Halter

A single-vehicle crash took the life of a man in Westminster after his SUV left a roadway and crashed into trees, according to Maryland State Police. Luis Alberto Martinez Gomez, for whom no age was provided, was driving a Mercury Mountaineer on Sunday morning southward on Stone Road, just north of Halter Road, and failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle struck two pine trees, a statement from the state police's Westminster barrack said. Gomez, who lived on Black Locust Lane, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

It was bound to happen. As padded shoulders become passe, shoulders -- the real kind -- are becoming prominent as a fashion focus.In fact, shoulders and backs have emerged as spring's favorite erogenous zones, good news for women who like the breezy bare look but are uncomfortable showing too much leg or cleavage.It's easy enough to bare the shoulders and the back in traditional ways -- halter dresses and strapless cocktail attire, for example. But designers are giving women less obvious options, as well.

NEW YORK -- The cuts run to slinky, the colors to subdued, in the first days of the designer collections here. There've been no ruffles and flourishes, just simply sexy dresses that reveal the female form.Jersey, from sport weight to nearly transparent veiling, will be the fabric of next season. Rather than concentrate on everyday summer wear, the powerhouse designers are showcasing lots of evening looks to make their mark for spring.Carolina Herrera, the doyenne of the engraved invitation party dressers, showed a light touch in draped silk twills, stretch chiffons and bias cut georgettes.

At the Grammys on Wednesday, competition was intense in an unspoken, unofficial category: the "Jennifer Lopez State of Un-Dress" award. And the winner was ... Maryland's own Toni Braxton, who stunned the crowd with a barely-there silver gown very much in the spirit of Lopez's unforgettable Versace number from last year's ceremony. Braxton, 33, picked up her sixth award wearing a Richard Tyler piece that resembled little more than a scarf nipped at the waist. It turned out to be the Grammy dress talked about around the world - or at least in fashion and music circles.

Fifth-ranked Mount Hebron completed its most successful league season in school history yesterday with a wind-blown 4-3 victory over Wilde Lake.Wilde Lake scored three goals and missed a penalty kick in the final nine minutes to create one of the season's more exciting finishes.The Vikings (8-3-1 overall, 6-1 league) earned second place in the league behind unbeaten Centennial, which they will play host to Tuesday in the Class 3A East Region playoffs. The Eagles clinched the Howard County title by defeating Glenelg yesterday.

Mount Hebron showed why it is ranked No. 4. The Vikings gave top-ranked Centennial its toughest game of the season yesterday in the Class 3A East Region quarterfinal.The Vikings pressured the Eagles into several defensive breakdowns, but were unable to stop Centennial's high-powered offense and lost, 5-3.Centennial (13-0), ranked No. 4 in the country by USA Today, had allowed only three goals (the starting team had allowed just one) and had 10 shutouts, including six straight, going into the game.

Charles L. Halter walked out in the midst of a discussion last week of county government plans to open apartments for families making the transition from homeless shelters to their own apartments or houses."

Open the door of Imperatore Hair Design and prepare to be surprised. Located on the ground floor of the historic Ambassador Apartments in Baltimore's Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood, the salon holds neither blue-haired ladies nor the overwhelming scent of perm solution. Instead what you'll find is a sleek, contemporary slip of a shop brimming with modern Italian furnishings and the promise of lots of personal attention. Owner Cindy Imperatore opened the roughly 400-square-foot salon in December and filled it with warm yellow- and orange-toned walls, honey-stained full-length mirrors and shapely little couches.

For many years Mount Hebron's boys soccer team has longed for respect from its more established county opponents.After yesterday's 6-3 thrashing of No. 9 Howard, the Vikings may get that respect.Last season Howard (5-3, 0-3) trounced Mount Hebron, 8-0. Two years ago, Howard beat the Vikings, 5-0."We wanted revenge for last year," Mount Hebron goalkeeper Shane Ardo said."And we didn't think this was an upset."The Vikings already had defeated Atholton, 1-0, and taken No. 14 Oakland Mills into overtime before losing, 1-0."

Mount Hebron hasn't won a league game in two seasons and would like to end that streak. The Vikings' chances of doing that are good this season.Second-year coach Kevin Good is intent upon building a successful program at Mount Hebron, and a step in that direction is the addition of John Dingle, who played soccer at Catonsville Community College and at Central Connecticut, as the junior varsity coach.Mount Hebron is a deeper team than the one that finished 3-9 last year, and has four seniors playing defense.