Volume 14, Issue 50 ~ December 14 - December 20, 2006

Features:

Local Bounty 2006

More than 40 Days and Nights of Pleasures for All Ages

From lights displays to gingerbread house workshops to Messiah performances to ringing out 2006 and in 2007, Bay Weekly’s Local Bounty holiday guide will fill your days and nights, all the way from preparing for Thanksgiving through celebrating the New Year. We’ve reported as thoroughly and accurately as our early deadline allows, but it’s best to call ahead to confirm times. Also, peruse the whole calendar early and make your reservations, for the season’s popular events fill up fast.

Bay Weekly’s 11th Hour Guide to Gifted Giving

The world is full of wondrous things to buy. If you heed the moral of Bay Weekly’s 2006 quest to define the perfect gift, you’ll see that novelty isn’t the secret. Nor, apparently, is money. Read on, and be enlightened by the wisdom of Bay Weekly’s family of staff and writers, ranging in age from 16 to 80.

Way Downstream ~ Seven good reasons for Gov.-elect O’Malley to keep hands off Project Open Space … Captain John Smith National Watertrail through Chesapeake Bay awaits president’s signature … Capital souvenir shoppers bring home an unwelcome surprise in the purchases: lead … And last but not least, this week’s CREATURE FEATURE, In Paris, migratory birds are forgetting Africa this so-far balmy winter.

Departments:

Letters • Editorial • Bay Reflections

The Sporting Life ~ This is the CBBT, baby! The biggest and best fish magnet on the East Coast. by Dennis Doyle

Earth Talk ~ Green your holiday giving: Eco-friendly presents to put under the tree.

Where We Live ~ What’s a watershed? Environmentalists think everyone speaks their language. We don’t. by Steve Carr

Bill Burton ~ Tracking tradition: Our familiar paths are often laid on shaky ground.

Dr. Gouin’s Bay Gardener ~ The right tools to please the gardeners on your list: Gardening tools you can grow with.

Tidelog® • Sky Watch ~ Facing the Geminid stream: Meteor for meteor, this should be a great show.
by J. Alex Knoll

8 Days a Week ~ Bay Weekly’s Guide to Good Times.
by Carrie Madren with Aubree Stafford

Curtain Call ~ Bay Theatre Company’s A Man of No Importance: Irish myth, shenanigans and internal strife balance on a cutting edge. reviewed by Dick Wilson

Flickerings ~ Burns on Apocalypto: Entertaining with its action and heart; enlightening with its vivid awakening of Mayan culture.