Features (News)

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 11/1/12

Anne Arundel Countians Speak Their Mind

We’re closer to unity on birth control for pets than on who should be president

Anne Arundel County agrees more on spaying and neutering than who the next president should be according the Anne Arundel Community College Center for the Study of Local Issues survey. Seventy-one percent of 510 respondents support the creation of a low-cost spaying and neutering program. How it was paid for was up for debate. Adding a penny or two to the price of dog food had the most votes and 23 percent of the supporters. The least popular idea was to add a dollar or two...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 11/1/12

You Don’t Want Sandy in Your Well

If your wellhead was submerged, you’ll need a hose, bleach and bottled water

If you draw your water from a well, Hurricane Sandy may have brought you another chore. Drilled wells are subject to saltwater and surface water contamination if the wellhead is submerged. If water puddle around your wellhead or saltwater drowned it, you’ll have to purge your well before your water is good to drink. Start with a caution. Your well operates on electricity, so shock is possible. It’s a job you can do yourself, but you may prefer...

Article - News; by - 11/1/12

Top Chef Turns Up the Heat on Food Policy

New menu rates members of Congress on food issue votes

Marylanders we send to Congress are accustomed to getting sliced, diced and rated by the likes of the National Rifle Association and an array of business and labor groups. But who is watching how members vote on vital food policy issues, such as hunger, access to nutrition, farm subsidies and, perhaps, the wisdom of wide-scale conversion to genetically modified crops occuring silently in our midst? A lot of groups, but not until now are they pooling their...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 10/25/12

Oxford House Brings Hope to Recovering Addicts

Project ECHO becomes a landlord for recovery

The most frustrating thing for Henry Trentman at Project ECHO is seeing recovering addicts leave the recovery program beaming with positivity, then come back six months later because they fell off the wagon. When Trentman heard about the international Oxford House concept, he thought, Holy cow, this makes a lot of sense. Residents have to follow three simple rules to live in an Oxford House: Stay sober, pay your dues and don’t be confrontational. If you stick to the...

Article - News; by Leigh Glenn - 10/25/12

Help for Budding Farmers

Apply by Nov. 1 for Beginner Training

So you think you wanna farm? It’s easy to romanticize farming. Hard work, long hours and inflexible schedules are closer to the reality. Learn the ins and outs from Future Harvest — Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture’s Beginner Farmer Training Program. Applications are open thru November 1 for training beginning January 18 and 19 and continuing for eight weeks. The program begins at...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 10/25/12

There’s An App For That

Technology brings us closer to nature

We live in an app world. If I want a song, I Shazam it; If I want a paint color from a photo I just took, bam, I ColorSnap it. I search for apartments and add mustaches and cats to any picture I please, all in the iPhone that fits in the palm of my hand. Now the National Park Service is using an app to get us closer to nature. The free Chesapeake Explorer app offers information on state and national parks, trails and outdoors activities, all on one map....

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 10/18/12

Calvert Marine Museum’s Mixed News

Open this winter as remodeling is postponed

There’s lots to love at Calvert Marine Museum. “The lighthouse. The otters. The crabs or seahorses: Kids love them. Fossils or outboard motors or a familiar boat,” muses deputy director Sherrod Sturrock. “Everybody loves and gets excited about different things.” So the museum’s decision to stay open January and February of 2013 is less likely to disappoint you than it is the 65-person staff, whose plan...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 10/11/12

Raising Money and Giving It Away

Lothian Ruritan Club celebrates 60 years helping the community

Andrew Dennis of Shady Side knew he wanted to go to college. He didn’t know how he was going to manage the costs. As a senior at Southern High School thriving in his welding class, Andrew went on the hunt for scholarships. He found his way to college with the Lothian Ruritan Club, which awards $8,000 in scholarships evenly to eight graduating seniors every year. Andrew earned the John Hiser Scholarship, which helps seniors wanting to go into culinary or vocational...

Article - News; by Ashley Brotherton - 10/4/12

The Biggest Wiener

Dogs compete for best costumes

Think your pup is the cutest Hallowiener? Prove it. Fisher’s Famous, a hot dog truck at 77 West Central Avenue in Edgewater, is seeking pups to compete for the top prize in cuteness and creativity in the Hallowiener Canine Costume contests. To enter, snap a picture of your furry four-legged friends in their Halloween best and email it to Fisher’s Famous at fishersfamous@live.com, with your and your pooch’s name....

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin - 10/4/12

What’s Your High School’s Signature?

Southern signs on to Preservation and Innovation, with a party

It’s not your grandparents’ high school any more. Or your parents’. Or your big sister’s. In Anne Arundel County’s 12 high schools, Signature adds a new level of specialization to the way teens learn. Signature is the newest addition to a menu of choices county students can make in shaping their education: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; International Baccalaureate; Advanced Placement; Applied Technology; ROTC;...