Candy

What it is -- A new, chewy, mint-flavored candy by Hot Tamales What we like about it --The flavor isn't overpowering, yet the candy can freshen breath and satisfy the sweet tooth at the same time. Fans of the original cinnamon-charged Hot Tamales might not care for the cool mint, but they should still give these a try. What it costs --79 cents for a 2-ounce package Where to buy --Available at grocery stores Per serving --200 calories, 0 grams fat, 51 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams protein, 0 grams fiber, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 30 milligrams sodium

I like to read retail signage. More accurately, I like to find mistakes in retail signage. This makes me one of those annoying people who hold up the line at a fast-food place because they feel compelled to let the cashier know that there really should be no apostrophe in the headline: "Try our spicy Southwestern nugget's." Does it seem a bit cruel, my joy in pointing out the grammatical blunders of others? Yes, but once I held a job writing fast-food tray liners, and I like to think I brought to that lowly position the same respect and reverence for language that I share with you weekly in this column.

POP'S, AN old-fashioned general store and candy shop and a longtime Savage fixture, has reopened. For those not privy, Pop's is the destination of choice for generations of schoolchildren picking up goodies on the way to school and for afternoon treats.Last month, owner Jake Croston decided to close for redecorating and reassessment of his stock. With the new Weis Market opening on U.S. 1, perhaps there was less need for him to carry general groceries.Fortunately for those with a sweet tooth, Croston couldn't take a long hiatus -- he reopened two weeks ago, selling candy, coffee, papers and snacks.

Forrest Mars Sr., 95, tycoon who devised M&M'sForrest Mars Sr. -- the man who gave the world M&M's and built one of the largest fortunes in America as a candy tycoon -- died in Miamion Thursday of natural causes. He was 95.The story of the man behind the candy that "melts in your mouth, not in your hand," began in 1911 when Mr. Mars' father opened a small confectionary business in Tacoma, Wash. In 1940, Mr. Mars devised a candy modeled after a British treat: a circle of chocolate covered with a crunchy coating.

Good grades and good deeds were the cause for celebration at the Carson Scholars Fund Annual Banquet. Founders Dr. Benjamin Carson, the famed Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, and wife Candy Carson, awarded scholarships to 132 mid-Atlantic area students.The award winners, from grades four through 12, received much applause from the more than 600 other guests gathered at the Baltimore Convention Center for the reception and dinner. Among them: Lee Warner, Dan Wagner, Roger Bennett and Belita Heron, Carson Scholars Fund board members; Debbie Bangledorf, fund executive director; Bill Fanshawe, general manager of Fox 45 TV and WB 54 TV; Jay Young, chairman of Oles Envelope Corp.

BURTONSVILLE -- In Montgomery County, it's not just risky to take candy from a stranger, it can get you in trouble with the law.A county health inspector raised the eyebrows of residents and the ire of a County Council member when he put a damper on the Burtonsville fair last weekend with his warnings to stop giving lollipops to children.Giving away candy without a license violates state law, the unnamed inspector said as he went from booth to booth."This is the candy police, no doubt about it," fumed council member Nancy Dacek.

Imagine a huge room filled with thousands of pounds of candy. Then imagine it's your job to taste-test your faves.Maureen O., 10, did just that at the All Candy Expo in Chicago. The national candy convention brought together gobs and gobs of candy makers.It didn't take us long to figure out that candy isn't just for eating anymore. Many of the new products don't just toy with your appetite - they ARE toys. Look for 'em where candy is sold.1. Mega Warheads Sour Gummy Wallys (59 cents for a 1.5-ounce package, The Foreign Candy Co.)

Francis Joseph Clifford, the gracious proprietor of the equally gracious Virginia Dare Co., a downtown dining spot for genteel Baltimoreans from the 1920s to the 1960s, died Thursday of Alzheimer's disease.The longtime Roland Park resident was 83. He had lived at College Manor Nursing Home in Lutherville for five years.The Clifford family's emporium, which was founded by Mr. Clifford's father and uncle as a turn-of-the-century candy company and expanded into a prime Howard Street location in 1924, was a classic example of a now-vanished phenomenon: the tea room, where downtown shoppers, mostly female, lunched on delicate dishes among gilded mirrors and white linen.

Jerry Seinfeld may have starred in the show about "nothing," but the guy notices everything.Razor blade dispensers in airplane bathrooms, the abundance of consonants in New York cabbies' names ...These are just a couple of the random details the former sitcom sultan addresses in his CD, "I'm Telling You For the Last Time."The CD is a recording of the live stand-up act the cereal-obsessed comedian performed on Broadway shortly after "Seinfeld" went off the air.It's clear from the material that Seinfeld's eyes and mind are working constantly.

In the fickle world of fashion retailing, Joel Rosenberg found, it can be tough trying to predict the next hot trend in, say, women's shirts.Not so with jelly beans.Rosenberg, who made the switch from apparel to candy sales a decade ago, has been able to pretty much bank on consumers buying the same chewy caramels and chocolate truffles they bought last year.Now the president of Candy Express Franchising Inc. is hoping America's penchant for sweets, bulk-food style, will transcend cultures, too. The franchise company has license holders in 20 nations opening dozens of Candy Express stores.

