Public Voice

Mariah Carey is losing her voice.Well, one of them, anyway. She has two. One is a full-throated, octave-spanning powerhouse, the kind of voice that can bring an audience to its feet. That's her public voice -- the one she used to power her way through hits like "Vision of Love" and "Hero," the one that built her reputation.Her other voice is more private. Airy and intimate, it's the sort a mother would use to soothe her children. Until recently, it has been the voice Carey has kept for herself.

Neighbors of Arundel Mills get their chance Thursday night to tell a divided Anne Arundel County Council what they think about legislation that would allow the state's largest slots parlor to be built near the mall. As many as 100 people are expected to squeeze into the council's Annapolis chambers for the public hearing, which was scheduled to collect public opinion on zoning changes needed for the billion-dollar project to go forward. County Executive John R. Leopold submitted the legislation and is urging its passage, but many of the mall's neighbors - and at least two of the seven council members who will decide the matter - oppose it. The parlor, proposed by Baltimore-based developer the Cordish Cos., would include 4,750 slot machines.

The consumer advocacy group Public Voice for Food and Health Policy has issued a report card on the federal government's new guidelines for healthier school lunches. At the same time, Public Voice criticized the government's decision to set a 1998 deadline for implementation of the improvements.That's an appropriate mixed response to the government rules.In fact, this newspaper expressed the same combination of praise and criticism months ago when the U.S. Department of Agriculture formally announced its revisions of the school lunch program.

Cmdr. Bill Spann, the public voice of the Naval Academy for the past three years, is leaving the military college tomorrow and retiring from the Navy. His successor as the school's public affairs officer and chief spokesman will be Cmdr. Rod J. Gibbons, 39, a 1986 graduate who last served as deputy director of public affairs for the U.S. Northern Command, at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. At Annapolis, Gibbons will oversee a 20-person office that deals with the news media, coordinates VIP visits and community-outreach programs, and puts out the school's newspaper, The Trident, and other internal publications.

Food vendors in Belair Market fighting a proposal to put a supermarket in Oldtown Mall know they couldn't survive the competition. But their opposition shouldn't stop the city from trying to give East Baltimore residents, especially those who live in the Lafayette Courts and Latrobe Homes housing communities, a better place to buy groceries.Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington, recently issued a report on the lack of supermarkets in inner-city neighborhoods.

Wonder how much fat you're chowing down in that hot dog or in the packaged, breaded frying chicken you picked up at the supermarket?It's pretty hard to tell with many meat products because the majority carry no nutritional labeling.But it looks as if that's going to change. The government is gearing up to require nutritional labeling for much meat and poultry, and expects to have a preliminary proposal ready for public comment by March 31.Nearly 60 percent of meat and poultry products today provide no nutritional labeling, according to a survey released March 6 by the consumer group Public Voice for Food & Health Policy.

If a Washington-based consumer advocacy group has its way, supermarkets, restaurants and other places selling molluskan shellfish will have to post signs warning that raw or partially cooked oysters, clams or mussels may cause "acute illness and even death" from microbiological contamination in certain high-risk individuals.Those individuals considered to be at greatest danger of food poisoning include people with cancer, diabetes, liver disease, alcoholism, AIDS and kidney disease.Public Voice for Food & Health Policy recently petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to mandate the cautionary labels in order to counter what it calls inadequate government regulation of certain shellfish species.

Cmdr. Bill Spann, the public voice of the Naval Academy for the past three years, is leaving the military college tomorrow and retiring from the Navy. His successor as the school's public affairs officer and chief spokesman will be Cmdr. Rod J. Gibbons, 39, a 1986 graduate who last served as deputy director of public affairs for the U.S. Northern Command, at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. At Annapolis, Gibbons will oversee a 20-person office that deals with the news media, coordinates VIP visits and community-outreach programs, and puts out the school's newspaper, The Trident, and other internal publications.

Too much fat. Too much sodium. Too few fruits and vegetables. Not enough of certain vitamins.Sounds like a meal at the local pit beef stand, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the above description is taken from a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on school lunches nationwide.The study released last month found levels of fat and sodium in school cafeteria fare that far exceed the government's dietary guidelines. In another recent study of children's eating habits, the consumer advocacy group Public Voice for Food and Health Policy said 57 percent of youngsters ages 6 to 11 eat less than one serving of fruit daily, and 32 percent eat less than a serving of vegetables a day.The federal government has too long ignored or pooh-poohed these bad habits.

The letter, unsigned, showed up in a local newspaper last month. Its stark message stung Betty Ann Krahnke: Isn't it time Krahnke gave up her seat on the Montgomery County Council?"

CARROLL COUNTY NEEDS more industrial-zoned land to increase its economic base and to create jobs. The county's Economic Development Commission recognized that need in recommending a list of land parcels to be rezoned for industry to attract new businesses. The county commissioners appeared to favor most of the rezoning proposals.The county Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the list last week, and turned down seven of the nine properties (encompassing about 1,000 acres) recommended for industrial use.The panel cited a lack of citizen participation and lack of thorough study of the infrastructure needs.

THE FIGHT over closing the Pratt Library's St. Paul Street branch occurred because the public had no input. Pratt officials made a decision to shutter the St. Paul and Morrell Park branches after the Pratt's budget was cut. Other closings are possible if the Pratt proceeds with a strategic plan it has been developing. But the public must have a say in what happens.The library has scheduled six public hearings on its plans. The first one, Tuesday night at Harbor Hospital Center, drew a modest audience of 50 people.

Mariah Carey is losing her voice.Well, one of them, anyway. She has two. One is a full-throated, octave-spanning powerhouse, the kind of voice that can bring an audience to its feet. That's her public voice -- the one she used to power her way through hits like "Vision of Love" and "Hero," the one that built her reputation.Her other voice is more private. Airy and intimate, it's the sort a mother would use to soothe her children. Until recently, it has been the voice Carey has kept for herself.

Food vendors in Belair Market fighting a proposal to put a supermarket in Oldtown Mall know they couldn't survive the competition. But their opposition shouldn't stop the city from trying to give East Baltimore residents, especially those who live in the Lafayette Courts and Latrobe Homes housing communities, a better place to buy groceries.Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington, recently issued a report on the lack of supermarkets in inner-city neighborhoods.

G. GORDON LIDDY, hard-case Watergate burglar, was explaining last year on his WJFK-AM radio show how someone could shoot an U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent."

The consumer advocacy group Public Voice for Food and Health Policy has issued a report card on the federal government's new guidelines for healthier school lunches. At the same time, Public Voice criticized the government's decision to set a 1998 deadline for implementation of the improvements.That's an appropriate mixed response to the government rules.In fact, this newspaper expressed the same combination of praise and criticism months ago when the U.S. Department of Agriculture formally announced its revisions of the school lunch program.