Smart Investments in Smart Growth

In a recent letter to the editor Richard Rothschild's argument that state officials' policy on septic systems is based on politics rather than science doesn't square with the facts ("Carroll commissioner: MDE is cooking the books on septics," Dec. 4). The Maryland Department of Planning and the Maryland Department of the Environment used the best available scientific data modeling available in our analysis.

This is our Maryland. Let's ensure we pass it on to the next generation in a smart, green and growing way.  A new "sim" app online!

In response to Maryland Sen. E.J. Pipkin's commentary, PlanMaryland is hardly a "war on rural Maryland." It is a policy plan to better position state agencies…

Despite protests to the contrary from the O’Malley administration, it has been clear for the past few years that the administration’s programs, policies and proposed legislation constitute an assault on rural economies and property rights.

BALTIMORE -- Questionable septic system upgrade contracts totaling $1 million have been referred to the attorney general's criminal division, according to an audit of the Maryland Department of the Environment released Thursday.

Auditors found serious problems at the Maryland Department of the Environment, including questionable grants paid out of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, failure to do required safety screenings and construction site inspections and undisclosed computer system issues.

Lack of regulation of construction sites, mishandling of funds cited

Health of Bay, sprawl test limits of local power

The long-debated, long-awaited, long-constructed Intercounty Connector opened in its 18.8-mile entirety just in time for the annual Thanksgiving traffic scrum.

Route 200, the formal name for the Intercounty Connector, is fully open (though a one-mile extension to U.S. 1 remains unbuilt).

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. - It's always tough to run a small business, but when Sherifa Clarke an her husband first started kayaking the river and the bay near Havre de Grace eight years ago they knew that this was the place they wanted to be.

Despite the significant impact it will have on future development activities, interest in Harford County's Master Plan process remains scant, as the draft 2012 plan prepares to go before the county council in early January.

The Baltimore Development Corp. has issued a request for proposals for three midtown properties that include the vacant Parkway Theatre. Proposals are being sought from qualified developers who wish to redevelop the properties…

Construction of a new 18,500-seat arena and 500-room hotel in downtown Baltimore could get under way before work to expand the Baltimore Convention Center begins.

CUMBERLAND — Allegany County is all in, with several other Western Maryland counties, after county commissioners voted Thursday to spend $5,000 to help hire a lobbyist to represent the region during the upcoming 2012 General Assembly session.

Officials look at site plan that breaks a city ordinance

MYERSVILLE — Maryland’s two U.S. senators are asking federal regulators to pay close attention to residents’ concerns about a proposed natural-gas compressor station near Myersville.

SALISBURY — The Wicomico Environmental Trust is expected to give the John Groutt Award for Environmental Stewardship to Del. Norm Conway at a dinner on Jan. 20.

For thousands of years humans have recognized the passage of time, whether through the cycle of night and day or by the passing of the seasons. Our current method of timekeeping, which uses a 60-second minute, a 60-minute hour and a day divided into two 12 hour periods, originated over 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Egypt (Barnett 1998: 102).

An environmental group said Wednesday that infrared video shows air pollution streaming from natural gas sites that have been sprouting up across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

America is a product of the Age of Reason. Our founders used their rational powers to free us from the ignorance and superstition that shackled less enlightened societies. For over two centuries, we have assumed that the Age of Reason was here to stay, a permanent flowering of our intellectual growth.

If you listen to the state planning secretary, PlanMaryland is simply a useful statewide guide for coordinating future growth.

Montgomery County officials still seek funding for project

Baltimore City’s housing department is looking for a developer or home builder to construct up to 70 new public housing units for disabled individuals.

Donald Gresham, a community activist in Middle East who has protested against East Baltimore Development Inc. and its planned $1.8 billion redevelopment of the community, has been chosen

Smart growth or partisan planning? The issue which spurred the debate is the new PlanMaryland idea presented by Gov. Martin O’Malley.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Washington County Board of Commissioners will probably ask for only two bills to be introduced in the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly that begins in January, officials said Tuesday.

The Washington Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved funding for two Hagerstown Regional Airport projects.

The chairwoman of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission said she resigned earlier this month because “effective progress” was being obstructed by new appointee Ronald Bowers — and county officials refused to remove him from the commission’s board.

School officials traveling to Annapolis to plead their case

BALTIMORE — An environmental group said Wednesday that infrared video shows air pollution streaming from natural gas sites that have been sprouting up across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation said it sent the videos to the...

CUMBERLAND — Allegany County officials hope to continue displaying a portion of the Thrasher carriage collection in the Cumberland area, despite the upcoming closure of the Queen City Transportation Museum in the city. The remainder of the...

Economic development emerged as the primary way to fund budget increases in other areas as the city opened talks Wednesday about 2013 budget priorities.

SALISBURY -- The hurricane season that brought mandatory evacuation to Ocean City during the height of tourist season and millions in damage to Maryland residents and businesses officially ends today.

Shore Drive-In could be rebuilt by interested buyer

OCEAN CITY -- Ocean City staff are gathering information to help Town Council decide how to pay for $3 million in repairs to the resort's streets.

Bundle up and head to this winter playground in western Maryland. You'll find lots to see and do, and the scenery is drop-dead gorgeous.

Jacques Kelly's article about the rebirth of Union Mill did a superb job of recognizing the innovative program that has driven Seawall Development's reuse of the historic property ("New tricks: Redone factory now homes," Nov. 23). This

Under pressure from conservative lawmakers, state planners have agreed to delay their disputed blueprint for Maryland growth until after they get a little more feedback on it in Annapolis.

Feeling the heat from farmers and environmentalists alike, the O'Malley administration has put on hold new rules on how and when farmers can fertilizer their fields.

Nearly 300 awaiting enforcement

A recent article by Tim Wheeler ("Septic task force produces 'roadmap' for MD growth," Nov. 23) perpetuates a false narrative regarding septic systems that the state is using as an excuse to arrest property rights and local autonomy in rural counties.

Administrative law judge finds project conflicts with master plan, county law

CUMBERLAND — The new Cumberland Inn & Spa on Greene Street hasn’t opened yet, but its 12 guest rooms have been full of people over the last two weekends. Family and friends of the five partner owners — Brian Butts, Gary Butts Jr., Gary Butts Sr., and…

MDP Secretary Richard E. Hall Presents Florence Beck Kurdle Award to Rethink College Park

A plan to reorganize the Calvert County Department of Planning and Zoning will be presented Tuesday, Nov. 29 by Chuck Johnston, the department’s new director.

Dear Explainer: You got some ‘splainin’ to do: “Study Finds Higher Number of Pedestrians Hurt by Bikes.”

