BRADLEY IN A BLAZE

Area residents started coming together in a relief effort less than 24 hours after a fire destroyed several units of a bayside condominium Wednesday.

Three to six families were reportedly displaced by the fire at Bradley on the Bay, a condominium complex at 37th Street, that started at about 5:30 p.m. All lived in units on the top floor of the threestory building and some were at home at the time of the fire, said Ryan Whittington, spokesman for the Ocean City Fire Department.

The Red Cross provided hotel accommodations for some of the victims; others stayed with relatives or friends.

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Border Patrol Agent Fatally Shoots California Woman

 A Border Patrol agent fatally shot a 32-year-old mother of five Friday in suburban San Diego as he rode on the hood of her car after she ran into him, authorities and family members said.

The agent fired after being driven several hundred yards on the hood, Chula Vista police Capt. Gary Wedge told The Associated Press. The woman was later identified in a police statement as Valeria Alvarado.

The shooting occurred about five miles north of the Mexican border as plainclothes agents were looking to serve a felony warrant in the area to someone other than Alvarado, Border Patrol Deputy Chief Rodney Scott told U-T San Diego.

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Water On Mars?

NASA said it's got new proof that water once ran on Mars. The Curiosity Rover has found the remains of an old stream bed. It is sending back images of rocks and gravel. Scientists said, based on the size of the stones, the stream could have been hip deep. They said water moved at 3 feet per second. The rover is trying to find signs of life on Mars and water is a prerequisite for life.

Viral Video Touting Free 'Obama Phone' Puts Spotlight On Federal Program

A viral video of an Obama supporter touting her “Obama phone” has put the spotlight on an obscure federal program that provides discounted phone service to qualifying low-income Americans.

“Keep Obama as president,” the animated woman says on the video. “He gave us a phone.”

The video is drawing attention to the government program — Lifeline — as a national debate unfolds on entitlements and the growing percentage of Americans who pay no income taxes and get a long menu of government benefits. But even though some beneficiaries may credit President Obama for providing the phones, Lifeline is an extension of a program that has existed since 1985. Still, critics including Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., note the program has swelled from $772 million in 2008 to $1.6 billion.

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Lobbyists

A federal judge said the government can stop lobbyists from serving on federal commissions. Six lobbyists had sought to overturn the Obama administration's ban so they could serve on industry-trade advisory boards. Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed their lawsuit against the Commerce Department. She said the lobbyists could not prove that the ban violated their First Amendment rights. In the ruling, she said serving on a federal advisory board is not the same as a tax exemption or unemployment benefits.

Postal Service Executive Pleads Guilty

A former Postal Service executive has pleaded guilty to embezzlement. David Kosturko filed expense forms for $17,000 in travel reimbursements from the agency. As the agency's assistant treasurer, Kosturko traveled often. He paid his expenses with an agency charge card. Prosecutors said he would book multiple airline tickets for the same trip, travel on the cheaper flight, but tell the Postal Service he had taken the more expensive one. They say he did this 35 times in recent years. Kosturko faces up to five years in prison.

Happy Ending For Stolen Maryland Puppy

A puppy stolen on Tuesday from a Maryland rescue group has been returned safely.

Mango, a 7-week-old minature pinscher/dachshund mix, was stolen on Tuesday by a couple who visited the Animal Resource Foundation in Chester, Md. ARF, as it's known, says the man and woman came to look at puppies, left quickly and soon after Mango was discovered missing.

The group quickly printed fliers about the puppy and posted information on their Facebook   page, offering a $500 reward for information leading to the safe return of Mango.

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WCSO Press Release

Incident: Weapon on School Property 
Date of Incident:   27 September 2012 
Location: 200 E. College Avenue, Salisbury, MD 
Suspect: 1.Male Juvenile, 12, Salisbury, MD 
 2. Male Juvenile, 12, Salisbury, MD 
                                 
Narrative: On 27 September 2012 at 1:15 PM, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office began an
investigation into the report of a handgun in the possession of a student at Bennett Middle School.
Reports were received that an indentified7th grade student was seen brandishing the weapon during the
school day. The deputy assigned to Bennett Middle School located the student who no longer had the
weapon in his possession but the investigation quickly led to another student’s locker where the weapon
was recovered. Upon recovery the weapon was identified as an extremely realistic .BB gun.
 
