Stash

ONE MONTH into a new year, yet old habits remain. hTC Lunchtime last week, and my corpulent cohort, Fats Drobnak, was downing the moussaka at Greektown's Ikaros. Favorite table, favorite dish. Greetings, old buddy, I offered. How did '95 treat you?''Not much treatin' went on, 'cept Zino here, he'll th'ow in a baklava now and then an' forget to put it on the tab.''A generous gentleman, indeed. But I was inquiring about your view of the past twelvemonth.''I got th'oo it, which some guys this far along di'nt.

CHICAGO -- Frankie swaggers onto the black bus with bullet holes in the windows and snarls at the passengers. "All right, shut up!" Then he pulls out his gun and starts firing.Everybody ducks, before the momentary shock gives way to guffaws. Frankie, a k a Michael Moylan -- surrogate gangster, tour guide, historian, comedian -- smiles mischievously. "Hmm," he mutters, "you must all be from New York."With that, we're off to Prohibition-era Chicago on a most unconventional tour, led by Moylan and his partner in crime re-creation, "Shoulders," street name for Randy Craig.

NEW YORK -- The year was 1960. Chubby Checker was doing the Twist, Sen. John F. Kennedy was headed for the White House, and Carmen Bilbao, a student at New York University, walked to a movie in Times Square. "It was a better time," she recalls. "I thought it was safe."Then, in the old Apollo Theater on West 42nd Street, Bilbao made the mistake of placing her pocketbook on the empty seat next to hers, making it an easy mark for the thief who lay in wait until the lights went down.So began a curious tale, extending nearly 40 years, for Bilbao and dozens of others who were victimized by a petty criminal (or criminals)

Around the houseKeep kitchen countertops and other surfaces disinfected. Stash plastic spray bottle with a mixture of bleach and water under the sink. Spray counter and wipe dry with a paper towel.Clean glass cookware with the wipe of a sponge that is saturated with vinegar.Run lemon wedges or fresh mint leaves through garbage disposal to kill odors.Apply paste car wax to front of refrigerator and buff to a shine. The wax coating will resist grease and fingerprints.In the gardenPlace a large coffee filter in the bottom of flowerpot before adding soil.

When newsman Bob Lopez said goodbye on Friday to Stash, the morning show voice on WIYY-FM (97.9), he quipped it was probably only temporary -- "until next time, 'til this guy flops."L In the background, listeners could hear "this guy" laughing.He's The Byrd, who debuts at 5:30 a.m. today as the new morning personality on 98 Rock, where mornings have been a little rocky."I could say it because clearly we have no expectation of that [a flop] happening," says Mr. Lopez, adding that in his 17 years at 98 Rock he's worked with 10 morning teams.

Remember the movie ''The French Connection''? Gene Hackman and the New York City P.D. break up an international heroin ring.Well, listen. Those guys in the Big Apple have got nothing on us. Why, right here in Westminster, Maryland, the mighty Carroll County drug task force has just smashed a narcotics empire headed by the notorious ''Snow White.'' I hear Hollywood's going to make a movie about the raid. It'll be called ''The Disneyland Connection.''Here's the plot. A crack team of investigators got this tip from the narcs in California that a big load of dope would arrive at a farm outside Westminster.

BOSTON -- Authorities say a 9-year-old girl left to baby-sit two siblings, a large drug stash and nearly $6,000 in cash tried to flush the contraband down a toilet when Lawrence police raided her apartment.The child allegedly was ordered by her mother and her mother's boyfriend to defy officers and destroy the drugs Tuesday. Her 2-year-old sister kicked and screamed as police tried to stop the older girl."I have never seen anything like that in 30 years of doing drug raids," said Detective William Pedrick, one of the officers on the bust at what they called a "safe house" where drugs and money were kept.

Around the house* Remove excess suds when hand laundering. Add a splash of vinegar to the rinse water and rinse garments again in clear water.* For a quick spot cleaner on clothing, mix 2 parts water to 1 part rubbing alcohol and dab on soiled area.* When you don't have any prewash stain remover, use hair shampoo on the soiled area instead.* Stash a bay leaf in storage container when storing woolens. Clothes will smell sweeter and moths will be discouraged.In the garden* Clean lawn. Rake to remove debris.

Sure, restaurant manager Paul Renaldo could be Stash, waitress Tammy Estrada could be Stella. Somebody has to be at Stash & Stella's diner because Stash & Stella are not around, never were and won't be.Some things are real at Stash & Stella's at Marley Station mall; somethings are not.The meatloaf is real, made right there in the kitchen. The fries are fresh cut by hand and the Wurlitzer jukebox really dates from the days when Elvis was a rising star instead of a risen rock 'n' roll martyr.

