Madonna

On Aug. 23, 1893, ground was broken for the Harford Creamery on a road two miles east of Shawsville and two miles north of Madonna now called Harford Creamery Road. Machinery began churning at the creamery on Dec. 10, 1893. The boiler was known as "Old Bess." With a new plant to process milk up and running, farmers began to keep more cows. The plant at one time had 100 contributors and handled as much as 20,000 pounds of milk a day. The milk was separated from the cream and some of the cream was made into butter.

Over the years, Madonna has evolved both in music and fashion. As the controversial pop star has matured, so has her taste in clothes. Nowhere is that more evident than in the second year of her collaboration with H&M, a clothing line called M by Madonna. Last year, the hip chain of cheap chic clothing sold a Madonna track suit and reported that the sporty ensemble was a success with its younger shoppers. This year, the partnership between the two continues with a more mature, sophisticated and fashion-forward line of clothing and accessories: soft and slinky dresses, stylish trench coats, clutch bags, leather belts and the must-have of any good collection, Hollywood glam-girl sunglasses.

77 Frank Gifford Sportscaster 54 Kathie Lee Gifford TV personality 49 Madonna Singer 49 Angela Bassett Actress 44 Steve Carell Actor

A former state delegate with the assistance of his friend, the city liquor board's chief inspector, alerted the owners of a Frederick Avenue club to a police raid and then bragged to a former state senator about his actions, according to evidence in his trial.The warning and the boast were detailed in a series of wiretapped telephone conversations played to a Circuit Court jury yesterday in the corruption and bribery trial of former Del. William J. Madonna Jr. and Anthony J. Cianferano, the former chief inspector.

Some years, the Grammy broadcast feels like a roller-coaster ride, hurtling us from shock to thrill with no sense of what's next.But not this year.It was a quiet night, with little in the way of surprises and suspense. Celine Dion won Record of the Year for the "Titanic" hit, "My Heart Will Go On," and the song itself was named Song of the Year.Needless to say, her victory was no surprise to anyone who saw last year's Academy Awards show.Lauryn Hill, who was nominated for 10 awards, took home five, including Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song and Best R&B album.

A former state delegate and a one-time chief city liquor inspector were sentenced yesterday to probation and community work for their role in conspiring to thwart the enforcement of liquor laws in Baltimore.The penalties stem from a two-year criminal investigation of Baltimore's liquor board, in which prosecutors at one time accused officials of routinely accepting bribes from local tavern owners.Those more serious charges were thrown out last month by Circuit Judge Mabel Houze Hubbard, who sentenced the pair yesterday to two years' probation and 300 hours of community work.

Critics may carp that the Grammy Awards are overly commercialized and under-representative of musical quality, but one thing they're not is predictable.Just look at this year's ballot. Even though the artists earning the most nominations were all women -- Lauryn Hill, Sheryl Crow, Shania Twain and Madonna -- this year's Grammy race is more about genre than gender, as most of the major nominees owe their success to having crossed over from a pop pigeonhole to the anything-goes mainstream.That may be why the Grammy guessing game has grown harder in recent years.

Endless summerTHIS summer's free outdoor film series in Little Italy was a big hit. Now that the summer is over, what's next?Here is a possibility. A cinema in London is having quite a bit of success with movie karaokes. It has sub-titled all the songs in "The Sound of Music," enabling audiences to sing together.Tickets have sold like hot cakes. And some theater goers have come dressed up for the parts. Women and men have worn nuns' costumes. And there have been lederhosen and Austrian dresses to evoke the von Trapp children.

State Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, the powerful chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, testified yesterday that she dutifully endorsed all the job candidates of a political ally, finding patronage posts for them as liquor board employees in Baltimore.Hoffman, testifying in Baltimore City Circuit Court, said she never met the job candidates recommended by William J. Madonna Jr., a former state delegate. But, Hoffman said, she submitted their names anyway and they won the jobs.

In the city liquor board corruption trial that opened yesterday, the prosecutor described an alleged 10-year conspiracy masterminded by a former state delegate to shake down Baltimore bar and tavern owners for thousands of dollars in bribes and protection payments.Assistant State Prosecutor Thomas M. McDonough told the jurors that former Del. William J. Madonna Jr. and his "right-hand man," former chief liquor inspector Anthony J. Cianferano, manipulated the enforcement powers of the Baltimore liquor board to "generate money and political favors."

