Way Downstream
In Annapolis, an Irish clean energy business has come ashore, with blessings from Gov. Martin O’Malley. Wavebob Ltd. — a company that harnesses the energy of the ocean to produce clean, renewable electricity — plans to open its North American headquarters here. The company has already put its floating energy-harnessing buoys to work off the west coast of Ireland, where they co-developed a 250-megawatt commercial wave farm. Wavebob’s new site will have 15 employees by 2011 and plans to invest over $10 million locally, as well as bring breakthrough technology to Maryland …
In Deale, a flight of ducks has landed. The waterfowl settled on a spiral of stainless steel marsh grass, constructed by landscape artist David Jackowitz and students at Center of Applied Tech South in Edgewater. With their arrival and Memorial Day dedication, the intersection of Routes 258 and 256 is the first roundabout in Anne Arundel and Calvert counties to get art along with changing traffic patterns. Facing the circle from the east out of traffic’s way stand two memorials, one to Southern Anne Arundel County’s veterans and one to “visionary leader” Claire Malicote, who died at 63 in 2005. Deale Merchants Association and members John Hiser and Ray Greenstreet of Greenstreet Gardens supported the project …
At the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Penn., the St. John’s College Croquet Team showed that they can hold their own against more than Midshipmen. St. John’s Imperial Wicket Ian Hanover and his teammates took home the trophy at the National Croquet Championships and claimed the title of Collegiate Team of the Year. “St. John’s totally dominated this six-wicket event,” said Lee Hanna, director of the Collegiate National Tournament. St. John’s has a champion croquet history. The Annapolis Cup Tournament, an annual event at the college, has the largest attendance of any croquet match in the world. In 26 years of matching the Midshipmen, St. John’s has won 22 times …
Our Creature Feature comes from Japan, where a lost parrot recalled a surefire ticket home: Reciting his name and his address. After being rescued on a Tokyo rooftop, the African grey was taken to where no smart bird wants to be: the police station. He clammed up.
The parrot was sent to a nearby veterinary hospital. “I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird blurted. He wasn’t done. After uttering his address, including the street number, Yosuke began singing songs. Police checked the address. Sure enough, the Nakamuras lived there. The family told police that they had worked for two years to teach the parrot where he lived. Apparently, they didn’t teach him to like the police.
“I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” officer Shinjiro Uemura told Reuters.
