Everyone Loves The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking !!

The Mar-Va Children's Theater presents: PIPPI LONGSTOCKING Friday, August 13th Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $5 This is directed by the fabulous duo of Gwen Skeens and Janice Boettger This will make you laugh until your sides hurt for sure. Don't Miss It!

MarVa Theater - Saturday Night

Md. Sen. Ben Cardin Scheduled To Tour Smith Island

SMITH ISLAND-- U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., was scheduled to tour Smith Island on Sunday to meet with residents and tour federally funded projects as a kickoff to a three-day visit to the Eastern Shore.

It was his first trip to the island.

"I know he's really looking forward to it," Susan Sullam, the senator's communications director, said last week.

Upon arrival in the morning, Cardin was scheduled to see Army Corps of Engineers erosion management projects by boat before attending Sunday services at Rhodes Point United Methodist Church, Sullam said.

After that, he was expected to tour the new Rhodes Point pump station which has been online since December.

Last year, the Rhodes Point Southern Water Works was awarded federal stimulus funds, with Cardin's support, through the Maryland Department of the Environment, Sullam said.

"It's something the senator worked hard on and supported," she said.

In addition to a new well and pumping station, the federal grant paid for new water lines.

After touring Rhodes Point, Cardin was to head over to the neighboring village of Ewell for a chicken barbeque and a meet-and-greet with residents.

Accompanying him on the trip were his wife, Myrna, and Somerset County Commissioners Mike McCready and Paul Ward.

Cardin did not have a public schedule on Monday, but on Tuesday, morning, he was scheduled to tour the NASA Wallops Flight facility. to see the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and the U.S. Navy's Surface Combat Systems Center.

After that he was to travel to the Salisbury-Wicomico Senior Service Center to discuss the new health care law and how it will affect seniors with members of the senior advocate and health care communities.

Later in the afternoon, he also was scheduled to visit the Choptank Community Health System's Cambridge Dental Center and Fassett Magee Health Center, which recently received a grant award of $1 million in recovery funds that to expand dental services.

www.delmarvanow.com

3 Years In Prison For Dogfighting.......Is It Long Enough?

If this sounds like an animal lover to you then we have a huge difference in opinions. They all say it. Even Michael Vick tried it.....and I still don't trust him......and still don't believe he is "cured". Yet, they can't be man enough and admit they did it! They take an innocent animal and make it mean to watch it fight for money and yes, drugs and, oh of course, THE THRILL! How sick is that?

Do some reading on dogfighting. Find out how horrible it is for an animal that can not defend itself to exist in the world of this type of man. Read for yourself what they feed them, how they train them........from innocent puppies on. Find out how what they are fed causes them to go crazy, their organs to never develop and how they allow the small and weak dogs be horribly mauled to death by the stronger ones just to get rid of it.

This is real. And this is horrible. Not to mention a true nightmare for the innocent dog that never asked for anything except a little food, and alot of love. If this is the way men show their love to live creatures my guess is there are some abused humans in the mix too.

Throw this jerk and coward of a man in a pen with a crazed pitbull and let that dog chew on him. Let's see what tune this a__ sings to us then.


Richmond, Va. --

A Richmond man described by defense witnesses as an animal lover will serve three years in prison for a dogfighting conviction.

Substitute Judge Thomas N. Nance yesterday sentenced Deano A. Jones, 47, to five years in prison, with two of those years suspended, on a dogfighting charge.

The judge sentenced Jones to five years on each of two counts of animal cruelty but suspended all of that time. The hearing was held in Richmond Circuit Court.

Jones had entered an Alford plea to the dogfighting charge, meaning he does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him. He pleaded guilty to the two counts of animal cruelty.

Authorities seized 21 pit bulls from Jones' home in the 1700 block of North 23rd Street. Eighteen of the animals needed emergency care, according to testimony yesterday. Seventeen had to be euthanized.

Authorities also recovered a treadmill, steroids and other materials associated with dogfighting, said Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.

Jones testified yesterday that he was not engaged in dogfighting. "I love my dogs," he said during the hearing. "I love just dogs in general."

Defense attorney Robert E. Walker Jr. suggested that Jones' dogs injured one another in scuffles when they escaped from their pens.

Walker characterized his client as an animal lover who fell on hard times when he lost his job and a previous home. The setbacks left Jones unable to afford to take his pets to the veterinarian, Walker said.

"The dogs were his family," Walker said. "You don't kick family out on the street because you don't have money."

Defense witness Candace Foxx said Jones treated his dogs like children. "He should have been a veterinarian," Foxx said.

Later, the judge declared, "He is not an animal lover."

Jones has a misdemeanor animal-cruelty conviction in North Carolina, Herring said.

Herring acknowledged that the defendant was articulate and did not seem like a predator but added, "one has to conclude that Mr. Jones has been cruel to his animals."

www.timesdispatch.com

New Restaurant In Tasley Has Grand Opening

A crowd gathered yesterday for the Grand Opening of Becca's restaurant on Route 13 in Tasley. Becca's is now open serving lunch sandwiches, desserts, pastries, fruit and Becca's famous Smith Island Cakes.

Pictured: Becca cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony hosted in part with the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

www.shoredailynews.com

State Department Sending Mosque Imam To Mideast

Are the American taxpayers REALLY paying for this??

WASHINGTON (AP) - The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks is being sent by the State Department on a religious outreach trip to the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, in a move that drew criticism from conservative lawmakers.

The department is sponsoring Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's visit to Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, where he will discuss Muslim life in America and promote religious tolerance, spokesman P.J. Crowley said. He said the imam had been on two similar trips and that plans for the upcoming tour predated the mosque controversy.

"We have a long-term relationship with him," Crowley told reporters, noting that Rauf had visited Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in 2007 and went to Egypt last January as part of an exchange program run by the State Department's Office of International Information Programs.

"His work on tolerance and religious diversity is well-known and he brings a moderate perspective to foreign audiences on what it's like to be a practicing Muslim in the United States," Crowley said.

Rauf will not be allowed to raise funds for the proposed center during the trip, Crowley said.

Two Republican members of Congress, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Peter King of New York, called government sponsorship of Rauf's trip "unacceptable" in a joint statement. They said he had suggested in at least one interview that the United States was to blame for the 2001 attacks and that taxpayer money should not be used to fund the tour.

"The State Department's selection of Feisal Abdul Rauf to represent the American people through this program further calls into question the administration's policy and funding priorities," Ros-Lehtinen and King, who are the ranking members of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees, said in their statement.

The mosque, to be located two blocks from ground zero, would be part of a 13-story, $100 million Islamic center that would feature a 500-seat auditorium, a swimming pool and a gym. It's a project of the Cordoba Initiative, an advocacy group that promotes improved relations between Islam and the West.

The mosque has drawn vocal opposition from many relatives of Sept. 11 victims and local and national Republican leaders. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, is also opposed.

Crowley said the Obama administration has no position on Rauf's plans, which he termed a local zoning matter for New York. But he acknowledged that the State Department had posted a transcript of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Aug. 3 speech defending the project on a website that it runs for foreign audiences.

