“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Bay Weekly’s uber birthday cake was generously provided by confectionary phenom Christopher Yapur of Select Confections in Annapolis.     In business since 2010, Yapur combines his self-taught baking talents with artistic flare creating custom cakes and cupcakes, while also catering.     At a mere 24 years old, Yapur has honed his sweet craft of ice cream-making and baking, opening dozens of Coldstone Creamery’s.

It’s business as usual at the Pasadena Senior Center, until Mary Ann Jung walks in waving a knife.     “Julia Child presents the chicken sisters,” Jung trills in Child’s unmistakable accent. Whipping the coverlet off a table, she reveals raw chickens of several sizes.

James Barrett of Westin Annapolis is up for Maryland Chef of the Year What does it take to be Maryland’s Chef of the Year?         A concoction like this: The broth is daffodil yellow, screaming of spring, contradicting the misconception that chicken and dumplings is reserved for the cold of winter. Instead of big risen pillows, the dumplings are clever little Italian gnocchi. The geometrical cuts of ­chicken, moist all the way through, have seared surfaces.

Sunday, March 4, a thousand men and women lined up to run the Annapolis Striders’ B&A Trail Marathon. Among them, 71-year-old Minnesotan Don Wright stood poised to begin his 63rd marathon in 44 states.     Only six states stand between Wright and his goal to complete a marathon in all 50 states.

At 16, Ania Kelly has already mastered the art of the leash. The Dunkirk teen took top prize in the Junior Showmanship competition at this year’s 136th Westminster Dog Show, pairing with her English cocker spaniel Wizard to best over 100 competitors.     A five-time veteran of Westminster, Kelly is a third-generation handler.

How have the outspoken Bay Gardener and his sweetly strong-willed Clara managed to reach the milestone of 50 years of marriage? Indeed, how does any of us meet our mate, choose the right one and make the miraculous partnership of marriage endure?     To answer that question, I challenged Bay Weekly writers to find and interview couples celebrating marital milestones. Facebook mod Diana Beechener also posted the question. As you read our Love Stories, remember: It could have been you.

Live the life you love for less is the slogan for Jennie Grimm’s Annapolis VIP card.     The $30-per-year card gives you unlimited access to discounts at more than 50 merchants in Anne Arundel County. Food and drink are the biggest category, with others including kids, pets, health and fitness. Browse them all at VIP’s website: www.AnnapolisVIP.com.

Jane McWilliams has won the Maryland Historical Trust’s 2012 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Media and Publications for her 478-page book Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History.     “It is the first comprehensive history of Annapolis from settlement in the mid-17th century to modern-day maturity and the only one to fully reference the sources used,” according to the Trust.

You probably don’t remember me, the 11th grader said, but I remember planting those trees at Mt. Harmony. Albert ‘Abby’ Ybarra, of Chesapeake Beach, tells this story with pride.     It’s been nine years since Ybarra and a class of second graders planted those trees. Lasting memories like this is exactly what Ybarra hopes to achieve in his work with students and teachers to encourage environmental thinking in our next generation.