Judge to rule on deputy Troy Durham's termination

The fate of a former Somerset County sheriff's deputy's career is expected to be decided during a Somerset County Circuit Court hearing Friday.

A judge will determine if James "Troy" Durham, 42, was unfairly terminated in September after being placed on administrative leave for more than a year.

"I'm not nervous," Durham said. "I'm glad I will get my day in court."

Durham claims he was placed on leave because of a grievance he filed against the Somerset County Sheriff's Office that alleges police corruption within the agency.

The grievance alleges Durham was forced to change an incident report and omit information related to a police chase he assisted with in August 2008.

"The law clearly states if you report corruption, you cannot be terminated," Durham said.

The former deputy, who dreamed of becoming a cop since childhood, worked in law enforcement for two decades before he was fired. A little more than half of his career was spent at the Sheriff's Office.

"He has a right to appeal," said Somerset County Sheriff Robert N. Jones during a previous interview. "It's part of the process."

Wicomico County Circuit Court Judge W. Newton Jackson III is expected to preside over the hearing Friday.

While Durham said he was shedding light on police corruption, a police hearing board found him guilty of disseminating departmental information and engaging in unbecoming conduct after Durham sent a copy of his grievance to outside agencies including the Maryland Attorney General's Office, Maryland State Police, local media and a U.S. senator from Virginia, according to a copy of the hearing board report obtained by The Daily Times.

"The only time I went outside the agency is when I was told that the grievance I filed against Sheriff Jones would be investigated by Sheriff Jones," Durham said.

The police trial board convened a two-day hearing July 16 and recommended a five-day suspension for disseminating department information and another five days for unbecoming conduct, according to a report on the hearing proceedings.

The sheriff deviated from the board's recommendations and terminated Durham for reasons stated in a hearing Sept. 16.

According to transcripts from the September hearing, Jones said Durham undermined the public's trust and hampered the Sheriff's Office's ability to protect the public when he distributed copies of the grievance.

VIA: DelmarvaNow.com

Local Chicken farmers to gain protection

Carole Morison spent 23 years of her life as a chicken farmer when the company she held a contract with gave her a choice: Make $150,000 in upgrades to her two chickenhouses or have her contract terminated.

Morison chose not to make the upgrades.

"The cost was, No. 1, we would have never seen a return on that investment," she said. "No. 2, in our opinion, it wouldn't have been in the best interest of the chickens."

The proposed upgrades would have required her to completely enclose the houses, leaving the only air exchange up to fans and tripling her electricity usage.

To address practices like this nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Administration has proposed a set of rules, as required by the 2008 Farm Bill, to protect poultry farmers from unfair, fraudulent or retaliatory practices.

The bill, among other things, addresses the lack of information poultry dealers provide on pricing and contract terms by requiring companies to post sample contracts on GIPSA's website allowing producers to be more aware of what a typical contract looks like and what type of deal they are getting.

"Concerns about a lack of fairness and commonsense treatment for livestock and poultry producers have gone unaddressed far too long," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The proposed rule will help ensure a level playing field for producers by providing additional protections against unfair practices."

Changes should include addressing discrepancies in the tournament pricing system, requiring poultry companies to give additional written notice 90 days before they stop delivery of birds time to recoup up to 80 percent of their investment.

The reform is partly in response to a decrease in the number of buyers with whom producers can conduct business and consolidation in the poultry market, which increases the possibility packers, dealers and swine contractors may engage in unfair practices. For example, a producer should be able to speak freely against something they have seen as wrongful treatment without being retaliated against or having their contract terminated.

However, the National Chicken Council, which represents companies like Perdue Farms Inc. and Tyson, says the regulation appears to be "one-sided, unrealistic and not in accordance with court rulings."

They stated the proposed regulation is not in the best interest of poultry producers, companies or consumers and went on to dispute the USDA's estimate of the average grower making 34 cents per bird when the processing company makes $3.23, stating the figure is a wholesale value and not the profit.

Although Morison said it's too late for the regulations to help her, she hopes they will be able to help other poultry farmers make wise business decisions.

The rules remove ambiguity from the existing regulation, making what practices are acceptable and what practices are not clearer to packers, swine contractors and live poultry dealers.

"I see it leveling the playing field," Morison said. "Growers will have more security that they don't have now, especially when they make their investments."

The proposed rules are open for the public to comment on until Aug. 23 and include:

Restore the ability of small producers to compete with larger operations.

Encourage beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers to look to animal agriculture as an employment option.

Prohibit packers from purchasing, acquiring or receiving livestock from other packers, and communicate prices to competitors.

Ensure a fair process for producers who choose arbitration as a remedy to a dispute. Additionally, a clear contract will be required to ensure producers are provided the option to decline arbitration to settle a dispute.

Require that companies paying growers under a tournament system provide the same base pay to growers that raise the same type and kind of poultry including ensuring that the growers' pay cannot go below the base pay amount.

Create transparency by making sample contracts available on GIPSA's website for producers.

Improve competition in markets by limiting exclusive arrangements between packers and dealers.

VIA: DelmarvaNow.com

Sex Offender Says He Should Be Able To Attend Church

CONCORD, N.H. --
A convicted sex offender took his fight to attend church to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A lower court told Jonathan Perfetto that he couldn't go to church because his suspended sentence prohibits him from being around children. Perfetto was convicted in 2002 of possessing 61 images of child pornography.

Barbara Keshen of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union told the court that Perfetto, a Jehovah's Witness, has a fundamental right to go to the church of his choice and should be permitted to be around the children of the congregation as long as he has a chaperone.

But Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Cort argued that using a chaperone is unrealistic.

"It would be too dangerous and unrealistic to expect a single person to be able to keep an eye on him every minute of every meeting every week," Cort said.

The justices seemed concerned about setting a precedent of making specific exceptions to the conditions of release for convicts and challenged the notion that the condition of having no contact with children is overly restrictive.

"Maybe the least restrictive is you can study at home," said Chief Justice John Broderick. "You can have someone come to the house. You can deal with the elders of the church or go to services without children."

