LUTHERAN CHURCH SERVES ALL-ITALIAN MENU.(CAPITAL REGION)

TROY -- Prince of Peace Lutheran Church will hold an all-you-can-eat ``Italian Fest'' from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the church, Third Avenue and 11th Street.

Tickets are $7 for people 12 and over; seniors pay $6. Children under 12 are $4, children 3 and under are free. The menu will include lasagna, baked ziti, chicken, veal and eggplant parmesan, pasta, meatballs, sausage and salad.

For details and reservations, call 235-2432 or 235-3664.

Preservation workshop at historical society

TROY -- The Rensselaer County Historical Society will hold a workshop on preserving World War II history and artifacts.

Society librarian …

STOOGES BEGAN 1990S TV FAD.(Living Today)

Byline: Susan E. Tomer Staff writer

And you people say the Three Stooges are disgusting. Fingers in the eyes, a two-by-four in the face, a whomp! in the stomach, a tumble backward from a chair, food fights at dinner parties.

Violent, juvenile and not funny. Right?

Then how come you're all howling at "America's Funniest Home Videos" on Sunday nights?

Here's what I've seen on the show:

*A guy struck in the, um, loins by a billiard ball and doubling over in pain.

*Several people falling off horses.

*Several other people, on skis and sleds, skidding into trees, snowbanks and even a fire hydrant.

*Even more …

Finnish passenger ferry stuck in ice for 6 hours

Officials say a passenger ferry crossing the Gulf of Finland with 850 people on board was trapped in ice for six hours before it managed to break loose and continue its voyage from Helsinki to Tallinn.

Ilmari Aro, director of the Finnish Transport Agency's icebreaking unit, says the Nordlandia got stuck Friday morning about 60 …

Skull of Giant Panda's Ancestor Found

WASHINGTON - The first skull of the earliest known ancestor of the giant panda was been discovered in China, researchers report. Discovery of the skull, estimated to be at least 2 million years old, is reported by Russell L. Ciochon in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ciochon, an anthropologist at the University of Iowa, and a team of U.S. and Chinese researchers, made the find in a limestone cave in south China.

The animal, formally known as Ailuropoda microta, or "pygmy giant panda," would have been about three feet long, compared to the modern giant panda, which averages in excess of five …

Inspiration and insight for psoriasis sufferers.(excerpt from "How I Overcame Psoriasis" by Kent Trussell)

The onset of summer can provide relief for many of Australia's 750,000 psoriasis sufferers. While sunlight has long been advocated as a measure to improve psoriasis most remedies are generally regarded as palliative, and the condition as 'incurable'.

However, former psoriasis sufferer and author Kent Trussell disagrees. In a new book How I overcame psoriasis, Trussell outlines his belief that gaining control over psoriasis involves understanding individual responses to the disease, and acting accordingly. According to Trussell, sufferers of this puzzling skin disease should no longer have to live with the discomfort or embarrassment of reddened raised skin patches, …

Demolition begins at ironworks; Plant that was to be part of Troy's riverfront revival smoldered as the work began.(Capital Region)(Correction notice)

Byline: CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY - Staff Writer

TROY - A demolition crew began tearing down the historic Rensselaer Iron Works building on Madison Street on Monday as wisps of smoke continued to rise from the roof.

The Madison Street building was vacant and had no electrical service when the fire started Sunday afternoon. Fire Chief Tom Garrett called it a definite case of arson.

Flames burned intensely for four hours. Neighboring fire departments from Albany, Watervliet and Green Island joined Troy firefighters in battling the blaze.

Most of the flames were contained to the factory's former power house and the north end of the largest building …

ALTERNATIVES TO NOBELS HONOR THE UNCONVENTIONAL.(MAIN)

Focusing on people who challenge conventional thinking, the ``alternative Nobels'' on Wednesday recognized a Chilean fighting to save a spectacular river and an American cancer-prevention specialist, among others.

This year's four Right Livelihood Awards, each worth $58,500, went to environmentalist Juan Pablo Orrego of Chile; Professor Samuel Epstein of the University of Illinois-Chicago, who focuses on environmental carcinogens; …