Q&A: What's behind 'bald' eagle?

A little bald eagle history

I am wondering how the "bald" eagle got that name, since it does have feathers or hair on its head.

Indeed, our national bird and symbol of the United States since 1782 has white feathers all over its head.

Why call it bald?

The widely accepted story is that the word balde (sometimes spelled balled) was an Old English term for the color white. So hundreds of years ago the white-headed eagle that lives only in North America became known as the bald eagle.

For more information about this majestic bird, go to www.sdzoo.com/animalbytes/t-bald_eagle.html.

Air Force One operation costs

What is the cost to taxpayers every time the president flies to a city?

According to a 2006 report by the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, the cost of using Air Force One is $56,518 per hour. For more details on how that number was reached, visit http://oversight.house.gov/ documents/20060316113550-47530.pdf.

With inflation and the cost of fuel, the number is likely higher today.

For more details about Air Force One, go to www.whitehouse.gov/about/air_force_one.

Catching up with Phoebe Cates

Whatever happened to actor Phoebe Cates?

Cates, now 46, is best-known for her roles in teen movies Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Gremlins (1984) and Drop Dead Fred (1991).

She has been married 20 years to actor Kevin Kline, 61, whom she met while auditioning for the role Meg Tilly won in The Big Chill (1983). They live in New York City and have two children, born in 1991 and 1994.

Cates hasn't had a movie role since 2001, and today owns a boutique called Blue Tree on Madison Avenue (www.bluetreeny.com).

The New York Times once wrote that the store is "a version of Elizabeth Street for the Carnegie Hill crowd, a little oasis of downtown aesthetic at Ladies Who Lunch prices," and said that "the celebrity boutique is a way for famous people to admit the civilian into their universe; it is a presentation of their self, their likes and desires, their preferences — and does not require them to step in front of a camera."

Goodbye 'Guiding Light'

Why is Guiding Light giving up?

It's more accurate to say that CBS gave up on the show, which began on radio in 1937 and had its last telecast Sept. 18. "It was not an easy decision to make, but we talked it over with our partners at Procter & Gamble (which owns the show), and we agreed it was time," CBS Entertainment president Nancy Tellem said when the show's cancellation was announced in April.