Ryan Ripken Follows In Cal's Big Footsteps

Gilman junior picked to play in Under Armour All-America game in Chicago next month

Cal Ripken Jr. was never pushed to play baseball by his father. The Iron Man adopted that same philosophy when bringing up his own son.

Turns out that Ryan Ripken, like his dad, grew to love baseball. And, just like his father, he's pretty darn good at the game.

Ryan Ripken has been selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game, which will be held next month at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Over the first three years of the game, 88 of the 103 draft-eligible players who competed in the game were selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft — including 18 first-round picks.

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Opposition Grows To ‘Gang Of Six Plan’

The compromise “Gang of Six” plan to get out of the debt ceiling crisis was blasted Wednesday by conservatives angered that any Republicans would be considering a plan that calls for $1 trillion in taxes -- under the guise of balancing the budget.

Paul Ryan, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the gang’s numbers don't add up. He described the plan as “a backroom bill."

And Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, complained that the gang plan was not written down. “Nothing [to] praise or criticize,” he tweeted before sending another message slapping down the National Journal for saying his organization had backed the plan.

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Williams No Longer Tiger's caddie

Tiger Woods has ended his 12-year relationship with Steve Williams as his caddie, the golfer announced Wednesday.

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Gun Dealer To Operate Out Of Police Headquarters

D.C. is dodging a legal bullet by allowing its only licensed gun dealer to operate out of police headquarters.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the city’s handgun ban in 2008, residents have been allowed to buy guns in other jurisdictions to keep in their D.C. homes, but it’s against the law for them to bring guns in themselves. They must transfer the guns to the District through a licensed gun dealer. That’s Charles Sykes, and his shop’s been closed for several months because he lost his lease.

With no dealer operating in town, D.C. was in legal trouble again. Three residents sued, saying their right to bear arms was being violated again.

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Female Managers Earn 30 Percent Less Than Male Counterparts

The gender gap is wider among managers than in the rest of the American workforce.

The typical female manager makes 29.9 percent less than her male counterpart, according to an On Numbers analysis of new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On Numbers is a numbers-driven blog operated by Bizjournals.com, a sister website of the Baltimore Business Journal.

The 7.35 million women in the management, business and financial operations category earned a median of $961 per week during the second quarter of 2011. The 8.78 million men in the same classification drew median pay of $1,371 per week.

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Sponsor To Keep Kids Farm Open At National Zoo

National Zoo says $1.4 million gift keeps popular Kids Farm open after plans to close exhibit

WASHINGTON (AP) -- State Farm Insurance is announcing a $1.4 million gift to the National Zoo to keep the popular Kids Farm exhibit open in Washington.

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D.C. Cops Investigate Killing Of Transgender Person

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray says a transgender person has been fatally shot, but police say there's no indication that it was a hate crime.

The killing happened Tuesday in the 6110 block of Dix Street NE. The victim's name has not been released.

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FTC Sends Out $108 Million In Refund Checks To Overcharged Countrywide Customers

Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it is mailing out refund checks to the nearly half million American homeowners who were charged excessive fees on their mortgages by former Worst Company In America champ Countrywide Home Loans.

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Hot Enough? Here Are The Best Air Conditioners Under $300

If you’re on a tight budget, sweating out the summer with no air conditioning may sound like a good way to save money. But a sizzling June brought record highs to more than 40 U.S. locales, and a heat wave is gripping much of the nation. So if you feel your willpower starting to melt, here’s how to find an air conditioner for less.

Let’s start with the basics. The first thing to note in an air conditioner is its cooling capacity, which is measured in BTU, or British thermal units. The size of your space determines how much cooling capacity you need. Budget air conditioners range from 5,000 BTU, which can handle about 150 square feet, to 12,000 BTU, enough to cover about 550 square feet. Naturally, air conditioners with higher capacities have higher price tags. But beware of buying less (or more) than you need; you’ll pay the price in performance and efficiency. This government chart can help you determine the right size for you.

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Killing Of Infants On The Rise In Pakistan

Karachi, Pakistan (CNN) -- At a morgue in Pakistan's largest city, five linen pouches -- each the size of a loaf of bread -- line the shelf of a walk-in freezer.

Wrapped inside each small sack is the corpse of an infant.

The babies are victims of what one relief agency calls Pakistan's worst unfolding tragedy -- the killing and dumping of newborns.

"Sometimes they hang them and sometimes they kill by the knife, and sometimes we find bodies which have been burned," said Anwar Kazmi, a manager at Edhi Foundation, Pakistan's largest privately run social service and relief agency.

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3 Swept Over Yosemite Waterfall, Witnesses Say

A search is under way in Yosemite National Park for as many as three people who may have been swept over the 317-foot-high Vernal Fall on the Merced River in eastern California.

Park rangers have closed the Mist Trail to the fall until at least noon Wednesday, saying they are conducting a search after receiving unconfirmed reports of one or more visitors being swept over the fall.

Witnesses told CNN affiliate KGPE-TV that three people were swept over the fall around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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Cutting Off Men’s 'Junk' Isn’t Funny

Wife cuts it off

Things went from bad to worse for a divorcing Southern California couple when Catherine Kieu Becker allegedly drugged her husband, cut off his penis, threw it into the garbage disposal and turned the mechanism on. Becker has been booked into the Orange Country jail and the victim underwent emergency surgery at the UCI Medical Center.

Some CNN.com readers joked about the incident while other readers cried foul for making light of a serious physical attack.

First the lighter comments:

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L.A. Law: If Your Dog Chases Someone, It Can Be Seized, Killed

Los Angeles County residents will want to keep a tighter leash on their dogs due to a new law passed by the Board of Supervisors that loosens the definition of how officials determine dogs to be "vicious." A dog that chases someone without causing an injury can now be reported, seized and possibly euthanized.

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Who's Gonna Care For The Aging Boomers? Poor, Immigrant Women

"You can't breathe, you can't sleep," said White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, as she described the stress of worrying about an aging parent who needs assistance, and explained the comfort she gets from knowing her own parents now have a live-in caregiver.

Without that caregiver, Jarrett says that she would have had to leave the Obama administration and move back to Chicago.

