Oasis

By far, the biggest story in the British music press has been the battle between Blur and Oasis. Although it has so far been mostly a war of words -- mostly a parade of band members making fun of the other guys -- the music weeklies have taken the struggle seriously indeed, acting as if its outcome would somehow determine the future of English rock.Here in America, of course, no one cares about such things, and that's just fine with Oasis' Noel Gallagher. Speaking over the phone from Britain, where the band is touring in support of its just-released album "(What's the Story)

Baltimore chef Jill Snyder to compete on 'Top Chef' Baltimore's Jill Snyder, executive chef at the Red Maple tapas lounge in Mount Vernon, will be one of the 17 chefs fighting for top honors on the new season of Bravo's Top Chef series. Snyder, 28, has studied under local legend Spike Gjerde. Among her favorite ingredients are semi-sweet chocolate, sushi rice, micro-herbs and champagne, according to a statement from Bravo. Top Chef, which begins its fifth season Nov. 12, pits chefs from around the country against one another in contests that test their culinary skills, their inventiveness and their determination.

The O'Malley administration fired yesterday the organization that manages a homeless shelter and drop-in center that serve people with drug and alcohol abuse problems, as city officials described an operation that provides few services and employs unqualified staff, including some who have appeared at times to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The $350,000-a-year contract with the Baltimore-based Center for Applied Nomadology was terminated yesterday by the Board of Estimates at the request of the city's Office of Homeless Services.

Advertising Weber Shandwick appointed Tom Rowe as group manager and Kathleen Barry as an account executive. Both are in the international communications firm's Baltimore office.Catalpha Advertising & Design announced that Liz Werner joined the Towson-based advertising agency as a project manager. Banking and finance Provident Bank appointed Lisa LiPira, risk management, and Sherry Berman, operations, as vice presidents within their respective divisions. Susquehanna Bank named Scott B. Slick to the staff of the Hagerstown-headquartered bank as a business banker.

Cornell Bass, a devout Christian who helps feed homeless people twice a week at the Oasis shelter at the corner of Gay Street and Fallsway, is also the media director of the Maryland State Wrestling Association. So it's no surprise that Bass immediately recognized Ron Taylor when he visited Oasis one day. After all, Taylor was an assistant coach in wrestling, football and track and field at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School for 12 years. He was also an assistant wrestling coach at the McKim Center, which fields an inner-city junior league grappling squad.

The art of the bath Simply put, origami is the Japanese art of paper-folding. It, too, is the name of the newest line of simply designed, therapeutic air-jet baths from BainUltra. Inspired by the Japanese art, BainUltra's Origami series features five rectangular and oval baths, each with a minimalist style and clean design. The baths, all drop-in models with 3-inch to-5-inch decks, have comfortable curved and heated backrests, 38 to 44 air jets and simple one-button controls for personalized massages.

Poverty is not just costly, it's downright unhealthy. This year, University of Michigan researchers found that poor minority areas in Baltimore and Baltimore County have far fewer healthy food options than more-affluent communities. Relatively few large supermarkets, with their huge inventories of fresh fruit and vegetables, were located in predominantly black neighborhoods compared with wealthier white areas. And this turns out to be more than just an inconvenience. In a report released this past week, a researcher looked at what was termed the "food deserts" of Chicago's South and West Sides to explore their impact on residents' health.

Managua, Nicaragua IN THE midst of the alarming poverty and violence of today's post-Sandinista Nicaragua, President Violeta Chamorro's presidential office is a magical oasis of beauty and peace."

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. -- The corner table of a converted service station -- now the best restaurant in town -- is as good a place as any to tune into the wheezy gasps of the Democrats in the South.At the Oasis Grill & Shoeshine Parlor, the former Gulf station next to the paint store, you can get an earful about what's wrong with this country and the party that gave us FDR, JFK and LBJ.For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans control a majority of the Senate, House and governors' seats in the South.

TOKYO -- It's fitting that Joan Mondale has been living for the past three years in an almost palatial building that is part art museum, part home.She is a potter married to a public servant who over the years has transformed himself from politician to diplomat -- while she has transformed a personal love of the arts into an unflagging public crusade for them.Joan and Walter F. Mondale -- former vice president, former Democratic candidate for president, and now near the end of an assignment as U.S. ambassador to Japan -- live in a building the United States commissioned in 1927 specifically as an ambassadorial residence.