s calf, and popped some of the balloons. The rest slipped from his grasp as he fell. In video of the scene, a few yellow balloons drift upward, above the carnage. Vernon Loeb in Boston, Steven Mufson in Beijing and Caitlin Dewey in Washington contributed to this report.


World Bank, in a changed economy, pushes focus to building a middle class

poorer nations. The IBRD, on the basis of capital paid in by members such as the United States, sells bonds on the open market and lends that money to developing countries, charging upfront fees and interest. A draft of the “Common Vision for the World Bank Group,” posted online by the Government Accountability Project, describes an organization “overstretched” by the breadth of what it does and needing to “identify and validate our actual comparative advantages in the context of today’s global economic landscape.” “Even if extreme poverty has ended in many countries — and were to end globally in the foreseeable future . . . poverty continues to exist in most countries as defined by the specific standards of each society,” the document states, in a focus on relative rather than absolute measures of deprivation. The bank, the document said, will begin to analyze incomes and economic progress for “the bottom forty percent of every country,” providing it a perpetual constituency and potentially pushing its attention to issues of income inequality in the developed world. The strategy is meeting criticism from a number of directions — from civil groups worried that the bank is poised to weaken some of its safeguards to encourage development, and others who say that Kim is using ambitious language to describe incremental change. Analysts at the Center for Global Development have argued that Kim should be bolder in admitting that the bank’s core mission is contracting: A number of the countries that qualify for concessional lending, for example, are expected to “graduate” in coming years, leaving the IDA with a remnant group of fragile and conflict states. Kim, speaking in the open “bullpen” where he works alongside top bank staff members, said in the interview that the twin goals he has proposed will help sharpen the bank’s focus regardless of where it works. The poorer parts of the world, particularly conflict states, will remain the World Bank’s “bread and butter,” Kim said. But he also says the massive infrastructure needs in India or China’s battle to control pollution and better manage its cities are central to the bank’s mission. The bank even has a toehold in the euro zone, providing technical assistance to Greece on efforts to improve the business climate. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim speaks at a news conference of the 2013 Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank


Boston Marathon profiteers

been vetted. Check out more tips on safe donations from the Alliance here. Financial Fraud AARP and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is offering a free, online interactive discussion on Tuesday, April 23, at 2 p.m. Experts will be available to answer your questions about protecting your retirement savings. There will also be tips on spotting the common warning signs of a scam and on checking out your financial professional. You can submit a question in advance by e-mailing moneywebinars@aarp.org, or ask your questions during the live conversation. Register here. Let’s Talk Money Today Every Thursday I answer your money questions live. So join me online at noon ET . If you’re trying to get out of debt, perhaps I can help. If you’re fighting with your spouse about money, maybe I can offer some suggestions to get you on the same financial page. Or come and share your thoughts about a recent personal finance story or column you read. Monday Money I love answering your questions, but I often don’t have enough time to respond to all of them during my online chat. So, staring on Monday, April 22, I’ll have a new online feature, Michelle’s Mailbag. I’ll be answering the questions I couldn’t get to during the live chat and pulling in questions you send to me thorough e-mail (colorofmoney@washpost.com), Twitter (@SingletaryM) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/MichelleSingletary.com). To check out the mailbag questions starting Monday click here. Stupid Works at Work How’s this for a revelation that may change your mind about co-workers you think are idiots. Researchers have concluded in an article in the Journal of Management Studies that stupidity can increase efficiency, reports CNNMoney. “When too many clever individuals in an organization raised their hands to suggest alternative courses of action, or to ask disquieting questions about decisions and structures,” work slowed, CNNMoney’s Megan Hustad writes. But, “people content in an atmosphere of functional stupidity came to consensus more easily, and with that consensus came greater roll-up-our-sleeves enthusiasm for concentrating on the job.” In some cases being smart can get you stuck in a position. For example, a good assistant might not be promoted because her boss can’t function without her, Hustad writes. Hustad’s take on the research is fascinating. It gives new meaning to “stupid is as stupid does.” Color of Money Question of the Week Has there been a time when playing stupid got


FBI releases images of two suspects in Boston Marathon bombings

no arrests made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. . . . Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.” CNN said it “had three credible sources on both local and federal levels” for its reports. “As soon as our sources came to us with new information, we adjusted our reporting.” In Boston, police barricades still ringed a 12-block area around the finish line, guarded by city police and the Massachusetts National Guard. Doug Silkwood, a runner wearing his official marathon jacket, stopped at the barricade and recalled how he’d expected his first Boston Marathon to end with “hundreds of thousands of people having a great time.” The bombings dashed all that, said Silkwood, 47, an engineer from San Jose: “It’s probably easier to protect a Boston Celtics game than an open event like the marathon,” but he said he plans to return next year, “to do it out of spite.” At Boston Medical Center, Jenny Chung, a 35-year-old teacher, was released at midday Wednesday, less than 48 hours after shrapnel was blown into her chest, two inches from her heart. She wore an honorary marathon finisher’s medal and carried a teddy bear that relatives had sent her. The medal was a gift from a marathon volunteer; Chung did not run the race, but was a spectator, there to watch a friend whose run ended prematurely. Chung had been poised to video her friend’s triumphant finish when she was knocked to the ground. She felt little pain as she and her friends hurried away. Only when she got to a friend’s apartment did she see blood oozing from her chest. She went to the hospital, where doctors quickly operated to remove the fragment. Investigators collected all her clothing, including her sneakers, for possible clues, she said. At the finish line, Chung had stood with her runner friend’s boyfriend, who held a half dozen yellow helium balloons. Shrapnel from the blast cut open the boyfriend’s calf, and popped some of the balloons. The rest slipped from his grasp as he fell. In video of the scene, a few yellow balloons drift upward, above the carnage. Branigin reported from Washington. Vernon Loeb in Boston, Steven Mufson in Beijing and Sari Horwitz, Ellen Nakashima and Caitlin Dewey


