GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY STATEMENT ON FEDERAL BLUE CRAB DISASTER DECLARATION

Governor Martin O’Malley commended the support and leadership of Maryland’s Congressional Delegation today and thanked Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez for the federal fishery disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab.

“We are grateful to Senators Mikulski and Cardin, and our congressional delegation for their leadership in working with the Department of Commerce to secure this critical designation for Maryland’s watermen.  Maryland’s blue crab and the traditional fishing industry that it supports face difficult times and the federal funding accompanying the disaster designation will help to preserve the infrastructure of Maryland’s hallmark blue crab fishery, and ensure an active fishery for the future.

This declaration not only helps restore the blue crab population, but it also ensures that the livelihood of our State’s watermen continues to be sustained. While we work with the industry on the State level to rebuild stocks and restructure the fishery, this federal action will help sustain the livelihoods of Maryland’s watermen, whose work is so vital to Maryland’s economy.”

Earlier this year, the O’Malley/Brown Administration coordinated historic action with Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine to rebuild the Chesapeake Bay’s beleaguered blue crab population by reducing the harvest of ecologically valuable female blue crabs by 34 percent in 2008. In May 2008, Governors O’Malley and Kaine requested a disaster assistance evaluation from NOAA‘s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for Chesapeake Bay watermen and women who have suffered economic hardships due to the extremely low and unstable blue crab abundance.  Finding that due to adverse environmental conditions including habitat loss, water quality decline, an overabundance of native and non-native predators, and decimation of key blue crab prey, economic losses to the region’s blue crab fishing industry have accumulated over the last decade, the U.S. Department of Commerce today declared a state of disaster for the fishery.

SCHIPUL COURAGE WALK

The 3rd annual Coach Andrew C. Schipul Courage Walk takes place at 1 pm, Sept. 20, at Kent Island High School in Stevensville.

Coach Schipul died in 2006 from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which attacks the brain and spinal cord. This event both honor’s Coach’s memory and serves as a fundraiser to support the Robert Packard Center for ALS research at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and the Hospice of Queen Anne’s County.

Registration starts at 12 noon the day of the event. The walk covers the Cross Island Trail, and ends at 2:30 pm. Music by David Andrew Smith and the KIHS band is planned.

A  silent auction is also planned from noon to 1 pm. Items include two footballs, each signed by 15 Baltimore Ravens team members, Mary Kay Products, Longaberger baskets, Southern Living housewares, and more.

In case of bad weather, the Walk takes place Sept. 27. Advance registration: Sharon Schipul, 410-758-2712. Information: Dawn Kelly, 410-827-7334 or Couragewalk@gmail.com

MAKE NICE TO BIKERS

Delmarva Bike Week began yesterday, Sept. 11, and lasts through Sunday, Sept. 14, in Ocean City, MD.  If you’re traveling to and from the Eastern Shore, stay alert for increased motorcycle traffic on the roadways eastbound today and westbound on Sunday.  Maintain the posted speed limits and share the road with your fellow motorists.

LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM EDUCATES SCHOOLS

Students in many Maryland counties will find fresh, local apples, watermelon, coleslaw and more offered in their school cafeterias as part of the new Homegrown School Lunch Week, Sept. 22-26.  The week-long awareness activities are a result of the Jane Lawton Farm to School Program.

“We are very excited by the increasing interest and activity this program is garnering in the local school systems and among farmers,” said Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson.  “The program is in its infancy this year and is gaining momentum. As it grows, the program has great potential to help sustain the health of our families and farm economies for years to come.”

The Homegrown School Lunch Week, an element of the Lawton program, was created during the 2008 Session of the Maryland General Assembly when SB 158 Farm-to-School Program – Activities and Promotional Events, sponsored by Senator Jamie Raskin and Del. Sheila Hixson of Montgomery County, was signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley in May.

“Teaching our children about the connection between farming and food today will ensure that tomorrow they make decisions that are the most beneficial for the farming community, our environment, the economy and the general health of all Marylanders,” said State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy Grasmick.  “It is great to see so many schools and school systems participating and hopefully local foods will become the norm in school lunches.”

So, how can you get children to eat more fruits and vegetables at school? Preliminary findings from a recent study by University of Maryland researchers show that kids will eat fruits and vegetables at school with a little help and that there are actually a number of ways to accomplish that.

