Antifa And Trump Supporters Battle At Berkeley

For the third time this year, Trump supporters and Antifa clashed on the streets of Berkeley, California. The two forces met Saturday during the pro-Trump Patriot Day rally.

Berkeley Police have arrested at least 15 people this morning and afternoon, after antifascists met Trump supporters at a pro-Trump rally, reported CBS News.

Police attempted to maintain order with poles and fence mesh, but the barriers did not stop the two sides from violently engaging.

More

The 7 Worst Liberal Attacks on Donald Trump’s Family

It has always been considered over-the-line to attack the family of your political enemies, but liberals believe those rules don’t apply when it comes to Donald Trump. Him, they hate so much that they’re willing to even go after his children. It’s disgusting, it’s hypocritical and as you are about to see, it’s very, very liberal.

1) Rosie O’Donnell Speculated That Barron Trump Is Autistic. In a typically classy move, Rosie O’Donnell speculated that 10-year-old Barron Trump might be autistic on Twitter.

“Barron Trump autistic? If so – what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.”

After she was buried in an avalanche of grief over her attacks on a 10-year-old, Rosie said she meant no harm because speculating about how other people’s children may have some disorder is apparently what caring people do.

Once again, you can read it all here.

GoFundMe Page for Fallen Green Beret Wanted to Raise $15K. America’s Response is Incredible.

When Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, much of the nation was surprised by the loss. He was the first American killed in Afghanistan this year. To help cover the expenses for his family, a friend set up a GoFundMe account. The goal was to raise $15,000. The actual response has been much better than expected.

The GoFundMe page, which has only been active for a couple of days, has raised more than they expected. The page has raised close to $300,000 for the family.

Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar was working with Afghan troops when he was shot. He was 37. He left behind a wife and five kids. Nikki Damron set up the GoFundMe page. She and her husband were friends with De Alencar and his wife.

More

Researchers Find A New Way To Make Water From Thin Air

Researchers have come up with a new way to extract water from thin air. Literally.

This isn't the first technology that can turn water vapor in the atmosphere into liquid water that people can drink, but researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, say their approach uses less power and works in drier environments.

The new approach makes use of a substance called a MOF, a metal-organic framework. As the name suggests, these are materials made of metals mixed with organic compounds. Powders made from MOFs are very porous, so researchers have proposed using them to store hydrogen or methane fuels or to capture carbon dioxide.

MIT's Evelyn Wang and her Berkeley colleague Omar Yaghi decided to try using MOFs to capture water. MOF powders can not only suck up liquid water, they can also absorb water vapor.

And there's plenty of water vapor in the atmosphere. Even in the driest place on the planet there are tons of water molecules floating overhead.

More

Berlin approves funding to start Baker St. repairs

The Berlin Town Council on Monday approved the first phase of an estimated $120,000 project to restore Baker Street, the last oyster shell road in the town.

The town will pay $20,000 for design work, to be done by Salisbury engineering firm Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc., to start the project.

Several residents of Baker Street spoke about the poor state of the road during the meeting.

Resident Suzanne Parks, who approached the Historic District Commission last Wednesday to ask the town to do something about the street, reiterated on Monday that it was in a state of disrepair.

She said the street was once a dirt road, and that the remaining concrete and oyster shell center strip represented its original width. As vehicles got wider, the street was broadened with blacktop.

More

Hello

800 million oyster seed planted in Maryland waterways as part of Bay Watershed Agreement

Progress is being made to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

This week, the Chesapeake Bay Program along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report on work being done to increase oyster reefs. It's part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Among the goals outlined in the agreement is the restoration of native oyster habitat and populations in 10 tributaries by 2025.

For Maryland, this is the sixth annual update on oyster restoration efforts. The main targets of restoration right now are Harris Creek, Little Choptank River and Tred Avon River on the Eastern Shore.

More

Your Kids’ School-Owned Devices Are Spying On Them, Report Finds

As adults, we all kind of have at least a vague peripheral sense that the devices and software we use are probably up to some kind of shenanigans with our personal data. Kids, however, are probably not thinking as closely about what they tell the devices they use, and what data those devices then share — especially if they’re school-owned tools. And yet, a new report finds, some of the learning technology schoolchildren are required to use every day are some of the worst when it comes to explaining and protecting users’ privacy.

The EFF’s new “Spying on Students” report [PDF] pulls together two years’ worth of research and data trying to find out whether educational technology (ed tech) companies are protecting students’ privacy. The answer is, unfortunately, largely not.

One third of all K-12 students are using school-issued ed tech devices, the EFF finds. About half are Chromebooks, and more than 30 million total students, teachers, and administrators are using Google’s education suite of software. And parents are being largely left in the dark.

More

Maryland finalizes fines against former energy-efficient home builder

A Kent Island home builder once singled out as an example of renewable energy projects in Maryland must pay more than $400,000 in restitution and fines for signing contracts with homebuyers and then walking away, the state Attorney General's Office said Thursday.

