Bathrobe

A Southwestern District police officer killed a suspected drug dealer last night after the suspect pointed a gun at two officers during a chase, Baltimore police said.Police spokesman Dennis S. Hill said the suspect is from New Jersey but would not identify him last night because his relatives had not been notified.Mr. Hill gave this account of the shooting:Five plainclothes officers from the Southwestern District Drug Enforcement Unit were monitoring drug transactions at the corner of Winchester and Poplar Grove streets yesterday evening.

Carbonated drinks were served in drugstores before they were bottled and sold at grocery stores. The drinks originally were promoted as medicinal, but by 1900, they were marketed as delicious.Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Hires, Moxie and a few other brands were popular in the early 1900s. Each company advertised with calendars, tin trays, mugs, dispensers and small paper giveaways.Collectors now search for old and new carbonated-drink advertising pieces.This year, an old Hires syrup dispenser set a record when it sold for $106,700.

Michael Scheyer lost his wife five years ago, then lost work as demand for electricians withered with the economy. Things have been so tight that he recently went through some old boxes in a back room at his North Carolina home to see if there might be anything in there he could sell. What he turned up might just belong in a museum - or an aquarium: an old-fashioned yellow-and-red striped bathing suit, zebra-striped bathrobe and inflatable Donald Duck. Looks a whole lot like the Victorian swim suit and props that William Donald Schaefer used in his famous 1981 dip in the aquarium seal pool.

" Bible camp's cancelled. " -- Gyp Rosetti The rubble of Babette's Supper Club is still smoking and the echoes of last week's blast are still ringing in Nucky Thompson's ears. An episode like "The Milkmaid's Lot" could have gone down a very reflexive road. This might have been Nucky's episode to dream he's a different person while he recovers from his wounds (looking at you, Tony Soprano). Instead, Steve Buscemi turns in a stellar performance as a shell-shocked Nucky who just wants all his rivals dead and a pony for his stepdaughter.

Let's assume that you need to be prim and proper, conservative and classic by day, but you long for mystery and intrigue, drama and glamour after hours. Boy, oh boy, will you be happy with fashion this fall.Clothing manufacturers, struggling for several seasons to keep their heads above recessionary waters, are in need of a direction. (Translation: They need to sell more clothes.) And, as so often happens, the industry has gone several ways at once for fall '91.At one extreme is the kicky schoolgirl look plaids, pleated skirts, traditional blazers, even ankle socks and loafers.

WE LIVE IN a fast-paced media world. Radio doesn't talk, it shouts. The television brightly flashes the day's topics in a matter of seconds. Newspapers yearn for the short and punchy. Commentary lunges for the jugular, manic and angry. And then there is Bob Edwards. Do you know this man? For nearly a quarter-century, he has hosted Morning Edition on National Public Radio. He is not an anchor, he is a pillar, his deep baritone voice a steady, calming influence no matter how frightening, how chaotic the day's events.

Coming to a store near you, Barbie clothes for big girls. No, not doll clothes but togs for living, breathing women who grew up dressing the buxom plastic princess. Mattel Inc. -- Barbie's home since, like, forever -- showed off T-shirts, cocktail dresses, shoes and coats at a New York show earlier this month. A similar line in Japan has done smashingly, say company reps. Look for Barbie-brand fragrances and cosmetics to come. (Sales of Barbies have been, well, flat, lately. Mattel is hoping this could reignite interest in the legendary brand.

State fire officials are investigating similarities in four arson fires at The Mall in Columbia since mid-February.Two fires were setTuesday, at Country Interiors and Sears. The incidents came 15 days after other arson fires were discovered in the drapery departments atHecht's and Woodward & Lothrop stores."There is a pattern that we're examining, but I cannot expand on that," said Deputy State Fire Marshall Bob Thomas.The mall management has stepped up security to prevent other arson attempts.

More than 300 people got their hearts pumping for a good cause yesterday when they splashed into the 35-degree water of the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park.The Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge for Maryland Special Olympics brought out law enforcement workers, Special Olympics athletes, and others willing to brave the chilly waters.Participants were asked to raise at least $50 in pledges, and many raised more, according to organizer Miriam Weinstein of Maryland Special Olympics.

Fans who flock to the opening day of "Cecil B. DeMented" won't want to miss this chance to get neat stuff from the movie: Starting today, a number of props, costumes and accessories from the new John Waters movie will be on view on Amazon.com, and will be auctioned on Aug. 18. Posters and magnets will be available. So will Cecil's branding iron; several outfits worn by the radical filmmaker's band of pranksters; a bathrobe, gown and pair of shoes worn by Melanie Griffith; an eyelash curler and a dog collar.