Acre

- Judas 760 knew just where to swim last fall after federal trappers set him free: back to his home in the marshes of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, where other nutria lived. But true to his name, Judas betrayed members of his colony by providing a virtual road map through dense cattails and inky inlets via a tiny GPS unit on his back. Trappers followed and, in a scene played out with other Judases, exterminated a handful of the destructive rodents that have been responsible for denuding thousands of acres on the Eastern Shore.

A Harford County farmer has been honored as a state winner in the 2012 National Corn Yield Contest, sponsored annually by the National Corn Growers Association. Harrison Rigdon, of Jarrettsville, placed first in the state in the A No-Till/Strip Till Non-Irrigated Class with a yield of 268.9818 bushels per acre. The hybrid used in the winning field was Pioneer P1395XR. Rigdon was one of 421 state winners nationwide. The 2012 contest had 8,263 entries from 46 states. Of the state winners, 18 growers - three from each of six classes - were named national winners, representing 13 states.

In another time, it was a regular gathering place for East Coast yachters, where well-groomed guests from Annapolis and beyond gathered at the end of the day for chilled cocktails, gentle chit-chat and starlit views of the Chesapeake Bay. Today, the Sharps Point estate - which was the home to industrial pump heiress Elizabeth "Zibby" Myers Mitchell and her yachting husband, Carleton Mitchell, in the 1950s and 1960s - is a shadow of the showplace it...

The only residents of the Westport waterfront last week were a gaggle of geese that commandeered a large puddle amid the brush and broken asphalt. The only structure was a battered chain-link fence, capturing wind-blown litter along the perimeter. By now the 43-acre tract, assembled and cleared over several years with millions of dollars and personal resolve, was supposed to house hundreds and bustle with office workers. There should be a towering skyscraper and a stadium. Instead, the development company that was going to make that happen is in bankruptcy and the future of the $1.4 billion Westport Waterfront project, thought of as a potential "Harbor West," is uncertain.

During a Howard County Zoning Board hearing last night on rezoning proposals that dealt with commercial parcels exceeding 100 acres, it was a 14-acre parcel that dominated discussion.About 20 of the people who showed up at the hearing on the proposed comprehensive rezoning for the east county registered their concern about the requested rezoning to allow denser residential development on the 14-acre parcel. The land is outside the Columbia Association's jurisdiction, so is not subject to the association's fees.

Howard County is considering expanding the Alpha Ridge landfill in Marriottsville by buying 380 acres of adjacent land.John J. O'Hara, chief of the county's Environmental Services Bureau, said the county will hire a consultant to evaluate the jTC properties next to the landfill, a 590-acre site with a 200-acre fill area off Interstate 70, Marriottsville Road and Route 99.He said the county is eyeing the 200-acre Percon Inc. and Doll family properties west...

White Acre Road in Columbia's Oakland Mills village has a school crossing guard at each end. For Talbott Springs Elementary School students, the danger lies in the quarter-mile in between.Community leaders say the two crossing guards -- one at Thunder Hill Road, the other at Stevens Forest Road -- are not enough to provide safety for students who often cross between the two designated crossing zones, including at White Acre and Basket Ring roads.This intersection is particularly dangerous because White Acre curves as it rises over a small hill, limiting the visibility of crossing students to motorists.

With wildfires in Allegany and Harford counties under control, firefighters were battling yesterday to contain a separate blaze that consumed more than 400 acres in Washington County. The wildfire was burning about three miles northeast of Clear Spring, in the Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources said. The blaze has not caused any injuries or property damage and was 70 percent contained by sundown yesterday, said DNR spokesman Charles F. Porcari.

Despite persistent water shortages and pressure to control growth, the Mount Airy Town Council has approved the annexation of a 152-acre farm where a developer plans to build 275 homes, stirring opposition among residents. CBI Development Group, which owns the farmland, is pursuing a plan to tap the Patapsco River as a water source and has offered to cover the $7 million capital costs of river water intake, a pipeline and a treatment plant. Its proposal is subject to approval from the Maryland Department of the Environment.

It's prime residential land at Charles Street and Bellona Avenue in Towson. But the 30-acre parcel, which was to be part of a luxury town house development known as the Cloisters at Charles, is scheduled to go on the auction block Feb. 14.Signet Bank began foreclosure proceedings on the property Nov.22 after the developer, Faust Homes Inc., defaulted on a $4 million loan secured by the land.In early September, Faust lost another 10-acre parcel in the development when it defaulted on an $8 million loan from Loyola Federal Savings and Loan.

