Face Value

A tuxedo seems like the one sartorial item that Hahn-Bin might not wear when this 24-year-old violinist appears for the Candlelight Concert Society on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m. in Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. This hotshot performer often favors a sleeveless black kimono, generously applied facial makeup and a towering black Mohawk hairdo. In what promises to be a fashion show of sorts, he is expected to make around 10 costume changes during Saturday's concert. It's enough to make Lady Gaga go gaga.

The City Council finally had a chance to do something for the average citizen to help them financially, and what do they do? They vote in favor of big business ("Council committee votes to allow Ticketmaster fees," March 1). What a shock! To allow Ticketmaster's unpopular, unnecessary and arbitrary user fees - or should I say "usury fees" - to continue is unbelievable. So the Ravens, the Orioles and some concert and entertainment venues are concerned that Ticketmaster might refuse to handle events in Baltimore.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Every day, with the blessing of U.S. officials, Iraqi government printing presses produce 4 million portraits of Saddam Hussein. Hussein is rendered in purple ink against a filigreed pink and blue background, in a pose reminiscent of George Washington. One difference is that he is depicted wearing a business suit and striped tie. The portraits, printed by the mint, are on Iraq's 250-dinar notes, probably the most widely circulated paper currency in Iraq. The reasons the United States has been forced to approve mass-produced portraits of this country's fugitive leader while offering a $25 million reward for his capture suggest how complicated the reconstruction of the country now seems.

A City Council committee approved a bill Thursday that would allow companies such as Ticketmaster to continue to charge unlimited fees in selling tickets to events in Baltimore. The council's finance committee voted 3-1 in favor of the bill, which would exempt Ticketmaster and other ticket sellers from Baltimore's long-standing anti-scalping law. If approved by the full council next month, the bill would allow the ticket-selling companies to continue to charge unlimited user, service and "convenience" fees.

What is a good seat worth on Opening Day at Camden Yards? There were as many answers at yesterday's season opener between the Orioles and the Boston Red Sox as there were fans -- 46,547 in all, some thrifty, some rash. To a trio of ninth-grade fans from Park Heights enjoying the chilly first day of spring break, good seats are worth about $15 and a several-hour wait. To a pair of legal aides, fine seats with an up-close view of Cal Ripken are worth exactly $30 apiece. To an online bidder, two great seats are worth $157 -- $2 more than the unlucky bidder she beat out. Alex M. Macenski and Patti M. Jette, both 27 and from Arlington, Va., were willing to part with $100 for a pair of $11 tickets high in left field for a chance to watch the Orioles topple the Red Sox, 2-1. "It's the best of the worst," Macenski quipped.

A City Council committee approved a bill Thursday that would allow companies such as Ticketmaster to continue to charge unlimited fees in selling tickets to events in Baltimore. The council's finance committee voted 3-1 in favor of the bill, which would exempt Ticketmaster and other ticket sellers from Baltimore's long-standing anti-scalping law. If approved by the full council next month, the bill would allow the ticket-selling companies to continue to charge unlimited user, service and "convenience" fees.

Citigroup Inc. Shares fell 31 cents, or 0.99 percent, to $30.70 as the financial giant agreed to place troubled "structured" investments with a face value of more than $60 billion on its balance sheet.

When the King of Jordan talks like a stooge of Saddam, you are not supposed to take him at face value. Ditto when he talks like a statesman.Too bad the shrubbery thieves of North Baltimore County won't tackle the poison ivy.

WOULD YOU like a guaranteed investment that gives you a fixed return by a specific date? If so, consider zero-coupon bonds. "Zero-coupon bonds are great for covering future financial needs and obligations," says Family Money. "They're ideal for paying college tuition, buying a new car or making a final balloon payment on a mortgage. Zeros are not like other bonds. You buy a `zero' at a discount from its face value and the interest is reinvested into your bond so you receive full face value at maturity."

Editor's note: In the May 26 issue of The Harford County Sun, we asked readers their views on the disclosure that James D. Fielder Jr., the new county economic development director, is named in court records as having more than $200,000 in liens filed against him and severalother loan guarantors. Below are responses received last week.DON'TACCEPT FACE VALUEFrom: Darlene TesterHavre de GraceI think that James D. Fielder, Eileen Rehrmann and the County Council share in the error.The fact that major liens were filed against a political appointee to be director of economic development seems to be a pertinent issue that should have been disclosed by both Rehrmann and Fielder to the County Council.