I’ve run marathons and reported on terrorism. Not usually on the same day.

the medical talent the city commits to runner safety. World-class emergency room physicians populate the medical tent just past the finish line, and solicitous nurses and medical personnel ask if you’re okay at the even slightest wobble. This year, the medical personnel deployed like combat doctors, racing down Boylston Street, where they stabilized 90 victims and loaded them into ambulances in half an hour. Without their presence at the finish line, more people undoubtedly would have died. I ran my first Boston Marathon in 1996, the 100th running, when race organizers opened up the field and let more than 38,000 runners participate. When my oldest daughter was a student at Boston University, I ran four in a row from 2007 to 2010. She and her friends would make signs and cheer me on. We’d have a big party after the race, and the tradition was that I would give my finisher’s medal to whomever came up with the best cheer. I warmly remembered those days on Monday, before the bombs went off and Boylston Street was covered in blood. I would never equate the importance of running marathons with the persistence and dedication we ask of our counterterrorism professionals. But both fields demand intense preparation and a belief that little successes now can mean finishing a race months later. There is no instant gratification in either. Victory is elusive in both. Most marathon runners never win a race, they only finish. Counterterrorism officials, similarly, are fighting a war they never win. But like marathon runners, they carry on. Whether they’ve succeeded or failed comes down to how smart they’ve been and how hard they’ve tried. People who hunt terrorists never sleep well at night, in my observation. I remember then-CIA Director George J. Tenet, in the years before Sept. 11, taking his classified briefing on the dangers of al-Qaeda around Washington, pleading for attention. I remember thinking that Richard Clarke at the National Security Council was obsessed with Osama bin Laden, for good reason. I’ll never forget how John P. O’Neill, the FBI agent who spent his career hunting down Islamic terrorists, got pushed out of the bureau, went to work as security director for the World Trade Center in New York — and died in the 9/11 attacks. They would have been great marathoners. In the days after Sept. 11, I often wondered why al-Qaeda, in its quest to


Stronger Japan would boost U.S. interests in Asia

But Tokyo is right to worry about the implications of the growing gap between Chinese and Japanese power, and the United States has an overwhelming interest in a Japan that gets off the sidelines and back on its feet — economically, diplomatically and militarily. In fact, nothing would bolster the Obama administration’s rebalance of East Asia more than a reinvigorated Japan. While most of the Asian countries that China has tried to intimidate in recent years have been developing powers — considerably weaker and poorer than Beijing — Japan is still the world’s third-largest economy and a high-tech powerhouse that, despite spending less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, possesses one of the most advanced militaries in Asia. This means Japan is among the very few Asian powers with considerable untapped capacity not only to shoulder a greater share of its own defense but also to help the United States reinforce broader regional security — provided it can summon the political will to do so. Of particular importance will be the raft of defense reforms the Abe government is likely to take up later this year. These include steps that many U.S. strategists have long sought, such as a reinterpretation of the Japanese constitution that would allow Tokyo to engage in “collective self-defense” with Washington; the creation of a national security council to better manage decision-making; and, possibly, a boost in spending on the Japanese Self-Defense Forces beyond the modest increase adopted this year. The Obama administration has responded to Chinese-Japanese tensions over the Senkakus with appropriate caution, expressing support for its allies in Tokyo while urging “cooler heads to prevail.” At the same time, the next 12 to 24 months could prove a rare window of opportunity to take the U.S.-Japan alliance to the next level. Washington should strongly encourage the tough reforms that will allow Tokyo to play a larger role on the world stage. To be sure, Japan’s structural problems, particularly in its economy and demographics, are daunting and deeply rooted. Even with China providing an inadvertent push, it is far too early to judge whether the Abe government will prove capable of overcoming these — the real key to long-term renewal. But even a partial reversal, or deceleration, of Japan’s decline could make a big difference to the Asian balance of power and to the U.S. position in the region. Legend has


