Glass

We're at the finale already (didn't this season seem short?). I'll say it right here at the top of the episode - unless William falls repeatedly on his keister, requiring the judges to give him 5's across the board, there's no way he's not winning this thing. That being said, I'd be OK with any of the three finalists winning, even though I'm personally Team Driver. Tonight's show will have each couple dancing two dances:  1. Judge's pick, which are new routines danced to new music, but in a style the couple has previously danced and in which the judges would like to see them improve.  2. Freestyle Tomorrow night, the couples will be doing some sort of third scored dance, details about which we'll learn later.

South Baltimore's own "Speakeasy that sells pizza," Hersh's Pizza and Drinks, with its gray motifs and urbane styling, features some seriously sophisticated cocktails, courtesy of bartender Jamaal Green. The selection of libations rotates on a regular basis, keeping the flavors interesting and fresh. One such addition to the list: the Ginger Smash. The Ginger Smash, "a very seasonal rustic drink," as Green describes it, is a hard cocktail loaded with tartness thanks in part to muddled kumquats and an ounce of Clement Creole Shrubb, an aged rum drink flavored with orange bitters.

Ten years ago, Dr. Sheldon Glass, a psychiatrist, bought the Gundry Hospital, a mental health facility for women in a 100-year-old mansion in Southwest Baltimore.He renamed it Gundry/Glass Hospital and added programs for men, for adolescents and for children. In 1990, it began participating in Medicaid, the state's medical assistance program. Within a few years, Medicaid was paying for a majority of the patients.The for-profit hospital reported healthy surpluses annually -- at a time when other psychiatric hospitals were posting losses.

I take exception to Thomas Schaller's assertion that "Overhead in federal insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security is minimal. By some estimates, only 2 percent of expenditures go to administrative overhead" ("Sure, government is flawed - but markets are too," May 16). My wife formerly worked in the Social Security Administration, and she says Mr. Schaller's arguments are way off the mark. "By some estimates?" How vague is that? Why doesn't The Sun require the learned professor to cite his sources?

On a recent Saturday afternoon, a man addressed a crowd of about 50 at a brewery right outside Baltimore and said, "Let us pray. " He raised his arm, looked over his flock and solemnly intoned: "Our lager which art in barrels, thy will be drunk, at the Heavy Seas Beer Tour. Give us this day our foamy heads, and forgive us our spillages, as we forgive those who spill against us. " The man wasn't a tipsy priest, but Hugh Sisson, founder of Heavy Seas, who delivers the same speech before the two or three tours that pass through his brewery almost every Saturday.

George H. Bacot Jr., a retired glass company vice president who was an avid ballroom dancer and golfer, died Monday of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. He was 83. Mr. Bacot was born and raised in Baltimore. He attended McDonogh School and graduated in 1943 from St. James Academy in Hagerstown. From 1943 to 1947, he was stationed at Patuxent Naval Air Station, where he was an air cadet. After earning a degree from the Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Bacot went to work for Armco Steel Corp.

C

ON February 18, 2003, ESTHER GLASS; beloved wife of Irving Glass; loving mother of Alan Glass, of Annapolis, MD and Jeffrey Glass, of Ellicott City, MD; mother-in-law of Denise Glass; devoted sister of the late Harold Chait and Irene Steinhorn; adored grandmother of Samantha and Katelyn Glass. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS, INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Friday, February 21, at 11 A.M. Interment at Hebrew Young Mens Cemetery, Windsor Mill Road. In mourning at 8606 Honeysuckle Court, Ellicott City, MD (21043)

Frieda Glass, who retired from teaching at Baltimore's City College, died Monday of a heart ailment at Sinai Hospital. She was 81 and lived on Greenspring Avenue.Services for Mrs. Glass were being held today at the Levinson funeral establishment, 6010 Reisterstown Road.She retired in 1973, having taught French at City College sincethe late 1950s. Earlier, she taught Latin and English in the Baltimore school system.In the 1940s and 1950s, she managed the family-owned Friedlander's Grocery Store on Bayard Street.

