Rainbow

Smarty Jones and Rainbow Blue share such similar stories that it's startling their major difference - their celebrity - is so great. Compared to Smarty Jones, one of the most popular thoroughbreds in years, Rainbow Blue is a relative unknown. Yet tomorrow, the Maryland-born filly could be named the standardbred Horse of the Year. Ranked No. 1 in the national poll of harness racehorses, she's the leading contender for that paramount honor. Rainbow Blue would be the second straight standardbred Horse of the Year born at Winbak Farm, the 2,300-acre behemoth in Cecil County that is Maryland's largest horse farm for breed, standardbred or thoroughbred.

Nutritionists from the University of Maryland Medical Center regularly contribute a guest post. The latest post is from Catherine Schroeder, dietetic intern. Spring showers inspire the growth of a colorful array of fruits and vegetables to decorate your dishes, tempt your taste buds and nourish yourself naturally. Vibrantly colored produce adds visual appeal to any dish without the use of synthetic dyes or additives. More importantly, these brightly colored foods pack a powerful nutrition punch.

Nelson Mandela made an eloquent plea for common humanity upon being inaugurated the first president of South Africa who was either black or the product of an election in which most of the adults of the country could vote. It was a worthy cap to his 75 years as campaigner for liberation.But it was also a great occasion of state, watched by a dazzling array of international luminaries running the gamut from Prince Philip of Britain to Fidel Castro of Cuba, and including Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, Rep. Kweisi Mfume and NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Chavis of Baltimore.

A team of five restoration and remediation experts from Rainbow International of Northeastern Maryland, at 323 Williams St. in Bel Air, have earned additional certifications for microbial remediation, structural drying and restoration following water damage. Rainbow professionals earning new certifications included Jay Van Deusen (Applied Microbial Remediation), Carlos Urgiliez (Applied Structural Drying), Fabian Mantilla (Applied Microbial Remediation), Kyle Benoit (Applied Microbial Remediation)

HAVRE de GRACE -- William Colby, mysteriously missing and presumed drowned in the waters of southern Maryland, was described in several recent news stories as a ''former spymaster'' -- a term inevitably applied to anyone who served as chief of the Central Intelligence Agency.To journalists, former spymasters come in two models, the gray and the colorful. Mr. Colby, though he was no desk jockey and had parachuted into occupied France during World War II, was perceived as the former. His personality and appearance were lacking in flamboyance, and so his assigned image in the press was that of a bureaucrat, not a swashbuckling secret agent.

Rainbow Blue, the Maryland-born pacing filly, was named standardbred Horse of the Year last night at harness racing's annual awards ceremony at Caesars Atlantic City, N.J. Stabled at Harrington Raceway in Delaware, Rainbow Blue, who was 3 last year, won 20 of 21 races and edged Windsong's Legacy, who won trotting's Triple Crown, in voting for harness racing's highest honor. Rainbow Blue is the second straight standardbred Horse of the Year bred by Winbak Farm in Cecil County. The Winbak-bred No Pan Intended won Horse of the Year last year.

THEY BROUGHT back a rainbow at Druid Hill Park two nights ago, and everybody called this a great symbol of the city's rebirth. They were partly right. There were maybe 300 people gathered by the great reservoir there, and it was dark, and such a thing is not supposed to happen. Muggings are supposed to happen after dark. This is part of our municipal folklore. But the mood was utterly serene, and the crowd included delighted children, and people of all colors, and such facts take us beyond mere symbols.

Gay and lesbian high school students in Howard County will be singing and dancing "Under the Rainbow" next month in Columbia at the first same-sex prom held in the county.The alternative prom is being sponsored by the Howard chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a national nonprofit organization."It's really positive for the kids to know that there's a place that they can go to and have fun like they would at [their high school] prom," said Dorina Stanislaw, 18, a Centennial High School senior from Ellicott City who plans to attend the event with her girlfriend, Jennifer Roorda, 20, a 1997 Centennial graduate.

Tess McNew reluctantly glances out her bedroom window in the stately mansion known as Rainbow Hall. Below her second-floor window is one of two gnarled ming trees Japanese Emperor Hirohito gave to then-Brigadier Gen. Douglas MacArthur 75 years ago, when the World War I hero and his wife lived in this elegant Georgian-style home just above the rim of the Green Spring Valley. A soft-spoken lady with snow-white hair, McNew is preparing to leave the Baptist Home, the retirement community that took up residence in Rainbow Hall in 1963, and now is closing because of financial problems.

The people and the professionals have spoken - and awarded Peabody Institute faculty member Christopher Theofanidis the 2003 Masterprize for his orchestral work Rainbow Body. Theofanidis returned to the Baltimore campus yesterday fresh from his victory in this unique international composition competition in London, where he received the prize of 25,000 British pounds (about $42,000). His colleagues in Peabody's composition department, including Peabody director Robert Sirota and British-born composer Nicholas Maw, surprised him with a champagne toast.