The .BB gun was seized and both students, the one allegedly brandishing it and the one whose locker it
was stored in, will be charged through the Department of Juvenile Services. Since the students who
observed this behavior believed the .BB gun to be an actual handgun, both students will be charged with
having a weapon on school property.

Both students were released to guardians.
Charges: Weapon of School Property

Military Heroes’ Social Security Numbers Posted Online

The Social Security numbers of some of the nation’s most highly decorated Army war heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan were posted this week by a civilian contractor on a publicly available website. The Army has launched an investigation to find out how the privacy of its heroes was violated. Of more than 500 names and profiles on the site, 31 contain Social Security numbers. Six are Medal of Honor recipients, two of whom are alive. There are also Social Security numbers for 25 soldiers who earned the Distinguished Service Cross, 22 of whom are living. More

Repairing The Washington Monument

The National Park Service has named a contractor to repair the Washington Monument. The company is a subsidiary of Perini, which built the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C. The nearly $10 million project requires scaffolding around the monument for at least a year. It's going up in about two months. Perini will fix the stonework that was damaged by last year's earthquake. It will seal cracks and strengthen the tower with metal brackets. Including work already done, the total cost of repairs will be $15 million. Half of that is federal money. A local businessman has donated the rest.

Researcher Says Flaw In Android Creates Phone Risk

 Cellphones using Google's Android operating system are at risk of being disabled or wiped clean of their data, including contacts, music and photos because of a security flaw that was discovered several months ago but went unnoticed until now.

Opening a link to a website or a mobile application embedded with malicious code can trigger an attack capable of destroying the memory card in Android-equipped handsets made by Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, rendering the devices useless, computer security researcher Ravi Borgaonkar wrote in a blog post Friday. Another code that can erase a user's data by performing a factory reset of the device appears to target only the newly released and top selling Galaxy S III and other Samsung phones, he wrote.

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Get Handicapped Parking With A Fake Doctor’s Note, Maybe Go To Prison

Let’s say that you commute from a relatively rural area, and work in a dense urban environment where there’s little parking to be found. Driving is the best way to get to your office, but taking a shuttle from a distant off-site garage or fighting for street parking is such a hassle. What do you do? If you’re a certain information technology worker for the state of New York, you forge a note from your doctor granting you a handicapped parking space, then assume that you’ll never be caught. Now, instead of a luxurious parking space right near his office, he’s in jail, and could face up to four years in prison. More

Judge Rules Out Pre-Trial Visit To Hudson Farm

With a little more than a week left before the opening of the trial in the civil suit against a Berlin farm family over alleged pollution violations dating back to 2009, the federal judge presiding over the case late last week ruled out a pre-trial visit to the site where the infractions allegedly occurred.

In March 2010, the Waterkeeper Alliance, along with the Assateague Coastal Trust and the Assateague Coastkeeper, filed suit in U.S. District Court against Perdue and Berlin’s Hudson Farm, a contract factory farm operation of about 80,000 birds. The suit was filed after sampling in ditches adjacent to the property allegedly revealed high levels of harmful fecal coliform and E. Coli in concentrations that exceed state limits. The Waterkeeper Alliance filed suit in federal court accusing the farm of violating the state’s Clean Water Act.

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Internet Privacy Advocates To FTC: Maybe Check Into This Whole Facebook & Datalogix Thing

After the world caught wind of Facebook’s sassy new partnership with data mining company Datalogix, we figured it would only be a matter of time before the public protestations started. The advocates over at the Electronic Privacy Information Center have teamed up with the Center for Digital Democracy are coming out with guns blazing against the pairing in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission. EPIC and CDD are concerned because Datalogix will be sifting through the millions of bits of information it has access to on consumers who use retailers’ loyalty rewards programs and other data and matching that up with Facebook users. That way, Facebook can figure out how often people who look at ads actually end up buying the product in the store. That ain’t cool, writes the groups in the letter. They claim Facebook is in violation of the FTC’s order to not misrepresent its users’ privacy. More

Berlin Hosts Outdoor Wedding Show

Berlin’s first outdoor wedding show is planned for Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

The event will feature approximately 25 vendors, offering demonstrations, fashion shows, gifts, prizes, custom registries, culinary venues, entertainment, products, services and more.

