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June 8, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

5 News Notes Archives

Chestertown Unveils Downtown Master Plan Concepts at Community Workshop

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On Thursday evening, June 27, residents of Chestertown gathered at the fire hall to hear proposals for revitalizing the historic downtown area. The community workshop, led by design firm  Design Collective, presented concepts for streetscape improvements, new development opportunities, and strategies to enhance connectivity and resilience.

Cecily Bedwell, principal at Design Collective’s planning studio, started the presentation by outlining the project’s three-phase approach. Currently, in phase one, the team has conducted stakeholder interviews and analyzed existing conditions to develop initial concepts. Phase two will refine preferred projects, followed by a design and implementation phase.

Key priorities identified through stakeholder engagement included preserving Chestertown’s unique character, improving connections to the waterfront and Washington College, supporting small businesses, addressing aging infrastructure, and enhancing inclusivity downtown.

Brian Reetz, EnviroCollab’s landscape studio principal, presented streetscape improvement concepts focused on enhancing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity. Proposals included narrowing oversized streets to add angled parking, widening sidewalks, and creating safer crossings. A major focus was improving High Street down to the waterfront, with concepts to reclaim parking areas for public space.

One of many proposed enhancements to the downtown area.

Steve Marsh of GMB addressed coastal resiliency considerations, presenting sea level rise projections for 2050 and 2100. He emphasized the need to plan for higher elevations in future waterfront projects.

The team presented concepts for four focus areas:

  1. The Maple Avenue gateway, proposing mixed-use redevelopment and daylighting a historic stream
  2. The Cross Street/Queen Street intersection, exploring infill development and trail connections
  3. The municipal lot, with concepts for townhomes and enhanced parking
  4. Calvert Street near the elementary school, demonstrating how narrowing streets could improve walkability

Potential projects include better connections to the rail trail, enhancing the waterfront trail, and addressing aging infrastructure and overhead power lines. Specific focus areas include the intersection of High Street and Cross Street, where opportunities for better tree planting or burying power lines exist.

Residents were invited to view detailed boards and provide feedback on the concepts. Nina Fleegle of Main Street Chestertown encouraged ongoing engagement through their website.

Mayor David Foster praised the turnout, stating: “It’s clear our community cares deeply about downtown’s future. These concepts give us an exciting vision to build upon.”

The design team will incorporate community feedback to refine plans over the next two months. A final master plan document is expected this fall, which will guide future downtown projects and investments.

The upcoming phase two will prioritize specific projects based on community feedback, followed by a design phase that includes costing and fundraising efforts. “These improvements can’t happen without funding, so we need to plan for implementation carefully,” Bedwell added.

Main Street Chestertown Executive Director Nina Fleegle emphasized that no decisions have been made. “This is just the beginning of the conversation,” she said. “We want to hear from everyone about what resonates and what needs more work.”

Residents unable to attend can view the video of the complete meeting and presentation materials. Provide feedback at mainstreetchestertown.org.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Underappreciated by Bob Moores

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Of the hundreds of women scientists, why am I highlighting these two? One reason is they contributed in areas that hold great interest for me, astronomy and biology, disciplines at opposite ends of the size scale. The other is that they died early (of cancer) and thus became ineligible for the Nobel Prize which by rule cannot be awarded posthumously.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a “human computer”. In 1902 the director of the observatory, Edward Pickering, assigned her to measure and catalog, from the observatory’s collection of photographic plates, variable stars in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, nebulae thought to reside within our own Milky Way galaxy.

By graphing the magnitude (apparent brightness) versus logarithm of period of variable stars called Cepheids, Leavitt discovered that “A straight line can be readily drawn among each of the two series of points corresponding to maxima and minima, thus showing that there is a simple relation between the brightness of the Cepheid variables and their periods.” In short, the brighter the star, the longer was its period of oscillation. Her results were published in the Harvard College Observatory Circular of 1912.

Logarithms compensated for the property of light called the “inverse square law”, whereby apparent brightness decreases as the inverse square of its distance. For example, given two sources of equal absolute brightness (say two 100-watt bulbs), if one is three times farther away than the other, it will appear one-ninth as bright.

