NEWS
BY A SUN REPORTER | April 19, 2006
Thomas Taro almost caresses the 16.9-ounce plastic bottle of Natural Spring Water, then a faraway look slowly creeps across his face. "If it gets above 10, I'll be out of business," he said. By "it" Taro means nitrates. And by "10" he means milligrams per liter - the maximum permitted by the government for drinking water. His concern is understandable because he operates Brick House Farm Water Co., which draws 47 million gallons of bottled spring water annually for customers from his 98-acre farm.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Ronald Hube and Ronald Hube,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | April 28, 2005
Many places boast that George Washington once slept there, but Berkeley Springs, W.Va., might be the only locale that brags that the Father of Our Country bathed there. Washington often visited the warm mineral springs that emerge from the base of a mountain in West Virginia's eastern panhandle, and his fondness for the waters helped spawn what is said to be the country's first health spa and the surrounding town of Bath. Unofficially renamed Berkeley Springs, the area today continues to attract relaxation-starved tourists who wade in the waters or soak in the spring-fed baths.
NEWS
By Stephanie Desmon and Stephanie Desmon,SUN STAFF | March 28, 2005
SILVER SPRING - The natural spring that gave this community its name stopped flowing about 1930, destroyed all those years ago under the pounding of the dynamite that carved East West Highway out of the countryside. Robbed of its namesake, the town's history buffs and civic cheerleaders have tried and failed for decades to get the water running again. They were hoping to drill down into the aquifer and pump water to the surface. But what few people know is that the water came back in 2003, only to disappear again in the winter.
NEWS
By Ariel Sabar and Ariel Sabar,SUN STAFF | February 19, 2004
If the Ehrlich administration gets its way, Marylanders will be able to heal the Chesapeake Bay by buying bay-themed spring water and sportswear and by telling cashiers at their favorite shops to keep the change. Details of the governor's proposal to raise millions of private dollars for a Chesapeake Bay Recovery Fund emerged yesterday in the plan's first airing before state lawmakers. Natural Resources Secretary C. Ronald Franks said that the goal was to raise $24 million by 2010 for large-scale projects such as rebuilding oyster populations and planting grasses that boost oxygen for marine life.
FEATURES
By Edward Gunts and Edward Gunts,SUN ARCHITECTURE CRITIC | January 14, 2002
The historic Oakland Spring House at the Baltimore Museum of Art, a neo-classical landmark whose interior has been off limits to the public for more than 30 years, will be open soon to visitors again. Museum directors plan to mount temporary exhibits inside the building after contractors complete an $87,000 conservation project designed to address deterioration of the 1815 structure and take it back to its original appearance. Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation approved plans this month for the work, which is to begin in the spring and be completed by fall.
FEATURES
By Frederick N. Rasmussen and Frederick N. Rasmussen,SUN STAFF | March 31, 2001
Last week, Perrier Group of America, a division of Swiss food conglomerate Nestle, announced it was finally turning off the spigot of its Deer Park Mountain Spring Water plant in Garrett County, and shipping bottling elsewhere. As fabled a bottled water as Poland Spring or New Hampshire's Balsam, Deer Park has graced American tables for more than a century. Starting in September, its production will be switched to plants in Allentown, Pa., and Florida, ending its association with the Western Maryland town of its birth.