Kent Island

Volunteer archaeologists working in the shallows off the southern end of Kent Island have found what may be clues to the long-lost location of Maryland's first English settlement -- William Claiborne's 1631 fort and trading post.The key find so far has been the remains of a barrel well, one of three old wells spotted in what are now mud flats more than 40 feet off the eroded southern shoreline of Kent Island.Inside one of the wells, archaeologists last fall found three pea-sized blue trade beads identical to beads found earlier in excavations at St. Mary's City and Jamestown,Va.

Annapolis commuters will have more opportunities to ditch their cars and hop a bus to work or play with the addition of three buses on two lines linking Kent Island to the nation's capital. Two buses will be added to the 950 line and one bus to the 922 in an effort to alleviate crowding and the pain at the gas pump, state officials said Monday. The change comes soon after the completion of a $927,500 expansion of the park-and-ride lot on Harry S. Truman Parkway outside Annapolis. It increased the number of spaces from 480 to 680. "We're giving people the option of getting out of their cars and saving on gas prices and letting someone else worry about the driving," Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said.

Who wouldn't love a house on the water? For many people, owning waterfront property is a lifelong dream. John Getz grew up near Annapolis in Cape St. Clair but never lived on the water. He admits that as a teen-ager he was a little bit envious of his friends with waterfront homes. "They all had boats and nice houses. I always wanted that," he said. His wife, Susan, lived on waterfront property in Pasadena almost her entire life. For her, looking out the window and seeing the sunrise over the river was a natural, everyday occurrence.

CHESTER - As the state's Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission prepares to weigh the fate of the largest development ever proposed in fast-growing Queen Anne's County, tensions are rising among residents who contend that a construction boom is threatening the slower lifestyle they thought they were getting when they moved east of the bay. A summer of discontent for disgruntled residents of Kent Island and other growth-control advocates came to a...

By a 2-1 vote, the state Board of Public Works approved a plan yesterday to buy a 74-acre piece of land at the northern tip of Kent Island that Natural Resources officials say offers unique deep-water access for Maryland boaters and has historical significance. Gov. Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp voted for the purchase under Maryland's Program Open Space. Comptroller Peter Fanchot cast the dissenting vote, saying he believed the price was too steep. "Is this project the best possible expenditure, and are taxpayers getting the best bang for their buck?"

STEVENSVILLE -- Still battling in court after seven years to build a Wal-Mart store in Chestertown, the world's largest retail chain is again at the center of controversy on the upper Eastern Shore, this time in the shadow of the Bay Bridge on Kent Island. Neighborhood activists are staking signs, recruiting volunteers, circulating petitions and calling for a moratorium aimed at blocking a Northern Virginia developer's plans for a 155,000-square-foot store on prime U.S. 50 property. Taking the lead is Up Against The Wal, a group of opponents that staged a public meeting that drew nearly 400 people last week.

After dominating last year's state semifinal only to lose in a shootout, Hereford's No. 14 field hockey team made sure that didn't happen again. Last night, the Bulls dominated first-time semifinalist Kent Island, but this time, they put the ball in the cage much more often. Celeste DiFerdinando, Lauren Meadowcroft and Annamarie Chamberlain scored first-half goals and Mary Katharine Wittelsberger had two assists as the Bulls rolled to a 6-1 victory over Kent Island, which had beaten defending champion Parkside in the East region final.

A full-scale search for a Stevensville man missing in the Wyoming wilderness for a week ended yesterday, though periodic spot searches are planned this week, authorities said.David M. Crouch, 27, never returned from what was supposed to be a two-hour fishing trip to Island Lake, near his campsite in the Bridger Wilderness of the Wind River Mountain Range, a week ago yesterday. The mountains are 10,500 feet above sea level, and Crouch did not have survival gear with him, authorities said.A helicopter, nine people and four dogs searched the remote mountainous area near Island and Lower Jean lakes about 25 miles northeast of Pinedale yesterday, said Sublette County Sheriff Hank Ruland.

As the No. 210 bus rolled up Ritchie Highway between Annapolis and Baltimore yesterday morning, longtime rider Isabel Halamandaris scanned the help-wanted ads. The 47-year-old Severna Park resident has used the Maryland Transit Administration bus to commute to and from her job as an executive assistant in downtown Baltimore for four years. She took the job - which paid less than other opportunities - because of the convenience of the bus and the cost savings. Now, Halamandaris said, "I'm thinking about changing jobs."

The Marriotts Ridge baseball team learned a little about second chances this week. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they also learned that you have to take advantage of them, and coming close isn't enough. No. 12 Marriotts Ridge, which wound up in yesterday's Class 2A state final at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen after last week's loss to South Hagerstown was overturned because the Washington County school violated the rule on pitching limitations, took a late lead before falling to Kent Island, 6-5, on a suicide-squeeze play by Lingan Sweeney in the bottom of the seventh inning.