Trees

Children today want clean air, world peace and help for the poor and homeless. That's what they wrote to President Barack Obama. Some also wish for lower taxes and a little more security in shopping malls. And, oh, by the way, Mr. President, "You should stop smoking!" Those were a fraction of the thoughts that were written by children from Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore to Obama as part of part of a national handwriting project called Mail to the Chief. About 34,000 letters from all over the United States were delivered yesterday to the Washington office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who plans to forward them to Obama.

It's cold, but we've seen worse. One of the worst Maryland ice storms in recent memory ended 10 years ago today. A half-to three-quarters of an inch accumulated; 40-mph helped drag down trees and wires. Emergencies were declared. A half-million customers lost power, some for a week. Eight hundred pedestrians were hurt in icy falls. Thirty Montgomery County school buses skidded off the roads

Howard County residents can track the progress of snowplows by visiting the county's home page: www.howardcountymd.gov, and clicking on the snowflake icon. A snow-tracker map will show location of plows, untreated roads, salted roads and plowed roads. The maps are to be updated every 15 minutes. Each county snow vehicle is equipped with a global positioning device to allow residents to track its real-time progress during a storm. Residents can also call 410-313-2900 for information on maintenance efforts.

Local activists opposed to the Carroll County Regional Airport expansion joined county officials in a tour of wooded areas near the airport where approximately 330 trees are designated to be cut down. The tour, requested by Westminster resident Rebekah Orenstein at a June meeting with county officials, brought about a dozen residents Thursday to the four parcels on which the trees stand. County officials said cutting the trees is necessary to allow pilots to see the airport's new 4-box precision approach path indicator (PAPI)

Someone sent me a file of photos of Costa Rican beaches and surf and beautiful, languid people in shorts and sandals - sent it to me here on the frozen tundra, where this morning my sandy-haired, gap-toothed daughter and I struggled through the sleet and snow toward school, like Washington crossing the Delaware. We can't all go to Costa Rica. Some of us must stay at our posts and sacrifice personal comfort to make sure the roads are plowed so the children can attend school and learn about gerunds and string theory and the lifeways of the Yoruba people.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. officials have agreed to stop cutting trees along Cromwell Bridge Road until an independent contractor assesses the project's environmental impact, according to a county councilman who met with representatives of the utility. The project, which involves removing all trees from a 66-foot-wide swath along a three-mile stretch of the road, was halted last week after residents and elected officials expressed concerns about erosion and damage to a nearby stream.

A state agency with headquarters in Annapolis will plant 120 trees to replace sickly ones it cut down and donate 240 more to the city for its reforestation projects. Officials from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and the city will hold a tree-planting ceremony Tuesday in the Primrose Acres community, which abuts the agency's office on Forest Drive. In the spring, MAIF officials removed 120 trees from the parking lot behind its headquarters at 1750 Forest Drive. The white pine trees, which were planted behind the building in the late 1960s, had root problems, had been damaged by wind and were hazardous to agency employees and several houses in the community behind the MAIF building.

Can you suggest a small tree for full sun under power lines? I'd prefer a native tree, trouble-free and not susceptible to insects and disease. Canadian Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), Choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) and sassafras are possibilities. For additional information and a list of native plant nurseries, go to the Maryland Native Plant Society Web site, mdflora.org. I should have aerated and over-seeded in the fall, but I missed the time frame. Is it OK to aerate and over-seed in spring?

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized. - Daniel Burnham, 1846-1912, architect, urban visionary Imagine a Baltimore where everyone lived within a few blocks of a park. Where you could walk easily throughout the city in a safe "green network" connecting school playgrounds, tree-lined boulevards, community gardens, college campuses, public golf courses, recreational areas and parks. As you walked, people would be commuting on bicycle trails or participating in marathons.

A group of Pinewood Elementary School students descended on the stream next to their school yesterday afternoon. They dug holes, planted trees, and caught and released crawfish, all in an effort to learn about the environment by cleaning up the water near the Timonium school. They worked - but no one seemed to notice the heat. "We've been out in the sun for a while," 7-year-old Morgan McCanie said, "so I'm used to it now." The project was paid for through a Baltimore County school system program designed to promote environmental education.

