Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- Linda R. Tripp, the woman whose secret taping of Monica Lewinsky provoked the scandal that led to the impeachment of President Clinton, is finally heading back to work for the Pentagon -- although in a different office miles from the five-sided building.Tripp is expected to begin today as a public affairs specialist for the Defense Manpower Data Center, the Pentagon's research arm in nearby Rosslyn, Va., said a defense official who requested anonymity.The 49-year-old Columbia resident remains a political appointee and will earn $94,098, the same salary she's been receiving as a public affairs specialist for the Pentagon's Joint Civilian Orientation Conference.

New positionsSchnitzlein operations VP for Royal FarmsRoyal Farms, the Baltimore-based chain of convenience stores, appointed Albert H. Schnitzlein as vice president of operations.The Towson University graduate formerly was an executive vice president for Hardee's Food System Inc. He began his fast-food industry career in Towson as a counterman with the old Gino's hamburger chain.Comcast names Gordon public affairs directorComcast Cablevision named Jim Gordon, a Towson University graduate, director of government and public affairs for the metropolitan Baltimore area.

No one knows how many people are watching, but Howard County's government cable television station is revamping its look -- with the help of a $9.50 steel clamp and a prop scavenged from an empty building.Starting with a new, 15-minute public affairs show called "Inside Howard County," which began Oct. 1, station manager Tara L. Gary and county information director Victoria Goodman are trying to update graphics and produce a line of new public affairs shows on GTV."My emphasis is on educating the public about what government does for them," Goodman said, adding: "We don't always do a good job communicating."

The best kept secret during the threatened air attack on Iraq had nothing to do with military operations or last-minute political maneuvering. Rather, it had to do with how and to what extent the public would be informed once the launch button was pushed and the bombs rained down on Baghdad.Some of you may yawn and say, "Ho-hum. Things settled down. We're in a peace mode. Kofi Annan and Saddam Hussein settled things and the United Nations Security Council signed off. These guys said there will be 'severe consequences' if Saddam doesn't comply with the inspection rules.

A former state public affairs official and the director of a program development center for the National Council of Negro Women have been named to head the Maryland Commission on African-American History and Culture.Carroll H. Hynson Jr. of Arnold, retired public affairs director for the Maryland State Lottery and formerly with the State Aviation Administration and the old Provident Hospital, was chosen as chairman.Mitchellville resident Lucenia W. Dunn, national director of the Bethune Program Development Center of the women's council, will be vice chairwoman of the commission.

EVEN THOUGH IT is located in Washington, many Baltimoreans tune into WDCU-FM at 90.1 for its superior jazz programming. Treasure every note, though. In a few months that station will go off the air. It will then reappear as an outlet for C-SPAN, which up to now has been known solely as a cable television operation that is devoted to broadcasting congressional hearings and other public affairs programs.Things could have turned out far worse. After the financially strapped University of the District of Columbia decided to sell WDCU, a commercial Christian broadcaster emerged as a likely buyer.

A Baltimore police sergeant who worked in the department's public affairs office for more than three years resigned yesterday so he could become the chief spokesman for the 3,200-member force.Robert W. Weinhold Jr., who was promoted to sergeant on Friday, now joins the civilian ranks after spending a decade as a police officer. The position of director of public affairs is a civilian job.Weinhold's appointment has raised questions from a black officers' group whose president complained yesterday that Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier did not interview other candidates.

Thirty-three Baltimore police officers are being promoted to sergeant today, signaling an official end to an investigation of whether portions of the promotional exams were compromised by cheating.Officials said they found no evidence of tampering, but the departmental probe delayed promotions for months.A similar investigation into alleged cheating on a separate lieutenants' exam also has concluded with no finding of wrongdoing, and promotions for that rank are expected in two weeks, officials said.

Roger C. Lipitz, a former health care entrepreneur who serves as chairman of the Baltimore Development Corp., will commit at least $1.5 million to endow a chair at the University of Maryland College Park devoted to strengthening ties between business and government, the university said yesterday.The commitment by Lipitz, which could grow to $3.5 million, will establish the chair in his name at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. The gift -- the largest ever received by the school -- will also help start the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise.

New positionsFriedel named manager at International PaperInternational Paper announced the appointment of John A. Friedel as products manager, high-pressure laminates at its Odenton-based decorative products division. He joined the company in 1988, when it was known as Nevamar, as an assistant customer service manager. In his new position, he will have responsibility for marketing of high-pressure laminates and new product development. A Baltimore resident, he is a graduate of Loyola College and has a master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University.

