Josh Tichinel’s alligator may not be able to swim the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. But the soda-can reptile is a reminder that we can all help save the Bay through creative repurposing. The Northern Garrett High School student won the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Rethink Recycling art contest. “The contest is important “because it raises awareness about the importance of recycling and reuse,” says department spokesman Jay Apperson, who also notes that...

When the screen faded to black at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows there was an audible protest from the audience. The fact that a packed house sat still for 146 minutes and begged for more when the credits rolled is probably the best recommendation I can give. But they pay me to write more than a paragraph. Director David Yates hits his stride with his third entry in the Harry Potter film saga. The story finds our beloved witches and wizards at their darkest hour — Lord...

Green Grow the Lilacs is a love story set in a community on the brink of change: farmers crowding cowboys, Indians assimilating with settlers and Oklahomans pondering the controversial question of the territory’s statehood. In 1931, Lynn Riggs, part Cherokee himself, wrote about people whitewashed by Rogers and Hammerstein for 1940s’ audiences in their musical adaptation, Oklahoma!, which eclipsed the original. Under the direction of Native American dramaturgist Christy Stanlake,...

The South Dakota countryside exudes a kind of magic this time of year. It’s generated by a particularly celebrated game bird, the ringneck pheasant. Fish Are Biting The big cold-weather stripers are stalled just to our south but within range of determined anglers. Fish to 40 inches are being encountered below Poplar Island on the Eastern side and near Chesapeake Beach on the Western. Rock in six- and seven-pound sizes are being taken in the mid-Bay, trolling small to mid-sized...