Delmarva

The sale of Rosecroft Raceway and Delmarva Downs was approved yesterday by trustee Jim Murphy, signaling a likely end to a stormy chapter in Maryland harness racing history.Murphy, trustee of the tracks since they were placed under the protection of a federal bankruptcy court in January, approved an $18.2 million bid by Colt Enterprises Inc., a company fully owned by Frederick Weisman of California."The proposal will be subject to the federal bankruptcy court for approval," Murphy said in a prepared statement.

Trapped in a steel cage barely big enough to hold her, the large squirrel was not happy, pawing at the bars and trying them with her teeth. Matt Whitbeck and Cherry Keller of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were glad to see her, though. The furry gray prisoner, released after being weighed and checked, offered yet another sign that the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel, once vanishingly rare, has come back. This supersized, reputedly shy member of the squirrel family now is considered fully recovered, according to federal wildlife officials.

Hurricane Sandy has weakened with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of 2 p.m., but it is still expected to be a massive and powerful system for the next several days that could strike the Delmarva peninsula at hurricane strength and cause hundreds of thousands of power outages in Maryland. The storm's center is expected to strike the Delmarva early Tuesday before moving to the northwest over Baltimore, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. update. Gov. Martin O'Malley declared a state of emergency Friday morning launching statewide storm preparation efforts led by the Maryland Emergency Management agency.

Dinner at DelMarVa's Southern Cafe isn't exactly the same as a meal at a charming, out-of-the-way Eastern Shore diner. But it's close. The eatery, which opened this September in the old broom factory building on the Canton-Brewers Hill border, takes its inspiration from the region's comfort food, with a focus on specialties like fried chicken, Virginia ham and crab cakes. For the most part, the kitchen did these local favorites justice. The restaurant's brick walls, sturdy wooden furniture and friendly vibe lend the place a decidedly down-home-on-the-Shore feel.

BERLIN, Md. -- Delmarva Downs was forced to cancel its card last night after two betting races because of the heavy rain and thunderstorms that battered the Eastern Shore.Racing will resume today with a 12-race card. Post time is 7:45 p.m.

Colt Enterprises, owner of the state's two harness tracks, is seeking a longer 1993 racing season.Tom Barry, general manager of Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways, is expected to ask the Maryland Racing Commission today for earlier openings next year for the tracks.The commission meets at Timonium to discuss the harness dates, but will not award either 1993 harness or thoroughbred dates until its November meeting.Rosecroft management is asking for 233 nights, an increase of 32 from 1992, and permission to open Jan. 6. Dates at Delmarva Downs would increase from 87 nights this year to 93 nights in 1993.

League: Single-A South Atlantic Affiliation: Orioles General manager: Jim Terrill Manager: Joe Ferguson Stadium: Arthur Perdue Directions to stadium: Take U.S. 50 through Salisbury. Pass Business Route 13 and continue to Hobbs Road. Take a right. Game times: Monday through Saturday, 7: 05 p.m.; Sundays through June, 1: 05 p.m.; Sundays in July and August, 7: 05 p.m.; April 19, 10: 05 a.m.; July 12, 12: 05 p.m. Tickets: Club level, $17; field box, $11; reserved box, $9; adult general admission, $8; children 6 to 12, senior citizens and military personnel, $5. Radio: WBSL (97.9 FM)

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland moved yesterday to buttress its managed-care presence by purchasing the Delmarva Health Plan of Easton.The acquisition by the CFS Health Group Inc., the management company for three of the Blues' four health maintenance organizations, increases CFS' membership by 12.5 percent and gives the state's largest health insurer an important toehold on the Eastern Shore, where traditional business is declining.Delmarva, owned by Memorial Hospital of Easton and a group of physicians, was acquired for $7 million -- $6.25 million in cash and the remainder in escrowed funds.

Ted Snell has been named president and general manager at Maryland's two harness tracks, Rosecroft Raceway and Delmarva Downs.Snell, 51, is a native of New Hampshire who has served in a similar capacity at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey the past four years."

Cloverleaf Enterprises, Inc., a corporation formed by an organization of approximately 1,400 owners and trainers of harness horses in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, officially took over ownership yesterday of Maryland's two trotting tracks -- Rosecroft and Delmarva raceways -- with a major assist from Bally's Casino Holdings, Inc., one of the country's primary casino gambling firms.Under what is considered an unusual agreement, Bally is lending the horsemen $10.6 million to buy the tracks and is being given free rein by Cloverleaf to run them.

