MarylandReporter.com (http://marylandreporter.com/author/marylandreporter-com/)
A group of young Democratic challengers in their 20s and 30s has emerged in Prince George’s County to run for the House of Delegates in 2018 and take on incumbent Democrats. The challengers cite a need for fresh blood and new ideas in a delegation they say has gotten out of touch with the voters and ineffective at getting things done.
Barry Rascovar’s Sept. 4 column about State Center is very misleading. The stakes are high and clarity on details surrounding this project is very important –– particularly as the lack of transparency from the state grows. Key parts of his tale about a faulty plan, greedy developers, and changing economic circumstances are just not true, says a former transportation staffer on the project.
When Donald Boesch came to Maryland 27 years ago, the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort was struggling to make real progress. The research institution he’d come to lead faced challenges, too, just to survive intact. Now, as Boesch prepares to step down this month as president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the Bay’s health appears to be improving, though it’s far from saved. And his institution has not only survived, but generated a growing body of research that’s helped guide the recovery.
With Pennsylvania lagging badly in helping to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, a new report by an environmental group highlights the role that intensive livestock farming plays in the state’s shortcoming. Four south-central Pennsylvania counties where animal manure is heavily used to fertilize crops “contribute disproportionately” to the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution fouling local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay, according to the report by the Environmental Integrity Project.
Chesapeake Bay watermen and processors who handle blue catfish — an invader eating its way through the Potomac and several other major river systems — may face a less burdensome federal inspection process than they expected when a long-anticipated regulation goes into effect. As of Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for inspecting all catfish. The regulation covers both the wild-caught marauder menacing the Chesapeake’s tributaries and the farm-raised varieties grown in Mississippi River ponds and imported from China and Vietnam.
It was only a matter of time before Barry Rascovar jumped to the defense of the radical left when it comes to our efforts to protect our state flag. For a guy who vilely attacked Governor Hogan when he had cancer, we’re only surprised it took him so long to attack a movement that is supported by over 50,000 Marylanders.
Blackwater is one of the last surviving habitats for migratory birds like the snow geese and one of the last buffers for nearby human communities against intermittent onslaughts such as Hurricane Sandy. How can a place of such vast and obvious beauty, spanning almost 28,000 acres, simply disappear?
No man is an island. But, for less than $175,000, a man (or woman) could buy three of them in the Potomac River — if he or she acts fast. Real estate agent Buzz Mackintosh said the islands, about seven miles upstream of Williamsport, Md., have garnered interest from a handful of prospective buyers since going on the market earlier this year, but no one has taken the leap. Now, the state of Maryland, which already owns and manages several nearby islands, is weighing purchasing them.
In Maryland, it has become an annual rite of August for critics to lambast state pension trustees when they fall short on their investments. The biggest lament is the state’s huge “unfunded liability,” which stands a bit below $20 billion. That’s a mighty hefty number. Is the pension program for 387,000 state workers, teachers and retirees going broke as doom-and-gloomers insist?
Saving the Bay is obviously about improving water quality, but equally tricky is the business of managing how much seafood we extract from that water. From crabs and other shellfish to finfish, modern technologies enable harvest pressure that could overwhelm the healthiest estuary. So, we need rules — and moderation.