Penny

In the market for an old, tarnished, less than durable and useless Penny?If you're an NBA owner and that's what you're looking for you might want to call Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos. That's because his once-valued Penny -- Penny Hardaway -- might have just worn out his welcome with a whiny, selfish tirade after Orlando was eliminated by Philadelphia in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.It seems Hardaway got a bit upset after getting criticized for shooting 35.1 percent for the series, including a 3-for 17 outing in the elimination game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

CONSIDER this: Postal rates haven't increased in four years. And when the price of mailing a letter increases a penny tomorrow, it will be the smallest rate hike in the history of the U.S. Postal Service.Prices will rise an average of 2.9 percent -- the second straight time the agency has kept increases below inflation. Put another way, the real cost of a first-class stamp has dipped 7 percent since 1995.Still, no price increase wins the Postal Service friends. This is the agency folks love to hate.

THE WEST Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, area schools, churches, businesses and other civic groups are working on a project to raise community consciousness and money for charity.Organizers of the Cents for Community Campaign hope their activity will give youngsters, consumers and our neighbors in the work force an opportunity to see how their efforts can have an impact on the lives of others and to develop civic pride.The campaign, which will begin Jan. 15 -- Martin Luther King's birthday -- has three components.

:TC When the Northeast Eagles began raining seeing-eye singles through the Old Mill infield yesterday on the way to a 5-2 victory, Old Mill pitcher Jen Bernard couldn't help shaking her head in disbelief.Was the force with Northeast?Was there some kind of divine intervention on behalf of the Eagles?Or were they just that lucky?Northeast pitchers Stacy Smith and Lisa Gordon had the answer."It's our lucky penny," they said in unison. "Last year, we had a couple of lucky rocks, and now it's a penny that our assistant coach Mary Frashure found on this Old Mill field Wednesday before our game was rained out."

Imagine a penny-less America, a land with no cents. No cents accumulating in sock drawers, multiplying in jelly jars, amassed in charity penny drives. Customers no longer standing at the cash register wondering sheepishly: Do I really want to wait for a penny change?Like a bad penny, questions about the cent never quite go away. The cent is a nuisance, the cent is necessary, the cent is outmoded, the cent is a beloved American symbol. It's time already to scrap the cent; it's not time.The $100 bill gets all the attention.

Middle ground in cancer testsAs the only commercial lab in the United States offering a comprehensive genetic test for BRCA1 mutations, we applaud your reporter, Patricia Meisol, for the fine May 14 piece she did on a complicated issue. Often overlooked in the debate on breast cancer testing is a reasonable middle ground.While there is indeed much we have to learn about inherited breast cancer, limiting genetic testing to research settings would prevent many women from getting this potentially life-saving information.

Getting dressed for a gala can be a hoot. Scratch the pearl choker and get out those love beads! Organizers of the Empty Bowls benefit of the Maryland Food Committee are making it easy for guests who will be attending their soiree at the Boumi Temple on Saturday.The theme is 1969, the year of love-ins, laugh-ins and sit-ins, and the dress is hip or hippie depending on personal style.For those folks who have blotted out the vision of the duds of 25 years ago, Eileen Abato, fashion coordinator for the event, has some reminders.

CHICAGO -- Each evening as Americans empty their change from purses and lint-lined pockets, many pennies get tossed into jars, boxes or jugs.So sometimes, as it happened in many parts of the country recently, penny supplies dry up."It just comes out of nowhere every once in a while," said Illinois Armored Car coin manager Phil Kuzniewski, referring to what common folk term a penny "shortage."The U.S. Mint prefers to use the more accurate term "uneven distribution" to refer to sporadic penny droughts.

After labored election-year negotiations, the Baltimore County Council has given birth to a 1-cent reduction in the property tax rate that will save the average homeowner $4 next year.In addition, the council tentatively decided yesterday to set the salary of the next county executive at $90,000 a year but keep council salaries at $30,900.Depending on the point of view, the new executive salary is a $14,080 pay raise or a $10,700 pay cut.That's because the executive's official salary is now $100,700, but during years of cutbacks of services and layoffs, incumbent Republican Roger B. Hayden said he would accept only $75,920.

TOKYO -- Japan, already gripped by political turmoil, now faces a full-blown currency crisis.The yen became more valuable than the penny yesterday for the first time since World War II, as financial markets shrugged off strong central bank intervention. The losing struggle between the Bank of Japan and the market became evident early in the day, with the yen steadily rising despite the bank's purchase of billions of U.S. dollars."The fear," said David Snoddy, a financial analyst at Jardine Fleming, an investment bank, "is that nobody knows why this is happening."