Four retailers have recently joined Marley Station Mall's hundreds of retail stores and restaurants in Glen Burnie.Little Folks, Stash & Stella's, Trade Secrets, and Zacks Famous Frozen Yogurt have opened in the last few months, adding to the mix of merchandise and services available at the mall.Little Folks, located on the upper level by Marley Station's center court, features a selection of moderately priced sportswear and casual clothing for children.Stash & Stella's decor is styled afterthe diners of the 1950s and 1960s.

The neighbors knew Ricardo Paige as "Pops," a kind man who lived and worked as a handyman in the Pen Lucy neighborhood renovating vacant houses for landlords. But Paige, police and prosecutors believe, unknowingly crossed the wrong people in the neighborhood. Authorities believe that drug dealers who used vacant houses on the block thought Paige might have turned over a drug stash to police. On March 20, 2007, they confronted him in the house where he was living and working, in the 500 block of E. 43rd St., and shot him six times, including once in the mouth.

Mayor Sheila Dixon is turning the old-fashioned employee suggestion box into something resembling a slot machine. Municipal workers who come up with ideas that help the city save or make money will get a big payoff: a 1 percent cut of the savings or increased revenue, up to $5,000. Workers who come up with ideas to improve city services are eligible for a $500 prize. Only city employees may participate in the "Innovation Bank" program announced last week. (Supervisors who have the authority to implement their ideas aren't eligible.

Critic's Pick -- Nate (Chace Crawford) finds a stash of drugs belonging to his father, who's in serious denial in Gossip Girl (8 p.m., WNUV, Channel 54).

On November 7, 2007, LILLIAN FALK (nee Wolonouski); beloved wife of William Falk; devoted mother of John Falk; dear sister of Mary Ann Stash and Alice Spotts. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends at the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Road (beltway exit 26) on Sunday from 4 to 7 P.M. A memorial mass will be celebrated in the Church of the Nativity on Monday at 10 A.M.

Time for the YMCA to stash the slogans My family relocated to Howard County over six years ago. In that time period, we have fought three zoning battles. We moved here because of the school system, the diversity, my husband's employment and promise of a safe, quiet and beautiful environment. Clearly, one has to fight for what one wants from life, but this is getting ridiculous. When we moved to VFW Lane, we were excited by the fact that we had easy access to roads, stores, and a YMCA.

Facing criminal charges of perjury and misconduct, a veteran Baltimore City police officer testified yesterday that she accidentally left out crucial details from court documents in which she claimed to have witnessed a man stash drugs and cash in a bush. The bag contained fake drugs and cash planted at the scene by internal affairs detectives conducting a random integrity sting, which is designed to see whether police officers pocket drugs or money. The trial is scheduled to resume today.

Two Baltimore men who tried to make it big in the rap music industry through their upstart label Stash House Records are scheduled to stand trial today on federal charges that they ran a violent drug ring, in part from their Hampden recording studio. Deon Lionnel Smith, 32, and Walter Oriley Poindexter, 28, were charged in July in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with heroin distribution and conspiracy. Both men have pleaded not guilty, and their lawyers have rejected suggestions that the music business was a front for illegal drug trafficking.

A convicted crack cocaine kingpin at the center of a federal probe of the New York record label Murder Inc. also is under investigation in a drug-related double homicide outside an Owings Mills apartment complex two years ago, newly filed court records show. Records filed by prosecutors in a federal gun case against Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff say that he is the "subject of a large-scale federal investigation in the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere centering on his involvement in multiple homicides, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, witness intimidation, firearm offenses and other federal violations."

NEW YORK -- The year was 1960. Chubby Checker was doing the Twist, Sen. John F. Kennedy was headed for the White House, and Carmen Bilbao, a student at New York University, walked to a movie in Times Square. "It was a better time," she recalls. "I thought it was safe."Then, in the old Apollo Theater on West 42nd Street, Bilbao made the mistake of placing her pocketbook on the empty seat next to hers, making it an easy mark for the thief who lay in wait until the lights went down.So began a curious tale, extending nearly 40 years, for Bilbao and dozens of others who were victimized by a petty criminal (or criminals)

CHICAGO -- Frankie swaggers onto the black bus with bullet holes in the windows and snarls at the passengers. "All right, shut up!" Then he pulls out his gun and starts firing.Everybody ducks, before the momentary shock gives way to guffaws. Frankie, a k a Michael Moylan -- surrogate gangster, tour guide, historian, comedian -- smiles mischievously. "Hmm," he mutters, "you must all be from New York."With that, we're off to Prohibition-era Chicago on a most unconventional tour, led by Moylan and his partner in crime re-creation, "Shoulders," street name for Randy Craig.