Wrong Number

I am constantly amazed by either the naiveté of The Sun or its deliberate attempt to obfuscate the reality of Baltimore City politics. I have read several times now that the city solicitor and the inspector general are somehow reviewing the charges made by Comptroller Joan Pratt that MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakecircumvented the purchasing process in "phone-gate," and I can't help but chuckle. The solicitor is, by design, a political hack and mayoral appointee whose sole responsibility is to give legal cover to whatever it is that his boss does or does not do. The inspector general was created by executive order by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley and, once again, he or she is appointed by and responsible to the mayor.

I am constantly amazed by either the naiveté of The Sun or its deliberate attempt to obfuscate the reality of Baltimore City politics. I have read several times now that the city solicitor and the inspector general are somehow reviewing the charges made by Comptroller Joan Pratt that MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakecircumvented the purchasing process in "phone-gate," and I can't help but chuckle. The solicitor is, by design, a political hack and mayoral appointee whose sole responsibility is to give legal cover to whatever it is that his boss does or does not do. The inspector general was created by executive order by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley and, once again, he or she is appointed by and responsible to the mayor.

My family had scarcely moved into our northwest Baltimore City home forty-some years ago when C+P Telephone decreed our 358 (FLeetwood 8) phone number would be changed to a number bearing a brand new, 578 exchange. Much worse than the impossibility of turning JKL (5) and PQRS (7) into a word was the utter unfamiliarity and rootlessness of a new exchange - one that wouldn't immediately convey a sense of place. I've always had a thing for numbers; the black and whiteness of 2 plus 2 always equaling 4 was a childhood comfort amid daily shades of gray, and it's something I still cling to in adulthood.

My family had scarcely moved into our northwest Baltimore City home forty-some years ago when C+P Telephone decreed our 358 (FLeetwood 8) phone number would be changed to a number bearing a brand new, 578 exchange. Much worse than the impossibility of turning JKL (5) and PQRS (7) into a word was the utter unfamiliarity and rootlessness of a new exchange - one that wouldn't immediately convey a sense of place. I've always had a thing for numbers; the black and whiteness of 2 plus 2 always equaling 4 was a childhood comfort amid daily shades of gray, and it's something I still cling to in adulthood.

The phone rang around 10 o'clock. I'd just returned home fo the night."Who's this?" the voice on the other end demanded."What do you mean, who's this?" I shot back. "Who're you?""You paged me, man.""No, I didn't page you. You must have the wrong number.""You sure you didn't page me?""Yeah, I'm sure. I didn't page you. OK?""OK."End of conversation."That's been happening all night," my wife said.It comes and goes, the calls from an anonymous young man answering a page. We get them in spurts -- about twice a year -- and sometimes the spurts last several days.

DETROIT -- Even if you love TV sitcoms, would you watch a show as zany as this?Harvard Business grad crunching numbers in suburban Detroit dials wrong number in Los Angeles, gets recording telling how to apply for TV comedy writer, goes home, knocks off script, lands contract and starts packing with large grin and stars in her eyes.Ridiculous, huh?Yet this is happening to Jacque Edmonds, a Yellow Pages manager at Ameritech Publishing in Troy, Mich., until last week.Edmonds soon will be wearing beach clothes in a job where jeans are formal attire.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were blushing yesterday after learning they had published a wrong number in a news release about federal aid for flood victims that had callers reaching a recorded advertisement for a phone sex line.The incorrect number was listed as a TTD number for the hearing-impaired and was printed in Wednesday's Carroll County Times."It was our mistake," said Mary Margaret Walker, a FEMA spokeswoman.The correct number for hearing-impaired people who need information about disaster relief is 1-800-462-7585.

Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. told 126 Columbia residents last week that as far as it's concerned, the Kendall Ridge neighborhood in the Village of Long Reach is in Ellicott City.But not to worry, the phone company says. It will change Columbia numbers to EllicottCity numbers for free. Or if people want to keep the numbers they now have, they can do so for $207 more a year.For three customers with a "foreign" 854 exchange and 13 customers with a "foreign" 596 exchange, the cost is a little more.

It was a proud day, as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. dedicated a new, much-needed juvenile detention center in Hagerstown with a speech and handshakes all around. Proud, that is, until somebody realized that a commemorative bookmark distributed to dozens of elected officials and other guests inadvertently contained the number for a telephone pornography line instead of the Department of Juvenile Services switchboard. "Call the talk line ... for exciting people nationwide," says a woman's recorded voice at the number that appears above the names, in stylized cursive, of Ehrlich, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele and Juvenile Services Secretary Kenneth C. Montague Jr. The recording directs callers to a second 800 number where jazzy music plays and men are invited to leave their credit card information and "go one-on-one with hot ... girls."

