It’s hard to win over a crowd when the premise of your movie is the demise of humanity. Still, at my screening of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, humans were actively cheering for chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis: Burke and Hare) to kick some bi-ped butt.

A couple of hundred years ago, the Congress of the United States of America could get things done. On August 7, 1789, that august body passed an act establishing and supporting lighthouses.     Mariners and their families rejoiced.     Between 1791 and 1910, the dangerous waters at 74 sites on Chesapeake Bay were illuminated by over 100 cottage, tower and screwpile lighthouses.

If you think you’re eating at a farmers market when enjoying a dish at an Annapolis restaurant like b.b. Bistro or Level because of the freshness of the food, you’d be close.     These restaurants and others are spearheading the city’s Green Plate Program, featuring ingredients grown within 300 miles. These 50 percent-plus delectables will be noted on the menu with a Green Plate icon plus the names of the farm of origin.

The tidal current was in a difficult phase. We were live-lining Norfolk spot for rockfish at the Bay Bridge, the water was moving fast, and my skiff was drifting as we swam baits deep along the bridge supports. At the helm, I had to avoid colliding with the concrete columns yet stay close enough to allow my partner in the bow, Randy Steck, to work his bait near the bottom of the structures.