Dear Charles: I read that one, too. I am not sure that I have a lot of ’splainin to do on that one, but I do have some thoughts on the subject.

In October we described the "fundamental law of road congestion," which explains that building more roads fails to decrease congestion, and in fact increases it, because doing so tempts more people into their cars. The authors of that paper believe the most effective response to city traffic — nay, the only one — is congestion pricing.

In recent posts I've taken note of Americans’ declining mobility and looked at the states where people are more and less likely to move. Today, I look at the factors that are associated with states with low levels of mobility.  

When it comes to the holy trinity of art, architecture, and religion, few buildings are more significant than the 1898 Methodist Church in Norwalk, Connecticut. Anchoring a main street, the Romanesque-style church features a stained-glass rose window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself.

County should create board to oversee priorities, requests for state money, group says

In Crownsville, MD - The Winter 2011 Roundtable will feature: (1) An interactive discussion of the PlanMaryland guidelines; (2) A report on the work of the Task Force on Sustainable Growth & Wastewater Disposal; and (3) Secretary Hall’s outline of the department's 2012 legislative agenda in Annapolis.

Rural counties should be pleased that a committee looking in to restrictions on septic systems has recommended an approach less aggressive than one proposed earlier this year by Gov. Martin O’Malley, but it remains to be seen whether the governor next year will go along with the committee’s recommendations or whether he will continue to push for stricter limits.

Some say panel’s lack of specifics shows difficulty in drafting a law

Conservative lawmakers have won a skirmish in what they call a “War on Rural Maryland,” getting state officials to delay implementing a land-development plan until a Senate committee has its say.

Kelly, Robinson say Md., Charles goals are aligned

Letter; Opinion

The Hartford Courant would like to see Connecticut adopt some of the smart growth policies that are in the new Maryland plan before it is too late.

As previously reported on Conduit Street, the process for completing and adopting PlanMaryland has yielded an extended conversation

Disney decision to nix hotel a reflection of industry, experts say

Demolition marks beginning of redevelopment

The top attorney for the Montgomery County government said Monday that a bill proposing limits on big-box stores is unconstitutional.

The Walt Disney Co. has scrapped plans for a 500-room resort hotel that would have added another marquee name to the National Harbor development in Prince George’s County.

Maryland's got a very painful leg cramp, and needs some medicine to fix it. This sort of cramp is called "growth," the medication is called PlanMaryland, and we need to take it now.

Chincoteague, Va. — Over the years, residents and tourists in this picturesque resort town have been guided by five gentle words: “Relax, you’re on island time.”       

University has added three new buildings with combined price tag of $165 million since 2008

Despite protests to the contrary from Gov. Martin O'Malley, it is clear that his administration's programs, policies and proposed legislation constitute an assault on rural economies and property rights. Whether the war on rural Maryland is intentional is beside the point.

Delegates, senator discuss potential taxes, budget, septics and PlanMaryland

I would very much like to thank you for arranging a briefing on the State Development Plan with Chairman Joan Carter-Conway and the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee.

Chincoteague, Va. — Over the years, residents and tourists in this picturesque resort town have been guided by five gentle words: “Relax, you’re on island time.”

Changes needed because they are no longer counted

Salisbury City Council expected to again make request to county

OCEAN CITY -- Discussion of funding initiatives for Ocean City's annual street improvement program are expected to continue at Tuesday's Town Council work session.

PRINCESS ANNE -- Town officials have agreed to amend no-parking hours on William Street to accommodate nearby homeowners who complained about the new restrictions.

Senate holding Dec. 12 hearing on controversial issue

On November 18, President Obama signed into law a bundle of appropriation bills for FY 2012  including appropriations  for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The measure had been passed earlier in the House by a vote of 298-121 and in  the Senate by a vote of 70-30.

The Maryland Department of the Environment today announced 51 recent major enforcement actions for alleged violations of MDE requirements for land, air and radiation management, water, and wetlands.

Amwell Township is a 44-square-mile plot of steep ravines and grassy pasturelands planted with alfalfa, trefoil and timothy in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

ANNAPOLIS -- A Maryland task force has backed off taking a more aggressive approach to curbing pollution from septic tanks in an effort to forge a consensus.

The last major link of the Intercounty Connector opened to Laurel early Tuesday, cutting drive times in half for many motorists.

About 7,000 drivers showed up Tuesday morning for the wet, foggy debut of the new section of the Intercounty Connector, a highway that has been a target of controversy for decades from …

The new Private Forest Conservation Establishment Program aims to create forest conservation easements on properties 10 acres or more.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development announced yesterday that the Baltimore Metropolitan Council was one of 29 regional areas to receive a 2011 Sustainable Communities Grant.

Highway should boost BWI, development, but tolls are concern

Our view: A Superblock memorial to the 1955 sit-ins doesn't necessarily have to be a museum; another site may be more appropriate for a large commemoration

Toll highway opened this week, connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery

Toll highway opened this week, connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Prince George's County could cost roughly $800 million over the next decade -- possibly triggering new fees for already cash-strapped residents and businesses.

Council votes to grant developer tax break for $10 million project

Wheaton — home to Montgomery County’s first shopping mall — has lagged behind the pace of redevelopment in other areas of the county in recent years.

Walt Disney Co. announced Friday that it had canceled plans to build a 500-room resort hotel at National Harbor, dealing a blow to an ambitious project that is seen as an integral part of the economic future of Prince George’s County.

MCHENRY — Garrett County resident Dana Shimrock was relieved when Maryland put the brakes on drilling in the natural gas-rich Marcellus shale before a single well could be drilled. “They had just completed a well not far from me across the border in...

CUMBERLAND — A great economic development opportunity for Garrett and Allegany counties, and the state of Maryland, will be at stake if a draft study is adopted by a commission examining drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale formations, said...

CUMBERLAND — The debate at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting wasn’t about whether the city should swap land with Western Maryland Health System to build a new Allegany High School at site of the former Sacred Heart Hospital. Twenty of 23 residents...

CARPENDALE, W.VA. — A majority of the second phase of Carpendale’s hiking trail, stretching from the east face of an old railroad tunnel to the C&O Canal towpath, is complete, according to Mayor Butch Armentrout. The trail, which took about a month to...

CUMBERLAND — A wind project in Garrett County was among 51 recent major enforcement actions taken by the Maryland Department of the Environment for alleged violations of requirements for land, air and radiation management, water and wetlands.

To the Editor: Amid all the debate in Congress over budget cuts and lightning quick farm bill deliberations, those of us outside Washington and Wall Street must remember the priorities that are crucial to building a better future in our...

GARRETT COUNTY — Garrett County resident Dana Shimrock was relieved when Maryland put the brakes on drilling in the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale before a single well could be drilled.

