Monday, August 27, 2012
Do you have YOUR new lunch box? Everything you may have missed in these 500 square miles.
It's the first day of classes Monday for Montgomery County schools. Even if you don't have kids in school, beware! Traffic will be a bear as school buses, parents and carpools hit the streets. And, if you're late and you think driving around that school bus is justified, think again. Starting today, a number of school buses will have cameras attached that can catch you in the act. The fine: $250. Unless a police officer witnesses it. Then, you can get a $1,000 ticket and three points on your driver's license. Patch editors will be scouring the county and may show up at your local school to document the first-day jitters and joys. Leave it to parents to sum up the gravity of the situation. A Greenbelt mom told her kindergartener when …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Potomac River rescue teams train to save lives.
When Montgomery County Fire and Rescue services make a Potomac River water rescue, it's usually to help someone on land. Signs near the C&O Canal park entrance at Angler’s Inn mark the Billy Goat trail as one of the most strenuous in the area, but each year warnings are ignored by visitors making it the most prevalent reason Montgomery County’s firefighters are called for water rescues. According to the National Park Service, the first section of the trail “marked with blue colored blazes on trees and rocks, is a 1.7-mile trail over extremely difficult and dangerous terrain.” Inexperienced or unfit hikers are urged to chose a different trail. Still, not everyone heeds these warnings. “We’ve seen everything from 80-year-old grandmothers to …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
History teaches that roads can destroy rivers. It also teaches that citizens can do something about it.
I was keeping one eye on the road and the other on a river that looked much like our Potomac. Then the river disappeared behind a squat brown building with a pink sign advertising “Adult Entertainment,” followed by an aging motel and a boarded up gas station. The river reappeared. It was the Susquehanna, big sister to the Potomac. I was driving south on Route 15 in central Pennsylvania. Although it’s three times bigger than the Potomac, the Susquehanna has the same familiar rock ledges and the dense mats of smartweed on the gravel bars. Here too, the smallmouth bass is king. A tractor trailer cut in front of me and let loose a blast of oily smoke. Yes, just like the Potomac. Only very different. The difference is roads. While the Potomac’s…
Thursday, July 26, 2012
According to one researcher, this virtually ignored species might be a key to the river’s vibrant life.
Viewing the bottom of the Potomac River through a facemask is a little like peering through a microscope. It’s a different world down there, and you never know what you might find. I was hoping to find sponges. Last August they were right at the head of Watkins Island, near Pennyfield Lock. It was apparently the first sighting of sponges in the river’s main stem. What happened to them? Would they reappear? I examined the bottom, admiring the shimmering pebbles and the green patina of the mussel shells, poking at anything that looked even the slightest bit spongy. Then I saw something that made me stop. Wedged among the pebbles was a pair of tiny white tubes, then another, and another. I had come upon a colony of freshwater clams. This …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The evidence leads out of the bay and up the rivers, including the Potomac.
Back home, the Potomac River was pulsing with life. Minnows were darting through the stargrass while mussels serenely filtered water down below. Insect nymphs shucked their shells to emerge at the surface as gossamer mayflies. But here in the waters off Annapolis, we were about to make acquaintance with a dead zone. Capt. Paul Bayne plugged one end of a long, black cable into his hand-held dissolved oxygen meter. “Who wants to read out the numbers?” he asked. A woman stepped forward and took her position. Bayne lowered the probe on the other end of the cable into the surface water. “What does it say?” he called out. The rest of us edged a little closer. “10.8,” the woman replied. This was 10.8 parts of oxygen per million parts of water (…
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
In just six easy steps, any parent can be a fishing guide for their very special clients.
People here in Potomac River country excel at what they do – but few do much fishing. Even fewer of our children ask at the breakfast table to spend the day fishing. Does this matter? Fishing can help our children get to know the Potomac River and the C&O Canal. It also gives parents a chance to introduce their children to the world of nature. “But I don’t know the first thing about fishing,” you might say. That’s about to change. Here are six simple steps for teaching a child how to fish: 1. Get a cane rod Start simple. You don’t need or want one of those blister pack fishing sets, with their lollypop colors and pictures of Mickey Mouse. Get a pole – an old-fashioned stick of bamboo, eight feet long. You can cut your own, but I’d …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The real message of American Rivers’ recent pronouncement is don’t believe everything you read
Six months ago, the Potomac Conservancy gave our river a D grade. Now, American Rivers, a nation-wide river protection organization, has ranked the Potomac the most endangered river in the country. Not merely “endangered,” or “one of the most endangered,” but the “most endangered.” This puts the Potomac in the same league as worst automobiles (Jeep Wrangler, according to Consumer Reports). Or worst pizza (Uno Chicago Grill Deep Dish, says Yahoo Health). Or the worst NFL team (the 1976 Buccaneers, according to ESPN). Is the Potomac really the most endangered river in the country? I thought about it for a few minutes, and came up with a very different result. This was not surprising, since neither I nor American Rivers based our …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
American Rivers has issued an annual report on America’s Most Endangered Rivers since 1986.
The Potomac River is America's "Most Endangered River," according to environmental watchdog organization American Rivers. The Potomac is at the No. 1 slot in part to get the attention of policymakers about the evolving threats to rivers and the continuing importance of the Clean Water Act 40 years after it became law. “When members of Congress fill a glass of water or drink their morning coffee, that water comes from the Potomac River. It’s time to draw the clear connections between healthy rivers, drinking water, and public health in Washington, DC, and in communities nationwide,” Bob Irvin, president of American Rivers, said in a prepared statement. The Potomac, which runs some 380 miles across five states, was No. 1 on the America’s …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
American Rivers has issued an annual report on America’s Most Endangered Rivers since 1986.
The Potomac River is America's "Most Endangered River" according to environmental watchdog organization, American Rivers. The Potomac is at the number one slot in part to get the attention of policymakers about the evolving threats to rivers and the continuing importance of the Clean Water Act 40 years after it became law. “When members of Congress fill a glass of water or drink their morning coffee, that water comes from the Potomac River. It’s time to draw the clear connections between healthy rivers, drinking water, and public health in Washington, D.C., and in communities nationwide,” Bob Irvin, president of American Rivers, said in a prepared statement The Potomac, which runs some 380 miles across five states, was number one on the …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
This week's top Montgomery County news.
Catch up on any news you missed this week including a budget proposal for a larger police force in Gaithersburg, what Potomac looked like 400 million years ago and a Twitter gun threat at Quince Orchard High School. QO Administrators Investigated Twitter Gun Threat Tuesday NORTH POTOMAC - Early Tuesday morning, a student notified the Quince Orchard High School administration of a Twitter post suggesting a student might bring a gun to school. After an investigation, it was determined there was no credible threat, according to a letter sent home to parents by principal Carole Working. Read the full story on North Potomac-Darnestown Patch. Young Heroin Overdose Survivor Warns Peers GERMANTOWN - Lea Edgecomb never regained the ability to walk …
Aimee Custis
10:16 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
One of the best places to focus on a transportation fix in this case is the American Legion Bridge. A solid rapid transit connection there would offer an effective option without building yet more roads that will, as always, increase congestion through induced demand. more ›