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March 26, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Top Story

Congressional Redistricting: A History of Jumping the Bay

December 4, 2021 by Maryland Matters

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The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, created by legislative leaders to draw up congressional and legislative maps for the General Assembly to consider, proposed a 1st Congressional District that would cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to include portions of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore.

The 1st District currently loops north through Harford County, but crossing the Chesapeake Bay in congressional maps is nothing new. Prior to the current maps, the 1st District crossed the bay into either Anne Arundel County or southern Maryland for decades.

Proponents of such a configuration argue the Eastern Shore and Anne Arundel County are intrinsically connected via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, since many commute daily between the two regions for work and shopping.

“Both regions have the same economic and environmental interest in protecting the Bay,” Anne Arundel County resident Marnette Finn said at a Nov. 15 Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission virtual hearing.

Many who testified at that statewide virtual public hearing in November also urged lawmakers to draw a more competitive 1st District to challenge incumbent Rep. Andrew P. Harris, the state’s lone congressional Republican, citing his vote against certifying the 2020 election results after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Wayne T. Gilchrest, a Republican former congressman who represented the 1st District from 1991 until 2009, said the 1st District proposed by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission is “very similar” to the districts he represented, which also included parts of Anne Arundel County.

“I think they’re connected by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge,” Gilchrest said, “And yes, they are contiguous if you want to look at it that way.”

Gilchrest noted that the Eastern Shore of Maryland doesn’t have a high enough population to justify its own congressional district.

He was ousted by Harris in the 2008 primary elections. Harris subsequently lost to Democratic contender Frank Kratovil, but ran again and won in 2010 by a wide margin.

The 1st District was redrawn to be more solidly Republican in 2012, with Democratic lawmakers opting to draw a Democratic-leaning 6th District in Western Maryland at the time to achieve a 7-1 advantage. Harris has handily won reelection in the current 1st District since.

Under the congressional map proposed by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, however, the 1st District is slated to become significantly more competitive, though it doesn’t favor Democrats as much as another configuration the panel was mulling. According to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which gave the map an “F” grade, the proposed 1st District favors Democrats by a thin margin, roughly 51% to 49%.

In the congressional map proposed by Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, which was created by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), the 1st District does not cross the Bay at Anne Arundel County but instead includes Harford County and northern Baltimore County.

Here’s a brief history of the 1st Congressional District’s boundaries and when they’ve crossed the Chesapeake Bay in the past. All maps were provided by the Maryland Department of Planning.

1966-1970: The first crossing

The 1966 congressional map marked a shift away from districts that strictly adhered to county boundaries in Maryland following Maryland Citizens Committee for Fair Congressional Redistricting v. Tawes, a court case influenced by the 1964 Wesberry v. Sanders U.S. Supreme Court case, in which justices ruled that U.S. House of Representatives districts need to be roughly equal in population.

Congressional districts had been held steady for decades before that court case. The 1st District had long included only the Eastern Shore, starting with Cecil County in the north and extending south to the border with Virginia. In the consequential 1966 map, the Eastern Shore was kept whole but a large portion of Anne Arundel County, alongside all of Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, were added to the 1st District.

1972-1990: Southern Maryland with the Eastern Shore

In the two subsequent rounds of redistricting, Anne Arundel County was kept with portions of Prince George’s County and the 1st Congressional District crossed at Calvert County rather than at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Between 1972 and 1990, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties were kept whole and included with the Eastern Shore. Harford County was entirely included with the Eastern Shore in the 1972-1980 map, while just roughly the western half of the county was included in the 1st District between 1982 and 1990.

1992-2000: Crossing returns to Anne Arundel County and parts of Baltimore City

In 1992, Democratic U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer’s 5th District began to take on its current, familiar shape, encompassing all of southern Maryland and looping up to include the area around College Park in Prince George’s County. It also took in large portions of western Anne Arundel County and parts of southern and eastern Prince George’s County.

The portion of the 1st District on the western shore was drastically reduced, including parts of central and northern Anne Arundel County and a small portion of far southern Baltimore City. This configuration included Harford County with the 2nd District as opposed to with the Eastern Shore.

As recently as 2000, this map resulted in a 4-4 partisan breakdown, with the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 8th districts electing Republicans.

2002-2010: The most recent crossing at Anne Arundel County

The 2002 map included even less of Anne Arundel County with the 1st District. The 1st District also began to take in more of northeastern Maryland, snaking through central Harford County and reaching portions of Baltimore County, where Harris resides.