Garrett County resident Dana Shimrock was relieved when Maryland put the brakes on drilling in the natural gas-rich Marcellus shale before a single well could be drilled.

Critics have blamed hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," for environmental disturbances including landscape degradation, air pollution, and groundwater contamination – conditions which may affect the health of surrounding areas. But the jury is still out on whether these claims are valid.

Although members don’t oppose a specific wind farm, Allegheny Highlands Alliance is one of the groups that opposes wind farms in general, according to member Wayne Spiggle of Short Gap.

SNOW HILL -- Worcester County has hired a new economic development director who says his No. 1 priority is to work with businesses to encourage job creation.

The state’s website for Plan Maryland describes it as “Helping to put Smart, Sustainable Growth and Preservation in the right places.”  But it’s become more than that–it’s become a contentious political issue about who has the final say in planning, the state or cities and counties.  Planning Secretary Richard Hall and State Senator EJ Pipkin, the new Republican leader of the Senate, join us to talk about both sides of the issue.

Agency [MDP] argues development of 14,000 acres could cause sprawl, questions commission’s move

The Maryland Department of Planning is recommending Frederick County take a closer look at its 2011 comprehensive plan and zoning review to better assess proposed changes to its land-use laws.

Despite protestations to the contrary from Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley’s administration, it has been clear for the past few years that the governor’s programs, policies and proposed legislation constitute an assault on rural economies and property rights.

This is exactly how the federal government should be supporting sustainability: helping communities who want to do the right thing for their environments, economies, and residents.  Congress in its stupidity wisdom may have just used the federal budget to zero out the sustainability assistance program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development but, in what may be its last round of major grants for a good while, HUD yesterday awarded $97 million dollars for planning and other efforts in 27 regions and 29 communities across 32 states. The residents of those communities will be the better for it, and so will the planet.

Washington, D.C.'s original streetcar system, like that of so many other U.S. cities, was dismantled in the early 1960s, its routes largely replaced by public buses. (It would be another 15 years before the first stage of the city's Metrorail system opened.)

The 18.8-mile Intercounty Connector, which opened in full Tuesday, could be the last publicly funded highway built in Maryland for a generation, as the state’s tolling agency, which financed its $2.56 billion construction, reaches its debt limit, local transportation experts said.

The vaunted, long-awaited Intercounty Connector opens today.

On Monday, November 14, 2011, the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) voted to approve Plan It 2035, the fiscally constrained long range transportation plan for the Baltimore Region. Click above for more information.

19th-century Union Mill transformed into a beehive of residences, offices and meeting rooms

The Bozzuto Group plans to begin construction of its 371-unit apartment and retail project in Prince George’s County next year. Esplanade will include 25,000 square feet of retail space and…

Extended public comment period cited for move

I resist writing these letters, until something screams, “Does not anyone see the obvious?” Your editorial “Perseverance: New plan may bring success to shops at Canal Place” (Nov. 17) and your previous Times-News article outlining the economic travails of businesses at the Canal Place fail to see the elephant sitting squarely in the room…

CUMBERLAND — Tonight is the night for residents to make known their opinions about a proposed land swap that would allow the Allegany County Board of Education to build a new high school at the site of the former Sacred Heart hospital. Cumberland City...

Public input regarding the proposal for a new Allegany High School at the former Sacred Heart hospital site will be taken this evening when the Cumberland Mayor and City Council meets at 6:15 p.m. at City Hall. After the Times- News raised a number of...

Board of Education asks for public support

CUMBERLAND — A federal grant for $70,000 will fund the preparation of a comprehensive economic development strategy for Western Maryland. The plan, which usually runs around 180 pages, is a critical tool in gaining federal dollars for the region, said...

County planners voted against any new rezoning, and a lawsuit seeking termination of the rezoning process was filed by Friends of Frederick County, the Audubon Society of Central Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Salisbury council looks at future of unused, city-owned locations

Redistricting committee head will discuss choice of new districts

Parks Rec n Roll #3 features a discussion about bicycling in Montgomery County and the amenities extended to bikers throughout the area.

Town officials in northern Prince George's County say they want to bring Whole Foods to Riverdale Park but are concerned with the crush of traffic they expect the development to attract.

Ownership of the $220 million Ritz-Carlton Residences is back in the hands of its Long Island-based developers nearly two years after the luxury development underwent a massive refinancing amid problems stemming from construction lawsuits and the recession. The stately luxury development, perched at the water’s edge on Key Highway, remains one of the city’s most luxurious …

The largest stretch of Maryland's Intercounty Connector opens Tuesday, linking Interstate 270 in Montgomery County to Interstate 95 in Prince George's County for the first time.

Price tag: $3.4 million over 10 years

Montgomery County lawmakers on Monday plan to take another look at their vision for Kensington as a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly town with mixed-use properties and open, green spaces.

Residents of Owings Mills must hardly be able to believe the news in their community in the last few weeks. Not long after the perennially delayed Owings Mills Metro Centre redevelopment got back off the ground with construction work on what is to be Baltimore County's largest library and a community college branch, the owner of the long-suffering Owings Mills Mall announced a $64 million plan to turn it into a new open-air shopping center.

A surge in building permits for apartments nationwide is good for the struggling construction industry, but the growing demand for apartments underscores a major problem in areas such as Carroll, where affordable housing is sparse and where too many of our young adults are forced to leave the area to find places to live.

New Montgomery-Prince George's highway link expected to boost commerce, development

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Starting Tuesday, travel time between Gaithersburg and Laurel will be 30 minutes shorter, officials predict. The reason: The full InterCounty Connector opens at 6 a.m.

The state’s website for Plan Maryland describes it as, quote, ”Helping to put Smart, Sustainable Growth and Preservation in the right places.” End quote. But it’s become more than that, it’s become a contentious political issue about who has the final say in planning, the state or cities and counties. Planning Secretary Richard Hall and State Senator EJ Pipkin, the new Republican leader of the Senate join us to talk about both sides of the issue.

But designation actually applies to entire county, and there are caveats

County needs to reduce nitrogen by 70,000 pounds

Education, PlanMaryland topics at League of Women Voters event

CUMBERLAND — The same company that withdrew from a contract to buy the Braddock Hospital campus recently withdrew from a resource sharing agreement with the state. Kevin Manovich, the president and CEO of NWT Enterprises, said demands made on the…

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers are starting to debate how much “severance tax” should be imposed on the natural gas that might be produced from the Marcellus shale rock formation in Western Maryland. Though it is not clear when, or even whether,...

FROSTBURG — The Savage River Lodge was chosen as No. 1 in the state for its sustainable business practices and awarded the Maryland Office of Tourism’s 2011 Green/sustainable Tourism Award. The presentation was made during the annual annual Maryland...

