Red? Blue? Green?

(CP did not write this--it is reprinted here for you...)
NEWS RELEASE: The Maryland League of Conservation Voters’ 2008 General Assembly Scorecard evaluates the environmental records for every one of our state Senators and Delegates.
www.mdlcv.org//scorecards/08scorecard-1

This scorecard is all about YOU, the conservation voter, and is intended to give you the "real score" on your legislators at a time when it seems everyone claims to be an environmentalist. Are they representing YOUR voice or not? Take a look at your legislators' score below to see if their dedication to protecting the environment matches YOUR own.

We hope you will use this scorecard as a tool, and help us spread the word, because the more often we let our elected officials know that we are watching--and--counting their votes on environmental issues, the more power we have as conservationists.

I'm also excited to share a birdseye view of who is voting for the the environment and who is not. Click here to see an interactive Google map of your Senators and a map of your Delegates.

You can continue reading the online verison of our scorecard to see how your legislators voted in committee, who got a 100%, and more.

Forward this message to a friend

Here is the overall score for each of YOUR legislators:

Senator John C. Astle (D)
State Senate District 30
410-841-3578 (Capitol)
410-263-3053 (District)
2008 Maryland LCV Score --- 86%

Delegate Michael Busch (D)
State House District 30
410-841-3800 (Capitol)
410-222-7300 (District)
2008 Maryland LCV Score --- 90%


Delegate Virginia P. Clagett (D)
State House District 30
410-841-3211 (Capitol)
410-841-3216 (District)
2008 Maryland LCV Score --- 88%

Delegate Ron George (R)
State House District 30
410-841-3439 (Capitol)
2008 Maryland LCV Score --- 33%

Call your legislator and tell them what YOU think of their score today!

We hope to get this year's scorecard into the hands of as many people as possible. Your donation of $100, $50, or even $35 right now will help us reach more Marylanders to let them know the "real score" and hold their elected officials accountable.

Check out the news stories about the scorecard release from our press conference yesterday:

Baltimore Examiner/AP: Economy cited in lower environment scores for Md. lawmakers
Gazette: Reporter’s Notebook: Lawmakers not quite green around the gills
Annapolis Capital: Schuh, Rosapepe score well on environmental issues

Sincerely,

Cindy Schwartz, Executive Director

P.S. Call Aaron at 410-280-9855 x 204 to request a copy.

Obama--Born in Kenya? Maybe. Ahhhnold The Governator--Born in Austria? Definitely

CP got this note circulating around cyberspace that Obama was born in Kenya and therefore is constitutionally ineligible to serve as president. Well that should be pretty easy to figure out. What's his birth certificate say? Nairobi General or Chicago Medical Center (or some such place in the US of A...)?

I was thinking. Is Clinton behind this? Or is it some kind of Republican scheme? Maybe it's the same people that wanted to amend the Constitution so that Schwarzenegger would be eligible to be president. The irony would make my head swim.

Only Bruce Springsteen could straighten this one out. I was born in the USA.....

Yeah...That About Sums Things Up

In a continuation of this love fest going on between CP and the up and coming Arundel Crime blog, we read the following from that local blog:

Annapolis Capital Punishment

This blog is opinionated (as all good blogs should be), is not afraid to call someone on the carpet (as a good journalist should do) and is very entertaining! My only word of caution is that if you are a BMW driving, waterfront dwelling yuppie with a private school sticker in your window, make sure your skin is a little tough. But don't be shy, if you agree, or disagree, give it right back!

When you are on a blog, participate. Agree? Say so! Disagree? Say so. It is a two way street and everyone wins when everyone's opinions are shared!



1 comments:

A.W. said...

I read it. I like it!
June 12, 2008 1:40 PM



I don't think I could have said it better....

Visit Arundel Crime at: www.arundelcrime.blogspot.com

Is Mayor Moyer Playing Games With Crime Study?

