Written Off, Robin Hood Gets Hand From Nemesis

A brochure that took a skeptical academic look at the Robin Hood legend has been withdrawn by officials in Nottingham, England, where the main roadway is called Maid Marian Way and two rival consortiums are planning Robin Hood exhibition centers. “I would like to see the authors of this brochure locked in the dungeons of Nottingham Castle,” said the sheriff of Nottingham, Royce Young. Legend says Robin Hood, who supposedly stole from the rich to give to the poor, outwitted Young’s ancient predecessor. Protests from other Robin Hood fans and the tourism industry led officials to stop distributing the glossy 45-cent brochure compiled by historians. The brochure said that in the earliest tales, the 12th-Century outlaw was a highwayman who was in business strictly for himself. The brochure also said Maid Marian was introduced into the legend through a 13th-Century French poem and may not have existed.

Planned Parenthood paid homage to a family tradition when it honored Katharine Hepburn and her late mother, Katharine Houghton Hepburn, for their outspoken support of women’s reproductive rights. The 79-year-old Hepburn received a standing ovation from 1,100 guests at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for the black-tie event, titled “Celebrating Two Generations of Individual Courage.” “It’s a frightfully important subject,” the actress said of women’s rights to abortion and birth control. “And I’m damn lucky to have had a mother who waked me up at an early age” to the importance of “doing things for other people.” Proceeds from the dinner will be dedicated to keeping abortion safe and legal and preventing teen-age pregnancies.

The residents of her hometown are responding to Peggy Say’s call to remember the hostages in Lebanon, including her brother, Terry Anderson. Anderson’s picture is on posters in Batavia, N.Y., that urge residents to observe the anniversary of his captivity Wednesday. Prayer services, a rally and a candlelight march are scheduled to mark the beginning of the fourth year of captivity for the 40-year-old Anderson, an Associated Press correspondent.