The three types of interventions involved teacher training with a tested curriculum and parent events, teacher’s use of the curriculum without events involving parents, and an Extension educator teaching in student classrooms. All three approaches produced similar results, which supported the researchers’ hypothesis. They found that repeated exposure – through taste testing – to fruits and vegetables matters, and that even moderate interventions, focused on repeated tasting, make a difference.

“Fruits and vegetables are a key contributor to children’s health,” says Dr. Bonnie Braun, associate professor in Department of Family Science at the university’s School of Public Health. “Unfortunately, national reports indicate that children’s consumption of these foods normally decreases from kindergarten to fifth grade. Students from low-income families are particularly at risk of inadequate intake. Our hypothesis was that school-based interventions, focused on increasing children’s preference for fruits and vegetables, would be associated with an increase in consumption both in school and at home”

The program will bring more Maryland-grown products to school lunches and  educate students about where their food comes from, how it is produced, and the benefits of a healthy diet. Educational materials, menus, places to find local products and much more for parents, teachers, and food service staff are available at http://www.marylandfarmtoschool.org.

The research is part of a series of studies under Project FRESH, a school-based nutrition education program designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption – especially of products grown by Maryland-producers – among elementary school children.The project is conducted by the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Food Stamp Nutrition Education program, with MCE educators providing the curriculum and teacher education.

Funding is provided by AGNR, the Maryland Department of Human Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.In addition to the week’s events, teachers get given educational materials to help students make the connection between the food they eat and the agricultural process.

For more information about farm to school, please visit http://www.marylandfarmtoschool.org. For more information about the study, contact Dr. Bonnie Braun, 301-405-3581 or 301-335-4335; bbraun@umd.edu

USA SOFTBALL COACHING SCHOOL

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the official date of the first USA Softball Coaching School presented by Liberty Mutual Group. Hosted and locally sponsored by Maryland- D.C. and Piedmont ASA, the Coaching School will take place November 21-23 at the Mattapeake Elementary School in Kent Island, Md.

The school will consist of first hand instruction from the 2008 U.S. Olympic softball team coaching staff and their daily preparation for international competition. The school will be limited to only 250 coaches and cost is $175.00 before October 1 and $200.00 after.

Coach Mike Candrea will also host a ‘Hitting Clinic’ in conjunction with the coaching school. The clinic will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. as Session #1 and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. for Session #2. Each session will have a maximum of 64 students. Once the clinic is filled there will be no walk-ins accepted. Cost of the hitting clinic will be $200.00 per player for five hours of instruction. Each participant will receive a clinic shirt, snacks and water.

For more information, please contact Jack Hutcherson at jocommish@mddcasa.org.

High-tech testing, tolls pondered for Bay Bridge

by Margie Hyslop Staff Writer

The License Plate Recognition News

Transportation officials are looking at removing toll booths from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and adding high tech testing to annual inspections.

The changes are being considered as motorists endure multi-mile backups so workers can repair the older eastbound span where hidden deterioration was discovered after a tractor-trailer ran through the barrier Aug. 10.

Regular inspections are visual and could not have detected the corroded steel components found by radar and ultrasound probes ordered after the fatal accident.

“We are clearly going to revisit and work with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Highway [Administration] to see if we should do more non-destructive testing,” said Geoffrey Kohlberg, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority which operates and maintains the bridge.

Such testing is more expensive, Kohlberg said, but “as far as the authority is concerned, money is not the issue. We are going to do what’s needed ….”

For example, Kohlberg said, ground-penetrating radar tests recently conducted could be done on all the concrete, but he said it makes sense to figure out how to get a reasonable sample – perhaps 5 percent distributed across the spans with different spots checked each year.

But Sen. E.J. Pipkin said he has lost confidence in the agency’s ability to determine what tests are needed.

“If that concrete had not fallen into the Bay they would not have found the corrosion,” said Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Stevensville, who has called for the state to begin making plans for another bridge and for a full independent inspection of the bridge.

“This is a significant warning shot — there are no excuses not to take this to the absolute best level,” Pipkin said.

Kohlberg said the authority has checked 700, about half, of the bolts in the 56-year-old eastbound span and found corrosion in 150.

