Frederick

Always, there were those lovely old country estates and gracious manor taverns with roaring fireplaces, but in the old days fine dining was associated with the city. Not so anymore. Now, there are more compelling reasons than ever for diners to cross county lines for a good meal. The 50 best county restaurants in Howard County, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County is a mix of the old and the new, destinations for special occasions and joints for Monday night suppers, the chef-driven and crowd-pleasing.

Dr. Frederick L. Brancati, an internationally known expert on the epidemiology and prevention of type 2 diabetes who was director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, died Tuesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Lutherville home. He was 53. "He was a delightful human being — smart, witty and fun to be around," said Dr. Michael J. Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whom Dr. Brancati succeeded as division chief.

It has been a discouraging season on the field for the defending Carolina League champions, but the turnstiles have been clicking.With an appearance by President Bush Saturday, the Keys drew the biggest Grove Stadium crowd in their history (7,912) and went on to a three-game weekend total of 19,652 for a series against the Durham Bulls (another record).Through 28 dates, the Keys had an average crowd of 3,738, second in the league to Durham, despite their worst start in the standings.The largest crowd to attend a Frederick game came during the Keys' first year (at old McCurdy Field)

The Patuxent Art League holds monthly classes for all levels of experience, taught by Frederick Schuler Briggs, of the Schuler School of Fine Arts, in Baltimore. Upcoming classes will be held Saturdays, May 11, June 8 and July 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Maryland City at Russett Library, 3501 Russett Common. For information, call Rose Lomangino at 301-725-0386.

T here was one battle the late Sen. Charles McC. Mathias Jr. couldn't win during his 26 years in the House and Senate - where he had championed such historic causes as civil rights legislation, women's rights and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay while defying the Republican Party with his opposition to the Vietnam War - and that was concluding the Civil War for his hometown of Frederick. For all of his political power and acumen, Mathias was unable to persuade Congress to pay back the original $200,000 ransom (at 4¿ percent interest, compounded)

The Board of County Commissioners this week approved creation of a shuttle bus service to transport veterans from two locations in Carroll County to Veterans Administration hospitals in Baltimore City and Frederick. The commissioners voted 4-0 on a measure proposed by Board President Doug Howard. In addition to Howard, commissioners Robin Frazer, Haven Shoemaker and David Rous voted in favor. Commissioner Richard Rothschild was absent. The Veterans Shuttle Service will operate three days a week and will begin on Nov. 13. Riders will be able to board the shuttle at either TownMall in Westminster or Carrolltown Center in Eldersburg.

On Sunday, September 4, 2005, FREDERICK A. STRASSNER JR., beloved companion of the late Jean H. Siney. Interment private. Those desiring may direct expressions of sympathy to the Alzheimers Foundation or to the American Cancer Society. Arrangements by Miller-Dippel Funeral Home, Inc.

On January 21, 2006, FREDERICK GARRISON, member of American Legion Post #22, VFW Post 9083 and lifetime member of C&P Telephone Pioneer; beloved father of Eric D. Garrison and the late Frederick Garrison; dear brother of the late Dorothy A. King, Frances C. Revis, Catherine E. Garrison and Phyllis M. Meisz. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and friends. Friends may call at the family owned Leonard J. Ruck, Inc. Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Road (at Echodale)

Should the McDonogh boys lacrosse team enjoy an extended run in the upcoming Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs, the Eagles will likely look back on Tuesday's performance against visiting St. Paul's as a character-building foundation. Senior Austin Frederick was the catalyst, tying the game with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter with his sixth goal of the day. Hil Blaze won the faceoff to start overtime, and when Trey McGee found open space on the left side and buried a shot 13 seconds into the extra time, the No. 3 Eagles were celebrating a dramatic 11-10 win over the No. 2 Crusaders.

National advocacy groups for people with Down syndrome are seeking an independent investigation into the January death of a Frederick County man after off-duty sheriff's deputies tried to remove him from a movie theater. Robert Ethan Saylor, 25, suffocated on Jan. 12 after three Frederick County sheriff's deputies attempted to remove him from the Theater 9 Westview Cinemas in Frederick. He died later at a local hospital. "We want to just find out more information to see if Ethan's rights as an individual with a disability were violated.

Maryland's football team is hitting the road again - this time to Frederick County - for a spring practice Saturday that is open to the public and is designed to deepen the program's roots in the state. The Terps will practice at Middletown High beginning at noon. There is no admission charge. Maryland practiced at Dunbar on March 30. Saturday's practice will come six days before the team's annual Red-White spring game at Byrd Stadium. This year's game is being played on a Friday night instead of the customary Saturday afternoon.

Robert Ethan Saylor didn't like to be touched, and suddenly an off-duty deputy had his hands on him. Within moments, two more deputies would grab him, the four men would fall in a heap on the floor, and Saylor, who had been shouting and resisting their attempts to restrain him, would grow quiet and still. More than two months after a man with Down syndrome died at the hands of three off-duty Frederick County sheriff's deputies, these details about his death emerged in an autopsy report released this week.

Three Frederick County sheriff's deputies will not be held criminally responsible in the death of a developmentally disabled man at a movie theater in January, prosecutors said Friday. A grand jury declined to indict the three deputies, who were attempting to remove 25-year-old Robert Ethan Saylor from the Theater 9 Westview Cinemas in Frederick when he suffocated Jan. 12, the Frederick County state's attorney's office said. Saylor, who had Down syndrome, died later at a local hospital.

The jeans are too gray, Toby Schermerhorn is on the phone saying. They need to be bluer, she tells the person handling the jeans. Prints of this collage - dozens of overlapping blue jean-clad bottoms - are going to grace guest room bathrooms in a new Renaissance hotel in Alberta, Canada. The rendering is an homage to the Levi's manufacturing that used to take place nearby. Hundreds of details like this, the precise color of jean butts, get honed to perfection in Frederick County by Schermerhorn and her husband, Rob Laschever, who run a four-person company that dictates the look and feel of hotel interiors.

Frederick Restaurant Week runs March 4-10. The some two dozen restaurants participating in the seven-day promotion are offering two- or three-course dinners for $20.13 and $30.13, respectively. Most are also offering two- and three-course lunches for $15.13 and $20.13, respectively. At these prices you wouldn't expect Volt to be among the participants, and you'd be right. However, Bryan Voltaggio and Hilda Staples' two other Frederick restaurants, Lunchbox and Family Meal , are joining in. Other participating restaurants include Alexander's, Brewer's Alley, Firestone Culinary Tavern, Isabella's Taverna and Tapas Bar, The Orchard, Quinn's Attic and the Tasting Room.

It may be known as the Nation's River, but here where the Potomac carves its way between Maryland and Virginia, ownership is up for grabs. Again. A court battle that pits a group of property owners against two small paddling and tubing companies seeks to establish who controls the river, the banks and the mud below. A Washington County circuit judge has pushed the dispute across the water to Loudoun County, Va., saying he lacks jurisdiction. But it's not clear that Virginia's justice system has standing either.