"We posted it because we thought it was useful for people overseas to understand perspectives on this issue," Crowley said. "We certainly support what the mayor was underscoring, which is the history of religious diversity and religious tolerance in his city."

In addition to the original English language version of Bloomberg's speech, the department has posted Arabic and Farsi translations of the remarks in which the mayor adamantly rejected opposition to the mosque.

New York Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday offered state assistance if developers agree to move the project farther from the Sept. 11 site. While saying he doesn't oppose the project as planned, the governor indicated that he understands the views of its opponents and said he was willing to intervene to seek other suitable state property.

"I think it's rather clear that building a center there meets all the requirements, but it does seem to ignite an immense amount of anxiety among the citizens of New York and people everywhere, and I think not without cause," Paterson said during a news conference in Manhattan.

"I am very sensitive to the desire of those who are adamant against it to see something else worked out," he said.

The developers declined to comment on Paterson's suggestion. Bloomberg declined to comment through a spokesman.

www.wtop.com

Man Wearing Burqa Robs Bank

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Montgomery County police say a man wearing a burqa has robbed a bank in Silver Spring.

Police say the man who robbed a TD Bank branch on Briggs Chaney Road about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday was wearing a "long black burqa over his face." A burqa is garment worn by Muslim women that generally covers the face and body.

Authorities say the man showed a gun and demanded money. He took an undetermined amount of money and fled.

Police say the man spoke with what they described as "a Middle Eastern accent."

Police have not released a photo.

www.wtop.com

Court Testimony Shows Strands Family Found His Slain Body

ACCOMACK — Murder charges against a man accused of killing Johnny Strand, a popular local restaurant manager, were certified to a grand jury at a preliminary hearing in General District court here.

Fernando Carrillo Sanchez, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guatemala, stands charged with killing Strand, 49, the manager of the Onley Pizza Hut.

Commonwealth’s attorney Gary Agar presented evidence that showed that the black Ford Expedition that was stolen from Strand’s Melfa home was found several days later near the residence of the accused man.

He said also that Carrillo Sanchez made and signed a confession the night he was picked up by the police and that there was a previous unspecified relationship between the two men. Investigators found Strand’s telephone number on the defendant’s cell phone.

Gladys Church, a relative of Strand’s, answered Agar’s questions about May 1, the day she found Strand lying naked, face-down and covered with blood in his bed at his Melfa home.

Church said she became concerned about Strand when he failed to pick her son up from his late- night job at Perdue. She picked up her son herself and drove to Strand’s house.

“We went there at about 2 a.m.,” she said. There were no lights on and his SUV was not there.

“The next morning, we kept calling and calling and he didn’t pick up,” Church said, adding she was nervous because Strand never missed work.

Church told the court she made repeated calls to Strand’s telephone and went to talk to some of his friends to ask if they knew where he was. No one did, she said.
At about 1 p.m., Church said she went to the police.

“I told them my Uncle Johnny was not answering his phone.” Church and her son drove to Strand’s home again.

The door was locked and his vehicle was not there. She said she and her son used a credit card to gain entrance to the trailer.

She began to sob almost uncontrollably as she described the horrific scene.

“We walked in. I got halfway down the hall.” Her son, ahead of her screamed, “‘Oh, no, Don’t come in here.’ I said, ‘I am coming in.’”

“He was lying on his stomach, face to the wall,” she said. “I could see blood splattered up the headboard, up the wall and on the floor.”

“I was screaming. We went back outside. I said, ‘Somebody killed him. Why, why.’”

Beverly Jacks, a volunteer emergency technician with the Melfa Fire and Rescue, was the next to arrive on the scene.

Jacks described the scene just as it had been told by Church. She said it looked like Strand had been dead for some time.

Tom Hedge, an investigator for the sheriff’s department at the time, described the murder scene. He said Strand had trauma to his head from multiple blows.

There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle, he said.

He said the wounds were consistent with the victim being killed where he lay, describing him as “unaware.” He found a blue Little League baseball bat covered in blood under the bed where Strand lay.

Strand’s vehicle was not located until four days later. The sheriff’s department received a tip that it was in Dreamland One mobile home park. They found the vehicle and asked neighbors to which trailer it belonged.

A person was seen running to that trailer, he said, and then refused to answer the door when police knocked. Finally three men came out and all were taken into custody.

Investigator Anthony Bright, with the help of an interpreter, questioned the suspect for several hours. He described Carrillo Sanchez as “very calm.”

“He began to cry and then made a confession,” Bright said. The accused man said he was forced into sex with Strand, Bright said. He claimed that Strand hit him with the baseball bat. Bright said he saw no wounds or bruising on the defendant’s body.

Carrillo Sanchez was defended by attorney Garrett Dunham.

www.delmarvanow.com

Intern Builds Amateur Radio Station

WALLOPS ISLAND -- Chris Billie, an engineering intern at Surface Combat Systems Center, Wallops Island, and a second year engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has completed a project to design and install a military recreation amateur radio station at the command's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center.

The hands-on project allowed Billie to learn about multiple phases of the system engineering process, resulting in an operational high frequency/very high frequency amateur radio station.

As one of only 45 licensed military recreation stations, it will provide amateur radio recreational opportunities to amateur operators who are active duty, retired, reserve military personnel and their dependents, government service and contractor personnel at SCSC; enable Workforce Development Center students to conduct experiments and receive training in radio communications; and provide backup radio communications capability to the command during emergencies."Building an amateur radio station enabled Chris Billie to have a hands-on experience with systems engineering. His low-cost solution to engineering a platform to stimulate science, math, technology and engineering areas is now realized as future students can now pursue a Federal Communications Comm-ission Amateur Radio license. The FCC license exam covers basic regulations, operating practices and electronics theory, with a focus on VHF and UHF applications and allows the licensee to operate FM voice, digital packet (computers), television and single-sideband voice," said SCSC commanding officer, Cmdr. John Keegan.

www.easternshorenews.com

Archaeologists Excavate War Of 1812 Vessel

For months in the spring and summer of 1814, Commodore Joshua Barney and his ragtag flotilla of gunboats had harassed the mighty British navy on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. But outnumbered and outgunned, Barney and his miniature fleet were bottled up in the Patuxent River with no escape and enemy forces approaching.

So following orders from Washington, Barney's men scuttled the estimated 17 vessels — including his flagship, the USS Scorpion — near a place known as Pig Point.

Almost 200 years later, a team of archaeologists have been combing the bottom of a stretch of the river separating Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties in search of artifacts from what they believe is the wreckage of the Scorpion.

With a storm approaching, Susan Langley emerged from the murky waters of the Patuxent on a recent afternoon last week and climbed aboard a cluttered barge floating above the presumed resting place of the Scorpion.