Nexus EnergyHomes of Stevensville violated the Home Builder Registration Act and other state laws, according to a final order released by the office. The Consumer Protection Division required the builder to replay the families $151,010, plus $235,567 in damages, $32,000 in penalties and $6,446 in costs.

The Attorney General's Office said Nexus EnergyHomes and its founders, CEO Vincent Paul Zanecki of Annapolis and President Michael W. Murphy, signed contracts with 12 families in Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Queen Anne's counties, took substantial deposits for homes at a planned development in Frederick and then failed to complete them.

Nexus EnergyHomes has since closed, and neither the principals nor their attorneys could be reached for comment Thursday.

Nexus EnergyHomes and Zanecki were singled out for praise in former Gov. Martin O'Malley's 2012 State of the State address for the project in Frederick County, North Pointe GeoSolar Community. O'Malley said companies like Nexus EnergyHomes — which specialized in designing, selling and building pre-fab homes that were "net zero" users of energy — put Maryland at the forefront of renewable energy projects.

More

JCPenney Postpones Store Closings Because People Are Shopping There Again

Two months after JCPenney announced it would shutter 138 stores across the country amid falling sales, the company says it is delaying those closings as customers have apparently started shopping with the retailer again.

CNBC reports that JCPenney is pushing back the end date for the 138 stores earmarked for closing this year by at least a month.

A spokesperson for the company says that the stores on the closing list have recently experienced “better-than-expected sales and traffic” since the February announcement.

“This is not an uncommon response when you announce a store closure,” the rep said. “Local shoppers will come out for a variety of reasons — some out of nostalgia and some who are just looking for a great deal.”

As a result, the retailer says it is “prudent to continue” selling merchandise at the stores at the “current promotional level.”

More

Legislation would tax short-term vacation rental units

DOVER — Lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill to place a tax on short-term vacation rental units, including campgrounds and bed and breakfasts.

House Bill 130 would expand the already-existing 8 percent public accommodation tax placed on hotels. The state estimates adding it to other dwellings would bring in between $8-$11 million on an annual basis.

The tax would be allocated in the same way as funds collected from hotels: 5 percent would go to the Delaware General Fund, 1 percent would fund the Delaware Tourism Office, 1 percent would cover beach preservation and 1 percent would go to convention and visitors’ bureaus in each county.

A short-term rental unit is defined as a place used for no more than 120 days.

“I am typically the last person to want to impose any kind of tax in Delaware,” main sponsor Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Hockessin, said in a statement. “However, in this case, I think the circumstances are different. This is a tax that is not being collected equally.

More

Retail Continues To Suffer As Sales Decline For Second Month In A Row

For the first time in nearly two years, retail sales declined two months in a row, highlighting once again the current challenges facing a retail industry that has suffered a number of bankruptcies and store closures so far in 2017.

Sales in March decreased 0.2% at U.S. stores, restaurants, and online retailers from their level in February, according to figures [PDF] released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

In all, the Bureau estimated advanced monthly sales of $470.8 billion for March, a decrease of about $1 billion from February’s sales of $471.8 billion.

The largest decrease in sales came in the auto retail sector, with dealers and parts companies lowering sales 1.2% from $96 billion in sales in February to $95 billion in March.

The food services and drinking places also saw a decrease of 0.2% (or about $300 million) from February to March.

More

Local Legislators Disappointed Bow Riding Bill Failed

OCEAN CITY — There will not be new regulations regarding bow-riding this summer after proposed legislation filed late in the game stalled out as the General Assembly session expired this week.

In the wake of several serious boating accidents in the resort last summer, including a fatal propeller strike that claimed the life of a child in August, Ocean City’s representatives in Annapolis, including Senator Jim Mathias and Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, and Boat Act Advisory Committee in December, decided a regulatory remedy could be expedited rather than going the legislative route.

However, about halfway through the General Assembly session, for reasons unknown, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration reversed course and decided adding new regulations regarding bow-riding would more appropriately be achieved through legislation.

Mathias and Carozza then submitted cross-filed bills, which did make it out of their respective Rules Committees, but the legislation never saw the light of day as the session expired at midnight on Monday.

More

The Real Reasons to Not Get Married

Woman gets time served for attack

Hinkley sentenced to three years’ probation and $245 fine 

after stabbing boyfriend

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Groton sentenced Kimberly Hinkley to three years’ probation, including two years supervised, on Monday in Snow Hill after she pleaded guilty to slashing her boyfriend during a drunken argument.

Hinkley, 50, of Ocean City, was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and possessing a dangerous weapon for attacking Mark James Bell in November. She pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a $2,500 fine, citing her reoccurring alcohol abuse.

“I don’t know what it is when I drink, but I get in trouble. At 50, I’m tired of it and I’m ready to get a grip on it,” Hinkley told the court.

According to a statement of facts, Hinkley had called Bell on Nov. 14 and later met him in West Ocean City to buy an 18-pack of beer and two bottles of whiskey. The couple later went to a storage unit in West Ocean City to “hang out and drink.” During the early hours of Nov. 15, Bell and Hinkley apparently argued, and Hinkley stabbed Bell in the chest with a pocket knife.

