Caveat

Owners Dale and Joan Everett of Woodbridge, Va., can't be accused of poor memory, both in friendship and business. The Everetts commissioned trainer Dale Capuano to purchase Caveat's Shot for $30,000 in the 1996 yearling sale at Timonium. But a disagreement between the parties prevented Capuano from doing the training. After more than a year of marginal returns from Caveat's Shot, the Everetts returned to Capuano earlier this year. It paid off. The daughter of Caveat notched her second win this year for the reunited partnership in the $100,000 Maryland Million Ladies yesterday at Laurel Park.

The Baltimore County Planning Board on Thursday gave its stamp of approval to the school board's $56.2 million capital budget request for fiscal year 2015, though it attached a caveat to a controversial school construction plan approved in the budget. In a memo to Baltimore County's Director of Budget and Finance Keith Dorsey, the Planning Board urged further discussions with stakeholders about the three-part central area elementary school overcrowding relief plan that, includes the closure of Halstead Academy in Hillendale.

Today: Spartan Cat and Just Call Me Carl are co-favorites in the Private Terms Stakes, a 1 1/8 -mile event for 3-year-olds with a $50,000-added purse.Spartan Cat, owned by Marathon Farm, crashed the stakes ranks in his fourth try after finishing second in the Ambernash, Miracle Wood and Horatius.After winning the Dancing Count Stakes, Just Call Me Carl finished third as the beaten favorite to Spartan Cat in the Herat.Tomorrow: Eight 3-year-old fillies have been entered for the Wide Country Stakes, a $50,000-added event to be run at 1 1/8 miles.

Private lawyers hired to represent Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold in a federal gender discrimination lawsuit have charged county taxpayers more than $55,500 for their first four months of work, according to invoices released in response to a Public Information Act request by The Baltimore Sun. A Dec. 7 invoice from the Thatcher Law Firm in Greenbelt shows a bill for about $4,886 for work done in November. Previous bills totaled about $50,600. No trial date has been set. Leopold, who has denied wrongdoing, has promised, with caveats, to repay the county if he loses the lawsuit.

The Ravens' victory tour through an illuminating off-season continued unabated yesterday when unrestricted free agent Jamie Sharper signed a five-year contract worth $22 million to stay with the Super Bowl champions. A soft market, a sense of belonging and a calm head helped keep the outside linebacker in Baltimore and the Ravens' record-setting defense on the cutting edge. Ozzie Newsome, the team's vice president of player personnel, was quick to find the bottom line to a fitful round of negotiations that seemingly went from "no way" to "why not?"

Washington -- GOV. MARIO CUOMO of New York, indicating discomfort with continued speculation that he may yet seek the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination, says he will not be a candidate -- but again with a slight caveat.In a telephone interview from Albany, Cuomo said: "This situation makes me uncomfortable. What do I have to say?....All right, I'm not going to run. Now I've put it to rest."Having said that, however, Cuomo said he will be asked, "Is it possible you could change your mind?

If it seems as if we never talk anymore at work, it's because we probably don't. At least for work purposes, according to a query of business executives who say their communications is almost strictly confined to e-mail these days. The telephone is a distant third when it comes to how we communicate at work, with only 13 percent listing it as the method used most often. Five years ago, the phone was used the most by 48 percent of executives. E-mail was the prime means for only 27 percent then.

If your mortgage payments are overwhelming you, there's still hope - if you act quickly. Housing advocates recommend calling the lender to ask for a "workout plan" that spreads your past-due balance over multiple payments, lowers your monthly bill for a set period or otherwise changes your terms to help you get past a bad patch. Lenders and mortgage servicers have more incentive than usual to work with borrowers, housing officials say, because they're dealing with rising defaults at a time when new homeowners don't have much equity.

WELFARE as we knew it is gone. In its place comes the Family Investment Program, a brave new world of jobs for those once thought to be unemployable. The new program appears to have promise -- with some critically important caveats.A network of community groups, under contract with state welfare departments, is having remarkable success at linking former welfare recipients with eager employers. The economy gets much of the credit, to be sure. And the new system will only have a full test when asked to operate in leaner times.

THE EUPHORIA over Baltimore home sales is understandable for a city often on the defensive. But the boom could come with a price that might be overlooked in this robust housing market. The Sun's Jamie Smith Hopkins reported recently that two out of three Baltimore houses sold in the first half of this year were bought by investors. The trend would bode well for Baltimore if the increased activity could be counted on to increase homeownership and strengthen neighborhoods with more owner-occupied units.

