Envelopes

American Business Products Inc., of Atlanta, yesterday announced that it had signed a letter of intent to buy International Envelope Co., an Exton maker of specialty envelopes. Under the plan, International Envelope would retain its name, its 238 employees and continue business as usual, officials of the companies said. Terms of the proposed cash transaction were not disclosed; the deal must be approved by directors of both companies. International Envelope, a privately held company with 1992 revenues of about $42 million, bills itself as the largest maker of tear-proof envelopes used by courier services such as Federal Express and by other businesses.

There's nothing like a good battle over stationery. Envelopes were the target of township critic Robert H. Landau's accusations toward longtime nemesis Ruth Damsker, tax collector, who he said used the stationery for personal use. But to township officials, it was much ado about nothing. Before Tuesday night's commissioners meeting, Commissioner Robert Hannum told Landau: "You better not take any more than five minutes. " Said Landau, "I have information that will show that she has been using township materials for her Rotary Club business.

Tonight millions of Americans will stay up past their bedtimes to find out who will win Hollywood's Academy Awards. While it's a diverting enough enterprise, the Oscar celebration does focus further attention on a business already threatening to engulf us in newsprint and television coverage. By contrast, the same people who eagerly follow the comings, goings, couplings and uncouplings of Tinseltown cannot name their member of Congress or governor. Many Americans do not know with which side the American government is allied in Nicaragua, and cannot name the hemisphere in which that country is located.

David L. Milling, 69, of Upper Providence, the former owner and chairman of International Envelope Co. who won an award from Queen Elizabeth II, died of a heart attack Wednesday at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park. Mr. Milling was born in Charleston, W.Va., and raised in Haddonfield. After graduating from Clemson University with a degree in mechanical engineering, he served in the Army as an engineering construction unit commander stationed at Fort Bragg. From 1954 until 1973, Mr. Milling was employed by the DuPont Co. in a variety of positions, including sales.

Sandra Levenson could usually predict the dollar amounts that would appear on her phone bill. Likewise for the electricity and heating bills. But a credit-card bill in the mailbox generally evoked feelings ranging from fear to panic. Like many charge-card users, the Souderton chiropractor typically underestimated how much she was spending when it came to purchasing with plastic. "In 1988, I was newly divorced with four children," recalled Levenson. "All of a sudden, I was responsible for all the family finances.

The United States and Switzerland will participate in a joint commemorative issue Friday on the 700th anniversary of the Swiss confederation. The designs are nearly identical. Both stamps depict the U.S. Capitol building in the right foreground and the Swiss Federal Building, or parliament, in the background on values of 50 cents and 1.60 francs. The U.S. stamp carries a two-line legend, "Switzerland/Founded 1291," in the lower left corner, while the Swiss stamp has the dates "1291-1991" in the same position.

The U.S. Postal Service and the Soviet Union will participate in joint commemoratives Wednesday honoring William Saroyan, Armenian-American author and playwright. First-day ceremonies will be in Fresno, Calif., Saroyan's birthplace, and Yerevan, Armenia, one of the Soviet republics. The 29-cent U.S. and 1-ruble Soviet designs are based on a photograph of Saroyan. Saroyan (1908-1981), son of an Armenian immigrant, was renowned for his sentimentality and irreverent stories from his childhood.

Veteran collectors may do a double take when the U.S. Postal Service issues a 25-cent commemorative Tuesday on New Hampshire's statehood bicentennial. The vertical design features a silhouette of the Old Man of the Mountains, a craggy granite formation at Franconia Notch that offers a striking likeness of a man's head. A nearly identical vertical design appeared on a 3-cent commemorative issued in 1955 on the 150th anniversary of the Old Man's discovery. The New Hampshire commemorative is the ninth in a series of statehood bicentennials being issued in the order that the states ratified the Constitution.

The bicentennial of South Carolina statehood will be the subject of the first 25-cent commemorative to be issued since the recent postal-rate increase. The design on the stamp, which will be issued tomorrow in Columbia, S.C., shows the palmetto, the state tree, in a sea of grass. The state is nicknamed the Palmetto State; the tree also is inscribed in the state seal and flag. The commemorative is the eighth in a statehood series inaugurated last year. The vertical stamps are being issued in the order that states ratified the U.S. Constitution.

Another bicentennial series comes to an end Tuesday with a 25-cent commemorative honoring Rhode Island, the last of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Postal Service said the stamp would be issued at the Slater Mill Historic Site in Pawtucket, which is depicted in the vertical design. Slater Mill was the first factory in the country to produce cotton yarn with the aid of water-driven machinery. The design includes the date -May 29, 1790 - that Rhode Island ratified the Constitution.