At 67, TV newsman Richard Sher is still irrepressible. And it is all but impossible not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. The 49-year broadcast veteran came to an interview last week to talk about his reinvention of a one-time Baltimore TV landmark, the long-running public affairs show "Square Off," and he was going to hit a talking point that he wanted to emphasize - over and over, so help him God. Near the end of the conversation, after he had...

A series of explosions at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground yesterday rattled dishes and startled residents from Perry Hall to Middletown, Del., 30 miles away. "The entire house shook," said Joseph MulQueen, who called The Sun from his home in Perry Hall to report what he thought was an earthquake. A check of area seismographs revealed no tremors. But officials at Aberdeen acknowledged that a series of afternoon blasts in the facility's Edgewood area did trigger about 30 phone calls.

Karen Hughes has been unfairly criticized. Yes, she is the most senior official in the Bush administration responsible for working to improve America's image around the world - and that image is in trouble, as polls abroad show. It is therefore not surprising that many people have blamed Ms. Hughes, the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department since 2005, for failing to correct this problem. But that judgment ignores several important facts. First, the undersecretary of state does not control the half of the traditional public diplomacy budget that goes for broadcasting (it is under an independent board)

William Hamilton Danneberg Jr., a retired public affairs official and sailing enthusiast, died in his sleep Saturday at his Rock Hall home. He was 65. Mr. Danneberg was born in Baltimore and raised in Palmerton, Pa., where he graduated from high school in 1958. After earning a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University in 1962, he went to work as a reporter for The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa. From 1967 to 1968, he was director of information and publications for the Pennsylvania Department of Internal Affairs.

Credibility is everything in our business." That's what I told the latest batch of military public affairs specialists to graduate from the Pentagon's 12-week course for enlisted men and women in journalism, photojournalism and public affairs. The Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort George G. Meade invited me to speak to the graduating class after officials there found out that I, too, was a graduate, in 1970, when DINFOS was still in Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis and I, at the time, was its only draftee.

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin said yesterday that an agency-wide effort is under way to make sure political appointees are not stifling scientific openness. Testifying at a hearing of the House Science Committee, Griffin heard lawmakers from both parties ask the space agency to guarantee "free and open inquiry." The debate began three weeks ago after NASA climatologist James Hansen accused a political appointee in the office of public affairs with muzzling his views on global warming because they conflicted with those of the Bush administration.

Many Americans may have felt betrayed after learning that U.S. Army officials in Iraq paid editors and TV producers to publish stories friendly to the United States, some without attributing the source. My only question was, did planting those stories help turn Iraqi hearts and minds to U.S. favor? The work was done by the Lincoln Group under contract to the Army. Critics claim this is propaganda operations run amok and pressured officials in Washington and Baghdad to investigate the practice.

Advertising Nevins & Associates announced the appointments of Kirstie Durr and Mitchell Schmale as senior vice presidents, Matt Hombach as a senior account executive and Amy Kahn as director of business operations for the Hunt Valley-based marketing and communications firm. Warschawski, a Baltimore public relations and branding agency, appointed Kerry O'Neill as an associate. She is responsible for media relations and campaign development for health care, sports and consumer industry clients.

Health Care Greater Baltimore Medical Center appointed Michael A. Forthman as vice president of facilities and support services for the Towson hospital. Resolution Health Inc. appointed Dr. Alan T. Wright as vice president of product strategy and business development for the Chevy Chase-based health care data analytic and intervention company. Legal and Insurance Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP said Joseph J. Bellinger Jr. joined the Baltimore-based national law firm as a partner in its litigation department and a member of the bankruptcy, reorganization and capital recovery group.

BOSTON - In perhaps their proudest moment since the Boston Tea Party, Red Sox Nation partied not like it was October 2004, but like they were swept back in time - and to another baseball-loving city. "The origins of how we did this ring ceremony are in Baltimore," said Charles Steinberg, executive vice president of public affairs for the Red Sox. "I reached into my memory of what I would have done in Baltimore." In 1991, as director of public affairs for the Orioles, it was Steinberg's job to find the fitting way for Orioles fans to bid farewell to the old stadium on 33rd Street on Oct. 6. Steinberg wanted to set a perfect mood, so he chose not use a public address announcer at the Memorial Stadium farewell he choreographed.