The Capital and Annapolitans United Against Crime may be on to something. The City is about to release a report about crime and policing in Annapolis and some alderman are concerned that the mayor may be suppressing some of the report. What's the big deal? We, the taxpayers and the residents of Annapolis deserve to see the entire report. Whether or not the mayor likes it or thinks some of it is not accurate is not the point. We can sort it out and her behavior simply makes everything suspicious. What gets me is how she is coming out now and claiming that anything any other alderman or political opponent is saying about anything is motivated by the mayoral election---still a year and a half away!!! CP has begged readers to simply ignore the mayoral election until about six months before the election or spring of 2009. Puhleeze! And please Mayor Moyer, get real and stop whining about supposed political machinations.

Here is what I got from Annapolitans United Against Crime:

Annapolitans United Against Crime members, we need you! Please make an all out effort to attend the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, June 16th @ 5:00PM. the meeting will be held in the City Council chambers.

The single agenda item for the meeting is the presentation of the ICMA data analysis and findings about crime and policing in Annapolis. This is an extremely important meeting and should be attended by all who can make the 5 PM meeting time. The Annapolis Chief of Police will attend this meeting and comment on the ICMA findings.

Two members (Alderman Arnett and Alderman Cordle) of the Public Safety Committee have worked for months to get our city council to complete and make public the ICMA (International City/County Management Association) crime report. And now the Mayor's wants to make only parts of the report available to the public.

This is a study we all paid for ($60,000)and no part of it should be squelched. We all need to know what we are dealing with in order to make an adequate crime plan for the future.

Please come show your support for full and total disclosure of the report.

In case you missed it here is the link to The Capital's recent story about the ICMA's report and the Mayor's attempt to suppress it.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_13-25/CAN

Even if you can't make the early time, come anyway as this may go long and spill over into a council work session.

Thanks,

Helena Hunter

AUAC, Steering Commitee


Here is what The Capital says about it:

www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/readne/2008/06_13-25/CAN

Oh Wow Maan!

A recent AP story indicates that today's marijuana is the most potent it has been in 30 years. This is a study done by the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project. No doubt a think tank led by some former Woodstockian.

Wonder how their enROLLment numbers look?

But in seriousness, the drug use seems to be the bane of the crime here in the area. More potent weed cannot be good!

3 Crimes 3 Outcomes..What Do You Think?

Three headlines in last evening's Capital really highlight what is wrong with the system.

• Grand jury cannot indict a 15 year old that beat a homeless man to death with a baseball bat.
• A convicted armed robber who was given a second chance gets 5 years in fatal crash in stiolen vehicle
• Man gets 46 years for sex abuse

A Grand Jury cannot indict a kid for beating a man to death with a baseball bat? This is NOT the trial; and if you have read any of the background, it certainly seems like an easy indictment. Now he is facing 5 years in a juvenile facility. Certainly there is some middle ground here and I am all for second chances, but a 15 year old certainly knows (or should know) right from wrong.

Get nailed for armed robbery and get your 10 years reduced to 5 months. Steal a car and crash it and kill someone and you get a sentence of 10 years, but Judge Mulford II reduces it to 5 years. And this is considered a harsh sentence? Martha Stewart did more time than this guy will and she didn't kill anyone.

The only crime story that makes sense is the 46 years for abusing a kid. Finally a judge saw what was going on and threw the book at him. This was his third time abusing kids since 1991 and hopefully he will serve the full time and come out at age 87!

What do you think? Fair? Not? Not enough info? Leave your comments and let's talk about it! You can comment anonymously if you wish! Just click the COMMENT link at the bottom!

SUV's Stupid, Ugly Vehicles....

