Annapolis

Maryland officials agreed Wednesday to buy the historic Annapolis post office building from the U.S. Postal Service for use as part of the government complex surrounding the State House. Without dissent, the three-member Board of Public Works agreed to pay $3.2 million for the 13,000-square-foot building on Church Circle. Built in 1901, the structure is listed on the Maryland Historical Trust inventory of historic properties. Under the deal, the state will lease space back to the Postal Service to continue services for eight to 20 months until it relocates.

A 120,000-gallon sewage spill has made Weems Creek in Annapolis unsafe for swimming, Anne Arundel County health officials said Wednesday evening. A sewage force main along Jennifer Road broke Wednesday afternoon, causing the spill. Weems Creek is off-limits to swimming and other direct water contact between the headwaters and Rowe Boulevard until further notice. Anyone who does come into contact with the water should wash well with warm, soapy water. Warning signs have been posted in the area and the land around the creek has been cleaned of sewage, health officials said.

Annapolis Area Christian School is looking for a varsity swimming coach and a girls varsity soccer coach for the next school year. For information, contact athletic director Jim Domoracki, jdomoracki@aacsonline.org or 410-519-5300 x3150.  

Annapolis Police collected 16 guns as part of a statewide gun turn-in day. The police accpeted six handguns, five rifles, four shotguns and one air rifle during Saturday's event. They also accepted 20 boxes of ammunition. The police said the most common reasons for guns and ammunition to be turned in were that they belonged to a deceased person and the person no longer wanted them in their home. The statewide gun turn-in was organized by the Office of the Attorney General.

Top state officials will decide Wednesday whether to buy the Annapolis post office on Church Circle to use it for government offices. The Board of Public Works -- comprised of the governor, comptroller and treasurer -- will vote on spending $3.2 million to buy the building. Appraisals for the building at 1 Church Circle range from a low of $950,000 to a high of $3.55 million, according to the state. The property is less than one acre and the building is 13,058 square feet.

My town, Annapolis, is a special kind of college town. The students at the Naval Academy are distinctive not for their backpacks, ear buds and school T-shirts, but for their crisp summer whites and their somber dress blues. The midshipmen take off their hats - their covers - when they enter a building, and they say "sir" and "ma'am" when you greet them. At this college, you don't pay anything unless you quit or get kicked out. About 1,400 arrive every July, but only about 800 will graduate four years later.

When Bay Theatre Company actors take their bows at the end of Arthur Miller's "The Price" on Sunday, they may be their last for a while. After more than a decade, the Annapolis company is suspending its operations while it looks for a long-term home. The final performance will be bittersweet for Janet Luby, the company's artistic director and co-founder. "We're doing so well, reputation-wise, but the money wasn't matching it," she said. The company has been on a month-to-month lease at its small space in the West Garrett Building at 275 West St., and has been unable to secure a long-term deal with the landlord, Luby said.

The City of Annapolis will host its second City Fair downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Many of the attractions will have a nautical bent, including the Pride of Baltimore II , which will dock at City Dock at about noon on Saturday. There also will be boats on display in the water and on land from the Marine Corps, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating and the Annapolis Rowing Club. Annapolis Community Boating will offer the chance to use a kayak or canoe, while the Annapolis Sail and Power Squadron will teach knot-tying and the Hospice Cup will have a station for kids to make burgees, which are small flags flown on sailboats.

Sailing Greenwald finishes first at NOOD Regatta Overcoming a field of 49 boats in the J/70 class, Bennet Greenwald of San Diego took first place aboard the Perseverance in the highly competitive division and was named overall winner at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in Annapolis on Sunday. The honor distinguishes Greenwald and his crew — Jeff Madrigali , Steven Pickel and Morgane Renoir — as the top performers throughout the three-day race, which featured 15 boat classes and more than 1,000 sailors.

Two Annapolis sailors, Jeff Borland and Tim Williams, took advantage of favorable winds on their home Chesapeake Bay waters to take the lead in their classes Saturday at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta. Borland leads the nine-boat Etchells class aboard Make Mine a Double with 13 points through two days of the three-day event. Williams has four wins in six races aboard LinGin in the Alberg 30 class. Race officials will determine the regatta's overall winner today, based on the strongest finish in the most competitive class.