Charles County

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes touched down in Maryland on Monday - in the Fork area of Baltimore County, Locust Point in South Baltimore and Coltons Point in St. Mary's County. All three were placed in the weakest category on the enhanced Fujita scale, rated EF-0 tornadoes with maximum wind speeds ranging from 65 mph to 80 mph. The weather service surveyed possible tornado damage in five areas of Maryland on Tuesday - in addition to the three confirmed tornadoes, others were reported in the Woodbine area of Howard County and between Waldorf and La Plata in Charles County.

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least three tornadoes touched down in Maryland on Monday - in the Fork area of Baltimore County, Locust Point in South Baltimore and Coltons Point in St. Mary's County. All three were placed in the weakest category on the enhanced Fujita scale, rated EF-0 tornadoes with maximum wind speeds ranging from 65 mph to 80 mph. The weather service surveyed possible tornado damage in five areas of Maryland on Tuesday - in addition to the three confirmed tornadoes, others were reported in the Woodbine area of Howard County and between Waldorf and La Plata in Charles County.

Reader Megan Frohlich has shared an image of the confirmed waterspout that formed on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland on Tuesday. The image backs up what radar showed yesterday afternoon -- that blue skies surrounded the small, isolated storm that produced the twister. According to a report posted by the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., fire or rescue officials spotted the waterspout (which is the same as a tornado but over water) at 5:55 p.m. It was moving west across the Patuxent toward Maryland Route 231's Benedict Bridge.

A tornado touched down in the Largo area of Prince George's County during storms that passed through the region Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday. Meteorologists had previously confirmed another tornado in Northern Virginia. The Largo tornado touched down at 7:26 p.m. in the Marlboro Ridge neighborhood, uprooting trees, blowing out windows and garage doors and walls. The tornado traveled about half a mile, lasting less than a minute, according to the weather service.

A Southern Maryland man fell to his death after climbing a tree to get to his hunting stand, Maryland Natural Resources Police said Sunday. Albert Attanacio Castro, 62, had been trying to get to his lock-on tree stand, which has screwed-in steps, police said. He fell about 21 feet. Police said he had medical issues that might have contributed to the accident, which happened on his property near Dentsville in Charles County. The Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore will perform an autopsy.

No, slot machines haven't suddenly resurfaced in Charles County. Our headline refers to a different form of risk-taking, one that should infuriate every voter of that Southern Maryland county. Public officials used government money to invest in highly speculative securities -- and lost at least $1.3 million. As a result, Charles County is temporarily broke.The county has no money to meet immediate obligations. It is trying to get the brokerage firms involved in these transactions to give the money back.

Charles County commissioners said yesterday that they have appointed Harry H. Foxwell as county treasurer to complete the term of Thelma Bowie, who resigned last week because of continuing health problems.Her resignation came on the heels of a disclosure by commissioners that the county's deputy treasurer allegedly had made illegal and highly speculative investments with county funds totaling in the millions of dollars. The county has sued to have the trades reversed.Mr. Foxwell served for 30 years in the U.S. Navy and is the former assistant director of the Office of Naval Intelligence, the commissioners said in a statement.

While searching for turtle shells along railroad tracks in Charles County yesterday morning, Scott Whaley made a gruesome find.The trucker from Palestine, Ohio, found the remains of a human skull."

A 19-month-old boy left unattended in a Charles County home Tuesday wandered into the backyard and apparently drowned in a pool, police said. Jason Daniel Burke Jr. was discovered by his mother just after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday lying unconscious in an above-ground pool in the 4300 block of Middletown Road in White Plains, said Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Charles County Sheriff's Office. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. Richardson said the mother had left her house to run an errand, telling the toddler's 15-year-old cousin, who lives in the house, to watch over the boy while she was gone.

Texaco's plans to drill for oil near the Chesapeake Bay in Charles County are on hold after the company came up dry in its third test drilling in Virginia, a spokeswoman said yesterday.An official from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which has warned oil drilling in Maryland could have a devastating effect on the environment, said yesterday the company's lack of success "does not sadden us."Texaco Inc. suspended exploratory drilling Tuesday on a farm in King George County, Va., after failing to find oil or natural gas in any commercial quantities, company spokeswoman Deborah Alford said.