This map favored Democrats 6-2.

2012-present

The current map is the first to not cross the Chesapeake Bay at Anne Arundel County in decades, and instead includes a larger portion of northeastern Maryland. A large portion of Harford County, parts of Baltimore County and the northern and eastern portions of Carroll County are all included in the 1st District as it is currently drawn.

This represents the state’s current 7-1 partisan breakdown after the 6th District was redrawn to favor Democrats.

Bonus: Every congressional map in Maryland’s history

Here’s every congressional map Maryland has ever had. Note that the number of U.S. Representatives has varied over the years.

By Bennett Leckrone

Filed Under: Top Story Tagged With: Chesapeake Bay, Congress, congressional, crossing, districts, Eastern Shore, map, Maryland, redistricting

Gubernatorial Candidates Talk Eastern Shore Economic Development at Crisfield Clam Bake and Crab Feast

October 14, 2021 by Maryland Matters

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Droves of visitors swelled the population of Crisfield, the southernmost town in Maryland, on Wednesday for the J. Millard Tawes Clam Bake and Crab Feast.

The feast – typically held at the end of July each year and delayed since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic – is one of two major annual events hosted by the coastal town’s Chamber of Commerce.

Ahead of and during Wednesday’s event, Maryland Matters spoke to each of the candidates vying to be Maryland’s next governor about their ideas for boosting the Eastern Shore economy ― though some offered more details than others and, in some cases, the proposals are essentially repackaging their broader campaign themes.

Here is a sampling of their views:

Former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D)

Baker, who only recently returned to the campaign trail following his wife’s death, was not on hand in Crisfield — though he made news this week by announcing that Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro (D) was joining his ticket.

Baker said that with its outdoor recreation opportunities and low cost of living, the Eastern Shore is “the perfect place to attract technology companies or other employers that primarily provide virtual services and folks who can work remotely.”

“In order to do that, we have to invest in infrastructure like high speed broadband and 5G in every community,” he said. “We can also utilize the state’s economic development fund to attract new companies to the region. That’s exactly what I did as county executive with 2U, an education technology company that we convinced to build their headquarters in Lanham… They employ over 5,000 people now. Between technology and the pandemic, our economy is transforming as we speak and there are lots of opportunities for communities on the Eastern Shore if we have the right leadership that’s prepared to take advantage of them.”

Jon Baron (D)

Baron, a former Clinton administration official making his first run for office, moved slowly through the circus-sized tent erected by Annapolis lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano, introducing himself to the elected officials and political insiders congregated inside.

“I love it, I really do,” he said. “I’m talking to a lot of people. I like talking to them and learning what’s on people’s minds. I’m talking about some of my policies and they’re giving me feedback.”

Baron’s core message is that the state’s biggest challenges have existed for decades and that current programs aren’t addressing them. He has held leadership positions at policy-oriented nonprofit groups and believes that there are proven solutions to to problems with health care, education, economic development and the criminal justice system that can be borrowed from different jurisdictions around the country and can be applied in Maryland. For the Eastern Shore, he said, “broadband especially” has been a vexing challenge.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D)

Franchot has been to more Crisfield crab feasts than any other candidate for governor, and he moved through the crowd with the largest entourage — most of them sporting electric blue T-shirts. It displayed an incumbent’s strength — Franchot is completing his fourth term as comptroller — but also kept him from engaging in substantive conversations.

Franchot said that “when” he wins, his administration will “reverse some of the policies that have prevented the state from really prospering,” like impediments on homeownership and the effects of redlining in areas with high concentrations of poverty.

“We’re gonna address that very vigorously,” Franchot said.

Anecdotally, Franchot is seen as having the strongest support among Eastern Shore Democrats, at least at this early stage.

Former Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D)

Gansler, sporting a red golf shirt, moved in and out of the tents, greeting old friends.

Gansler said he’s the only candidate in the race “besides the tax collector” — Franchot — who has a long, solid relationship with the Eastern Shore and intends to augment the job market that exists there.

“Too often,” he said, politicians “pay lip service to the Eastern Shore … and we need to make sure we support our businesses on the Eastern Shore and bring Democratic values back to the Eastern Shore.”

Gansler recently rolled out his environmental plan, which includes off-shore wind energy for Ocean City, “which is a no-brainer and far past its time and due,” he said. He also wants to build a power plant on the Shore to help convert millions of pounds of chicken manure into energy and economic opportunity.

“I’m the only one with a record of environmental accomplishment,” Gansler said.