Hurricane Sandy has weakened with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of 2 p.m., but it is still expected to be a massive and powerful system for the next several days that could strike the Delmarva peninsula at hurricane strength and cause hundreds of thousands of power outages in Maryland. The storm's center is expected to strike the Delmarva early Tuesday before moving to the northwest over Baltimore, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 p.m. update. Gov. Martin O'Malley declared a state of emergency Friday morning launching statewide storm preparation efforts led by the Maryland Emergency Management agency.

Hurricane Sandy is a category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, and though it will be weaker than that five days from now, it could wreak havoc anywhere from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod, an increasing number of models are showing. The storm is still nearing the Bahamas, but as the days pass and forecasters continue to run various models, a track to the north is still among the potential scenarios. It's also possible the storm will stay out to sea, but as time goes on, it's more models that are predicting a serious East Coast impact, not fewer.

Delmarva's Southern Cafe is set to open Friday in Canton. The new comfort food restaurant, located in the Harbor Enterprise Center, also known as the Broom Factory, will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. And they will serve breakfast at dinner, if you get my drift. On the menu - biscuit sandwiches, baked cheese skillets,  country-fried rib eye, cheesy shrimp and grits, burgers and Tenderjack's chicken tenders, a specialty at Tenderjack's, the Virginia-based restaurants Delmarva's owners, Paul Stratmeyer and David Levitt, have a share in. Levitt was an owner of the Tenderjack's in Leesburg, Va., with two other partners.

Sea level rise along the mid-Atlantic coast made headlines over the weekend, as Gannett newspapers on the Delmarva Peninsula and in New Jersey launched a series of stories examining how climate change could swamp shorefront homes and resort communities, hamper farming and even contaminate municipal water supplies. Scientists say the Atlantic coast from around Boston to North Carolina is in a "hot zone" where sea level is expected to rise even faster than elsewhere as a result of the planet's warming and related changes in ocean currents.

Single-A Delmarva infielder Nicky Delmonico was named the Most Valuable Player of tonight's South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Charleston, S.C. Delmonico, the Orioles' No. 6-ranked prospect by Baseball America, played a key role in the North's 3-2 win, going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. The 19-year-old Delmonico hit a one-out infield single to shortstop in the fifth inning, then scored two batters later on Kevan Smith's RBI double to left. Delmonico then laced a one-out double to right, moving to third on an error by South second baseman Delino DeShields.

A new restaurant named Delmarva's Southern Cafe will open this spring in Canton's Harbor Enterprise Center, also known as the Broom Factory. Delmarva's is scheduled to open sometime this summer, according to David Levitt, a partner in the new business. Levitt, a food-indusry veteran, is also a partner in a Leesburg, Va. restaurant named Tenderjacks. Delmarva's will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, Levitt said, and will operate as a fast-casual restaurant, the kind where you order at a counter but the food is brought to your table.

The agriculture secretaries of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia jointly announced their support for the North American Free Trade Agreement yesterday, saying the potential for an expanded Mexican market was good news for the farmers of the region."

Earlier this month, two Republican senators, frustrated by government regulation and big-city "bullies," introduced in the General Assembly a bill to let the Eastern Shore hold a straw ballot on secession. The bill is slated for a hearing March 5 in the Economic and Environmental Matters committee. Secession has been proposed off and on since the 1830s and never gets very far. But what if this time ... (A satire)CRAPO, June 24, 1999 -- There's not much left of Delmarva, the Union's improbable 51st state, created back in 1998.

The Delmarva Peninsula's natural areas are more than just pretty sights to look at - they're a major source of income and employment for Eastern Shore communities, according to a new report. The report, released today by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership , says that boaters, hunters, anglers, bird-watchers and other outdoor lovers spend up to $3.9 billion annually enjoying the Delmarva's natural areas and support more than 27,900 jobs. Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching draw an estimated 1.6 million participants, according to the report by Southwick Associates of Fernandina Beach, FL.  With 127,000 boats registered in the region, recreational boating accounts for more than $1.3 billion in annual sales and supports 11,000-plus jobs paying wages of more than $400 million.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Even though top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy was optioned to the Delmarva Shorebirds, it doesn't necessarily mean he will begin his pro career at the low Class A level, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Monday. In fact, that was one question the 19-year-old Bundy wanted answered himself when he met with Showalter on Sunday afternoon after he was told he was being sent down to minor-league camp. “We made that point to him yesterday,” Showalter said.