Honoring a top volunteer COP
“For completing 6,408 hours of volunteer service, I had received a very nice certificate from the Rancho Mirage Citizens on Patrol Services. And when I received the Senior Inspiration Award, it was like icing on the cake,” said Jack Schleicher.Each year, the County of Riverside and the Coachella Valley’s nine cities select a senior 70 years of age and older who has been... READ MORE
Howard’s top cop recalls career
“It’s not a bad time to leave, when you are still excited about your job and not burnt out,” said 51-year-old William McMahon, who retires on June 30 after 28 years on the police force and eight years as the police chief of Howard County.“I’m blessed. I still love what I’m doing day after day,” McMahon said, as he was interviewed just before taking... READ MORE
Who’s the area’s chief chef?
It’s a far cry from being an aspiring molecular biologist to becoming the chef/owner of two restaurants — the popular Baltimore restaurant Waterfront Kitchen and the soon-to-open Farmstead Grill.But that’s just where Jerry Pellegrino finds himself. Inspired by his family and his Italian heritage, Pellegrino, 50, gave up his early career goals for a life around... READ MORE
He helps (and makes) millions
It was just another 11-hour workday for Robert Fischell, 85, who was putting in time recently on a medical device that he says will lower blood pressure by at least 30 points.After having brought relief to sufferers of heart disease, epileptic seizures, diabetes and migraines, among other ailments, physicist-inventor Fischell is now focusing on hypertension.Fischell, who lives in Dayton,... READ MORE
Can you expand your brain?
“Just because your brain can’t hop on a treadmill doesn’t mean it can’t exercise,” said Dr. Majid Fotuhi, chief medical officer of the NeurExpand Brain Center in Chevy Chase, Md., this month.Fotuhi also oversees centers in Columbia and Lutherville, Md.The centers treat “anyone who has concerns about memory and brain functions,” he said. “Our... READ MORE
A life forged by fire and friends
To look at Margo Arnold now — as an active, fit 73-year-old who recently returned from an African safari and has three tandem skydiving jumps under her belt — you might assume she has led an adventurous life.You wouldn’t be wrong. But not all of her adventures have been such positive ones. In fact, much of her youth was marked by hardship and tragedy.For many years, Arnold ... READ MORE
Piecing together black history
Members of the African-American Quilters of Baltimore admit the group’s name may be a bit of a misnomer.Founded in 1989 by three women who wanted to enjoy the camaraderie of other fabric artists, today the 44 members are not all African American, they’re not all from Baltimore, and they’re not even all quilters. (And actually, they’re not even all women; there is a... READ MORE
A new era for self-publishing
In the not-so-distant past, if you wanted to see your novel or poems published and were either rejected by the big publishing houses or didn’t want to hire an agent, your only option was the pejoratively named “vanity press” companies.They typically required writers to pay the up-front costs of printing hundreds or thousands of hard-bound copies, which would often fill the ... READ MORE
Gay weddings are booming
Re-legalized last summer, same-sex wedding bells have been ringing all over greater Palm Springs. If you haven’t been involved in one, you may have been invited to one. Romantic nuptials are in the air; we live in one of the gay capitals of the world.Event planner Gregory Goodman, who holds forth from his store My Little Flower Shop in Palm Springs, understands from personal... READ MORE
On stage, page & behind the bar
“I’m drowning in musical notes right now.” That’s how Joan Cushing described her status one recent afternoon. It’s a vibrant and evocative turn of phrase. And it comes as no surprise, once one gets to know her a bit.You may know already know her as arch political satirist Mrs. Foggybottom, a name that calls to memory swanky evenings at the old Omni-Shoreham... READ MORE