Ashwani Jain (D)

Jain, a former Obama administration official, did not attend the crab feast.

Jain said he plans to make state government more accessible to the Eastern Shore.

“When I talk to residents — when I see their concerns, when I hear what they’re always talking about — they always feel that, no matter what … their specific local economy is going through, no one at the high levels are actually listening to them or making them feel like they’re being heard and respected,” he said.

Jain also said he wants to eliminate the state income tax for anyone who makes less than $400,000 and proposes to create the nation’s first guaranteed jobs program.

“In that way, we’re going to make sure that everyone has [a] lower cost of living, more disposable income in their pocket, and a good job if they need one and they can’t find one,” he said.

Former U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. (D)

King was not in Crisfield, but he had a handful of campaign volunteers handing out fliers by the marina entrance.

In an interview, he said it is important to ensure Eastern Shore residents have access to affordable child care and health care while thinking about economic development in the region.

He suggested the development of a state bank, which would hold state assets and give loans to businesses that private commercial banks may not give, would help provide smaller businesses on the Shore with greater access to capital.

Wes Moore (D)

Moore, the author and former nonprofit CEO, was a sought-after figure at the crab feast, having lengthy conversations with scores of voters.

Moore said the economic challenges facing the Eastern Shore are not new — and there is no “one solution.”

“The reality is there are three jurisdictions in the entire state of Maryland where 100% of the children are on free and reduced lunch; two of them are on the Eastern Shore.” In many homes, parents and children face other challenges, like mental health and substance abuse.

“When the Shore says we have felt ignored and left out of the conversation, they’re not wrong,” Moore said.

The candidate said he would focus on “accessible broadband,” improved transportation and “smart jobs/green jobs.”

Moore said he is spending a lot of time on the Eastern Shore.

“I want to show people that how we are campaigning is how I plan on governing,” he said. “When people say, ‘you guys are working hard’ and ‘you’re everywhere,’ that’s exactly how I plan on governing.”

Former DNC Chair Tom Perez (D)

Perez, a former state Labor secretary and former Montgomery County councilmember, is not a stranger to the crab feast. He called it “retail politics, I think, at its best.”

Perez said he believes the Eastern Shore has the potential to have a robust diversified economy by complementing its seafood, poultry and tourism industries with the budding clean energy economy in offshore wind.

The Shore, he said, could be a “vital engine of a clean energy economy,” especially with offshore wind offering good union jobs, Perez said. “Extreme weather is a huge challenge for the Shore and for our survival and that is why becoming a solar and wind capital of America is an existential interest and it’s vital to our economic survival,” Perez said.

As governor, Perez said he would work with local community colleges, universities and businesses to build a pipeline of workers, especially in the clean energy industry. He referred to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future’s expansion of career and technical education programs as something to take advantage of on the Shore.

Not only is access to broadband important for the Eastern Shore, but it is also vital to its economy, Perez said.

“Broadband is like water — it’s an essential public utility that should be affordable and accessible to everyone,” he said.

Michael Rosenbaum (D)

Rosenbaum, a Baltimore-based tech CEO, missed the crab feast — “the logistics of trying to be in every corner of the state are complicated sometimes,” he said. But Rosenbaum said he believes his prescription for jump-starting the economy, by offering training programs that propel workers into the middle class, will especially resonate on the Shore.

“We have not made it possible for folks to have a pathway to economic opportunity,” he said.

Rosenbaum points to his own work as a job creator in the private sector and says the state needs “a coherent strategy” to do the same on the Eastern Shore — a strategy that also includes affordable, accessible child care, better transportation, and stronger health care coverage.

“We need to support the jobs for the people on the Eastern Shore to support a family,” he said. “We need to create the resources to make it easier to work.”

Del. Daniel L. Cox (R-Frederick)

Cox, who is running as a vocal supporter of President Trump, had a tent at the crab feast and moved through the crowd with a small but enthusiastic group of supporters.

“Above all,” he said, Maryland’s next governor should lift restrictions on watermen.

Cox said he opposed bills in the General Assembly to expand Maryland’s oyster sanctuaries, and he pointed out that one of the Democratic candidates, Franchot, recently angered watermen by suggesting he would phase out wild fishery and oystering.

“I want to make sure the Eastern Shore has the freedom it needs to grow its watermen, its water industry, as well as its farming industry,” Cox said. “I think those are two crucial areas that need to be honored and respected. We need to protect it.”