State Sen. Edward Kasemeyer, who represents District 12 which includes Catonsville and Arbutus as well as portions of Howard County, is one of three state legislators honored for their efforts in support of people with developmental disabilities. Kasemeyer received a Champion for Real Lives Award from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition at the 2013 annual Developmental Disabilities Day in Annapolis last month. "Throughout his tenure in the Maryland General Assembly, Sen. Kasemeyer has been a tireless advocate for the issues most important to Marylanders with developmental disabilities," said Ken Capone, public policy coordinator for People on the Go, in a release.

Three Maryland counties have essentially violated the state's new law aimed at limiting growth on septic systems, a top O'Malley administration aide said Wednesday, adding that state officials are "weighing our options," including possible legal action or withholding of funds. Cecil, Frederick and Allegany counties did not follow the 2012 law in drawing up maps that were supposed to restrict where large housing subdivisions on septic may be built, Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall told lawmakers in Annapolis.

A conservation group is warning that many of Maryland's counties are skirting a new state law requiring them to rein in development of rural lands. 1000 Friends of Maryland says that more than a third of the state's 23 counties have done little or nothing so far to comply with the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 , which aims to restrict new housing on septic systems in rural areas. "What we have are eight counties that are in the red zone," says Dru Schmidt-Perkins, the Friends executive director.

A Southern Maryland man fell to his death after climbing a tree to get to his hunting stand, Maryland Natural Resources Police said Sunday. Albert Attanacio Castro, 62, had been trying to get to his lock-on tree stand, which has screwed-in steps, police said. He fell about 21 feet. Police said he had medical issues that might have contributed to the accident, which happened on his property near Dentsville in Charles County. The Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore will perform an autopsy.

Reader Megan Frohlich has shared an image of the confirmed waterspout that formed on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland on Tuesday. The image backs up what radar showed yesterday afternoon -- that blue skies surrounded the small, isolated storm that produced the twister. According to a report posted by the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., fire or rescue officials spotted the waterspout (which is the same as a tornado but over water) at 5:55 p.m. It was moving west across the Patuxent toward Maryland Route 231's Benedict Bridge.

A long-time Anne Arundel County prosecutor is taking the reins of the county lawyers' association, in hopes of updating it and luring more of its 1,100-plus members into taking more active roles. Later this month, Jessica Daigle, 44, will take over as president of the Anne Arundel Bar Association. Like other associations, the AABA finds itself vying for people's scarce free time and facing the reality that social media make it easier for newcomers to connect. "I want to make this an organization where people say, 'I have to join," Daigle said.

Problems with Maryland counties' annual tax sales continued to crop up yesterday with Charles County suspending its sale because of hyper-inflated bids, Baltimore County establishing new rules to prevent that in its sale tomorrow, and Howard County coming under attack in a criminal complaint over alleged improprieties at its recent sale.All of the problems stemmed from the growing trend at local jurisdictions' tax sales: bidders offering fantastic sums -- with at least one bid going as high as "infinity" -- to claim the right to collect high interest on modest properties' tax liens.

An Oxon Hill man was fatally shot in La Plata by a Charles County sheriff's officer after the man fired at three officers who were attempting to arrest him, authorities said. Jonathan Zacharias Lyles, 24, was in a vehicle on Zekiah Run Road when Officer James Thompson spotted it backed up over a curb at 7:15 a.m. Saturday and called for assistance, police said. Officers Clint Walter and Jonathan Rager responded. The officers gave Lyles a sobriety test and concluded that Lyles was under the influence.

The fate of the Chesapeake Bay may be found in its tributaries. Mattawoman Creek, one of the bay's healthiest, is losing ground to development and now stands "at a turning point" as Charles County plans for future growth in its watershed, a state-led task force warns. The combined state-federal task force, led by the Department of Natural Resources , says that the Mattawoman is losing the "near to the ideal" condition that characterized its waters nearly two decades ago. Although its watershed is still largely forested, and the stream itself retains one of the state's most diverse populations of fish, "possible signs of stress associated with human development have appeared.

Adam Raby, a Maryland native and UMBC graduate now living in Chicago, came up with the idea for the CushPad while watching his girlfriend fumble with his precious iPad, occasionally dropping it. He also got tired of looking for ways to prop the device up while he sat on the couch or in bed while trying to use it. So last fall, Raby, 29, tried his hand at building an encasement of foam that snugly holds an iPad. His prototype worked well, and he had a short run of 100 CushPads made by two Chicago manufacturers (hooray for American manufacturing!