Keshen argued that the conditions should be tailored based on specific facts about Perfetto and the church. She said the lower court didn't hold a hearing on those issues before denying his request in August.

"The real facts are who is the person now?" Keshen said. "What is the likelihood that he will reoffend? What is the actual danger to any child, and what is this church like?"

The state Supreme Court typically hands down decisions within 90 days. Legal experts said that in this case, the court could order a lower court to hold a hearing to consider evidence from both sides.

www.wmur.com

Rocket Launch A Success

College students are looking forward to studying their experiments being carried in a suborbital rocket launched from Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The Terrier-Orion suborbital sounding rocket launched Thursday morning from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket was estimated to be traveling more than 2,650 miles per hour less than a minute into the launch.

The rocket carried 11 experiments that were developed in part with a weeklong workshop on how to build small experiments for launch aboard suborbital rockets.

A boat was to travel more than 40 miles from shore later Thursday to retrieve the rocket from the water. The students whose experiments were on board will have them returned for study.

www.shoredailynews.com

Yummy!!~~ Eat A Peach!!

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia's peach crop is shaping up as a sweet one.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bases that forecast on a survey of major peach growers this month. They predict an abundant and sweet crop, with some picking already under way.

Spring rains got the peach crop off to a strong start, and the recent heat is putting a sweet finishing touch on the fruit.

Virginia's peach season runs from mid-July to Labor Day. The state has approximately 2,000 acres of commercial peaches.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/

Another HOT Day-- Maybe Even HOTTER

The Accomac Office of the Virginia Department of Health would like to remind everyone as temperatures continue to remain extremely high, the Eastern Shore Health District advises citizens to protect themselves by keeping cool and using common sense.



It is important to drink plenty of fluids, wear light weight, light colored, loose fitting clothing, put on sunscreen when outdoors, limit outdoor activities to morning and evening hours, rest often, stay cool indoors if possible, check on family members and neighbors and to monitor yourself and others for heat exhaustion.

Heat exhaustion is a mild form of heat-related illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. Those most prone to heat exhaustion are elderly people, people with high blood pressure and people working or exercising in a hot environment. Warning signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea or vomiting, fainting, cool or moist skin, pulse rate that is fast and weak and breathing that is fast and shallow.

If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to a heat stroke. Seek medical attention immediately if symptoms are severe or the victim has heart problems or high blood pressure. Otherwise, help the victim to cool off and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen or last longer than one hour.

And PLEASE DON'T FORGET-- As you go about your day, trying to keep cool in these record breaking temperatures, remember kindly your animals that are outside. They NEED to be cool also! DON'T leave them unattended in your vehicle for any amount of time.

An empty soda bottle filled with water and frozen makes a wonderful toy for dogs.

Think about it: Would you want to sit in a hot car with the windows rolled up and wait???

www.shoredailynews.com

Firefighter Injured Fighting Wheat Field Fire

ACCOMAC -- A volunteer firefighter was injured and a Tasley tanker truck was damaged fighting a huge blaze that swept across a wheat field on Folly Farm Lane around 3 p.m. Thursday. Most of the fire companies in the county and two from Northampton spent over three hours fighting the fire in a successful effort to save several homes on the property, including The Folly, a historic home dating to the 1700s.

One firefighter suffered first and second degree burns on his face and arms after the wind suddenly changed direction, causing those fighting the blaze to run for safety. The injured man was treated and released at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, Tasley Volunteer Fire Company Chief Jeff Beall said, adding that the injuries were sustained while the firefighter "was making a valiant effort to protect the homes."

Beall said the company's 1994 tanker also was overrun by the fire but was not a total loss and is being repaired.

The conflagration, which Beall estimated consumed over a hundred acres of cutover wheat field as well as part of the nearby woods, started when a combine that was harvesting the wheat caught on fire. The fire quickly spread to the dry stubble and across the field.

Several fire companies responded to the call directly from a structure fire they were battling on Bennett Street in Parksley.

Beall said he could tell immediately that the Accomac fire was a large one. "As I was coming down Route 13 from Fisher's Corner I could see the smoke," he said, and called for additional help.

In addition to the damaged vehicle, some 800 feet of hose, portable radios and other equipment also were lost in the fire, along with the combine, which was a total loss, Beall said.

Tasley was called back to the scene Friday morning to fight a small fire in the woods, which likely resulted from a smoldering ember.

Units responded to the fire from Saxis, Atlantic, Parksley, Tasley, Onley, Onancock, Melfa, Wachapreague, Painter, Community Fire Company in Exmore and Eastville. The Virginia Department of Forestry also was on the scene and Pocomoke City and Stockton, Md. fire departments also assisted Accomack County for the duration of the fire.

www.easternshorenews.com

Nurse In Times Square Photo Dies

The woman depicted in an iconic photograph kissing a zealous American sailor in a 1945 Times Square photo died Sunday at age 91.

Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured the shot, which was first published in Life Magazine a week later. The nurse's identity was unknown until the 1970s, when Shain wrote to Eisenstaedt that she was the woman in the photograph.

In his autobiography "The Eye of Eisenstaedt," the photographer writes: "I was walking through the crowds on V-J Day, looking for pictures. I noticed a sailor coming my way. He was grabbing every female he could find and kissing them all young girls and old ladies alike. Then I noticed the nurse, standing in that enormous crowd. I focused on her, and just as I'd hoped, the sailor came along, grabbed the nurse, and bent down to kiss her."

Life Magazine acknowledged Shain as the woman in the now famous picture, and since then she has become a WWII icon herself. Shain was frequently invited to memorials, wreath-layings and parades.

"My mom was always willing take on new challenges and caring for the World War II veterans energized her to take another chance to make a difference," her son Justin Decker said in a statement, MSNBC reports.

"Now if this girl hadn't been a nurse, if she'd been dressed in dark clothes, I wouldn't have had a picture," wrote Eisenstaedt. "The contrast between her white dress and the sailor's dark uniform gives the photograph its extra impact."

Shain died at her Los Angeles home on Sunday. She leaves behind three sons, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

www.msn.com

Rocket Launch From NASA Set For Thursday Morning

REMINDER....... Tomorrow Morning!