CUMBERLAND — Question: On Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, this community will be featured on an episode of “Jeopardy!” Answer: What is Cumberland? After months of editing, Cumberland will be featured in a series of clues on the Black Friday episode of the...

Political pandering has been alleged, a lawsuit has been filed, hearings have been summarily canceled -- and that was just this week.

FREDERICK, Md.— Frederick County’s planning board is going head-to-head with the county commissioners over growth.

Despite protests to the contrary from the O’Malley administration, it has been clear for the past few years, that the administration’s programs, policies and proposed legislation constitute an assault on rural economies and property rights.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland lawmakers are starting to debate how much "severance tax" should be imposed on the natural gas that might be produced from the Marcellus Shale rock formation in Western Maryland.

Governor O’Malley offered his support for an Eastern Shore farm family last week in its struggle against the New York-based Waterkeeper organization. The organization, founded for Robert Kennedy Jr., is suing the family for an alleged violation of environmental laws that was already investigated and resolved by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

From the point of view of the Delmarva farmer, the Martin O'Malley administration has been an exercise in taketh away. Last week, it appears, the governor decided the time was ripe to giveth.

Natural disaster flushed out bays, brought fig sponge to area

PRINCESS ANNE -- Princess Anne Town Commissioners are expected to discuss whether there should be a permanent moratorium on first-floor apartments in the downtown and other areas with C-1 zoning during a work session Monday night.

SALISBURY -- A fairly long list of agenda items could make for a fairly long City Council work session today, as the body works to gather information and "reach decision points to provide the city administrator for follow up with staff," according to council President Terry Cohen.

State officials visit Lower Shore counties with good and bad news

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 18, 2011) – On MONDAY, November 21, at 10:30 a.m., Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will join U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Members of the Congressional and State delegations for a ribbon cutting to mark the ceremonial opening of the next segment of the Intercounty Connector (ICC)/MD 200 from Georgia Avenue to I-95. The roadway will officially open to traffic by 6 a.m. the next morning, Tuesday, Nov. 22, weather permitting.

WHAT: Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Intercounty Connector’s next segment (Georgia Avenue to I-95)

WHERE: Westbound ICC/MD 200 between I-95 and Old Gunpowder Road

WHEN: MONDAY, November 21, 2011 - 10:30 AM

This is the last of a series of four articles on PlanMaryland, the proposed state planning guidelines that have stirred passionate opposition from many local officials.

PlanMaryland is far from a done deal.

America is a product of the Age of Reason. Our founders used their rational powers to free us from the ignorance and superstition that shackled less enlightened societies. For over two centuries, we have assumed that the Age of Reason was here to stay, a permanent flowering of our intellectual growth.

Imagine a world in which your autonomy, individual property rights, and indeed your choice of housing and transportation are stripped from you.

At first I objected to PlanMaryland because of property rights. The county's proposed master plan, Pathways, tried to put an employment campus in my back yard. Then it irked me that the state would blackmail us with our own money. So I thought about what the end result would look like. It didn't take long to realize that we have a prime example right here in Maryland. They call it Baltimore.

Take your pick: PlanMaryland is either A) a useful statewide guide for coordinating future growth, or B) a “war” on rural Maryland that strips land-use decisions from citizens and steers them into towns and cities.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland tourism officials hope to draw more than one million people to the birthplace of the "Star-Spangled Banner" next summer as they open a years-long bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812 with an international maritime festival.

Gov. Martin O’Malley has appointed Melinda B. Peters as the first female head of the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Maryland's attorney general may be pushing for tighter federal air pollution regulations (see previous post), but freshman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md, is pushing back.

Everybody wants a Wegmans. Greenberg Gibbons got one. The upscale supermarket will anchor the developer’s overhaul of the old Solo Cup factory in Owings Mills.

North Bethesda development would create community of apartments, retail and more

North Bethesda development would create community of apartments, retail and more

The Montgomery County Planning Board asked Maryland transit officials Thursday to consider moving a Bethesda station for a future Purple Line to try to better accommodate a popular biking and running trail in a tunnel beneath Wisconsin Avenue.

At the latest public meeting in Elkridge on the intermodal railroad facility being proposed by the CSX Corp. and the Maryland Department of Transportation, held at Elkridge Landing Middle School on Thursday, Nov. 17, the railroad giant and state agency served up new posters with updated environmental maps, new cost estimates and new informational charts.

New Montgomery-Prince George’s highway link expected to boost commerce, development

The Bozzuto Group of Greenbelt is launching a round of new projects from Baltimore County to Washington, D.C.

The majority of Montgomery County residents want a Walmart  .. store on Rockville Pike in Rockville, according to a study commissioned by the nation’s largest retailer.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has said he will veto a proposed bill requiring big box retailers to negotiate with community organizations

Harford County Executive David Craig said he has a number of concerns with Gov. Martin O'Malley's PlanMaryland land use regulation initiative, but one local official who was involved in putting the plan together is praising it.

The Frederick County Planning Commission voted Thursday night to recommend that the county's current land-use plan not be changed.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has revived a simmering political dispute over the University of Maryland law school's role in a lawsuit accusing an Eastern Shore farm and the Perdue poultry company of polluting a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

BERLIN -- Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley believes it's an "injustice" and "a misuse of state resources" for University of Maryland students and professors to aid the environmental group suing a Berlin farm family over water pollution allegations.

Healthier Americans for a Healthier Economy features six case studies focused on the relationship between health and economic development.  The report examines how health affects the ability of states, cities and towns to attract and retain employers, and how workplace and community wellness programs help improve productivity and reduce health spending.

Standing at the helm of his 106-year-old skipjack, Captain Barry Sweitzer steered into the pre-dawn dark last week, eager to pull his first catch of the season from the northern Chesapeake Bay. All summer, he’d been counting down the minutes until this day.

Prominent land use attorney says the change they fear may be inevitable

Even as the housing slump drags on, and it seems there are far more houses than anybody wants to buy, a new analysis warns that the Washington area doesn’t have nearly enough housing for the wave of new workers who will arrive in coming decades.

Jay Perman is president of the University of Maryland at Baltimore. He’s also a pediatrician.

…But the county disagrees with other jurisdictions on what to do about the gas tax and Plan Maryland, an initiative by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to give the state greater control on local land-use decisions…

City one of five state municipalities to receive designation, eventual project financial aid

Two North Baltimore residents are pushing their case to derail a project anchored by a Walmart in Remington.

