In Virginia, little-noticed action by a House of Delegates committee last week put its state on a collision course with the feds in a matter of great import to all of us along Chesapeake Bay. The committee killed a bill placing limits on factory harvesting of menhaden, thereby violating an order by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to cap the Bay harvest by Omega Protein, a Texas company. We’ll see now if the commission refers the matter to the U.S. Commerce Department, which could shut down Omega. Fishermen blame the decline of rockfish in the Bay on disappearing menhaden …

In Annapolis, WNAV Radio plans to begin airing a weekly program hosted by Pat Sajak, who gained fame as host of the Wheel of Fortune TV program. The station said it would explore “some of Pat’s own thoughts and interests.” Check www.wnav.com for details …

In Calvert County, parishioners of the newly formed Bay Presbyterian Church are among those dismayed at what they refer to as a “Middle Ages-like crusade against the Muslim community” after reports of discrimination against Southern Maryland Muslims. The church took a stand in response to a report of fallout from news that the mosque in Prince Frederick was funded at least in part by deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein …

In Annapolis, the drive for paper trails from Maryland’s new electronic voting is moving ahead with steam. Del. Sheila Hixon, chair of House Ways and Means, introduced legislation last week calling for paper verification and declared she has the backing of House Speaker Michael Busch of Anne Arundel County…

Our Creature Feature comes from Malaysia, where the government plans to send two teams of scientists into its southern rainforests in search of Bigfoot after a man swore that he saw a hairy, gorilla-like creature 10 feet tall standing beside a river.

Bigfoot fever has spread through the land, and newspapers in Kuala Lumpur have posited that it could be a giant orangutan. But mystery remains. Vicent Chow told Reuters that the creature has been seen before. “Natives who live in the jungle have seen it for generations, and their legends call it the ‘snaggle-toothed ghost.’ Now we need forays by scientists to find it.”