Okay--this is sure to offend since somebody out there who is driving one of those guzzlers...as they are trying to unload them as quickly as possible too...but here's a story sure to show up one driver of a late model fancy SUV parked at the Eastport Giant Supermarket. One of CP's friends swears it's true, but...so, he pulls into a parking spot to shop and this huge SUV is parked at an angle sticking over into the spot he's trying to occupy. To the other side of the SUV is the little hut for the unused shopping carts so it's not as if the SUV driver had to park so poorly--he or she just did it and did not care. As my friend is trying to get out of his car, he notices an entire set of keys is sitting on the front seat AND the doors are unlocked. He glances around and then scribbles a note:

Dear SUV (Stupid Ugly Vehicle)driver

"Great--first you can't park, then you leave your keys sitting on the front seat and you did not lock the doors." He opens the door, throws the note on to the driver's seat and casually does his shopping....end of story? I can think of a few ways I might have handled such a situation, including ignoring it....but my friend? That's another story...and speaking of another story, CP invites readers to write in with their own ending....

Blog Of Note!

Well, if you are reading this blog, (agree with me or not) you obviously have an interest in your community. It may be your local neighborhood, your city, or the entire county or state.

It pays to be informed and to listen to the opinions of others and there are several good sources in the blogosphere worth reading.

One of my must reads daily is:

Annapolis Capital Punishment

This blog is opinionated (as all good blogs should be), is not afraid to call someone on the carpet (as a good journalist should do) and is very entertaining! My only word of caution is that if you are a BMW driving, waterfront dwelling yuppie with a private school sticker in your window, make sure your skin is a little tough. But don't be shy, if you agree, or disagree, give it right back!

When you are on a blog, participate. Agree? Say so! Disagree? Say so. It is a two way street and everyone wins when everyone's opinions are shared!

Our City's Most Important Assets.....are not parking spaces...

They are our creeks and waterfronts. We are now in the process of doing a survey and inventory which will hopefully result in studies and reports that will propel us to take action to improve and preserve our creeks. Do you know how many creeks there are in the city? Can you name all the coves and points of land? There is something special and important about naming geographic and topographical places and learning about their history and the origin of the name. This is something every Annapolitan should know and that every school child should be taught in this town.

Here is the official news release:

The City of Annapolis has just awarded an $80,000 contract for the Annapolis
Watershed Study to a local firm McCrone, Inc. This comprehensive study will
involve the filming and digital mapping of problem spots in each creek,
along with extensive public outreach in the form of public meetings.

This unique Urban Watershed Study will focus comprehensively on the four
creeks that flow into the Scenic Severn River (Weems, College, Spa and Back)
with four strategic goals:

* Provide scientific and mapping data for all four watersheds; computing the
impervious surface and tree canopy coverage;

* Identify the condition of all water quality and quantity control
structures;

* Recommend specific opportunities for recreation, habitat restoration, and
the improvement of historical sites, including a walking trail/greenway
between Weems Creek and Back Creek;

* Develop an overall restoration and enhancement strategy for all four
creeks.

The study is expected to be completed by November of 2008

The City is encouraging residents, environmental activists, churches,
schools, businesses and all other concerned stakeholders in each watershed
to help with this ambitious endeavor by contacting the City and sharing your
observations and recommendations. The City hopes that all of the residents
of Annapolis can play a part in restoring our once vibrant and healthy
creeks to their past glory. To get involved, please contact Shannon Rose at:
annapoliswater@yahoo.com or the Mayor's Office at 410 263 7997
-end news release--

CP says: I think we should thank Mayor Moyer and the City Council for taking action last year to fund this important project. We hope to keep you informed about what is happening.

AMEN TO THAT!!!! The Capital is right on this time...

The Capital, our number two source of news and information (hey I'm the underdog here, like Avis, so I try harder...) has done us all a great good with its latest editorial titled "City needs to move from brainstorming to realistic action." It starts by quoting a DC business leader who says our crime problem is directly related to public housing! Yes--keep saying it and keep working on it. The editors write, "To do it justice, the panel did pinpoint three of Annapolis' central needs: better mass transportation, smarter waterfront redevelopment and improved public housing." Yes, yes and more yes. However, please don't refer to it as mass transit as we are a small town, a community and it is more appropriate to call it public or community transit and really what we need is overall improved transportation anyhow--not just with buses.

