The Top 10 Stories of the Year

Maybe 2004 should be called The Year of the Rising.

Insurance rates for doctors soared, gas prices climbed, construction around Annapolis boomed and tempers flared over construction foul-ups on the Bay Bridge.

On the brighter side, county students' test scores also went up.

The cracking concrete on the Bay Bridge was the year's biggest local story, as repair work forced commuters and travelers to sit through backups stretching for miles.

In September, state highway officials admitted that more than half of the concrete poured on the bridge since 2002 was cracking and required immediate repairs and extended lane...