Yet the three million professional, long-term home caregivers today are faced with a rapidly aging Baby Boomer population and a lack of adequate support, compensation or respect. Yesterday in Washington, the National Domestic Workers Alliance held what they called a Care Congress, an event where they introduced a campaign to "transform long-term care." The campaign is designed to push legislative changes to Medicare and Medicaid—creating jobs by increasing the amount of money eligible people can spend on at-home care and allowing a rapidly aging population to avoid institutionalization.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis praised the work of home care workers—a group comprised primarily of immigrant women: "In Spanish, we call these women 'luchadoras', because they are fighting. They are strong women who fight and let nothing stand in their way."

Solis spoke directly to the audience full of caregivers, saying, "You are their friend, you are someone who listens, you give so much of yourself—physically as well as emotionally. You are professionals, and you should be treated as such."

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Economics Professor: "[We’ll Have] A Never-Ending Depression Unless We Repudiate The Debt, Which Never Should Have Been Extended In The First Place"

I propose ... out-right debt repudiation. Consider this question: why should the poor, battered citizens of Russia or Poland or the other ex-Communist countries be bound by the debts contracted by their former Communist masters? In the Communist situation, the injustice is clear: that citizens struggling for freedom and for a free-market economy should be taxed to pay for debts contracted by the monstrous former ruling class. But this injustice only differs by degree from "normal" public debt. For, conversely, why should the Communist government of the Soviet Union have been bound by debts contracted by the Czarist government they hated and overthrew? And why should we, struggling American citizens of today, be bound by debts created by a ... ruling elite who contracted these debts at our expense?


***


Although largely forgotten by historians and by the public, repudiation of public debt is a solid part of the American tradition. The first wave of repudiation of state debt came during the 1840's, after the panics of 1837 and 1839. Those panics were the consequence of a massive inflationary boom fueled by the Whig-run Second Bank of the United States. Riding the wave of inflationary credit, numerous state governments, largely those run by the Whigs, floated an enormous amount of debt, most of which went into wasteful public works (euphemistically called "internal improvements"), and into the creation of inflationary banks. Outstanding public debt by state governments rose from $26 million to $170 million during the decade of the 1830's. Most of these securities were financed by British and Dutch investors.


During the deflationary 1840's succeeding the panics, state governments faced repayment of their debt in dollars that were now more valuable than the ones they had borrowed. Many states, now largely in Democratic hands, met the crisis by repudiating these debts, either totally or partially by scaling down the amount in "readjustments." Specifically, of the 28 American states in the 1840's, nine were in the glorious position of having no public debt, and one (Missouri's) was negligible; of the 18 remaining, nine paid the interest on their public debt without interruption, while another nine (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida) repudiated part or all of their liabilities. Of these states, four defaulted for several years in their interest payments, whereas the other five (Michigan, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida) totally and permanently repudiated their entire outstanding public debt. As in every debt repudiation, the result was to lift a great burden from the backs of the taxpayers in the defaulting and repudiating states.


***


The next great wave of state debt repudiation came in the South after the blight of Northern occupation and Reconstruction had been lifted from them. Eight Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) proceeded, during the late 1870's and early 1880's under Democratic regimes, to repudiate the debt foisted upon their taxpayers by the corrupt and wasteful carpetbag Radical Republican governments under Reconstruction.

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Fairfield Rancher Fined For Killing Grizzly Bear That Killed His Sheep

A Fairfield-area rancher who shot two grizzlies that were killing his sheep in May was found to have violated the federal Endangered Species Act and was fined $2,000 for the misdemeanor violation.

Rick Christy, 52, shot at the grizzlies and fatally wounded one. An investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that Christy violated federal law because he killed the grizzly in defense of livestock. Under state law, it is legal for a livestock operator to protect property, including livestock, if it is under attack by predators. It is only legal to kill an endangered animal under federal law if it is in self-defense.

In an interview after the May incident, Christy said he saw the bears killing his sheep about 150 feet away from his house in a fenced off sheep pen and that the predators were about 10 feet away from him at one point. Christy managed to kill one of the bears with one shot from his .308-caliber rifle. The other bear ran away after the shots were fired.

The bears killed or fatally wounded nine of Christy's sheep, valued between $1,800 and $2,000.

Here’s Another Obligation You Didn’t Sign Up For

Bruce Lee, a long-time hero of mine, died 38-years ago today, and in tribute to his intellect and philosophy, I wanted to blow the dust off an old quote of his that seems quite prescient:

“Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.”

Each day it becomes increasingly obvious that there are essentially two kinds of people in this world– those who are unaware that they walk in the darkness, completely oblivious to the real dangers in the world, versus those who understand reality and seek the truth.

The former group comprises the vast majority of society. This is your voting electorate and mainstream media audience, and they’ll buy every bit of propaganda that’s sent their way… whether it’s support for the war(s), ruinous economic programs, child molesting TSA policies, or just plain old fear and hate.

In its latest effort to spread fear and hate, the Ministry of Love, also known as the Department of Homeland Security, has produced an Orwellian new video intended to encourage Americans to rat each other out.

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Debt Ceiling: Could A Deal Cost The Economy A Million Jobs?

There has been a lot written about what would happen if the government doesn't end up raising the debt limit. My colleague Alex Altman perhaps puts it best in this Swampland post, when he says:

On one side, the Obama Administration, Capitol Hill Democrats, Wall Street whizzes and budget experts have been wearing out their thesauruses looking up new words for “catastrophe” as they try to explain to the public that failing to raise the $14.3 trillion federal debt limit by Aug. 2 would result in a radically different country on Aug. 3.

And over at Moneyland, Josh Sanburn has dug a little deeper to explain what a debt default would feel like for the average American. The effects on the stock market might be temporary - a drop followed by a rebound when a deal is struck. Mortgage rates, though, would be likely to rise and stay there even after an eventual deal, which, all things being equal, is likely to keep housing prices depressed.

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Has Housing Bottomed? Here's How To Tell

Housing has been propped up by Central State intervention. As that ends, Phase II of the retrace to pre-bubble valuations is at hand.
Has housing bottomed? Here is the sure-fire way to tell:

Stories titled "Has housing bottomed? Here's how to tell" have vanished for lack of interest.

The absence of stories about the bottom in housing will mark the final nadir, because the real bottom can only be reached when everyone has abandoned housing as a pathway to easy money. Only when the public and investor class alike have completely lost interest in real estate as a "sure-fire" investment can the real trough be reached.

This destruction of long-held habits and beliefs takes a long time. The closest analogy might be the stock market in the last secular Bear market. Stocks topped out in 1966, though the economy lumbered on until 1969 before faltering. Stocks then meandered for 13 years of stagflation, losing 66% of their inflation adjusted value in 1966 by 1982.

