Cornerstone

Police and area businesses have scheduled events to honor Baltimore's protectors during Police Officer Appreciation Week next month.Events will begin Sept. 7 with breakfasts for officers at each of the nine police districts, followed by a breakfast Sept. 8 at Police Headquarters for community association leaders.The Baltimore Zoo is sponsoring a police family entertainment night. The Baltimore Orioles have given the department baseball tickets for officers, and the police youth choir will sing the national anthem at a game Sept.

VIPS Healthcare Information Solutions, a Towson software and consulting firm, became a free-standing company yesterday after being sold sold by its parent, First Data Corp.Jenny G. Morgan, president and chief executive officer of VIPS, said she and all 240 employees will remain. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Cornerstone Equity Investors LLC, of New York, acquired a controlling interest in VIPS. "Our intention is to keep the company independent and use it as a base for growth," said Stephen Larson, a managing director of Cornerstone.

Cornerstone, a Baltimore advertising and marketing firm that has seen its star rising lately, and Badmington Holecheck, a respected Baltimore public relations agency, plan to merge today.The new company, which will retain the Cornerstone name, will have estimated combined billings this year of $37 million and a staff of 25, said executives at the two firms.The lion's share of the revenues -- about $30 million, will come from Cornerstone's business.Badmington Holecheck has closed its Lutherville office and its five employees have shifted to Cornerstone's Pratt Street headquarters.

The denim jean jacket survived Woodstock '94, six Grateful Dead shows, Mr. Dodd's geometry class. Look for the Pythagorean Theorem on the inside left cuff. The funky lamp adorned Dottie Hopson's living room, spring 1954. Then there's the red bowling ball Hank Collins rolled just before proposing to his future bride in the summer of 1968.The pictures of the bargains, found at Goodwill Industries stores, are real, their histories the stuff of advertising copywriters' fancy at Cornerstone Advertising in Baltimore.

New positions* Biohabitats Inc. named Karen Pugh director of environmental services for the Towson-based ecological assessment, planning and restorations firm.* Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, a Baltimore biopharmaceuticals manufacturer, appointed Henry Clark senior project manager and Richard Rush as clean room manager.* Prime Employee Assistance Program announced that Paul T. Geckle was selected as director of counseling. Added to the staff were: Roxann S. Karopchinsky, affiliate coordinator, and Stephanie A. Lysakoski, administrative services coordinator.

Bartlett Jere Whiting, 90, a professor emeritus of English at Harvard University who was renowned for his compilations of proverbs and for his classes on Chaucer, died Aug. 24 in Belfast, Maine.Selma Burke, 94, who sculpted the profile of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that appears on the dime, died Tuesday of cancer in New Hope, Pa.Hajime Mitarai, 56, the president of Canon Inc. who helped invent "bubble jet" printing, died of pneumonia yesterday in Tokyo, a company official said.Fischer S. Balck Jr., 57, an economist whose financial theories provided the cornerstone for Wall Street's global options market, died of cancer Wednesday in New Canaan, Conn.

New positions* Hess Shoes has chosen Thomas V. Kane as vice president of operations.* Biospherics Inc. has elected Arthur S. Locke III vice president of finance.* Sylvan Learning Systems appointed John K. Hoey vice president of human resources.* The Becker Group, commercial seasonal decorators, has added Harold Adams II, Linda Maxwell and Melissa Sprankle to its staff as project coordinators.* Baltimore Magazine named Margie Gilmore advertising and marketing director.* Catholic Relief Services appointed Albert E. Brill director of development.

Beth Shalom Congregation will unveil the cornerstone for its new synagogue at 2 p.m. Sunday at the building site near Freetown Road and Guilford Road in Columbia.The 55-pound marble stone was imported from Jerusalem.Beth Shalom is constructing the first free-standing synagogue in Howard County. The building is scheduled to open in January 1995.Representatives from Bet Yeladim preschool, which will begin holding classes in the synagogue in September 1995, will be at the ceremony.

The player doesn't like the coach.The player is 21. The coach is more than twice the player's age.The player has one full year in the business. The coach has what amounts to a lifetime.The player has a contract worth $73 million. The coach has a contract worth, well, certainly lucrative by most standards but a handful of M&Ms compared with $73 million.So, guess who's gone.Surprise.This time, amazingly enough, it is the player who is shipped away and the coach who stays.They are, respectively, Chris Webber and Don Nelson.