Imagine that!!!! CP readers know that I have repeatedly bemoaned the totally inappropriate use of our waterfront downtown for parking, the pressing needs of our transportation system and the crucial issue of public housing. When CP ran unsuccessfully for City Council, I campaigned on three major themes which were our Cars (transportation), our Creeks (waterfront)and our City Management (including who oversees public housing). My successful opponent, Ross Arnett, essentially took those same themes on after he beat me in the primary (with the exception of the City Manager issue and he had originally campaigned without any substantive issues). So it is gratifying to know that while I lost the battle, we may be winning the war--slowly but surely. Even Ross and others are now talking seriously about the need for restructuring government....which brings me to the next point.

None of these things will take place with this administration or with a City Council that usually prefers either to side with the Mayor, avoid tough issues, argue among themselves, or focus on non-essential issue or even issues that they have no business working on in the first place. But mainly they have little power because we keep their hands tied and give it all to the mayor.

These urban experts and The Capital are right. However, we will soon enter a real mayoral race, and I expect we'll hear all kinds of proclamations and promises, but who will stand up and tell us what we need to hear and not what we think we want to hear? Who'll be the next in line? Based on experience locally and nationally, we'll be afraid to elect the soothsayer and would rather vote for the ones who will speak glibly.

Read The Capital's editorial here www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_10-19/OPN, and tell them to give CP a little credit or referral once in a while--that would be a real public service!

Abduction Attempt...Cover Up Attempt?

The Capital, the The Sun and all the local television stations have both reported on the recent abduction attempt of a woman along Poplar Avenue yesterday. It is a relief that this person, James Haney, was stopped (props to the construction workers) and arrested and hopefully will feel the force of the courts coming down on them.

While this story has a good ending, I consider this a violent crime. And I wonder why it was put on the back burner yesterday when it happened.

From the Police Report emailed at 12:32PM

This concludes the Annapolis Police - Neighborhood Watch - Community Policing Report. Remember, "Reducing Criminal Opportunities is Crime Prevention. (Below not read in broadcast version, included in E-Mail and WEB versions only) Contact us by E-Mail at: apdcommunityservices@annapolis.gov

5. ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION: On June 10th at 8:26 AM, a motorist reported seeing what appeared to be an attempted abduction. The caller said that the driver of a blue Toyota pulled over next to an adult female pedestrian as she was walking on Poplar Avene near Locust Avenue. The driver of the Toyota, a male, got out of the car and grabbed the pedestrian by the arm and tried to pull her towards a wooded area, according to the witness. She screamed for help. Other motorists stopped and focused their attention on the suspect and victim. Apparently, that was enough to cause him to give up his attempt. The victim ran back to one of the other cars in the area, and that driver allowed her to get in her car. She then drove the victim to the police station. The suspect got back in his car and drove off. Witnesses were able to give a good description of the suspect*s vehicle, as well as the tag number. A responding officer spotted the car on the East side of Poplar Avenue. The suspect refused to stop for the officer. The officer followed until the suspect vehicle struck a parked Ford Pick up truck on Poplar Avenue. The suspect then drove off the roadway up onto a grassy hill medium. Officers were close behind and the suspect got out of his car brandishing a knife. He was ordered to drop the knife and gunpoint and did so. He then began to flee on foot, but some construction workers form a house remodeling project nearby had seen the events and were lining up in a manner to stop the suspect. Apparently the suspect took note of this and gave up his escape attempt. He was taken into custody without further incident. The female victim was located, who said that she does not know the suspect. She was identified as a 39 year old Arundel on The Bay Road resident. The suspect was identified as a 34 year Richard James Haney of the 1400 block of Norcross Lane in Severn, Maryland. He is currently in custody and is expected to be formally charged this afternoon with Attempted Abduction and other related offenses. (08-003507)

I have no idea why this type of crime should be hushed up? Is there an edict coming from a political office? But it seemed that the police did an about face (save face) move an hour later with a Press Release detailing what they already did not broadcast.

