Contributions

With so many workers failing to manage the do-it-yourself 401(k) retirement plan, employers increasingly are becoming more hands on. Some automatically enroll employees instead of waiting for them to sign up. Many supply workers with advice or have added no-fuss funds to take the guesswork out of investing. Others offer retiring workers the option of buying an annuity with 401(k) money so they have an income stream for life, as with a traditional pension. Indeed, as things are headed, the 401(k)

Thwarted last year by community opposition and the city zoning board from opening a multipurpose services center across the street from its East Baltimore sanctuary, Southern Baptist Church is ready to try again at a new location down the street - this time with the help of a powerful state senator who is also a member of its congregation. State Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, president pro tem of the General Assembly's upper chamber and a member of the church for more than three decades, is the sponsor of a state bond bill to help Southern Baptist create the Mary Harvin Transformation Center, which would provide counseling to AIDS patients and their families as well as other services.

AS THE 20th century draws to its conclusion, the time arrives to honor those whose efforts made life better not just for those around them but for multitudes unknown to them.How contemporary it would be to claim that this is an objective, computer-compiled list of measurable contributions with quantifiable benefits. Sorry. Can't be done. This is a subjective list, argued and re-argued by The Sun's editorial board. It was compiled by a process not unlike election endorsements or choice of Marylander of the Year -- equally scientific, no more and no less.

As Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger considers a run to become Maryland's next governor, he is drawing much of his financial support from business executives in Delaware who work for credit card giant MBNA Corp.More than one in every six dollars that has poured into Ruppersberger's campaign coffers this year -- $114,850 of the $629,851 total -- came from MBNA executives, their spouses and relatives, The Sun found in a review of his campaign finance reports.The contributions came from the company, 35 of its executives and 10 spouses or other relatives.

For the second time in as many days, the Carroll commissioners tabled discussion yesterday of a proposal that would allow county employees to make contributions to the United Way of Central Maryland through payroll deductions.The commissioners are expected to tackle the issue next week.Commissioners Donald I. Dell and Robin Bartlett Frazier refused to vote on the proposal Wednesday because Board President Julia Walsh Gouge could not attend the meeting.Frazier, who seemed to support the payroll program Wednesday, asked yesterday to postpone discussion of the proposal because she had concerns about the way United Way disburses the contributions it receives.

City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III has raised $1.1 million for his mayoral bid but seems to have lost once-dominant fund-raising momentum in the campaign's final weeks, the latest campaign finance reports show.Both of Bell's chief rivals in the race, City Councilman Martin O'Malley and former City Councilman Carl Stokes, raised more than Bell in the most recent three-week reporting period, the last before the Sept. 14 primary.O'Malley, who entered the race June 22, raised $251,000 between Aug. 11 and Aug. 29. Stokes' campaign brought in $193,800 and Bell took in $146,555 for the same period.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Rod Anderson acquired the Hereford House in 1987, he issued five W-2 forms for each position at the restaurant. That's an average of five people filling a single job in a year. That's a lot of staff turnover.This year, 440 people filled 250 positions at the original Hereford House and the newer one in Leawood, Kan., less than two people for each position.His turnover turnaround lies partly in the acronym HOOF, short for Helping Others Obtain a Future.Some background: Restaurants are notorious for high turnover.

WASHINGTON -- Much like his public approval ratings, contributions to President Clinton's legal defense fund increased last year, yielding more than $4.5 million for his and his wife's mounting legal bills.In releasing results of their direct-mail appeal on behalf of the president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, trustees of the Clinton Legal Expense Trust said yesterday that more than 50,000 Americans have made donations to defray their legal bills.The second half of the year was slightly more successful than the first, bringing in $2.3 million of the total.

After years of handcrafting and giving ceramic angels to almost anyone who wanted one, artist Sally Kearsley has become an unlikely angel herself -- offering to spend up to $100,000 for the campaign of a long-shot Baltimore mayoral candidate, the gadfly A. Robert Kaufman.The wealthy scion of an old Virginia family, Kearsley has contributed the maximum $10,000 total to three groups supporting Kaufman and his running mate, City Council presidency candidate Dave Greene.And she might put up as much as $100,000 "in support of those ideas she shares in common with Kaufman," says her attorney Anthony L. Brennan.