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HISTORICAL MOMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 9-29-12

The Children’s Home The origin of the structure itself is that it was built between 1857 and 1860 by General Humphrey Humphreys as his summer home. His primary residence was on Broad Street in Salisbury between the Jackson Memorial Building and the Presbyterian Church. The Humphreys’ family cemetery is still located behind the house between the east and west lanes of Fairfield Drive about 250 yards south of the Salisbury-Parsonsburg Road or Old Ocean City Road as it is now called. Interred in the plot are Gen. Humphreys (7/23/1799 – 3/7/1882)), his wife, Elizabeth (2/20/1816 – 9/10/1878), the infant daughter of Gen. and Elizabeth Humphreys (d. 7/28/1834 aged 8 days), Thomas Parsons Humphreys, son of Gen. and Elizabeth Humphreys (d. 9/25/1838 aged 4 mos. 4 days), Eugene Randolph Humphreys, son of Gen. and Elizabeth Humphreys (d. 10/13/1847 aged 4 yrs. 7 mos. 6 days) and Elizabeth Humphreys’ father, Elijah Parsons (7/20/1778 – 1/7/1854). By 1907, the house and adjacent property was known as Fairfield Farms and was owned by Grant Sexton. It was the largest dairy farm serving Salisbury. After its service as a dairy farm, the house was secured by Wicomico County in 1930 and used as a home for homeless boys and girls aged four to fifteen. The original Matron in charge was Mrs. Rhetta Duffy. The Children’s Home was subsequently under the supervision of Mrs. Beulah White Hare. The Matron in the late 1940’s-early 1950’s was Ethel Johnson, the widow the late Judge Benjamin A. Johnson (this information came from Pat Taylor at the Nabb Center, Mrs. Johnson’s granddaughter -2009). While a campaign was conducted each year for contributions for its support, William H. Morton was the chief benefactor. The Children’s Home was discontinued in 1954 after federal and state programs were instituted. For the next two years, it was an institution for boys with mental and emotional problems. The property was then sold to the Lutheran Church which used it as a church until their new church was built in front of it (new church is visible from Old Ocean City Road). When their new church was ready they sold the old Children’s Home and it has been in the possession of private families since then. The present owners are restoring it at their own expense. I have tried to get them financial help but the fact that it is privately owned prevents any historical trust from getting involved. What she has managed to do so far is impressive and worth a trip out to E. Fairfield Dr. to see it if only from the outside.

Jewelry Show

Today

1:00 PM Til 4:00 PM 

Faith Community Church

Local Artist Teresa King

hand made glass beaded jewelry and custom made items

Nobody Wants To Get Sick But Plenty Of People Are Still Avoiding Flu Shots

Who wants the flu this year? No one? That’s what we thought. So how come lots of people — especially those most at risk for getting sick — aren’t going in for flu shots? Health experts aren’t sure, they just know that flu shots are somewhat of a hard sell lately. And those who most need one, pregnant women and health care workers, aren’t showing up to get vaccinated as much as they should. New numbers on immunizations in this country show that fewer than half of pregnant women got vaccinated in 2011, and only two-thirds of health care workers opted for the flu shot, reports NBC News. Public health officials are the biggest pushers of the shots, but combined with the fact that it’s hard in some places to get the vaccine and mild flu seasons convincing people they’ll be fine without it is producing low numbers. More

OBAMA SPENDING $300 MILLION FOR 'PALESTINIAN STATE'

The Obama administration has released details of a plan to infuse another $300 million into West Bank and Gaza construction projects, spending it deems critical toward attaining the “success of a future Palestinian state.”

Despite combined U.S. and international donor-community efforts, a significant portion of the public infrastructure currently under Palestinian Authority control remains in need of expansion or repair, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the USAID.

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Will Dish Be First Big Cable Company To Enter Internet-Only TV Race?

For the last few years, cable and satellite providers have been making more and more channels available for live streaming over the Internet. But you had to be a subscriber to a standard TV package in order to reap that added benefit. Now a new report claims that Dish is trying to convince some broadcasting biggies to join them as they dip their toes into the Internet-only pool. According to Bloomberg, Dish has been having chats with Viacom, Scripps (the folks behind the Food Network, HGTV and others), and Univision about offering some of their channels in lower-priced, smaller bundles that would be accessible via computers and tablets. More