Plates

The Sun (editorial, Jan. 4) is wrong to claim that the Motor Vehicle Administration's decision to recall controversial license plates ''is not a free-speech issue.''The state can certainly choose to issue only standard license plates. But Maryland chose to allow nonprofit groups to put their names and logos on license plates, allowing license plates to serve as tiny mobile billboards for private citizens and their groups. Having done that, it may not then discriminate based on the viewpoints of the groups.

Promising a bold and bright new look in full color, state officials plan to unveil the latest version of Maryland's popular "Treasure the Chesapeake" Bay license plate during a news conference today at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The bay license plate program has generated more than $11 million for projects in every Maryland county and the city, including wetlands restoration, streamside forest buffers, oyster gardening and rain gardens. The new plates - with a design that has been reserved for unveiling by the governor today - will replace the original design bearing a great blue heron and dark-green lettering that was released in 1990.

Students from Broadneck Senior High School in Anne Arundel County spent a week last summer camping at Wye Island, where their days were packed with such activities as planting marsh grasses and building bird boxes.While earning a half credit toward graduation, they gained an appreciation for the bay that teacher Pat Neidhardt said "makes them better citizens for the rest of their lives."The trip and hundreds of similar projects across the state were funded by Marylanders who bought special license plates or gave a little extra at tax time.

Q: Enclosed is a picture of a 10-inch plate with a picture of two Indians. On the back it is marked "Hand Painted -- Nippon."Please tell me when this was made and what it might be worth and how can I sell it?A: Your plate was made in Japan during the early 1900s and would probably sell for $225 to $235. "Nippon" is the way the Japanese pronounce Japan.Q: I hope you can help me identify this porcelain figurine of a man with a mustache. He is 18 inches tall and stands on a gold base. He is playing a stringed instrument and has a brown dog beside him. He is dressed in brown jacket and tight-fitting pants.

State investigators have confiscated license plates from 21 trucks owned by Cunningham Paving Co., whose dump truck was involved in a fatal pileup on the Harbor Tunnel Thruway in April.A team from the Motor Vehicle Administration took the tags yesterday and today because the Anne Arundel County-based company failed to keep proper maintenance records, MVA spokesman James Lang said. The tags are suspended until Cunningham complies with state law.During a June 4 State Police inspection, Cunningham failed to produce documents showing that two-thirds of its 35 trucks had been inspected and maintained as required.

PAPER OR PLASTIC? Not at the supermarket checkout, but at Carroll County school cafeterias this fall where parents can use credit cards to pay for a year's lunches in advance, and get a discount. (But no refunds for missed meals.)Paper money (and coins) will still be accepted, but Carroll officials expect the credit-card charge to win favor, as it has in Howard County for eight years. Some jurisdictions, such as Baltimore County, offer prepaid debit-cards for a set number of lunches. But more significant changes are in store for Carroll County schools when more than 26,000 youngsters return to the classroom today.

The number of steel road-plates covering construction sites -- and adding to a jarring drive in Baltimore -- has been cut in half to about 100 after a recent crackdown, a city Department of Public Works official said. In 2001, the city began tracking the steel plates, used to temporarily cover work on underground utility conduits, and started pressing contractors to remove them within 30 days. Contractors that do not report installation of plates face $50-a-day fines. Plates are used to cover sites during rush hours, according to the DPW, so that crews can quickly return to work during times of less busy traffic.

I have inherited a collection of decorative plates and serving pieces that were displayed in a large breakfront in my childhood home. I don't have a similarly large cabinet for housing the collection now, so can you give me some suggestions for how to show off at least a few of my favorite pieces? You don't need cabinetry to display this kind of collection. I'm always perusing new books that can help my readers better see some of the many possibilities for designing a personal interior.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans filed suit against Maryland officials yesterday to block the state's revocation of specialty license plates bearing the Confederate battle flag.The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, says the revocation violates the group's constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection under the law. The suit names Gov. Parris N. Glendening, Transportation Secretary David L. Winstead and Motor Vehicle Administration chief Ronald L. Freeland.The suit seeks $1,000 for each alleged violation by the state -- an amount that probably would not exceed $156,000.

The recent melamine scare from China has me wondering. Due to the fact that supplements have little regulatory control, is there a risk that protein powders sold for dieters and muscle builders could contain melamine to increase the amount of protein when tested? Also, should I worry about my children's melamine dining plates? You raise a fascinating question. Chinese producers have apparently added melamine to milk to cover up the fact that it was diluted. The same chemical was also added to the pet-food ingredient gluten to make it appear higher in protein so it would be worth more.