Medical center honored for environment-friendly construction

Arbors at Baltimore Crossroads is harbinger for more development

Farmers see clean energy boon; Pax River fears radar clutter

A mixed crowd of residents -- featuring those wanting to slow growth in their neighborhoods and those ready to build -- was out Wednesday night for the first public hearing of the Frederick County Planning Commission to discuss rewriting the county's land-use plan.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved $1.25 million for school construction projects in Cecil and Harford counties.

ANNAPOLIS - State officials announced today the preservation of more than 500 acres of forests and wetlands in Wicomico, Worcester and Caroline counties a state conservation program.

High water has made travel in and out risky, caused damage to vehicles

SNOW HILL -- Worcester County has hired a new economic development director who says his No. 1 priority is to work with businesses to encourage job creation.

The Smart, Green & Growing website has been re-launched today with new stories, programs and tools.

As the protesters leading the Occupy Wall Street movement decry the big banks that crashed the economy, robo-foreclose people's homes and continue to finance mega fossil fuel projects like the Tar Sands, community solar represents one path forward: clean energy created for and by the people.

On Sunday, New York City transportation officials introduced Select Bus Service on 34th Street, a major crosstown artery that serves high-traffic destinations like Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, the flagship Macy's store and the Empire State Building.

How the times have changed: while residential land prices in America have fallen by a staggering 70 percent since 2006, the value of cropland has actually risen some 20 percent, according to a story by Robbie Whelan in the Wall Street Journal.

Five years into a brutal national housing downturn, raw land destined for residential development has fallen so far in value that thousands of acres across the country are being used again for agriculture.

Fifty years ago this month, Jane Jacobs published Death and Life of Great American Cities and changed the way the world understands cities.

St. Mary's could enact stronger rules

Strategies to develop Charles County’s plan to clean up its waterways and the Chesapeake Bay moved forward Tuesday with approval from the county commissioners.

Annexation banned use on U.S. 301 parcel

Environmental groups and county residents filed a lawsuit today seeking to block county officials from changing the recently adopted comprehensive land-use plan.

Our view: Maryland and others in a regional effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions demonstrate that carbon cap-and-trade can be good for the economy and environment

Oregon is inventing better. And as usual, America is watching -- enviously. Roll on, future city.   

A DOZEN YEARS AGO, a Brookings Institution report illustrated the Washington metropolitan area’s division along its east-west axis — a gulf demarcating profound imbalances in income, race, jobs growth and public investment.

This is the third of four articles on PlanMaryland, the proposed state planning guidelines, that have stirred passionate opposition from many local officials.

Most of the draft PlanMaryland document focuses on statistics that show how Maryland has grown and changed in the last several decades, and why a comprehensive development plan is needed.

Environmental groups and Frederick County residents are going to court in an effort to block county officials from changing the recently adopted comprehensive land-use plan.

But officials say cost isn't only factor in choosing site

DELMAR, Md. -- This Maryland-Delaware border town has a new mayor for the first time in two decades -- Town Commissioner Carl Anderton Jr. -- who calls the landslide win a chance to "bring the town to the people."

SALISBURY -- An election redistricting plan is months away, but city decision makers are well into the drafting process and will discuss the road ahead on WSDL's Delmarva Today.

EASTON — Easton is celebrating Clean Water Week, hosting discussions, concerts, films and other events about restoring the health of local rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

OCEAN CITY -- Richard Muth, Maryland's director of emergency management, said he backs the timing and the reasoning of Ocean City officials who evacuated the resort in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

SALISBURY -- After conducting four interviews with potential candidates for the District 4 Wicomico County Council seat, John Hall has been voted in as the new council member.

How to move forward on infrastructure updates and major projects throughout the Lower Shore was a main topic addressed by county officials Tuesday, as representatives from the State Highway Administration and Maryland Department of Transportation briefed those in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties on the future of state highway projects.

Site should be reserved for veterans' rehabilitation, speakers say

City one of five state municipalities to receive designation, eventual project financial aid

County getting 110 acres in widow's bequest

WASHINGTON COUNTY— The Washington County Board of Commissioners took a long view of school construction needs Tuesday, discussing land prospects for future schools with school officials and questioning whether the education of the future would even require brick-and-mortar buildings.

With funding scarce for remodeling or building schools, Delegate Kathy Afzali is urging the Frederick County Commissioners and the Board of Education to explore public-private partnerships to supplement state funding.

Parents and officials send message to school board to protect project funding

Plans expansion of Owings Mills campus by August 2013

Trail would run above train in $40.5 million tunnel

Preservation groups look to stop development of 14,000 acres

With a slots license expected to be award for Rocky Gap within a month, Robert Brennan is optimistic that the fortunes of the financially struggling resort can finally begin to turn around. Brennan is the executive director of The Maryland Economic Development Corporation- the quasi-governmental agency that owns the resort located inside Rocky Gap State Park.

NEW YORK — Applications are now available for a 10-week cross-country bike ride next summer. The ride will offer participants an opportunity to transform their bodies, strengthen their minds and inspire them and others across the United States…

CUMBERLAND — In order to “control our own destiny,” Allegany County’s plan to help put the Chesapeake Bay on a pollution diet will be submitted to the state on Friday, said Angie Patterson, a land use and planning engineer in the Department of...

CUMBERLAND — Using the former Sacred Heart Hospital to house a new Allegany High School will save taxpayers millions of dollars, according to Ed Root, an elected member of the Allegany County Board of Education.

CUMBERLAND — Members of the organization that oversees Canal Place are hoping that a new management plan will help define a mission for the future — and help fill an ever-increasing number of empty storefronts at The Shops at Canal Place.

What if you had to save the Chesapeake Bay, and you had no money?

$68M Bethesda pedestrian project OK’d by council

Maryland, other Northeastern states gained from carbon auctions

A letter we received recently from a reader of Rails to Trails magazine provided a tremendous insight into the many benefits of trails to residents, businesses and communities.

This is the first of four articles on PlanMaryland, the state planning guidelines, that have stirred passionate opposition from many local officials. Forty years ago, state officials saw that Maryland was in need of a land use plan. Development was spreading, yet the state’s 10,455 square miles stayed the same.

This is the second of four articles on PlanMaryland, the proposed state planning guidelines, that have stirred passionate opposition from many local officials.

To listen to the Department of Planning talk about PlanMaryland, the long-term development plan being drafted for the state, it does not represent a major policy shift.

FINKSBURG -- A small contingent of Carroll residents are moving forward with organizing a summit or series of events on the environment that rebuts the information from the county board of commissioners' environmental summit Oct. 31.

More than 200 comments on PlanMaryland drafts.  See the full comments posted here.

On November 9 MACo sent a letter to Governor Martin O’Malley summarizing the organization’s remaining concerns with PlanMaryland (the Plan) and offering suggestions to address those concerns.