People gave up on stocks. I call this loss of faith "when belief in the system fades:" note how household participation in stocks topped out in 1969, three years after the peak in the market. Participants clung to their belief in stocks for about four years after 1969, at which point participation cratered as they finally abandoned their faith in a "permanent Bull market."
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Study: Marijuana Not Linked With Long Term Cognitive Impairment

The idea that “marijuana makes you dumb” has long been embodied in the stereotype of the slow, stupid stoner, seen in numerous Hollywood movies and TV comedies and going unquestioned by much of American culture. But a new study says no: the researchers followed nearly 2,000 young Australian adults for eight years and found that marijuana has little long-term effect on learning and memory— and any cognitive damage that does occur as a result of cannabis use is reversible.

Participants were aged 20-24 at the start of the study, which was part of a larger project on community health. Researchers categorized them as light, heavy, former or non-users of cannabis based on their answers to questions about marijuana habits.

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QUOTES OF THE DAY

“No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: “But what would you replace it with?” When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with?”

“It is bad enough that so many people believe things without any evidence. What is worse is that some people have no conception of evidence and regard facts as just someone else’s opinion.”

“Mystical references to “society” and its programs to “help” may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats.”

“The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best.”

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”

“One of the most fashionable notions of our times is that social problems like poverty and oppression breed wars. Most wars, however, are started by well-fed people with time on their hands to dream up half-baked ideologies or grandiose ambitions, and to nurse real or imagined grievances.”

“What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race.”

“The assumption that spending more of the taxpayers’ money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family—which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars and depressions—began to come apart as the federal government moved in with its well-financed programs to help.”

Thomas Sowell

Secondhand Smoke Associated With Hearing Loss In Teens

Its not news that second-hand smoke can be dangerous—even deadly. Now add one more price nonsmokers pay for living around people who light up: According to a new study from New York University's Langone Medical Center, teens who are regularly exposed to second hand smoke are nearly twice as likely to have hearing loss as teens who live in smoke-free environments.

The study involved 1,533 non-smoking adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 who underwent hearing tests to determine auditory acuity at both high- and low-frequencies. Researchers also measured the subjects' blood concentrations of cotinine — a byproduct of the neurotoxin nicotine that is often used as a biomarker of smoke exposure.

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Salisbury Police Department Pres Release

On July 18, 2011 at approximately 5:13 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Sears Department Store at the Centre at Salisbury for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival the officers met with store security who advised that store personnel had observed the below listed suspect take electronic items from the store without making payment. The property was recovered and returned to the store and the suspect was taken into custody.

A routine records check of the suspect, following arrest, revealed that the suspect was currently wanted as a fugitive from the State of Pennsylvania.

ARRESTED: Joseph David Gaydosh, 22 years of age
Salisbury, Maryland
CHARGES: Theft (under $ 100)
Fugitive – Crawford, Pennsylvania
Charge – Violation of Probation

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100028002/201100028004

Texas Man To Be Executed For Revenge Killing After 2001 Terror Attacks

(CNN) -- Mark Anthony Stroman, a 41-year-old man who made national headlines after he fatally shot an Indian man during a shooting rampage that began after the September 11 terror attacks, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday.

"I cannot tell you that I am an innocent man. I am not asking you to feel sorry for me, and I won't hide the truth," Stroman said in a recent interview.

"I am a human being and made a terrible mistake out of love, grief and anger, and believe me, I am paying for it every single minute of the day."

The admitted white supremacist was convicted in the deadly shooting spree that began just after the September 11 terror attacks.

His target: those he believed were of Middle Eastern background, in revenge and retaliation for the worst domestic terror incident in U.S. history.

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GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY TO HOST “BUY LOCAL” COOKOUT

 Governor to Kick-off “Buy Local Challenge” Week with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack; Cookout to Feature Locally Grown Recipes Created by Selected Chefs

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 20, 2011) – TOMORROW, Governor and First Lady O’Malley will join U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to host the fourth annual “Buy Local” cook out to officially kick-off Maryland’s “Buy Local Challenge” week, which challenges Marylanders to incorporate at least one locally-grown, produced or harvested product into their meals each day.  At the Governor’s cook out, 17 teams of local producers and chefs will prepare creative recipes showcasing the diversity of local products available in Maryland.  Government House chefs will also prepare a few favorites recipes of theirs and the O’Malley family featuring local products. 

“Buy Local Challenge” week is July 23 through the 31.  Buying locally is key to ensuring a smart, green and growing future for Maryland families. It preserves farmland, protects the environment, bolsters local economies, and provides wholesome, nutritious, great-tasting fresh food. 

WHAT:            Governor and First Lady O’Malley to join U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to host annual “Buy Local” Cookout and kick-off “Buy Local Challenge” Week

WHEN:            TOMORROW, Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:          Government House, State Circle, Annapolis, MD

NOTE:              Event is by invitation only and RSVP is required by members of the media and all attendees

   to gain access to Government House. 

   RSVP:  Julie Oberg, 410-841-5888 or Vanessa Orlando, 410-841-5889.

Yoder Overhead Doors

Commercial or residential, Yoder Overhead Doors can service all of your wants and needs.

GOVERNOR O’MALLEY, LT. GOVERNOR BROWN AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE BAKER TO ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR TRANSFORMING PRINCE GEORGE’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 20, 2011) – TOMORROW, Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will join Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and other officials at a press conference in the County Administration Building Council Chambers in Upper Marlboro. Officials will announce a new partnership and path forward for transforming health care in Prince George’s County, including plans for improving management of existing health services, increasing access to primary care, enhancing the County’s overall health infrastructure, and ensuring a world-class health care system for Prince George’s County and Southern Maryland.

WHAT:           Governor O’Malley, Lt. Governor Brown, County Executive Baker to Announce Health Care Partnership

WHEN:           TOMORROW, Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:         Prince George’s County Administration Building

County Council Chambers

14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive

Upper Marlboro, MD

NYC Grocery Store Pipes In Artificial Food Smells

When you walk into one of the Net Cost supermarkets in Brooklyn, N.Y., you’ll be greeted by hints of chocolate and grapefruit and rosemary focaccia. And while the store actually sells those products, the smells you’ll smell are fake.

