City Dock

The promotion company that has put on Annapolis' annual boat shows for almost 40 years will continue to run the shows at least through 2014, after the Annapolis city council approved legislation renewing a lease with the promoter, despite an offer of higher rent from a competing company. The ordinance grants a lease to United States Yacht Shows Inc. for 2013 and 2014. City Dock Productions LLC had put in a bid to organize the show for 2013 at a higher rent plus additional financial considerations, which could have totaled hundreds of thousands more for the city, City Dock representatives contended.

It wouldn't be the holiday season in Annapolis without a celebration of sailing. And it wouldn't be the holiday season in Eastport without a wink at traditional celebrations. The 25th annual Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade on Saturday night lit up Annapolis Harbor with an eclectic group of powerboats and sailboats wrapped in serious wattage. Strings of lights artfully formed Christmas trees, a trumpeting archangel and even a Blue Angels F-18. One perennial entry, the powerboat Black Tie Affair, was simply loaded down with stuffed animals.

Go. Get out on the water - because a day on the water can be better than a day on land. As Kenneth Grahame wrote a century ago in his famous children's classic, The Wind in the Willows, "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." From motoring around creeks and harbors in a water taxi to taking a quiet sunset cruise to the Bay Bridge to watching your kids play buccaneers on a pirate cruise, the Baltimore-Annapolis area offers plenty of opportunities to mess about in boats.

Heritage festival -- The Annapolis Maritime Museum and Annapolis will welcome the John Smith voyagers, who will visit Saturday and Sunday at City Dock. A heritage festival will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with a parade of boats, followed by a welcoming ceremony. An exhibit will feature videos, interactive displays and hands-on activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. 410-295-0104 or www.johnsmith400.org.

Chris Haley, great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Kunta Kinte, sat at Annapolis City Dock yesterday afternoon, read aloud from his late uncle's acclaimed book "Roots" and extolled the significance of genealogy and family history in the pursuit of self-awareness.But first, he had to clear one hurdle: explain who Kunta Kinte was to his rambunctious audience of 16 Annapolis Elementary School third-graders who yelled, "He played in a movie" when Haley mentioned his ancestor's name."Well, actually, an actor played his part in a movie," Haley said, smiling.

The Annapolis City Dock of the 1920s teemed with the hardy boats of watermen who tied up at the blue-collar port in between trips trolling the Chesapeake Bay for fish, oysters and crabs.But in the 1960s, tourism overtook maritime trade. The blacksmith shop and the watermen's fueling dock shut down. Even the salty watering holes of the crabbers and oyster shuckers were gradually replaced by chi-chi bars and restaurants.Today, all that remains of the maritime-trade heyday at City Dock are two small crabbing boats owned by father and stepson Charlie Meiklejohn and Alexander Parkinson.

Bid farewell to medalAT THE Annapolis city council meeting Monday night, Mayor Dean L. Johnson doled out awards to several employees who have spent decades working for the city.With pomp and pageantry, Johnson introduced James Butler -- a refuse equipment operator who has spent 42 years with the Department of Public Works -- to receive the longest-serving employee award.As Johnson dramatically hoisted the ribbon to place it around Butler's neck, the silver medal suddenly came loose and fell to the ground.

The way Tom Davies tells it, the quintessential American Main Street existed for decades just blocks from his downtown Annapolis home.Everybody in town walked to Rookie's grocery store near the City Dock to buy Thanksgiving turkeys, up Main Street to Rite Aid for aspirin, and hardware and clothing stores -- even a gas station -- were among businesses downtown that provided day-to-day essentials.Last month, a final vestige of that small-town past disappeared when Rite Aid shut down after 21 years in downtown Annapolis.

More than 230 years after Kunta Kinte landed at the Annapolis City Dock from Africa, state, county and city officials announced plans in the state capital yesterday for a statue of his descendant Alex Haley, who achieved international fame by charting the life of his enslaved ancestor and establishing a foothold for black history in American culture.The memorial -- expected to cost $1.05 million -- will feature a life-size bronze rendering of the "Roots" author sitting and reading to three children of different ethnicities.

More than 230 years after Kunta Kinte landed at the Annapolis City Dock from Africa, state, county and city officials announced plans in the state capital yesterday for a statue of his descendant Alex Haley, who achieved international fame by charting the life of his enslaved ancestor and establishing a foothold for black history in American culture.The memorial -- expected to cost $1.05 million -- will feature a life-size bronze rendering of the "Roots" author sitting and reading to three children of different ethnicities.