Robin Ficker (R)

Ficker, the attorney and perennial candidate whose Cut Sales Tax by 2 Cents signs lined the highways leading to Crisfield, said his focus on cutting Maryland’s sales tax by a third would help the state attract businesses generally and would specifically help economic fortunes on the Eastern Shore.

“We have an 85-mile border with Delaware, which has no sales tax at all, so a 6% difference. That’s enough to get people to move across the line,” said Ficker, who moved aggressively throughout the crab feast crowd. “So we’re going to cut the sales tax, give everyone a tax cut, give everyone a fiscal stimulus each and every year and bring business in here and bolster our economy.”

Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz (R)

Schulz also had a presence at the event, pressing the flesh while accompanied by supporters in white T-shirts.

“We have a very positive message about the state of Maryland moving forward and what we can do in this race for governor,” she said.

Schulz touted Maryland’s Outdoor Recreation Economic Commission as a way to “bring tourism and recreation into the business world,” which is also a shared goal of the Department of Commerce she heads and the state’s Department of Natural Resources. Recently, Hogan established the Office of Outdoor Recreation in response to one of the commission’s proposals.

Schulz also said she would also support the Shore’s agricultural, forestry and waterman industries as governor.

By Bruce DePuyt, Danielle E. Gaines, Hannah Gaskill, Josh Kurtz and Elizabeth Shwe

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: candidates, crab feast, crisfield, Eastern Shore, Economy, governor, Maryland, tawes

Redistricting Commission Urged To Adopt Single-Member Delegate Districts At First Public Hearing

June 10, 2021 by Maryland Matters

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Eastern Shore residents urged the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt single-member legislative districts at a virtual hearing Wednesday evening, with some charging that the state’s current hybrid model is unfair for voters.

The executive order from Gov Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) that created the commission requires that, to the extent practicable, commissioners include single-member delegate districts in the proposed maps. The state’s current House of Delegates districts vary between single-member and multi-member districts, a system that some Eastern Shore residents oppose.

Bill Satterfield, a Wicomico County resident, urged members of the commission to adopt single-member districts. He said the state’s current system means that some voters have greater power in the legislature compared to others.

“Everybody should have one vote for one person,” Satterfield said.

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore) likewise urged members of the commission to move toward single-member districts. Carozza herself was elected in a single member House district, District 38C in Wicomico County, before being elected to the Senate.

“I can speak to the effectiveness of serving my constituents in that capacity,” Carozza said.

Muir Boda, a Salisbury City Council member, said multi-member districts often confuse residents over who to contact on legislative issues.

Carozza also urged commissioners to keep the Eastern Shore whole in the redistricting process. The entire region is currently included in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, which is home to the lone Republican member of Maryland’s congressional delegation, Rep. Andrew P. Harris.

Boda urged commissioners to create “contiguous” districts that keep communities together. He noted the vast difference between Ocean City on the Lower Shore and Taneytown in Carroll County, and said the commission may want to consider creating a district that would include parts of Southern Maryland along with the Eastern Shore.

Community outreach was another prominent topic at the meeting, with some residents urging commission members to better publicize future rounds of public hearings. Demba Ndiaye said he received notice of the meeting just days before it was going to take place.

“This commission, at this time, needs to focus more on outreach and communication to get more people involved in this process,” Ndiaye said.

Moonyene Jackson-Amis, a Talbot County resident, urged the commission to do more intensive outreach to communities on the topic of single-member and multi-member districts. She said each community will be impacted differently by how districts are drawn.

“I don’t know really what the impact would actually be for the population that I’m most concerned about,” Jackson-Amis said. “We need more representation from the African American community.”

Kathleen Hetherington (I), the president of Howard Community College and one of the commission’s co-chairs, said Wednesday that more public hearings will take place as the commission draws up maps.

The multi-partisan commission is tasked with drawing up congressional and state legislative maps for Hogan to submit to the General Assembly, and is currently holding a round of public hearings before the release of 2020 Census redistricting data. The maps that Hogan submits will ultimately be subject to approval and revision by the General Assembly.

By Bennett Leckrone

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: commission, districts, Eastern Shore, Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland, redistricting, single member

Eastern Shore Pipeline Receives Final Approval From Bd. of Public Works

January 28, 2021 by Maryland Matters

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The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday unanimously approved the last key step for the extension of a controversial natural gas pipeline into Somerset County.

The pipeline already exists in Delaware and Wicomico County in Maryland, and the first part of the project was OK’d last month, after three hours of public testimony, to extend the pipeline by seven miles from Wicomico into Somerset County.