"Visibility is a pretty grim right now," the chief archaeologist for the Maryland Historical Trust reported as she and her colleagues from the historical trust, the State Highway Administration and the Navy neared the end of three weeks of underwater excavation efforts. The team wrapped up Monday but hopes to be back next year to resume the mission to uncover a long-buried piece of Maryland's history in time for the bicentennial of the War of 1812 campaign that ended in the successful defense of Baltimore.

Archaeologists have suspected the presence of Barney's flagship in this spot since 1980, when Nautical Archaeological Associates researchers Donald Shomette and Ralph Eshelman performed a magnetometer survey of the river bottom and found artifacts they believed came from the Scorpion. But lacking the funds and facilities to preserve what they might uncover, they decided to conserve the wreck in place — leaving its excavation for another time.

That time didn't come until this year — and only in a limited way.

"It's all about the money," said Julie Schablitsky, chief archaeologist for the highway administration, which is involved because it is Maryland's center of expertise in archaeology. (Federal and state laws require the agency to protect historical resources that might be in the way of road projects.) Much of the funding for the project comes from federal transportation programs administered by the state.

Schablitsky said the state and federal governments were able to put together $200,000 to finance this summer's explorations, which were intended to pinpoint the dimensions of the wreckage to allow its excavation in future years.

"It truly is a literal time capsule, and 200 years would be a perfect time to open this time capsule," Schablitsky said. "This is a prime opportunity to garner support and enthusiasm for what we believe will be a very symbolic object to the entire state of Maryland."

The events that put the Scorpion on the bottom of the Patuxent are part of a heroic but little-known chapter in American history involving an all-but-forgotten hero of the early Navy.

Barney, born near what is now Dundalk, was a veteran of the Revolutionary War who re-entered naval service after war with Britain broke out in 1812. The summer of 1814 found him in command of the Chesapeake flotilla, a makeshift fleet of shallow-draft barges that did a surprisingly effective job of delaying and annoying the British. Barney's flagship was the estimated 50-foot Scorpion, with two long guns and two carronades.

In 1814, the British dispatched a fleet and army to the Chesapeake Bay region, where they raided costal settlements. Barney's ships were forced to flee to the sanctuary of the shallow St. Leonard Creek near the mouth of the Patuxent, where British warships could not pursue them.

Barney's sailors and a detachment of Marines staged a breakout at the Battle of St. Leonard Creek that allowed the flotilla to reach the Patuxent. Barney took his fleet as far north as he could, to a spot near present-day Waysons Corner.

After the fleet was scuttled, Barney led his sailors and Marines overland to join the Army at Bladensburg, where U.S. forces were routed Aug. 26 despite the stubborn stand made by his men. Barney was badly wounded and taken prisoner in the battle, which preceded the British capture of Washington.

Barney died in 1818, possibly as a result of his wounds.

Only now, said Bill Pencek, executive director of Maryland's War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, through the excavation is Barney getting his due.

"It's very exciting because it brings attention to the most important and inspirational figures of America's forgotten war, Joshua Barney," Pencek said.

Rodney Little, director of the historical trust, said the Scorpion — if that is in fact what it is — could turn out to be the best-preserved wooden ship ever found in Maryland waters. He said the vessel was sunk quickly — without much opportunity to remove objects that would now be valued artifacts — and silted over within a few years by a series of storms. The silt, he said, has acted as a preservative.

"What we have here is a vessel that appears not to have collapsed. Its structural integrity appears to be reasonably intact," he said. Little said the funding for future work isn't 100 percent certain but added that the team has "fairly strong" commitments of about $4 million — enough to pay for most of the work being planned right now.

Schablitsky said the investment in archeology could pay off by generating tourism as people visit the excavation site.

To excavate the wreck, Schablitsky said, the team will need to install a device known as a coffer dam, which would section off part of the roughly 10-foot-deep river and pump out the water to expose the bottom. Her hope is that by 2012, the team will be able to erect viewing platforms from which visitors can observe the work being done within the confines of the coffer dam.

For now, Schablitsky said, there are no plans to raise the ship because the money is not available to conserve it — a venture she estimated would cost $7 million. Like Shomette and Eshelman before them, the Scorpion team may have to recover what they can and move on.

"Sometimes you have to leave something for the future," she said.

www.baltimoresun.com

Guardian Angels Set Up Patrols At DC Metro Station

WASHINGTON (AP) — The D.C. chapter of the Guardian Angels says members will start patrolling Metro's green line three nights a week after a large fight broke out at a station over the weekend, injuring four people.

Chapter leader John Ayala says between eight and two dozen people will be involved in first green line patrol on Tuesday evening.

Ayala says the group already patrols the area around the Gallery Place/Chinatown station on Friday nights. He says fights break out all the time, but not as large as the one that reportedly involved dozens of young people on Friday night.

Guardian Angels will patrol the green line between the Congress Heights and Fort Totten stations on Friday and Saturday nights and one night during the week. Ayala says they will report violent crime to Metro police.
www.dailypress.com

Drowned Body At Johnson's Wharf Has Been Identified

PARKSLEY — Family members have identified a body found Sunday in the water at Johnson’s Wharf as a Parksley man.

Elias Espitia, 41, of Neblett Street, apparently went for a walk at 10 a.m., said his sister, Macrina Guzman of Parksley. Someone called 911 at 1:22 p.m. to report a man’s motionless body overboard.

Guzman said Espitia was prone to seizures that prohibited him from driving. She said Espitia may have had a seizure and fallen overboard — family members said he could swim.

Accomack Sheriff’s Office Major Todd Godwin said the preliminary cause of death is drowning, a medical examiner has determined.

Espitia was a handyman who performed carpentry jobs. His family didn’t immediately know he was missing, figuring he was working.

“We didn’t hear anything else from him,” Guzman said on Tuesday. “We knew nothing else until yesterday.”

She said her mother began looking for Espitia on Monday and contacted the sheriff’s department.

Espitia was unmarried and had no children. He is survived by seven siblings and his mother, who lives locally. His father lives in Mexico.

“He was a really good guy — he was always helpful to everybody,” said Guzman.

www.delmarvanow.com

JURY FINDS KILLER GUILTY OF BEING A GANG MEMBER - A First For Maryland

A Baltimore jury gave out the city's first gang conviction Monday, finding Dajuan Marshall guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and participating in a gang — known as the Spyda Bloods — resulting in death.

Marshall, 28, is said to have killed rival gang member Kenneth "Cash" Jones, who belonged to a different Baltimore set of the Bloods. Prosecutors said Marshall "wanted to run the Bloods' gang in Baltimore and saw Jones as an obstacle," according to the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

The murder conviction carries a maximum term of life in prison, though the gang conviction could add 20 more years and a fine of up to $100,000, the State's Attorney's Office said on its Facebook page. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 17. Co-defendant Kedar Anderson will be tried separately.

The case is the first to test a 2007 law known as the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act before a jury. It allows for enhanced penalties if prosecutors prove that an underlying crime, such as murder, contributed to a criminal, gang conspiracy. The law was strengthened during this year's legislative session.

