Columbus

This schedule will be in effect in the Baltimore area today: Anne Arundel County offices: open Courts: closed Libraries: open Senior centers: open Public schools: open Trash removal: regular trash, recycling and yard waste pickup; landfills open Annapolis City offices: open Parking meters: feed Bus service: regular service Trash removal: regular trash, yard waste and recycling pickup Baltimore City offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed...

The bocce tournament was in full swing by the time the float carrying the mariachi band came snaking through Little Italy's skinny streets. A cultural fusion was on display yesterday at the city's 117th Columbus Day parade, complete with a float representing the city's Hispanic Business Association, plenty of local high school marching bands and the standard, and always popular, Frank Sinatra impersonators. "Columbus opened the door for immigrants to come to the United States," said Angelo Solera, a Hispanic community advocate who helped coordinate the participation of Hispanic businesses.

Baltimore's Columbus Day celebration is planned for Sunday with a parade from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The route is to start at Key Highway, running up Light Street, east across Pratt Street, and then into Little Italy. The events - sponsored by the Columbus Celebrations Inc. and the Office of Promotion and the Arts - are to include a wreath-laying at the Columbus Piazza on President Street at 10:30 a.m., and an Italian Street fair from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Stiles Street.

Charity run, walk -- The fourth annual Knights of Columbus 10K Run, 1-Mile Fun Walk and Kids Fun Run will be held at 8 a.m. Sept. 1 at the Shrine of St. Anthony, 12290 Folly Quarter Road, near Glenelg. The event will help support local charities, including the Arc of Howard County and FISH. The cost is $20 through Aug. 31; $25 on race day. Families of up to four people pay $35 through Aug. 31; $40 on race day. 410-531-7594.

CHARLES LAZARUS, 93 Headed chain of stores Charles Lazarus, the last member of his family to lead the Lazarus chain of department stores, died Monday after a brief illness at home in suburban Gahanna, Ohio, his son Stuart Lazarus said. The chain, founded in 1851 by Mr. Lazarus' great-grandfather as a one-room men's clothing store in Columbus, grew to more than 40 stores in five states in the Midwest. The family's influence declined when Federated Department Stores Inc. moved Lazarus' headquarters to Cincinnati in 1986.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In this part of the country, when college football fans speak of "The Game," there is no need to clarify that they're talking about the annual football matchup between Ohio State and Michigan. But none of the teams' 102 prior meetings have held as much importance as their game today, with Ohio State ranked No. 1 and Michigan No. 2 for the first time in series history. Both have 11-0 records and the winner is assured a spot in January's Bowl Championship Series national title game.

Oct. 12, the traditional Columbus Day, is a day to reflect on the nature of celebrity. Columbus was a pirate and tyrant who sailed off and bumped into the Bahamas, had no idea where he was, and to his dying day believed he had reached the Indies. By the time he arrived in the New World, America was old news to the Vikings. They already had that T-shirt. Five hundred years before, the Vikings had been sailing the Atlantic with confidence, making new friends and influencing people. Thorvald Asvaldsson sailed to Iceland in the 10th century with his son Erik the Red, after they'd been banished from Norway for manslaughter - if you've ever been in an argument with Norwegians, you probably considered manslaughter too - and from Iceland, Erik explored the icebound island to the west, which he named Greenland, for promotional purposes.

In its quest to increase viewership of its struggling news programs, Baltimore's ABC affiliate, WMAR, has named David Silverstein, a television executive in Columbus, Ohio, as news director. Connie Howard, his predecessor, left Channel 2 in June after spending 16 months trying to boost its news audience, which is considerably smaller than those of Baltimore's other stations. Since July 2001, Silverstein has directed the combined news department of WSYX, Channel 6, Columbus' ABC affiliate, and WTTE, Channel 28, the Fox affiliate, both owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, based in Hunt Valley.