A tuxedo seems like the one sartorial item that Hahn-Bin might not wear when this 24-year-old violinist appears for the Candlelight Concert Society on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m. in Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. This hotshot performer often favors a sleeveless black kimono, generously applied facial makeup and a towering black Mohawk hairdo. In what promises to be a fashion show of sorts, he is expected to make around 10 costume changes during Saturday's concert. It's enough to make Lady Gaga go gaga.

The ad possessed a hopeful tone with a hint of desperation. "I am a Terp fanatic, but as a law student I am in the unfortunate position of not being able to afford tickets to Wednesday night's game against Duke," said the posting on Craigslist, the online classifieds site. "In exchange for tickets, I am willing to sign a contract that will guarantee a TBD number of billable hours of attorney services fully redeemable upon my passing of the Maryland bar. Please contact me as soon as possible."

News item: The new book about to hit the shelves by Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts portrays Alex Rodriguez as a guy who took steroids in high school and tipped pitches to opposing hitters in the hope they would reciprocate and help him pad his stats. My take: After all those steroids, you would think the guy wouldn't need any more padding. News item: Former Oriole Kevin Millar, sporting the goatee he was not allowed to grow in Baltimore, drove in three runs in the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-4 victory over the Orioles on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

For Ravens fans looking to migrate south for the playoffs, getting tickets to the game wasn't a problem yesterday. But getting to Miami - that's another matter. Thanks to lukewarm Miami fans who don't always fill Dolphin Stadium, some of the Ravens faithful were able to buy tickets at face value on the Ticketmaster Web site yesterday morning. But with the Orange Bowl game in Miami this week, the college football championship game next week and seasonal travelers heading to Florida to thaw out, decent airfare is hard to come by. Many flights out of South Florida on Sunday and Monday, when Ravens fans would be returning home, are full.

Citigroup Inc. agreed yesterday to pay a $100 million fine and buy back more than $7 billion in troubled fixed-income securities from individuals who have been stranded in the investments for most of this year. The settlement, with New York state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and other regulators, figures to put pressure on other banks to cut similar deals over so-called auction-rate securities, which tumbled in value amid the credit crisis in February. The deal will help an estimated 40,000 individual investors and others whose holdings have declined by about $500 million.

It's rare for a work of conceptual art to touch the emotions as strongly as it engages the intellect. Yet Laura Burns' homage to the "disappeared women" of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, where an epidemic of rape and murder has claimed the lives of hundreds of female factory workers over the past 15 years, is surely one of the most compelling shows to appear in Baltimore this year. Beautifully installed at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson by exhibitions director Jed Dodds and the artist, Laura Burns: Homenaje is a model of simplicity.

TOKYO -- In a sign that Japan's 4-year-old banking crisis keeps growing worse, Mitsubishi Bank announced yesterday that it was taking a loss of more than $1 billion because of bad debts at two affiliated finance companies that are undergoing their second bailout in a year.Mitsubishi Bank, the sixth-largest bank in the world as well as in Japan, said it was taking a $1.08 billion direct loss on bad real estate loans that the affiliates were selling for less than half their face value.In effect, the bank purchased the loans from the two companies at face value, then sold them at a loss.

Maryland forward Keith Booth was found in violation of an NCAA bylaw for the purchase of a ticket to a Chicago Bulls playoff game last spring, but will miss no games, the university announced last night.A release issued by Maryland's legal department said Booth will be required to donate $50, the face value of the ticket, to the charity of his choice. The release said he did not lose his eligibility because he was unaware -- and had no way of knowing -- that the ticket had been purchased by a family friend through a sports agent, a violation of bylaw 12.3.

Citigroup Inc. Shares fell 31 cents, or 0.99 percent, to $30.70 as the financial giant agreed to place troubled "structured" investments with a face value of more than $60 billion on its balance sheet.

Need tickets for the Ravens' NFL playoff game? Getting them is surprisingly easy. But, not so surprisingly, it's also plenty expensive. Due to the rapidly evolving world of Internet commerce, hundreds of Ravens tickets for the divisional round playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium the weekend of Jan. 13-14 were available online yesterday, albeit at several times the face value. The Ravens, seeded No. 2 in the AFC playoffs, will take on the higher-seeded winner of this weekend's wild-card games.