The Raveonettes seem perfected at birth: Their Jesus & Mary Chain meets girl group sound, in B flat minor, sprang fully formed on their 2002 debut, Whip It On. Although the Danish duo of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo altered the accoutrements on subsequent albums - the rigorous limitations of key signature and instrumentation loosened; production gloss came and went; feedback and noise faded in and out - the essential tension between bright melodies...

INSPIRED BY the upcoming Academy Awards show, the Daily News is handing out honors for the past year in local pro sports. Paying tribute to the Flyers' banged-up seventh defenseman, we're calling these the Oskars. Here goes: Best Actor: Andy Reid, for his role in the film "Getting Defensive. " He had everybody thinking Sean McDermott was going to run the defense until he pulled a Juan Castillo out of his sizable hat. Best ending since "Casablanca. " Runner-up: Jayson Werth for "You take the money, we'll take Cliff Lee. " Best Director: Peter Laviolette, for his role in "The Comeback Story.

ORLANDO - After two days of being shaken, stirred, and overstimulated, I needed a break. So I was relieved to wander into Epcot's upscale Les Chefs de France, which reminded me of the bistros I'd recently visited in the real Paris. Everything from the imported French staff to my favorite French spring water made me forget for a few minutes that I was in Orlando. As my waiter served me a perfect croque monsieur sandwich, I watched as the maitre d', Amelie, pushed a food cart down a nearby aisle.

We continue our subjective top-10 baseball rankings with the best first basemen in Southeastern Pennsylvania. For this group, we crank it up to 15. 1. Mark Donato, Neumann-Goretti, senior. Through Wednesday, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was batting .558 with 22 RBIs, 22 runs, 8 home runs, 5 doubles, and 3 triples. He had a .670 on-base percentage. Donato, a lefthanded hitter who earned Inquirer first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania honors the last two seasons, is bound for Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla. The Saints' slugger is also a standout pitcher for the defending Catholic League champions.

THE OFFICE of Inspector General of the Postal Service has confirmed key findings of a Daily News series about alleged mismanagement and mail problems at Philadelphia-area mail facilities. OIG verified the most serious allegation: that the official daily reports of the volume of mail had been "intentionally falsified" and that delayed mail had been undercounted at the Lindbergh mail- processing and delivery plant, on Lindbergh Boulevard near Island Avenue in Eastwick. No criminal charges were filed against any managers or employees, said OIG spokeswoman Agape Doulaveris.

A South Jersey printer says 3,365 envelopes he mailed to Medicaid subscribers last month were destroyed and returned three weeks later in hampers along with a withered orange, a bottle of joint ointment, a videotape wall-rack, books, trash and unrelated mail. "The envelopes were torn, shredded, crumpled and marked with what appears to be a black roller or tire marks," said Gregg Clark, vice president of Hamilton Press in Berlin, Camden County. "The total destruction of printed materials" looked like "remnants from an accident," he said.

When an envelope addressed to Gov. Rendell began leaking a white powdery substance yesterday afternoon, mailroom staffer Wayne Boulware did not panic. He calmly put it down, picked up the phone, and called authorities. As it turns out, the substance was most likely infant cereal, according to state officials. But the incident caused enough concern that the governor's mailroom was evacuated for almost an hour as FBI agents collected samples of the powder in their investigation. Federal authorities believe the envelope sent to Rendell - postmarked in Texas - was part of a larger hoax in which similar envelopes have been sent to governors in 45 other states, as well as 15 U.S. embassies, in the last week.

Delayed and missing mail is a major headache and a drain in the pocket for many Center City banks, law firms and other businesses - even the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Earlier this year, office manager John Barnett noticed an unusual drop in replies to some of the 150 events that the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce holds over the course of a year. The chamber regularly sends invitations, brochures and calendars of events to 5,000 members at a time, often enclosing prepaid "business reply" envelopes so recipients can easily RSVP.

More than 30 years after mailing himself heroin from a military post office in Thailand, Robert Milroy has had the slate wiped clean. Milroy, a Cinnaminson resident, was one of 15 people who received a pardon from President Bush on Monday. "It is part of my distant past, but does not represent my current values or life," Milroy said yesterday in a brief statement. Joseph Grabowski, of Berlin, one of three character witnesses on Milroy's pardon application, said Milroy sought the pardon so he could get a security clearance at Lockheed Martin's facility in Moorestown, where he works.

When Bobby Bragan replaced Birdie Tebbetts as manager of the Milwaukee Braves in 1963, he opened his desk drawer to find two envelopes, marked No. 1 and No. 2. Taped to them was this note from Tebbetts to his successor: "Open only in emergencies. " By Bragan's second season, the Braves had not only failed to improve, they were worse than ever. At wit's end, Bragan opened the first envelope, and found this message: "Blame it on me. " The team continued to fall like a stone down a well.