The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page A1

bridge sports 8 lottery news 4 movie directory 4 business news 16 obituaries news 20 opinion news 18 puzzles 7, sports 8 tonight on tv 7 comics 6 classified sports 7 inside Informing more than 1million Maryland readers weekly in print and online THURSDAY baltimoresun.com Treatingchildren-aspecialty oforthopedicsurgeonsatSinai. See page 3 of the Health and Style section to learn more. The Chesapeake Bay looks like a dirty bathtub, its waters turned brown with mud and awash in pollution and floating debris, including uprooted trees, propane tanks, even a battered dining-room chair. Braving boat-damaging hazards, scientists are swarming over the bay to see if the massive stormwater runoff from Tropical Storm Lee last week is going to knock the troubled estuary for another loop, just as it was recovering from an especially rough summer. just look Jamie Strong, abiologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said of the malted- milk hue of the water as he and state biologist Zofia Noe cruised north from the Bay Bridge on Wednesday to sample water conditions.

Along the way, they dodged partially submerged tree trunks not always successfully and skirted sprawling mats of grass and trash atop the water. What they found on a five-hour run along the Eastern Shore to Tolchester and back was water so murky you see more than a few inches deep. And the water was almost completely fresh, at least at the surface. Those and other byproducts of the storm pose serious threats to the underwater grasses that provide shelter for fish and crabs, and to the struggling oysters, already so depleted by overfishing and disease that a scientific study recently Runoff from Tropical Storm Lee threatens grasses, could create anew By Timothy B. Wheeler The Baltimore Sun DNR biologists Zofia Noe, left, and Jamie Strong stop off Rock Hall to record data from water monitoring devices.

KIM SUN PHOTO impact on bay An estimated 4million tons of sediment washed down the Susquehanna River, the largest tributary. Sediment can bury grass beds, smother oyster reefs. Pollution washed from farm fields, parking lots and overflowing sewers can feed algae blooms, triggering a in the bay where fish and shellfish get enough oxygen to survive. Fresh water flooding the upper bay could also contribute to formation of a and by itself can stress or kill oysters, which need salty water. Flooding washed tons of debris into bay, posing hazards to boaters and littering shorelines.

See BAY, page21 Attacking quarterback is key to success SPORTS Animal Kingdom, the thoroughbred that won this Kentucky Derby, got a police escort to Pimlico for the Preakness. Wounded war veterans got escorts to Orioles games. Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell got an escort to the Grand Prix. Police escorted the bus carrying Ravens players to Bank Stadium and gave the same courtesy to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Police got NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to game on time, though two motorcycle officers crashed in Essex an incident that drew attention to the practice and raised questions about whether the commissioner received special treatment. Baltimore officials say there is no formal policy on who gets a lights-and-siren, blow-through-red-lights escort, but requests are reviewed by commanders on a case-by-case basis. Other agencies contacted, including the state police, say their policies are similarly informal. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi noted official status, the security concerns of Sept. 11and the tight schedule as reasons for approving the speedy trip from his private jet at Martin State Airport to the stadium on Russell Street.

The officers, who were cut off by a car while preparing for the detail and put their bikes to the ground to avoid a collision, were not seriously injured, police said. Guglielmi said the agency denied an escort request from the Ravens cheerleading squad Friday because there was specific security A Ravens Acase-by-case stance on city police escorts Officers who crashed were to take NFL chief to game By Peter Hermann The Baltimore Sun See ESCORT, page21 In an election with few surprises, Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda M. Conaway stood out. The two-term incumbent lost to a political newcomer in a relatively close race that was called Wednesday morning. With the possible exception of one council race that is still too close to call, Conaway was the only sitting member defeated in Democratic primary.

After being dogged in recent months by questions about where she lives, she lost to Nick Mosby, an electrical engineer from Reservoir Hill, by 648 votes. The upset not only deals a blow to a West Baltimore political dynasty three of immediate family members hold public office but it also means that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- Blake has secured a supermajority of allies on the council. Baltimore already has a strong-mayor system of government and a city charter that gives very little power to the council. Rawlings-Blake endorsed Mosby and Conaway defeated by Mosby in upset Primary election results show a shift of power By Nicole Fuller The Baltimore Sun Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake returned to her campaign themes, in her first remarks after winning the Democratic primary. NEWS PG 7 BARBARA HADDOCK SUN Mayor silent on post-election plans Baltimore Votes SPORTS ORIOLES 6 RAYS 2 Jeremy Guthrie gave up just three hits while striking out 10 batters over seven innings, and the Orioles slammed three home runs on the way to victory.

SPORTS PG 5 MARYLAND FORT FOUND: Archaeologists in Southern Maryland say they have found Zekiah Fort, established in 1680 to protect the Piscataway people and other Maryland Indian groups that were the targets of raids by Susquehan- nock and Seneca warriors NEWS PG 2 NEWS SUMMARY WEATHER STORM POSSIBLE 79 HIGH 49 LOW Pleasant weekend ahead SPORTS PG 10 See UPSET, page6 NASA satellite image of the Chesapeake Bay from Tuesday shows sediment washing from the Susquehanna River to south of the Bay Bridge NASA satellite image of the Chesapeake Bay from Tuesday shows sediment washing from the Susquehanna River to south of the Bay Bridge.