Maryland’s appliance rebate program, begun on April 22, will last only until the $5.4 million runs out. Better act fast. The state-administered rebates are going quick. In Illinois, energy- and money-wise customers went through their state’s $6.2 million in one day. As part of last year’s federal stimulus bill, the U.S. Department of Energy distributed $300 million among the 50 states for energy-efficient appliance rebates. When and how the funds were distributed was left to...

  This year will be the best season in over a decade for Chesapeake Bay crabbers. The Department of Natural Resources estimates that the blue crab population is up 60 percent, the highest number since 1997. If you want to get a share of this delicious Chesapeake bounty, now is the time to start preparations and acquire the necessary gear. Assuming that you have even the most modest of boats (even a canoe or kayak will do), the best method to employ, especially if you’re just starting...

  My mother was a reuser well before it became one of the fashionable three Rs every schoolchild knows today. At 93, she still lives by herself in the house where I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts. My twin sister Patty and I always knew if we needed a box, any size or shape, Mom would have it. Her packrat nature extended to coffee cans, rags, glass jars and plastic containers. Remember Skinny Minny ice milk from the 1960s? She has a collection of tubs in her basement if you need one...

  The English Burns Writes Dear Bay Weekly: The review of the movie Date Night in the issue of April 15 is either written in some non-standard version of English grammar, or it has suffered from a glitch of editing. I hope this can be blamed on a computer somewhere, rather than human design. –Bill Seabrook, Dunkirk   Editor’s reply: Sounds like film reviewer Mark Burns’ distinctive style has pushed beyond your tolerance limits. Please help me by being more specific....