Recent Articles from Capital News Service
It’s a shell game, but it helps the Bay
CAMBRIDGE — One Maryland lab is using science to artificially create, feed and grow oyster larvae no bigger than a grain of sand to help restore the Chesapeake Bay. The Horn Point Hatchery, one of the largest oyster hatcheries on the East Coast, has just wrapped up its most successful season yet, producing a record […]
Horseshoe crabs: a biomedical harvest
ANNAPOLIS — Can you imagine looking almost exactly the same for more than 250 million years? Well, put yourself in the shell of a horseshoe crab — a primitive-looking critter that surfs up and down the Atlantic coast and has existed long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Today, biologists, biomedical companies and commercial harvesters study […]
Md. tech thrives on ‘problems that need solving’
WASHINGTON — One recent Saturday morning, Greg Merril watched a lacrosse practice with team coach Ray Megill in Potomac. But Merril was not there to scout standout players or to observe as a parent — he was looking for a big hit that could result in a brain injury. Merril’s Bethesda-based company, Brain Sentry, builds […]
Juveniles reap harvest of donated Thanksgiving dinner
ROCKVILLE – Jeannie’s only daughter sat next to her Tuesday, during a pre-Thanksgiving lunchtime at a Maryland detention center for teens. Metal tins brimmed with shredded turkey, ham and macaroni and cheese, and traces of saffron and pepper filled the air. This is the third year in a row that the teenage girl has been […]
Md. plants show big drop in greenhouse gases
WASHINGTON — Greenhouse gas emissions from Maryland’s power plants fell by more than 26 percent from 2010 to 2012, the sixth-largest drop in the nation during that time, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Only Massachusetts, Virginia, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia saw greater declines, according to the data released […]
No trans fat, no Berger Cookies?
COLLEGE PARK — A beloved Baltimore cookie may never taste the same if the FDA has its way with a proposed ban on trans fats. Berger Cookies, cake-like cookies topped with a thick slab of fudge, have been prepared with the same basic recipe since the 1800s in Baltimore. But two of the cookies’ key […]
Regulations threaten watermen’s tradition
ST. MICHAELS — It’s still dark outside when Guy Spurry and his 19-year-old son Austin begin their day. Beneath the darkness of the November sky, the two men drive past the Eastern Shore fishing village of Neavitt, and pull up to a dock where Guy Spurry’s 31-year-old boat, Voyager, rocks back and forth gently against […]
Maryland wine: California of the East?
COLLEGE PARK — Maryland’s wine industry, while not a powerhouse in the world of vino, has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, and the state has the potential to become a major center of wine production in time, experts said. But to realize that potential, the state has a number of challenges to overcome […]
Illegal immigrants start Maryland driver’s license process
ANNAPOLIS – Illegal immigrants can begin the process to get a Maryland driver’s license beginning Monday, Nov. 4, according to Philip Dacey, a spokesman for the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The first step is to schedule an appointment to get a driver’s license in January, Dacey said. Under the Maryland Highway Safety Act, passed in […]
Same-sex parents deal with patchwork of laws
COLLEGE PARK — When Emily Hecht-McGowan and her wife, Sharon McGowan travel outside of Maryland with their 1-year-old daughter, they take a Pack ‘n Play crib, diapers, formula, snacks, a stroller, toys — and lots of documents. The documents, like the diapers, are necessary protections for their daughter, Sadie. If she had a health emergency […]
Airplane orders boost durable goods in September
WASHINGTON — A jump in demand for commercial airplanes boosted orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods last month. But orders for most other goods fell as businesses cut spending, a possible sign of concern about the partial government shutdown that began Oct. 1. The Commerce Department said Friday orders for durable goods rose 3.7 percent […]
Not your father’s protest: Young back Libertarians
WASHINGTON — Rebecca Coates used to call herself a Republican, but increasingly found she had to be more specific. “For a long time I thought I was a Republican, but I was always having to add addendums like, ‘I’m Republican, but I think drugs should be legal,’ or ‘I’m Republican, but I don’t want us […]