Fake in the sense that the artificial aromas are being piped in by five scent machines that are strategically located around the store. Chocolate scents near the candy. Fruit smells in the produce aisle. Wet cat food along the pet supply section. (Ok, I made that last one up.)

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Free Car Seat Check Tomorrow

Hate Crime Laws Don’t Stop Crimes... Guns Stop Crimes

GO HERE to view more.

Today's Survey Question

Do you believe the Board of the Wicomico Humane Society needs to be replaced?

Chickens On The Loose

My husband was just riding down Hobbs road and saw about a dozen chickens walking beside the road between Salisbury School and Perdue stadium.  He couldn’t believe his eyes.  They are not chickens that Perdue/Mountaire would pick up from chicken houses, these are barnyard chickens.    If someone somehow lost their chickens, that’s where they are!!

Cool Cleaning Gadgets For Pet Owners

While owning a pet can be a rewarding experience, cleaning up after one can often be a hassle. Fortunately, there are plenty gadgets on the market that promise to do the hard work for us. Unfortunately, not all those gadgets are worthwhile. So we’ve reviewed a few products to find out which ones will actually save you some time and effort.

Roomba Pet Series ($499.99)

A must-have for pet owners that don’t want to spend too much time cleaning up after Fido, the Roomba Pet Series 572 is designed for those with above-average vacuuming needs. However, while it performed admirably with moderate amounts of pet hair, the little ’bot does have a tendency to seize up when too much fur clogged its underside. When this happens, you need to dismantle the entire machine to clean it out, making it nearly as high-maintenance as some pets. But for those who really can’t imagine hauling out a regular vacuum during shedding season, there really is no other choice.

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Sobo's Wednesday Night Special

Crisfield Tawes Festival Not So Hot

Don't let the title OR the first few images fool you. There was an instant line for crabs but after 15 minutes there were no more than 4 people at a time waiting in line for crabs and just about no one in line for anything else.

I tried taking photos from all sorts of angles to make it look busy but in reality folks, it was a flop. The heat was so bad we finally said, that's it, we're leaving.

We did run into a few politicians and even though the Governor was supposed to show up, we were not going to sit around just to snap a picture of him.

The food, well, the watermelon was good. Cold too! Pepsi was there giving out free ice cold sodas and bottled water. The crabs were very small and quite frankly way over cooked. Salisbury News learned there was a new supplier for the crabs this year. So if anyone is interested in bidding them out for next year, now might be a good time to call the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce.
For $40.00 a head, I think I'll skip the non election years and sit in the a/c instead. If you missed the Tawes Festival this year you didn't miss much at all. They sold thousands less tickets this year than in years past. Between the heat, the economy and a non election year, the odds were simply against a good turn out.

Should More Restaurants Ban Kids? Chefs Really Want To!

You probably haven't been worrying much lately about the seating policies of McDain's restaurant in Monroeville, Pa. You probably don't even know that McDain's exists. Or Monroeville, for that matter. But when the casual-dining eatery announced earlier this month that kids under 6 wouldn't be served, every media outlet in the U.S. spread the news, including this one. It's not that anybody cares about McDain's or its stuffed flounder ($18.95) or beer-battered chicken ($12.95). It's that the question of whether small children should be allowed in restaurants cuts through one of the biggest unspoken divides in American life: the one between parents and nonparents.

I am in the latter category. When I'm in a restaurant, and the piercing wail of an infant first registers on my brain stem, I tend to wince. My lips form an involuntary rictus; I lose all concentration and exist in a state of total sensory deprivation, like the guy in Johnny Got His Gun. For parents, the situation is totally different. Their life is one of constant labor and drudgery, of attenuated nerves that Go the F**k to Sleep speaks so eloquently of and to. Parents want to go to restaurants like everybody else. After all, restaurants are public places. And many parents insist the misbehaving-kid issue is overblown. Rebekah Denn, a James Beard Award–winning restaurant critic in Seattle and mother of three, told me, "In my hundreds of meals out around Seattle, I hardly ever saw kids screaming, kicking, running around unsupervised, or any of the other dinner-ruining crimes that the chat-board complainers seem to think are legion."

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Benefits For All

Customs and Border Protection officers will begin to earn greater retirement benefits starting today. They will now be on par with firefighters and law enforcement officers. An Office of Personnel Management rule published Monday in the Federal Register gives some CBP officers the opportunity to earn annuity benefits at a faster rate. They can also participate in an early retirement program like other frontline workers.

Lockheed Martin Is Offering Buyouts To 6,500 Employees

The Washington Business Journal reports that the buyouts are being offered nationwide, but that 2,000 employees in the DC area are going to be offered the packages. Eligible employees have until August first to take the buyouts, which include two weeks pay, plus a week of pay per year of service, with a cap at 26 weeks. A Lockheed spokeswoman says after the buyouts are accepted, they'll have a better idea if they have to make more cuts.

Will The FAA Shut Down On Friday?

The FAA could shut down Friday. That's the day its authorization expires. The Senate and House are unable to agree on a long term funding plan for FAA. The dispute concerns rules for union organizing by railroad and airline workers. Should the operating authority cease, it's likely 32,000 FAA workers would be furloughed. But air traffic controllers would stay on the job. The agency has operated under a series of 20 short-term extensions since 2007. In the event of a shutdown, airlines would no longer have to collect ticket taxes.

Negro Leagues' Heroes Finally Get Their Tombstones

They pioneered in sports, then were lost to time; a new project changes that

TOPEKA, Kan. — Amid headstones of chiseled and polished granite at a Topeka, Kansas, cemetery lies a new tombstone. With a baseball and the figure of a baseball catcher etched in stone, it is dedicated to “Topeka’s ‘Super Substitute’” — Carroll Ray Mothell, better known as “Dink.”

He died on April 24, 1980; but his grave just got a tombstone on June 20, 2011. 

Before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, African American baseball players were segregated from white players and played in the Negro Leagues.

After their baseball careers ended, many of the Negro Leagues' greatest players went on to work menial jobs and were buried in unmarked graves.

Jeremy Krock, the founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project, is trying to change that.

“They played in anonymity and I don't want to see them buried forever in anonymity,” said Krock.

Eight years ago Krock, an Illinois anesthesiologist, discovered that one of his hometown heroes, John William “Jimmie” Crutchfield, was almost forgotten in death.