Now the recently approved wetlands license would allow Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, a natural gas company based in Delaware, to further extend the pipeline by 11 miles, reaching the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the Eastern Correctional Institute, as well as residents and businesses along the line. The utility would drill beneath the Manokin River, Taylor Branch and Kings Creek.

Wednesday’s BPW hearing renewed the debates over moving towards a renewable future and achieving economic justice for Somerset County, although comments were technically limited to the project’s wetlands permit.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) recognized environmentalists who have raised environmental justice concerns over the project and have argued that this pipeline runs counter to the state’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. While fracking has been banned in Maryland, green groups have suggested that the state should not be agreeing to purchase potentially fracked gas for an extended period of time.

“I just want to salute the environmental advocates who disagree with us on this particular project because I think they’re right, that natural gas and fossil fuels are on their way out,” Franchot said. “And we’re going to get to a renewable future with net-zero carbon emissions.”

Last month, board members said they saw natural gas as a “bridge” fuel to cleaner renewable energy sources in the future.

But Josh Tulkin, director of Maryland’s Sierra Club, asserted that “we cannot simply make baby steps in the fight against climate change.”

“We do not have 40 to 50 years for bridge fuels,” he continued.

But Franchot said he also recognized that this pipeline was more about economic justice for Somerset County, which is one of the three counties in the state that does not have access to natural gas. The county, which is 41% Black and the poorest county in the state, has reportedly missed out on many economic opportunities because of it and deserves the same benefit from the electric grid that most other Marylanders get, Franchot said.

“I think we have to realize that that this is an incremental process we’re going through here,” Franchot continued. “I think the overall goal everyone shares, which is a renewable future, but this particular issue is economic justice and parity with the rest of the state.”

Craig N. Mathies Sr. (D), president of the Somerset County Board of Commissioners, echoed the sentiment.

“We know that it’s going to be a significant savings to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and also to [Eastern Correctional Institute] in their fuel costs — it’s going to reduce it dramatically. And then there’s such an opportunity for… the potential of economic growth.”

Currently, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore uses fuel-oil and propane, while the Eastern Correctional Institute burns wood chips — all of which are dirtier sources of energy than natural gas.

After these recent permit approvals, the state is committing to a 10-year contract with Chesapeake Utilities Corporation for purchasing the fuel and the capital costs associated with it, Charles Glass, acting director and chairman of the Maryland Environmental Service, told board members.

By Elizabeth Shwe

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: board of public works, Eastern Shore, natural gas, pipeline, wetlands

Environmental Justice Advocates Sound Alarm Over Eastern Shore Pipeline

October 30, 2020 by Maryland Matters

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The proposed Eastern Shore Pipeline Project, which would bring fracked natural gas from Delaware into Somerset County, runs primarily through low-income communities of color, a recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network found.

Out of the 40 census blocks surrounding the proposed pipeline route through Maryland, only four were not identified as potential environmental justice populations. There are especially large majority minority and low-income populations concentrated around Salisbury in Wicomico County, where the proposed pipeline project would begin. The study also found a large census tract with over 70% minority population and 24% of low-income residents adjacent to the proposed pipeline in Somerset County.

The natural gas pipeline already exists in Delaware and Wicomico County in Maryland, but this project would extend it from Wicomico to Somerset County, one of three counties in Maryland that do not have access to natural gas and have missed economic opportunities because of it, according to Daniel K. Thompson, executive director of the Somerset County Economic Development Commission.

With an unemployment rate at 9.1% and the highest poverty rate in the state at 23.4%, Somerset County would greatly benefit from access to natural gas, as it would provide additional tax revenue, decrease local businesses’ energy costs and help create more jobs, Thompson said. Mountaire Farms, the chicken processing company that is waiting to invest an additional $5 million and add five to seven new jobs, as well as Somerset Crossing, a development project in Princess Anne that will create 75-100 new jobs, will benefit immediately after natural gas is made available in Somerset County, Thompson said.

“Somerset County has many challenges such as high unemployment, high poverty rates, high energy cost, etc. Therefore, why should one of the most challenged counties in Maryland not have access to natural gas, when other counties enjoy the benefits?” he said.

Environmentalists argue that expanding gas infrastructure is short-sighted, as companies like the Chesapeake Energy Corporation (not affiliated with Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, the pipeline company) filed for bankruptcy this summer and many more are expected to do so by the end of next year. Rather, electrifying buildings is a lower cost alternative compared to gas and leads to lower energy bills in the long-run, according to Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc., an energy consulting firm.

