The whole point of having a radio contest and being a sponsor in a radio contest is publicity, right? Why would you risk bad publicity and bad word of mouth by not making good on the prize right away? Whether the remodeling business had personnel issues should not matter when it comes to the company's rep. And whether a sponsor balked on a prize or went belly-up shouldn't affect the prize winner either. The radio station should step in and work that out quickly for its listener.

That was an easily avoidable mess. 

Reading Liz's Watchdog column made me feel better, though. Living in the city, it always puts a smile on my face when I see trees being planted. It really brightens up a street. So while those dead-looking trees look like they're headed for the mulcher, they're just dormant and waiting to be planted. Don't forget that if you see a problem with a city tree, you can call Rebecca Feldberg, city arborist, at 410-396-6109.

And last, but not least, Eileen gave everyone some really good tips before you rush into those mutual funds that are opening themselves up to new investors right now:

Find out why the fund is reopening. You might not want to invest if other shareholders are bailing out because the fund is severely underperforming compared with its peers.

And you still need to check the fund's basics. Has the fund manager changed since it first closed? If so, what is the new fund manager's track record?

Don't overlook fees. High fees eat away your return.

And beware of capital gains distributions, something you need to consider when buying a mutual fund near the end of the year through a taxable account. Funds must distribute gains to shareholders annually by year's end. So even if you are invested in the fund for a few weeks, you could get hit with taxes.