Kudos for offering the email service of crimes. Kudos for doing the WNAV report. Big Kudos for catching this guy. But why was this not a lead item in the police report? Why was this not broadcast on the radio? Did they just figure the Capital and other media might miss it and we could go on wiht the pretense that we live in a safe little haven called Lilliput?

Two Recent Crime Incidents...A Blue Toyota, and A Blue BMW...and a Ford Pickup...APD Blues???

These two recent incidents are perhaps only related in a sublime sense (for those of you out there who don't know what sublime means, have another Margarita...and see what's beneath the ice and fruit slice) they perhaps each tell us something about the human condition and prospect--one positive and one negative (from the police reports...):

5. ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION: On June 10th at 8:26 AM, a motorist reported
seeing what appeared to be an attempted abduction. The caller said that
the driver of a blue Toyota pulled over next to an adult female
pedestrian as she was walking on Poplar Avenue near Locust Avenue. The
driver of the Toyota, a male, got out of the car and grabbed the
pedestrian by the arm and tried to pull her towards a wooded area,
according to the witness. She screamed for help. Other motorists stopped
and focused their attention on the suspect and victim. Apparently, that
was enough to cause him to give up his attempt. The victim ran back to
one of the other cars in the area, and that driver allowed her to get in
her car. She then drove the victim to the police station. The suspect
got back in his car and drove off. Witnesses were able to give a good
description of the suspect*s vehicle, as well as the tag number. A
responding officer spotted the car on the East side of Poplar Avenue.
The suspect refused to stop for the officer. The officer followed until
the suspect vehicle struck a parked Ford Pick up truck on Poplar Avenue.
The suspect then drove off the roadway up onto a grassy hill medium.
Officers were close behind and the suspect got out of his car
brandishing a knife. He was ordered to drop the knife and gunpoint and
did so. He then began to flee on foot, but some construction workers
form a house remodeling project nearby had seen the events and were
lining up in a manner to stop the suspect. Apparently the suspect took
note of this and gave up his escape attempt. He was taken into custody
without further incident. The female victim was located, who said that
she does not know the suspect. She was identified as a 39 year old
Arundel on The Bay Road resident. The suspect was identified as a 34
year Richard James Haney of the 1400 block of Norcross Lane in Severn,
Maryland. He is currently in custody and is expected to be formally
charged this afternoon with Attempted Abduction and other related
offenses. (08-003507)

In the above, we see how the actions of decent persons in cooperation with our professional police officers kept a severe crime from happening and helped a citizen in danger. We can only hope the judge will be firm. Below is a little different kind of story...but is it? Is this a white collar crime? A blue collar crime? A blue BMW crime?

NEW---POLICE UPDATE: The suspect, Richard James Haney, is currently being held at
the Detention Center in lieu of a $750,000.00 bond. He will have a bail
review later today. He made no statements, and his motives/intent are
still unknown. Many thanks to the citizens that assisted us with this
case.


10. HIT AND RUN : 6/9 9:58 PM Chesapeake Ave. And Bowen Alley - a
flagman for a utility repair project reported that a motorist in a blue
BMW pulled up to him and cursed him for the traffic delay. The suspect
then struck the flagman in the knee with the front bumper of the car.
He then left the scene. The flagman declined medical treatment.
(08-003497)

Aahh the high and mighty, driving around in their fancy cars, late, busy, self-centered and self-important and angry at a guy standing out in 100 degree heat just doing his job to keep everybody in traffic safe and orderly. Mr. Blue BMW gets angry! Luckily nobody was hurt. Hey you, Mr. Blue BMW driving ---hole, OUT OF THE GENE POOL!!!! You are everything that stinks about this great country.

Can anybody help locate and bring this Blue BMW driving criminal to justice?

We send our best wishes to the flagman.

Anne Arundel Crime...another local blog for your edification

Crime in Annapolis or Anne Arundel County is the focus of a new blog called Anne Arundel Crime arundelcrime.blogspot.com is the new kid on the block discussing not only crime in our area; but the resulting sentences which seem to be getting more and more lenient. If you are looking for strong opinion on local crime, take a minute to check it out and leave a comment or two. Have a tip? You can submit it.

