Chelsea Clinton

WASHINGTON - For a moment, at least, the acrimony among Republicans and Democrats cooled as President Bush stood in the regal East Room of the White House yesterday and paid glowing tribute to his predecessor. "President Clinton and Senator Clinton, welcome home," Bush said, extending an affectionate greeting to the 42nd president and his wife, now a senator from New York, as their official portraits were unveiled and later hung in the executive mansion. The visit was Clinton's first return to the White House since his term ended Jan. 20, 2001.

Lewinsky faked letter for college friend, paper saysPORTLAND, Ore. -- While attending Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, Monica Lewinsky allegedly used school stationery to write a phony letter to help someone she knew continue receiving unemployment benefits, the Oregonian reported Sunday, quoting an unidentified source.A college spokeswoman, Jean Kempe-Ware, said the school encouraged an employee who kept a copy of the document to turn it over to the Whitewater prosecutor, Kenneth W. Starr.

SpeedwritingI thoroughly enjoyed the article "Spdwrtng: shorthand for new generation" (Jan. 7).I studied Gregg shorthand in high school at Mergenthaler over 20 years ago. During that time, I had two great teachers -- Delores Hospedales and Celia Carr. Both were dedicated professionals and, thanks to them, I was able to attain a speed of 120 words per minute with 100 percent accuracy.I subsequently reached a top speed of 160 words per minute. This achievement allowed me to receive job offers from several prestigious companies in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Ballet dancers can seem like visitors from another, not-quite-real world - sprites maybe, alighting in our midst for the most fleeting of moments. They skim across the floor on the tips of their toes or sail through the air on invisible wings and then, because ballet is ephemeral, they're gone. Mary Saludares, 20, a dancer with the Washington Ballet's junior company, was killed last week, struck by a car as she tried to cross a street shortly after performing at Harford Community College - now, sadly, the last venue to be visited by this particular sprite.

CHICAGO -- As her parents stress family values as a Democratic campaign theme, Chelsea Clinton is emerging from four years in a White House cocoon as a poised, smiling, curly-haired, political asset.Her braces are gone. Her gawkiness has been replaced by a grace gained through years of ballet. Her shyness has been shooed away by a life full of strangers.She is 16: old enough to drive and date; a senior at Sidwell Friends School; and now a presence at the Democratic campaign.Cameras focused almost as much on Chelsea as on the first lady during Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech to the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night.

With Sen. Barack Obama looking to sweep tomorrow's Potomac primaries, Sen. Hillary Clinton unleashed powerful allies in Maryland yesterday for a strategic push aimed at traditional Democratic groups who have helped her in other states. Former President Bill Clinton crisscrossed Maryland, calling his wife "the best change-maker I ever saw" during a speech at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. Daughter Chelsea Clinton made appearances in Baltimore's Belvedere Square shopping district and later went to the University of Maryland, College Park.

Victims of robbery have every right to protect themselves The June 16 Sun reported the attempted armed robbery at his place of business of John Lazzell, a Baltimore County golf professional ("Golf pro uses 9-iron, averts robbery"). Until the last four paragraphs, it was a straight piece of reporting. The last four paragraphs, however, dealt with an unrelated incident: the March shootings of a couple of burglars by the Geckle brothers. Other than victims turning the tables on law-breakers, I see no link and question the relevance of that incident.

The question before Channel 13's Dave Ricklin is this:Once you've reported on zit horror stories, dressed up like a member of "The Love Boat," and swiped a handful of jelly beans on the air, what do you do for an encore?To him, the answer seems obvious. With Valentine's Day near, you go to Loyola College, troll for tales of first kisses, and, when all else fails, engineer a peck on the cheek between two students who are complete strangers.This is Dave's World, and welcome to it.As WJZ-TV's new twentysomething reporter, he's bringing Jiffy Lube-style journalism to the 5 o'clock news, playing a smart-aleck and stand-up comedian during his Monday segments.

WASHINGTON -- They thought it was a perfectly harmless little joke. But when babe-watchers Wayne and Garth of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" turned their stone-washed wit to Chelsea Clinton in a "Wayne's World" sketch, making wisecracks about her appearance, the response was less than excellent.After hearing boos from the TV community and public criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton, the show's producers edited out the offending comments when the show was rebroadcast recently. Mike Myers, aka Wayne, also wrote a letter of apology to the Clintons.

WASHINGTON -- On his 47th birthday, President Clinton arrived yesterday at Martha's Vineyard, a picturesque, high-tone island hangout with no McDonald's, precious few Bubbas -- but, thank goodness, not one, but two golf courses.The White House is advertising this as an 11-day stay, although one aide said yesterday that he doubts Mr. Clinton, a notorious workaholic, will actually manage to stay put that long.Close friends say that in the past four years they can't remember the president's taking more than a long weekend without mixing a little politics.