Ms. Leavitt brilliantly concluded that Cepheid variable stars could serve as the long-sought “standard candle” which would allow measurement of distances well beyond the currently accurate, but relatively short-ranged, triangulation method called stellar parallax.

Apparent brightness, absolute brightness, and distance are related by a simple equation. Knowing any two of these three variables will yield the third. But in 1912 not a single Cepheid variable star had had its distance accurately measured. Thus, Leavitt’s chart could not be calibrated (and used) until the distance to at least one Cepheid was known.

That problem was solved one year later when Ejnar Hertzsprung, using parallax, determined the distance to Delta Cepheus and several other Cepheids in our galaxy. Leavitt was then able to say that the Small Magellanic Cloud was 100 times farther away than Delta Cepheus and was in fact another galaxy.

“Leavitt’s Law”, along with Vesto Slipher’s discovery of spectrographic redshift, allowed Edwin Hubble to discover that our universe is expanding. He often said that Levitt deserved the Noble Prize for her work.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt (Isn’t that a wonderful name for an astronomer?) died of stomach cancer at the age of 53. Asteroid 5383 Leavitt is named for her, as is Crater Leavitt on the Moon.

 Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work led to the discovery of the structure of DNA. A graduate of Newnham College, with PhD from Cambridge University, she was hired in 1950 by John Randall and assigned to work with Maurice Wilkins at King’s College London in trying to discover the structure and replicating mechanism of the DNA molecule.

Franklin had made herself an expert in X-ray crystallography, even suggesting design improvements of the instrument. However, images produced by X-ray crystallography are anything but lucid. It’s akin to shining a light up through a crystal chandelier, photographing the image you see on the ceiling, and from that deciding what the chandelier looks like – a lot of interpretation required.

Franklin and Wilkins did not get along. Wilkins thought Franklin was hired to be his assistant; Frankin thought she was hired as his equal.

In 1952 two other teams were competing to be first in discovering the structure of DNA, thought to be the copying mechanism of genetic material and recipe for building every living thing. James Watson and Francis Crick were working at the famous Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, 60 miles north of London. Linus Pauling, who a year earlier had discovered, using X-ray crystallography, the alpha-helix (single helix) structure of proteins, was working at Caltech in the USA.

Watson and Crick collaborated well, and somewhat with Wilkins at King’s College, but not with Ms. Franklin who did not trust that the guys would ultimately give her credit for her work.

To give you a feel for the environment that Ms. Franklin had to endure I present the following quotes by James Watson from his book The Double Helix; A Personal Account of the Discovery of THE STRUCTURE OF DNA (1968).

“By choice she [Rosalind] did not emphasize her feminine qualities. Though her features were strong, she was not unattractive and might have been quite stunning had she taken even a mild interest in clothes. This she did not. There was never lipstick to contrast with her straight black hair, while at the age of thirty-one her dresses showed all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents.”

“Clearly Rosy had to go or be put in her place. The former was obviously preferable because, given her belligerent moods, it would be very difficult for Maurice to maintain a dominant position that would allow him to think unhindered about DNA.”

Franklin was meticulous in analyzing data and the X-ray images she had her assistant, Raymond Gosling, take. It was obvious that DNA had a helical form, but was it a 2, 3, or 4-strand helix? And were the nucleotide bases on the inside or outside of the phosphate groups that formed the “rails” of the helical ladder?

Watson and Crick thought they knew, as they had been building physical 3-D models of various configurations. Hoping for confirmation, Watson went down to King’s College and asked Rosalind if he could view her latest images. In the presence of Wilkins, she refused, saying she had not had time to analyze them. She stormed out of the room, apparently upset that Watson would even ask. Her feelings toward him must have been reciprocal. Watson then asked Wilkins if he could see Franklin’s images, and Wilkins agreed! An egregious breach of ethics in scientific research.

James Watson, in seeing famous “Photo 51” (Google it), immediately recognized the double-helix structure of DNA. On 28 February 1953, at the Eagle pub on the Cambridge University campus, he and Crick announced that they had “discovered the secret of life.”

Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Rosalind Franklin had died of ovarian cancer at the age of 37 in 1958, and so was ineligible to receive the Nobel Prize she rightly deserved.