In a statement, Gov. Martin O'Malley said he was proud to have signed the act into law, saying it was "yet another tool for Maryland prosecutors to put individuals who terrorize our neighborhoods behind bars."

www.baltimoresun.com

That's a real nice thing you did Gov. O'Malley. But how long will you keep them behind those bars?

~ It's HOT !! ~ Take Care Of Your Animals Today and Everyday!

OC Boardwalk Shops Being Sued For Selling knock-off Handbags

Coach Inc., the maker of luxury handbags and accessories, is suing 13 shops on the boardwalk in Ocean City for selling cheaper knock-offs of its items.

A company investigator entered the stores over a two-day period in June and bought counterfeit handbags, wallets and accessories for prices ranging from $20 to $75, according to the lawsuits, which were filed Monday in federal court in Baltimore. Authentic Coach handbags in a similar style are typically priced at around $300, according to Coach's website.

Coach's lawsuits against the Ocean City shops come amidst its nationwide campaign, now in its second year, to crack down on the sale of imitation products. Last May, the company kicked off "Operation Turnlock," a zero-tolerance civil litigation program targeting producers, wholesalers and retailers of Coach fakes.
The New York-based company is now actively fighting the illegal trade of knock-offs of its brand in dozens of lawsuits against stores across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, this year, according to federal court records.

A Coach spokeswoman was preparing a response for later this afternoon to questions from The Baltimore Sun. Coach and other big-name brands, from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, routinely work with federal and local law enforcement to fight a brisk trade in counterfeit luxury goods, many of which originate from China. But in at least one case this year, Coach decided to sue a municipality – Chicago – for not doing enough to crack down on street vendors selling Coach counterfeit goods at a city-run public market.

According to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, a nonprofit based in Washington, the worldwide trade in counterfeit goods amounts to about $600 billion a year. In the U.S. last year, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year seized $260 million worth of counterfeit goods.

The top categories of seized counterfeit goods included footwear, consumer electronics, apparel, computer hardware, pharmaceuticals, and toys and electronic games, according to the federal agencies.

In its investigation in Ocean City, Coach alleges that the shops sold handbags, wallets, key chains and wristlets.

The shops named in the lawsuits include: Maytalk; Beach Break; Hot Topik; Ocean Reef; Summer Breeze; Surf Beachwear; The Fashion Shop; Ocean Waves; Sunset Beachwear; New York New York; Jewel of the Ocean; Oceanfashion Boutique; and Sunglass City.

The Baltimore Sun left messages for management at the locations. A manager at Oceanfashion Boutique, who declined to give her name, denied that the shop sold Coach counterfeit products.

Coach is seeking $2 million in damages for each counterfeit violation at each store or, alternatively, a court order for the store owners to pay Coach all of the profits earned from the sale of the items.
www.baltimoresun.com

Reports of Former Sen. Ted Stevens Are In Conflict

UPDATE: JUNEAU, Alaska — A spokesman for the family of Ted Stevens says the former senator has died in a plane crash in Alaska.
Mitch Rose tells The Associated Press that the family had been notified that the 86-year-old Stevens was among those killed.


CBS News, which earlier reported that ex-Sen. Ted Stevens is among those killed in an Alaska plane crash, now says the information is in conflict. The network originally attributed the information to a family friend of Stevens. Below is the latest story from The Associated Press.

JUNEAU, Alaska — A plane carrying nine people crashed amid southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on board, authorities said Tuesday. Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to be aboard.

It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among the dead.

Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that there were potential fatalities.

Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.

A U.S. government official told the AP that Alaska authorities have been told that the 86-year-old Stevens, a former longtime Republican senator, was on the plane. The official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.

The federal official declined to be publicly identified because the crash response and investigation are under way.

Lopatkiewicz said the NTSB is sending a team to the crash site outside Dillingham, located in northern Bristol Bay about 325 miles southwest of Anchorage. The aircraft is a DeHavilland DHC-3T registered to Anchorage-based GCI.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane took off at 2 p.m. Monday from a GCI corporate site on Lake Nerka, heading to the Agulowak Lodge on Lake Aleknagik. He didn't know if that was the final destination or a refueling stop.

The GCI lodge is made of logs and sits on a lake, and photos show a stately main lodge room with a large imposing stone fireplace, a leather sofa and a mounted caribou head on the wall.

Fergus said the plane was flying by visual flight rules, and was not required to file a flight plan.

Stevens and O'Keefe are longtime fishing buddies and the former senator had been planning a fishing trip near Dillingham, longtime friend William Canfield said. The flights at Dillingham are often perilous through the mountains, even in good weather.

Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham around 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the downed plane. But severe weather has hampered search and rescue efforts.

The National Weather Service reported rain and fog, with low clouds and limited visibility early Tuesday. Conditions ranged from visibility of about 10 miles reported at Dillingham shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to 3 miles, with rain and fog later.

At least two crash victims were treated Tuesday morning by military rescuers, Guard spokeswoman Kalei Brooks Rupp said. She said a team of Good Samaritans hiked into the crash site Monday night and provided medical aid until rescuers arrived.

Lawmakers and residents were awaiting news of Stevens' fate. The moderate Republican was appointed to the Senate in 1968 and served longer than any other Republican in history. He was beloved as a tireless advocate for Alaska's economic interests.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked Alaskans to join her in prayer for all those aboard the aircraft and their families, as did Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. He called the plane crash tragic.

Stevens was one of two survivors in a 1978 plane crash at Anchorage International Airport that killed his wife, Ann, and several others. He remarried several years after the crash — he and his second wife, Catherine, have a daughter, Lily.

Over the years, Stevens directed billions of dollars to Alaska.

But one of his projects — infamously known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" — became a symbol of pork-barrel spending in Congress and a target of taxpayer groups who challenged a $450 million appropriation for bridge construction in Ketchikan.

Stevens' standing in Alaska was toppled by corruption allegations and a federal trial in 2008. He was convicted of all seven counts — and narrowly lost his Senate seat to Begich in the election the following week.

But five months after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder sought to dismiss the indictment against Stevens and not proceed with a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct by federal prosecutors.

O'Keefe, 54, was NASA administrator for three tumultuous years. He was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget when President George W. Bush asked him in late 2001 to head NASA and help bring soaring space station costs under control.

But budget-cutting became secondary when the shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003.

O'Keefe's most controversial action at NASA was when he decided to cancel one last repair mission by astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope. He said the mission was too risky. His successor overturned the decision. The Hubble mission was carried out last year.

O'Keefe left NASA in 2005 to become chancellor of Louisiana State University. He is now the CEO of defense contractor EADS North America and oversees the bid for the hotly contested Air Force refueling jet contract.

The company said O'Keefe was a passenger on the plane. The company said it had no further information about O'Keefe's status.

The contract competition, which pits EADS against rival plane maker Boeing Co., is for a piece of what could eventually be $100 billion worth of work replacing the military's fleet of aging tankers.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/

Gates To Eliminate Joint Forces Command

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for the elimination of the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command on Monday as part of a broader effort to reduce certain kinds of military spending - especially a growing reliance on defense contractors. "The culture of endless money that has taken hold must be replaced by a culture of savings and restraint," Gates said.