One of the Inner Harbor's seafood institutions with the greatest waterviews in the city, the Rusty Scupper, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business. The War of 1812 bicentennial also begins this summer, so the folks at the Scupper decided to give its looming neighbor, Federal Hill, its own drink: the Federal Hill Martini. A blend of VeeV Acai, Chambord and sour mix with a splash of Sprite, the cocktail is essentially a margarita served in a martini glass (it's also available over ice and with salt, natch)

The program at Goucher College's 121st commencement ceremony Friday listed speaker Ira Glass' main connection to the Towson college: His grandmother was a member of its Class of 1931. In the public radio host's remarks, he added that college President Sanford J. Ungar was his former colleague at NPR and had coaxed him into appearing. But Glass shared another connection that only a college student could best appreciate - that he lost his virginity in one of the campus dorm rooms.

Lady Maryland: a cocktail with a cause, a buzz with a benefit. How could you possibly say no to drinking for charity? That alone sold me. But for those of the more skeptical palate, the refreshing Lady Maryland at Waterfront Kitchen stands alone as an easy warmer-weather sip. Waterfront Kitchen, on the water's edge of Thames Street in Fells Point, is a big believer in sustainability - from using fresh, local ingredients to helping out...

With the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend, you will want to make sure that you have laid in supplies for mint juleps. And to make your enterprise a success, I have retrieved material from the achives on the manufacture of a proper julep.   The julep with a little sweetness and just enough melting ice to take the edge off the bourbon, combined with the refreshing scent of mint, is an ideal drink to have in your hand on a spring afternoon as the sun is going down.  But first, a caution.

If Mexico had a St. Patrick's Day, it would be Cinco de Mayo. There's just a slight tweak to the festivities. One can always count on tequila, sombreros and Margaritas - the overly salty, overly soured kind. I have a hard time believing Cinco de Mayo is really all that Mexican anymore. Heck, even area Irish bars offer gimmicky deals in the spirit of boozing. So this year, why not shake up your usual 5th of May and expand your Latin American horizons? Skip the salt on the rim and try one of my favorite Baltimore specialties, a Mojito from Little Havana in Federal Hill.

One of the Inner Harbor's seafood institutions with the greatest waterviews in the city, the Rusty Scupper, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business. The War of 1812 bicentennial also begins this summer, so the folks at the Scupper decided to give its looming neighbor, Federal Hill, its own drink: the Federal Hill Martini. A blend of VeeV Acai, Chambord and sour mix with a splash of Sprite, the cocktail is essentially a margarita served in a martini glass (it's also available over ice and with salt, natch)

This year's Goucher College graduates will likely enjoy one of region's quirkier commencement speeches. The school announced that Ira Glass, host of public radio's "This American Life," will give the graduation keynote on May 18. He'll also be getting an honorary degree from the school. Glass is a Baltimore native. He grew up in Baltimore County and attended Milford Mill High. Goucher also points out that he's the grandson of Frieda Friedlander from Goucher's Class of 1931.

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Phoenix Anne Brent Garth , unit block, between 10 p.m. Oct. 29 and 10 a.m. Oct. 30. Attached garage entered through unlocked window. Unknown if anything stolen. White Hall Vernon Road , 19400 block, between 12:15 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. Nov. 3. Jewelry, MacBook Pro, Nissan Frontier, .45-caliber Glock, 9 mm Springfield stolen.

It's time to brush up on your Prohibition-era swagger, Baltimore. 1920s-era everything has made a comeback in recent years, from fashion to TV and now the Baltimore bar scene. The Fork & Wrench, new to Canton, is high on speakeasy style. Picture lush tapestry-lined bar tables, intimate, low lights and swing and blues wailing from the speakers. The cocktail menu is reflective of the age of jazz: flirty, rich, smooth and daring. But if you're looking for an extensive drink list, go elsewhere.