Sundial

In connection with a series of stories on Maryland's tax structure, The Sun is looking for readers willing to share information on their own income taxes with a reporter. The aim is to analyze the incomes of several Marylanders in different tax brackets to see how they would be affected by tax changes proposed by the gubernatorial commission headed by Montgomery County lawyer R. Robert Linowes.If you are interested in sharing your tax returns with a reporter, please call SUNDIAL today or tomorrow on a touch-tone phone; the number is 783-1800 (in Anne Arundel County, call 268-7736)

Spring is a little showier around here these days, thanks to the efforts of plant specialists at the University of Maryland, College Park.  The staff at UM's Arboretum and Botanical Garden have tracked down and rescued or preserved dozens of patches of an increasingly rare wildflower known as the sundial lupine. The meadow-loving plant with tall clusters of purple flowers has been under siege from mowing, herbicides, invasive plants, deer grazing and development. As with much in nature, the wildflower's decline has affected frosted elfin butterflies, which prefer lupines for food and habitat.

Last week's callers to SUNDIAL, The Evening Sun telephone survey of topical issues, chose four of the six top categories that won the Oscars last night: best actor, best actress, best supporting actor and best director. Callers liked Anthony Hopkins for his chilling portrayal in ''The Silence of the Lambs" and Jack Palace for his crusty Curly in ''City Slickers.'' And they chose Jodie Foster as best actress, as did the Academy.They also correctly chose Jonathan Demme as best director for "Silence of the Lambs.

Today is the day to set your sundial. On this date the "equation of time" is zero. That means solar time and clock time are in agreement, and noon on your sundial should agree with noon on your watch. This is also true on Sept. 1, Dec. 25 and April 15. The rest of the year, your sundial might run as much as 16 minutes fast or 14 minutes slow. Blame Earth's tilt and elliptical orbit.

The local section of The Sun is the place to find out what's happening in your neighborhood, your county and your state.We print as much information as we can, as often as we can.Unfortunately, information may not always appear on days when you need it.Beginning today, The Sun will be providing free information about county services as part of its telephone information service, Sundial.The box on this page will tell you how to use our electronic bulletin board.Information on Sundial will be changed frequently by employees in the different county departments and agencies.

If you are an upper-elementary or middle school student who has questions about the Persian Gulf War, we would like to hear from you this week.With help from SUNDIAL, the telephone information service of The Baltimore Sun, we have set up a special "electronic mailbox" for your questions. On Thursday, Feb. 21, we'll answer an array of them in "The War and You II," a sequel to our student's guide to the Persian Gulf War.To leave your question call SUNDIAL at 783-1800 (or 268-7736 in Anne Arundel County)

Is it a meteorite? A piece of sculpture? A huge metal hairball?The mystery object is Baltimore's most complicated sundial, a bronze and stone instrument that tells time on sunny days.It sits in a formal flower garden in Druid Hill Park alongside the 1888 Conservatory, one of this greensward's landmark buildings, which faces Gwynns Falls Parkway.George McDowell, a Union Square resident, sometime sundial maker with a strong interest in ancient scientific principles, heard about this relic donated to the city 102 years ago. He visited the park but was stymied by what he found.

SEATTLE - Mars is about to be invaded by three successive spacecraft carrying sophisticated scientific instruments, six-wheeled robotic "rovers" and two sundials from Seattle. The planned landing on Christmas Day of Britain's Beagle 2 will be followed by two NASA probes, Spirit and Opportunity, which will land in January. The general purpose of the missions is to find evidence of life, or past life. What does a sundial have to do with this and why on Earth would it come from soggy, cloudy Seattle?

Two days after Magdalena Sudnik installed her sundial sculpture at the Inner Harbor, she drove by the site and noticed something most unpleasant. "I glanced over," Sudnik recalled, "And it's gone. The Baltimore sundial is gone." The piece, titled Time is Now, is a metal circular rim that is propped 4 feet off the ground by two legs. The rim encircles a trio of dinner plate-sized sundials -- each calibrated to show the time in a different city: Timbuktu, Geneva and Baltimore. "I kind of wanted to show people that we're all connected though time," she said.

