Chesapeake Bay

The story of a 24-year-old Georgia graduate student fighting a flesh-eating disease has prompted a microbiologist with the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System to speak out about the infection. Aimee Copeland lost most of her left leg after the flesh-eating bacteria necrotizing faciitis is believed to have entered a cut on her leg, according to the Associated Press, which reports she may also have to have her fingers amputated. The waterborne bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila is believed to have caused the infection.

It's 1943. First light colors the summer Chesapeake Bay off the fishing village of Rock Hall, revealing a 6-year-old boy rowing a wooden skiff, struggling to do it quietly, so not to scare the blue crabs his great-grandfather dips as they run their trotline. The crabs back then came up "thick as mosquitoes at dark," several at once attacking the eel baits tied along the trotline. As they work, the old man teaches the boy skills he'd need in the water business; he also speaks with sadness about how the state arbitrarily changed the fishing rules, ending his long career as a top bay captain.

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

The 3,000-mile water and land trail network created to relive the Chesapeake Bay's 17th century exploration by English colonists is about to grow still larger. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis are slated to visit Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis this afternoon to celebrate the addition of four new river river trails to the existing Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail .  The federal officials are to be joined by Gov.Martin O'Malley, local officials, Native American tribal leaders and conservation group representatives.

High temperatures and pollution have made conditions ripe for potentially dangerous bacteria carried in Chesapeake Bay waters, leading state and local health officials to warn swimmers, fishermen and shellfish eaters to take precautions. The naturally occurring bacteria, vibrio, can cause gastrointestinal illness as well as nasty skin infections — and sometimes can kill. So far this year, 24 Maryland cases of vibrio have been recorded, close to the average annual count of 30, but the season is far from over and officials say many cases likely go unreported.

They're tucked away in residential neighborhoods, alongside marinas and on the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries. But for those who don't have a navigational system in their car or boat, Anne Arundel County's picturesque waterfront restaurants can be tricky to find. A trek to Deep Creek Restaurant in Arnold, Windows on the Bay or the Cheshire Crab in Pasadena - with a left turn here and a right turn there - takes a visitor through tree-lined neighborhoods, past rows of boats suspended on lifts and ends in laid-back culinary delights.

My first visit to the Chesapeake Bay was disappointing to say the least. As a place that receives millions of visitors a year, it shouldn't be too much to expect clean water. Roughly 20 percent of all wetlands may no longer be protected by the Clean Water Act. We need EPA director Lisa Jackson and the EPA to act now to protect America's waterways. Muhammad Yasin, Reston, Va.

The Chesapeake Bay and the rich habitat it contains provide outstanding sporting opportunities for the region's millions of hunters, anglers and birders. As a Maryland resident sportsman, conservationist and professional wildlife biologist, I support the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act, which is currently before Congress. The legislation would improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and ensure that generations of sportsmen and other outdoors enthusiasts will continue to enjoy the region's wildlife-oriented traditions.

A boater discovered decomposed remains in the Chesapeake Bay south of the Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County shortly before noon on Sunday, Maryland Natural Resources Police said. The remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said. Because of the decomposition of the body, the age, gender and race of the victim could not be determined, officials said. After the boater reported the discovery, the NRP and the Coast Guard responded to the area.

We applaud Sen. Ben Cardin's courageous opposition to the pesticides bill now before the U.S. Senate ("Cardin opposes break on pesticide," July 4). This proposal would cancel the Environmental Protection Agency's permit program limiting the amount and types of pollutants discharged into waterways and threaten the Chesapeake Bay. Without definite limits on hazardous pesticides, it will be impossible to keep Maryland's streams and rivers free of toxic chemicals. Without the permit program, 95 percent of our streams will continue to show pesticide pollution, and the majority of our aquatic communities will be exposed to complex mixtures of chemical contaminants that have the potential for harm.

Environmental groups are appealing a federal judge's ruling that the owners of the Sparrows Point steel mill need only do a limited search for offshore pollution from the plant. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its legal partners, including the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, have filed notice with the U.S. District Court in Baltimore of their intention to appeal a decision by Judge J. Frederick Motz accepting a plan by the steel plant's current owner, RG Steel, to test for contamination no more than 50 feet into the Patapsco River and Bear Creek.

