End racing mayhem

What more incentive do Maryland State Police and local law enforcement need to step up efforts to stop illegal road races than the deaths of eight spectators last weekend on a rural stretch of a Prince George's County road? More patrols, speed cameras and other deterring tactics should be implemented. But police also need more information and cooperation from the public. The crowd of 50 or 60 at the race must have known that it was an illegal activity. And anyone hearing loud racing noises could have called the police. More aggressive police efforts and some cooperative tips could save lives. Friendly persuasion

Suddenly, Howard County has an embarrassment of riches - seven announced candidates to become the county's next state's attorney. The job fell open in December when Timothy J. McCrone resigned after being named a Circuit Court judge. For weeks after, the county judges who will pick a replacement remained silent on the process in a distressing lack of transparency for filling a normally elective office. And then Mr. McCrone recused himself from voting on his replacement after it was revealed in The Sun that he was lobbying for one candidate with members of the state attorney's staff.

Now, the judges should explain to the public how they intend to assess the candidates and when they intend to announce their choice for this important office. Craig's comeuppance

Remember Sen. Larry E. Craig? He was the man whom everybody wanted to go away. After an initial explosion of media coverage following his arrest in a men's room sex sting last year, Mr. Craig seemed to quietly drop out of sight. But the Idaho Republican never did resign his Senate seat, and the Senate Ethics Committee admonished him last week for "improper conduct which has reflected discreditably on the Senate."

Frankly, the Craig incident "reflected discreditably" on just about everyone involved: Senate colleagues who abandoned Mr. Craig in a panic, even before the full facts were known, and those who used the occasion to engage in cheap anti-gay rhetoric. There is the continuing oddity of a law enforcement system that devotes significant resources to monitoring behavior in men's rooms. And, of course, there is Mr. Craig himself. Perhaps the one institution to have comported itself well is the Senate ethics panel, which has fashioned a response appropriate to Mr. Craig's infractions: more than a mild rebuke but less than a move to censure or expel him.