"Each cocktail is adorned with a stunning, limited edition White Topaz and Diamond Caviar Rope Bracelet created by acclaimed jewelry designer Steven Lagos," the news release says.
I'm not sure what white topaz and diamond caviar is, but I imagine it's worn rather than eaten. I'm sure your server will know.
In any case, the drink-and-trinket combo will benefit Share Our Strength, a childhood-hunger charity.
Last year, the Baltimore location sold eight of them. With a counterintuitive tough-times pitch, Capital Grille hopes more diners will bite this year.
"This holiday season, an increasing number of Americans intend to make donations, in lieu of giving gifts," the release says. "With The Capital Grille's Charity Martini, you can give both. Share the 'gift of giving' with your loved ones and ensure that they look as good as you feel."
Brewing up some trouble?
News release scribes for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security don't get to write too many whimsical leads, but Jeffrey Cannon, 20, of Huntington apparently provided the occasion last week.
Arriving on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin, Cannon was arrested at Dulles International Airport, accused of carrying an elaborate smoking pipe and four unusually large tea bags containing marijuana and hashish.
Under the headline "Traveler's Tea Bags Brew Dope," the release began: "Some people enjoy consuming tea for its antioxidant health benefits while others enjoy tea for the caffeine rush, but for one international traveler, his tea was more the mind altering kind."
A self-imposed pay cut
State employees' unions balked when Gov. Martin O'Malley first floated the idea of furloughs. But right from the start, the governor had four takers - all under one roof.
Baltimore Circuit Court Clerk Frank Conaway called on all elected and appointed officials in every branch of government in Maryland to donate a portion of their paychecks to state coffers.
"I don't see why we just pick on state employees because all of us drink out of the public trough," he said at the time.
The Conaway family is unusually well represented at that trough. Conaway makes $98,500 a year as clerk. His wife, Mary Conaway, earns the same amount as city register of wills. Their son, Frank Conaway Jr., earns $43,500 as a state delegate. Their daughter, Belinda Conaway, makes $58,425 as a city councilwoman. They all share the same Ashburton home. And good thing they're pooling expenses now that furloughs of up to five days are official.
The Conaways' self-imposed pay cut will cost the family in the neighborhood of $5,000 by my calculations. Is the check in the mail yet?
No, Frank Sr. said, but only because there's a chance the judiciary will come up with a furlough plan of its own, which would cover him and Mary. Frank Sr. assured me they're still willing to dock their own pay - just not twice.