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Today's Playgrounds May Be Too Safe, Critics Warn

Eliminating towering monkey bars, tall slides may be safer, but it can keep kids from conquering fears

When seesaws and tall slides and other perils were disappearing from New York’s playgrounds, Henry Stern drew a line in the sandbox. As the city’s parks commissioner in the 1990s, he issued an edict concerning the 10-foot-high jungle gym near his childhood home in northern Manhattan.

“I grew up on the monkey bars in Fort Tryon Park, and I never forgot how good it felt to get to the top of them,” Mr. Stern said. “I didn’t want to see that playground bowdlerized. I said that as long as I was parks commissioner, those monkey bars were going to stay.”

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Fundraiser

Win a 1998 BMW 328i Convertible and help a Salisbury boy return to college after the accident that changed his life.

James Cook was away at college and beginning his sophomore year at Virginia Tech last October when he was seriously hurt as a passenger in a vehicle accident while participating in a Corp of Cadets required event. Cook, a Naval ROTC Cadet, aerospace engineering major, and 2009 graduate of Wicomico High School, suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of the accident and was left paralyzed from the waist down. James has spent the last ten months recovering from the accident and in two of the best SCI rehabilitation centers in the country, the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA and Kennedy Krieger at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. The efforts James has made as a patient in these rehab centers has brought him a long way and he is completely independent, but his ultimate goal is, and will always be, to walk again.

In June, Community Pharmacy in Salisbury held a fundraiser for James at the beautiful Fountains in Salisbury and businesses and friends all over the community graciously gave their time, money, gift donations, and support in an effort to help James achieve this goal. The community’s kindness and generosity raised James over $20,000 making it possible for him to take part in a special SCI therapy program in Carlsbad, CA called Project Walk for an entire month. Project Walk offers hope to paralyzed individuals for many reasons. Spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation traditionally focuses on compensation and living independently. The thought is that the human nervous system does not re-organize and improve function below the level of injury and therefore one’s best hope is to live within the parameters of the remaining functioning body. Research over the last decade, however proves this to be false for many people with SCI and Project Walk focuses on using intense and specific exercises directed at the paralyzed limbs related to the same movement patterns that occur in normal conditions. Through these movements, the goal is to re-establish patterned neural activity within the central nervous system and to regenerate nerves in the spinal cord. While in California, James worked several hours daily on load bearing exercises, gait training, kneeling, crawling, FES bike training, and more. He returned home with an exercise plan for the future, one he will continue and build upon in hopes that one day he will see improvements that will make it possible for him to one day walk again.

James heads back to Virginia Tech this August with his beautiful girlfriend Lindsay by his side. A source of strength to him beyond any therapy, she has been with him every step of his recovery and together they will once again begin their sophomore years, this time he as a civilian student. James will also return to driving as he returns to Virginia Tech this fall, but not in his treasured silver 1998 BMW 328i convertible that he’s driven since his junior year of high school, but in a vehicle specially equipped with hand controls and more suitable to his current needs.

To help James purchase a vehicle for back to school, the Elk's Lodge in Salisbury is helping raffle James' BMW. If you would like to win a mint silver 1998 BMW 328i convertible, automatic, with removable hard top OR if you would simply like to help James purchase a car more suitable to his needs by purchasing a ticket to win this car, buy your raffle ticket before August 5, 2011 for $20 per ticket at either Community Pharmacy on S. Salisbury Blvd. or at the Elks Lodge # 817 at 401 Churchill Avenue in Salisbury. To call about purchasing tickets, phone 410-430-8888. Only 1000 tickets will be sold. The drawing for the car will be held at a send off celebration for James on Friday, August 5th from 6 to 8 pm at the Elk’s Lodge. The winner does not need to be present to win, but Elk’s Lodge president David N. Neal invites everyone to attend this celebration which will include food, drink, and music.

James Cook, family and friends thank the community for their kind support and generosity. The support the family has received from businesses and individuals has been overwhelming. Special thanks go to these individuals for their efforts in helping with the June 3^rd fundraiser: Martha and Jeff Farace, Willie and Susan Benton, Kennedy Keenan, Debbie and Bart Wilkinson, Jean Webster, Dwayne Gochnour, Debbie Bouchard, Joey Gardner, Stacie Desautels, and Ottis, Gus and Malisa Triantis of the Fountains Wedding and Conference Center and the many generous folks in attendance. For more information about James or the BMW raffle, visit www.19willwalk.org

#19 Will Walk Again
For information, go to www.19willwalk.org

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=120672764680610

Weiss Ratings Downgrades United States Debt To C-Minus

Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency of U.S. financial institutions and sovereign debts, has downgraded the debt of the United States government from C to C-minus.

The C-minus rating for the U.S. reflects a continued deterioration in the weaknesses cited in the Weiss Ratings release of April 28, 2011, including heavy debt burdens, shaky international stability, and poor economic health.

Weiss Ratings senior financial analyst Gavin Magor commented: “Our downgrade today is not contingent on the outcome of the debt ceiling debate in Washington. It is driven exclusively by the numbers, which indicate that, in addition to a decline in the long-standing weaknesses we noted three months ago, the U.S. has already lost the golden halo that helped guarantee liquidity and acceptance of its government securities in global markets.”

On the Weiss Ratings scale, which ranges from A (excellent) to E (very weak), a C-minus rating is the approximate equivalent of a triple-B-minus on the scales used by other credit rating agencies, or approximately one notch above speculative grade (junk). More

Moody's Eyes Possible Credit Downgrade On 5 States

Moody's Investors Service says it will likely lower the credit rating on five states should the ratings firm downgrade the U.S. government's credit rating.

The credit rating agency said Tuesday that it has placed on review for possible downgrade the triple-A bond ratings of Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. More here

Lawyers

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the roadside eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

He asked one man, 'Why are you eating grass?'

'We don't have any money for food,' the poor man replied. 'We have to eat grass.'

'Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you,' the lawyer said.

'But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree.'

'Bring them along,' the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, 'You come with us, also.'

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, 'But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!'

'Bring them all, as well,' the lawyer answered

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, 'Sir, you are too kind.'

'Thank you for taking all of us with you.'

The lawyer replied, 'Glad to do it.

You'll really love my place.

The grass is almost a foot high.'

Rep. West On Wasserman-Schultz: 'Vile, Unprofessional And Despicable'

A battle of two south Florida House members heated up Tuesday when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz – the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee – attacked Republican Rep. Allen West, before West sent an e-mail saying the chairwoman is “vile, unprofessional and despicable.”

