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For Marylanders who have fantasized about getting into the wine business, the time may be, well, ripe. The state has launched a program that pays farmers to grow the grapes needed to produce more made-in-Maryland bottles of cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot and other wines. The Vineyard Capital Assistance Program will reimburse growers between $2 and $2.50 for each grapevine planted next spring. The program is funded by a $147,000 grant from the Governor's Advisory Commission on Maryland Wine and Grape Growing.

The corn yields are higher in Iowa and some might argue that the peaches are better in Georgia, but when it comes to producing the most money from each acre of land farmed, not many states top Maryland.Maryland ranks eighth in the nation in terms of the value of crops produced per acre of land, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture."Farm gate sales, the average revenue for each acre of farmland, is $733 in Maryland," said Ray Garibay, chief statistician with the Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service.

Angry Baltimore County community leaders accused the County Council yesterday of trying to shove through a law to protect a plan to build a 41-acre research park in Catonsville.UMBC Research Park has been at the center of a 10-year battle waged by nearby residents who say it is an industrial park that would change the character of surrounding neighborhoods. County officials, however, believe the project would boost employment and attract businesses to the area.Councilman Stephen G. Sam Moxley, a Catonsville Democrat, introduced a bill exempting university-affiliated research parks from having to be compatible with a neighborhood after two recent court rulings called for new hearings on the project.

THE WATERFRONT LAND once occupied by an AlliedSignal chrome plant represents a rare redevelopment opportunity. Its size and location -- a 27-acre peninsula adjoining Fells Point -- make it one of the most prestigious building sites in the city.For those reasons alone, city officials and AlliedSignal executives ought to be picky about what is built there.Years ago, AlliedSignal -- which has spent $100 million decontaminating the site -- acquired a permit to build a mixed-use development of offices and residences.

If you want to know if Mount Airy is growing, just go to church.On one Sunday in September, The Rev. Arthur Lillicropp said he welcomed 22 new people to his parish, St. James Episcopal Church on Main Street.Lillicropp also tells about the four baptisms he presided over on that September day and the five that he did the following Sunday.St. James is a good indicators of what's happening in Mount Airy. Of those 22 new church members who have moved to this little town at the junction of Carroll, Frederick, Howard and Montgomery counties, some were from out of state, but most came from the Baltimore-Washington corridor, according to Lillicropp.

The plateau just north of Westminster seems like the kind of site a real estate broker would die for -- panoramic views of surrounding trees and valleys, a stream nearby and a single country lane of traffic.If it weren't for the smell of that darned gas.The hill, a few hundred yards southwest of Hashawha Environmental Center, is the peak of an 88-acre mountain of garbage formed when Carroll County closed one of its landfills and sodded it over with grass.Last week, a group of children and parents hiked up the hill to get a close look at John Owings Landfill in the first public tour of the site since it closed in 1988.

When Mary Alice and Bob Noppinger decided that three floors of house was getting to be too much to handle, they went searching for a neighborhood where they could find single-level living.What they found was a rancher in one of Baltimore County's most established neighborhoods -- Hampton."It's a great, quiet neighborhood, with a fair number of children," said Mrs. Noppinger. "Everyone is very particular about taking care of their property, and there's a very strong community association."The Towson neighborhood is bordered on the south by the Baltimore Beltway, on the east by Providence Road, on the west by Dulaney Valley Road, and on the north by the Loch Raven watershed.

Taneytown Memorial Park is about to get 50 percent bigger.The state Board of Public Works approved yesterday a Program Open Space grant for $321,000 for the city to purchase 21.4 acres of farmland adjacent to the 40-acre park on Taneytown's west side.The acquisition will boost Taneytown's parkland to about 125 acres. Much of that, such as a 51-acre site along Route 194 recently donated to the city, is not developed."That's a lot of land for a town our size," said Mayor W. Robert Flickinger.

50 years ago: Dr. M. B. Johnson of the Medical and Chirulurgical Faculty of Maryland was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Westminster Rotary Club. In his report to the members, Dr. Johnson brought out several points of interest. Although the U.S.A. contains 6 percent of the world's population, it has half the number of hospital beds in the world. Being opposed to socialized medicine as proposed by the government, the speaker stated that the 40 million families in the U.S.A. now average $165 per year per family, as opposed to about $400 per family under socialized medical care.

Jacobsen Homes has nine floor plans available at Lyndonbrook in Howard County.The community features gas heat.The model, the Radisson, starts at $369,990 for 2,716 square feet and a 1-acre lot.The first floor features a two-story foyer, powder room, 12-by-13-foot dining room, large kitchen and breakfast area, 19-by-24-foot two-story family room, 13-by-18-foot master suite with master bath and walk-in closet, and two-car garage.The second floor consists of a 12-by-12-foot bedroom with bathroom and walk-in closet, 11-by-14-foot bedroom, 12-by-11-foot bedroom and bathroom.