Norvice G. Penny, an educator who later was director of human relations for Baltimore County Public Schools and who worked tirelessly to improve race and community relations as well as the quality of education for all students, died of congestive heart failure Sept. 18 at Northwest Hospital Center. The longtime Lochearn resident was 76. "I would give Norvice the credit for ushering Baltimore County schools into diversity and minority recognition and providing full equality to all students and the broader community.

On September 18, 2009, NORVICE RACHEL GOODWIN PENNY Family will receive friends at the family owned WYLIE FUNERAL HOME P.A. OF BALTIMORE COUNTY

Name: : BackTrack by Bushnell What it is: : A simplified GPS/compass device that lets you mark three locations, then points the way back and tells you how far to the destinations. Two AAA batteries provide the power. How it works: : Let's say you have parked your car in a huge airport parking lot. Before leaving your car behind, you push a button to mark your location. When you return from the islands, you simply turn on the device and it will point the way to your car. Another scenario: You're at a huge flea market and find an antique railroad lamp you want but haven't shopped the whole fair.

Red Sox sign Baldelli; Smoltz, Penny deals next baseball Pitchers John Smoltz and Brad Penny are on their way to the Boston Red Sox. Outfielder Rocco Baldelli was already in Boston, holding up his new jersey. After missing out on the biggest free-agent prize of the offseason, first baseman Mark Teixeira of Severna Park, to the New York Yankees, the Red Sox were poised to make a series of smaller deals. They announced Baldelli's signing last night. General manager Theo Epstein would not confirm the deals for Smoltz or Penny, but as he spoke, Penny, a two-time All-Star, was on his way out of Boston after completing his physical.

The Boston Red Sox have placed a waiver claim on San Diego right fielder Brian Giles and are negotiating to acquire the 14-year veteran from the Padres, ESPN reported. Giles, 37, is hitting .296 with a .391 on-base percentage. Boston's interest in Giles might be spurred by concern about the health of third baseman Mike Lowell, who is battling a sore hip, and designated hitter David Ortiz, who has spent time on the disabled list resting a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Giles is earning $9 million this year, and his contract with the Padres has a club option for $9 million for 2009 that would climb to $11 million if he is traded.

Meg Catzen thought she left Charm City behind in 1982 when, as a recent Hopkins grad, she moved to the West Coast. She registered to vote in California and got her driver's license there, got married, bought a house and launched a career as a lobbyist in Sacramento. Nearly a quarter-century later, at 51, she considers herself a Californian, not a Baltimorean. Tell it to the jury commissioner, lady. Baltimore City Circuit Court wants her for jury duty. A jury summons for Catzen arrived in October at her parents' Bolton Hill home - an address where she has never lived.

I wish the pope had talked to me before he gave his "evil and inhuman" speech that got Muslims so testy at him. I could have told him, "Don't quote some old emperor's thoughts about Muslims unless you're willing to have people confuse his views with yours." You don't tell a Mormon, "My neighbor used to be Mormon and he says it's the weirdest religion since the Incas." He'll give you the hairy eyeball and go off to the temple and start converting your deceased ancestors. If you're the holy pontiff, you should watch what you say, with the infallibility factor and all. You toss out an idea, and suddenly people are on their knees repeating it word for word.

Federal factories in Philadelphia and Denver have already stamped out 4.8 billion little tan disks this year so that purses might be encumbered, cashiers oppressed and tradition preserved. No more. It's time to abolish the penny. The store of value and unit of account that inspired bards from Shakespeare to the Beastie Boys has stopped paying dividends. It stores little value - an eighth of a stick of gum is about right. It clogs the economy like mud in a machine. And now it costs more to make than it's worth.

Here's a thought worth a penny: It's time to rethink the penny. Thanks to rising metal prices, a penny now costs more than a penny to make. According to government estimates, the U.S. Mint produces 3 1/2 pennies for the price of a nickel. And since the penny remains America's most widely circulated coin (more than 7.7 billion were produced last year), that's $100 million worth of nickels. Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona has introduced legislation to abolish the penny. And while previous attempts by Congress to phase out the 1-cent coin have failed, rising prices make such a move appear to be inevitable.

On Sunday, January 22, 2006, of Bethesda, MD, beloved husband of Toba Seltzer Penny, loving father of Joanna Penny (Nathaniel) Holzman and Dina Penny, devoted son of Joseph (Rachel) Penny and the late Helene Penny. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 24 at 10 A. M at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street, N.W, Washington, DC. Interment United Hebrew Cemetery, Baltimore, MD. Family observing Shiva Tuesday thru Sunday with the exception of Friday at 7 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Adas Israel Congregation or Tzedakah of your choice.