* Anne Arundel Trade Council is accepting reservations for 67 exhibit spaces for the forthcoming 55+ Expo, sponsored by the council and the county's Department of Aging. The event, the first countywide trade show for the "senior" consumer market, will be held April 15 in the Annapolis Holiday Inn. The fee for a6-by-8-inch booth is $595. For more information, call 757-6709.* Denturecare Inc. has signed leases for facilities in the Catonsville and Golden Ring areas. The Raleigh, N.C.-based dental services group plans to open the sites in February.

Providing bounty to those in need Kudos to the Swirnow family for continuing their practice of donating turkey dinners to some of Baltimore's most needy families ("Providing dinner for 21,000," Nov. 23). In an economy that begs business owners (and individuals) to hold onto their shrinking resources, the Swirnows understand that our economic distress is all the more reason to contribute to help meet the needs of those who live the reality of limited resources each day. In 20 years of nonprofit work, I have never met someone who has consciously chosen to be poor, hungry or live in poverty because he or she was lazy, felt entitled or just wanted to kick back and let someone else provide for him. If you are grateful that your plate will be full this Thanksgiving, please step up to the plate and help provide bounty for those who struggle to survive each day. Let's feed people, fight disease, foster hope.

Nov. 15 1777 The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation. 1939 President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.

Sept. 18 1793 President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. 1970 Rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.

It is a cornerstone of American comfort food, from childhood on up. Double T Diner 4140 E. Joppa Road, Perry Hall -- 410-248-0160 Hours --6 a.m.-midnight daily Ready in --6 minutes The American cheese on this sandwich, $4.15, started to solidify too quickly.

College Park -- The bars here were scoured for football players Tuesday night, and there was a strict curfew - a crackdown to avoid a repeat of last year's Halloween brawl at the Cornerstone Grill and Loft. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who was awoken about 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2005, said 65 players were checked in their rooms Tuesday night. Friedgen said yesterday that he reminded his players "it ruined our season last year." Nine players were involved in an altercation last fall, which police said began after a woman complained of being groped in the bar. Four players were suspended for one game, and several others faced sanctions for violating team rules, including underage drinking.

On July 7, 1806, a procession of priests and "junior ecclesiastics" led Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore to the southwestern corner of the hilltop plot that would be the site of America's first Catholic cathedral. Carroll sprinkled the first foundation stone with "blessed water," according to one account, while the assembled clergy repeated the 127th Psalm: "Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." They sang "Veni, Creator Spiritus," a hymn invoking the Holy Spirit.

On July 21, 1896, the cornerstone of Havre de Grace High School was laid, a project that eventually would cost $25,000. The City of Havre de Grace contributed $8,000, and the county commissioners provided the rest. The building was put to use Jan. 12, 1897. It was condemned in 1945 because of deficiencies in lighting and ventilation and because of its narrow corridors and stairways. - Source: Our Harford Heritage : A History of Harford Co, MD by C. Milton Wright.

THE DIVORCE BETWEEN former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Peter Boulware and the Ravens was inevitable. Boulware had recurring knee problems that forced him to miss the 2004 season. His salary for 2005 would have been $6 million, ridiculously high for a part-time player. Boulware had a choice of taking a pay cut or facing the possibility of being traded or waived. Actually, Boulware chose his own fate. There is no one to blame in this separation. It was purely business and ended as amicably as possible for one of the franchise's cornerstone players.

To help needy families -- locally and internationally -- who find themselves struggling during the holiday season, area churches are sponsoring outreach programs, including purchasing gifts and donating food, clothing and medical supplies. At First Baptist Church of Guilford, the Rev. John L. Wright said his church helps struggling families throughout the year. "When a family needs help, the church is always there," he said, adding the church annually sponsors a December clothing drive that's sent to Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville, where mentally ill patients are treated.

Cornerstone Community Church in Columbia describes itself as a "what you see is what you get" kind of church. That's because the people who attend its services aren't bombarded with "religiosity," said the Rev. Bruce Hopler, senior pastor of the church. Instead, they are given God's word in a plain way that most people can understand, he said. "We burst through what has become `Christian culture' by using everyday language to deliver messages that people can relate to, and use music and art forms that are similar to today's culture," Hopler explained.