With the lure of making as much as $100,000 in prize money, nearly 4,000 anglers in some 650 boats are expected to descend on the Chesapeake Bay next weekend for what is billed as "the largest rockfish tournament in the world. " According to Dave Smith, executive director of the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association, there are "over 50 ways to win. " First place in the main draw is worth a guaranteed $15,000. The big money is made in what MSSA bills as a "tournament within a tournament.

Unless I completely misinterpret this story ("Fatter folks, sicker bay," April 20), which is easy to do any time a "lefty" talks, it is a complete load of garbage! When the writer suggests that the health of the Chesapeake Bay is affected by the obesity of those who live near it, I have to respond that this is just another desperate attempt to lay blame on people, which usually is a precursor to another invasive law and a further erosion of freedom and liberty. He writes about a book he is reading by medical researchers and associates their findings with meanderings of his own mental deficiency and says, "It's intriguing to compare graphs these [Bay health]

Steamed crabs, cream of crab soup, crab cakes, crab imperial, soft shell crab, deviled crab, corn and crab chowder, crab bisque, crab dip, crab salad, crab fritters, crab ravioli, crab pie, crab quiche - but that's probably enough for the first day. Pardon us while we drool at the news that the Chesapeake Bay crab population has rebounded. The annual winter dredge survey has projected an estimated 764 million blue crabs bay-wide, the highest crab population estimate since 1993 and a stunning two-thirds more than last year's total.

For insight as to why we're having trouble restoring the Chesapeake Bay, I'm reading "The Evolution of Obesity" by medical researchers Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin. It's an illuminating look at how we got so fat. It's epidemic - more than a fifth of the world's population is overweight or obese. In the United States, obesity-related health problems are soaring. The standard revolving door has gone from six to eight feet, and hauling our ampler butts costs airlines a quarter-billion more in fuel than it used to. The proportion of normal-weight Americans is at an all-time low. But what's a fat book got to do with the state of the Chesapeake Bay?

Heavy spring rains, a hot summer and two major storms caused the Chesapeake Bay's overall health to worsen last year, scientists said Tuesday, though there apparently was a slight improvement in the Baltimore area's Patapsco and Back rivers, long considered among the bay's most degraded tributaries. The beleaguered bay saw its ecological grade slip from a C- in 2010 to D+ last year in an annual report card drawn up by the University of Maryland and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It defies all logic that a farm with 100 acres could harm the Chesapeake Bay more than a shopping center, apartment complex and attendant parking lots on 100 acres could do. Back when the bay was clean, we had more farms than we do now, and we had many less people with their cars, sewage treatment plants and garbage. Are farmers singled out as evil bay polluters ( "Faulty stewardship," Jan. 13) because there are fewer of us? We are good stewards of the land, and fortunately we have the voice of the American Farm Bureau to speak for us. Milly B. Welsh, Davidsonville

Unless I completely misinterpret this story ("Fatter folks, sicker bay," April 20), which is easy to do any time a "lefty" talks, it is a complete load of garbage! When the writer suggests that the health of the Chesapeake Bay is affected by the obesity of those who live near it, I have to respond that this is just another desperate attempt to lay blame on people, which usually is a precursor to another invasive law and a further erosion of freedom and liberty. He writes about a book he is reading by medical researchers and associates their findings with meanderings of his own mental deficiency and says, "It's intriguing to compare graphs these [Bay health]

Look who's smiling now? Even as the Maryland General Assembly was heading toward a budgetary train wreck last week, there was one unlikely group that had trouble believing its good fortune coming out of the 90-day session - the state's environmental community. Not only did Maryland's Chesapeake Bay lobby push through a doubling of the flush tax, but it managed to persuade lawmakers to require the state's largest jurisdictions to impose new fees that will be invested in storm water runoff controls.

Sunny skies are expected to continue Thursday, but the air should cool down with highs expected in the upper 50s, according to the National Weather Service. A small craft advisory was in effect for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay and the tidal Potomac River through 2 a.m. Thursday, and was expected to remain in some waters later Thursday morning. Thursday night, areas of frost could develop, with lows in the upper 30s. Friday's weather is expected to bring little change, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 50s.