Gavel

LOS ANGELES -- Kathleen Sullivan sits in the TV studio several miles from the O. J. Simpson trial sipping a can of Diet Coke.She is wearing a dark gray suit jacket and a large gold necklace.She is also wearing gray pants, but on TV nobody cares what you wear below the waist.She is sitting behind the O. J. anchor desk at E! Entertainment Television, a 24-hour cable network "dedicated to the world of entertainment."Pets and real estateShe has just finished with doggie "psychiatrist" Matthew Margolis, who has answered the question whether Kato the Akita could have picked up the bloody glove at Bundy and carried it to Rockingham.

On April 18, 2004, WALTER ALEXANDER SUMUEL, beloved husband of Michelle L. (nee Gavel) Sumuel; devoted father of Sierra L., Morgan R. and Amber J. Sumuel, Alexandrea A. and Atlanta A. Sumuel of Virginia Beach, VA; loving son of the late Rogers L. and Elizabeth Sumuel; also survived by three brothers, three sisters and many nieces and nephews. A Funeral Service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Ave on Friday at 12 P.M. Entombment Holly Hill Memorial Gardens.

The Thomas hearings will be televised in their entirety starting at 10 a.m. today on CNN and C-SPAN II. The Public Broadcasting System, including Channels 22 and 67 here, will also air gavel-to-gavel coverage.ABC, CBS and NBC will likewise provide coverage beginning at 10 a.m., and all three local affiliates -- WMAR (Channel 2), WBAL (Channel 11) and WJZ (Channel 13) -- said yesterday that they plan to carry the hearings at least through this morning. All left open the possibility, however, of switching to regular programming throughout the day. Coverage during the weekend has not yet been determined.

Hand it to veteran lobbyist James J. Doyle Jr., perhaps the only paid persuader in town who can use Maryland's budget problems as a reason to kill a bill that would raise more money for the state.The bill would create a $1 million investment adviser guaranty fund to help pay victims of securities fraud. It would do so by imposing an annual $50 assessment on every registered investment adviser; the assessment could rise if the payout from the fund increases.Here was one of the arguments that Mr. Doyle, who represents IDS Financial Services, used against the bill before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last week:"In a year like this, when the legislature doesn't know how to handle, or what to do with the taxes it does have, or how to raise new ones, this is the worst time to be considering an experiment like this."

Los Angeles -- As if the line between entertainment and news were not blurred enough, E! Entertainment Television yesterday announced that it will offer gavel-to-gavel live coverage of the O. J. Simpson trial with former CBS correspondent and weight-loss pitch-woman Kathleen Sullivan anchoring.The cable channel's coverage will pre-empt all programming except commercials from noon to 8 p.m. daily once the trial starts, according to Fran Shea, E!'s senior vice president for programming.Shea said E!

Jim Karayn, 64, a former television executive and pioneer of public broadcasting, died Thursday in Washington. He was the force behind the gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings and live coverage of the president's annual State of the Union address.Mr. Karayn started as news director of KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and came to Washington in the 1960s as a producer with NBC News.He moved to PBS and helped persuade others to join, including Sander Vanocur and Robert McNeil.In 1976, he helped bring presidential election debates back to television.

A reader from Baltimore said that two rowhouses next to his home were foreclosed on a few months ago and he can't find out who is maintaining the properties, which have collected debris, grass and other materials outside the home. He wants information on the best way to track down the owners to discuss maintenance. Dear reader: The record owner of foreclosed property is responsible for complying with building code requirements until the court ratifies the foreclosure sale. These obligations include compliance with local laws requiring the property to be kept free of weeds, trash and debris.

With a minimum of fanfare, ESPN and ESPN2 have decided not to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the O. J. Simpson double-murder trial set to begin this week.Dave Nagle, an ESPN spokesman, said the networks will continue to cover the trial on "SportsCenter" and "SportsNight," their respective sports news programs, but will not televise coverage unless "there's a compelling reason, say if O. J. himself takes the stand.""It's going to be available in plenty of other locations. We didn't feel we needed to add to that," said Nagle.

Simon says:Let me get this straight: Philip Morris is recalling 8 billion cigarettes because they may cause throat irritation, dizziness, and coughing. But Philip Morris won't recall any cigarettes just because they cause cancer, emphysema and heart disease?*Is there any place where you can still get a hat blocked? (And if you had a hat, why would you want it blocked?)*Just two more years until Baltimore's bicentennial? I'm getting chills already.*When Siskel and Ebert disagree, always go with Ebert.

On July 2, 2005 STEVE J. MALECKI; beloved husband of 60 years of Maryanna H. Malecki (nee Jeskulski); devoted and loving father of Paula Warenciz and her husband Gene Gavel, Sharon Perron and her husband Jack Perron; cherished grandfather of Jason Burck and the late Bethany Zamenski; dear brother of Frances Friend and James Malecki. 1st Sgt. Tech 4, Steve Malecki, served proudly during WWII with the 13th Regiment, 1st Armored Division in the Mediterranean Region. Mr. Malecki saw action on the African and European Continents and he fought bravely during the Great Battle at Anzio Beach, Italy.