As for ending manual toll collection, and the traffic kinks it causes, that was on the table before the accident, authority spokeswoman Cheryl M. Sparks said.

The move would require motorists to buy an electronic E-Z Pass and place it in their vehicle where it can be read by sensors at toll facilities.

E-Z Pass is used in 12 states and motorists can use their pass at any E-Z Pass facility.

With “open road” or boothless tolling, motorists crossing the bridge without an E-Z pass would have their license plate photographed, said James Crawford, executive director of the E-Z Pass Interagency Group. Using the photograph, the state would send a bill.

Infrequent or one-time users can also pre-register and get billed a lower rate, but administrative and mailing costs are added to the toll for travelers without an E-Z Pass, Crawford said.

Open road tolling is planned for the Intercounty Connector, linking Gaithersburg and Laurel. It also is being used or planned for parts of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Port Authority facilities in New York and New Jersey, Crawford said.

At the Bay Bridge, traffic flow improves about 22 percent when tolls are not taken.

“If you have statistics that show [that] why not require [removing tolls]” when back-ups are bad, asked Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton, who, with Pipkin, left the Republican National Convention early to meet with Queen Anne’s County and state officials about the bridge.

Smigiel has also requested specifics about the ability of bridge barriers to withstand a crash.

“I want to know if we are making bad choices,” he said.

Fundraiser For Sarah Meyers

The family and friends of Kent Island resident Sarah Meyers, who is fighting lymphoma, are holding a fund raiser for her at the Grasonville Fire Department between 5 and 9 pm, Sept. 13. A spaghetti dinner, a raffle, and a silent auction are planned. Further donations can be sent to Sarah Miles Fundraiser, POB 224, Chester MD.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Nixes Ban on Unicorn Rubble-Fill

By Steve Lash

A Maryland law aimed at preventing the construction and operation of a rubble landfill near a Queen Anne’s County lake has been struck down as unconstitutionally targeting and burdening a single company.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Martin P. Welch ruled that the 2007 law, barring the state environmental agency from approving a rubble landfill within four miles of Unicorn Lake, violates the Maryland Constitution’s prohibition on “special” laws, those aimed at a specific person or company to prevent the individual or entity from taking otherwise lawful action.

The target of the controversial law, referred to in court papers as Chapter 161, was Days Cove Reclamation Company Inc., which at the time of the statute’s enactment was nearing state approval to build and operate a landfill within 1,000 feet of the lake, Welch said.

The landfill, first proposed in 1993, has drawn opposition from nearby residents and the Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners, which originally supported the planned facility. Chapter 161 does not mention Days Cove by name, but Welch stated in his decision that the waste-management company was clearly the sole target of the legislation.

Days Cove was the only company the board had approved to operate a landfill near the lake, Welch wrote. In addition, Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Queen Anne’s County, wrote during General Assembly consideration of the measure that the legislation, which he sponsored, was an effort to “stop this landfill,” Welch stated.

“The plaintiff is a member of a class of one,” Welch wrote. “Although Chapter 161 does not explicitly or specifically identify plaintiff [Days Cove], it does implicitly identify plaintiff. This distinction does not weaken the argument for the finding of a special law.”

Welch added that other statutes calling for state approval before landfills can be built provide opponents with adequate opportunity to object without unconstitutionally singling out a single entity.

No special favors

James J. Doyle III, Days Cove’s attorney, hailed Welch’s decision not only as a victory for his client but as sending a message to legislators that “there are limits” to their efforts to block specific companies from engaging in otherwise lawful endeavors.

“It is significant in that it does say that there is life to the special-law provision in the Constitution,” said Doyle, of counsel at Rich & Henderson P.C. in Annapolis. “You don’t really see many challenges or things overturned on that basis.”

Doyle, who could have litigated the case in Queen Anne’s County, said he opted for Baltimore City Circuit Court because the named defendant in the case, the Maryland Department of the Environment, is based there.

Though MDE was the named defendant, the case was argued by Assistant Attorney General Daniel A. Friedman, counsel to the General Assembly. He argued unsuccessfully that Chapter 161 was constitutional.

The Special Law prohibition tells the General Assembly, “Don’t give anybody special favors,” Friedman said. “Don’t single me out to be treated good or bad.”