More

One Arrested for Fire involving Billboard In Somerset County

SOMERSET COUNTY, April 15, 2017 - Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office and the Princess Anne Police Department have concluded a fire investigation which has lead to the arrest of a female. The fire, which occurred on April 14, 2017 around 2:51 pm, damaged a billboard sign in the area of 12138 Carol Lane in Princess Anne of Somerset County. The billboard was owned by Robert Wink and located in the nearby shopping center. Investigation revealed unknown suspect(s) intentionally set the billboard on fire due to political differences with the billboard postings, and caused approximately $800 in damages. The Princess Anne Fire Department responded to the fire after a passer-by called 911, and extinguished the fire within a few minutes.

The investigation developed D'Asia R. Perry (19) of Baltimore as a suspect. Perry was identified as the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident. She was located on the campus of University of Maryland Eastern Shore and taken into custody. Subsequently, Perry has been charged with Second Degree Arson, four counts of Second Degree Malicious Burning, six counts of Second Degree Malicious Destruction of Property, Trespassing, Obstruction & Hindering, and the Commission of a Hate Crime. Perry was taken to the Somerset County Commissioner and later released on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

Investigators are looking for more information in reference to a second suspect involved in the incident. The second suspect was seen with Perry in a vehicle identified as a newer model silver, Volkswagen Bettle. Anyone with any information in reference to this incident is asked to call the State Fire Marshal's Office at 410-713-3780 or the Arson Hotline at 1-800-492-7529. All callers may remain anonymous.

Doctor accused of slipping Plan B in girlfriend’s drinks

A Manhattan woman found a discarded box of the emergency contraception Plan B in her boyfriend’s trash and immediately thought he’d been cheating.

But the reality was far worse. Instead, he admitted he dissolved the drug in a glass of juice to make sure she couldn’t get pregnant, the 36-year-old woman alleges in a new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Hyosun Kim is suing ­neuroradiologist John Nwankwo Ikechi, 37, for $5 million for emotional ­anguish.

“I can’t even fathom how violated she feels especially because he’s a doctor,” said Kim’s attorney, Christine Bae.

More

Worcester County Sheriff Seeks 11% Funding Increase; Three Additional Deputies Sought

SNOW HILL – Three new officers, increased overtime costs and the need to update equipment highlighted the budget request presented by Sheriff Reggie Mason this week.

During a work session Tuesday, Mason presented the Worcester County Commissioners with a request for just under $8 million in funding for the coming year. The request is 11 percent more than the department received for the current fiscal year.

“I know it’s hard and money is tight but if we want to keep Worcester County safe I need money and equipment to do the job,” Mason said.

The budget proposed by Mason includes a 9 percent increase in personnel funding to allow for the hiring of three new deputies and to cover rising overtime costs. The department had $237,910 budgeted for overtime in FY 2017 but as of Dec. 31 had already exceeded that amount. This year, Mason is requesting $463,409 for overtime.

More

Wells Fargo’s credit card and checking businesses are in free fall

Banking customers are still steering clear of the Wells Fargo wagon.

The scandal-ridden San Francisco bank admitted Thursday that it saw drastic declines in new applications for credit cards and checking accounts, two key products that were at the center of Wells’ cross-selling controversy.

Credit card applications plunged by 42 percent, to 200,000, during the first three months of the year, the bank said in its earnings release. New checking account applications fell by 35 percent, to 400,000.

Last week, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended the bank give the boot to 80 percent of its board for failing to detect the fake-accounts scandal, which last year led to a $185 million settlement with government agencies and the ouster of the bank’s last CEO, John Stumpf.

Earlier this week, the bank put out its own report blaming Stumpf and the former head of retail banking, Carrie Tolstedt. The board clawed back $75 million in compensation from the disgraced duo.

More

'Perfect Storm' ship to be sunk off N.J. next week

UPDATE: The larger images above is my Brother in 1980, (left) and 2017, (right) in the exact same spot before they sink the ship.  

After several months' delay, the ship that helped rescue seven people during "the Perfect Storm" is scheduled to be sunk off the New Jersey and Delaware coast next week, state officials said Tuesday evening.

The Coast Guard cutter Tamaroa will join other ships forming an artificial reef about 26 miles off Cape May at ceremony next Tuesday, barring bad weather, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The 73-year-old ship, which also had a distinguished career in World War II, had been scheduled to be sunk late last year. It was delayed when lab tests confirming the ship was free from cancer-causing PCBs — a prerequisite before sinking — came in later than expected.

The sinking comes a few months after the 25th anniversary of "the Perfect Storm," a confluence of three weather systems off the New England Coast in October 1991 that generated 40-foot waves and wind gusts over 70 mph.

More

Publishers Notes: My brother sailed this ship from 1980 to 1982 after graduating from the United States Coast Guard Academy. He was recently on board for the final inspection of this ship.