It's been a wet spring. But as Memorial Day nears, the unofficial start to summer is upon the region. That means picnics, lazy days in the sun and a lot of nature-gazing. With many parks and green spaces open longer hours, that also means many more outdoor activities. Here are five ways to take advantage of the great outdoors without leaving the area. * Run in Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. At just about a mile around, this South Baltimore site is where Francis Scott Key was motivated to write the "Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the 1,000 American troops defend it from the British Navy during the War of 1812.

State officials agreed yesterday to buy one of the largest privately owned forests left on the Eastern Shore for $14.4 million, though not without questions about whether taxpayers are paying too much to preserve land in the depressed real estate market. The Board of Public Works unanimously approved purchase of the 4,800-acre tract in Worcester County, pointing to its ecological value as a habitat for rare plants, birds and other animals. It is one of two major land preservation deals announced last month by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Neighbors of two portions of the planned $37 million Blandair Regional Park in Columbia are mounting a revolt against last-minute changes to the southeastern corner of the 300-acre tract. Although supportive of the park, residents who live in neighborhoods near Oakland Mills Road and Old Montgomery Road want a 2-acre skateboard park and the multipurpose building moved away from their homes and toward the center of the 100-acre southern section of the facility. Calling their plan "Alternative G," more than 50 supporters of the idea were among the nearly 200 people who turned out for a county-sponsored public hearing at Oakland Mills High School on Thursday night.

BITTINGER - Henry Bowser has seen it before: outsiders converging on Garrett County eager to dig deep beneath its mineral-rich soil and promising local residents a bounty of fossil fuel fortunes. While waiting last week to sign a lucrative lease allowing a natural gas company to drill on his 120-plus acres, Bowser recalled that his late father, George, had leased the land 40 years ago - for annual payments of $1 per acre - to a company convinced it would find gas underneath. Nothing turned up, and the lease was dropped after 20 years.

Anne Arundel County has received state funding to preserve a 183-acre farm in Lothian and is on its way to getting money for two more properties in South County. The state Board of Public Works has approved $2 million in funding for the $2.6 million purchase of an easement on the William Hall farm on Route 2, and the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation is considering applications by two more farmers for 306 acres of rural property in Harwood. The easement - essentially an agreement that allows the state to control the land, impose development restrictions and perform regular inspections - was reviewed by the board of the MALPF and the county, which will contribute $670,000 in matching funds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its final production estimate on last year's grain harvest, which shows that nature does not treat all farms equally. While grain farmers in Maryland suffered through their worst growing season since the drought of 2002, their colleagues in the Midwest harvested their second-best corn crop on record. In terms of yield per acre - the best way to measure the productivity of grain fields - Maryland farms produced 103 bushels of corn from each acre planted last year, a figure nearly 28 percent lower than the harvest in 2006.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest crop production forecast during the week, and the Maryland numbers were pretty dismal, even worse than expected. The latest government survey confirms earlier reports that this year's drought could be as bad as the one in 2002, which was considered the worst in the state in more than a century. Based on field conditions as of Sept. 1, the USDA predicts that Maryland farmers will harvest an average 85 bushels of corn from each acre planted.

Summer in the country -- Students of Alice Webb, painter and teacher at Sunburst Studio in Ellicott City, are showing paintings of the Howard County Conservancy at the conservancy, 10520 Old Frederick Road, Woodstock, through July 29. A reception is planned from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Based at the 232-acre Mount Pleasant Farm, the conservancy is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Information about the conservancy's gift shop, children's programs and camps, talks, hikes, picnics and other events: 410-465-8877.

In rural St. Mary's County, people have long since gotten used to million-dollar weekend homes. They're blase about sky-high listings for anything with a water view, ho-hum about opulent retirement mansions. But folks near Maryland's southern tip, just north of where the Potomac and the Chesapeake merge, aren't quite sure what to make of a $7.5 million price tag on a secluded 327-acre compound near Dameron that includes three houses, stables, a harness horse training track - plus about 1,000 feet of waterfront.

For Marylanders who have fantasized about getting into the wine business, the time may be, well, ripe. The state has launched a program that pays farmers to grow the grapes needed to produce more made-in-Maryland bottles of cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot and other wines. The Vineyard Capital Assistance Program will reimburse growers between $2 and $2.50 for each grapevine planted next spring. The program is funded by a $147,000 grant from the Governor's Advisory Commission on Maryland Wine and Grape Growing.