The Sundial number for poet Roland Flint published in yesterday's Today section was incorrect. To hear Roland Flint read the poem he is scheduled to deliver during his inauguration as Maryland's poet laureate, dial 783-1800 and enter the four digit code 6214. For other Sundial numbers, see the Sundial directory on Page 2A.The Sun regrets the error.

We live in a constantly changing world, but each day, one thing remains the same: The sun rises in the east and sets in the west - although not in exactly the same spot on the horizon. Summer holds the longest day of the year, when the sun rises and falls to the extreme north end of east and west, tracing a high arc in the sky. The sun seems to stand still briefly, then, almost undetectably, it begins creeping farther and farther south, until reaching the shortest day of the year about Dec. 21, when the winter solstice sun rises and sets farthest south, staying low in the sky. Sundials have marked those daylight hours for thousands of years, casting shadows that moved to tell the time as the sun's position changed relative to the Earth.

Two days after Magdalena Sudnik installed her sundial sculpture at the Inner Harbor, she drove by the site and noticed something most unpleasant. "I glanced over," Sudnik recalled, "And it's gone. The Baltimore sundial is gone." The piece, titled Time is Now, is a metal circular rim that is propped 4 feet off the ground by two legs. The rim encircles a trio of dinner plate-sized sundials -- each calibrated to show the time in a different city: Timbuktu, Geneva and Baltimore. "I kind of wanted to show people that we're all connected though time," she said.

In contrast to the American rural character of the area, the garden at the Eastern Shore home of Michael and Mary Ann Bowers looks like something out of Provence. An arbor-sheltered porch, big terra cotta pots frothing with annuals, and a lattice thick with autumn clematis all whisper rustic Gallic charm. But it's the Marydel garden itself -- comprising four raised square beds -- that really sets the mood. Salvaged garden decorations -- a nubbly concrete birdbath, a verdigris sundial -- punctuate three squares, and designer Mary Ann Bowers has filled the fourth with fragrant lavender, perennials and culinary herbs.

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 6, there will be significant changes in the presentation of daily and weekly markets information in The Sun. Some categories of trading information will be eliminated from both daily and weekly stock, bond and mutual fund listings to save space. Key indicators, including data on the closing price, change in price and measures of the investment's return over time will remain. In no case will the table revisions result in the loss of more than a small fraction of the number of securities issues listed.

SEATTLE - Mars is about to be invaded by three successive spacecraft carrying sophisticated scientific instruments, six-wheeled robotic "rovers" and two sundials from Seattle. The planned landing on Christmas Day of Britain's Beagle 2 will be followed by two NASA probes, Spirit and Opportunity, which will land in January. The general purpose of the missions is to find evidence of life, or past life. What does a sundial have to do with this and why on Earth would it come from soggy, cloudy Seattle?

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist with related projects. Among them: Girl Scouts of Central Maryland needs mentors to work with girls on reading and other academic subjects at the Girl Scouts Afterschool Centers at 105 N. Broadway and 31 S. Payson St. in Baltimore. Information: Wanda Young, 410-358-9711, Ext. 276. If your school or organization would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial at 410-783- 1800 and enter code 6130.

Today is the day to set your sundial. On this date the "equation of time" is zero. That means solar time and clock time are in agreement, and noon on your sundial should agree with noon on your watch. This is also true on Sept. 1, Dec. 25 and April 15. The rest of the year, your sundial might run as much as 16 minutes fast or 14 minutes slow. Blame Earth's tilt and elliptical orbit.

An advertisement on the preprinted, half-page Menu Planner wrapped around today's Home & Family section included an incorrect telephone number to reach Sundial and enter a contest to win free tickets to the film "Elizabeth." The Sundial number is 410-783-1800.In addition, the recorded message on the Sundial extension for the contest, 4451, had not been updated by yesterday and reflected a ticket contest that ended last week.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 11/08/98