A Terrier-Orion suborbital sounding rocket is set to launch from NASA on Thursday June 24th between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM. The rocket will be the culmination of eleven experiments by different universities which where developed in a week long workshop where partakers learned how to build small experiments which can be launched onto suborbital rockets. A back up launch has been scheduled between June 25 and June 28.

The launch will be visible to people along the Wallops area and people along northern seaside coastal areas. NASA will open its Visitor Center at 5:00 AM for people wishing to view the launch.

The launch will be web cast beginning at 5 a.m. on launch day at: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast. Launch status can be followed on Twitter at: www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops.

Launch status also is available at the Wallops launch status line at 757-824-2050. Further information on the mission is available on the Internet at: www.nasa.gov/wallops.

http://www.shoredailynews.com/

General McChrystal Is Out........

Gen. Stanley McChrystal is no longer the top U.S. commander and strategist for Afghanistan, reportedly being told Wednesday by President Obama that he is out of a job following a scathing article in which McChrystal and his aides were quoted criticizing the commander-in-chief over his leadership in the Afghan war.

McChrystal got his marching orders as he held a face-to-face meeting at the White House, where he met with the president after a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon.

The Wednesday meeting preceded a regular session of the administration's strategy team for Afghanistan, held in the White House Situation Room. Normally, McChrystal would have joined via teleconference but he was summoned to Washington as he faced a private flogging over the article that appeared in Rolling Stone.

If not insubordination, the remarks in the Rolling Stone magazine article were at least an indirect challenge to civilian management of the war in Washington by its top military commander.

Military leaders rarely challenge their commander in chief publicly, and when they do, consequences tend to be more severe than a scolding.

"I think it's clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed a poor -- showed poor judgment," the president said Tuesday, surrounded by members of his Cabinet. "But I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decisions."

Gates hand-picked McChrystal to take over the war last year, calling him a driven visionary with the fortitude and intelligence to turn the war around. Obama fired the previous commander at Gates' recommendation.

In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."

In the Rolling Stone article, McChrystal and his staff described the president as unprepared for their first one-on-one encounter.

McChrystal also said he felt betrayed and blind-sided by his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Eikenberry remains in his post in Kabul, and although both men publicly say they are friends, their rift is on full display. McChrystal and Eikenberry, himself a retired Army general, stood as far apart as the speakers' platform would allow during a White House news conference last month.

The story characterized the general as unable to convince some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the nation's longest-running war, and dejected that the president didn't know about his commendable military record.

The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama called McChrystal on the carpet last fall for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops.

"I found that time painful," McChrystal said in the article, on newsstands Friday. "I was selling an unsellable position."

It quoted an adviser to McChrystal dismissing the early meeting with Obama as a "10-minute photo-op."

"Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. The boss was pretty disappointed," the adviser told the magazine.

Some of the strongest criticism was reserved for Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The boss says he's like a wounded animal," one of the general's aides was quoted as saying. "Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he's going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous."

McChrystal said he felt "betrayed" by Eikenberry for expressing doubts about his proposed troop buildup last year and accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.

"Here's one that covers his flank for the history books," McChrystal told the magazine. "Now, if we fail, they can say 'I told you so."'

Obama agreed to dispatch an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan only after months of study that many in the military found frustrating. The White House's troop commitment was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing troops home in July 2011, in what counterinsurgency strategists advising McChrystal regarded as an arbitrary deadline.

The profile, titled "The Runaway General," emerged from several weeks of interviews and travel with McChrystal's tight circle of aides this spring.

It includes a list of administration figures said to back McChrystal, including Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and puts Vice President Joe Biden at the top of a list of those who don't.

The article claims McChrystal has seized control of the war "by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House."

www.foxnews.com

Officers Sickened After PCP Exposure

OCEAN CITY -- Several Ocean City police personnel were hospitalized after being exposed to the hallucinogen PCP, which they unwittingly found in the purse of a woman detained on drug possession charges.

One police officer and three public safety aides were taken to Atlantic General Hospital on June 15 after experiencing symptoms of elevated blood pressure, dizziness, burning eyes and a racing heartbeat. Analysis by Maryland State Police determined the substance recovered from the purse of detained suspect Leslie Veronica Simpson was PCP, or phencyclidine, according to Ocean City Police spokeswoman Jessica Waters.

Officers were going through her purse because Simpson had asked them to retrieve a telephone number stored in her cell phone. Inside the purse, police found marijuana, other suspected drugs in vials and a box cutter. Simpson, 40, of Washington, apparently had dipped a cigar in liquid PCP and kept it inside a plastic baggie. When Officer Vicki Martin opened the plastic pouch, marked "blunt," that's when she and three others were overcome with dizziness, according to court documents.

A deputy Ocean City fire marshal later responded as a hazardous materials official. When he questioned Simpson to learn what the chemicals were in the vials, she refused to identify the substance, according to police.

Simpson subsequently was charged with four counts of reckless endangerment in addition to her initial charges of marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession.

www.delmarvanow.com

Leaders Warn The President On Firing Of Gen. McChrystal

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan officials said Wednesday that firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal would disrupt progress in the war and could jeopardize a pivotal security operation under way in Taliban strongholds in the south.

At the end of a one-hour video conference Tuesday night with President Barack Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his confidence in the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said.

McChrystal was summoned to Washington to explain disparaging comments published in Rolling Stone magazine that he and his top aides made about Obama's national security team.

While McChrystal, who was meeting with Obama on Wednesday, was harshly scolded by his superiors in the United States, officials in Afghanistan rallied to his support, saying he had increased cooperation between Afghan and international troops, worked to reduce civilian casualties and gained the trust of the Afghan people.

"The president believes that we are in a very sensitive juncture in the partnership, in the war on terror and in the process of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan, and any gap in this process will not be helpful," Omar told reporters.

"We hope there is not a change of leadership of the international forces here in Afghanistan and that we continue to partner with Gen. McChrystal."

The controversy erupted as June is on track to becoming one of the deadliest months for U.S. and international forces in the nearly nine-year Afghan war.

