Miss America

Brandi Burkhardt's a Maryland girl, through and through.Born and raised in Pasadena, she's a 1997 honors graduate of Anne Arundel County's Chesapeake High School.She won the 1994 Miss Maryland T.E.E.N. and 1997 Maryland Teen U.S.A. pageants -- and she can only go a few months without steamed crabs.Now that's Maryland.But two weeks ago, when she made it to the Miss America Pageant, Brandi Burkhardt had a sash of a different stripe draped prominently across her slim figure. It said: "Miss New York."

Why was the Miss America Pageant not the Miss America Pageant without Bert Parks? That is the question.Well, it's one of a couple of questions that seem worth asking in the wake of Parks' death of inoperable lung cancer Sunday night at age 77 in La Jolla, Calif.Another question is the kind we're a bit gun-shy about asking in appreciations like this. But it's one we need to ask: How could a man of such limited talents come to be so widely known and seemingly so important to so many people?

Maryland has never produced a Miss America, but gets another chance on Saturday, when the finals of the 71st annual pageant will take place. Hosted by Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, the show will air locally on WMAR (Channel 2) starting at 10 p.m.Maryland is represented by Debra Fries, 26, who lives in Charlotte Hall and teaches the hearing impaired in Charles County schools. If selected as one of the 10 semi-finalists, you'll see the petite brunette performing a baton-twirling routine to a medley of patriotic songs in the talent portion of the competition.

Two sisters are coordinating a pageant in Maryland to raise money for a teen injured in a car crash. The Miss Hope Eastern Shore Pageant will be held in May. Proceeds from the pageant will go to Courtney Bloxom, who is recovering from a single-car crash last year that left her in a coma for six weeks. The goal is to raise $19,000 to pay for specialized physical therapy equipment Bloxom needs. Miss America 2010, Caressa Cameron of Fredericksburg, Va., will be the pageant's master of ceremonies.

Gena Lee Nolin stars in the new syndicated action series "Sheena" (1 a.m.-2 am., WBAL, Channel 11). They say she's "part animal, part legend, all woman." Not content to rest on those laurels, her goal is "to protect her tropical African paradise against the threats of modern civilization." At a glance "Miss America" (8 p.m.-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) - It's hard to keep up with some of the changes here - they no longer call it a "pageant" - but not everything will be unfamiliar. Donny and Marie Osmond return as hosts of the 80th annual event, and Miss America 2000, Heather French of Maysville, Ky., will crown her successor.

Do you really want to see Miss America without her swimsuit on?Let me put that another way.Do you really care whether the Miss America pageant eliminates the swimsuit competition?I suspect most of you do not care. But those Americans who do, care deeply.Leonard Horn, head of the pageant, announced Wednesday that the fate of this year's swimsuit competition would be decided by having viewers call a 900 number during the Sept. 16 telecast."I personally hope today's announcement will engender a national debate," Horn said with an absolutely straight face.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Questions, questions, questions. So many questions are asked at the Miss America pageant. If you were president and Iraq had just declared war, what would you do first? What is the greatest challenge facing youth today, and, as Miss America, what will you do to help them meet that challenge? Are pure metaphysics better served in Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" or Hegelian dialectics?Who gives a fig?Is a 23-year-old twirler going to have a useful 10-second answer to any of those questions?

Bert Parks wasn't singing "There She Is" at the Miss Carroll County pageant Saturday, but the judges here said the girl they chose could be hearing that tune in September."

NATIONAL Right-to-die law upheld The Supreme Court has rejected the Bush administration's challenge to the nation's only right-to-die law, and ruled that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft overstepped his authority when he sought to punish an Oregon doctor who helped terminally ill people end their lives. pg 1a Lawsuits fight eavesdropping Two lawsuits are filed in federal court that seek to end President Bush's electronic eavesdropping program, saying it is illegal and exceeds his constitutional powers.

Cecil County Elkton Woman dies of injuries from fire An Elkton woman died yesterday of injuries she suffered during a fire at her home Wednesday. The state fire marshal's office says Kathie Wilson, 54, died yesterday morning at the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It started in a sofa in the living room of Wilson's mobile home. Neighbors found Wilson lying on her kitchen floor after the fire broke out early Wednesday.