Canby

PHILADELPHIA -- The Baltimore Thunder clinched the Major Indoor Lacrosse League's American Division title yesterday by beating the Philadelphia Wings, 17-14, before 16,289 at The Spectrum.Baltimore, which scored the game's first seven goals, will play in the MILL championship game the weekend of April 5-7 at the Baltimore Arena against the National Division champion Detroit Turbos.Jeff Jackson led the Thunder (6-3) with five goals and three assists, and teammate Rick Sowell had three goals and four assists.

On May 29, 2005, H. DONALD "Smokey" HOUSEHOLDER, loving husband of the late Marie E. Householder (nee Canby); loving father of Kenneth D. Householder and Karen M. Bittings; cherished grandfather of Kara, Elizabeth, Kimberly, Julie, and Corie Bittings. Relatives and friends may call at the family owned Ambrose Funeral Home, Inc., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus on Wednesday, from 7 to 9 P.M., and Thursday, 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. A Funeral Service will be held at the Halethorpe Community Church on Friday at 10 A.M. Interment following at Loudon Park Cemetery.

The cookies could not be resisted. Boy Scouts grabbed fistfuls. One girl took four and then came back for more. An officer from the Department of General Services filled up plastic bag for her co-workers. Any time a cookie tray appeared light on treats, Gov. Martin O'Malley's staff whipped out a fresh batch. On Saturday afternoon, as part of a Maryland tradition, O'Malley threw open the doors to Government House for the holidays, allowing visitors to wander through the public section of the executive mansion and admire decorations free of charge.

Florence SnyderPianist, teacherServices for Florence Snyder, a music teacher who had been a concert pianist under her maiden name, Elaine Frantz, will be held at noon today at Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral establishment, 6010 Reisterstown Road.Mrs. Snyder, a resident of the Highfield House Condominium on North Charles Street, died Tuesday at Sinai Hospital of congestive heart failure. She was 85.Her first husband, Louis Vennett, died about 40 years ago. Her second husband, Dr. Nathan Snyder, died about 20 years ago.She taught piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in the 1950s and continued to teach students privately at her home until her final illness.

New releases of video cassettes; reviews by New York Times critics:"Cyrano de Bergerac." 1990. Orion. $89.98. 2 hours, 18 minutes. French with English subtitles. No rating.A touch of cosmetic prosthesis adds just enough to Gerard Depardieu's own generous nose to make it the object of ridicule and swordplay in Edmond Rostand's romantic verse drama.Smitten by Roxanne (Anne Brochet), Cyrano acts as a go-between for her and his none-too-articulate cohort, Christian (Vincent Perez). Jean-Paul Rappenau's film is a physically elaborate period spectacle, and Mr. Depardieu's performance is a "disciplined whirlwind of conflicting emotions that finds surprising new life in a theatrical antique" (Vincent Canby)

Erwin Leiser,73, who was born in Berlin to Jewish parents, fled Hitler's Germany and went on to win praise for documentary filmmaking about the Nazi era, died of heart failure Thursday in Zurich, where he had lived since 1961.His documentary feature film about the history of Germany under Hitler, entitled "Mein Kampf," was composed of clips from old newsreels and film obtained from both Allied and German sources.The film appeared in 1960, went on to be shown in scores of countries -- it was a box-office hit even in West Germany -- and was applauded by the New York Times critic Vincent Canby as "an effective summation of the Nazi era as recorded on film."

Merrick first in Md. to get reaccreditationThe University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business became the first business school in Maryland to receive reaccreditation under new standards developed by the American Assembly Collegiate Schools of Business.Of the more than 1,200 colleges and universities offering undergraduate business degrees, just over 300 have been awarded the accreditation to date.Of 700 master's programs, fewer than 300 have been accredited under the new standards.The American Assembly Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

American families are spending an increasingly bigger chunk of their incomes on transportation costs - more than they spend on food and health care combined, according to a report released yesterday by a Washington-based nonprofit transportation advocacy group. The rising cost of transportation - from car purchases to insurance to maintenance to gasoline - combined with the approximate one-third of household income spent on housing account for more than 50 percent of families' budgets in the 28 large metropolitan areas covered by the study, "Transportation Costs and the American Dream," released by the Surface Transportation Policy Project.

The Wedding King finally has a palace of his own. Abe McCauley had only a few chafing dishes to his name when he got his start as a caterer and events planner 11 years ago. After working for years in rented kitchen space, he has just moved into his own building, behind a pizza place on Sherwood Road in Cockeysville. Before going into business for himself, McCauley worked many years as a manager for Baltimore mega-caterer Martin Resnick. Politically active - McCauley ran for House of Delegates from northeast Baltimore in 1994, and was campaign manager for the late Bea Gaddy - he helped the city councilwoman put on Thanksgiving dinner for more than 23,000 in 1992.

The Baltimore Thunder, trailing by six goals in the secon period, came back last night to defeat the Pittsburgh Bulls, 14-12, before 8,727 at the Baltimore Arena.The victory, which was filled with penalties and fights, kept Baltimore (5-3) in first place in the American Division of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.Goalie Jeff Gombar was outstanding, making 31 saves and holding the Bulls (3-5) to two goals in the second half. He was named the game's most valuable player.The Thunder, trailing, 11-8, entering the last quarter, roared back to tie the game at 11-11.