“It is economically foolish to build the very expensive polluting infrastructure of gas pipelines and equipment, which is already outpriced by highly competitive and non-polluting solar and wind,” John Groutt of the Wicomico Environmental Trust said in a statement. “The pipelines will become worthless stranded assets within a very few years, leaving Maryland taxpayers to continue paying for it for years to come.”

The two major recipients of the extended pipeline are the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and the Eastern Correctional Institution, a medium security state prison. The Maryland Environmental Service signed a contract with Chesapeake Utilities to build the pipeline last year, which now needs to obtain wetlands permits from the Board of Public Works in order to begin construction.

Currently, the Eastern Correctional Institution generates heat by burning wood chips, while UMES generates heat by burning propane and oil.

“We’ve long sought a more environmentally friendly source of energy to provide electric and thermal needs for ECI, and natural gas seemed like a natural clean, reliable source of energy,” said Dan Faoro, spokesman of Maryland Environmental Service. “It’s far cleaner than the wood-chips that they’ve been using.”

The proposed pipeline in Somerset would only increase the state’s overall gas use by .0001%, said Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for Chesapeake Utilities Corporation. “While this is an incremental project in the context of Maryland, it provides major environmental and economic benefits for Somerset County,” he said.

Even so, it is not smart to replace dirty sources of energy with another, environmentalists claim. “Fracked gas is just as bad, if not worse, than coal over a 20-year time frame,” Anthony Field, the Maryland campaign coordinator of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said during a news conference this week.

Jailynn Britt, a student at UMES, sees the proposed pipeline project as a “grave injustice,” threatening the soil and water that UMES, a historically black college and university, depends on for its agriculture research. “This pipeline provides no sustainable benefits to the school,” she said in a press conference Tuesday.

Although MES called the procurement process “exhaustive and competitive,” alternative energy proposals were not considered from the beginning. In its request for proposals, MES asked specifically for a “natural gas pipeline” to supply the Eastern Correctional Institution and UMES campus.

Without looking into alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy, MES cannot claim that natural gas is the cleanest and most effective energy source for the prison and the university, environmentalists said.

In July, the Maryland Board of Public Works unanimously voted to pay contractors more than $500,000 to upgrade facilities at the Eastern Correctional Institution so that it could accept gas as a fuel source. But environmentalists pointed out that this was awarded before the correctional institution obtained the permits needed for construction by the state. The Board of Public Works may decide on the wetlands permit for the first portion of the pipeline as early as next Wednesday.

The CCAN report also found that Salisbury is particularly a high-risk area, not only because of how dense the population is, but also because the pipeline project envisions building a renewable natural gas facility there, which would convert organic material from the poultry industry, such as manure and food waste, into renewable natural gas. But this incentivizes more waste production, Field said.

However, since excess organics produce greenhouse gas emissions that flow into local waterways, converting excess organic material into fuel “will help protect the environment and keep local waterways clean,” Chesapeake Utilities Corporation spokesman Mulcahy insists. Otherwise, he said, the excess organic material would have been sent to a landfill, where it would decompose and release greenhouse gas emissions that are used as fertilizers or incinerated, which contributes to air pollution.

Still, environmentalists claim that renewable natural gas is expensive and limited in supply. A report by Earthjustice and Sierra Club found that the total potential supply of renewable natural gas cannot replace even a portion of the existing demand for fossil gas by 2040. Furthermore, large-scale farms that produce lots of waste are dangerous sources of methane, a strong greenhouse gas.

“While states across the country are moving away from gas, Maryland put its thumb on the scale for gas, foregoing the opportunity for comprehensive review of alternatives,” Field said.

By Elizabeth Shwe

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: Eastern Shore, Economic Development, energy, low-income, Maryland, natural gas, pipeline, poverty, somerset county, unemployment

Eastern Shore COVID-19 Cases Over Time

May 19, 2020 by Spy Desk

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Filed Under: COVID-19 Tagged With: cases, counties, Covid-19, Eastern Shore, Health

COVID-19: A New Road to Recovery with Rachel Goss

April 13, 2020 by James Dissette

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Addiction is a disease of isolation, and for people in recovery dependent on social recovery meetings who are forced into isolation during the pandemic shutdown, it can be a dangerous time. From opioid treatment centers challenged with responsible methadone dispensing, to the closure of small 12-step meetings, the challenges of offering new pathways of connection are daunting. But the recovery community is meeting the challenge.

Almost immediately AA/NA and other recovery groups locally and internationally responded to the crisis by setting up online groups using the ZOOM platform where meetings can be accessed through cellphones or computers.