The sudden rise and fall of the woman who would have been the first elected African-American mayor of Annapolis has opened wounds in the capital city's black community. Now it's up to a white county councilman to try to heal them. Josh Cohen lost the mayoral primary last month but became the Democratic nominee after Zina C. Pierre, a charismatic political consultant who eked out a victory in a six-way race, said she was abandoning the contest after embarrassing revelations of debts and other personal financial problems.

Now that Annapolis' Market House has shed an 18-month legal battle, city leaders have begun finding tenants to fill the historic landmark and planning its $1 million renovation. "The city is happy to close the chapter on litigation and focus again on making the Market House the centerpiece of Annapolis," said Jonathan P. Kagan, the city's lawyer. "That's the goal." Specifically, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer's goal is to fix the heating and cooling system and move short-term tenants into the nearly vacant property by Friday, she said.

Market House should be a retailer's dream. The 150-year-old Annapolis landmark sits on City Dock, a venue that draws visitors by the thousands. Yet, Market House, once a thriving venue called "the cafeteria of Annapolis," has just two tenants - a bank and a bakery. During the past decade, there have been setbacks: A flood in 2003 caused $1 million damage; an air-conditioning malfunction in 2006 resulted in millions of dollars in lawsuits and the loss of several tenants. Now, with the lawsuits settled and Market House under exclusive city control, city leaders say they are ready for a rebound, with plans for about $1 million in renovations to lure tenants.

'Pride II' at City Dock for maritime festival The Pride of Baltimore II will visit the City Dock at Annapolis on Sunday and Monday, offering deck tours and day sails during the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival. Free deck tours will be given from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a day sail from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Cost for the sail is $45. A one-way sail from Annapolis to Baltimore will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and costs $65. Reservations are required for sails. Information: 888-557-7433.

British expatriate Andrew Summers saw no irony in joining hundreds of rain-soaked protesters Wednesday in Annapolis for an anti-tax tea party modeled after 18th-century Colonial revolts. "Justice is justice no matter where you're from," said Summers, who moved to Baltimore 17 years ago. "I'm tired of the government using us as an ATM machine." Protesters filled the Annapolis City Dock - one of hundreds of tea parties held across Maryland and the nation - to toss tea bags into the water, sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and listen to fiery speeches against the economic policies of President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Demonstrators filled Annapolis City Dock - one of hundreds of anti-tax tea parties held Wednesday across Maryland and the nation - to toss tea bags into the water in protest of the economic policies of President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O'Malley. Articles, Pages 2, 3, 12

The city of Annapolis is "on solid financial footing," but a half-million-dollar decrease in next year's operating budget will require the city to do more with less, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said in her annual State of the City address. In the speech, delivered at Monday's city council meeting, Moyer also discussed the city's support for its businesses, emphasis on public information, volunteers, environmental efforts, grants and transportation. "This administration has been financially prudent, while at the same time moving forward to meet the public needs of a new century," Moyer said.

Samuel E. Shropshire was visiting a museum in Gambia, one of Annapolis' sister cities, when he saw a picture of child slaves being auctioned at Annapolis City Dock. "When I saw that, I realized that the city condoned nearly 100 years of slavery," Shropshire said, recalling the experience that prompted him to urge fellow aldermen on the Annapolis City Council to issue an apology for participating in slavery. Shropshire's life journey has taken him from the deep South to a Soviet jail to founding a nonprofit to help people living with HIV and AIDS.

The City of Annapolis cannot pass legislation to immediately occupy the Market House at City Dock, city officials said in response to a petition being circulated by the Annapolis Business Association requesting that the city allow tenants to move into the waterfront property by the start of spring. In its statement, the city outlines why it's not legally up to city officials to allow tenants to move in. "The city would love to resolve this matter and return the Market House to its rightful position as a jewel of our downtown and harbor area," the statement reads.

Greg Stiverson, a 33-year-Annapolitan, has announced that he will run to be the next Ward 6 alderman in Annapolis. Stiverson, who has never run for public office, has 23 years of management experience in state government, according to a statement. He has also served as president of the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, the Annapolis Opera, the Annapolis Symphony and other volunteer groups. "I will work hard to increase public understanding of our city's public housing needs while supporting efforts to reduce crime through effective policing and programs that encourage youth education and economic opportunity," said Stiverson, 62, a Republican.