Articles by Paul Lagasse

Article - Arts and Culture; by Paul Lagasse - 5/24/12

Science Fiction’s Family Reunion

A trip to Balticon is like cozying up to the bar at a Star Wars cantina

Science fiction fans love technology, so it’s no surprise that they stay in touch with each other using Twitter, Facebook and Skype. But they also enjoy getting together in person. One of the biggest destinations is just around the corner: Balticon, the annual convention of the venerable Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Every Memorial Day weekend for 46 years, Balticon has hosted the luminaries of science fiction: Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman, Anne McCaffrey, Ben Bova...

Article - News; by Paul Lagasse - 4/7/11

How to Avoid the Taxman

Use this loophole to help a kid meet a dinosaur

When tax day cometh, Deborah Wood hopes you’ll choose to write a check for your Maryland taxes to her Chesapeake Children’s Museum rather than to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. True, Maryland needs your money; even now, as the General Assembly rushes to finish its work, thousands of good causes are competing for your every dime and dollar. Where your money goes, you’ll never know. At Chesapeake Children’s Museum, you’ll...

Article - History & Lore; by Paul Lagasse - 2/17/11

Wanted: Runaway Slave, a “Stout Healthy Lad”

Stories of black history come alive in Maryland State Archives

The story of 14-year-old William Ross of Annapolis reads like an adventure straight out of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Late one winter night, William flees a life of hardship to hop a passing ship and begin a new life in the West Indies. Great stuff, until you read closer: William is a slave fleeing not for adventure but for his life. A “stout healthy lad,” according to his owner, Ross, was one of a cadre of slaves who fled their...