ZOOM meetings maintain the same formats as social meetings and offer different levels of anonymity. Some attend by voice only while others use the video link to interact.

Although there has been some concern with hackers forcing their way into meetings, ZOOM started remediating their security issues in early April and has pledged to guard against any ongoing vulnerabilities. Experienced members of ZOOM meetings will help newcomers set their security parameters.

Here, Rachel Goss a recovery advocate and volunteer networker for all things recovery on the Eastern Shore offers an overview of how the recovery community has responded to the pandemic.

Information and online meeting schedules can be found below:

Marylandmidshoreintergroup.org (go to virtual meetings page where they offer codes to join meetings).

Other resources are:

thefix.com
intherooms.com
celebraterecovery,com
retreathousehillsboro.org

If you know of other recovery resources offering virtual meetings, please add them in the comment section.

Filed Under: Health Portal Highlights, Spy Top Story, Top Story Tagged With: AA, Eastern Shore, Recovery

Home Grown Entrepreneurs: A Chat with Rise Up Founder Tim Cureton

February 13, 2020 by Mary Beth Durkin and Hugh Panero

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Editor note: The Spy is pleased to announce the launch of a new video interview series called Home Grown Entrepreneurs: Spy Profiles. Small business start-ups are a key driver for any local economy. Our series will focus on the entrepreneurs who start new businesses and begin a journey with an uncertain future. We will talk to a diverse group of entrepreneurs from different sectors.

We begin our journey focusing on the food sector. Our hope is these interviews will shed light on the journeys these entrepreneurs have taken and even inspire others to set off on their own. It’s never a straight line to business success but rather a series of zigs and zags as the entrepreneur navigates the challenges that inevitably present themselves. Our entrepreneurs will tell you about them as well.

It is only fitting that we begin our interview series talking to Tim Cureton, the founder of Rise Up. He appeared at our door with his nine-year-old son Koa in tow. He was sporting a blue baseball cap with lettering that said: “Rude Burger” (more about that later). He sat down to talk with us on camera in the Spy studios.

Cureton is from the eastern shore and graduated from Salisbury University. After school, he joined the Peace Corps serving on a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean. It was here that he first began thinking about starting a coffee business. Cureton was a self-described “reluctant business man” but once back home was looking for a way to make a living. While running an outdoor educational summer camp, he visited the west coast and noticed lots of small drive-thru coffee trailers and thought, “why wouldn’t that work back east?” Thus began his business journey.

He eventually met a bank manager whose kids attended Camp Wright on Kent Island, where Cureton had worked and, after describing his business idea, loaned him $16,000. He used the loan to buy a small trailer but now had to find a place to park it. Cureton decided to tap into another Camp Wright connection. Glenn Higgins, a local businessman who owned property on St. Michaels Road, who also sent his kids to the camp. Who needed LinkedIn when you went to a camp that could produce such great business connections? Cureton wrote Higgins a letter asking if he could use his parking lot.

Higgins eventually agreed but warned Cureton that the county wouldn’t approve – and it didn’t at first. Cureton’s first zig came when he received a cease and desist letter from the county. Luckily, he got a temporary permit to open and over the next year worked to develop legislation for roadside vendors. It came down to a County Council 3-2 vote in Rise Up’s favor. Cureton’s zag worked.

Cureton says he will always remember Tuesday, March 15, 2005, the day he opened Rise Up for business and met his first customer. According to Cureton, “his name was Bob, and it was a big order. He ordered a large cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. And off we went.”

On camera, Cureton discussed the companies’ outsized growth from 2005 to 2019. It has been 15 years since he sold that first cup of coffee to Bob at that little shack in the parking lot. Now, he has nine retail locations, a national wholesale business, and a new planned headquarters and much more on the horizon. Many of his early customers have shared with him their thoughts about those early days, which Cureton summed up as “wow, what nice people but too bad they are never going to make it.”

Cureton knew he had something special looking out at his customers. “Of course, we connected with our teachers, lawyers, and local representatives. But it was when I saw the heavy water-carriers of our society, the contractors, laborers, the crabbers, and they felt a connection to Rise Up too, that the word had gotten out that this was a safe place. And that’s really what we are all about.”

Well, Rise Up has made it. It has become a hip, regional specialty coffee brand with a youthful millennial vibe that wakes you up as much as the coffee. The company’s’ mantra is “grown by friends, roasted by friends, enjoyed by friends,” which is proudly displayed on signs and murals in their stores.