 

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Book Plate Author Event: Jamie Kirkpatrick and “Dispatches from Palestine 1945-1948”

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The Bookplate is continuing their 2024 season of author lectures on July 10th with local author Jamie Kirkpatrick. He will be reading selections of his newest novel and fielding questions during a 6pm Wednesday event at The Kitchen and Pub at The Imperial in Chestertown.

“The Tales of Bismuth” is the sequel to Jamie Kirkpatrick’s debut novel, “This Salted Soil”. In that novel, Kirkpatrick introduced readers to Declan Shaw, a young Irish journalist who is based in Tunisia and assigned to cover the Allied North African campaign against Nazi Germany in 1942-1943.

Upon completion of that journalistic assignment, Shaw travels first to Hungary and then on to Palestine to cover events unfolding there. He arrives in Jerusalem during the waning days of the British Mandate, and begins to navigate the complexities of life in Palestine–the complexities of the relationships between Palestinians and Jews, as well as the complexities of the heart. In the midst of swirling events and emotions, Shaw strives to report on the conflict as a neutral observer, an almost impossible perspective given the entangled story of two peoples who claim one land. The novel ends with the onset of what Israelis call the War of Independence and what Palestinians refer to as their nakba, their “Catastrophe.” This is readable history, an engrossing story of the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His previous novel, “This Salted Soil,” a fictionalized account of the North African campaign in World War II, is also available at The Bookplate. For the past eight years, Jamie has written a weekly column for three online newspapers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Two collections of these essays, “Musing Right Along” and “I’ll Be Right Back”, are also available at The Bookplate and online. Jamie and his wife Kat Conley maintain homes in Bethesda and Chestertown. His website is www.musingjamie.net.

For more event details, contact The Bookplate at 410-778-4167 or [email protected]. These events are free and open to the public. The Kitchen at the Imperial is located at 208 High Street in Chestertown, Maryland. The Bookplate will continue their event series with husband and wife author/journalist team Karen Tumulty & Paul Richter on Wednesday, July 31st at The Kitchen and Pub at The Imperial.

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A Castelli Restrospective: A Chat with Carla Massoni

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It’s rare in the art world for a gallery curator to maintain a professional relationship with an artist for over 30 years. However, Carla Massoni of MassoniArt in Chestertown and artist Marc Castelli have built a lasting friendship and business partnership that has been beneficial not only for MassoniArt but also for Castelli’s fans and new visitors to the gallery.

Traditionally, MassoniiArts exhibits a Castelli collection each Downrigging Weekend. But her recent discovery of Castelli’s racing yacht watercolors prompted Massoni to consider putting together a retrospective of the artist’s focus on the speed, light, and brute force of ocean racing.

For those familiar with Castelli’s intimate portraits of the watermen he befriended and worked with over the years, Chasing the Silver is a portrait of another maritime world—the high-tech 75-foot monohulls with voluminous sails cutting through sunlight and sea as they vie for the prestigious titles of ocean racing.

” Sailing Magazine has regularly featured his articles and paintings on log canoes and traditional workboats of the Chesapeake. His America’s Cup paintings from the last four defenses and challenges have also been featured. The prestigious Mystic Maritime Museum Gallery has recognized him as a Modern Marine Master for several years.”

The retrospective is at MassoniArt Cross Street Gallery, 113 South Cross Street, and will be available through August 7. Castelli’s annual Downrigging exhibit Merroir will be up from October 24-November 24. For more about MassoniArt, go here.

The Spy recently talked with Carla about the Marc Castelli’s focus on the world of yacht racing.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.

 

 

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Rev. Browning Says Goodbye To Local Unitarian Church

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The Reverend Susan Browning chose an appropriate topic for her June 16 message to attendees at the Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River in Chestertown: “The Art of Saying Goodbye.”  The Sunday service was the minister’s conclusion to seven eventful years as minister of the liberal church on Gateway Drive in the Crestview neighborhood of Chestertown.

Rev. Sue, as she was called by members, recalled the congregation’s rapid switch to virtual worship with the onset of Covid 19 in February 2020.  She found “tech cowboys” among members, and the church missed only one Sunday (March 15) before resuming.

