Features (News)

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle - 9/27/12

Another Illegal Gill Net

Some two weeks ago, a member of the Coastal Conservation Association fishing off of Bloody Point snagged his line on what appeared to be an illegal gill net. When weather permitted (Sept. 20), Maryland Department of Natural Resources dispatched the 80-foot-long icebreaker and buoy-tender A.V. Sandusky to hoist the net’s bulk. About a half mile of the deadly monofilament net — studded with the remains of horseshoe crabs, blue crabs and rotting fish — was removed from Bay waters...

Article - News; by Michelle Steel - 9/20/12

North Beach Farmers Market Tops the Vote

The votes have been counted and the results are in for American Farmland Trust Best Farmers Market. The vote brings good news for the North Beach Friday Night Farmers Market, which earned the ranking of number two in the state. “But it gets better,” said Stacey Wilkerson, town clerk who also runs the market. “We are ranked number seven across the whole United States.” It’s a proud accomplishment for the town of North Beach...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 9/20/12

Pullers, Pies Raise $1,800 for Hopkins

If you couldn’t tow 3,000 pounds, you can still write a check

The Chesapeake Garden Pullers did it. They raised over $1,800 for the John Hopkins Pediatric Oncology, with a few checks still coming. That sum more than doubles last year’s benefit pull. Clyde Schuyler, the president of the puller’s club, was so distressed by the meager $800 they raised last year that he almost skipped this year’s benefit pull. Now he’s happy he didn’t. The money raised goes to Johns Hopkins Pediatric...

Article - News; by Deborah Courson Smith for Maryland News Connection - 9/20/12

Mini-Grants Enrich Bay Environmental Education

Now’s the time to plan your project

Seeing, hearing and touching is believing. To put K-12 students in touch with Chesapeake Bay and its connected streams and rivers, another $525,000 has been added to the Environmental Education Mini Grant Program. The money comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Office and from Chesapeake Bay Trust, which is supported by your tax-time Bay Fund check-offs and Treasure the Chesapeake license plates ...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/20/12

Money Flows Down Four Rivers

Mini-grants help preserve Bay heritage

When the U.S. Lighthouse Society wanted to get Thomas Point Shoal Light ready for visitors, Four Rivers: The Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town & South County helped with a mini-grant. Kneseth Israel Congregation used a mini-grant to explore a century of the Jewish Experience in Anne Arundel County. Annapolis Maritime Museum used another to show people around historic Eastport. Another mini-grant supported a kayak tour of the Rhode River. Yet another helped the...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/13/12

Talking Trash

Annapolis jumps on the once-a-week bandwagon

This bandwagon is a trash truck, and it’s picking up speed in Maryland On September 10, the city of Annapolis reduced its trash and recycling pickup from two days to once a week. Anne Arundel County made the same move in June, reaping countians a savings of $17 on their solid-waste disposal fee, now $298. Annapolitans will do better in increased saving and services. With the city’s switch from government to private pick-up...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/13/12

Kennedy Center Debut for Londontowne Symphony...

Local musicians join Iraqi conductor for a Musical Dialogue Between Nations

What’s a small-town orchestra doing at a place like this? You usually hear the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra at South River or Annapolis High School. This weekend, the community-based orchestra of some 80 local professional, community and student musicians plays the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. “This will put us on the map,” says Anna Binneweg, Londontowne’s conductor and a professor at Anne Arundel...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 9/6/12

Whoever Fixed That Up Deserves a Thank You

Nominate champions of preservation for Calvert historic awards

Calvert County sped up in the last quarter of the 20th century, zooming from a fishing and farming county of 15,826 in 1960 to a D.C. exburb of 88,737 people. In the 1990s, Calvert was Maryland’s fastest-growing county. Yet its rural ways are part of its appeal, as well as its identity, so keeping its heritage alive in a new century is a priority. It’s also a job for Kirsti Uunila, who goes to work every day as Calvert’s historic preservation planner....

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 9/6/12

Pulling for a Cause

Dunkirk tractor pull seeks 2K for Johns Hopkins

Pullers, start your engines. Pullers from across the state, some farther, are rallying to that call on Sept. 15 for the sake of sport and to raise money for Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology. Sport came before cause for the Chesapeake Garden Tractor Pullers, of Dunkirk. The sport: pulling 3,000 pounds as far as their garden tractors will let them. The Cause The club added fundraising when club president Clyde Schuyler...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 8/30/12

School Is for Everybody

At Parks and Rec classes, even old dogs can learn new tricks

Feeling envious as kids strap on their new backpacks to explore the wonders of the universe? Don’t let age stop you. Whatever your age, or youth, Anne Arundel and Calvert counties can open new worlds for you. And for your dog. Want to learn wedding calligraphy? Hip-hop dance? Sign language? German or Spanish? Get fit in a couple of dozen ways, including Tom’s No-Nonsense Karate? Play senior billiards? Do art in the park? Partner with you dog...