The military said Wednesday that two American service members died Tuesday following separate bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, and another Wednesday in a bomb attack in the west. That makes 70 international forces killed so far this month. Forty-four of them were Americans.

The deadliest month of the conflict for U.S. forces was October 2009, when 59 service members were killed. For NATO forces overall, the deadliest month was July 2009, when 75 troops were killed.

The violence is also hitting Afghans. A vehicle belonging to a candidate for parliament hit a roadside bomb early Wednesday in the east, killing the candidate's brother. The candidate was wounded but survived, said Ghafoor Khan, a police spokesman in Nangarhar province.

The flap over McChrystal comes as NATO and Afghan forces are ramping up security in and around the key southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.

Karzai's younger half brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the Kandahar provincial council, gave McChrystal a ringing endorsement, telling reporters in Kandahar that McChrystal's leadership would be sorely missed.

"If he is fired, it will disrupt the operation," Ahmad Wali Karzai said. "It definitely will affect it. He (McChrystal) started all this, and he has a good relationship with the people. The people trust him and we trust him. If we lose this important person, I don't think that this operation will work in a positive way."

In Kabul, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi also publicly voiced his support for the general, who is prepared to submit his resignation to Obama, according to two military officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.

"Since Gen. McChrystal took over the job as commander of the international forces, there have been a lot of changes in different departments, which are very important and positive," Azimi said. "For example, there has been a decrease in the numbers of civilian casualties and we're still working jointly with McChrystal to decrease it further."

Azimi spoke at a regular news conference held with Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, spokesman for the NATO command in Kabul. Blotz declined to discuss McChrystal's fate or the magazine article, which reported deep rifts between the top commander in the war and the U.S. administration.

"Let us be a little bit more patient," Blotz said.

www.wavy.com

Violent Gang Leader Sentenced To Two Life Terms

A Baltimore man accused of ordering several murders as a leader in a high-profile gang was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to two life terms.

Terrence "Squeaky" Richardson, 30, was convicted by a jury in March of racketeering and conspiring to sell drugs, as a leader of the Pasadena Denver Lanes set of the Bloods. Prosecutors also allege that Richardson ordered several murders, including the execution-style shooting of Brandon Everline in July 2008, incidents U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles heavily relied on in handing down his sentence.

During his sentencing, Richardson denied having anyone killed, reiterating his stance in a three-minute diatribe addressed to the court. He railed against the prosecution, detectives and state's witnesses who testified against him during the five-day trial.

"I sat through this whole trial and watched people lie," Richardson said. "I know they've all been offered plea bargains, and in actuality, the whole thing was made up. … I apologize to my family. And to the [Everline] family, I want to let them know I didn't have nothing to do with their son's murder, nothing at all."

Three members of Everline's family — his mother and two sisters — attended the hearing, as well as four of Richardson's relatives.

After the sentencing, Everline's mother, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said she was glad the case was over. She said she felt "nothing" when she heard Richardson deny any involvement.

Prosecutors have dubbed Richardson one of the city's most notorious criminals.

"Terrence Richardson was one of the most violent leaders Baltimore has ever seen," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kwame Manley said after the hearing. "He killed and had other people killed numerous times."

Richardson and a co-defendant, Gregory Saulsbury, were arrested as part of a sting dubbed "Operation Tourniquet" designed to cut off the Bloods — and 23 of them were charged with racketeering as gang members. Saulsbury, who is not part of the gang, is expected to be sentenced tomorrow. Another 11 were charged at the state level and in a second federal indictment.

During Richardson's trial, prosecutors played a tape of a wiretap recording in which the defendant is heard planning the death of another with another man.

www.baltimoresun.com

Illegal Immigrant Charged With Negligent Driving Killing Passenger

A 22-year-old Hyattsville man has been charged with negligent driving after police say he crashed his car while driving drunk on I-83 early Monday, killing his passenger.

Freddy Cortez Flores, who police say is an illegal immigrant, was driving northbound on I-83 just before 1 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the right lanes, striking a Jersey wall near Guilford Avenue. Police say he was driving 65 miles an hour in a 40 mile-per-hour zone.

Cortez Flores' passenger, Carlos O. Cardoza Portillo, was wearing his seat belt but was partially ejected and dragged against the Jersey wall for 567 feet before the vehicle came to rest, police said. Portillo was pronounced dead at the scene.

When officers arrived at the scene, they noted Cortez Flores' speech was slurred and detected a strong odor of alcohol, according to charging documents. A Spanish-speaking officer interviewed Cortez Flores, who said he had swerved to avoid an unknown vehicle that had swerved into his lane.

Cortez Flores told the officer that he had consumed four beers, records show. At the Central District station, his blood alcohol level was determined to be 0.09.

Police said Cortez Flores, who had a valid Maryland driver's license, is in the country illegally, and officers contacted an agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who placed an immigration detainer on him.

www.baltimoresun.com

Six Alleged Gang Members Indicted

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY/AP) - A grand jury has indicted six alleged "Dump Squad" gang members Wednesday, according to the Unites States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia.

The indictment stems from charges against the alleged gang members in March 2009.

The six alleged gang members were indicted on a total of 29 charges, including multiple murders, attempted murders, robberies, assaults, arson, narcotics distribution and weapons violations, according to a release from the U.S. District Attorney's Office.

If convicted, the defendants face a penalty of 20 years and up to life in prison, depending on the charge. The murder charges may be punishable by death.According to court documents, the six men were members of the "Dump Squad," a criminal organization that operates in the Ridley Circle, Harbor Homes and Dickerson Court areas of Newport News, Va. The defendants established the power and prestige of the gang through violence, including the murders of Rashed Caudle on Aug. 9, 2003, and Lorenzo Thomas on Sept. 12, 2005.

The indictment also alleges the gang members attempted to murder at least three individuals and robbed others at gunpoint. The defendants are charged with financially supporting the enterprise by trafficking illegal drugs, including crack cocaine and marijuana.

In addition, the indictment connects defendants to some alleged acts in a March 2009 indictment of 11 Dump Squad gang members, all of whom pled guilty. These acts include the conspiracy to murder Tony Vaughan on Dec. 24, 2007, and the attempt to burn and set fire to the Newport News Police Department's High Impact Patrol Station located in the Harbor Homes apartment complex in Newport News, Va.

