Runway

To accommodate corporate jets migrating away from major airports to regional ones, Carroll County commissioners adopted a contentious plan yesterday to build a new, expanded runway at the Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster. The $56 million plan calls for relocating and extending the airport's main runway, giving larger jets the necessary space to take off with full tanks of fuel and more passengers. The plan would rebuild the 5,100-foot runway 250 feet west and 600 feet north of its present location.

Christian Siriano's days of making sacrifices in the name of fashion may be coming to an end now that he has been named the top designer of this season's Project Runway. In last night's finale, the outspoken 22-year-old Annapolisnative - who works out of a cramped New York apartment and does without a real bed (all to afford more clothes) - took home the $100,000 prize to start his own fashion line. Siriano, a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts and the fan favorite on the Bravo series, beat out former Ralph Lauren designer Jillian Lewis and Los Angeles drape artist RamiKashou for the final prize.

Residents of Linthicum, Ferndale, Severn and Glen Burnie may notice unusual aircraft noise during the next two weekends as construction closes two major jet runways at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.As part of a project to extend Runway 10/28 and perform routine maintenance, Runway 10/28 will be closed from 10 p.m. today until 7 a.m. Monday.Runway 10/28 and Runway 15R/33L will both close from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and June 11 and 12.Aircraft will be diverted to other runways during the closures.

A twin engine cargo plane veered off a runway at Baltimore-Washington International Airport yesterday after it blew four tires while landing, according to an airport spokeswoman.The pilot and co-pilot of the Zantop Convair 580 aircraft were uninjured, said Carol T. Riley, a BWI spokeswoman.Ms. Riley said that the plane, operated by Zantop International Airlines out of Ypsilanti, Mich., was landing at BWI about 6:30 a.m. when some problems developed with the hydraulic system in the landing gears.

Despite strong opposition two years ago, only five people came to a public hearing last night to testify against extending a runway at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.Complaining about noisy and low-flying airplanes, people at the meeting said the state hasn't proven that the 1,000-foot extension of the east-west runway is needed.running out of money," said Carol Nowakowski, who lives in Hanover west of BWI, about the state's financial condition. "You are pushing funds into this and I don't think you have proven that this project is worthwhile.

It looks as if the predictions about the death of the runway show were extremely premature. In fact, there may soon be more pressure than ever on designers to heighten production standards, hire celebrity models and engage in all the theatrics that make fashion professionals wince.Anthony Guccione, a son of Penthouse's publisher, Robert Guccione, and the brother of Spin's publisher, Robert Jr., plans to found a new cable channel, Fashion and Design Television, somewhat ominously called FAD-TV for short.

Devotees of Bravo's Project Runway might remember Austin Scarlett for the romantic, feminine creations he sent down the catwalk in Runway's first season. Now he is the designer and creative director of the Kenneth Pool line of wedding dresses. Today, he will appear in Pikesville for the collection's trunk show at the Betsy Robinson Bridal Collection. The show allows brides-to-be a chance to see a variety of samples from the line and, in this case, meet the designer as well. Scarlett will be at the store from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., answering questions and helping brides with their selections.

The story was that planes were kept circling as President Bill Clinton had his hair clipped on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport last month.The runway haircut by Beverly Hills stylist Cristophe became such a metaphor for perceived White House arrogance that the president felt compelled to apologize for the reported delays.But the reports were wrong.According to Federal Aviation Administration records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the May 18 haircut caused no significant delays of regularly scheduled passenger flights -- no circling planes, no traffic jams on the runways.

LOS ANGELES -- A fatal airplane collision that initially seemed to be the result of a mistake by a harried air traffic controller might have also involved long-standing problems, including the use of unreliable radar equipment and a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, federal investigators said yesterday.An air traffic controller handling planes landing and taking off on Runway 24L at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday apparently forgot she had told a SkyWest commuter airplane awaiting takeoff to wait at the center of the runway about a minute before she told a USAir Boeing 737 it could land on the same strip.

A houndstooth-check mummy suit with matching purse at Jean-Paul Gaultier's show got people giggling, and a sequined bodysuit as thin as skin raised some eyebrows at Gianni Versace. But it took a fishnet top with gardenia pasties, at Chanel no less, to make members of the world's most fashion savvy audience admit they were mildly shocked.Once again this spring, European designers -- and even a few in New York -- spun their most fantastic ideas down the runway. Again, fashion editors and retailers laughed at the weirdness and zeroed in on the news.