Anhydrous ammonia fertilizer: abundant, important, hazardous

Anhydrous ammonia, the substance that exploded catastrophically Wednesday at a company in West, Tex., near Waco has been used as a cheap, if somewhat hazardous, fertilizer since the 1940s. The chemical provides nitrogen to growing plants. That element is an essential constituent of proteins, which are the workhorse compounds of cells. The trouble is that while nitrogen gas makes up more than three-quarters of the Earth’s atmosphere, most living things can’t easily extract it from the air. They have to get it in a more accessible form. Anhydrous ammonia The pungent chemical is the same one used in many household cleaners, except that it has been purified to contain no water (which is what “anhydrous” means). To remain in liquid form it must be stored under high pressure. White cylindrical tanks holding anhydrous ammonia are part of the landscape of rural America. Ammonia burns, but not easily. It requires a high temperature (1204 degrees Fahrenheit) and the right ammonia-to-air-mixture (about 1-to-4) to catch fire. It’s not like propane or methane, which burn at lower temperatures and concentrations, making them far more dangerous. The hazards of anhydrous ammonia, however, aren’t small. Sprayed on skin or eyes, it causes severe burns. Inhaled as a gas, it can fatally damage the lungs. And stored in liquid form, it can explode under the right conditions. The explosions of liquids released from pressurized containers are called “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions”, or BLEVEs. Perhaps the most famous one in modern times was the explosion of a tank of liquid propane during in a fire in Kingman, Arizona, on July 5, 1973. It killed 11 firefighters and one railroad worker. A BLEVE doesn’t have to be triggered by a fire, although it usually is. The rapid evaporation of a chemical when the pressure keeping it in liquid form is released causes an explosion in itself. When that is supplemented by the near-instantaneous burning of the vapor, the result can be catastrophic. Neal Langerman, a chemist with the San Diego-based consulting company called Advanced Chemical Safety, speculated the explosion in West happened this way: Anhydrous ammonia tanks are never more than 85 percent filled with the liquid chemical. The other 15 percent of the space is taken up by ammonia in gas form. When the fire got to the tanks it heated the part of the tank over the gas bubble to the point where it melted.


Kepler telescope spots two planets in life-friendly orbit

Over the past 12 months, scientists have captured stunning images of the planets, a galaxy, a planetary nebula and more from space. Planet-hunting astronomers revealed Thursday that they’d found two tantalizing worlds, seemingly congenial to life as we know it, orbiting a star 1,200 light-years away. Neither planet has been seen directly, and whether they actually harbor living things is speculative. Their presence has been inferred by the dimming of their parent star at regular intervals, as observed by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler 62-f is just a bit larger than Earth — 1.41 Earth radii, to be precise — and it’s in the so-called Goldilocks position, orbiting the star (Kepler 62) at a distance where water could be splashing freely at the surface. The scientists think Kepler 62-f is a rocky planet like our own. They also found Kepler 62-e, which is 1.6 times the radius of the Earth. It is closer to the parent star and warmer, but also within what is presumed to be the habitable zone. Scientists think the size of Kepler 62-e makes it a good candidate for being a water world, completely covered by ocean. All told, the Kepler team revealed seven new planets in two planetary systems Thursday, publishing findings online in the journal Science and holding a news conference at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, best known for tweeting images of Earth from the international space station and singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” as he made the first-ever music video made aboard a spacecraft, landed in Kazakhstan. Here are some of his photos of our planet from afar. “This is really cool,” said Pete Worden, the director of NASA Ames. The Kepler telescope was launched in 2009 and has found more than 100 planets to date. The ultimate goal of planet-hunting astronomers is to find a true Earth twin, a planet that is no larger than our own and in an Earth-like orbit. Kepler 62-f comes very close. The mass of the planet is unknown, but computer models suggest that it must be a rocky planet like our own, and not a gas giant like Jupiter or Saturn or an ice world like Uranus or Neptune. “We think that it may have significant land masses,” Kepler lead scientist William J. Borucki said. The first exoplanet — a planet outside our solar system — was found


After Texas explosion, a hunt for survivors amid blocks of rubble

and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The company showed it had properly labeled its cargo trucks, according to the documents, and also provided a cover page and table of contents for “their new security plan,” although that plan is not listed. The government then reduced the penalty to $5,250. The Environmental Protection Agency fined West Fertilizer Co. $2,300 in 2006 for having a deficient risk management plan, according to the agency. The EPA “found a number of deficiencies” with the retail facility during its March 16, 2006, inspection, said EPA spokeswoman Alisha Johnson. They included a failure to update the plan, which was due two years earlier; a failure to address the hazards identified in the company’s safety review; poor employee training records; and the lack of a formal written maintenance program. In the case of West Fertilizer, Johnson wrote in an e-mail, the facility fell under the requirement because “the quantity of ammonia on-site exceeds 10,000 lbs.” She added that the company “has not had a major accident in the last five-years.” The same year that the EPA fined the facility, state regulators investigated and cited it after receiving complaints about its ammonia emissions, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “Ammonia Smell very bad last night from Fertilizer Plant, lingered until after they went to bed,” reads the June 6, 2006, report. A nearby elementary school was evacuated in February because of a fire at the plant, according to a memo that the local school superintendent, Marty Crawford, sent to staff and parents. Crawford wrote that the 911 dispatcher “did not acknowledge” that the retail facility “was carrying out a controlled burn of pallets and brush” and that “the district has asked emergency service providers for advanced notification in the future when the plant decided to conduct a burn.” The memo did not say how the school, which serves fourth- and fifth-graders, learned or confirmed that the facility had been carrying out a “coordinated burn.” The explosion came on a grim anniversary for the Waco area. Twenty years ago this week, 76 members of the fringe Branch Davidians religious group were killed after setting fire to their building when federal agents attempted to serve a search warrant. Brown reported from Washington. Darryl Fears, Juliet Eilperin, Julie Tate and Ann Gerhart in Washington contributed to this report. Cody Permenter, a reporter for the Texas Tribune, contributed from West, Tex.