All residents of Newport News, Va., the defendants charged in the indictment are the following:

Perry Cousins, a/k/a "Pzo," 25

Darryl Vaughn, a/k/a "T-Tot" and "Toni Roni," 22

Kevin Vaughn, a/k/a "Hawk," 23

Jayson Bryan, a/k/a "J-Money," 20

Monquay Williams, a/k/a "Quay," 20

Haywood Lockhart, 22

Eleven Dump Squad members indicted in March 2009 have pleaded guilty.

FBI special agent in charge Alex Turner says the investigation will continue until the gang is dismantled.

www.wavy.com

Publics Help In Murder Case Closure

POCOMOKE CITY, Md. - Crime solvers are asking the public to help close a murder case. Reginald Handy Jr. was gunned down in Pocomoke May 26th. Subsequent investigation by members of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation determined that 36 year-old Alexander Crippen of Pocomoke City, MD was responsible for shooting Handy.

Crippen was subsequently located and charged with 1st Degree Murder in the death of Reginald Handy, however the location of the firearms involved in this crime have not been located.

A reward of up to $1,000.00 is being offered for anyone who can provide information that leads to the successful recovery of the firearms in this case. Contact Crime Solvers or your local law enforcement agency immediately.

www.wmdt.com

Wachapreague Carnival Begins Tonight!

The 58th Annual Wachapreague Volunteer Fireman's

Carnival starts tonight, June 23rd, 2010 .

The Carnival is set to run through July 17 and will be open 7:30 until 10:30 nightly.

Carnival will be closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays.

Tonight will be the Miss Wachapreague Pageant with WESR's own Bill LeCato DJing.

Facing painting will also be at the Carnival.

http://www.wesr.com/

Westover Man Sought For Attempted Murder Of Wife

WESTOVER, Md.- Maryland state troopers are looking for a Westover man accused of beating and repeatedly stabbing his wife multiple times.

Robert Lee Cooper, 47, is wanted for attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and use of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. He was last seen operating a 2007 dark blue Ford Explorer with Maryland registration 85T403, with a Mary Kay sticker on the bumper.

On Monday, troopers from the Princess Anne Barrack responded to a reported assault that had occurred at a home on the 7000 block of Crisfield Highway in Westover. When troopers arrived on the scene, they found Cooper's wife lying on her living room floor suffering from multiple stab wounds. Police say a further investigation revealed she had been beaten, stabbed and struck with a baseball bat.

As a result of her injuries the victim was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, where she remains in the intensive care unit.

Police say both the victim and witnesses identified Cooper as responsible for the attack. According to troopers, the Ford Explorer that Cooper used to flee the scene belongs to his wife.

Anyone with information on Cooper's whereabouts is asked to contact Maryland State Police at (443) 260-3700.

www.wboc.com

Nye Wants To Create Panel To Weed Out Budget Waste

RICHMOND

Nowadays, it seems ideas abound about how to cut federal spending and reduce a national deficit trillions in the red.

In Virginia, Republican Whip Eric Cantor and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, each recently have touted proposals to reduce government expenses during these lean times.

The latest lawmaker to pitch a plan to curtail congressional spending is U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, a Norfolk Democrat, who today is expected to file legislation to create a bipartisan commission to root out waste.

If enacted, the Stop Waste by Eliminating Excessive Programs Act, or SWEEP, would establish a panel to investigate ineffective and redundant government programs. Those found to be unnecessary could be consolidated or abolished outright.

Nye's staff highlighted some federal flood-prevention programs as among those with duplicative purposes.

"There is no current mechanism to identify and correct this irresponsible spending," Nye said in a statement.

"This legislation is about improving the way the federal government spends money," he continued, to ensure that "taxpayer dollars are allocated wisely and efficiently."

A message left with a spokesman for Scott Rigell, a Republican running against Nye this fall, seeking comment on the legislation was not immediately returned.

Ohio Rep. Charlie Wilson, a fellow member of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, is co-sponsoring the bill with Nye.

Their proposal follows a legislative amendment Warner filed last week to eliminate funding for 17 federal programs recommended for termination by the federal government budget office over the years.

Passed by the House of Representatives last week, the Warner amendment could save the nation more than $800 million, the senator say s.

As with Nye's legislation, the programs Warner's amendment targets are various ly viewed as outdated, ineffective and redundant.

Separately, Cantor and a House GOP economic working group last month launched the interactive YouCut initiative, which seeks public input online about ways to reduce federal spending.

The option with the most votes each week is then championed by House Republicans who push for a floor vote on the proposed cut.

www.virginiapilot.com

Beach Wildlife Expert Helps With Rescue in the Gulf

VIRGINIA BEACH

Kathryn Owens decided to pursue a career in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. After seeing so much damage to birds, fish and marine life, "I just knew I wanted to help."

So it seems only natural that Owens was one of the first wildlife experts from Hampton Roads to do battle with the massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Owens, a deputy manager at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach, just returned from a two-week stint in Louisiana, where she helped to organize rescues of oil-covered birds and waterfowl.

The experience left her emotionally and physically drained. But she cannot wait to go back.

"It's a nightmare scenario," Owens said Monday, "but it's exactly where I needed to be and where I wanted to be."

Her boss, refuge manager Jared Brandwein, reported to the Gulf last week just as Owens was returning. Refuge biologist John Gallegos got word Monday that he, too, will go to Louisiana, where he will lead a rescue team in search of oily birds trapped at sea, in marshes and on beaches.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has more than 495 employees fighting the BP oil spill, according to agency statistics. Most go for two weeks at a time and are not supposed to work more than 16 hours per day - "but that doesn't always happen," Owens said with a chuckle.

Her days typically began at 6 a.m. and ended "about 10 or 11 at night," when she returned to her hotel room, exhausted.

Owens was assigned to the Incident Command Center, located at BP offices in Houma, La. She thought she would be scrubbing oil off pelicans and terns.