One of the military's 10 combatant commands, Joint Forces Command, known as "jiff-com," trains troops from all services to work together - jointly, in military jargon - for specific missions.

It employs about 6,000 people - most based in Hampton Roads, others elsewhere in Virginia and Florida. Its headquarters are at Norfolk Naval Station, and it has a command center in northern Suffolk.

Gates said he expects to dismantle the command over the coming year, but not all of its functions will be eliminated. Some tasks, including force management and sourcing, will be transferred to the Pentagon's joint staff. Other functions deemed essential to promoting "jointness" will be reassigned to other entities.

The economic impact of losing even half the positions at the command would be huge. The Norfolk Ford plant that closed in 2007 employed roughly 2,400 workers.

Not surprisingly, elected officials across the state and region lambasted Gates' announcement and said they would fight it, but it's not clear what they can do to halt the process. Unlike the Navy's plan to relocate an aircraft carrier from Norfolk to Jacksonville, Fla. - which requires Congress to approve funds to make Mayport Naval Station ready to host a nuclear carrier - Gates indicated this bureaucratic reshuffle doesn't require legislative approval.

Gates' proposal for shifting defense spending has broader implications for Virginia than the closure of JFCOM. He ordered several other steps to trim overhead, including cutting spending on support contractors and paring staff at most headquarters by reducing the number of general and flag officers and civilians who hold senior executive positions.

He is moving quickly, demanding action plans for most items within three to four months.

"The way to make sure something gets done in this building is to set short deadlines," he said.

The commonwealth is home to more than 12,000 defense contractors and is second only to California in military-related businesses, Gov. Bob McDonnell said. The companies that employ them have collected $341 billion since 2000, so a reduction of 30 percent over the next three years, as Gates directed, will be an enormous hit, he said.

In a hastily called news conference at Old Dominion University, McDonnell stood alongside Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, Suffolk Mayor Linda Johnson, and U.S. Reps. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake; Bobby Scott, D-Newport News; Glenn Nye, D-Virginia Beach; and Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County.

McDonnell announced the formation of a commission whose task is to retain and expand the state's military and national security facilities.

He and Forbes cast Gates' announcement in partisan terms.

"It appears as though this administration is cutting investments in national defense in order to pay for massive new social programs," McDonnell said. Forbes accused Gates of participating in "the piecemeal auctioning off of the greatest military the world has ever known."

Gates insisted the proposal will not reduce the defense budget. The services will keep the savings accrued and apply them to higher priorities, such as building more ships and replacing equipment worn out in current conflicts, he said.

Virginia's Democratic senators also protested.

"In the business world, you sometimes have to spend money in order to save money," said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner. His colleague in the Senate, Jim Webb, said efficiency is important, but it shouldn't be sought "at the expense of the command that is leading the charge for the future of our military doctrine."

Harold W. Gehman Jr., a retired four-star admiral who served as JFCOM's first commander, said Gates doesn't need congressional support to reorganize military commands, but he also doesn't want to alienate the people who approve the military's budgets.

The command still has an important mission, Gehman said. But he said it has become bloated and could benefit from restructuring.

"Every command should have to justify what it does and why it does it," Gehman said. "Joint Forces Command is going to have a hard time justifying 6,000 people."

Two things seem to have doomed Joint Forces, according to Gates' remarks. At the time it was created in 1999, with a mission to infuse "jointness" into everything the military does, the extra layer of bureaucracy was justified because its mission was so important, Gates said.

But the command is now part of a military that has embraced joint operations - and proven so during long engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps more important, though, is the makeup of its work force. According to the military's own statistics, JFCOM employs far more contractors than any other combatant command. More than half its workers - about 3,000 - are contractors. The remaining 2,800 are about evenly split between uniformed military members and civilian federal employees.

In Suffolk, the command has been a powerful engine driving local economic development.

Hundreds of military and civilian employees work at its north Suffolk campus, a 640,000-square-foot facility leased for an estimated $16 million. Hundreds more are employed by defense contractors working nearby.

"Hopefully, this is not what it sounds like," Mayor Johnson said. "We want to know exactly what it will mean - what it could mean. Will other opportunities come in its place?" She said she will work with the area's congressional delegation to minimize the impact, and, if possible, to prevent the closure.

Gates said he hopes he can convince Virginia's delegation that reducing overhead and administrative expenses will help the state in the long run by focusing more on core priorities.

"If, as a result of these efforts, I'm able to add a billion or two billion dollars to the Navy's shipbuilding program of record, Virginia may well come out with a lot more jobs than it loses," Gates said. "This is why the point needs to be emphasized again and again: this is not about cutting the defense budget. It's about a reallocation internally."

www.hamptonroads.com

No Identification On Body Found Floating At Johnson's Wharf

PARKSLEY — An unidentified man was found dead and floating near the dock at Johnson’s Wharf near Parksley on Sunday afternoon.
The Accomack County Sheriff’s Office responded after someone called 911 at 1:22 p.m. about the grisly find.

Identification of the victim is pending, Major Todd Godwin of the Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff Larry Giddens said the man’s race and other identifying characteristics need to be confirmed by a medical examiner before he releases those details.

Witnesses reported the victim was a white male with dark, curly hair.

Giddens said there have been no missing person reports filed locally in recent days.

The body was transported by Williams Funeral Home in Onancock to the Norfolk medical examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.

Investigation is continuing in the case.

www.delmarvanow.com

3 Men Sentenced in Northampton County

Northampton County Commonwealth's Attorney Bruce Jones reports the following cases were heard in Northampton County Circuit Court:

Jermaine Dontae Collins, 24 of Eastville, was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment with all time suspended conditioned upon successful completion of the Diversion Center program for distribution of cocaine.

Larry Jones, 39 of Birdsnest, was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with 3 years suspended for distribution of cocaine.

Craig Walter Turner, 32 of Melfa, as sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with 3 years suspended for uttering, breaking and entering, grand larceny and destruction of property.
www.shoredailynews.com

Man Accused Of Stealing Vehicle and Avoiding Police Has Been Arrested

SNOW HILL -- The man accused of stealing an SUV from a Snow Hill area repair shop and driving it to Georgia has been arrested after avoiding police for more than a month.

Dennis J. Cross was arrested by officials from the Worcester County Sheriff's Office as he fled from a traffic stop in Berlin, police say.

The 19-year-old Greenbackville resident was in the passenger seat of a white Ford Explorer that was pulled over because of a broken headlight in late July. He allegedly quickly fled the scene, throwing a 12.5-ounce bag of suspected marijuana into the lap of the driver as he exited the vehicle. He was later found and served with additional warrants for his arrest. Cross faces charges of possession and intent to distribute resulting from the incident.

Authorities have been searching for Cross since he reportedly evaded police after being pulled over in an allegedly stolen car in Georgia. Charging documents filed in Worcester County District Court also accuse Cross of stealing a motorcycle from a Public Landing home and selling it to a man in the parking lot of McDonald's restaurant in Pocomoke City for $50.