Instead of visiting country manor homes that are occasionally open to the public, here is an opportunity to own an estate in northern Baltimore County. Nestled on 50 acres of bucolic pastures and agricultural land, Alistatim Farm , in the heart of My Lady's Manor — a national historic district near Monkton — presents dramatic views for every season. Long summer days can be spent by the pool, while autumn mornings call out for a bit of competing in the dressage ring. "A seven-stall barn comes complete with hay storage, fly-spraying system and tack room," noted Ashley Richardson, a Long & Foster agent who listed the property.

The buyers of a home nestled on more than 7 acres in Cockeysville's Nicholsons Manor are getting a property with all the perks. This traditional mansion, which sold for $1,550,000, is at the end of a cul-de-sac and boasts a large blue stone patio in a hardscape backyard. A hot tub is tucked into a gazebo and an outdoor room, complete with a beamed ceiling, wet bar, fireplace and powder room. The stone and insulated stucco exterior features a four-bay connected garage and is defined by a balcony, bump-outs, floodlights and screened porch with slate flooring.

Baltimore County will preserve 38 acres of publicly owned forested land in Perry Hall, which officials say is the largest preservation of open green space in that community in more than a decade. The land will be protected from development and is at two locations: about 8 acres in western Perry Hall and nearly 30 acres north and south of Indian Rock Park. In an announcement of the land reclassification, County Councilman David Marks said he had worked with County Executive Kevin Kamenetz for the past year to preserve the land.

The empty lot in West Baltimore is usually a desolate spot, the sort of place people visit to leave an old mattress in the bushes or sneak a drink at night. But this week, chain saws buzzed, trucks rumbled and residents shoveled compost at North Fulton and Lorman streets in Sandtown-Winchester as workers set up a 3,300-square-foot organic greenhouse, breaking ground on one of the city's biggest entries in the fast-growing national movement known as urban farming. The farm, now called Strength to Love Farms, will eventually be able to grow more than 150,000 pounds of fresh produce a year, all to be sold and distributed locally, according to Alex Persful, president and chief horticulturist of the urban agriculture firm Big City Farms.

Charles Pomeroy Ives III, a state of Maryland telecommunications worker who immersed himself in history causes from North Point to Carroll County, died in his sleep of a circulatory illness Oct. 20 at his Stoneleigh home. He was 63. Born in Elizabeth, N.J., and raised in Loch Raven Village, he was a 1967 Towson High School graduate. He had belonged to the Boy Scouts. His grandfather, C.P. Ives, was a Sun editorial writer from 1939 to 1973. Mr. Ives earned a bachelor's degree in history at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. He worked at Baltimore banks, the Venable law firm and Ciena.

If a little green might help restore Baltimore's ailing harbor, how can a lot be bad? That's the question city, state and federal officials are pondering as they weigh a local marina magnate's plan to fill an unused corner of the Inner Harbor with a large floating marsh. Inspired by a pair of pint-sized experimental wetlands placed in the harbor two years ago, Dan Naor has proposed building a much larger one, covering 1.6 acres of open water in the Harborview marina off Key Highway.

The Westminster Common Council has voted to annex an 8-acre site on Chase Street north of King Park. The parcel, known as the Arnold property, could become the site of a housing development. At a meeting last month, Hampstead-based Robin Ford Building & Remodeling Inc. expressed interest in building 15 custom-designed homes on the property. The company has not filed plans. Several residents in the neighborhood bounded by Chase and Anchor streets expressed concern over a potential increase in traffic and garbage.

Developer Jackson-Shaw has started the next stage of residential development at Brickyard Station, a 63-acre transit-oriented community in Beltsville and Laurel. JLB Partners purchased land to construct 433 multifamily units, with completion expected in fall 2013, and Ryland Homes is starting construction on model homes prior to developing more than 400 single-family homes and townhomes in the community. Both projects represent a combined investment of $200 million for Brickyard Station, Jackson-Shaw officials said.

A brick Colonial in Monkton set on 160 acres with an historic stone guest house sold for $3.1 million in June. The nearly 7,000-square-foot main house, built in the 1970s but renovated over the years, has four bedrooms, 51/2 baths, five fireplaces, a four-person sleeping porch, a paneled breakfast room, a swimming pool and a five-car garage. "They did it right when they built it in the 1970s," said Susan Knott, of O'Conor & Mooney Realtors in Lutherville, who was the selling agent for a house that she also owned.