Articles by Sandra Olivetti Martin

The Hound Dogs of Journalism

We’re happiest when we’re following a scent

Writing for newspapers is one of the best jobs in the world. If routine, long hours and butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard — who wouldn’t rather be out fishing, or boating or gardening? — lull me into forgetting how lucky I am, I don’t forget for long. Every week proves that truth anew, and this week has stepped to the head of the proof class. Mine is a job that lets — no, demands — me to follow my curiosity...

Article - Letter from the Editor; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 5/3/12

Extreme Reading

2000 dyslexic students relay-read for World Record

A couple of thousand students from 30 schools — including The Summit School in Edgewater — join in a historic celebration of literacy on May 10. From Baltimore to Honolulu to Cairo, they’ll be relay-reading a single book for pleasure, honor and conviction. The book, The Sword of Darrow, is a fantasy novel that begins, beneath the image of a spooky spider, with these words: Evil: Within this simple word lies a vast collection of deeds. ...

Article - News; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 5/3/12

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Bay Weekly’s Ephemeral Guide to Spring Plant Sales

The flowers that bloom in spring are often ephemerals, their precious blooms here one day and gone the next. So, too, is the season for plant sales. Starting this weekend and continuing to mid-May, local garden clubs, historical and horticultural societies and nurseries bring out their abundance. These small, often one-day-only affairs offer hundreds of plants at bargain prices, including unusual and rare varieties that you won’t find elsewhere...

Article - Gardening; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/26/12

Backstage at Bay Theatre Company

The curtain rises four times a year, but the drama never stops

Janet Luby, the woman behind Bay Theatre Company, is a little surprised to see her brainchild reach double digits. It’s not as if she expected her effort to bring professional theatre to Annapolis to fail. “The idea of its not working out didn’t even factor in,” she says. “Anything is possible.” In Bay Theatre Company’s 10 years, most anything that could happen, did. I Do! I Do! The first eight...

Article - People; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/26/12

The Locally Grown Movement Sprouts Feathers

Annapolis’ new chicken ordinance is part of a bigger trend

The census of creatures in our neighborhoods is adding new categories. Annapolitan chickens are the latest, as this week Mayor Josh Cohen signed an ordinance welcoming small flocks of hens, but no roosters, on a three-year trial. Of course there are conditions, thoughtfully debated by the City Council. You’ll need permission from all homeowners whose property abuts yours; if you’re a renter, your own property owner must agree. If that goes...

Article - Letter from the Editor; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/26/12

This Week’s Creature Feature ... Life Isn’t All...

Cole Bros. Circus pays for elephant mistreatment

Elephants that traveled with Cole Bros. Circus — which visits the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds this week — were so thin that the circus has been fined for bad care. “The gravity of the violations herein is great and includes the repeated noncompliance with the regulations for veterinary care, handling and licensing,” a U.S. Department of Agriculture attorney wrote of the plight of Asian elephants Tina, Jewell and Boo. U.S....

Article - Creature Feature; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/26/12

Memorable Moments

A look at the highs and lows along Bay Weekly’s 19 years

1993 • New Bay Times born April 22 to Sandra Olivetti Martin, Bill Lambrecht and Alex Knoll and delivered every two weeks. • Bill Burton, just retired from the Evening Sun, hires on as outdoors columnist. New Bay Times stock soars. • Inaugural issue of Bay Weekly’s summer guide, 101 Ways to Have Fun. • No longer black and white and read all over; our first spot color (on front and back covers) is green. • Rampant diseases MSX...

Article - Features; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/19/12

Many Hands Make Light Work

Hundreds have helped us keep Bay Weekly in your hands these 958 issues

Nine-hundred fifty-eight issues in 19 years would be heavy lifting, were it not for all the people who’ve carried part of the load of Bay Weekly since our birth as New Bay Times on Earth Day, April 22, 1993. Each year at this time, I page back through our 19 leather-bound volume books. Each one of them making heavy lifting — not only for all the newsprint pressed in them, nor for all the words typed on that yellowing paper. The memories are heavier still, revived...

Article - Letter from the Editor; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/19/12

Clean Marinas Make Good Neighbors

Ask if your marina is a Clean Marina. If not, why?

Boaters love the Bay. They love the look of it, the feel of it, the smell of it, the freedom of it, the generosity of it. All the Bay’s tributaries plus its ocean and fresh waters are part of that big love. Choosing a Clean Marina as your boat’s home — and your second home — is one of the best ways boaters can, in return, protect the Bay. If yours is a Clean Marina, it may be more Bay-friendly than your first home. In fact, your...

Article - Boating; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/12/12

Who Needs More Bad News?

There’s more to April than National Anxiety Month

I could tell you that the General Assembly, which adjourned this week, managed to spin straw into gold and everybody’s happy. But you wouldn’t believe me, because you know that even in fairy tales there’s a heavy price levied on too much cleverness. Truth is that nobody’s very happy with the results. In this Assembly, one diner’s meat has been another’s poison. If you were blown over by the prospect...

Article - Letter from the Editor; by Sandra Olivetti Martin; 4/12/12