UPDATE: The cause of death for Lt. James Bethea was smoke inhalation. His death has been ruled accidental, officials said.

Lt. James Bethea's job was to make sure firefighters were safe. His mission to protect didn't stop at the end of his shift, family members say.
Girls, you know you better ... watch out ... for the Top 10 songs this week in 1998. http://bsun.md/1v72uPm #tbt
Photo: Girls, you know you better ... watch out ... for the Top 10 songs this week in 1998. http://bsun.md/1v72uPm #tbt
BAR REVIEW: Turp's Sports Bar & Restaurant is still Turp's — a dependable place to comfortably drink beer on a budget while watching sports in high-definition.
WHAT MARYLAND THINKS: The Severn School expelled a boy for posting a picture online of himself holding a gun captioned "I could actually kill someone with this." Was that too far?

VOTE: http://bsun.md/1zQTAqo
Dan Rodricks: "A plastic bag ban is neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican. Even libertarians must feel some disgust when they see plastic bags wrapped in trees, against chain-link fences, floating in creeks and rivers."
EDITORIAL: If the city is serious about attracting new residents and fostering economic growth, the council can't continue legislating like Baltimore was some upscale liberal enclave like New York City where a bag ban is embraced no matter its cost.

Oh, wait, hold the phone. Even New York hasn't gone there.
The killings were the 26th this year in Southwest Baltimore and the 36th this year in Northwest Baltimore. Of six homicides that have been reported in the city this month, five occurred in the two districts.
Environmentalists and other community advocates in Baltimore say information remains hard to come by, is withheld purposefully or is obscured for questionable reasons — leaving them to guess whether nearby train tracks carry crude.
The O'Malley administration has struck a deal to buy a Kent County farm for $2.8 million and then lease it for $1 a year to a company controlled by an organic farmer and Democratic campaign donor.
One of the oldest full-service jewelers in the city, the business has been run by Morstein family members all along.
Snow showers or not, it will be getting much colder. http://bsun.md/10Voy1y
WHAT MARYLAND THINKS: Should Baltimore ban grocery stores and big box retailers from handing out plastic bags? VOTE: http://bsun.md/1tYRzUi
UPDATE: In addition to the police chief, the Schuh administration will be replacing fire Chief Michael Cox.

In a statement, Ken Davis said incoming County Executive Steve Schuh, elected last Tuesday, informed him his administration is "heading in a different direction."
The Baltimore City Council voted Monday to require all of Baltimore's nearly 3,000 police officers to wear body cameras — despite arguments from the mayor's office that the council's bill is "illegal."
Baltimore had the fifth-highest murder rate in the country last year among cities with 100,000 or more people and saw an increase in property crime, statistics released by the FBI on Monday show.