Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin may not be a diehard fan of the spicy group, but he headed north for Svalbard, Norway, as part of its entourage. No, not the funk-rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, though that would make an interesting story of a different variety. Cardin joined six congressional colleagues to deliver the seeds of American-grown chili peppers — the kind that spice up food, not concert stages — to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Managed and run by the Global Crop...

Calvert County is taking local to a higher level with its new annual Sustainable Agricultural Awards Program. Emphasizing the once-rural-county’s continuing pride in its agricultural heritage — and to preserve that heritage — the Calvert County Board Commissioners seeks nominations for three new awards. Two will recognize businesses that make it their priority to support local producers; one will recognize a local farmer who makes good on the promise of sustainable farming...

Kelley Donnelly looks at a dog and sees a colorful character. Blue, red, yellow. Her pooches are a flamboyant lot. Paula Waterman sees light and grace. Her dogs are realistic and often in motion, flying across a field in dogged pursuit of a ball or romping in snow. Waterman, 56, has been making art as long as she can remember. “I drew before I wrote my name,” she says. She spent a year and a half in art school, but she considers herself self-taught. Her subjects are mainly waterfowl...

Something good has come out from under the World Trade Center. Near the site of so many grim finds, excavators working on the new trade center unearthed a treasure — an ancient wooden ship buried beneath modern lower Manhattan. Its remains were discovered about 20 feet under street level, in an area that had not been dug out for the original World Trade Center. This old ship has tales to tell. But before it can give up any of its secrets, it must be preserved. And fast, because when wood...