But lacking enough personnel, responders asked Owens to coordinate rescue efforts instead - putting crews together with boats, equipment, fuel and resources. She was on the phone almost continuously for 14 straight days.

"I would have cleaned toilets if they had asked me," she said. "There are so many people working so hard down there. You just roll up your sleeves and dig in. It's the only thing we can do."

According to government statistics updated Monday, 724 birds have been collected alive, the vast majority in Louisiana. Another 957 have died. Sea turtles also are bearing a big brunt, with 387 reported dead and another 117 undergoing rehabilitation.

Owens, a wildlife ecologist by training, said one of her worst days in the Gulf was seeing images on TV of the first birds pulled from the water with oil caked to all parts of their bodies.

"There was just silence in the command center," she recalled. "Some people had to leave the room, they were so emotional."

Owens could feel an air of depression among workers and locals, "in part because it's just so senseless. And we have no idea how comprehensive this is. This'll take decades to deal with."

As for herself, Owens said, "I was on the verge of tears every day, and still am."

Working at BP offices and side by side with BP employees was "definitely strange," she said. Because so many Louisiana residents are so mad over the spill, especially at BP, Owens said government staffers were told not to wear their federal credentials away from the command center - and definitely not to wear anything with BP printed on it.

"It's a security issue," she said.

Still, Owens said, most locals support government efforts and are friendly to visiting workers like herself: "They realize we're heart broken too."

Owens said Gulf seafood remains available - she recalled one delicious plate of crawfish etouffee at a restaurant in Houma, "my only night out" - despite ever-expanding closure areas because of pollution.

Back in Virginia, Owens is working with the Coast Guard, state scientists and other authorities to cope with any spilled oil in the Gulf that might push up the Atlantic coast, as some forecasters predict.

Back Bay staffers were asked to identify critical habitats along the Virginia coast, including much of the wildlife refuge, where protections should be readied just in case.

"At least we have time to plan," Owens said. "The Gulf didn't have that luxury."

www.hamptonroads.com

Bicycles Stolen From South Baltimore Home Of Jenna Bush Hager

Baltimore police are searching for two Trek mountain bicycles that were stolen from the rear garage of the South Baltimore rowhouse owned by former President George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, and her husband.

The break-in occurred Friday afternoon, but officers who initially responded to a burglar alarm reported at 1:22 p.m. did not find signs of a break-in and left, according to city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

But the private alarm company notified the Hagers, who were out of town, and they called a neighbor and asked him to check the South Charles Street rowhouse when he returned home from work.
Guglielmi said the neighbor also did not see any problems, but the Hagers asked him to check on their bikes. That's when they were discovered missing, and the neighbor called police, who returned about 6:15 p.m.

The police spokesman said officers found two small pry marks on a rear garage door that opens to an alley, which was secured but not deadbolted. Police said it's possible the burglars closed the door behind them and that it locked.

"There is no intelligence to suggest that this residence was targeted because of who owns it and who lives there," Guglielmi said. "It looks like a very minor residential burglary."

Jenna Bush Hager, a reading resource teacher with the city school system, and her then-fiance Henry Hager bought the two-story 128-year-old rowhouse a few blocks south of Federal Hill in April 2008.

They had Secret Service protection when they initially moved into the neighborhood. But Guglielmi said the couple, who are now married, no longer have that protection. The spokesman said city police notified the White House and the Secret Service of the burglary.

Police described one bicycle as a men's black and red Trek Fuel-style with dual suspension worth $2,500 and a female blue Trek worth $1,000. Guglielmi said nothing else was taken and the burglars did not get into the rowhouse.

Officers from the Southern District, along with detectives assigned to the Regional Auto Theft Task Force, have been put on the lookout for the bikes.

In addition, officers who monitor the CitiWatch camera surveillance system have been notified. Crime lab technicians went to the house to search for fingerprint evidence. Top police commanders, including the major in charge of the Southern District, also responded. Police released a heavily redacted offense report Saturday.

Guglielmi said neighbors did not report any unusual noises Friday afternoon, with the exception of city recycling trucks making their routine rounds.

In March 2009, city transportation officials towed a van connected with the couple's security detail. The van had been parked near the Charles Street rowhouse and accumulated six parking tickets. The agent in charge of the regional Secret Service office paid the fines and retrieved the van from the impound lot on Pulaski Highway.

www.baltimoresun.com

Ex-Raven Player Turns Firefighter

Few people could compare being a firefighter and a professional football player, but former Ravens long snapper Joe Maese knows they have one thing in common.

It's called preparation.

"The biggest thing is that you need to be professional," said Maese, a firefighter for Long Reach Station 9 in Howard County. "You go through all those practices, meetings and all of that training. There might be that one fire a year, which is like having that one playoff game, and you had better [have] done your homework and be prepared. If not, you could be in a lot of trouble."

In the NFL, few players make the successful transition from player to another professional career, and even for those who do, it's not always easy. And then there is Maese.

From 2001 through 2004, Maese was the Ravens' long snapper, and he played one season after that in Detroit. Maese always wanted to be a firefighter when he was a child. A career in the NFL didn't become a dream until he was a junior in high school.

"That's all I thought about when I was a kid," Maese said. "It kind of gets in your blood and runs in the family. If you look back, there is usually a history of uncles, grandfathers and fathers who have been firefighters."
In Maese's case, it was his father, Joseph, who has been a fireman in Phoenix the past 23 years. Obviously, Maese hung out at the fire hall with his dad when he was younger, and those impressions were deeply rooted.

"There are a lot of similarities in football and firefighting," said Maese, "especially as far as camaraderie and teamwork. Both are blue-collar in nature because it's physical work. Both can be extremely emotional, but in both sometimes you have to keep the emotion under control."

It didn't take Maese long to learn that as a firefighter. He has been in the department for less than a year, but on his first day on the job he had to answer a call about a teenage suicide.
Since then, he has been involved in his share of fires, nasty automobile accidents and medical assistance calls. That's where the comparisons to the NFL end.

One is a game played by grown men, and the other is about life and death.