On June 15, as he was walking around Public Landing, Cross allegedly stole the 2001 Honda Shadow, according to the documents.

"(He) was tired of walking and took the motorcycle for transportation," reads the statement of charges. Later that day, he allegedly reportedly went to Pocomoke City on the bike and picked up a friend, taking her for a ride, before selling it.

The following day, Cross and a 17-year-old, named in charging documents as Dylan Kelly, went to Chip's Auto Repair Shop on Shockley Road -- where Cross had at one time been employed -- and allegedly drove off in two SUVs from the lot, a GMC Yukon and a GMC Envoy.

"Kelly drove the 2003 GMC Yukon from the residence with Cross driving the Envoy," said the documents. "The GMC Yukon had mechanical problems and was abandoned on the shoulder of Route 113 (near Shad Landing). The two continued their trip in the Envoy."

Kelly, who is being charged as a juvenile, was arrested at a traffic stop in the Envoy in Fulton County, Ga., where he was accused of receiving stolen goods and later released. The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services also has charges against him, according to the documents.

Cross is charged with two counts of motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft, two counts of second-degree burglary and four counts of fourth-degree burglary from the incident. If found guilty of all charges, he could face up to 77 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled in Worcester County District Court on Aug. 27.

www.delmarvanow.com

Civil Suit May Be Filed In Shooting of Husky

The owners of the Siberian husky shot to death by an off-duty federal police officer last week at a Severn dog park have retained an Annapolis attorney to explore a possible lawsuit.

Charlotte Weinstein, hired last week by Rachel and Ryan Keegan Rettaliata, is looking into negligence by the officer in the Aug. 2 shooting of the dog, named Bear-Bear.

"We're just conducting our investigation and making sure that county police did what they were supposed to do from the very beginning, and determining whether the gentleman had the authority to carry a gun," Weinstein said.

Anne Arundel County police, who closed and then reopened the case last week after a public outcry, said Friday that further investigation had revealed that the officer's legal authority to carry a firearm was "questionable."

The department has not named the officer, who they said fired his personal weapon in the shooting.

The officer's attorney said he is confident the police investigation will show that his client was in lawful possession of the gun.

"I don't blame authorities for wanting to make sure," attorney David Putzi said, "but I'm confident at this point that the information we provided show that he was lawfully able to carry."
Putzi said the officer is cooperating with police and has provided documentation to show that he's allowed to carry a concealed weapon.

Putzi said he hopes the investigation will be concluded by Wednesday night.

"I don't think there will be anything more to come out," he said.

In the meantime, the Rettaliatas are waiting on a final accounting of the dog's medical expenses, which included emergency surgery, Weinstein said.

Anne Arundel police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said Monday that there was "no new information" regarding the investigation.

According to the report, Ryan Rettaliata's brother-in-law was walking Bear-Bear in the private Quail Run Community Dog Park. The officer, a 32-year-old sergeant in the Army Reserve who works as a federal police officer at Fort Myer, Va., and his wife told police they were at the park with their leashed German shepherd, Asia, when Bear-Bear approached.

The officer said the dogs started to sniff each other, and then the husky became aggressive. He told police that he yelled at Stephen Ryan Kurinij to remove Bear-Bear. The officer said that when he attempted to pull his dog away, the husky began to "grit his teeth and bite his dog around his neck," according to the report.

The officer then shot the dog once with his Glock 9 mm pistol.

Kurinij told police that "Bear and Asia seemed to be getting along," and that "Bear is a friendly dog and has never had any problems at the dog park."

www.baltimoresun.com

Couple Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges

I don't know how many times this summer those of us that have blogs haven't reminded animal owners to NOT leave your pet in your car even for 1 minute! I have ZERO tolererance for this. In fact, I made up my mind during the first hot spell of this season I would look for it! If I ever see an animal in a car I WILL make the necessary calls to have you punished.

People that do this to their animals do not appreciate their animals and I am quite confident that they would neglect a human as well. Think about it........How long would YOU sit your behind in a car with the window cracked no more than 4 inches on even a 75 degree day, not to mention on a day when the heat index is 100 degrees? How long? My suggestion for punishment is, before going to jail, the dog owner be placed in the same circumstances. And once behind bars, placed in the hottest cell available. Cruel?? Maybe. But it's also extremely cruel to treat any animal or human this way if they can not speak up to defend themselves.

Here's the story about the lovely couple that left their dogs to suffer in a hot vehicle.......

SALISBURY, Md.- A Berlin man and woman are behind bars after being accused of leaving their six dogs locked up for more than three hours in a hot vehicle parked at the Centre at Salisbury mall. Salisbury police say one of the dogs died from the heat.

Kirt Barren Greenberg, 45, and Shannon Mecall Hussain, 36, are each charged with six counts of deprivation of necessary sustenance, six counts of unlawful deprivation of sustenance, six counts of inflicting unnecessary suffering and pain and did cause the cruel killing of an animal. Both are being held in the Wicomico County Detention Center on an unspecified bond.

Police say that at around 5:22 p.m. Sunday, officers were called to the mall where they met with witnesses who pointed out a vehicle in the parking lot that contained six dogs that appeared to be in duress due to the heat.

According to police, the windows of the vehicle were up with only 1-inch of space at the top. The officers observed that the dogs were having health issues and made entry into the vehicle. Police say the temperature of the vehicle's interior was found to be in excess of 105 degrees.

One dog was found to be unresponsive and later died from the exposure to the heat. The remaining dogs were given water and air conditioning and slowly revived.

Police say the officers located the dogs' owners, Greenberg and Hussain, and found that the animals had been left in the vehicle for more than three hours. Both suspects were taken into custody on the aforementioned charges.
www.wboc.com

THINK ABOUT IT!

Third arrest in Pocomoke armed robbery

Worcester County Police have made another arrest in an armed robbery and attempted armed robbery in at two Pocomoke businesses. 19 year old Dorian Johnson was arrested last week for his part in the armed robbery of the Goose Creek Store and attempted robbery of the Pizza Hut. 19 year old Decarlo White of Pocomoke and 23 year old Dexter Wise of Laurel, Delaware have already been arrested. All are being held in default of $250,000 bond.

VIA: WGMD

NEWS RELEASE:
DATE & TIME: August 9, 2010
Case # 10-0124
LOCATION: Goose Creek Store (Stockton Rd. Pocomoke, MD)
Pizza Hut Restaurant (Linden Ave. Pocomoke, MD)

CRIME: Armed Robbery
VICTIM: Goose Creek Store – Pizza Hut Restaurant – Pocomoke City MD.

