Berndt

On November 16, 2003, FRANCIS C.J. ICHNIOWSKI of Ellicott City; beloved husband of Geraldine C. (nee Scelsi) Ichniowski; devoted father of Michele and her husband Hans-Berndt Kratzmeier, Jacqueline Ichniowski and her husband Mark Horvath, Paula Ichniowski and her husband Lawrence Pennett, and Scott and his wife Stacy Ichniowski; loving grandfather of Nicholas, Andrew, Christina and Samantha. Family will receive friends Wednesday 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. at HARRY H. WITZKE'S FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, INC., 4112 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City.

New positionsRouse elects Fuchs a vice presidentThe Rouse Co. announced the election of Janice Allan Fuchs as vice president, director of human resources and administrative services for the Columbia-based commercial property developer.A graduate of Columbia College in Missouri, she has been with the company since 1981, most recently as director of special projects in the operating properties division.Mark Gaber is controller at Renaissance HarborplaceRenaissance Harborplace Hotel appointed Mark Gaber as controller.

F&M Bancorp completes acquisition of MonocacyF&M Bancorp, parent company of Farmers & Mechanics National Bank, with headquarters in Frederick, has completed its acquisition of Monocacy Bancshares Inc., with headquarters in Taneytown. Also completed was the merger of F&M and its principal subsidiary, Taneytown Bank & Trust Co., into Farmers & Mechanics National Bank.Eric E. Glass, chairman, and Donald R. Hull, vice chairman, of the board of directors of Monocacy Bancshares will join the boards of directors of F&M Bancorp and Farmers & Mechanics National Bank.

William E. McGuirk Jr., a retired banker who was a behind-the-scenes force in Baltimore's business, medical, educational and religious life for nearly 40 years, died Monday evening of heart failure at his Marylea farm near Bel Air. He was 87. As chairman of Mercantile Bankshares Corp., he guided its transformation from a local trust institution to a modern bank and wielded considerable financial power on the numerous boards of which he was a member. He also was a financial adviser to Johns Hopkins Hospital and a Roman Catholic cardinal, and to the publisher of The Sun under the former A.S. Abell Co. -- where he became the last chairman and negotiated its $660 million cash sale in 1986 to Times Mirror.

Below are insider transactions for publicly held companies based in Maryland or having substantial operations here. Insiders are officers, directors or owners of 10 percent or more of a corporation's stock.Legg Mason Inc.Edmund J. Cashman,director, disposed of, by gift, 500 shares of common at an unreported price Sept. 29 and now directly holds 383,266 common.Mercantile BanksharesRichard O. Berndt,director, purchased 3,000 shares of common at between $32.63 and $32.88 each Oct. 19 and now directly holds 32,317 common.

If just the mention of the words "improvised experimental music" brings to mind a man tapping a spoon against a couple of tin cans, chances are you've probably never been to the High Zero Festival. The four-day event, running through Sunday at the Theatre Project, breaks all those preconceived notions about the instruments, the music and its supposed simplicity. The festival features roughly 30 musicians from all over the globe, performing on-the-spot collaborations of improvised experimental music.

On April 28, 2005, DOROTHY E. STUMPF of Glen Burnie, dear sister of John E. Stumpf, Jr., Mildred J. Trapp, and the late Charles W. Stumpf and Edith M. Schindele. Friends may call at the family owned Kirkley-Ruddick Funeral Home, P.A., 421 Crain Hwy., S.E., Glen Burnie on Sunday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Services will be held on Monday at 1 PM. Interment in Glen Haven Memorial Park.(nee Wygal); beloved wife of the late Robert J. Turner; devoted mother of Jeanette Holston, Diana Bailey and Bobbi Bowman; loving daughter of Lowell and Georgia Holbrook; dear sister of Jane Berndt, Patricia Kraemer, Verna Ousmus and William Wygal.

After a resounding election win Tuesday, Baltimore Mayor-elect Martin O'Malley wasted little time yesterday introducing a 20-member committee to help him pick key Cabinet members and begin working to "change and reform" city government.About 100 people crowded into a City Hall hearing room to get a glimpse of the city's 47th mayor, who at 36 will be the youngest in Baltimore history.O'Malley was all business as he unveiled a transition team that contains a mix of races, ages, genders, interests and occupations, from banker to soup-kitchen operator.

The ninth American Cardinals Dinner, an annual fund-raiser benefiting Catholic University in Washington, will be held this year for the first time in Baltimore, archdiocesan officials said yesterday.The $1,000-a-plate, black-tie dinner is held each year in a city whose archdiocese is led by a cardinal and is expected to attract prominent Catholics from across the country. It is scheduled May 1 at the Baltimore Convention Center.This year's dinner will honor the eight cardinals who serve in U.S. archdioceses: Baltimore's William H. Keeler, Washington's James A. Hickey, Boston's Bernard Law, New York's John J. O'Connor, Philadelphia's Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Los Angeles' Roger Mahony, Detroit's Adam J. Maida and Chicago's Francis E. George.

How dense do you like your coffee? Do you prefer it to be as transparent as one of those trendy gauze skirts? Or do you like it so thick that it can support a spoon?My coffee doesn't support a spoon, but I am a big fan of density. A few weeks ago in this space I passed along my favorite coffee-brewing proportions. I got them from "The Joy of Coffee," a new and thorough book written by Corby Kummer (Chapters Publishing, 1995). I use six scoops of ground coffee and 32 ounces of water to produce 24 ounces -- three to four mugs -- of brewed coffee.