More than 250 mostly business supporters donated over $1,000 each to Martin O'Malley's mayoral campaign, helping to push the Democratic nominee over the $1.3 million mark, according to reports released yesterday.The former state prosecutor and defense attorney faces Republican newcomer David F. Tufaro in the Nov. 2 general election to determine who will become Baltimore's 47th mayor.In addition to the business support, O'Malley gained financial help from prominent area political leaders such as state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, who donated $5,800 left over from his November campaign, and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, who kicked in the $2,000 remainder he had from a past Congressional race.

Richard S. Zelina, Friends may call the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc 1050 York Road (Beltway Exit 26A) on Sunday 1 to 4 P.M. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Mark's Church (Fallston) on Monday at 10 A.M. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Ohio University Dept of Engineering. Please mail contribution to Ohio University Foundation, McGuffey Hall #106 University Advancement, Athens, Ohio 45701 c/o Howard Lipmann. www.ruckfuneralhomes.

B ernard ullough Jr. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

The president of the Baltimore City Council called Sunday for an audit of the city's involvement with a little-known nonprofit foundation, after a Baltimore Sun investigation detailed questionable transactions by city employees using foundation money. Saying donations to the Baltimore City Foundation must be used for charitable purposes only, City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake added that when donors contribute funds through city agencies to help the needy, they "have a right to know how their contributions are ultimately spent."

MELVIN E. Shalett A graveside service will be held at Forest Hills Memorial Park, Palm City, FL on Thursday, October 22 at 1:15 P.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to the charity of choice. Inquiries to Forest Hills Funeral Home at www.foresthillspalmcityflorida.com

The recession has cut into virtually every financial endeavor, but will it affect political fundraising, too? The sagging economy failed to thwart contributions to local elected officials last year, at least according to the annual campaign finance reports that were due Jan. 21. The data show that some are flush with cash, while others cling to Howard's older, low-budget traditions. County Executive Ken Ulman, a Democrat, has raised roughly $250,000 each of his first two years in office.

Whatever the ultimate dispositions of the criminal cases against Mayor Sheila Dixon, City Councilwoman Helen L. Holton and developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, it is clear that something needs to be done to diminish the corrosive combination of development, money and politics. While it may be impossible to prevent developers from secretly lavishing cash and gifts on politicians or paying for political polls - as Mr. Lipscomb is alleged to have done for, respectively, Ms. Dixon and Ms. Holton - steps can be taken to counter the widespread pay-to-play perception when it comes to major city real estate and construction projects.

Last month, Sen. Barack Obama took in an amazing $150 million in campaign contributions - a number that increased his fundraising total to $600 million for the primaries and general election, topping the combined amount raised by President Bush and Democrat John Kerry in 2004. It's an extraordinary achievement, but one that offers sad evidence of the futility of a decades-long effort to limit the influence of money in American politics. Sen. John McCain, Mr. Obama's Republican opponent, chose to participate in the public financing program, which gave him $84 million to spend from Sept.

On October 1, 2008, J oseph Glus Memorial contributions may be made to Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Rising gas and food prices and a stock market slump are starting to prompt people to reduce or suspend contributions to their 401(k) retirement plans. Charles Schwab, for instance, said that more than 7 percent of participants in 401(k)s it administers reduced or stopped their contributions in the first quarter of this year, up from 5.8 percent the year before. Putnam Investments' survey of plan advisers in May found that one out of five participants had reduced 401(k) contributions this year.

No contributions from corporations After reading The Sun's article "Dixon funds linked to firms" (June 25), I agree with the statement by Ryan O'Donnell, executive director for Common Cause Maryland: "In fact, there's no reason why corporations should be donating money to politicians to begin with. We need a serious commitment to ethics and transparency at all levels of government." The right to express free speech through campaign contributions should belong to voters only - i.e., to citizens and not to corporations.