Hybrid

Recent events in Texas have once again prompted me to take up educating folks about agriculture. In case you did not hear, 15 steers died on a small ranch east of Austin, Texas, from prussic acid poisoning after grazing in a field of hybrid Bermudagrass known as Tifton 85. As if losing your livestock wasn't bad enough, misinformation caused even more problems. The story gained widespread attention after a local CBS News affiliate reported the grass that killed the steers was a genetically modified variety, which was incorrect.  That CBS affiliate later published a correction.

The eighth-generation Civic sets out to prove that Honda can still impress seekers of agile and comfortable transportation at an accommodating price. As a best-seller for Honda, the Civic's importance to the company cannot be overstated. More than 16 million have been sold since 1973 with about half of that number going to the North American market. For the past nine years, the Civic has led the sales race among compact-car brands. Honda has always gone the extra mile formulating the Civic's design and content, and the new model keeps pace with that theme.

The Cave 239 E. Franklin St. Hagerstown 301-393-0984 or 301-797-9859 Sat. - Dear Ephesus, Apple Feed Cast and Employees Only (Hybrid of Post Punk, Post Hardcore and Emo Rock) 7:30 p.m. $7 cover Dog Patch Tavern 21836 National Pike U.S. 40 Boonsboro 301-791-2844 Sat. - The 69 Band (Classic Rock) 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. $2 cover Creekside Inn 1225 Security Road Hagerstown 301-791-6307 Sat. - Rudy and the Bluefish (Blues)

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Funk-jazz quintet Modern Groove Syndicate will close out Morgan County Arts Council's summer concert series Saturday evening at Berkeley Springs State Park. The instrumental band hails from Richmond, Va., and is touring to promote its latest album, "Ms. Popular," released in December. Showtime is 5:30 p.m. Formed as a trio in 1998, Modern Groove Syndicate has evolved into a five-piece funk-jazz-pop hybrid, though a fresher, younger version than the jazz-fusion stuff you'd find in mom and pop's collection.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Memories and laughter were shared Sunday night when about 50 people gathered with the Matthew and Blasia Drumm family to watch the premiere of the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" episode filmed last November in South Mountain, Pa. Dan Ryan Builders, which took on an ambitious 106-hour construction schedule for the show, hosted a viewing party at the Dogfish Head Alehouse. A wall-mounted, flat-screen television played a special DVD and the ABC show -- interspersed with moments of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens game.

FALLING WATERS, W.Va. - Proscuitto-stuffed bread, another loaf stuffed with broccoli and cheese, poached pears, tangerine sorbet, cream puffs and salad joined the manicotti main dish on Anna Ciampi's dining room table. We thought there would just be manicotti, which was the proposed feature for this Sunday story. But Ciampi kept dipping back into her kitchen, emerging with yet another made-from-scratch dish. This is a good problem to have. Fresh ingredients and an abundance of food are a way of life for many Italian families.

 Take one seven-passenger Highlander, add Toyota's electric propulsion assist and the resulting Hybrid version begins acting as if it's a full-blown economy car. The powerplant combo also turns this pussycat of a people mover into a real tiger. When gasoline/electric power systems were introduced a few years ago, they focused on stretching a gallon of regular unleaded as far as it could go. And while they achieved some impressive consumption numbers, compact models such as the Honda Insight and first-generation Toyota Prius struggled to match the hustle of their strictly gasoline-burning peers.

Naming an entry-level sport-utility vehicle the "Escape" is pretty clever: just hop in and get away . . . that's darned clever, actually. For 2005, Ford's Escape also provides a getaway from higher gas prices by dramatically cutting down on the trips to the pumps. Set for a late-summer launch, the five-passenger Escape Hybrid is the first Ford vehicle to showcase a dual-motor system as a way of improving mostly city-based fuel economy. It's also the first - but it won't be the last - sport-utility vehicle to feature the technology.

For many people, a sport-utility vehicle has been a guilty pleasure. They're big, use a lot of gas, but we like the room, the four-wheel traction, the outdoorsy style. What if I told you that you could have what you want in a sport-utility vehicle, and spare yourself the guilt? Highlander is a midsize SUV, introduced by Toyota in 2001. Based on the same platform as the Lexus RX 300, the Highlander was updated last year with a new 3.3-liter V-6 engine with a five-speed automatic transmission, standard vehicle stability and traction control systems.

Could it be that the best way to build more performance is by adding another engine instead of a bigger engine? That's what Honda wants you to believe and the 2005 Accord Hybrid should validate this theory. The Japanese-based manufacturer has a deep reservoir of experience producing commercially viable hybrid (gas/electric) cars. The two-seat Insight is entering its sixth model year and the compact-class Civic Hybrid four-door arrived in early 2002. Both have enjoyed steady - if unspectacular - sales success with environmentally concerned buyers who have spent thousands of dollars more for these cars - money they'll probably never recoup at the gas pump - to make a statement about being ecologically responsible citizens.