New Brunswick

Ward Campbell makes three promises to cyclists on his New Brunswick bicycle tour: You won't lose a pound; you'll go on untraveled roads far beyond the yellow dividing lines; and all the hills are small.Well, two out of three isn't bad. Diets give way to down-on-the-farm treats. The province's quiet country lanes surprise, delight and inspire. But then there are the hills.New Brunswick's landscape resembles a great rumpled blanket. Hills swathed in evergreen and maple arch heavenward, then tumble into verdant valleys, ensuring cyclists a test of their mettle.

New Brunswick, N.J. Spring Date Night at the George Street Playhouse The work is basically done for you. Just get the tickets, and your date night is all planned. Two glasses of wine and a box of chocolates from Thomas Sweet will top off your evening after a performance of "Venus in Fur," a sultry comedy based off of the romance novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Just relax and enjoy this romantic evening. To make it a weekend getaway, book a room at the Heldrich, a hotel in downtown New Brunswick (theheldrich.com)

Several years ago, I read about an early-music festival held yearly in a town in one of the Maritime Provinces in Canada. Is this event still being presented?It's a safe bet you are thinking of the International Festival of Baroque Music in Lameque, New Brunswick, which will present its 22nd season July 11-20. (The dates for 1998 are July 29 to Aug. 3.)The first weekend of the festival this year features Canadian artists; the second concentrates on Europeans. La Mission St.-Charles choir and orchestra will perform Bach cantatas July 11-12.

Shirley L. Kranz, former officer manager of The Sun's Washington bureau and a Democratic political activist, died Friday of a severe infection at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. She was 84. Shirley Lipnick was born and raised in New Brunswick, N.J. After graduating from New Brunswick High School, she enrolled at what is now Rider University in Trenton. After World War II broke out, she dropped out of college her senior year and went to work as a payroll specialist at the Army's Special Forces Depot in Belle Meade, N.J. In 1943, she married Harry Kranz, who was then a student at Rutgers University.

Harrison McCain, 76, a Canadian billionaire whose family-owned business began in a cow pasture in New Brunswick and grew into one of the world's largest producers of frozen french fries, died Thursday at a Boston hospital after a long illness. Mr. McCain, a straight-talking son of a seed potato exporter, applied his prodigious ability as a salesman to an idea for a product that would become a global commodity and a calling card of American culture: the frozen french fry. In 1957, together with his three brothers, Wallace, Robert and Andrew, he opened a french-fry processing plant in his hometown, Florenceville, a hamlet of fewer than 1,000 people in western New Brunswick, less than 10 miles from the U.S. border.

New Brunswick, N.J. Spring Date Night at the George Street Playhouse The work is basically done for you. Just get the tickets, and your date night is all planned. Two glasses of wine and a box of chocolates from Thomas Sweet will top off your evening after a performance of "Venus in Fur," a sultry comedy based off of the romance novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Just relax and enjoy this romantic evening. To make it a weekend getaway, book a room at the Heldrich, a hotel in downtown New Brunswick (theheldrich.com)

Suggested names for the new NFL franchise: Visitors, Carpetbaggers, Tourists, Aliens, Refugees, Panhandlers. As long as it says Baltimore.The dispute-resolution challenge of the Wright-Patterson talks is arrange a reasonable compromise between perpetrators of genocide and their victims.They could always cut Quebec in two, set half free and attach the other half to New Brunswick.The Gummint made the Daiwa Bank close its office at 10 Light St., Baltimore, which no one here knew was there and makes you wonder what it was doing.

SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick - Goaltender Mike O'Neill was outstanding and the Baltimore Bandits scored four third-period goals en route to a 6-2 American Hockey League victory over the Saint John Flames last night.The Bandits broke a four-game winless slide and remain third in the Southern Division.O'Neill stopped 21 first-period shots and his club responded, grabbing the lead and never trailing in extending the Flames' winless streak to six games.Captain Dwayne Norris scored twice for the Bandits, both of them in the third period.

Towson (4-6) at No. 3 Johns Hopkins (9-2)Site: Homewood FieldTime: 2 p.m.TV: Ch. 2Radio: WJFK (1300 AM), WTMD (89.7 FM)Skinny: The Tigers have won two of their past three regular-season games at Homewood.Navy (6-6) at Army (6-5)Site: Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y.Time: 4 p.m.Outlook: The Mids have lost four of their past five, which includes one-goal defeats to Hopkins and Hofstra.No. 2 Maryland (10-1) at Rutgers (7-4)Site: Yurcak Field, New Brunswick, N.J.Time: 7: 30 p.m.Outlook: The Terrapins held the Scarlet Knights to one goal in the second half last year in a 12-4 victory.

