Dairy Queen

M. Mildred WolffSecretary, 80A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for retired secretary M. Mildred Wolff of Catonsville, formerly of the Glen Burnie-Southdale area, at 10 a.m., July 30, at St. Jerome's Catholic Church, on Hamburg Street in Baltimore, where she was a member.Mrs. Wolff, 80, died July 27 of a heart attack at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore.She was born and raised in Baltimore, and worked as a secretary for the Baltimore Moving and Storage company for 30 years.Mrs. Wolff belonged to the American Association of Retired People and the Senior Citizens' Group of St. Jerome's Catholic Church.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Baltimore City Southern District Arrest: Two men were arrested yesterday by members of the Warrant Apprehension Task Force on warrants charging them with the shooting and attempted murder of Eugene Hunt, 23, in the 200 block of S. Norris St. on Saturday night after a dispute over money. Held at Central Booking and Intake Center were Kevin Anderson, 24, of the 200 block of S. Norris St., and Daniel Taylor, 22, of the 2300 block of Winchester St. Western District Carjacking try/ stabbing: A man operating as an unlicensed cab driver stopped in the 1800 block of N. Fulton Ave. about 6 p.m. Wednesday and picked up a man who asked to be driven two blocks to North Avenue.

County police arrested 24 people on drug and alcohol charges Thursday night outside Buddy's Late Night Annapolis, continuing what has become a weekly undercover operation in the club's parking lot on Hudson Street.Police charged them with offenses ranging from underage drinking to possession of drugs. Nine of the 24 were Anne Arundel County residents.The club has come under fire in recent weeks for Thursday night activities called "College Night," when the club admits patrons between ages 18 and 21.Police said officers began patrolling the parking lot after numerous calls reporting fights and public drinking.

When former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey K. Skilling was sentenced last week to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the company's 2001 collapse, it was a reminder of how the Enron scandal forced changes in government's oversight of corporate America. In the wake of that scandal, Congress strengthened securities laws in 2002 to protect investors and markets from future financial disasters. Unfortunately, powerful corporations are challenging these laws in bitter legal disputes across the country.

MAYBERRY, N.C. -- Former sheriff Andy Taylor died here last week. Mayberry is in mourning. Sheriff Taylor was one of the last links to another, simpler time. Before there was a traffic light or drive-through banking here, before we got our first cellphone tower or Wi-Fi connection, before the Dairy Queen, the Wal-Mart and the Subway were built out on Route 89, before color was invented, back when people still appeared to one another in shades of black and white, Mayberry was a very different town in a very different America.

The other night we were watching a movie on TV. During one of the commercial breaks - which are generally long enough to drive to Dairy Queen for a sundae and get back before the show starts again - Doug went to make some popcorn. I approve of popcorn as "food" on principle. It's delicious right out of the kernel - if you like Styrofoam packing peanuts - and it has fiber which, as the fiber-supplement industry is constantly reminding us, is good for us. Personally, I think they're just trying to get rid of all those extra Styrofoam packing peanuts.

Minnesota lawmakers haven't put the final touches on their health care reform legislation, but already Dr. Darrell L. Carter is feeling the effects. Two partners in his southwestern Minnesota practice are considering leaving.That would mean Granite Falls (population 3,083) would have only three doctors to care for 15,000 patients, some of whom drive 20 miles to the physicians' office.Minnesota's proposed health care reforms, which would create large competing networks of health care providers, may be exactly what some policy-makers in Washington believe the nation needs.

Star quality. That's what investors seek in the portfolio managers of their stock mutual funds.Though fund companies don't like to admit it, the manager is all-important. He navigates portfolios through quirky economic and market trends, buying and selling along the way. Unlike those of many other professions, fund managers' performance numbers don't lie."While the portfolio manager isn't really as important in a very basic stock index or bond fund, he's vital in any stock fund with distinct goals," observed Don Phillips, publisher of the Morningstar Mutual Funds investment advisory.

Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor known for buying companies at low prices, made a bet on bonds last year that's paying off. The finance unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. more than doubled its assets last year to $42 billion by buying U.S. Treasury and agency bonds, according to annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This year, Buffett has been selling, taking advantage of surging prices to boost the unit's pretax income for the first nine months of the year to $793 million from $325 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Buffett, who has told investors to expect lower returns from U.S. equities this year, focused on bonds as their returns beat stocks for a third year - something that hasn't happened since 1939-1941.

LET'S SEE NOW, ultra-excitable anchorwoman Murphy Brown is pregnant on the CBS show of the same name. Ultra-horny Sam Malone talks about having a baby with Rebecca Howe on "Cheers." And recovering airhead Peg Bundy of "Married with Children..." is expecting, no doubt triggering a weeklong Prozac binge by dirtball husband Al.Anybody see a common theme here? Given the networks' penchant for beating an idea to death, can the following prime-time offerings be far behind?"MacGyver" (ABC) -- Mac makes plans to have a baby, until Kelly quietly takes him aside and explains that men are biologically incapable of childbirth.