Cureton is now a seasoned businessman but still talks like a Peace Corps volunteer when describing the company, which is dedicated to roasting only sustainable coffees Certified Organic + Certified Fair Trade. According to the website, “Coffee has always been the crop of the poor. Through Fair Trade practices, we help to provide our farmers with a dignified existence. In simple terms, the extra money spent on the coffee can be invested back into the farm, family, and community.”

As for Easton, he says, “Easton will be our home for the rest of our time in business”. He adds, “the level of support that we have gotten in Easton is mind-blowing on a per moment basis.” The company has grown from 2 to 172 employees with nine locations. In 2005, Rise Up used 5-10 lbs of roasted coffee per week and now roasts 4000-6000 lbs per week to supply its growing retail and wholesale business.

He credits much of his success to his employees and especially his partner, Noah Kegley, who joined the company ten years ago. He also credits the Rise of Rise Up on his ability to listen and stay humble. Cureton said someone once told him that when your self-employed, you wake up unemployed every day and have to earn your paycheck. He said, “that’s the approach of Rise Up.”

Noah Kegle

Cureton is now dedicated to going beyond just coffee and modest food choices and envisions a full day of offerings to satisfy his customers. This concept includes a kitchen, café, and bar (called Bar 502). To that end, he will expand his Mad Egg food menu, introduce a new line of tea products as well as offering alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages were first introduced in their Rehoboth, DE store, which Tim describes as “a gigantic smash.”

In our video interview, hear Rise Up’s Tim Cureton discuss other big 2020 Rise Up news:

A New Rise Up tea product line called Water and Leaf

The dramatic growth of Rise Up’s wholesale business, which now includes distribution in Giants, Whole Food, and Mom’s Organic Market stores.

The early Spring launch of a new, hip, burger joint called Rude Burger, in partnership with his older brother Brett Cureton, featuring craft burgers and beer, among other healthy food and beverage options.

The creation of the Rude Food Company, an entirely new business.

The March groundbreaking for the Rise Up headquarters at 217 Dover will feature a café, kitchen, and the 502 bar concept.

Hear about his expansion plans, including a new store in Arnold, MD, and potentially more Rise Up locations across the Bay Bridge and around the Delaware beaches.

The video and this article were written and produced by Hugh Panero and his wife Mary Beth Durkin. Both are good friends of the Spy. Hugh is the founder and former CEO of XM Radio and no stranger to entrepreneurship and Mary Beth is a documentary filmmaker and award-winning journalist who focuses on food reporting for the PBS NewsHour.

This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length. Music provided by Mela from their album “Mela two”

 

Filed Under: Commerce Homepage, Spy Top Story, Top Story Tagged With: Chestertown Spy, Coffee, Eastern Shore, Entrepreneurs, Hugh Panero, Rise Up Coffee, Talbot Spy, Tim Cureton

Yes, Human Trafficking is on the Shore: A Chat with For All Seasons’ Katharine Petzold

January 14, 2020 by Dave Wheelan

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It’s typically hard for most Eastern Shore residents to know that human trafficking is alive and growing in their backyard. Beyond the false narrative that this inhumane treatment of adults and children is an urban phenomenon in the United States, the fact remains that these crimes are tough to see even if they are taking place in broad daylight.

Some of these victims are hidden behind locked doors in brothels and factories. But in other cases, they are interacting with community members on a daily basis. In the labor market, it can be found agricultural work, particularly with seasonal fisheries and crab processing as well as construction, nail salons, hospitality industries, and domestic work. With the sex trade, it is showing up locally on online, secret brothels, and “massage parlors” as well as truck stops, private homes, or on the street.

That is one of the many challenges that For All Seasons, the Mid-Shore’s behavioral health center, face as they increase their work to identify and rescue victims in the region. And part of that work is ensuring that members of the health and education professional community understand the signs of human trafficking in a variety of different environments.

Leading this effort for For All Seasons is their anti-human trafficking coordinator, Katharine Petzold. In her interview with the Spy from last week, Katharine talks about her growing awareness of the global problem when she toured Southeast Asia as a professional singer and songwriter, which led her to change careers thirteen years ago.

This video is approximately minutes five minutes in length. For more information about For All Seasons and their anti-human trafficking please go here

Don’t miss the latest! You can subscribe to The Talbot Spy‘s free Daily Intelligence Report here. 

 

Filed Under: Top Story Tagged With: Chestertown Spy, Eastern Shore, For All Seasons, Human Trafficking, Talbot Spy

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