LOS ANGELES - -Lamar Odom just can't help himself when it comes to the sweet stuff. He loves candy. He even credits his consumption of sugary treats for fueling his double double performances in games 5 and 6 of the Western Conference finals that helped the Los Angeles Lakers close out the Denver Nuggets and reach the NBA Finals. "It's funny because the games I played well were the games where I ate candy for breakfast," he said, grinning. "It's the reason why I got double digits in points and rebounds.

Attention, prospective home-buyers: looking for a killer deal with the real estate market up in flames? Is all this recession, recession, recession talk getting you down? For a measly $150 million, you can buy Aaron Spelling's place, a 57,000-square-foot L.A. estate called "The Manor" that has a gym, bowling alley, tasting room, gift-wrapping room, humidity-controlled silver-storage room and beauty salon. There's also a screening room where the screen rises out of the floor like a gleaming silver altar.

She swung her legs from the rear compartment of the black limo, strode to the runway and posed for the cameras. At 5 feet tall and weighing 7 pounds, Candy Crane has the svelte build a supermodel might envy. But at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore yesterday, it was her endangered species status that made her a star. Candy, a West African crowned crane, shook her wings and ambled through the gate, officially becoming the zoo's first admission for 2009, its 133rd year of operation. "She walks a little like Groucho Marx," quipped interim zoo president and CEO Donald P. Hutchinson, as about 50 onlookers cheered.

Sweet expectations are mixing with a bitter reality for longtime fans of Rheb's Candy in Lexington Market: After 70 years, the family-owned sweet shop is shutting down its stall Saturday. "They're closing? Why? I'm shocked, I'm shocked," said a frowning Barbara Dean as she prepared to spend $85 on butter creams, almond paste and boxes of dark chocolate as Christmas gifts. "I'm sad," she said. "It's just a tradition to come to Lexington Market. It's the end of an era." Rheb's President Wynn Harger said he had decided to close the stall and focus on his flagship Wilkens Avenue shop and growing Internet sales primarily because of his company's issues with the management of the market.

Though tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and we're just four days shy of Christmas, it's not too late for you to order some "NutMallow" to ring in the recession properly. After all, nothing says "Let's forget about the nightmare of 2008" like a decadent candy treat that comes in a full-fledged loaf that you can slice and serve to your guests. Its very appearance on your table will impart hope because it will be a visual reminder of American ingenuity and greatness. And excess. Frankly, only Americans could dream up this sort of candy-delivery system.

Candy, you must be spending too much time on the fishing boat. Out here in the real world, the economy is crashing harder than Amy Winehouse in detox. It's so bad, you can barely buy a Senate seat these days. Look, one of my favorite things about baseball is how the fences are different in every park. Metaphorically, they're different for every team, too. The Orioles swinging for the fences is different from the Red Sox swinging for the fences. All a fan in Baltimore can hope is that the Orioles chase a guy like Mark Teixeira in good faith, that they offer him a respectable offer.

To get good and scared on Halloween night, a parent doesn't have to look far. There's the fear of a wayward Jujube getting lodged in your preteen's braces, the terror of running out of candy and leaving your neighbors on the front stoop to survey your messy house through the storm door and the horror of your kids hauling home pounds of cavity-inducing confections that everyone at home finds impossible to resist. But what really scares many parents on Halloween is something entirely prosaic and yet altogether necessary: dinner.

Just For Fun Collectibles 108 S. Main St. , BelAir , 410-588-5998 Open 11 a.m. - 5 p. m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. -8 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m-3 p.m. Saturday The display of superhero comic books dating back to the 1940s would impress most any avid collector. Ditto the hand-held toys and gadgets from years past, the mood rings and fake sunglasses that allow you to see from behind. But what truly makes the Just For Fun Collectibles store in downtown Bel Air unique is that it is perhaps one of the few stores in the country where you can get your three-cents' worth.

Sister Mary Alice Ashton, a nun and teacher whose name was combined with that of her sister to christen Baltimore's Mary Sue candies in 1948, died Thursday in Elko, Nev. Family members said a niece was driving her to Baltimore when she suffered an apparent heart attack. She was 67 and was returning to a new teaching assignment here. Mary Alice Sterling Ashton was born in Baltimore and raised on St. George's Road in Roland Park. She was a 1958 Mount St. Agnes High School graduate who earned a degree at Neumann College and a master's degree at Towson University.

I like to read retail signage. More accurately, I like to find mistakes in retail signage. This makes me one of those annoying people who hold up the line at a fast-food place because they feel compelled to let the cashier know that there really should be no apostrophe in the headline: "Try our spicy Southwestern nugget's." Does it seem a bit cruel, my joy in pointing out the grammatical blunders of others? Yes, but once I held a job writing fast-food tray liners, and I like to think I brought to that lowly position the same respect and reverence for language that I share with you weekly in this column.