In Charles County, Gov. Robert Ehrlich sounded like a conservationist last weekend when he warned about unwise development during a farm visit. Ehrlich was out and about to promote a state program that pays farmers up to $50 an acre to plant cover crops in cold-weather months to absorb nitrogen pollution that might otherwise end up in Chesapeake Bay …

On the Eastern Shore, 50-year-old Nanticoke Seafood has been shuttered by its new owner, Cape May Foods Inc., a New Jersey company that had bought Nanticoke with a local economic development loan, the Daily Times reported. Nanticoke Seafood, which dates back to the 1930s, once processed oysters for Campbell’s Soup …

In Maryland, we have the right for a fright come September 1. Under changes in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, we’re owed free annual credit reports from each of the three big credit bureaus. Call one central toll-free number, 877-322-8228, or go to the Web at www.annualcreditreport.com. Maryland law already opens access to one report from each of the three agencies, so now you can get a total of six each year to fret your finances …

In California, state attorney general Bill Lockyer sued last week to force potato chip manufacturers and several fast-food outlets to warn that chips contain high levels of the chemical acrylamide, which could be dangerous to human health …

Our Creature Feature comes from Baltimore, where the recently renamed Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has joined the rescue effort for creatures in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama zoos damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Proceeds from recycling specially marked cans of Diet Coke brought to the Baltimore Zoo from September to December will be dedicated to six coastal zoos, where damage is now being tabulated. “Our hearts and thoughts are with the people of the Gulf Coast, including the staff and animals at our fellow zoos,” said Maryland Zoo president Billie Grieb.