"I guess when you've been around this kind of work most of your life, it's easier to walk away from things that happen on the job," Maese said. "I've never been the kind to take work home with me.
"Even when I played in the NFL, I eventually couldn't see myself doing anything different than I do now," he said. "I always knew I wanted to help somebody. It wasn't about money, but doing something constructive with my time."

Maese tried to prolong his NFL career. After Detroit, he spent a year getting various tryouts but couldn't catch on with another team. He even spent a season playing indoor football with the Baltimore Blackbirds.

Who could blame Maese for trying to hang on?

Being a long snapper was an ideal job. He didn't make the big money or have the publicity of a quarterback or running back, but his salary was still larger than the average person's. Besides, a long snapper's body doesn't take the abuse of a regular starter on offense or defense.

Maese traveled the country, stayed in nice hotels and got most of his meals free. The only time he ever got attention was when he messed up, and that didn't happen often, especially when you have a kicker the caliber of Matt Stover.

Maese acknowledges that he made enough money playing pro football that he didn't have to work again. He had a house here in Maryland and another one in Phoenix. But something was missing.

"It's tough to walk away from the game, especially when you didn't have an injury," Maese said. "For years, I just went to work and had a great group of guys to work with, like Matt Stover. You get different tryouts, but sometimes they weren't looking at you, but a kicker."

Even before Maese entered the NFL, he had prepared to be a firefighter. At age 19, he had earned a fire science degree from a college in Phoenix. He got sidetracked from that when the Ravens made him a sixth-round pick in 2001 out of New Mexico.

But soon after his NFL career ended, Maese was back in school, this time at the academy in Howard County. Before joining Station 9, he spent five months training in various areas from swift-water rescue to working with hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction.

Maese said he expects to spend the next 25 to 30 years as a firefighter. There are still times, though, that he gets questions about playing pro football. He says he is in better shape now endurancewise than when he played in the NFL. At a rock-solid 6 feet 1, 260 pounds, he stands out on a firetruck.

Maese still snaps the ball and he might try out again.

"I've always wanted to live a simple life," he said. "When I was in my second or third year, I only wanted to own a house and truck. If I got another opportunity, I'd consider it."

www.baltimoresun.com

Veteran Officer Seeks Position Of Sheriff

SNOW HILL -- A West Ocean City man filed his candidacy papers for the office of Worcester's sheriff, becoming the fourth person to join the race for the county's top law enforcement job.

If elected, David L. Catrino said he will bring "an evolution of sorts" to the office and address burgeoning problems of gangs, gambling and drugs.

"I think we have a dynamic change happening in our county," Catrino said. "And I certainly think we have some other issues coming that will need some outside-of-the-box thinking."

Carroll Overholt, Reggie T. Mason and Bobby Brittingham are also running for the job.

A 20-year law enforcement veteran, Catrino currently works as an officer for the Snow Hill Police Department and owns two businesses, the Crab Stop on 15th Street in Ocean City and several stand-alone ATMs in local restaurants and hotels. The combination creates a varied experience, Catrino said, one that he thinks will serve him well leading the Sheriff's Office.

"I come from a law enforcement background, but I'm also in business, so I understand budgets and man power and scheduling," he said. "I think I bring a dynamic there that can bring business, police and the community together working in partnership."

Catrino spent most of his law enforcement career with the Ocean City Police Department and left amid some turmoil in 2007. He is now involved in a wrongful termination suit with the town, claiming that he was inappropriately fired after leaving his post just before the end of his shift to attend to a problem resulting from his diabetes. The case is working its way through federal court.

Catrino said the situation should have no effect on his ability to work with the Ocean City Police Department if he is elected.

Once in the Sheriff's Office, Catrino said he would focus his efforts on accountability of the department, scheduling, community involvement and combating drugs, something he cites as a major problem in the county. In particular, he plans to take a proactive approach to law enforcement through an intelligence-led policing model.

In short, he said, "It approaches police work from a proactive stance, as opposed to a ride-around reactive stance, and I think it better serves our communities."

"Intelligence-led policing makes use of near real-time data collection to allow commanders to respond to the dynamic conditions of crime," Catrino said.

www.delmarvanow.com

60 Pianos In The Steets Of New York

New York (CNN) -- On Monday morning, New York City added a new sound to its usual cacophony of honking cars and taxis, groaning buses, and screeching subways: 5,280 tinkling piano keys.

In a collaboration between artist Luke Jerram and charitable organization Sing for Hope, 60 newly refurbished pianos were installed in public spaces throughout the city's five boroughs. "Play Me, I'm Yours," the brightly colored instruments announce provocatively.

Jerram has been bringing fleets of pianos to the parks, squares, bus stops, train stations, plazas, churches, post offices, zoos, ferries and bridges of major metropolises since 2008. Prior to Monday's installation, he had already installed 167 pianos in eight cities worldwide, including Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; London, England; and Barcelona, Spain.

But the New York installation is his largest yet -- "twice the size of any installation I've done before," Jerram said.

In New York, no public space is too humble for a piano: The instruments have been placed at a post office (Jackson Heights, Queens), a zoo (Staten Island), churches (St. Mark's Church and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan), and a boardwalk (Coney Island, Brooklyn), among other locations.

A full list of the piano's positions can be found online at www.streetpianos.com/nyc2010/ -- a site where the public is encouraged to upload and share videos, photos and stories about their encounters with the city's pianos.

The pianos come with no conditions attached -- the project insists that "who plays them and how long they remain is up to each community."

"I've been amazed, to be honest, by what's happened," Jerram told CNN. "What I'm amazed by is that musicians in New York aren't usually allowed to perform on the streets -- they need a license. So what having pianos means is that musicians have a right to go and play; suddenly they are legally allowed to perform," he said.

Jerram said that the "energy, enthusiasm, and go-getting spirit" of New Yorkers characterized the city's response to the installation, as aspiring and professional musicians alike flocked to the pianos Monday.

How will Jerram know the project has succeeded? "It comes down to people's stories," he said. "I think it's the stories that will come out over time -- how people have connected, how it's changed people's lives, how they think about music and sharing that music," he said. "There were two people who met over the pianos in Sydney and they just got married."