The PlanMaryland Workgroup of the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission has issued its report on the revised draft of PlanMaryland (the Plan) and will present its findings at the Commission’s November 14 meeting.

Kent County has joined the ranks of a growing number of counties and municipalities concerned about the state’s growth and development plan known as PlanMaryland.

The Board of County Commissioners might join with other counties to hire a lobbyist who will “follow” PlanMaryland. Following is one thing, but spending our tax dollars lobbying to sabotage it is another.

Odd that Republican Commissioner Dunmyer would publish extensive commentary in The Baltimore Sun extolling the virtues of Gov. O'Malley's PlanMaryland proposal when he lives in a subdivision that is the antithesis of what PlanMaryland advocates. His community can certainly be described as one of those "far-flung subdivisions" where streets have replaced productive farmland.

State agriculture officials are asking Maryland farmers to cooperate with supplying information for a region-wide survey aiming to quantify farmers' conservation actions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

State commission expected to decide by March

Caesars Entertainment Corp.  .. is proposing to build a $310 million casino with a steakhouse, buffet, sports bar and 4,000-car garage near M&T Bank Stadium in South Baltimore.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The ballroom at Hagerstown Hotel and Conference Center buzzed Monday evening with hundreds of simultaneous conversations about issues as varied as school achievement gaps, financial exploitation of seniors, domestic violence and arts education.

SALISBURY — The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area wants nominations for the Annual Heritage Award, as the agency prepares to recognize contributors to the heritage of the Tri-County region.

SNOW HILL -- Improvements to Route 113 and replacing Ocean City's Route 50 bridge are among the priority projects coming from the state's six-year capital budget for transportation projects.

Frederick County residents will have their voices heard beginning this week regarding possible changes to the county's land-use plan.

WASHINGTON COUNTY— Yet another public hearing could be in store on Washington County’s proposed comprehensive rezoning of the Urban Growth Area, according to Assistant County Attorney Kirk C. Downey.

Maryland housing and planning officials have tapped the towns of Aberdeen, Westminster, Laurel, Cumberland and Hyattsville as the state’s first to be designated so-called sustainable communities.

Owners of shopping mall to present plans Wednesday

Wegmans Food Markets will build its second Baltimore County store at the site of the Solo Cup property in Owings Mills, anchoring an upscale development that's set to replace the old manufacturing site.

Upscale hotel at harbor expects strong corporate, event bookings

A two-story casino with 3,750 slot machines — the state’s second largest — would open its doors in Baltimore by the end of 2013, under a pitch made to a state commission Monday by the only current bidder for the license.

CUMBERLAND — Cumberland Councilman David Kauffman said Monday he favors a land swap that would locate a new Allegany High School in the vacated Sacred Heart Hospital building, but would insist on a public meeting as soon as possible to find out what...

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Yet another public hearing could be in store on Washington County’s proposed comprehensive rezoning of the Urban Growth Area, according to Assistant County Attorney Kirk C. Downey.

Alleyways. Drainage canals. Electricity transmission corridors. Spaces like these exist in cities all over the world, and almost always they are only exactly what they seem: alleyways, drainage canals, electricity transmission corridors. But in a physical sense, they offer many more opportunities.

When the 2010 Census results came back earlier this year, many urbanists were left disappointed. Americans were to make their great march back to the city during the 2000s, but the numbers — at least to many observers; more on this below — seemed to suggest the opposite trend.

Other rural jurisdictions have more concerns

O’Malley is working with rural Maryland, not fighting it

It was just one headline among many of its kind in The Baltimore Sun during the 1980s and 1990s: "Baltimore loses round to Va."

The Charter Review Commission, in a 7-5 vote Thursday morning, decided not to recommend a charter amendment on eminent domain, leaving the future of councilman Greg Fox's resolution on the matter up in the air.

Residents are encouraged to discuss their vision for the future of the village center.

EASTON PlanMaryland, the state's controversial plan for sustainable growth and development, dominated a presentation Thursday by state Secretary of Planning Richard Hall, who discussed his office's current initiatives.

Westminster, Maryland – As of the last day for public comment on PlanMaryland (Agenda 21 hybrid) Wednesday, 18 out of Maryland's 24 counties have identified significant problems with Gov. Martin O'Malley's latest social engineering Plan. Seventeen of these counties and the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) have explicitly requested more time for review.

IN the future, perhaps our time will be known as the first decade of the Bicycle Wars, with righteous armies fighting over traffic lanes, bike paths and sidewalks, indeed over the very purpose of the streets themselves. Like many wars, it’s a question of territory, and the pedestrian has been losing for years.

Over time, without express agreement or even acknowledgment, the streets gradually became off-limits to the unwheeled. The pecking order was further clarified in 1950, when permanent street parking, which had long been forbidden, was allowed — you couldn’t walk in the street, but car storage was fine. Again the map was redrawn.

This is the first of four articles on PlanMaryland, the state planning guidelines, that have stirred passionate opposition from many local officials. Forty years ago, state officials saw that Maryland was in need of a land use plan. Development was spreading, yet the state’s 10,455 square miles stayed the same.

County Council set to make pick from four finalists

BERLIN -- Set back among the trees on a secluded section of Flower Street, Habitat for Humanity of Worcester County marked the start of its third home in as many years with a ceremony Saturday.

After years of working out the kinks and getting legislation passed through the Maryland General Assembly, Evolution Craft Brewing has leased a facility that will not only house an expanded brewing area but give those sampling Lucky 7 or Primal Pale Ale space to sit down and grab a bite to eat.

Baltimore County wants to "de-mall" owings mills.   The county has announced plans to raze most of the existing mall and replace it with a new type of shopping center.

In any prolonged conversation these days with Jim Richardson, Harford County’s executive director of economic development, sooner or later he will get around to the ENIAC.

CHARLESTON, W.VA. — Two meetings this week should determine whether West Virginia lawmakers will tackle Marcellus shale drilling rules this year, but the main players involved in the months-long quest for compromise appear as divided as ever.

Businesses, volunteers invest money, time in Golden Mile projects

A once booming downtown Hagerstown now plagued by the economy, malls and more / Not long ago, there was a sign painted on the side of a building at the southwest corner of Potomac and Franklin streets.

CUMBERLAND — The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission appointed by Gov. Martin O’malley will meet this week at the auditorium at Garrett College. The meeting is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine

Before the Cumberland mayor and council go forward with the proposed swapping of 40 acres near Constitution Park for the former Sacred Heart Hospital property, a number of questions should be answered. Western Maryland Health System officials have...

Last month we noted some encouraging signs, based on informal indications, of a narrowing of the partisan divide in congressional posture toward transportation legislation (”Bridging the Partisan Divide,” Innovation NewsBriefs, October 10, 2011). The unanimous vote of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) on November 9 to approve the highway portion of the surface transportation reauthorization bill (S. 1813) has confirmed our initial impression.