Lions and tigers and Oz movies, oh my! With the recent release of Disney's “Oz the Great and Powerful” and the expected release this year from Summertime Entertainment of the animated “Dorothy of Oz,” we think it's the perfect time to plan a birthday party down the yellow brick road. Click your heels three times, and follow us to Oz for step-by-step instructions on how to throw a DIY birthday party that will have your child and his or her guests over-the-rainbow. The Big Surprise Some of the best advice we can pass on for party planning is this: Always plan an element of surprise that no one will be able to stop talking about.

My apples looked good until recently. Now they have tiny black spots and gray blotches that look like mildew but are dry. Are they ruined? Rains last month created conditions for two fungi: flyspeck and sooty blotch. Both of these fungi can be washed off. Soak and scrub off or just peel the apples. Fortunately, they don't affect eating quality. The leaves of my rhododendron are getting rough and brown patches. Is this a fungus I should spray? This time of year, those symptoms would be caused by the snowy tree cricket.

Skin protection is of the utmost importance during summer, whether you're on the beach or by the pool. Although it's a bit cooler at the shore and you may escape the really scorching heat, you can't be too careful. There are plenty of options for sunscreen in many different SPFs, UVA and UVB protections, but if you really want to accent your vacation with a little color, try Zinka sunblock. Now I understand that being protected from the sun is not about looking cool, but you can look cool and still protect your skin by rocking Zinka, a zinc oxide sunblock that comes in 10 different colors.

As Maryland continues to gear up for a gay marriage question on the ballot this fall, another snack food has taken sides on the issue. Following in the footsteps of Ben & Jerry's gay marriage ice cream flavor , Oreo is showing support for same-sex couples with a rainbow cookie. The "Pride" cookie isn't something people can buy -- at least not yet. Rather, the company released a picture of it Monday on its Facebook page. The rainbow layered Oreo with the tagline "Pride" garnered more than 145,000 likes and nearly 35,000 shares in less than a day. Supporters immediately began campaigning for Oreo to make the icing-heavy creation real, something people could buy and eat. (It would be like extreme Double Stuff with all that icing.)

Watching the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" always makes you feel like you're not in Kansas anymore. The theatrical version of this immortal musical at Toby's Dinner Theatre does a pretty good job of making you feel like you're not in Columbia anymore. This is a challenging musical to adapt for the stage. Let's start with the special effects. There is the twister that spins Dorothy's Kansas farmhouse around and then deposits it in Oz. There is the water-soaked witch who must shrink until she disappears.

There's a new ship in the harbor - at least for another day.  Rainbow Warrior III, the signature vessel of Greenpeace, cruised into Baltimore Monday on its maiden voyage to the United States.  It's the third ship to bear that name - the first was allegedly bombed by the French Navy in 1985, and its successor was retired last August.  This 190-foot baby was designed and built to the environmental group's specs, and they say it's the...

Rainbow Fleet No. 1 and the Annapolis Naval Sailing Association played host last weekend to the 29th annual Rainbow National Championshipregatta, with two races each of the first two days and a final series-ender on Sunday.Nine teams took part, including two from the Naval Station and one from each of the other national fleets, in Lake George, N.Y., and Wilmette, Ill.By the end of Saturday's contests, Annapolis-area archrivals Peter Gookin and the team on Ace of Spades and Bob Mewhinney and crew on Glass Harp were dead even at the top of the fleet, since each had scored a first and a second each day. That meant the championship would come down to the outcome of Sunday's fifth and final race of the series.

The family of Crown Central Petroleum Corp. Chairman Henry A. Rosenberg Jr. has a $1.8 million contract to purchase Rainbow Hall, the Green Spring Valley mansion whose future was left in doubt when the retirement community that had occupied it for 40 years closed its doors. The 1917 Georgian-style building, once home to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, was vacated in March by Baptist Home of Maryland/Delaware Inc., which defaulted on a bank loan. A sale has been scheduled for next month to Rosemore Inc., a family-held company, said Rosenberg lawyer Patrick Shelley.

Fall arrived a little early at the Dogwood. Galen Sampson's autumn menu is up and running. Here's what's making me hungry right now: A starter of radishes served open-face on a baguette with herbs, butter and red sea salt; Simmer Rock Farms beets and honeycrisp apples with honey-lime vinaigrette with toasted fennel seeds; escargot in roasted baby pumpkin with fennel and leeks; North Carolina rainbow trout with four-grain pilaf and a side...

According to legend, a humble bouquet of weeds placed by a little Mexican girl at the foot of a nativity scene miraculously burst into brilliant red flowers, and from that moment, the poinsettia became the floral symbol of Christmas. Red may be the most popular color of the holiday plant, but thanks to plant-friendly spray paint and plant-friendly glitter, it is not the only color. Not by a long shot. A Ravens fan? You can have your poinsettia in purple and black. An Orioles fan?