Tsarnaev brothers’ homeland was war-torn Chechnya

the governing body for Olympic-style boxing, as early as 2003 and steadily rose through the ranks. By 2009, he reached the national Golden Gloves tournament in Salt Lake City, where he lost in a three-round decision bout with a boxer from Chicago. Colleagues all described him as athletic and aggressive. “He was tall, taller than most of the guys, and tough,” said Paul Barry, vice president of the New England Boxing Association in Worcester, Mass., who once judged one of Tamerlan’s bouts. Tamerlan was arrested in 2009 and charged with domestic assault and battery after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, according to Spotcrime.com, an online source of crime information. Tamerlan was married to Katherine Russell, 23, and the couple had a baby daughter, according to neighbors. They met while Katherine was studying at a college in Boston and recently spent considerable time at her childhood home in North Kingstown, R.I., according to neighbors. Russell’s family gave a typewritten statement to reporters at their home Friday evening that read in part: “We cannot begin to comprehend how this horrible tragedy occurred. In the aftermath of the Patriot’s Day horror, we know that we never really knew Tamerlane [sic] Tsarnaev.” Her mother, Judith Russell, declined to comment further. One next-door neighbor, Paula Gillettte, said Katherine had gone through a dramatic transition in her dress since going to college in Boston. When she returned for visits, she was wearing a head covering and the long-flowing gowns of traditional Muslim women; she also stayed inside more. In 2011, Dzhokhar graduated high school, where he was the captain of the wrestling team, and went on to study at the University of Massachusetts. He hoped to become a dentist. Dzhokhar was an avid skateboarder, and the night before the Monday bombings he cruised down Norfolk Street toward the house where his family has lived, said Caprice Ruff, 18, a grocery store cashier who lives about five houses away, across the street, on the same block in Cambridge. She and family members were on their porch, and one called out a greeting and complimented him on his skateboard about 10:30 p.m., Ruff recalled. He answered something like, “Yeah, thanks,” she said. Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the suspected bombers, said he is ashamed of them and earlier Friday urged Dzhokhar to turn himself in and beg forgiveness from the bombing victims. Asked what provoked his nephews, he replied:


FTC: Donating to Boston victims? Check charity credentials first.

charity. For example, the FTC recommends doing a quick search to see how its reputation stands with the Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch or GuideStar. ●Ask for a receipt from the charity, which will verify it as tax deductible. ●Avoid sending cash. It’s not secure to send cash through the mail, and you also will not get a receipt to claim the donation on your taxes. The FTC has also recommended sending donations to charities that you already have a relationship with, to avoid the possibility that you’re giving to an organization set up simply to take advantage of the situation. To add a few more things to keep in mind: You should also follow your instincts about whether an e-mail seems fishy or not. If the grammar of the e-mail seems off or there are misspellings, you should delete the e-mail immediately. Don’t click on links in e-mails, even if they seem legitimate. It’s much safer to go straight to the Web site of the charity — for example, the Red Cross — rather than trusting a link in an e-mail that could be a clever fake and redirect you to another site. Finally, before you send money through a text message campaign, you should also verify that the charity you’re donating to is collecting money through text messages — and that the notice you’ve received is not the work of a spammer. By following these tips, you can be more confident that the money you’re giving is getting to the right people. Those exploiting the events in Boston may not simply be looking for money. You should also be wary of e-mails that are using subject lines related to the Boston Marathon bombings to spread malware. Security firm Trustwave posted a list of some of the subject lines being used in these e-mails. These include phrases such as “BREAKING-Boston Marathon Explosion” and “Boston Explosion Caught on Video.” The links in these e-mails connect to a site showing pictures of the marathon, but also contain a link to malware that the firm said will send more spam messages from infected computers. Related stories: Michelle Singletary: Boston Marathon profiteers Live blog: Boston Marathon bombing manhunt: Live updates as police look for Suspect Number 2 Sign up today to receive #thecircuit, a daily roundup of the latest tech policy news from Washington and how it is shaping business, entertainment and science.