NARRATIVE: See Below
Suspect: Decarlo Marcus White, Age 19 (Pocomoke Address) Arrested and held at The Worcester County Jail on $250.000.00 Bond
Suspect: Dexter Barthelamew Wise, Jr. Age 23 (From Laurel Delaware) Arrested and held at The Worcester County Jail on $250.000.00 Bond

On August 9, 2010 the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation arrested Decarlo Marcus White, and Dexter Barthelamew Wise, Jr.for the Armed Robbery of the Goose Creek Store located in Pocomoke City, Worcester County MD. Both were charged with the following: 23 Criminal Offenses, to include Armed Robbery, Assault First Degree, Reckless Endangerment, Conspiracy to commit robbery. Both are currently being held at the Worcester County Jail on a bond of $250.000.00
Dorian Rashawn Johnson, age 19 was arrested last week by WCBI and is being held on a bond of $250.000.00

On June 9, 2010 at approximately 2335 hours the store clerk of Goose Creek Store located 2322 Stockton Rd. Pocomoke was attempting to close the store for the night, when she was confronted by three masked men who had just entered the store. One of which was brandishing a handgun. All three were demanding money, while one was pointing a handgun at the clerk.

The suspects were able to get an undisclosed amount of currency and fled
the area on foot.

During the investigation, it was also learned that approximately 30 minutes prior to the robbery at Goose Creek Store, The manager at Pizza Hut Restaurant (located on Linden Ave Pocomoke, MD) contacted the Pocomoke City police Department, advising that three masked men had just attempted to rob him at gun point, while he was exiting and closing the business for the night.

The clerk advised he was able to enter his vehicle and drove away.
Nothing was taken by the suspects reference the Pizza Hut. The Worcester County Bureau of Investigations was asked to investigate these two Robberies in Pocomoke, City.

From the information obtained by the restaurant manager matched the same description, such as physical description, clothing as the given by the clerk at Goose Creek.

During the investigation information was learned that the three suspects listed below were involved in the robberies.

The Investigations are continuing.

Body Found Floating Near Johnson's Wharf

On Sunday, August 8 at approximately 1:22 PM, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office received a report from the Eastern Shore 911 Center regarding a man found floating near the dock at Johnson's Wharf just south of Parksley.

The body is being transported by the Williams Funeral Home in Onancock to the Medical Examiner's Office in Norfolk for an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.

Major Todd Godwin stated that the identification of the victim is pending at this time. The investigation is continuing.

www.shoredailynews.com

Coast Guard Medevacs 1 from Fishing Vessel

The Coast Guard medevaced a 38-year-old male 39 nautical miles south east of Chincoteague Inlet Sunday.

The Coast Guard received a call at 10:21 a.m. from a crewmember aboard the fishing vessel Bay Star Seven reporting a crewmember had been complaining of chest pains and had been collapsing.

A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Station Chincoteague and emergency medical technician were dispatched to the fishing vessel.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. arrived on scene and transported both the man and the technician to awaiting emergency medical personnel at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

www.shoredailynews.com

Verizon Restores Service to Accomack County

The problem has been repaired and Verizon has restored telephone service to Northern Accomack County as of 9:30 Monday morning on August 9th according to ESVA 9-1-1 Director Jeff Flournoy.

The ESVA 9-1-1 Center had asked anyone experiencing emergencies in Northern Accomack County to report to their local fire or EMS station.

Any emergencies can now be reported to 9-1-1.

Baltimore County "Sign Fight" In Court Today

A federal judge this afternoon is scheduled to hear arguments challenging the constitutionality of Baltimore County's regulations on political signs in a lawsuit filed this spring by a man who was ordered by the county to remove a campaign sign from his lawn.

Stephen V. Kolbe of Dulaney Valley Road wants the U.S. District Court to block enforcement of several provisions of the county sign code, including the rules restricting the size of political signs based on the zoning of the property and the rule allowing such signs only 45 days before an election.

Kolbe, who runs a computer consulting business out of his home, took down the 4-by-8, blue-and-white sign backing former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in his re-match with Gov. Martin O'Malley. The rules say that in his residential area, Kolbe cannot display a sign larger than 8 square feet.

The case is being heard in Baltimore by Judge Catherine C. Blake, who ruled three years ago that the 45-day provision was unconstitutional and barred the county from enforcing the rule. Kolbe argues that the county is still enforcing it, as the code enforcement officer who came to his house jotted the rule number on the "correction notice" taped to his side door. The county has argued that the notation was a mistake.

Kolbe's suit argues that the campaign sign restriction based on property zoning effectively governs political speech according to what type of property a person owns and where it's located. The suit argues that the rules violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

In the meantime, the county is pursuing limited enforcement of rules on political signs. The county will be keeping files on complaints but is issuing no notices of violation for political signs.

www.baltimoresun.com

Floating Wetlands Project Finds Home In Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Baltimore's Inner Harbor was once ringed by wetlands, but over time they gave way to development until only one was left.

Now there are two.

Volunteers in kayaks, a small boat and a canoe towed a "floating wetland island" from Fells Point — where it took form — to the waters alongside Baltimore's World Trade Center on Sunday. Tourists stopped to gawk and snap photographs as the environmentally friendly flotilla made its slow way along the harbor, the cargo more eye-catching in its greenery than anything else in the crowded waterway.

The Waterfront Partnership, a nonprofit that maintains and promotes the Inner Harbor area, installed the 200-square-foot wetlands as one small part of an ambitious goal to make the polluted harbor swimmable and fishable in 10 years.

"It's going to take all of us rolling in the same direction, but we believe it is possible," said Laurie Schwartz, executive director of the partnership.

It took a lot of people just to create the floating wetlands, which will soak up pollutants, produce the oxygen that's critical for healthy water and provide a place for crabs and other aquatic critters to live.

The Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, a water-quality watchdog group, paid the $50,000 cost from an air-pollution settlement fund. Biohabitats, a Baltimore-based ecological restoration firm, designed the wetlands — 11 separate rectangular structures made of plastic bottles plucked from the harbor, mesh and wood. Then, students with the Living Classrooms Foundation in Fells Point built the structures and planted them with marsh grass and flowers.

For weeks, the manmade wetlands floated beside the one other example left alongside the harbor — Living Classrooms' own marsh. Sunday morning, they headed off by boat and kayak to their permanent destination in tourist-heavy waters.

"Oh, here it comes — here it comes!" cried Schwartz, catching sight of the motorboat towing the first few pieces of wetlands toward the World Trade Center. She waved her arms and grinned, saying later that she felt just like an excited relative seeing a long-awaited baby for the first time. Mary and Jerry Nonnemacher, who live in Reading, Pa. and sailed into Baltimore for the weekend, watched this unusual parade and wondered what it was all about. Katie Bradbury, a 24-year-old from Fells Point, caught sight of the wetlands leaving Living Classrooms and followed them to find out where they were going. And Donna Davis, who works at the World Trade Center, dropped by to take pictures of kayakers pushing the structures into place alongside her building's pylons and roping them together.

Davis, an administrative assistant, knew the goal was better water quality. She hopes it works.

"If it helps, that's fantastic," she said.

Aquatic life is already responding. The underside of the wetlands is a hang-out spot for baby crabs.

