City/county Digest

Baltimore & Region

Maryland: Oysters

A longer season and a higher price

Maryland oystermen will have a longer season this year - starting today instead of early November - and will get more money for oysters because production in the Gulf Coast has been crippled by hurricanes. A bushel of oysters from the Chesapeake Bay could fetch more than $40 this winter - up from about $30 a bushel last season - because of sharply reduced supply. But the Chesapeake's tiny catch won't make much difference in the nation's oyster supply. Maryland's harvest last year was 72,000 bushels, compared with millions of bushels each from Mississippi and Louisiana.

Anne Arundel: Route 2

Broken main causes 10,000-gallon spill

A ruptured water main yesterday caused about 10,000 gallons of wastewater to spill on the side of Route 2 near the South River Bridge in Anne Arundel County, public works officials said. The county said the spill was caused by a Verizon crew that struck a 12-inch force main about 11:30 a.m. County officials said they contained and collected most of the wastewater before it seeped into the South River.