Boeing 787 Dreamliner may fly again soon

to service on Friday when the Federal Aviation Administration approved design modifications for a malfunctioning battery system that caused a worldwide grounding of the new planes. “These changes to the 787 battery will ensure the safety of the aircraft and its passengers,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. Boeing’s stock bumped up nearly 2 percent Friday on reports that the 787 Dreamliner could be cleared to resume service within days. According to estimates, the grounding has cost Boeing $600 million. Officials at several airlines that recently had received 787s or were waiting for them have said they may seek to recover their losses from Boeing. The FAA ordered that new venting and containment systems be installed to the main and auxiliary battery systems. “A team of FAA certification specialists observed rigorous tests we required Boeing to perform and devoted weeks to reviewing detailed analysis of the design changes to reach this decision,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. The FAA added that it would monitor the fixes. “Any return to service of the modified 787 will only take place after the FAA accepts the work,” the agency said in a statement. “As the certifying authority, the FAA will continue to support other authorities around the world as they finalize their own acceptance procedures.” In January, the FAA The concern focused on the plane’s lithium batteries, which overheated in two 787s. In one case, alarms went off and the pilots smelled a burning battery on a domestic All Nippon Airways bound for Tokyo. ANA and Japan Airlines, which fly 24 of the 50 Dreamliners in service, grounded their 787s after the plane made an emergency landing. United is the only U.S. carrier flying 787s. The FAA said the two battery failures resulted in the release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage and smoke. In Tokyo, Japan’s transport minister, Akihiro Ota, said Friday that his agency’s review of the 787 problem was near completion, but he said it was unclear how quickly the plane could resume passenger service. In the United States, the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is continuing. The Dreamliner is the first in a generation of lighter, more fuel-efficient carbon-fiber airplanes in which electronics have replaced hydraulic control systems. The planes are priced between $207 million and $243 million, and Boeing says more than 800 of them are on order. Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and a top U.S. exporter.


Two D.C. marathoners pay tribute to Boston

It was going to be an emotional day for me, no matter what. The goal I had spent the past four years working toward finally came to fruition. I was running the Boston Marathon. I have never felt so excited and lucky at the starting line of a race as I did Monday. But about five miles in, I could tell it wasn’t going to be my day. Painful muscle cramps forced me stop at miles 11 and 25, but each time, I massaged them out and kept going. Because it was the Boston Marathon, and no matter how long it took me, I was going to finish. I crossed the finish line in 3 hours 43 minutes: About 15 minutes slower than I had planned, but I was thrilled. I am generally the type of runner who, during marathons, is completely in her own world. I appreciate the crowds, but they don’t do much to motivate me. But the crowds at this race pulled me through. I have never experienced adrenaline like that before. The fans carried me: the Wellesley women who urged me on after my first cramp (and a special thanks to the one who kissed me when I went in for a high-five), the families and business owners in Hopkinton and Natick, all the unofficial water stops manned by 10-year-olds and, of course, my friends and family spread out along the course. There were times I wanted to walk, to quit or to cry (and, by times, I mean pretty much the entire race after Mile 14 or so), but they kept me going. Saying that a marathon is the ultimate event of community spirit is an understatement. The support and admiration that pour out from the spectators and the camaraderie among the runners are indescribable. To me, that makes what happened Monday even more terrible: It happened at a moment when people had come together to support one another, it stopped thousands of runners from realizing their dreams of crossing that finish line, and most of all, it hurt the very people who helped keep me moving when I was hurting. If not for their shouts of encouragement, I might have crossed the finish line closer to when the bombs went off. Tragedies like this are eeriest when you feel like you just barely escaped — that many small, and difficult, decisions kept you out


Review: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra ‘Ring’

Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Hall was not very full for Thursday night’s performance by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. An abridged version of highlights from Wagner’s “Ring” turns out to be a hard sell. But you may have to hear it to understand why. It’s not unlike listening to excerpts of film scores, evoking the action of a dramatic work you know well — except that people who know Wagner well tend to want to hear it in the original form, like the act of “Die Walkure” that Alsop and the orchestra played in February. And people who don’t know Wagner are not likely to want to buy tickets to sit through an hour of it — not least because they won’t know what the heck is going on. Yes, there were supertitles over the stage, but they were vague at best and possibly confusing: You could learn from them that Brunnhilde sacrifices herself to save the world, but newcomers might be more interested to read that she rides her horse into her beloved’s funeral pyre while the gods go up in flames in the distance. Percussionist Colin Currie brought slyness to his role in “Der gerettete Alberich.” (Marco Borggreve) That the experience — a grouping of greatest hits, arranged into a single piece by Henk de Vlieger — felt like Wagner Lite is also unfair to both Alsop and the orchestra, who did some heavy lifting in some significant music. Alsop brought out none of the implicit mystery in the opening chords of the “Rheingold” prelude, when the music swirls up out of the deep and finally floods into a sunlit riverbed; here, they sounded heavy and routine, and generally too loud too fast. But they built to a lot of tension at other moments: Siegfried’s death, or the climax of the funeral march, or even the finale, which is the most film-score-like and arguably primitive section of the whole piece, as one leitmotif after another gives, in effect, cartoon instructions to the stage director: “Now fire! Now flood! Now Valhalla burning! Now redemption!” All of that, of course, was left to the imagination — and entirely closed to those who didn’t already know the leitmotifs in question. It was a nice idea for a program; Alsop paired the Wagner with Christoph Rouse’s percussion concerto “Der gerettete Alberich,” which deals with what happens to Wagner’s evil dwarf — the


