Noted

* Rolling Stone (July 6 and 20) spent six months conducting research on the Boy Scouts for an in-depth examination of how the group has dealt with gay members. One main conclusion, says Chuck Sudetic, who wrote the Scouts article, is that the group is secretive. No current Scout official would be interviewed for his article, and he writes, “when the organization’s public-relations department learned of my inquiries, I received two calls informing me that I was banned from contact with any troop in America, and to stop calling anyone connected to the Boy Scouts.”

* Worth (July-August) profiles the investor John Templeton’s $250-million foundation. The magazine says Mr. Templeton “may be one of the few rich men to practice what might be called a reverse tithe: He customarily gives away to charity 10 times the amount he spends on himself.”