Wasserman Schultz said on the House floor, “The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida, slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas.”

West responded with an e-mail that said, “Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!”

READ MORE …

White House: Obama Supports Bill To Repeal Federal Gay Marriage Ban

WASHINGTON -- As a leading Senate Democrat prepares for hearings this week on repealing the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the White House on Tuesday threw its support to overturning the Defense of Marriage Act.

The Obama administration has already said it won't defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court because it concludes it's unconstitutional. But Press Secretary Jay Carney on Tuesday went further, saying President Obama is "proud to support" the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to overturn the 15-year-old law.

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Former Destroyer to Be Sunk for Artificial Reef

With almost every regulatory hurdle cleared, planners believe they are about two weeks away from sinking a 563-foot former Navy destroyer off the coast of Maryland to create the largest artificial reef on the Eastern Seaboard.

The Arthur W. Radford, docked in Philadelphia, is nearing the end of a laborious effort to remove all salvageable and toxic material and pass inspection by federal environmental and maritime safety officials, Erik Zlokovitz, artificial reef coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources told a state fisheries advisory commission Tuesday night.

Today, marine salvage teams from Virginia-based American Marine Group are expected to remove the massive propellers, one of the final steps in creating a hulking structure that will serve as home for fish and crustaceans.

Zlokovitz told the Sportfish Advisory Commission that planners have targeted the first week in August for the sinking of the Radford.

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Parents In Disbelief As California School Shuts Down Amid Molestation Probe

Parents were in shock Tuesday after authorities closed a private elementary school in Northern California amid allegations that the school's principal engaged in sexual misconduct with students.

The California Department of Social Services shut down the Creative Frontiers School in Citrus Heights on Monday after several former and current students made claims against school owner and principal Robert Adams that dated back 15 years. The school's license was suspended.

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A Proposal for Salisbury’s Downtown – Duplicate Success

So far we’ve talked about a possible group to market downtown Salisbury to (as investors and entrepreneurs), and we’ve glossed over the parking issue. Today I thought we could look at something else pretty obvious:

Why try to re-invent the wheel when we can look at what other successful downtown revitalization efforts have done.

I know, Salisbury’s different. Salisbury’s special. We’re too good to worry about what other people and other towns have done. It just wouldn’t work here.

Well, why don’t we just bulldoze the whole area, or abandon it to whatever.

If you look around, you can find great examples of other towns of similar size that have done a great job with their downtowns. I like to look at Harrisonburg, Virginia as a great example. Size is similar. It has a university. There are a lot of similarities. Besides Harrisonburg, there are lots of other examples.

Here are some common themes (we’ve already talked about parking) taken from a speech by Eddie Bumbaugh, Executive Director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance:

• Authenticity. People appreciate that downtowns are real and historic. No new development, no matter how good it looks, can replace that authentic feel. Main Street participants can build upon that.
  
  
• Recruiting new businesses and other volunteers to help with the effort but retaining the ones you have. Existing merchants groups can co-exist with Main Street programs.
  
  
• Getting more people to live and work downtown. That attracts businesses, including possibly a grocery store.
  
  
• Providing plentiful free parking, but setting time limits so it’s not abused.
  
• Tax incentives are only “marginally important,” Bumbaugh said. A thriving downtown will sell itself to business prospects.
  
  
• Streetscaping and facade-improvement projects help make downtowns feel more welcoming.
  
  
• Holding regular events and attracting a hotel where visitors can stay within walking distance.
  
  
• Marketing downtown as the best place to shop and dine and developing gift certificates that can be used throughout downtown.
  
  
• Putting together a monthly newsletter to keep people informed about the efforts.

Some of these things Salisbury already has in place:

• Authenticity / Historic factor.
  
  
• Getting more people to live and work downtown.
  
  
• We have a hotel. However, Third Friday (while great) isn’t sufficient to bring regular traffic downtown.

We need to work on the remaining items and glean more wisdom from those who have been successful at reviving their own downtowns.

G. A. Harrison is the Managing Editor of “Salisbury News”.Delmarva Dealings appears each Wednesday and Sunday at SbyNEWS.com.

Why Google+ Has Already Disappeared In China

It's not even out of its infancy, but Google+ has already been blocked in China. It seems just like only yesterday the product was announced; and my Circles aren't even full yet.

While it's been rumored that Google won't officially make the upstart social network open to the public until the beginning of August, users in China already report that the service has been censored. It also seems unlikely they'll reverse the change anytime soon.

More

Town Moves to Ban Free Speech, Group Meetings

COBURN PLAN IS A START

It’s funny how the MSM ignores serious proposals to address our fiscal train wreck. You know this proposal is serious because everyone hates it. Coburn, a Republican, proposes cutting the military by $1 trillion more than Obama. He proposes getting rid of tax looholes for the rich and for corporations. He gradually raises the age for Medicare and Social Security. The more scorn heaped upon his proposal, the more credibility it has in my book.

Where is Obama’s proposal?

The corrupt morons in Congress can’t even agree to make $1 trillion of cuts over ten years. The sad part is that $9 trillion isn’t enough to save us from the coming disaster.

Coburn offers $9 trillion deficit reduction proposal

As debt limit negotiations entered their last two weeks, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma revealed a budget plan that would cut $9 trillion over ten years. The proposal goes far beyond the ambitious package of $4 trillion that President Obama has had difficulty getting congressional leaders to sign on to.

Over ten years, Coburn’s plan would cut $1 trillion in defense spending, create $2.6 trillion in deficit savings through cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, reform the tax code by closing loopholes, including eliminating ethanol subsidies, to save $1 trillion and overhaul Social Security.

The Social Security provision would, among other things, raise the level of retirement by one month every two years starting in 2022.

Though Coburn acknowledged his plan would face significant hurdles in the House and Senate, he said it contains ideas lawmakers can pick and choose from. It offers a menu of spending cuts and tax reforms that others can incorporate into their own proposals.

But Coburn also added that criticism of the broad proposal is not “legitimate” when given with no counteroffer. (Republican senator takes on the ‘Adult Baby’)

“I have no doubt that both parties will criticize this plan, and I welcome that debate,” the senator said Monday. “But it’s not a legitimate criticism until you have a plan of your own.”

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Former Padonia Club Executive to Be in Court on Child Porn Charges

The former chief executive of the Padonia Park Club in Cockeysville is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a plea hearing on child pornography charges, according to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's office.