Taxpayers have now been billed more than $42,000 in legal fees in the gender discrimination lawsuit against Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who has promised to repay the sum under certain conditions. The latest invoice doubles the previous tab charged to taxpayers by Thatcher Law Firm, the private attorneys hired by the county to defend Leopold after a conflict arose. Leopold announced last week that he would repay the county if found guilty in a lawsuit that alleges he physically assaulted a former employee and orchestrated her firing when she complained about him. Leopold has denied wrongdoing in the case.

The deals can be stellar: 18 holes of golf and a cart rental for half price; $20 for five yoga classes that usually cost $16 each; $50 for an eye exam plus $200 worth of eyewear. Through Groupon.com, people can buy discount certificates for restaurants, stores, salons, museums and entertainment venues in their city. The deals are only available for one day, and a minimum number must be purchased before the offer is triggered, or your credit card won't be charged. But as with any bargain, consumers should check the fine print and be aware of any limitations or conditions.

I t's probably fair to cast the Orioles' spring roster situation as a big improvement over last year, if only because the team opened training camp last February with so many fringe pitchers that some of them had to warm up on the extra runway at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., municipal airport. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. That part of the old Fort Lauderdale Stadium complex just looked like the back lot of the adjacent airstrip, but there were 37 pitchers in camp and still only faint hope that 12 or 13 of them would be ready to compete in the American League East.

The low-carb Atkins diet that raged last decade may not be the weight-loss juggernaut it once was, but it still has adherents and even a new book. And the controversial diet that promotes high-fat meats and cheeses over breads and pastas is still generating questions from the medical community. In a recently released study, a group of researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center says it might help people drop pounds but also might hurt the heart. The group compared three popular eating regimens -- Atkins, the low-carb and low-fat South Beach Diet and the vegetarian Ornish diet.

The New York Public Library said goodbye to Brooke Astor last week on a rainy afternoon that drew the creme de la creme. Such fabulous souls as Toni Morrison, the most celebrated novelist in America, read from things Brooke had written; likewise, the distinguished Robert Silvers, the actor's actor Marian Seldes, Fran Barrett, an Astor award winner, and the irrepressible Vartan Gregorian, who gave us a rousing Baptist preacher-type sermon. I loved when Charlie Rose spoke and showed a snippet of his interview with Brooke at her peak, back when she was in her late 90s. On the way out, one of the library's greatest supporters, writer Barbara Goldsmith, told me a terrific story about how, when she was divorced from movie director Frank Perry, she encountered Mrs. Astor, who congratulated her. "You are free!

If your mortgage payments are overwhelming you, there's still hope - if you act quickly. Housing advocates recommend calling the lender to ask for a "workout plan" that spreads your past-due balance over multiple payments, lowers your monthly bill for a set period or otherwise changes your terms to help you get past a bad patch. Lenders and mortgage servicers have more incentive than usual to work with borrowers, housing officials say, because they're dealing with rising defaults at a time when new homeowners don't have much equity.

The New York Public Library said goodbye to Brooke Astor last week on a rainy afternoon that drew the creme de la creme. Such fabulous souls as Toni Morrison, the most celebrated novelist in America, read from things Brooke had written; likewise, the distinguished Robert Silvers, the actor's actor Marian Seldes, Fran Barrett, an Astor award winner, and the irrepressible Vartan Gregorian, who gave us a rousing Baptist preacher-type sermon. I loved when Charlie Rose spoke and showed a snippet of his interview with Brooke at her peak, back when she was in her late 90s. On the way out, one of the library's greatest supporters, writer Barbara Goldsmith, told me a terrific story about how, when she was divorced from movie director Frank Perry, she encountered Mrs. Astor, who congratulated her. "You are free!

It's all in here. Look and you shall find: Mr. Peanut, Mr. Potato Head and Pee-wee Herman, Slinkies, ant farms, jukeboxes and pinball, Elvis and Sinatra, hot dogs and peanut butter, Yogi Berra and Yogi Bear, Burma Shave and propeller beanies, not to mention Rocky and Bullwinkle, hippies and beatniks."

COLLEGE PARK -- With Sen. Barack Obama coming up from Washington, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings coming down from Baltimore and Rep. Albert R. Wynn coming over from Prince George's County, the rally yesterday was intended to demonstrate the black support behind Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin for U.S. Senate. But former congressman Kweisi Mfume took the opportunity to sound a warning: If Democrats continue to present slates dominated by white men, it will cost the party at the polls. "When the Democratic ticket for statewide office in 2006 still looks like the one from 1956, we have a problem," Mfume told several hundred at the University of Maryland.

If it seems as if we never talk anymore at work, it's because we probably don't. At least for work purposes, according to a query of business executives who say their communications is almost strictly confined to e-mail these days. The telephone is a distant third when it comes to how we communicate at work, with only 13 percent listing it as the method used most often. Five years ago, the phone was used the most by 48 percent of executives. E-mail was the prime means for only 27 percent then.