In my other life, I’m a server in an Annapolis restaurant. Like most American eateries, my restaurant serves straws with each drink, sometimes paired with a cocktail stirrer or two.       As well as a server and a Bay ­Weekly staff writer, I’m an environmentalist. The waste bothered me. Ever since my very first serving shift in 2014, I’ve been asking customers if they want straws with their drinks. I can cut a lot of waste this way. But...

      Moving from his hometown of Baltimore to the pastoral setting of Lothian was a shock for Bill ­Ticknor. Assigned there after ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, he had trouble sleeping in the rectory because of the quiet.        How did that 26-year-old urbanite fare in a three-century-old rural parish known for old ways and church suppers? Well enough to stay on for the next 45 years, until reaching mandatory retirement age.  ...

Mayor, Where Are You?        I read with interest your interview with Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, who I voted for in the last election. While likely too late for your publication, the mayor’s proposed 20 percent increase in property taxes was a surprise since he had said he was opposed to such an increase during his campaign. I was also amused by his closing that we could all reach him via email. In the course of 2 to 3 weeks, I emailed him a number of times. Still...

      Go to just about any dinosaur exhibit and you are sure to see the fossilized remains of the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex. But what if you are more interested in the lesser-known Deinonychus, Tenontosaurus or Astrodon johnstoni, the official Maryland state dinosaur? Then, you will want to visit Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons.        From now until December 31, Calvert Marine Museum invites you to imagine modern-day Maryland as a tropical swampland...