Ira Charles F. Rigger Jr., of the first block of Thurkill Court in Cockeysville, has been free on bond since his arrest June 17. Rigger, 56, and his family have owned the swim club and child care center on Jenifer Road for decades. According to police and court documents, detectives seized a laptop computer and another computer from his home that contained photographs of nude young girls.

In court documents, Rigger is accused of downloading illegal images over the past five years. According to the documents, Rigger would delete the files after viewing them. He was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of possessing child pornography with intent to distribute.

Kathy Angstadt, interim CEO of the club, said Tuesday that Rigger's financial stake in the company is in the process of being "removed" and that he has not drawn a paycheck and has been banned from the property since his arrest.

from Don Markus @ the Baltimore Sun

Sheriff Targets Disabled Parking Spots

EDGEWOOD, Md. - The Harford County Sheriff's Office has conducted a disable parking awareness detail in Edgewood and Joppa retail parking lots.

People with disabilities face challenges every day, not the least of which is finding parking when they need it.
For those with disabilities, the use of handicapped parking spaces, is not a luxury, but a necessity. Every day motorist with disabilities can't find parking spaces because non-disabled people use these spaces as a means of convenience.

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Students Score Slightly Higher on State Science Test

Maryland's fifth- and eighth-graders scored slightly better on their annual science exam this past school year; however, the gap in performance is growing between special-education students and their peers.

In fifth grade, 67 percent of students passed while 70 percent of eighth-graders passed. Unlike reading and math, the science test is not used to calculate whether a school met targets set by the federal government.

The mixed results show that after four years of giving the test, students have not improved their performance significantly.

Leslie Wilson, who is in charge of testing for the state, said the results mirror those in math and reading after the test was given in those subjects for four years.

Middle-school results are believed to be stronger than elementary school, Wilson said, because students must take a science class while in middle school. In elementary schools, the teaching of science is sometimes reduced so that a school can concentrate more time on reading or math.

In special education, one-third of fifth-graders and 30 percent of eighth-graders in the state passed.

READ MORE …

BP Solar Will Close Its Frederick Operation In 2012

BP Solar will close its Frederick operation early next year, and many of its 80 employees may lose their jobs.

The company has moved its headquarters to Houston, where BP America has its main offices.

The BP Solar building, a familiar landmark from I-70 with its solar-panel-covered roof, will be put on the market.

Company spokesman Pete Resler said Tuesday that BP Solar will close out operations at the Ballenger Creek Pike building by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

More

It's Taking Longer For Small Businesses To Get Paid

Small business are experiencing a cashflow crunch as the average time it takes to get paid by customers has increased to 48 days, up from 42 days in 2010.

In 2006, "receivables," the amount customers owe, was coming in at an average of 38 days. The data is the result of a survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, reports USA Today.

More »

Hopkins Tops Nation’s Hospitals

4 OTHER MARYLAND HOSPITALS RANKED

The U.S. News and World Report rankings are out, and Johns Hopkins tops the list again.

It was followed by Massachusetts General in Boston and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Of 5,000 hospitals examined, 17 were at the top or near the op in 16 specialties. And 140 ranked in at least one specialty.

In adult categories, Hopkins ranked #3 in Cancer, #3 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #3 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, #1 in Ear, Nose & Throat, #3 in Gastroenterology, #3 in Geriatrics, #2 in Gynecology, #3 in Nephrology, #1 in Neurology & Neurosurgery, #2 in Ophthalmology, #5 in Orthopedics, #1 in Psychiatry, #4 in Pulmonology, #15 in Rehabilitation, #1 in Rheumatology, and #1 in Urology.

In pediatric categories: #9 in Cancer, #26 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #8 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, #12 in Gastroenterology, #10 in Neonatology, #12 in Nephrology, #3 in Neurology & Neurosurgery, #11 in Orthopedics, #9 in Pulmonology, and #9 in Urology.

The University of Maryland Medical Center was nationally ranked in 9 categories: #22 in Cancer, #31 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #29 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, #38 in Ear, Nose & Throat, #47 in Geriatrics, #27 in Nephrology, #28 in Orthopedics, #20 in Pulmonology, and #44 in Urology. It was high performing in 3 others.

Union Memorial was nationally ranked in three categories: #33 in Cardiology & Heart Surgery, #50 in Diabetes & Endocrinology, and #34 in Orthopedics. It was high performing in 8 other categories.

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center was nationally ranked #13 in Geriatrics and high performing in 8 other categories.

Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital was nationally ranked #6 in Psychiatry.

Several other area hospitals got high marks for many of their specialties. See the full list from the region here.

from Meredith Cohn @ the Baltimore Sun

Justice Department Retracts Court Filings That Undercut FBI's Anthrax Case

The unusual seven-page correction, hurriedly filed in federal court in Florida, does not erase testimony from government scientists who challenged the FBI's finding that Bruce Ivins mailed anthrax-filled letters that killed five people in 2001.

WASHINGTON -- Rushing into court to undo a major blunder, Justice Department lawyers defending a civil suit Tuesday retracted statements that question the FBI's finding that a former Army microbiologist mailed the anthrax-filled letters that killed five people in 2001.

But the unusual seven-page correction [3], filed in federal court in Florida, does not erase testimony from government scientists who challenged the FBI's finding that the late Bruce Ivins was the perpetrator.

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Police Search for Shooter

Local law enforcement agencies are looking for Clifton Levante Morton, 36, of St. Michaels, who is wanted for allegedly shooting another man in the leg Monday night in St. Michaels.

St. Michaels Police Chief Miguel Dennis said Morton, of 111 Mitchell St., is wanted on charges of first- and second-degree assault, possession of a handgun and reckless endangerment. Dennis said Morton is black, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 215 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

On Monday night, St. Michaels police responded at 10:15 p.m. to Morton's home for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, police said a man identified as Christopher Carroll allegedly hit Antwan Johnson in the face. During the fight, police allege Johnson was shot in the leg by Morton and Morton left the home on foot.

Dennis said Johnson, 26, drove himself to Memorial Hospital at Easton, where he was treated and released. Dennis said Maryland State Police, Talbot County Sheriff's Office and Easton and Oxford police are assisting St. Michaels police in the search for Morton.