But it would take a lot more than a marshy island the size of a bedroom to turn Inner Harbor water — which come from rivers rated "F" by an annual University of Maryland report card — into a safe place to take a dip or catch a fish. So much of the trash and pollutants that damage the water start off far upstream, from oil washed off roads to fertilizers running off suburban lawns.

That's why organizers hope the wetlands act as a conversation starter for passersby, making them think how their ordinary activities hurt or help the harbor.

And the newly installed floating island won't be by itself for long. The National Aquarium, just around the corner, is assembling its own on Wednesday. More might follow.

"It's a very small island in … a fairly big body of water," said Laura Bankey, the aquarium's manager of conservation. "We really only expect to see local changes. But that'll give us an idea, if we scale up this project, what kind of an effect could we have."

www.baltimoresun.com

Car Plows Into Church-goers

EMMITSBURG —
Authorities say two family members have been killed and third seriously injured when a car plowed into a group gathered on the side of the road after a church service in northern Maryland.

Cpl. Jennifer Bailey of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office says a 63-year-old driver was trying to park her Mercury Mountaineer along the roadway late Sunday morning. She says the car accelerated and backed into the people who were crossing the road in Emmitsburg. The driver also hit two cars.

Bailey says 64-year-old Patricia Mauro-Cillo died on the road and 53-year-old John Cillo died sometime after he was taken away. Eighty-nine-year-old Marian Derosa is being treated at Shock Trauma in Baltimore. All three lived in Emmitsburg, which is near the Pennsylvania border.
www.baltimoresun.com

Controversy: Should Local Police And Sheriffs Check Immigration Status

Citing a recent opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a state lawmaker from Northern Virginia hopes the public pressures its elected city councils and boards of supervisors to require their police and sheriffs to go after illegal immigrants.

But law enforcement agencies around the state — and some of the boards that oversee them — seem averse to adding another duty to already-busy workloads. And the ACLU is urging cities and counties to ignore what it calls Cuccinelli's "legally faulty" opinion, saying it will hurt public safety.

Del. Bob Marshall, R- Manassas, said getting people to understand that local police have the power to investigate the immigration status of people they detain was his goal in asking Cuccinelli to weigh in on the issue.
In an opinion released June 30, Cuccinelli said Virginia law enforcement officers — including local police officers and sheriff's deputies — have the power to ask people they arrest on crimes or pull over in traffic stops about their immigration status.

The Attorney General's opinion doesn't go as far as Arizona's controversial new anti-immigration law. While the Arizona law "directs" police officers to make "a reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status, Cuccinelli merely said the cops have the power to check, but doesn't mandate they do so.

Cuccinelli made the determination even though illegal immigration is a federal — not state — responsibility. "So long as the officers have the requisite level of suspicion to believe that a violation of the law has occurred, the officers may detain and briefly question a person they suspect has committed a federal crime," he wrote.

STATE'S STRICTEST POLICY

Marshall said Cuccinelli's opinion should remove any doubt that local police officers and deputies have that authority.

Marshall's own county, Prince William, has adopted the strictest policy on illegal immigration in the state. The policy, adopted by the county's Board of Supervisors in 2008, requires police to check on the immigration status of everyone arrested — and report any such federal violations to the federal government.

"Why aren't more people doing what Prince William is doing?" Marshall asked. "The government should make this a priority. My thinking is that the public should ask their supervisors to tell their local chiefs of police to go ahead and do this."

Since 2008, sheriffs and directors of Virginia correctional facilities are required to check the immigration status of anyone booked, fingerprinted and taken into custody in their jails. They must report potential violations to the state police, which can then report them to the feds.

But there's no such rule for people given a traffic ticket; arrested on a crime and released on a summons to appear in court later; or arrested and granted bail before being jailed.

Marshall said the illegal immigration problem was highlighted again this week when an illegal immigrant accused of driving drunk slammed into a car carrying three nuns on their way to a retreat in Prince William County.

One of the nuns, Denise Mosier, died in the crash, while the two others are in serious condition. The driver, Carlos Martinelly-Montano, 23, is an illegal immigrant from Bolivia. Martinelly had twice been found guilty of driving drunk. But federal officials, citing a backlog, had not yet held his deportation hearing.

That led Corey A. Stewart, the chairman of Prince William County's Board of Supervisors, to say the federal government "has blood on its hands." The Benedictine nuns also weighed in, saying they don't want the death being exploited for political gain.

This week, using Cuccinelli's opinion as his basis, Marshall wrote to Gov. Robert McDonnell, asking him to issue an executive order requiring law enforcement officers in Virginia to do more to check into immigration status.

ACLU SLAMS OPINION

But even as Marshall cites Cuccinelli's opinion favorably, the ACLU slammed it in a letter to the police chiefs this week urging them not to follow it.

The ACLU's Virginia legal director, Rebecca Glenberg, said that contrary to Cuccinelli's opinion, state and local police in Virginia don't have the power to inquire about the immigration status of the people they stop. The ACLU also cited a federal judge's opinion last week that threw out portions of the Arizona law.

"The Attorney General's opinion provides no guidelines as to when questions about immigration status is justified," Glenberg wrote. "Because most police officers have not been trained to enforce immigration law, allowing them to question individuals about immigration status is an invitation for racial profiling."

Such grilling, she said, would also "have an adverse effect on public safety" because illegal immigrants would feel less safe cooperating with police.

To the ACLU's letter, Marshall responded: "The ACLU's position essentially allows alien terrorists and gang members to be untouchable in this country. We cannot allow this to continue."

In contrast to Prince William County, Virginia State Police and most local police departments and sheriff's offices around the state take a hands-off approach to illegal immigration.

Citing illegal immigration as a federal responsibility, police departments seem content not to get overly involved. They typically leave it up to individual police officers to decide whether or not to ask about immigration status — and whether or not to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE).

FEET ON THE STREET

"We're just trying to keep feet on the street," said Dana Schrad, the executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. "When you don't have the resources that you need, you're most certainly going to give your most immediate attention to what represents the real danger to the community."

"Investigating (an immigration violation) is up to the individual officer," added Hampton police spokeswoman Allison Quinones. "Is it something that's mandatory? No." But if information "presents itself" during a criminal investigation that someone is here illegally, she said, officers can and do often report that to ICE.

Numbers were not available on how often Newport News, Hampton or the State Police notify the federal government about illegal immigrants. They say they don't keep such numbers.

Recently elected Newport News Mayor McKinley Price said he has not heard from any fellow City Council members or the public that the Newport News police should be doing more.

"I feel comfortable with the way the police are handling the issue," Price said. "We're trying to get these teenagers to stop shooting each other, so there's already plenty to be concerned about."

Schrad said it doesn't always make sense for local cops to bombard federal immigration officials with notifications that they don't act upon. If a local police department reports someone and the feds don't deport him, that could come back to bite the police with reduced cooperation from that person later, Schrad said.

Until there's a national public policy shift, she said, trying to round up all the illegal immigrants up and kick them out is "like trying to bail out the Titanic with a Dixie cup."

www.dailypress.com