Executives say more investment needed in highways, mass transit

Gov. Parris Glendening (D) began a Smart Growth plan in 1997 in which the state tried to direct growth by funding infrastructure in priority areas and land preservation in rural areas.

Mayor says alternative transportation options make communities more livable and will help neighborhoods grow.

Garrett County government agencies are currently conducting a survey about high-speed Internet use and the needs of the business and residential communities.

The Garrett County commissioners announced yesterday the names of those appointed to their Lean Committee. To prepare for pending revenue shortfalls in the next three- to five-year budget cycles, the commissioners recently proposed this efficiency task force idea to find ways to save county government/taxpayers money.

Maryland is a small state, packed with 5.7 million people and under heavy development pressure. That is why the Maryland General Assembly in 2009 passed 12 planning visions for the state, said Andrew Ratner, communications director for the Maryland Department of Planning, which has led to the development of the statewide PlanMaryland.

City one of five sustainable communities , Designation allows for variety of grant, tax credit programs

Members of the Maryland Video Lottery Facilities Commission had to be encouraged Tuesday night as they wrapped up their meeting at the Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. The commission heard from two companies vying for the slots license at Rocky Gap.

ROCKY GAP — Rocky Gap, the slots emporium, will make the county, the state and its new owners a lot of money, according to the projections of the two companies competing for the slots license at the venue. The only question is how much money, and how...

SALISBURY -- The committee formed to review the governing laws of Wicomico County has voted to keep the County Executive form of government in place.

Diverse group leading drive for referendum on city attorney

Queen Anne's County Commissioner David Dunmeyer has chosen to be the shrill mouth-piece of the no-growth movement in Queen Anne's County.

Jill Estavillo laid out four objectives and five strategies to support the city center

 “The counties are going to be in tough economic times for quite some time.” That was the message delivered Tuesday to the St. Mary’s County Commissioners from the president of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO).

Almost 60 years ago, a planned community embodied the hopes and prosperity of America. Now, it represents a more realistic picture of the American experience. The BBC investigates Levittown, Pennsylvania, as part of a year-long series.

Montgomery and Prince George’s counties must overcome a perception problem to spur their economies over the next decade, an expert on the Washington region said Tuesday, though Montgomery is expected to outpace its neighbor to the east.

Marta Mossburg says Gov. O'Malley's program withholds counties' money if they don't follow his vision of appropriate growth

If Gov. Martin O'Malley and Attorney General Douglas Gansler didn't already know how much the Carroll County Board of Commissioners disagreed with PlanMaryland, they will soon.

City, health system, board negotiating

ROCKY GAP — While there was one strong dissenting voice, speakers at a public hearing on slots at Rocky Gap offered strong support for bringing a slots emporium to the resort. Dave Williams of McClarran & Williams said he planned to offer strong support for the Evitts proposal during the hearing. “It’s a watershed moment,” he said. The Evitts group has experience in the industry and $62 million would be the largest...

ROCKY GAP — Two companies vying for the slots license at Rocky Gap projected their Powerpoint presentations on the screen and explained why their proposal should win the potentially lucrative right to build a slots casino at Rocky Gap. The plans were...

PRINCESS ANNE -- Extending natural gas lines into Somerset County could become a reality in the near future if there are enough large customers interested, Chesapeake Utilities officials told County Commissioners.

SALISBURY -- Discussion on some of the City Council's most debated issues yielded new ideas and angles this week, some being radically different from what was considered in the past.

Carroll County officials recently “disrespected” Prince George’s by offering it as an example of failed smart-growth policies in their fight against Gov. Martin O’Malley’s land-use plans, said Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III.

Howard Hughes Corp. names 2 partners for project

Council to vote on school capacity, housing allocation charts

Howard would join a handful of jurisdictions to offer incentives for residential properties

Howard County’s is debuting its largest branch next month — a $29 million new building in Ellicott City expected to bring in one million visitors per year.

Rubble from a demolished dam on the Patapsco River moved to its new home on the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay last week, where it will soon be joined by a boatload of new neighbors—4 million baby oysters.

Westminster has received state designation as a sustainable community and will now have access to state-funding programs for revitalization.

Our view: A new study shows pollution-fighting programs are having a beneficial effect even as federal Chesapeake Bay program is under attack

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman traveled to Palo Alto., Calif., last month to speak with tech industry executives and venture capitalists and came back confident Maryland has something special to offer.

WASHINGTON — Corn and soybean farmers are pushing for — and Congress is moving to create — a whole new subsidy that could maintain farm incomes at a nearly four-decade high should prices fall or crops be destroyed by weather.

SALISBURY — An upcoming walking tour showcases close to a dozen homes built or remodeled by Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County in the Church Street neighborhood, a former hotspot where crime in recent years has been noticeably down.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman pulled up to the Thomas Dorsey Building in Columbia Monday, Nov. 7, in the county's first electric vehicle — a sleek, white 2012 Chevrolet Volt.

But economist warns executives to safeguard its advantages

Pockets of prosperity put region in enviable position

The beaches of Hawaii have nothing on the suburbs of Washington as a magnet for attracting the wealthy.

For decades the story of technology has been dominated, in the popular mind and to a large extent in reality, by computing and the things you can do with it. Moore’s Law — in which the price of computing power falls roughly 50 percent every 18 months — has powered an ever-expanding range of applications, from faxes to Facebook.

You have been invited to the official opening ceremony of the second segment of the Intercounty Connector (ICC) project on Monday, November 21, 2011, at 10:30 a.m.

Please RSVP by 11/17/11 by clicking the link above.

Here's a wake-up call for Gov. Martin O'Malley and other supporters of PlanMaryland: The American Dream has never been a red brick row-house or even a condo with a Starbucks, Whole Foods and North Face store on the ground floor. It's a suburban or rural single-family home, with a white picket fence out front, two cars in the driveway and kids playing with the dog in the backyard.

CAMBRIDGE In a panel discussion held Tuesday at the Hyatt in Cambridge, municipal leaders from across Maryland were told the state is not using a new initiative called PlanMaryland to usurp local land use authority.

It is unfortunate that David Dunmeyer, in his role as a Queen Anne's County Commissioner, has chosen to be the shrill mouthpiece of the no-growth movement in Queen Anne's County ("Sprawl is the real enemy of rural living," Nov. 2). Perhaps Commissioner Dunmeyer is unaware that he lives in one of the developments he so richly decries as an enemy of rural living.

In an off-handed comment at the past summer’s conference of the Maryland Association of Counties, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) asserted that “counties can still make stupid mistakes [as they relate to planning], but the state will no longer pay for them.”