READ MORE …

Gang Of Six Plan Gives Tax Breaks For Wealthy, Social Security Cuts For Ordinary Workers

Washington, D.C.- The budget plan produced by the Senate’s “Gang of Six” offers the promise of huge tax breaks for some of the wealthiest people in the country, while lowering Social Security benefits for retirees and the disabled.  Despite claiming that they will "reform" Social Security on a "separate track, isolated from deficit reduction," the plan includes cuts to Social Security that would be felt in less than six months, as the plan calls for a new inflation formula that will reduce benefits by 0.3 percentage points a year compared with currently scheduled benefits. The plan also calls for a process that is likely to reduce benefits further for future retirees.

The proposed cuts to Social Security are cumulative. This means that after ten years, a beneficiary in her 70s will see a cut of close to 3 percent. After 20 years, the cuts for beneficiaries in their 80s will be close to 6 percent, while the reduction in annual benefits will be close to 9 percent by the time beneficiaries are in their 90s. For a beneficiary in her 90s living on a Social Security income of $15,000, this means a loss of more $1,200 a year in benefits.

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Dog Found In Mardela: UPDATE

We have found a small male border collie in the Mockingbird development area in Mardela.

He is very very sweet. Anyone with information please contact Teresa at 443-783-1972.

Memphis School Board Delays Class Over Funding

The school board has decided to indefinitely delay the start of class for Memphis City Schools this fall in a dispute over money with the City Council.

The board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to postpone school until the city hands over $55 million in tax revenue it says it has set aside for the system this coming year, according to The Commercial Appeal. The school board says the city owes significantly more than that after several years of shortfalls.

Board member Tomeka Hart says the school system has been patient and needs the money in its account to pay bills.

City Council president Myron Lowery says some funding issues are tied up in court. He also says the city council supplies only about a tenth of the schools' budget.

Classes had been scheduled to start on Aug. 8.

from the Washington Examiner / AP

BREAKING NEWS: Existing Home Sales Unexpectedly Drop In June

The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales fell 0.8% in June, missing estimates of a 2.9% gain.
From Fox News

Attention Mariners: Clearance Levels Changing for Indian River Inlet Bridge

Indian River -- The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) wants boat owners and operators to be aware of changing navigation conditions beneath the new Indian River Inlet Bridge over the coming weeks and months in order to maintain safety. In response to concerns raised about the horizontal clearance beneath the bridge, DelDOT has worked with Senator George Bunting, Representative Gerald Hocker, the U.S. Coast Guard, Skanska USA Civil Southeast, Inc., the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's (DNREC) Delaware Seashore State Park staff and local mariners to keep the inlet accessible throughout construction.

As the form travelers move closer together toward the midpoint of the inlet, the width of the navigational channel continues to decrease, causing concern for boat captains who traverse the inlet waterway. Because it is peak fishing season there is generally an increase in the number of boats in the area. In addition, there are fishing tournaments scheduled for the next several weeks.

To address these conditions Skanska USA Civil Southeast, Inc. and DelDOT engineers are modifying the construction sequencing for this portion of the project. The sequence of the remaining form traveler advancements has been altered to allow for a navigable waterway to be maintained.

Therefore, DelDOT wishes to advise mariners of the contractor's plans for the movement and eventual removal of the northside form traveler over the next month. Currently, the distance between the northside and southside form travelers is approximately 88 feet. The underclearance of the existing bridge over this portion of the channel is approximately 35 feet above the mean high water elevation. With the next advancement of the northside traveler expected to occur on or about July 30, the remaining clear width of the main channel will be reduced to approximately 64 feet. This condition will exist for a period of approximately two weeks. The southside form traveler will not move during this time. This will provide acceptable clearance levels for most boaters during peak fishing season. During this time, other work will continue on various aspects of bridge construction, thus permitting, the bridge project to progress towards the anticipated opening of (two lanes on) the new bridge to traffic late this year.

By mid-August, the northside form traveler work will be completed and the traveler will be lowered onto a barge and shipped off site. During this operation, the U.S. Coast Guard will assist by briefly closing the inlet waterway for approximately 2 to 5 hours, or as needed to complete the operation and move the barge. While a specific date has not been established for this operation, DelDOT and Skanska will continue to keep mariners informed of the construction schedule as the work progresses. All parties are committed to working in a way that will minimize impacts to the greatest extent possible.

DelDOT will continue to work with Skanska to identify means of re-sequencing work in order to open the bridge to traffic towards the end of the year. Potential costs of the re-sequencing are being evaluated, but DelDOT believes these costs will be considerably less than the potential economic and safety impacts associated with a prolonged impact to mariners.

Please note that the work on the form traveler will have no impact on motorists.

For more information on this project, visit the website at www.irib.deldot.gov. Mariner-specific information can be found under the Public Safety/Mariners tab.

Paid Sick Leave Is Good For Us All

San Francisco - The latest figures show that some 44 million workers in private employment - more than 40 percent of the private-sector workforce - do not have paid sick days that they could use to recover from illnesses, including contagious illnesses such as the flu, or worse.

It should be of particular concern that those occupations which are currently least likely to provide paid sick days include occupations most likely to have regular contact with the public - most importantly and most disturbingly, food service and food preparation.

That raises serious health problems - especially in these tight economic times, when workers need to stay on the job as much as they can, no matter how ill they are, to earn as much money as they can. Which, of course, endangers the health of those who come in contact with them, as well as delaying their recovery from their illness.

Public health experts note that the fewer the number of workers who are able to stay at home when sick, the more likely it is that diseases will spread. In addition to the increased suffering of the public and other workers which that causes, it also causes significant economic losses.

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Williams Sentenced to 20 Years in Robbery Cases

Lemarr Dewayne Williams, 20, was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison, after pleading guilty to multiple assault and other charges.

He pleaded guilty in two separate cases in Dorchester County Circuit Court to first-degree assault, wearing and carrying a handgun on person and second-degree assault and admitted to violating his probation. For those, Dorchester County Circuit Court Judge Brett Wilson sentenced Williams to 53 years in prison, with all but 20 years suspended.

"I try to give young people every opportunity to redeem themselves, as I did with you in 2009," Wilson said. "You became involved … in even more violent conduct. Some people just choose the life of a thug and I don't know why. For people like that, there are not a whole lot of choices other than incarceration."

Williams of 4727 Corkran Cemetary Road, Hurlock, was indicted March 2, by a Dorchester County Grand Jury for shooting at and robbing a man, possessing a gun and possessing marijuana. He pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree assault, for which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison with eight years suspended, and wearing and carrying a handgun on person, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.

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