Some recent excerpts (provided by thew publisher of Anne Arundel Crime and not endorsed by CP):

* We are on the cusp of potentially electing our first black president who is calling for a change in America and we now have to deal with death threats to graduates? As my son would say, "WTF?"
* When was the last time a cop pounced into the County Council Chambers to reprimand Josh Cohen, Jamie Benoit and Daryl Jones for one of their bonehead ideas? (CP does not endorse...but merely is providing what this blog publisher has written)
* The evening paper had some encouraging news. A murderer was sentenced to 17 years and a crack addict who maimed his girlfriend was sentenced to 7. Boy this is a far cry from the days when a man can molest his own daughter and get house arrest for a few months!
* I Bet Australia Is Pissed At Us (the Thunder From Down Under Caper)
* Judge Manck is retiring. Seems rather abrupt and I wonder if it had anything to do with his recent sentence of the child molester in Severna Park? I am glad he is retiring. Maybe now, there will be an appointment of a judge with some backbone.

Our city, our county, and our police departments are quietly reading this blog--here is a good chance for you to make your voices heard. All comments are accepted and encouraged. So, check it out....Anne Arundel Crime...Crime is rampant! Justice is a joke!

Harrowing Tales of Surviving The Savage Chesapeake....Jump! Jump! Jump!

As further evidence of the imminent collapse of western civilization, we learn that the woman who was recently rescued in the Bay (see our post a couple days ago)did not just fall off her boat--SHE JUMPED! That's right-she jumped because she thought the boat would capsize. That was a big storm, although not so unusual for a hot summer afternoon here, but it takes a lot to capsize a 27 foot boat and even so, were it to capsize, it would likely have righted immediately. Instead, this "sailor" leaps to safety, and quickly got separated from her boat--without a PFD. SO, because she was worried the boat might capsize, she throws herself into yet more danger and leaves the one thing that actually floated.

It goes back to the old voyager's adage: "You never step down into a liferaft."

A "PFD" is the official name for a personal flotation device, aka "lifejacket" but I have another name for PFD, as in Pretty F@%^&$! Dumb if you jump off a boat in a storm....especially if you are not wearing one.

Anyhow--happy ending for her...after a lengthy and frantic and costly rescue, she is safe. She must have been a strong swimmer and apparently her strengths are in her legs and lungs, and not further up. Now the question is whether she will use those strong legs and lungs to reproduce and pass on her genes, thereby almost guaranteeing the future need for search and rescue services. Thanks to the Annapolis Fire Dep't and other agencies for the rescue and thanks to The Capital's Pam Wood for tracking this story down. See it at
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_10-08/TOP

The article is oddly headlined "Panic led to Chesapeake rescue" when in reality, it should have read "Panic led to the need for a rescue" and that would have been putting it charitably.

Our Police Really Let This Citizen Down...and he caught the perpetrator

FOIAMAN is another locally published blog for you to read!--besides CP of course....it is the creation of Ryan Bagwell, a former Capital reporter. Mr. Bagwell has developed an expertise in tracking down and researching government documents and using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)and he enjoys delving into the minutiae of bureaucracy.
However, his latest is a bit different in that he puts his investigative skills to track down the perpetrator of a crime against his property which he claims our own police disregarded. Many years ago, CP was the victim of a similar crime and was flummoxed that our police department did no investigation or collecting of evidence at the crime scene, nor did it follow up on a similar and related incident at almost the same time that would have likely led even closer to the perpetrator. See FOIAman's story at:

foiaman.blogspot.com/search/label/WRECKED%20FOIAGIRLMOBILE

SEEC....and you shall find??? Seec a leec? Storm und draing?

CP passes this on for your interest.