ARCADIA, Calif. -- A mistake turned into a million-dollar windfall for one bettor on Breeders' Cup day last Saturday at Santa Anita.The 51-year-old engineer from Ventura County, Calif., who did not want to be identified, punched out a wrong number on his National Pick Seven ticket, which cost $16. That wrong number turned out to be Arcangues, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic at $269.20 and gave the longtime horseplayer one of two perfect tickets in the Pick Seven. It paid $1,598,310.80.The other winning ticket was sold at Remington Park in Oklahoma.

The Carroll Players are taking the show on the road. For the group's latest production, the community theater troupe will perform two 1940s-style radio shows — one a suspense/mystery, "Sorry, Wrong Number," the other a romance, "The Shop Around the Corner. " The troupe will kick off the first of nine performances Friday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m., at Baldwin's Station, 7618 Main St., Sykesville. The restaurant is offering a three-course meal and a show ticket for $55. "We've always been fond of theater," said Christopher Santiago, events coordinator and assistant general manager at Baldwin's.

WESTMINSTER — Carroll Players will hold auditions for its traveling fall production of "Sorry, Wrong Number" and "The Shop Around the Corner" on July 12 and July 13, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Westminster United Methodist Church, 165 E. Main St., Westminster. The plays will be performed as 1940s-style radio plays. Actors and crew will travel to various locations in Baltimore and Carroll counties to perform in fall 2011. Musicians as well as sound effects people will be needed for the stage in addition to actors.

Towson University basketball coach Pat Kennedy, whose contract expired with a first-round loss in the Colonial Athletic Association, resigned after a seven-year run that produced 144 losses and no winning seasons. Mike Waddell, Towson's athletic director, made the announcement in a release Monday and said a national search will begin immediately. Waddell said he hoped to have the new coach in place "soon after the Final Four is complete in Houston, sometime during the first week in April or thereabout.

You have less than 24 hours to make good with the Internal Revenue Service if you haven't already. Filing under deadline pressure could lead to mistakes. And it is usually the small stuff that trips you up. The forgotten document. The missing signature. The transposed figure. A lot of common errors can be avoided if you use a tax software program or the IRS Free File program at www.irs.gov. Paper is more prone to blunders, although millions of filers still prefer it. So here are some landmines to sidestep in your rush: ONE PLUS TWO EQUALS FOUR: Math errors are common.

Quigley's Half Irish Pub has been a long time coming. Owner James Quigley bought the building on Portland Street five years ago and started rehabbing. Running a restaurant was always his goal, and he's still working on that. But the pub, which opened in March, is well on its way to becoming an elegant addition to Ridgely's Delight. At first, Quigley's looked like it was trying to be another pregame watering hole. Quigley wrapped tacky beer-sponsored banners around the building and hung dozens of small Red Stripe signs inside.

Let's hope that for Jim Carrey, the fate of The Number 23 doesn't mean that his number is up. He doesn't give much of a performance in this hollow trick thriller. Nobody could. The Number 23 (New Line Cinema) Starring Jim Carrey (left), Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated R. Time 95 minutes.

Last week I listed the wrong number for information on Southern Living magazine's Southern Home Awards. The correct number is (800) 366-4712, Ext. 6359.

A wrong number was listed for the American Kennel Club's Customer Service line in Sunday's Home & Family section. The correct phone number is 919-233-9767.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 5/05/98

HOLLYWOOD - American Idol fanatics had to wait another day to discover which contestant will be sent packing this week. For the first time in the four-season history of Fox's top-rated series, American Idol was forced to schedule a revote yesterday after incorrect voting numbers were displayed in the on-screen graphics for three contestants during the performance recap Tuesday. Results of yesterday's vote were to be aired tonight. Last night's show was expanded from the scheduled 30 minutes to an hour-long show that featured an encore of the 11 contestants' performances from Tuesday with live wraparounds and additional thoughts from the judges.

It was a proud day, as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. dedicated a new, much-needed juvenile detention center in Hagerstown with a speech and handshakes all around. Proud, that is, until somebody realized that a commemorative bookmark distributed to dozens of elected officials and other guests inadvertently contained the number for a telephone pornography line instead of the Department of Juvenile Services switchboard. "Call the talk line ... for exciting people nationwide," says a woman's recorded voice at the number that appears above the names, in stylized cursive, of Ehrlich, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele and Juvenile Services Secretary Kenneth C. Montague Jr. The recording directs callers to a second 800 number where jazzy music plays and men are invited to leave their credit card information and "go one-on-one with hot ... girls."