Kathleen Parker: Forgiving a cheater requires spousal permission

CHARLESTON, S.C. A For stories and characters, one needs only a pair of walking shoes in this city, where recent attentions have turned to two salacious stories. One concerns a murder-for-hire plot involving a banker, his wife, his lover’s ex-husband and his ex-lover’s husband’s cellmate. Not to be confused with his soul mate. No, that designation refers to the other story making rounds on the cocktail circuit. Yes, he’s back, but maybe not for long. Mark Sanford, the former governor who disappeared for five days, allegedly to hike the Appalachian Trail, only to find himself in the arms of his lover (now his fiancee), is discovering that not every kid gets a comeback. What is it about the shamed male politician that he seems unable to accept when it’s over? This is strictly rhetorical, obviously. Part of the answer is hubris. Another part is history: Voters generally are forgiving once a person confesses and repents. But key to general forgiveness is the forgiveness of the wronged spouse. If Mrs. forgives, Joe and Jane Public usually do, too. The list of those who have sinned and recovered is too long for this space, though a couple serve the point — and at least one deserves special mention: Bill Clinton. Despite his well-known peccadilloes, the former president has become a respected global figure in the wake of his impeachment by the House of Representatives (the Senate failed to convict) on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. His personal sins mostly forgiven, he has emerged with his popularity largely intact. Perhaps the explanation lies in his overall likability as well as his good works through his foundation, not to mention a larger sense that he was unnecessarily persecuted for behaviors that were more or less familiar to (and ignored by) a majority of voters. At some point in the investigation, he became more sympathetic than his pursuers. Clinton did not, moreover, seek public office again. And, significantly, Hillary, her early protestations notwithstanding, stood by her man. Switch now to former New York representative Anthony Weiner, who left office after accidentally tweeting a photo of his assets to his Twitter followers. Despite unfathomable embarrassment, Weiner is considering a run for mayor of New York City. A recent poll shows him in second place in a hypothetical Democratic mayoral primary at 15 percent, behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at 26 percent. Again, Weiner’s


Texas town mourns victims, including first responders after fertilizer depot blast

not anhydrous ammonia, a liquid stored in high-pressure tanks. On a reporting form required by federal law, West Fertilizer in February said it was storing 270 tons of ammonium nitrate and 110,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, among other substances. “It appears that ammonium nitrate is definitely involved,” said Neal Langerman, whose San Diego firm, Advanced Chemical Safety, provides consulting services to chemical companies. Both substances are explosive. However, ammonia requires both a chemical-to-air ratio that is hard to achieve and a much higher temperature than the ignition point of ammonium nitrate to explode. “My understanding is that if anhydrous ammonia was the source of the problem, it would not have behaved in the manner that this did,” said Ken Willette, a former fire chief who is now an official of the National Fire Protection Association, a standards-setting organization in Quincy, Mass. Ammonium nitrate is the main ingredient of “fertilizer bombs” like the one used to destroy the federal office building in Oklahoma City in April 1995. It has also been used in many car and truck bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The chief strategy in fires that threaten stores of ammonium nitrate is to put large quantities of water on the fertilizer. If that can’t be done quickly or if water is limited, firefighters are advised to withdraw to a safe distance. Sometimes that is as far away as a mile. Unmanned equipment can be left closer to spray water, or the fire can be left to run its course. Since 1988, the federal government has required that companies and localities have specific plans for responding to emergencies involving hazardous chemicals. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Emergency Response Guide provides advice on response strategies and evacuation distances. “The regulations are very mature,” Langerman said. “The level of knowledge and training in full-time versus volunteer fire department is approximately the same. I think the facts are going to show they did a pretty damn good job, but they were overwhelmed by the speed of the growth of the fire.” Perez said veteran firefighters in the city knew the plant posed a risk and that they were instructed not to get close to fires involving hazardous chemicals unless there are civilians in harm’s way. “If there’s no one to save, don’t get close,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been taught.” There are no federal laws governing how close fertilizer depots can be


Texas plant explosion: Worst-case scenario?

explosion, in other words, should not have been a total surprise, but a worst-case scenario the company had anticipated and prepared for. As it stands, the federal regulatory system is far from simple, and it certainly could be more effective. Journalists have already picked apart a 2011 risk assessment from West Fertilizers that the Center for Effective Government printed on its Web site. In it, the company told the Environmental Protection Agency that it had 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on site, but that there was no danger of fire or explosion. Following Wednesday’s disaster, that claim seems to be tragically negligent. Yet it probably stems from the fact that the EPA’s rules only cover gases such as ammonia, which is flammable only in extreme heat. There was another more volatile chemical on site, ammonium nitrate, that the EPA heard nothing about, because it is a solid. To store large amounts of ammonium nitrate, the company needed to file notice not with the EPA, but with the Department of Homeland Security, which reports suggest the company did not do. Even if it had, it’s bizarre that all of this information wasn’t in the same place. Shouldn’t the possibility that the ammonium nitrate could ignite and explode have demanded that the company consider the chance that it would light up the ammonia? Risks shouldn’t just be considered in isolation from one another; companies must contemplate how they might interact. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, meanwhile, has its own domain of jurisdiction over these companies, but it hadn’t inspected the West Fertilizer plant since 1985, which, The Post’s Brad Plumer points out, might have something to do with a shortage of inspectors. The industry says that what happened in West is extremely rare. But, at the least, the accident has exposed the federal regulatory morass in which the industry operates. Every regulator with any kind of responsibility for West Fertilizers now seems to be investigating what happened last Wednesday night, along with an independent federal inquiry. They shouldn’t shy from telling Congress and President Obama how to make the system more rational. Read more about this issue: Harold Meyerson: The mind-set that survived the Triangle Shirtwaist fire The Post’s View: An overblown attack on EPA emissions rules The Post’s View: The EPA’s costs and benefits The Post’s View: The second-term climate The Post’s View: The right balance on business regulations


