Smell

As machines whirred in the noisy Kraft Foods plant in Northeast Philadelphia, amid the sweet smell of baked goods, Yvonne Hiller methodically hunted down co-workers with whom she apparently had quarreled and gunned them down, authorities say. Hiller contended that she suffered from years of "chemical abuse" and that her co-workers had sprayed her with chemicals and deer urine, according to her statement to police, read in court at her preliminary hearing...

The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river and Tony Curtis is dead at 85. No one is going to ever say he was a great actor, especially based on the dreck he did in the last half of his career, but sometimes you only need one great part to be fondly remembered. Curtis had two, since he was pretty fabulous in Billy Wilder's great sex comedy "Some Like It Hot. " But for this writer, the Curtis part that will always be the touchstone of his career was his role as the scheming press agent in "Sweet Smell of Success.

J.A. Happ never thought he had it made. Not at age 27 with a little more than a year of big-league service time coming into the season. Not after a slow but steady climb up the Phillies' minor league ladder that included spending all, or significant parts, of five seasons in the bushes. Still, he did go 12-4 last season with a 2.93 earned run average, finished as the runner-up in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, and was penciled into the starting rotation at the beginning of spring training.

FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE, the People Paper stumbled upon the stories of two prep sports coaches whose recent actions give new meaning to the term "setting an example. " In July, Iowa City, Iowa, high school wrestling coach Brad Smith, 56, drank more than three times the legal limit and then proceeded to drive his car into oncoming freeway traffic. But what Smith - an Iowa Wrestling Hall of Famer - did was drive his vehicle into the path of a police cruiser. According to a report from Iowa City's Press Citizen , Smith, visibly intoxicated, was given a breathalyzer on which he blew a .241, more than three times the legal limit of .08. Smith was charged with drunken driving.

For decades the smell emanating from Camden County's sewage-treatment facility had hovered over Camden's Waterfront South neighborhood. It ruined backyard barbecues, caused children to pinch their noses, and made hot summer days even more unbearable. But in recent years the odor of human waste, while still known to waft from the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority facility, has eased, residents and officials say. "We spent years fighting the CCMUA," said Helene Pierson, executive director of Heart of Camden, a charity group aimed at revitalizing Waterfront South.

Whether he's on a boat or a horse, one thing is certain: The Old Spice guy is on a roll. Isaiah Mustafa said that he will appear in Warner Bros.' "Horrible Bosses," starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. And in addition to a role in Tyler Perry's production of "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf," the former NFL player is filming a guest spot on NBC's action-comedy "Chuck. " All this comes on the heels of Nielsen data citing that sales of Old Spice body products are up a monumental 107 percent in the past month as a result of his Emmy-nominated spots, and the Old Spice YouTube channels have been viewed more than 58 million times.

WITH ITS delicate purple flowers and woodsy-floral scent, lavender has been better known for its role in bath and relaxation products than for its culinary uses. That's changing, as lavender pops up in restaurants across the nation. Ed Higgins, the chef at Quattro, at Palo Alto's Four Seasons, in California, attributes lavender's rising popularity to the growing number of chefs who tend their own restaurant gardens. "It's easy to care for," he said. "You have both buds and flowers to work with as a flavor component and as a garnish.

Starting a lavender farm was Patti Lyons' idea, though she describes it more as a vision that came to her in the car. Whatever its origins, the idea took hold - and for 10 years, it's flourished: Patti and her husband, George, now host about 10,000 visitors a year at their Peace Valley Lavender Farm outside Doylestown. Lavender farms and festivals are popping up all over the country, especially in the Pacific Northwest. It's the result of a growing web of interest - in fresh herbs and herbal remedies, homemade crafts, aromatherapy, and organic farming.

At first, Mike Greene thought it might just be a bad allergy. But when his sense of smell didn't come back for months, the paramedic suspected it was caused by polluted air he'd breathed at the most harrowing job site of his career: the wreckage of the World Trade Center. Turns out he is not alone. A significant portion of those on duty at the twin towers suffered long-term damage to their sense of smell and their ability to detect harmful irritants through the nose, Philadelphia researchers reported in a new study last week.

At first, Mike Greene thought it might just be a bad allergy. But when his sense of smell didn't come back for months, the paramedic suspected it was caused by polluted air he'd breathed at the most harrowing job site of his career: the wreckage of the World Trade Center. Turns out he is not alone. A significant portion of those on duty at the twin towers suffered long-term damage to their sense of smell and their ability to detect harmful irritants through the nose, Philadelphia researchers reported in a new study last week.