FRIDAY BALTIMORE SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK STARTS: Close to 100 restaurants participate in the latest incarnation of this now oft-repeated tradition. Select Baltimore-area restaurants offer three-course lunches for $20.09 and three-course dinners for $30.09. Scour the list on the Web site to spot the best deals, then make your reservations and enjoy a meal at a restaurant you've never ventured to before. Runs through Aug. 16. Go to baltimorerestaurantweek.com. For reservations, go to opentable.

Report: Paula Abdul's return to 'American Idol' doubtful Paula Abdul's new manager says she may not be returning to American Idol. According to a Los Angeles Times report, David Sonenberg says he doesn't have a proposal for a new contract for Abdul. He says it doesn't appear she'll be back. Sonenberg began representing Abdul a few weeks ago. Auditions for the ninth season of the highly rated Fox talent competition begin next month. Abdul said recently that she'd been invited to remain as an American Idol judge and was optimistic about negotiating a new contract.

Madonna adoption request rejected On Friday, a judge rejected Madonna's request to adopt a second child from Malawi and said it would set a dangerous precedent to bend rules requiring that prospective parents live there for some period. Madonna's lawyer, Alan Chinula, said he has "filed notice for appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal." The country's child welfare minister had come out Thursday in support of the pop superstar's application to adopt a 3-year-old. But in a lengthy ruling Friday, Judge Esme Chombo sided with critics who have said exceptions should not be made for the star, who has set up a major development project for the impoverished African country.

Madonna avoids adoption questions Madonna dashed from the airport to an impoverished Malawi village to discuss a school she is planning to build, saying nothing to the hordes of reporters on her trail Sunday about whether she is planning to start the process of adopting a second Malawian child. The singer, casually dressed in a white fedora, walked in Chinkhota, a village near the capital of this AIDS- and poverty-stricken southern African country, holding the hand of her 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes.

Bob Barker comes on down to 'Price' Bob Barker returned to The Price Is Right - and this time he was the showcase. After nearly two years in retirement, the 85-year-old former game show host was invited to come on down to The Price Is Right to promote his memoir, Priceless Memories, due out April 6. The silver-haired host appeared Wednesday alongside successor Drew Carey near the finale of the show, which airs April 16, to present two prize showcases that...

First stage of divorce for Madonna, Guy Ritchie expected today in London A court schedule says Madonna and Guy Ritchie will be granted the first stage of their divorce today. London's High Court lists "Ciccone M L v Ritchie G S" as one of 16 cases for "matrimonial and civil partnership causes for pronouncement of decree." A judge will grant the couple a preliminary divorce decree. After six weeks and a day, they likely will be granted a decree and the divorce will become final. They are not expected to appear in court.

No longer cherished: Madonna, Ritchie split Madonna and filmmaker Guy Ritchie will end their marriage after nearly eight years, the couple said in a joint statement yesterday. The couple asked the media to "maintain respect for their family at this difficult time," said the statement, e-mailed to the Associated Press by Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's publicist. A financial settlement has not been agreed upon by the couple, who must also decide child-custody issues. Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000 at a Scottish castle.

Madonna kicks off tour, and gets a bit political Even at 50, the queen of pop just can't stop courting controversy. As Madonna kicked off her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour Saturday night in Wales, she took a none-too subtle swipe at the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S. president. Amid a four-act show at Cardiff's packed Millennium Stadium, a video interlude carried images of destruction, global warming, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's authoritarian President Robert Mugabe - and U.S. Senator John McCain.

UNTIL YOU'VE lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is," said the great Gone with the Wind writer Margaret Mitchell. I wonder how "free" John Edwards is feeling these days? If Edwards thought by breaking his story of infidelity late Friday, as the Olympic Games began, that he'd soften the blow, he was greatly mistaken. The scandal grows, and the editors and reporters of the National Enquirer - who are now treated like Woodward and Bernstein by an embarrassed mainstream media - are smugly confident that there is oh-so-much more to reveal.

SOME WEEKS ago when word broke that Christopher Ciccone was about to publish a book about his sister, Madonna, I wrote that I hoped Christopher would not use the word "catharsis" as the reason he did it. I hoped in vain. On the very first page, in the introduction of Life With My Sister Madonna, Christopher writes "it has been a catharsis." Give me a break. Catharsis is for a therapist's couch. Bitter tell-alls are written for money and revenge. The sad thing about this book is that it is so ... boring.