In the hunt for tear-down properties, elderly homeowners often get offers

longtime residents, who are being pursued by brokers and builders eager for lots that can accommodate larger, fancier new abodes. Cloud’s house, which was sold to a builder after her death for the less-lofty price of $625,000, was one of 117 green-lighted for demolition last year by Arlington County. All but 10 were in North Arlington. Of those, 42 percent were acquired through estate sales or from homeowners older than 65, a Post analysis of permitting and other public records shows. Frances Cloud's home in the 1940s, on 22nd Street in Arlington. (Family photo) In 2012, Montgomery County issued 149 permits to demolish single-family homes and replace them. Of those, 100 were for properties in Bethesda, 39.2 percent of which had owners who had recently died or were above retirement age. Builders say the age of a homeowner is irrelevant. The only numbers that matter begin with dollar signs: Is the cost of the property low enough to replace it with a bigger house that will fetch the price they are aiming for? But in costly, densely populated Washington suburbs, the economic realities often lead them to grandma’s house. In sought-after neighborhoods, vacant land is almost nonexistent, as are foreclosures. The next-best thing is an older house on a lot large enough to accommodate a 5,000- or 6,000-square-foot mini-manse — especially a house that hasn’t been repaired or renovated for years and won’t cost that much to buy. In the tear-down market, decades of deferred maintenance, dated kitchens and ancient bathrooms are the new “must haves.” “The rougher the house, the better for the builder,” said Joe Rubin, a Long and Foster Realtor in Bethesda. Some agents and builders describe the business of tear downs as getting rid of homes that have become “obsolete.” Take a 71-year-old, three-bedroom, one-bath house on nearly a quarter of an acre on 18th Road in North Arlington. It sold last summer for $585,000 after its nonagenarian owner died. It was well cared for and had nice hardwood floors, but to call it “dated is an understatement,” said James Sandidge, a broker involved in the sale. “The functionality people are looking for today is not there.” By functionality, he means something more like six bedrooms, 51 / 2 baths, a gourmet kitchen and a family room with coffered ceilings, which describes the $1.5 million house that replaced the old one. Desperate for lots The tear-down


Residents near the Texas fertilizer plant explosion site are allowed access to homes

Adair added. The explosion has raised troubling questions about the oversight of plants that store highly volatile chemicals such as ammonium nitrate, which has been used to make bombs. Initiatives to tighten regulations over such plants in the wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — which was carried out with a device made with ammonium nitrate — and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have been insufficient, critics say. Fertilizer facilities that hold more than 400 pounds of ammonium nitrate are required to register with the Department of Homeland Security. The West company failed to do so, even though it submitted a state form last year noting it had 270 tons in stock. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement that it seemed the company “was willfully off the grid.” “DHS did not even know the plant existed until it blew up,” he said. Officials in Texas say they intend to study what type of state and local legislation might be needed to address loopholes and beef up regulations for the hundreds of fertilizer plants around the state. On Saturday afternoon, West officials said the Texas Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives had completed their investigations and determined that certain areas within the blast zone were safe enough to allow residents back to gather belongings. The cause of the fire that triggered the blast remains unclear, but officials have said nothing to suggest that they suspect foul play. Earlier in the day, officials reported that small fires in the area had been set by leaking gas. The blazes appear to have been quickly contained. Residents who had evacuated from the blast zone expressed frustration on Saturday, saying they are eager to assess the damage and collect prized belongings. Judy Goetz, a 67-year-old widow who was sitting on her porch when the blast thrust her against the wall of her house, said she’s losing patience. “I want to go check on my jewelry and my guns,” she said, noting that her late husband has a collection of antique weapons. “I want to make sure that they are fine.” She said she and other residents want to know how much local and state leaders knew about the risk the plant posed to the nearby schools and homes. “It’s been there so long,” she said.


