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St. Mary's County
Residents in Southern Maryland may have noticed that inchworm-like creatures have wasted no time feasting on the area’s foliage since they appeared in early spring. With this year’s higher populations, the cankerworm has devoured tree leaves throughout Charles and St. Mary’s Counties. The worms are now finished their destructive caterpillar cycle and have returned to the ground to pupate.
“It is possible that the mild winter weather may be responsible for the spring cankerworm’s higher than normal population,” said Mark Muir, of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Service. “Because the defoliation occurred in early spring, most healthy trees will refoliate and survive.”
While property owners in St. Mary’s County will probably not be getting a tax rate increase next year, those on septic systems will be getting an increase on their tax bills in the form of a doubling of the flush tax from $30 to $60, thanks to a bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly.
And, homeowners served by the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) will also be seeing a doubling of the flush tax, from $2.50 to $5 per month. And those customers are also expected to receive substantial water and sewer service charge and system improvement charge increases.
Such impacts may, however, be the tip of the iceberg if the Watershed Improvement Plan (WIP) proposals are implemented in their fullest. The plan could require 6,500 homeowners now on septic systems to hook up to central sewage systems, at a projected cost of $176 million. Whether homeowners, government, or a combination of both pay for that in the end is very much up in the air.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded more than $4 million to the Southern Maryland Electrical Co-op in three Maryland counties.
The federal funds will help recovery efforts following last year’s Hurricane Irene. The award was announced Wednesday by Rep. Steny Hoyer.
There has been a traffic accident just south of the Hughesville bypass in Charlotte Hall. Charles County rescue crews were dispatched immediately and St. Mary’s County rescue crews were called to the scene at 7:24pm. Multiple patients are being flown out. One vehicle has caught on fire. A total of three patients are being transported. Police are investigating.
The ever-popular St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s River Concert Series on the shores of the St. Mary’s River begins its 14th year on June 22 and runs every Friday through July 27. The weekly celebration includes world-class music and delicious food from local vendors. Gates open at 5 p.m. and concerts start at 8 p.m. Renowned guest artists, including jazz vocalist Hilary Kole, pianist Brian Ganz, and jazz musician Don Stapleson will join music director Jeffrey Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra. The outdoor concerts are free and open to the public, and picnic baskets are welcome. For more information, visit the River Concert Series website at www.smcm.edu/riverconcert.
“God Paid It” is how she described the exciting turn of events. That’s how Rev. Marguerite Morris relates the circumstances that prevented the foreclosure of Leah’s House, the women’s homeless shelter she founded.
Channel 7 in Washington did a story about the imminent foreclosure of the facility located in the former Happyland Club in Valley Lee. Rev. Morris believes the story prompted a benefactor, who prefers to remain anonymous, to pony up enough money to pay for the more than $300,000 mortgage, which was discounted by the mortgage holder, Harbor Bank, according to Morris.
In an e-mail to supporters on Thursday, Morris wrote: “Well a few days ago, God had someone (who wished to remain anonymous) pay the mortgage off. Not a refinance or a loan. God has paid off the mortgage on the shelter property.”
... break ground in 2014
Prince George’s County could break ground by early 2014 on a new regional medical center that it plans to build with the state and the University of Maryland Medical System, if things go according to plan.
“The partnership is still there,” said Thomas Himler, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration, about the joint effort with the state and UMMS based in Baltimore
[...]
The county has partnered with the state and UMMS to build a $600 million regional medical center in central Prince George’s County that would serve the county and also southern Maryland.
[...]
In all, 401 town residents voted in the election, of which 40 were absentee voters. There are 1,564 registered voters in town.
Burris will preside over his first meeting on May 14, which will also be the first meeting on the council for Jay Mattingly and Hayden Hammett. They join Leslie Roberts, Tom Collier and Roger Mattingly on the council.
After the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office received numerous traffic safety complaints of motorists passing on the shoulder, the Traffic Safety Unit conducted a traffic initiative in the area of Maryland Route 5 just prior to Bay Ridge Road on February 27 and again on May 1.