All of Canada is a delight in summer and each province of Atlantic Canada -- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador -- offers something special. Here is a sampling: St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, is one of the most charming towns in Canada. The people are friendly, the shops are unique, and whale watching is a popular activity. The landmark Fairmont Algonquin hotel offers the Bay of Fundy Sea Kayaking Package, which includes a night's accommodation and a three-hour sea kayaking excursion on the bay. The package, valid through Sept.

JANUARY 11-13: Liverpool, England -- Cultural Capital Opening Weekend. Starring Ringo Starr, with a little help from his friends. 17-27: Park City, Utah -- Sundance Film Festival. The pick of indie flicks. 20-27: St. Paul, Minn. -- U.S. Figure Skating Championships. America's sharpest blades battle on the ice. 24-27: Quesnel to Wells, British Columbia -- Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run. Trailblazer for B.C.'s 150th anniversary. 25-Feb. 5: New Orleans -- Mardi Gras. America's ultimate street party.

Interstate 95 is the primary artery of East Coast transportation. At times of heavy use, such as the Thanksgiving holiday that looms, arteriosclerosis sets in. Nevertheless, many thousands of motorists are magnetically drawn to the clot-ridden and toll-plagued highway at times of peak travel - unaware of the existence of alternate routes that could spare them time, money, aggravation, ugliness and Delaware. This year, the Superfluous State has given Maryland motorists added incentive to find a better way to the Northeast by raising the cost of sitting in interminable traffic jams at the Delaware Toll Plaza to $4. No matter; for every person who avoids the extortion, many more will pay the tribute.

All of Canada is a delight in summer and each province of Atlantic Canada -- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador -- offers something special. Here is a sampling: St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, is one of the most charming towns in Canada. The people are friendly, the shops are unique, and whale watching is a popular activity. The landmark Fairmont Algonquin hotel offers the Bay of Fundy Sea Kayaking Package, which includes a night's accommodation and a three-hour sea kayaking excursion on the bay. The package, valid through Sept.

Price of oil drops to $42.12 a barrel, down by 16 cents The price of oil slid toward $42 a barrel yesterday despite confusion about the status of Iraqi exports, indicating that the market has become less worried about the global balance of supply and demand. With the busy summer driving season nearing an end, the demand for oil from refineries is expected to taper off - and that contributed to the decline in prices, traders said. The government releases its weekly energy supply report today, and most analysts expect commercially available supplies of oil and gasoline to grow or remain flat.

Charles F. Efford, a retired engineer who spent nearly 40 years toiling in engine rooms of Baltimore tugboats and later volunteered aboard the Liberty ship John W. Brown, died of asbestosis Wednesday at Locust Lodge, a Pasadena assisted-living facility. He was 84. "No matter what kind of vessel he was on, Charley always made her do her best. And he was always so proud of that," said Herbert Groh, a retired Curtis Bay Towing Co. captain and harbor pilot, who often worked with Mr. Efford.

Harrison McCain, 76, a Canadian billionaire whose family-owned business began in a cow pasture in New Brunswick and grew into one of the world's largest producers of frozen french fries, died Thursday at a Boston hospital after a long illness. Mr. McCain, a straight-talking son of a seed potato exporter, applied his prodigious ability as a salesman to an idea for a product that would become a global commodity and a calling card of American culture: the frozen french fry. In 1957, together with his three brothers, Wallace, Robert and Andrew, he opened a french-fry processing plant in his hometown, Florenceville, a hamlet of fewer than 1,000 people in western New Brunswick, less than 10 miles from the U.S. border.

Shirley L. Kranz, former officer manager of The Sun's Washington bureau and a Democratic political activist, died Friday of a severe infection at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. She was 84. Shirley Lipnick was born and raised in New Brunswick, N.J. After graduating from New Brunswick High School, she enrolled at what is now Rider University in Trenton. After World War II broke out, she dropped out of college her senior year and went to work as a payroll specialist at the Army's Special Forces Depot in Belle Meade, N.J. In 1943, she married Harry Kranz, who was then a student at Rutgers University.

TRENTON, N.J. - Gov. James E. McGreevey has endorsed a sweeping reorganization of the state university system that would consolidate its research universities, including Rutgers, and establish three largely independent campuses. The plan, unveiled recently by a commission appointed by McGreevey, emphasizes medical education and research, which are now splintered into eight schools and associated hospitals under the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. But the reorganization would also include all the schools of Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.