Israel is next stop in Hagel’s charm offensive

58 to 41 margin. Since then, Hagel has worked to prevent the criticisms from resurfacing. The first foreign leader he greeted at the Pentagon was Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister at the time. And while Hagel’s inaugural overseas trip was to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan, he made a point to schedule Israel as the first stop on his next foreign itinerary, before visiting Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Republican Sen. John McCain is tangling with Chuck Hagel over his past statements about the Iraq war. Meanwhile at home, Hagel has courted skeptical lawmakers who opposed his nomination, lavishing them with personal attention and instructing his staff to respond swiftly to any policy concerns or queries from Capitol Hill. In at least some notable cases, the strategy appears to be succeeding. In February, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), the House Armed Services Committee chairman, publicly urged the White House to ditch Hagel and “go back to the drawing board.” Asked to rate Hagel’s performance today, however, McKeon is unreservedly effusive. “I’d probably give him an ‘A,’ ” McKeon told a Washington Post reporter on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program. “I feel very good about him.” McKeon praised Hagel for his handling of tensions with North Korea, but he indicated that the defense secretary had won him over with simple courtesies. He said Hagel invited him to the defense secretary’s swearing-in ceremony, then rearranged his schedule at the last minute to meet with McKeon when both men were in Kabul last month. More recently, he has taken pen in hand to send McKeon handwritten thank-you notes. “I’m thinking, where does he find the time to do this?” McKeon said. “I mean, we all know that’s a nice thing to do, but I never write notes. . . . I admire him for taking the time to do something like that.” As a former two-term GOP senator from Nebraska, Hagel is well-versed in the ways of Capitol Hill. Indeed, the Republican resistance to his nomination surprised the White House, which believed the Senate would give a deferential hearing to a former colleague — and a Vietnam War hero. Instead, Republican senators accused him of being hostile to Israel, cozy to Iran and wrong about the Iraq war. During his confirmation hearing, Hagel appeared unprepared and unsure how to respond to the criticism. On Thursday, Hagel returned to the Senate Armed Services


Massachusetts community struggles to find a road back

have been keenly felt. There have been candlelight vigils almost every night. Mothers couldn’t sleep. Children couldn’t sleep. Then, Friday, more death — and the entire metropolitan region of Boston, 30 miles south, on lockdown. Amid the chaos, many in the Lowell area were grappling with more basic concerns: how to explain evil to a 10-year-old; how to make your way back and forth to a city hospital when everything’s shut down; how to help a neighbor who has had the unthinkable happen. Three of the most grievously injured amputees, including Sdoia, live in or are from the area. This week, the flag flew at half-staff over Memorial Stadium in Lowell, where a youth track meet went on as scheduled. Parents sat in the sagging bleachers watching their little ones run, arms flailing, along the patchy track. Toddlers were using the long-jump pit as a sandbox. “They start the kids young here,” said Joe Fischetti, 52, a middle school track coach. Lowell, he said, “is the mill city that people think time has passed by. But when it comes to athletics, it’s always had this culture of running.” A key crucible Much of that has to do with the area’s long affinity with the Boston Marathon, the iconic race that helped give rise to the running craze in the nearby Merrimack Valley that began in the 1970s. The train trip to the city on marathon Monday — for the Red Sox game and then the marathon and maybe a Bruins game in the evening — is an annual pilgrimage. Sixty-three runners from one of the local running clubs, the Greater Lowell Road Runners, competed in the race Monday. Along with boxing, running is the town’s key crucible. Tuesday night runs along the Merrimack River, near the abandoned textile mills with their ghostly, blown-out windows, foster community spirit, runners say. For that reason, the bombing Monday may hit harder here than even the Sept. 11 attacks, locals said. “It’s like six degrees of separation,” said Kelly Hodgdon, 39, a mother of three. “Everybody knows someone who is affected.” Students from Lowell High School were stunned when they learned that their classmate, senior Sydney Corcoran, had been seriously wounded and that her mother, Celeste, a hairdresser, had lost both legs in the attack. In the immediate aftermath of the blasts, runners on the track team spent more than an hour in fear


In London, running for Boston

several hundred more officers to ramp up race-day security and reassure the public. More than 650,000 people were expected to watch 36,000 runners traverse the iconic course that snakes its way from leafy Greenwich Park to the finish line on the Mall, a wide boulevard leading to Buckingham Palace. With one suspect in custody, a city mourns the victims and investigators seek answers. A few here expressed lingering safety concerns. But on a sunny spring morning very similar to last week’s fateful day in Boston, London appeared largely able to push aside any sense of fear, with many in the crowd embracing a light-hearted, even festive mood. Men running for charities wore dresses and pink wigs. Women were decked out in blue tutus, and the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” blared over the sound system as runners stretched and warmed up. Terrorist threats have long been a reality for Londoners, many of whom still vividly recall July 7, 2005, when four bombs detonated on subway trains and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and injured more than 700. “That fear is always there for any big public event. It’s just the age that we live in,” said Billy Bambrough, 25, a reporter from Kent, who was running the London Marathon for the first time. “It’s important, when these horrible things happen, to not change our behavior and things we do in light of it.” Many here like Tricia Bunn, 38, an elementary school principal from Tamworth, near Birmingham, had run the Boston Marathon only six days earlier. Rather than deter runners from turning out, the events in Boston instead seemed to inspire them to run Sunday. Bunn, who finished the Boston Marathon 30 minutes before the bombs went off, said the impact of the attack on the running world would bring an incredibly strong community even closer together. “Everyone on that starting line will be doing it for Boston,” Bunn said, her voice shaking as she held back tears. “I think it will be the greatest message that there could be to the bombers, and to the people of Boston.” Some here, however, felt a sense of unease ahead of the race. “There had been this great excitement and buildup, but with what happened in Boston, it makes you just think what could happen here,’’ Debbie Georgiou, 36, said. “It’s unbelievably tragic.” When the Georgiou family first saw the news of