## Shoppers Food reports possible data breach at Baltimore-area stores

Consumers who shopped this summer at Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, which has 20 Baltimore-area stores, could have been victims of credit card data theft, owner Supervalu Inc. said. The Minnesota-based retailer, which owns Shoppers and other U.S. supermarket chains such as Farm Fresh and Shop 'n Save, alerted customers it had a breach in the computer network that processes payment cards at some of its stores. Account numbers, expiration dates and/or cardholders' names could have been stolen, although the company has not determined whether any thefts occurred.

## Your privacy, their profits [Commentary]

In the switch to "smart meters," BGE is inconveniencing its customers for something they probably don't even want and is somewhat suspect, anyway: Just imagine the information BGE will be able to glean from real-time utility usage data available with smart meters. It will likely be possible for the company to not only deduce the number of people living in your house, but also when they go to work, return home, eat, watch TV, go to bed and so on, because all of these activities involve turning on and off appliances of various kinds and using more or less electricity.

## Baltimore Sun data internship description

Division: Newsroom Position Type: Internship Position paid or unpaid? Unpaid Duration: 10 weeks (comprising 120 hours OR specified hour requirements from school) Description One-semester data journalism internships are offered on the data desk. Emphasis is on using data to find and tell stories through applications, print graphics and/or written pieces with a strong eye toward building the student's skills and portfolio Location Baltimore, MD, USA Documents Required Cover Letter/Resume, Unofficial Transcript, Writing Sample (Submission of programming or scripting samples is also encouraged)

## Debate over web-connected cars, driver privacy headed to Maryland

About one in five cars on American roadways connects to outside parties via cellular telephone networks, transmitting data on drivers' speeding and braking habits, their location, and their vehicle's health and performance. By 2025, AAA predicts, all new cars will. Computers on board most vehicles on the road already collect and monitor such data, which can be downloaded at dealerships for repair purposes and shared with manufacturers, who say it's used to make cars safer and more reliable.

## Xerox submitted faulty data on Howard speed camera program

The speed camera company blasted in Baltimore for issuing tickets to people who weren't speeding is now facing criticism in Howard County, where it submitted a year's worth of inaccurate data about the program there. Data submitted by Xerox State & Local Solutions for the county's four cameras repeatedly listed more vehicles speeding than there were cars on the road, according to documents reviewed by The Baltimore Sun. The 2013 data sometimes reported that 200 percent, 400 percent or even 600 percent of the number of cars that passed by a camera were speeding.

## Vampire facials are said to refresh and heal

A new facial is gaining popularity around Baltimore, and while it won't make you live forever, some doctors and patients say it will make you look younger - at least for a few months. The vampire facial, a nonsurgical procedure made famous by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, uses a patient's blood to stimulate healing and regenerate cells. "After healing, my skin just seemed smoother," said Grace Ban, an Odenton resident who received the procedure to reduce the appearance of acne scars and minimize the wrinkles around her eyes.

## Baltimore taxis must accept credit cards by end of year, state regulators rule

State regulators on Tuesday rejected rate increases for taxis and ordered all operators to install new credit-card-reading smart meters by the end of the year. The Maryland Public Service Commission said the new meters will bring more predictability and better service to customers hailing cabs in Baltimore city and county, while providing better financial data for use in future rate reviews. The commission cited the lack of reliable data as a major reason for rejecting rate increases.

## Kids count; so do parents [Editorial]

The Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation is out with its 25th Kids Count data book, measuring the wellbeing of children nationwide across a variety of health, economic, educational and community measures. In some ways, kids are much better off than they were in 1990, when the first book was published, and in some ways they are faring worse. For the good, we can credit a number of wise public policy efforts over the last generation, and for the ill, we can blame macroeconomic and social changes for which we have been unable - or unwilling - to mount a policy response.

## Data — and voters — support handgun licensing [Letter]

In disputing Vincent DeMarco's letter ( "Tougher gun laws are helping reduce homicides in Baltimore," July 5) about the positive impact of Maryland's Firearms Safety Act of 2013 in reducing gun violence, Michael Peterson ( "Gun control isn't the reason for declining Baltimore homicides," July 11) ignores the data Mr. DeMarco included in his letter from Professor Daniel Webster of the Johns Hopkins Center For Gun Policy and Research showing that other states that have enacted fingerprint licensing of handgun purchasers tend to have lower gun death rates than similar states.

## MSA warning signs [Editorial]

State education officials told us that scores on this year's Maryland School Assessment exams would go down, and that they most certainly did. Schools state-wide embarked last fall on their first full year of instruction tied to the Common Core standards, but the tests this spring were still tied to the old curriculum. The mismatch was such an obvious issue that many, from parents to some candidates for governor, advocated skipping the tests altogether on the grounds that they would be a waste of time and money.