The first six months of prerecorded services were viewed online more than 2,500 times, she related, “which shows how much people needed to maintain that connection.”  After that first stage, UUCR transitioned to live services via Zoom, which allowed watchers to comment on themes and report joys and concerns.

At a party in her honor earlier in the week, congregational leaders praised her leadership, caring counsel in difficult times, aplomb in any situation, and energy.  She had served on a half-time basis officially, but seemed always accessible

Rev. Browning took active part in the Chester Valley Ministers Association, and the outgoing president, the Rev. Laurie Lovelace, said she had been a reliable asset.  “Sue added creative touches to our Thanksgiving services, including hosting a wonderful one at her church.  She also originated a clergy panel discussion on the highpoints and challenges of ministry that was very well received. We will really miss her.”

UUCR’s broad interest in supporting the people of Kent County was demonstrated in 2021.  After a lengthy study of racism, UUCR made gifts of $5,000 each to Minary’s Dream Alliance and Kent Attainable Housing.

Rev.  Browning’s departure from the local church will give her more free time to spend with her family, including husband Bill and three grown children. She will continue a half-time position as pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Easton.  A new clergy person is expected to assume the UUCR pulpit in September after a summer of member-led services.

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Short-Term Rentals a Long Term Problem: A Chat With Town Manager Larry DiRe

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For over two decades, the $64 billion short-term rental models like AirBB and Vrbo have roiled the US housing markets, causing a host of collateral concerns aside from those who profit from it, not the least of which is its impact on a community, no matter the size.

In Washington, D.C., for instance, commercial hosts occupy housing resources that could have housed long-term renters in the city.

Historically, STRs have exacerbated housing shortages by making housing less affordable for long-term residents, driving up property values and rents, and reducing the number of units available.

While this nationwide issue is fraught with regulatory and constitutional property rights challenges battled mainly in urban areas, Chestertown and Kent County are not exempt. Rural areas offering scenic getaways have seen the rise in STR popularity, partly ignited by the pandemic and people’s need to “get away” from urban centers.

Chestertown, and wider Kent County, are beginning to face many of the same issues as the trend develops. Currently the county is in the process of identifying unregistered SRTs who are not paying hospitality tax. The county is also installing a new software program to help with tax accounting.

All of these are overarching themes with short-term rentals.

DiRe says that so far, residents, neighbors, and rental owners concerned with short-term rental issues have come to the table with a sense of commonality rather than division.

However, potentially contentious issues like safety inspections and property points of contact must be addressed. A property in Chestertown operating as a short-term rental by an LLC in California compounds the issue of responsibility.

“Right now, we don’t do any of that. We don’t require an inspection, we don’t require a licensing. All we do is want to make sure that they’re paying their taxes. And that’s bare minimal. But there are vacation places all over the country wrestling with this much more fiercely than we are right now,” DiRe says.

The Spy recently talked with Town Manager Larry DiRe about civic engagement when challenges like property rights arise.

According to DiRe, a working plan to address short-term rentals could be many vacation seasons away.

This video is approximately eight minutes in length and is part of a discussion to be published next week.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the Pic!

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The answer to last week’s mystery is damselfly, pictured below:
Damselflies are often mistaken for dragonflies, but these insects are smaller, slimmer, and fold their wings against their bodies while at rest.
Damselflies are admired for their beautiful colors and forms, making them a popular insect to photograph. They are large, easy to observe, and have exceptionally charming, playful antics. Damselflies do not sting or bite, making them completely harmless to humans.
In its larval stage, a damselfly molts many times under water before moving on to land, where it transforms into a winged adult. Adult damselflies eat mainly flying insects, like gnats and mosquitos.
Damselflies live for a few weeks during the summer and fall, and fly mainly during the day. They have existed since the Late Jurassic, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Bridging the Wild and the Metaphysical: A Chat With NMF Violinist Emma McGrath

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One of the great mysteries in life is that a wafer-thin maple veneer in the shape of an hourglass, four strings, and a bow—and a genius musician— can produce the unearthly delight of sound Rousseau said held “one foot on the wild and the other in the metaphysical.”

