NEWS
By Michael Dresser | May 27, 2009
A herd of goats coming to the rescue of a handful of imperiled turtles may sound like the plot of a Saturday morning children's cartoon show, but that's just what's happening in the Carroll County town of Hampstead. The State Highway Administration has enlisted the help of about 40 goats to devour invasive plant species in wetlands along the path of the soon-to-open, 4.4-mile Hampstead Bypass to protect the habitat of the bog turtle - a species listed as threatened in Maryland. State highway officials decided to give the goats a tryout as four-legged lawn mowers rather than to attack the unwanted vegetation with mechanical mowers that might have killed the diminutive reptiles or damaged their boggy habitat on the fringe of Hampstead.
NEWS
August 19, 2007
The Savage branch library, 9525 Durness Lane, will offer "Welcome Back to Savage," a program for teens ages 13 and older, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 7. Participants will have a chance to visit with friends after the summer hiatus, have a snack and talk about what's happening at the library. Those who attend can also meet staff members and share ideas for books, music, activities and programs for teenagers. Registration is not needed. The library's Teen 'Zine, a new online newsletter written by teens for teens, will hold a meeting for those, ages 13 to 17, who are interested in participating from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept.
NEWS
By [SAM SESSA] | January 11, 2007
Kids and nature The lowdown -- Search through Leight Park on Saturday for souvenirs from nature as part of the program "Journaling in January." The items you find will become part of your own nature journal. The event is sponsored by the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center. If you go -- The 5-and-older event is 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. There is a fee of $3. The center is at 700 Otter Point Road in Abingdon. Reservations are required. Call 410-612-1688. or 410-879-2000 ext. 1688 or go to otterpointcreek.
NEWS
By NICK MADIGAN | December 31, 2006
SNAKES ON A PLANE -- New Line Home Entertainment -- $28.95 The hilariously ludicrous Snakes on a Plane combines, as one might expect, two of humans' most common fears -- poisonous reptiles and flying -- and milks them for all they're worth. Which is not much. But Snakes manages to provide a remarkably varied roller coaster of slimy, repellent images of death by reptile, while attempting to engage its audience with a parade of cliche-driven personalities in peril. There's the no-nonsense FBI agent, who is given to pronouncements like, "It's my job to handle life-and-death situations on a daily basis, and I'm good at it"; the careless, libidinous couple, too absorbed in their steamy mutual attraction to notice the venomous snake about to bite the woman's exposed breast; the ditzy Paris Hilton type, complete with very small dog; the arrogant celebrity rapper, forced into humility by the flight's descent into chaos; and several more.
NEWS
By CASSANDRA A. FORTIN | July 18, 2006
After waiting in a line of about 30 children to touch a black rat snake named Bugeye, Emily Dietz stepped right up and trailed her fingers down the reptile's scaly back. "I like to touch snakes," the 8-year-old said during a recent program at Marshy Point Nature Center in Chase. "I think snakes are one of the coolest animals around." Emily's reaction was an example of one of the two opposing inclinations visitors typically have toward snakes, said Bob Stanhope of the Marshy Point staff.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen | April 10, 2004
Sharp-eyed readers of The New York Times Magazine may have noticed a recent advertisement announcing the sale of the Kennedy family's historic Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Va. The 13-bedroom, white brick Georgian home and surrounding estate is being offered by Sotheby's International Realty in New York City. It sits off Chain Bridge Road on about six acres and has 12 fireplaces, stables for horses, a movie theater, tennis courts, a pool and cabana. The asking price is reportedly $25 million, but Sotheby's officials would not comment for this article.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen | April 7, 2004
Michael Francis Groves, a well-known Maryland herpetologist and former curator of reptiles at the Baltimore Zoo, where his career spanned more than four decades, died of cancer Sunday at his Eldersburg home. He was 84. Known to generations of reptile lovers as Frank, he was born in Baltimore and raised on Covington Street in Federal Hill. He spent his boyhood in pursuit of snakes, amphibians and lizards that inhabited nearby fields and streambeds. "When he was a kid, his boyhood room was filled with snakes.
NEWS
By Will Englund | March 6, 2004
THERE IS a strong human urge to lament the sorry state of things and point out to the dunderheads in charge how to make them better. Maybe nowhere does this find a purer voice than on the editorial pages. Always the bad news -- it's unrelenting. And yet, although you'd never know it from the tone, there's a kind of built-in, necessary optimism to this way of thinking. An editorial, by definition, has to have faith that problems can be fixed -- and, once fixed, stay fixed. But today is Saturday, so let's take a break from the belief in a brighter future in places like Iraq or the federal budget or the Baltimore City public schools.
NEWS
By Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan | February 11, 2003
Oops Designer Lloyd Klein attempted to add a touch of ballerina chic to his collection when he added criss-cross laceups to slender satin pants and stiletto heels. These, unfortunately, presented too much of a challenge for some of his models. One dramatically stumbled when her spiked heel got caught in the calf of her laceup pants, while another almost became fashion roadkill when her shoe fell off as the next model rapidly came upon her. She tried for several (excruciatingly long) seconds to untie the laces that chained her leg to the shoe before giving up and hobbling off the runway.
NEWS
By Nancy Gallant | December 31, 2002
REBECCCA Williams (that's right, her name has 3 C's) enjoys what might seem like an unusual hobby: Learning about and caring for reptiles and amphibians. Although some children run when they see snakes, Williams as a young girl was fascinated. Next week, the 20-year-old Four Seasons woman will share her enthusiasm in a presentation at the Crofton Library called "Revealing Reptiles." Williams' first pet, Barnaby, was an African clawed frog she got when she was 5. Fifteen years later, Barnaby is a healthy, happy member of the Williams home.