Fine Fettle: The Rev. Daniel Berrigan must...

Fine Fettle: The Rev. Daniel Berrigan must pay $500 fine for contempt of court by today in New Orleans and cannot put off payment while he appeals the citation, a federal judge said. The 68-year-old anti-war activist was convicted of disruption in a federal building during a Dec. 1 protest of U.S. military aid to El Salvador. U.S. Dist. Judge Peter Beer cited Berrigan on Feb. 8 for failing to appear for his arraignment Dec. 14. “It’s conceivable that Father Berrigan will refuse to pay and face another jail term,” attorney Bill Quigley Quigley said.

Bushwacked: A humorist whose motto is “When in Doubt, Mumble,” Thursday proclaimed George Bush Bureaucrat of the Decade. “When President Bush approaches the dancing shadows of a receding decision, he does so with an outstanding artistry of prolonged prudence,” said Jim Boren, president of the International Assn. of Professional Bureaucrats. “In 33 years as an observer of presidents (and) prime ministers . . . I have never seen bureaucratic excellence that would surpass that of President George Bush,” Boren said.

Hot Stuff: New York State’s former drug-treatment czar has a new job in Albany, N.Y., as a hot-dog vendor beginning today. Julio Martinez, the former $87,000-a-year director of the drug program, said of Gov. Mario Cuomo: “He’s always talking about how his mother and pop ran a grocery store. What’s the shame in me selling hot dogs?” Martinez was forced from his state job amid charges of cronyism.

White-Out: A black Dallas County commissioner declared war Friday on alcohol and tobacco advertisements in Dallas’ black and Latino neighborhoods. John Wiley Price said he will whitewash billboards advertising the products. “Eighty percent of the billboards in the African-American and Hispanic community are selling either alcohol or tobacco. This is totally unacceptable,” Price said.