Distinguished violinist Emma McGrath, a violin soloist and mentor at the Chesapeake National Music Festival, is a master of the wild and metaphysical, that crazy emotional spectrum of sound that can take you through the haunting ethereal to heartbreaking sorrow and dance playfully in between.

Emma McGrath’s dedication to her craft is evident in her work. When she is not in rehearsal or performing during this year’s annual two-week National Music Festival in Chestertown, she works one-on-one with apprentices seeking to inspire and enhance their skills.

Since performing in the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at age 14, McGrath has traveled the world as a soloist and chamber musician, performing in France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Brunei, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Russia, Israel, Australia, the UK, and the USA.

Although she continues to travel widely when time permits, Emma, her husband and children—all musicians in their own right—is currently Concertmaster at the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies.

The Spy caught up with Emma this week to talk about her life and work.

For more about the National Music Festival and schedule, go here.

This is a long form interview with Emma McGrath and is approximately twelve minutes in length.

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KNOCK! Chestertown: A Community-Wide Doorknocking Campaign to Listen to our Community and Shape Future Plans for Children and Families

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Local Management Board (KCLMB), in collaboration with the nonprofit Everyday Canvassing, is excited to announce the launch of KNOCK! Chestertown, a community-wide door-knocking campaign designed to engage and listen to the residents of Chestertown. This initiative, running from late August to the end of October, aims to gather valuable insights from households about their experiences, concerns, and priorities. The data collected will serve as the foundation for the Chestertown Children’s Agenda, which will act as a pilot for similar plans in other Kent County communities.

KNOCK! Chestertown, standing for Kids and Neighbors Organizing for Change in Kent, is an innovative civic engagement project that focuses on inclusive and participatory community research. Their mission is to ensure that every voice in Chestertown, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, is heard and considered in local decision-making processes.

KNOCK! Chestertown is comprised of three phases. The campaign is currently in Phase 1, which focuses on establishing connections. As part of Phase 1, Everyday Canvassing is partnering with local organizations, civic groups, and community leaders to build relationships and identify potential staff and volunteers. Initial training sessions will be conducted to prepare local residents for effective canvassing and community engagement.

In August, the campaign will move into Phase 2, which includes canvassing and follow-up. Trained canvassers will go door-to-door to engage with residents, conduct surveys, and gather crucial information, and then follow-up with calls and texts will ensure comprehensive community input. The campaign’s goal is to reach all 2,000 households in Chestertown.

The final phase, beginning in November, focuses on community engagement. In Phase 3, the collected data will be analyzed to create a Children’s Agenda specific to Chestertown. This plan will be shared with the community through town halls, focus groups, and other events to ensure transparency and continued participation.

KNOCK! Chestertown is calling on residents of Chestertown to participate in this initiative. By engaging with canvassers and sharing stories and ideas, community members will directly contribute to shaping the future of the community.

Additionally, the campaign is seeking enthusiastic individuals to join the KNOCK! team as canvassers. There are both paid and volunteer opportunities available. Kent County residents interested can volunteer or talk with project staff at this link: https://everydaycanvassing.org/knock-chestertown.

The available job opportunity is for a Community Builder. This position, which pays $30 per hour, is for 7 hours per day, for a total of 10 days with the potential for extension. Applicants should be comfortable speaking with community members, proficient in English, comfortable using a smartphone, and either currently living in or having lived in Kent County. Fluency in Spanish is a plus.

KNOCK! Chestertown is not just about collecting data; it’s about building relationships between residents and fostering a sense of community ownership. By participating, you will help create a stronger, more connected Chestertown where every resident’s voice counts.

For more information or to apply as a canvasser, please contact Mady Nadje at 240-855-4393 or [email protected]. Alternatively, reach out to Tino at 240-264-7102 or [email protected].

 

 

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June Welcomes First Friday

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First Friday ushered in the Chestertown summer’s monthly festivity with warm June weather, music courtesy of the National Music Festival’s Steel Drum Ensemble, street singers, open businesses serving up hor d’oeuvres, book sales, and even a Paul Smith guitar raffled at RiverArts.

If this was a sample of First Fridays this summer, we’re in for some fun.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.