Stormwater Education Experience at Back Creek Nature Park!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Mayor Ellen Moyer, the Annapolis Recreation and Parks Department, the Friends of Back Creek Nature Park invite you to join us for a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating in Ward 7 for the new Stormwater Education Experience Center at Back Creek Nature Park.

Many of you have worked long and hard for several years alongside hundreds of our Naval Academy midshipmen to make this day possible.

The new Stormwater Education Experience Center, In partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment and Back Creek Nature Park will become a working stormwater control system with interactive learning stations including a faux beaver dam, water pumps and eco-paver pervious parking lot. Nineteen on-site learning stations will educate local school children and families from around the region about how stormwater run-off and other natural occurring events help or harm our waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay.
(I have just one question. Could they not come up with a better name than Stormwater Education Experience??? Actually I have more questions. Will Mayor Moyer driver and park illegally there?
What is a pervious parking lot? Pervious?--as in Musharaff? or as in a parking lot with sexual deviation?
What is a faux beaver dam? Is that for faux beavers? Or is it a faux dam for real beavers? Will a real beaver know the difference? Gee...I don't know Beav....will the city be harvesting the faux furs? Or would that be a faux paw? Or does that depend if it includes a paw or not? I give up.....
I know this is important and I am pleased we are taking the lead here, but while we have interactive learning stations, will this help repair our miserably outdated stormwater system and water pumping stations?

From The Capital....for your reading pleasure

I enjoy editor Tom Marquardt's columns on Sunday. Perhaps you will as well.
See for yourself at www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_08-17/OPN">www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_08-17/OPN">www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_08-17/OPN
Maybe one day he or another editor or reporter will refer someone to Capital Punishment as CP does regularly with The Capital, but CP ain't holding his breath....

Speaking of The Capital, you might want to check out what it says about the ongoing golf course issue. Once again we see how the city and the county and their two chief executives just can't get along and can't cooperate. This really makes me sad and angry and disappointed that these two governments and their top elected officials just can't seem to act like grownups. We expect a lot from them. We pay them a lot. We give them our power. Now Mr Leopold and Ms. Moyer--grow up! Stop being at odds and figure what is best for we the people. Hullloah! www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_08-35/TOP

Here is a headline plucked from today's paper..."Woman rescued by Annapolis fireboat two miles from shore." From time to time I comment on various nautical themes since CP is a professional sailor. I only hope I can stay out of such news stories. For example, this one concerns a woman without a life jacket, in the water, fallen from a sailboat, out in The Bay, in a storm......but here is what I cannot understand:

"The sailboat she was on lost power and went adrift in the storm, officials said. At 9:25 p.m., a person called to report the woman overboard in the bay."

The sailboat lost power? Went adrift? I assume this means the engine failed, but how does a sailboat lose power, unless there is no wind? One only goes adrift if one is not anchored and not sailing, or in some cases, it is known as lying a hull, but that's another story (see Adlard Coles, Eric Hiscock, Hal Roth, The Pardeys etc for more...)Since storms generally mean wind....duhh..why could the woman not sail? The reporter should have said "the sailboat's engine lost power"...but this is not an emergency. What does that have to do with her falling overboard? Okay, so she got tossed overboard. This can happen, but how? Why? How come no lifejacket? How dumb can this person be? We want to know more. Perhaps there will be a follow-up story. But it gets worse...The Capital reports that "While the Natural Resources Police towed the disabled sailboat to safety, other crews searched the area." The boat was towed? That means,....duhh...it was still floating, which is what boats are supposed to do, which is why you always stay near the boat...so...duhhh...why did this sailor not do that? Dis she really get thrown that far from the boat and lose it? And how big was the boat anyhow? Was she unable to reach the boat? Climb aboard? Was she alone? If the boat was being towed to safety (is that place named "Safety" marked on a nautical chart somewhere?) does that mean the boat was endangered? If so, from what?
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_08-53/TOP

We are glad the sailor is safe. I am available for sailing instruction and coaching--and I think she could use my services. But please, wear your PFD!!!! Otherwise you are PFD...as in pretty ======= dumb.