'SIMPLE LIFE' HOSTS WONDER ABOUT HILTON'S COMMENT

'Simple Life' hosts wonder about Hilton's comment
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The farm family that hosted heiress Paris Hilton and her friend Nicole Richie for the first season of "The Simple Life" says life has not always been easy since the show aired.
Albert and Janet Leding of Altus took in the two in while Fox television crews filmed the glamorous pair cleaning chicken coops and examining cows. This season they are driving a recreational vehicle from Florida to California on "The Simple Life 2." The Ledings say they have received reams of fan mail and dozens of friendly phone calls since the first season aired. But mom Janet Leding says one message hurt her feelings.
When Entertainment Weekly magazine asked Hilton last month if she kept in touch with the Ledings, she replied, "I changed my number." Leding wonders why.
"She made us sound like we were trying to stalk her," Janet Leding said. "Who's been calling her? We talked to them a couple of times right after they left. Nicole -- I talked to her about three times. We weren't trying to call them all the time. We don't care one way or other." But Janet and her husband Albert said they can't speak for the boys of Altus, population 118, some of whom became more than friendly with Hilton and Richie.
"They may have tried to contact them," Janet said.
Fight for Bill Monroe's mandolin heads to court
ROSINE, Ky. -- A legal fight over who will retain the rights to bluegrass music pioneer Bill Monroe's mandolin is headed to trial later this month in Tennessee.
Monroe's son, James Monroe, wants to sell the Gibson F-5 mandolin to the Ohio County Industrial Foundation instead of the Bill Monroe Foundation.
The Monroe foundation's executive director, Campbell Mercer, said he balked at Monroe's plan outlined during recent mediation in Nashville.
A deal for the Monroe foundation to buy the mandolin fell through in October 2002. The effort, spearheaded by Mercer, paid $162,500 toward the $1.1 million contracted price of the mandolin. But a bank loan for part of the money fell through "for reasons that will be discussed in the trial," Mercer said.
Bill Monroe was the last person to play the mandolin during a March 15, 1996, performance at the Grand Ole Opry. He was stricken with a stroke the next day and died later that year.
He bought the mandolin in 1943 at a Miami barbershop for about $150. It has been regarded as a key to his stylistic development.
Great White's outdoor concert set for tonight
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The rock band whose pyrotechnics sparked a fire that killed 100 people was booked to play an outdoor concert today coinciding with St. Petersburg's nearby holiday fireworks show. Great White's concert is set to begin an hour before the fireworks start going off three blocks away, a backdrop that club owner and concert promoter John Claude Bodziak considered ironic when booking the date. "I don't want people to get the wrong idea, that I arranged for this date," Bodziak said. "July 4 was the only date left."
Today's Birthdays
Conductor Mitch Miller is 93. Advice columnist Pauline Phillips (the original "Dear Abby") is 86. Actress Eva Marie Saint is 80. Playwright Neil Simon is 77. Baseball team owner George Steinbrenner is 74. Country singer Ray Pillow is 67. Singer Bill Withers is 66. Actor Ed Bernard is 65. Actress Karolyn Grimes is 64. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 61. Rhythm and blues musician Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 53. Rock musician Domingo Ortiz (Widespread Panic) is 52. Singer John Waite is 49. Rock musician Kirk Pengilly (INXS) is 46. Country musician Teddy Carr is 44. Rock D-J Zonka (Big Audio Dynamite) is 42. Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver is 42. Rock musician Matt Malley (Counting Crows) is 41. Actress Jenica Bergere is 30. Singer Stephen "Ste" McNally (BBMak) is 26.
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