Salon

Isabelle B. Rich, a beauty salon owner who was one of the first African-American women to enlist in the Army, died last week in Birmingham, Ala., of complications from Alzheimer's disease. The former Baltimore resident was 91. Born Isabelle Brown in Baltimore, she was the eldest of four children. She was raised in the Sandtown neighborhood and as a child was nicknamed "Cissy." She had a child when she was in her early teens and named the baby Delores. She quit school after the eighth grade and went to work as housekeeper.

It's a look worn by trendy teens, late boomers and shoe salesmen at Barneys -- a hairstyle that originated in England but is now making waves stateside. It's called the fin, and it may be coming to a salon near you, if it hasn't already washed up. What's the fin? "It's hair that's cut real short, and up on top it all gets pushed toward the center so it looks almost like a Mohawk," says David Petersen, co-owner of Rudy's Barbershop, a trend-setting salon in Los Angeles that does the cut. Gabrielle Hart, artistic director of Studio 1612 in Mount Washington, says the look has been steadily gaining popularity in the area for the past two months, although not everyone calls it "the fin."

Perched in a hairstyling chair, curlers and combs running through her dark tresses to form two sculpted braids, Brehms Lane Elementary School fifth-grader Miranda Maye was enjoying the fruits of classroom success. Enjoying a complimentary hairstyling session at Diamonds and Divas salon on Belair Road, Miranda was the latest pupil at the Northeast Baltimore school to cash in on an unconventional academic incentive called Smart is Beautiful. Salon owner Cherie Smith started the program last fall to reward a fifth-grader each month at the neighborhood school to encourage academic achievement.

If there is such a thing as an unpretentious 64-foot yacht, the two-masted vessel owned by Walter Cronkite is it. While some owners turn their boats into floating jewel boxes, Cronkite's Wyntje is the kind of boat on which you could spill your lemonade and not worry about being thrown overboard. "He has [the boat] to sail. Not sit in the harbor," said J. Holt, the yacht's smiley 28-year-old captain. "It is very family-friendly." The upholstery is faded, and the wood panels gleam but don't overwhelm.

POLICE LOG* Pasadena: The Sunset Tanning Salon, the Sunset Nail Salon and the Sunset Styling Salon in the 8500 block of Fort Smallwood Road were broken into and ransacked Monday night. Money was taken from the front desk of the tanning salon.

In an article Thursday about the B&B Hairdressing Awards, Imagine Salon was incorrectly identified. The Sun regrets the errors.

Critic's Pick-- With the salon profitable, Kevin (Marques Houston, above) asks for a little off the top in Cuts (9:30 p.m.-10 p.m., Channel 24).

POLICE LOGBrooklyn Park: A man tried to rob the Countess Beauty Salon in the 4100 block of Grove Road about 5 p.m. Thursday, but was thwarted by an employee, police said.

In life, you don't always get exactly what you want. But once in a while, when you do, it turns out to be something wonderful. Such is the case with Marlene Koeppel's dream home. "I had always wanted this condo," she said, her petite frame, wide eyes and stylish short haircut belying her 72 years. "This was Jack Meyerhoff's condo. " Jack Meyerhoff was the builder of the well-regarded Pikesville condominium building known simply as "11 Slade Avenue. " For his living quarters there, Meyerhoff designed a very special unit on the second floor.

Padma Salon 3401 Keswick Road, Hampden 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday 410-243-1717 P adma is the Sanskrit word for lotus, which is the symbol of a new beginning. That's exactly the concept that Kimberly Cincotta and Jennifer Warner were going for when they opened Padma Salon in Hampden on July 11. After 12 years of working together in the salon industry, the Baltimore natives joined forces to create a salon with a soothing and friendly environment.