Hagar

The Rev. Vashti McKenzie and the Rev. Ann Farrar Lightner-Fuller have quite a bit in common.They are black women, ministers and pastors of Baltimore-area African Methodist Episcopal congregations. Both received their doctorates from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. And the two have been recognized as dynamic preachers, among the best at their craft.In this month's Ebony magazine, McKenzie and Lightner-Fuller are included in a list of the 15 Greatest Black Women Preachers, as determined by a nationwide poll.

For the second time, builder Vincent Trombetta has asked the Mount Airy Town Council to release part of the $20,000 bond on seven town houses in the Tall Oaks development before the project is completed.And, for the second time, the request was denied."[The $20,000] is only a fraction of what we should be holding," said Councilman Marc Nance at Monday's meeting."If we grant this, we are violating what we are doing with every other builder," Mr. Nance said.Normally, 110 percent of a development's value is placed in a bond before a project is begun, he said.

Teachers, administrators, parents and students touted last night what they described as recent improvements in safety in Baltimore City public schools.Their remarks came at a community forum at Harford Heights Elementary School in East Baltimore called by the school board and Superintendent Walter G. Amprey.The forum, attended by about 125 people, was held two weeks after a grand jury faulted the school system's "piecemeal" approach to curbing crime. The panel said the system has failed to reduce the growing problem of student violence.

"Footloose," the new musical based on the 1984 movie about a city boy who moves to a small town where dancing is banned, began a one-month pre-Broadway run at Washington's Kennedy Center on Tuesday.Directed by Walter Bobbie, who won a Tony Award for the hit revival of "Chicago," the musical features a 37-member cast headed by Jeremy Kushnier (whose credits include the Toronto production of "Rent") in the role created on film by Kevin Bacon. The movie's composer, Tom Snow, and lyricist, Dean Pitchford, have added several songs to their score, which also includes music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman.

Hopewell H. "Hope" Barroll III, a retired WFBR-AM executive who enjoyed creating gardens with his wife and was also a noted outdoorsman and eminent practical joker, died July 1 of cancer at his Ruxton home. He was 78. Mr. Barroll, the son of Hopewell H. Barroll Jr. and Mary Louise Maslin, was born in Baltimore and raised on Overhill Road in Roland Park. His father, who had been executive vice president and general manager of WFBR, died in 1948. Mr. Barroll had attended St. Paul's School and graduated in 1950 from the Solbury School in New Hope, Pa. He attended the University of Virginia and later served in the Navy for two years aboard the battleship USS Mississippi.

There was a time when Van Halen was the most party-hearty band on the hard-rock circuit. As bassist Michael Anthony admits, it wasn't just what the band did after each show that earned it such a rowdy reputation. "Post-show, pre-show, during the show, whatever -- it was a non-stop, bashing party," he says, chuckling at the memory.Those days are gone, though. It isn't just that Anthony, like his band mates, is married and a father; times really have changed for the band."Well, you know, you can't go on forever doing that," he says, over the phone from a tour stop in New Jersey.

FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGEVan Halen (Warner Bros. 26594)Unless you're particularly predisposed to junior high school sex jokes, it's unlikely you'll find much of interest in the lyrics to Van Halen's new album, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." But if you're listening to this album for the words, you've already missed the point. After all, the strength of this group has always had less to do with what the frontman said than what the guys behind him played, and that's as true with Sammy Hagar as it ever was with David Lee Roth.

Hard rock musicians talk all the time about how much they love their fans, but few ever make that affection as obvious as Van Halen did at the Merriweather Post Pavilion Saturday.It wasn't just the way singer Sammy Hagar went on about how great the crowd was, either, for the band's enthusiasm was audible in every note, from the set-opening "Mine All Mine" to the encore rendition of "Rockin' In the Free World."True, there weren't many surprises in the set list. Van Halen is currently touring behind its live album, "Right Here, Right Now," and as such turned in what was essentially a greatest-hits show.

An update on the concert scene: newly announced shows and ticket availability. For ticket information and purchase, call Ticketmaster at 410-481-SEAT unless otherwise noted. Just announced Lynyrd Skynyrd and Sammy Hagar perform at Nissan Pavilion in Manassas, Va. July 29. Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tori Amos, with guest Ben Folds, will play Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Aug. 27. Tickets on sale at noon tomorrow. The Blind Boys of Alabama play the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis July 22-23.

Despite limited cult success the first time around, the animated 1981 film "Heavy Metal" returned to theaters yesterday with remastered soundtrack and color.When first released, the film, a spinoff of the Heavy Metal comic book published by the National Lampoon organization, followeda mini-wave of post-'60s adult animation led by Ralph Bakshi's "Fritz the Cat." "Heavy Metal" consists of six short science-fiction stories, each drawn by a different group of animators, but all sharing an emphasis on sex, drugs and rock and roll.