Chapter 161 should have passed constitutional muster because it did not single out Days Cove but barred any company from building and operating a landfill near Unicorn Lake, Friedman said.

The attorney general’s office has not yet decided whether it will appeal, Friedman said.

Fifteen years

Welch’s ruling marked the latest event in a 15-year effort by Days Cove to construct the landfill near Unicorn Lake.

The 43-acre lake was created nearly 150 years ago when a dam was constructed for a woolen mill. The lake was purchased by the state for $1 in 1961; it is used as a largemouth bass and bluegill fishery and contains a wide variety of other fish.

In 1994, Days Cove’s landfill proposal had the approval of the Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners, which amended the county’s solid-waste management plan to permit the facility near the lake.

The board, however, altered course in 1996 after Days Cove applied for a state permit with the MDE. The commissioners attempted to amend the solid-waste management plan to block the landfill, an effort the Court of Special Appeals struck down as pre-empted by state law.

The county also turned to the General Assembly.

In 2006, the legislature passed a three-year moratorium preventing MDE from issuing landfill permits for projects within four miles of the lake. A year later, it made the prohibition permanent by enacting Chapter 161.

Prior to the 2006 law, Days Cove had sought and received MDE approval of the first two phases of the agency’s three-phase approval process before landfill construction could begin.

Welch’s ruling, barring appeal, clears the way for the company to seek approval of the third and final phase, Doyle said.

“There’s no indication that MDE will not do a proper job in processing this permit,” he added.

Originally published by Steve Lash.

(c) 2008 The Daily Record (Baltimore). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

MdTA Prepares For Severe Weather

As the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) prepares its seven toll facilities for potentially severe weather, it has no immediate plans to close any facilities in anticipation of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hanna.

Any decision to close a toll facility would be based upon current weather and road conditions at a given facility or after consultation the Maryland Emergency Management Administration (MEMA). The Authority will make every effort to keep all of its facilities open as long as conditions are deemed safe to do so.

As the weather event materializes, wind warnings and restrictions may be instituted at the Authority’s bridges, which includes the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge (US 50/301), the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695), the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge (US 301) and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40):

· Wind Warnings (sustained wind speeds between 30 and 39 mph): Operators of house trailers, box trailers, motorcycles and other vehicles vulnerable to high winds (such as vehicles with roof mount racks containing cargo) will be advised to use caution when crossing.

· Wind Restrictions (sustained wind speeds between 40 and 49 mph): House trailers, empty box trailers and other vehicles vulnerable to high winds (such as vehicles with roof mount racks containing cargo) will be prohibited from crossing.

· Wind Restrictions (wind speeds exceeding 50 mph): Only automobiles, pickup trucks, flatbed trailers, commercial buses and heavy-laden tractor/ trailers will be permitted to cross the bridges. Tractor-box trailer combinations with a gross weight of less than 64,000 pounds will not be permitted to cross the bridges.

· Bridge Closure (wind speeds exceeding 55 mph): Authority staff will hold bridge traffic until weather conditions improve.

Motorists may access information regarding emergency closures at Maryland’s toll facilities by visiting http://www.mdtransportationauthority.com or the State’s CHART website at http://www.traffic.md.gov. Call 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) or visit baybridge.com for current Bay Bridge traffic conditions. Call 1-888-MDTA (6382)-411 or visit http://www.hatembridge.com for current Hatem Bridge traffic conditions.

Authority, 2310 Broening Highway, Suite 150, Baltimore MD 21224 – (866)713-1596.

BAY BRIDGE MEETING AT KIHS

On Wednesday, September 3, the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) will hold a public meeting in the Kent Island High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Concerns about the closure of the Bay Bridge’s eastbound span’s right lane will be addressed.

From a Queen Anne’s County Chamber of Commerce press release:

“Commuters traveling home to the Eastern Shore during rush hour have been met with traffic back-ups as long as five miles since the closure began earlier this week…County emergency services personnel have been working with the MdTA and other state agencies to address concerns regarding transport of emergency vehicles across the Bay Bridge during the lane closure. Officials from the MdTA and the county Department of Emergency Services will be at the meeting to address concerns.”

Long traffic lines are making it extremely difficult to cross the bridge for commutes, beach weekends, or just to shop or attend an event.