SNOW HILL -- Though heavily revised, the new, state-bred “PlanMaryland” planning and zoning regulations still managed to spark a lot of shaking heads among the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday.

Changes to the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program were passed by the commissioners with the opposition of Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D). Commissioner Ken Robinson (D: 1st) abstained from the vote. A public hearing was on the matter back in July.

CUMBERLAND — In their capacity as the Cumberland Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, Allegany County commissioners approved the Fiscal Year 2012 to 2015 Transportation Improvement Program, which includes improvements to the Amtrak station...

OCEAN CITY -- The Ocean City Town Council will have to decide during budgeting talks how it wants to fund $10 million it will likely have to spend on stormwater-related expenses in the next decade.

Members of a House panel sparred with an Environmental Protection Agency official Thursday over the cost of a "pollution diet" for the Chesapeake Bay and the science behind it.

SALISBURY -- A local professor and conservationist is scheduled to speak tonight about what the Eastern Shore used to look like and where the area's forests are headed in the future

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland watermen say they are finding most of the oysters dead on bars above the Bay Bridge. And they are blaming heavy rains this fall from Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene.

Plan to tear down historic home met with criticism from town

At the Conowingo Hydroelectric Dam in northeast Maryland, the barbarians are at the sluice gates.

PRINCESS ANNE -- Princess Anne Town Commissioners are expected to adopt an emergency ordinance to ban first-floor apartments in the downtown C-1 zone.

Carroll County property owners with streams running through or adjacent to their properties can expect to receive a notice from the county Bureau of Resource Management in the next few years asking permission for field workers to examine their stream.

The Howard Hughes Corp. moved closer this month to firming up plans for an 817-unit residential development in Columbia's town center by naming two partners who will help carry out the project.

After years of back and forth, Maryland regulators have finally turned thumbs down on a highway in Charles County that environmentalists feared would devastate Mattowman Creek, one of the Chesapeake Bay's most productive nurseries for migratory fish.

Howard would join a handful of jurisdictions to offer incentives for residential properties

Council to vote on school capacity, housing allocation charts

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. is asking the O’Malley administration to delay implementing its statewide initiative on land development until the start of the 2012 General Assembly so his chamber can review the plan.

Task force aims to create area to live, work and shop

The health and vitality of downtown Hagerstown is a core responsibility of the city, but officials said the city cannot increase foot traffic, attract business or improve housing in the city's center without cooperation from others.

Should the Carroll County Agricultural Land Preservation Program change how it purchases and conserves land or should it remain the same?

As a task force reviews Carroll County's Agricultural Land Preservation Program, farmland preservation experts question whether one of the best programs in the country needs to be changed.

At 31 pages, it's a deceptively slim, magazine-style document, but packed inside are 44 goals that those involved hope will focus and guide the efforts of donors, volunteers and public and private agencies for years to come.

CUMBERLAND — The North/south Appalachian Highway Coalition, which is a work group of The Greater Cumberland Committee, is working on educating congressional representatives about the North/south Appalachian Highway. Unlike the U.S. Route 219 project,...

CUMBERLAND — U.S. Route 219 from Somerset to Meyersdale, Pa., is near completion but waiting on $35 million, the last piece of funding for the $303-million project, according to Colleen Peterson, coordinator of the North/south Appalachian Highway...

I attended the environmental summit held at the Pikesville Hilton on Monday. In full disclosure, I am a citizen of Carroll County (since 1984) and I am a scientist. My purpose in attending was because I was concerned about the controversy over the one-sided viewpoints held by the panel of "experts."

Other rural jurisdictions have more concerns

Test to Take Place November 9 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

REISTERSTOWN, MD  (Nov. 1, 2011) -- The federal government will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, November 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency wants all residents to understand this event will be just a test, and not a real emergency alert.

The test is expected to last approximately 30 seconds. During this period, regularly scheduled television, radio, cable, and satellite shows will be interrupted as the system is being tested.  

The public should use this event as a reminder that everyone should establish an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan for themselves, their families, communities, and businesses.  Visit www.Ready.gov for more information readiness. For information about the EAS test, visit http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test.

ANNAPOLIS — A new study finds dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay are getting smaller.

CUMBERLAND — A few years ago, hotelier Tejas Gosai came up with some innovative ways to capitalize on all the Marcellus shale drilling activity going on outside of Pittsburgh. To try to attract customers, hotel management installed boot washers and...

A panel of experts on environmental and growth issues offered harsh criticism of Governor Martin O'Malley's proposed statewide smart-growth strategy at a recent forum attended by more than 100 people from some of the most rural parts of the state.

Politicians representing rural Maryland counties have their knickers atwist over Governor Martin O'Malley's new smart growth plan, dubbed simply "Plan Maryland."

Maryland Public Television's one-hour journey across the state in search of the rarest and most beautiful of our rural past -- historic barns.

Residents express concerns about proposals

The Garrett County Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area has officially become the 12th Certified Heritage Area in the state of Maryland.

The heritage certification brings a multitude of heritage tourism opportunities in the form of grants, loans, and tax incentives to promote and enhance heritage tourism in Garrett County. The certification notice came in the form of a letter from Matthew Power, who serves as chairman of the Maryland Heritage Area Authority as well as deputy secretary for the Maryland Department of Planning.

Business owners divided on value of ongoing revitalization efforts

The Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association elected its 2012 leadership team, including Stephen Nardella, senior vice president of operations for Winchester Homes, as its president.

Apartments around Legion ballfield proposed

Work on major plans continues

Addressing a room packed with Maryland’s business and education leaders, the presiding officers of Maryland’s House and Senate both made a pitch for raising revenues in the upcoming legislative session.

Come and celebrate local, state, and federal improvements made to the Anacostia River and a commitment to continue toward a fully restored and economically thriving watershed.

Frederick County commissioners cut funding to parks, farms and state roads

Snow Hill High to get upgrade

Meeting set on storm response

Proposal mayor favors would add two new members

GARRETT, Pa. — Minutes after they extolled the worldwide renown of the Great Allegheny Passage at Tuesday’s dedication of a $1.3 million trail underpass, two German cyclists rolled up on the scene. Emphatically denying they were “in on it,” Tobias...

Allegany County Commissioner Michael McKay said that a proposal to hire a western Maryland lobbyist is gaining momentum and may eventually include eastern shore counties.

Maryland, state of salty cookies and The Wire, isn't very big. It also provides much of outlying areas of two huge cities – Baltimore and Washington, whose workers' desire for suburban homes has fuelled an urban sprawl into the countryside. In short, space is running out.

On October 31, 2011, Carroll Country Board of Commissioners held a forum in Pikesville to discuss Plan Maryland.