It's just what we like" is the way Donna Payne modestly handles myriad compliments on her home decor, calling it "Eclectic with Arts & Crafts." But more than mere pieces of furniture and interior design, the home's wow factor arises from optimum use of small spaces and unique placement of furniture that creates an open circular flow to the living area of her rancher with a basement in Howard County. The Paynes purchased their 2,400-square-foot L-shaped rancher in 1980 for $81,000. As the original owners, they have, over the past 28 years, finished the home to their liking with modifications and additions totaling $300,000.

An alert cargo inspector for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of Baltimore has nabbed a dangerous stowaway hiding in a cargo container shipped from China. The illegal alien was a long-horned beetle called Stenhomalus, which has been intercepted only once before in a U.S. port and is not yet known to be loose in North America. But Stenhomalus belongs to a family of highly destructive wood-boring beetles whose members have escaped from foreign cargos and are now defying federal quarantines in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and other states.

The death of a Columbia tree by chain saw often provokes a public outcry, which is why the Columbia Association is moving cautiously as it cuts down 18 large, decades-old damaged trees in Symphony Woods, the town's grove bordering Merriweather Post Pavilion. "The public is going to be concerned when they see the trees come down," said Cynthia A.S.H. Coyle, who chairs the CA board's Planning and Strategy Committee. "The reason is obvious," said Steve Sattler, CA's communications director.

Emergency personnel and BGE crews worked Monday to clear downed trees and wires and to restore electricity to more than 31,500 customers in Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties after an intense straight-line storm moved through early Sunday evening. No injuries were reported as a result of the microburst, characterized by straight-line winds, which was centered in a square-mile area near Franklin and Red Run boulevards in Reisterstown, said Baltimore County Fire spokeswoman Elise Armacost.

A severe and swift straight-line storm with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour and with more than 1,000 reports of lightning, hail and heavy rain struck parts of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties about 6 p.m. Sunday, knocking down countless trees and causing power outages and power surges, authorities said. "We have nearly 90 calls for assistance backed up," said a Baltimore County police communications supervisor at the height of the storm. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said there were still 25,000 power outages as of 10:45 p.m., with nearly 20,000 of those reported in Baltimore County.

Let's face it, Ocean City is built for sin. Sure, there's a beach, a boardwalk and things to do for families in the light of day, but Maryland's O.C. is most essentially a watering hole on the water, a place to spend one's days soaking in the sun, and nights quenching that fire with cold, alcoholic beverages. Nightclub after nightclub fights for attention along the oceanfront highway, coyly beckoning travelers with brassy neon lights and come-hither drink specials. Though a visitor to Ocean City would hardly need help finding a bar, we thought it would be a service to narrow your choices somewhat, to better your chances of finding the sort of spot that fits your mood, your imbibing needs.

How can this be? This isn't supposed to look like this. The other afternoon, while on Redwood Street near Calvert, a group of bellhops unloaded a car and carried luggage into the old Maryland Trust Co. building. One part of me said, 'This is a bank, not a hotel.' The same luggage transfer was happening across the street, at what I still think of as the Baker Watts investment firm. I chuckled at all this. It's been a long, long time since my grandfather brought me downtown to get a fresh stash of silver dollars at the old Maryland Trust.

152,000 trees planted; goal of 1 million by 2011 Maryland officials are making progress toward their goal of planting 1 million new trees across the state by 2011. As of May 30, agencies including the State Highway Administration and the Department of Natural Resources had completed the plantings of about 152,000 trees. The trees, which were planted by inmates, comprise nearly 250 acres at eight state parks across Maryland. Funds for the trees' purchase come from the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancement Program.

Officials from Merriweather Post Pavilion introduced a host of updates to the Columbia amphitheater Monday, ranging from expanded bathrooms and a new concession stand to green initiatives, such as a biodiesel fueling station and hundreds of new trees and shrubs. The renovations, which cost about $1 million, also include a gaming lounge with nine pinball machines and a 15 foot, 7,500 pound statue of a chicken. The improvements are another sign of the resurgence of the decades-old concert venue.

The Chesapeake Bay Trust announced Thursday that it awarded $225,000 in grants to local groups to plant more trees. Mayor Sheila Dixon presented 13 awards to groups in the region, including five in Baltimore. The trees are intended to improve the quality of life in urban areas, including low- and moderate-income communities, reduce pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay and help residents save on energy costs. The mayor said the trees fit in with an effort she's launched to "green" the city.