On February 27, 2012 the Traffic Safety Unit conducted a traffic initiative in the area of Maryland Route 5 and Bay Ridge Road in Great Mills, Maryland from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The purpose of that operation was to educate drivers and enforce Maryland Traffic Law, and issued 163 warnings. May 1st was another story, Southern Maryland News Net estimates that over 50 tickets were written between 4:00 and 6:00pm. Many of the motorists on this day received a $110.00 fine and 1 point on their driving record.
Maryland law prohibits “Driving a motor vehicle off the roadway while passing a vehicle.” Motorist illegally passing on the shoulder of the roadway may receive a $110.00 fine and 1 point on their driving record. If the illegal passing contributes to a motor vehicle collision the penalty increases to a $150.00 fine and 3 points. A roadway is defined as “white line to white line.” The shoulder is not a designated as a travel portion of the roadway.
...Refocuses on Corporate Market
On a warm, bright Thursday morning, Jim Green sits on a park bench in Lafayette Square, intently poking and prodding his iPhone screen, engrossed in an intense game of “Angry Birds.”
For Green, a St. Mary’s County native working as an engineer in Washington, the popular iPhone game affords him the opportunity to temporarily escape the chaos of the city. He has a BlackBerry that he uses for business, but it is buried in his bag.
Maryland’s controversial development control initiative, Plan Maryland, was the topic of a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters’ Calvert and St. Mary’s chapters Tuesday, April 24. The 100 minute session was held at the Asbury Solomons Island Auditorium and attracted over 30 citizens.
The panel of experts were Rich Josephson, director of planning services for the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP); Charles Johnston, the director of the Calvert Department of Planning and Zoning; and Phillip Shire, the director of St. Mary’s County Land Use and Growth Management.
During their brief presentations, the three panelists conveyed their concerns about the future of the state and the two counties in particular. Josephson indicated state officials are fretting over a projected spike of 1 million residents during the next quarter century. The population increase is expected to require 500,000 new housing units and 600,000 new jobs by the year 2035. State officials are concerned Maryland could lose more farmland and forests as a result of the population growth.
The St. Mary’s County Commissioners are taking a go-slow approach to their local commitment to the state-mandated Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) that could carry a huge cost if carried out in its entirety. The plan could require the hookup of more than 6,000 septic systems at a cost estimated by the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission at $176 million, to be borne either by homeowners, government or both. Other counties in the Bay watershed are in similar situations for the Phase II WIP submission due to the state on June 30.
The commissioners, based on a presentation Tuesday by Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) staff, unanimously agreed to tell the state they are committed to whatever is in their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and are committed to looking at the next steps, but nothing more. That next step could involve hiring a consultant.
Much has been made of Maryland state legislators’ failure to pass an adequate state budget. But they left other important matters unfinished.
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In another energy-related matter, HB1204 never reached the Senate floor. The American Petroleum Institute lobbied heavily against the measure which would have studied the effects of the hydraulic “fracking” drilling method for natural gas which is proposed for three western Maryland counties. Again Dels. Wood, Fisher and O’Donnell voted “nay.”
Del. Wood defended his vote by commenting that many jobs and “proven, low-cost energy” would result from such drilling in Maryland. But studies indicate that many fewer jobs than projected by the industry would be developed, and that other economic sectors of the state economy, such as agriculture and tourism, would suffer.
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Food & Water Watch and Sierra Club are hosting a presentation of the award-winning documentary film “Gasland” Thursday, May 3, at the Charlotte Hall Library meeting room. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a brief discussion. For more information about the event, contact ff725@yahoo.com, or call 301-472-4279.
Nothing compares to the taste of just-picked produce or homemade baked goods, or the satisfaction of knowing that something was lovingly grown or prepared at a nearby farm. Fortunately, such delicacies are within our reach here in Southern Maryland. On almost any day of the week, we can find a farmers’ market to provide our families with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Ahhhh … summertime. Backyard barbecues, trips to the beach, lush gardens, long days and evenings spent enjoying the sweet sound of music in the open air. Outdoor concerts are a staple of summer in Southern Maryland. Families pack their picnic baskets and load the kids into the old red wagon. Friends meet to relax and socialize with the grass between their toes. Others prefer simply to focus on the music. However you choose to enjoy them, outdoor concerts are events not to be missed. Fortunately, our area boasts an abundance of them.
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