Plates

In Annapolis, where some pieces of legislation are a hard sell, one bill has a hard shell. Del. Barbara Frush wants to give University of Maryland fans a license plate they can be proud of, something they can rally around. Her bill would create a "Fear the Turtle" tag boldly emblazoned with the image of the mascot Testudo in his traditional stance, flippers akimbo. "I didn't think this one up on my own," says Frush, laughing. "The university came to me with this bill. Before I put the bill in, I asked a bunch of people if they'd pay $45 for it. To a person, they said, `Oh, absolutely.

Eat what you want - just don't eat too much of it. That may be fine advice, but it's easier said than done. Now a Canadian scientist has conducted a simple study to see whether a special set of dishes can help dieters toe the line. In the first clinical trial on "portion control plates," Sue Pedersen, an endocrinologist at the University of Calgary, had 65 subjects use a specially designed plate and bowl to limit their calorie intake for part of each day. Another 65 people who didn't use the dishes served as a control.

Since it opened in a great Towson location in November 2009, the 7 West Bistro Grille has become a popular lunch destination for lawyers and other professionals working within walking distance. As it happens, Towson doesn't have many places for a sit-down lunch at a reasonable price, so 7 West fills a need. This is a restaurant trying to do a bit of everything. The menu includes American — hamburgers, chicken tenders, ribs and salmon — as well as Mediterranean fare like stuffed grape leaves, gyros and grilled octopus.

What are you willing to put up with in a restaurant for one of the best views in the Inner Harbor? That's the question you have to ask yourself before you eat at Lillies. Yes, I've been to this spot before. And you, faithful reader, have often been with me -- with reviews since 1990 of Catalina, South Harbor Tavern, J. Leonard's Waterside and, under the name Pier 500, three different restaurant concepts (New American, Southwestern and seafood, not necessarily in that order). I reviewed every one, although the review of the Southwestern concept never appeared in print, because by the time the photographer got there to take the picture, a month after the place opened, the chef had left and the concept had changed.

William Donald Schaefer wasn't always easy to read. That goes double for his wills. And yes, that's wills , plural. In a will signed in 2009 and made public May 17, the late Baltimore mayor, Maryland governor and state comptroller left an amount that could approach $1 million to longtime aide Lainy LeBow-Sachs. Jeanne Bell — a friend for decades, someone to whom he gave his power of attorney just three years ago — received only his stamp and plate collections. In a will signed in 2005, LeBow-Sachs made out about the same as in the current will.

The Free State is adrift in logo license tags. There are tags that pay homage to streetcars, firefighters, dental hygienists and square dancing. Tags to venerate veterans, poets and duckpin bowling. Tags honoring fast cars, fancy cars, old cars and even the fluffy West Highland white terrier. There are 656 ways to stand out on the road, with 30 designs in the wings, plus two full-color scenic plates that raise funds to protect the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland agriculture. Now legislators from around the state have proposed the creation of four more of the fancy plates.

It's 7 on a Saturday night, your section is full and you're repeating the specials of the night for the third time to a timid thirtysomething who must be suffering from short-term amnesia. You glance at the customers at your other tables: Two need bread, two are waiting to order and the family of five in the corner needs refills of chocolate milk and Shirley Temples. Waiting tables is a stressful, fast-paced and, at times, utterly chaotic occupation. Perhaps that's the reason that every week, according to People Report (a Dallas-based research-and-consulting company)

Police logNorth Laurel: 9000 block of Thamesmeade Road: A 1992 black Jeep truck, with Maryland plates 636764, was stolen Wednesday.Pub Date: 4/01/96

Police logHarper's Choice: 5600 block of Gulf Stream Row: A 1989 Buick with Maryland plates TEM 219 was stolen Monday and was later recovered in Baltimore.

POLICE LOG* Woodbine: 15900 block of A E Mullinix Road: Someone destroyed a mailbox between 3 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday.* Clarksville: 12000 block of Hall Shop Road: Front and rear license plates from a 1981 Chevrolet were stolen between midnight Oct. 18 and 8 a.m. Tuesday. The Virginia plates were JTO-451.