Cheney scouts post-VP digs

People

Preparing for transition

Vice President Dick Cheney and wife Lynne ventured to suburban McLean, Va., on Sunday, inspecting the house they're building in the tony D.C. suburb. The "in-town home" — as opposed to the Chesapeake Bay house — is on a nearly one-acre lot the Cheneys bought for $1.35 million on Jan. 12, 2000, months before his selection as President Bush's vice president, according to property records. The Cheneys tore down the previous home. The estimated cost of construction of the 12,765-square-foot château is $1.5 million. The four-bedroom, nine-bath (including a couple of powder rooms) house includes his and hers bathrooms off the master bedroom on the first floor and his and hers libraries, each with a fireplace, according to a review of the plans.

Parker shops show

Actress and fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker, a guest judge on Bravo's "Project Runway," is hoping to produce a new reality-show competition with a creative bent. According to USA Today, this time a dozen contestants will create art in various genres, including sculpture, painting, photography and industrial design. The grand prize: a gallery show, money and a national tour.

New Hawke is on the way

Ethan Hawke, 37, who has two children with his ex-wife, Uma Thurman, is expecting his first with his girlfriend Ryan Shawhughes, 27. The two met when Shawhughes was the nanny for the actor during his marriage to Thurman.

Lessing gets prize

Nobel literature laureate Doris Lessing, who greeted news of her victory with the words, "I couldn't care less," received her prize Wednesday night at a champagne reception in London. Lessing, whose back problems prevented her from traveling to Stockholm for the official Nobel Prize-giving ceremony Dec. 10, was given the gold Nobel Prize by Swedish Ambassador Staffan Carlsson.

Found

Old Berlin

An archaeological dig in downtown Berlin last week uncovered a wooden beam from an ancient earthen cellar, evidence indicating that the German capital is at least 45 years older than had previously been established, authorities said Wednesday. It was in exceptionally good condition and scientists determined from a sample that it had been cut down in 1192 — 45 years before the official date of Berlin's birth, 1237.

Passages

Robert Ball, 93, a former Social Security commissioner considered by many as its chief defender and the father of Medicare, died Tuesday night. The location was not given.

Louisa Horton Hill, 87, a stage, film and television actress and former wife of "The Sting" director George Roy Hill, died Friday in Englewood, N.J.

Marnesba Tillmon Tackett, 99, a civil-rights activist who worked to eliminate inequities in education and played a key role in the battle over desegregation in Los Angeles public schools, died Dec. 17 at home.

Today in History

1865: Gen. Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of all the Confederate armies.

1934: President Franklin Roosevelt devalued the dollar in relation to gold.

1945: Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by a firing squad in France.

1958: The United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.

2000: An Alaska Airlines jet plummeted into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people aboard.

Today's Birthdays

Actress Carol Channing, 87. Actress Jean Simmons, 79. Singer-musician KC (KC and the Sunshine Band), 57. Rock singer Johnny Rotten, 52. Actress Kelly Lynch, 49. Actress Minnie Driver, 38. Singer Justin Timberlake, 27.

Seattle Times news services