Later this year a new array of pianos will be installed in London, while Belfast, Ireland; Burnley and Blackburn, England; Cincinnati, Ohio; San Jose, California; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, also will be getting pianos of their own.

At the project's conclusion, the pianos will be donated to schools and community groups.

www.cnn.com

What a wonderful idea for any city street!

Fingerprint Program Targets Illegal Immigrants In Virginia

A federal initiative to identify illegal immigrants through enhanced fingerprint-checking at local jails is in place throughout Virginia.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Monday that Virginia is one of 22 states in the "Secure Communities" program, which is expected to go nationwide by 2013.

Previously, fingerprints of people charged with crimes were checked against a criminal-history database maintained by the FBI. Now they also will be run through an immigration database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. If the prints match information in that system, ICE will be notified to determine the person's immigration status and take enforcement action, if warranted.

www.shoredailynews.com

School officials said the hat ran afoul of their no-weapons policy because the Army men held tiny guns.

RI boy who made banned toy soldier hat gets medal

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I.

A Rhode Island boy whose school banned a hat he made because the toy soldiers on it carried tiny guns was awarded a medal on Friday for his patriotic efforts.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the retired head of the Rhode Island National Guard, gave 8-year-old David Morales a medal called a challenge coin during an appearance on WPRO-AM's John DePetro show.

Centracchio said the second-grader should be thanked for recognizing veterans and soldiers.

"You did nothing wrong, and you did an outstanding job," he said. "We can only hope that kids of your caliber will continue to defend this country."

Centracchio also gave David a certificate that allows him to call himself a brigadier general.
David was assigned to make a hat last week for a project at the Tiogue School in Coventry. He chose a patriotic theme and glued plastic Army figures to a camouflage baseball cap. But school officials said the hat ran afoul of their no-weapons policy because the Army men held tiny guns.

The school has said David was offered the chance to wear the hat if he replaced the toy soldiers holding weapons with ones that didn't have any. Centracchio said that didn't make sense because soldiers are armed, and met with school administrators Thursday to share his concerns.

David said he felt great and called it an honor.

"I think it's really special," he said. "I'm going to definitely enjoy this day for a long time."
Also Friday, the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said it sent a letter to Coventry Superintendent Kenneth DiPietro saying the school's policy was an unconstitutional violation of students' free speech. It called on the district to revise the policy.

DiPietro did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

VIA: FoxNews.com

School Kids Chant: "I Am An Obama Scholar"

School children are led by a teacher in a chant that begins with "I will be anything I want to be."

At one point during the incantation the teacher asks the students to repeat the phrase "I am an Obama scholar."

(from: Lincoln Bassett Middle School in New Haven, Connecticut)

Discovery Announcement ~ The densest element in the known Universe has been found!

Pelosium:

A major research institution has just announced the discovery of the densest element yet known to science. The new element has been named Pelosium. Pelosium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 311.

These particles are held together by dark forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
The symbol of Pelosium is PU.

Pelosium's mass actually increases over time, as morons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons within the Pelosium molecule, leading to the formation of isodopes.

This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientist to believe that Pelosium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.

When catalyzed with money, Pelosium activates CNNadnausium, an element that radiates orders of magnitude more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons as Pelosium.

Hat Tip; Eric

Casa D'ice Restaurant in North Versailles , PA.; He's back with new signs!

He's back with new signs!

Casa D'ice Restaurant in North Versailles , PA. (near Pittsburgh )

The government doesn't like this man very much.

He changes the signs when he gets another idea.

He just wants to make a [political] statement and WOW!

This guy needs to be funded!

AMEN!!!!!!

Whose Sand Is It..................

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) - Some Jersey shore beach towns have plenty of ways to keep outsiders off their sand: Limit on-street parking, prohibit food and drink, and have no public bathrooms.

One town literally walls off the public from much of the ocean with a protective stone seawall, and offers virtually no parking for miles along it.

Beach access has become a long drawn-out court battle in many coastal states. And now in New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection is bowing to complaints from some local governments and private property owners that state access rules are too strict.

The department is letting each shore town decide for itself what level of public access is appropriate, though the state agency will still have to sign off on each plan. The new policy has some beach advocates fearing towns will become even more restrictive.

"This is extremely frustrating," said Ralph Coscia, who co-founded Citizens Right to Access Beaches, or CRAB, after the beloved Point Pleasant Beach was bulldozed to make way for oceanfront luxury homes about a decade ago. "This sets us back 15 years. Everything we've tried to do all these years is falling apart."

The department says its goal is to maintain public access while applying common sense to beach access rules and giving towns and property owners latitude to take local conditions into account.

"We believe the Jersey shore and the coastline should be open to everyone," said department spokesman Larry Ragonese. "But there can't be carte blanche to go anywhere, on anyone's property you want."

Under the Public Trust Doctrine, a legal concept adopted by New Jersey that dates back to the Roman Emperor Justinian, the public has the right to swim in coastal waters and walk along their shores. Courts have held that the public has the right to walk or sit on the sand up to the mean high water mark -- even on beaches where most of the sand is privately owned.

But many oceanfront homeowners either don't know or don't care, and routinely call the police when someone sets up a beach chair or a towel too close for their liking.

Battles over who rules the sand are being fought all over the country. It's not just about unbroken ocean views, either. In New Jersey, tourism is a nearly $40 billion industry and its beaches are a primary draw.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that Florida can undertake beach-widening projects without compensating beach-front property owners who lose exclusive access to the water.

California fought for years to mediate public demands for access to some prime beaches when wealthy homeowners tried to block them. The city of Dana Point disagrees with the state on who should control beach access through a large gated community of multimillion-dollar homes.

In Hawaii, a new law prohibits property owners from using vegetation to block beach access. In North Carolina, state officials are trying to balance competing demands over the use of a popular Outer Banks beach between fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts who want to drive their vehicles on the sand, and environmentalists who want to protect coastal wildlife.

Texas voters in November decided that the right to public beach access should be part of the state constitution, even as homeowners feared erosion of their property rights.

Under the previous administration of Gov. Jon Corzine, New Jersey required public access points every quarter-mile and bathrooms every half-mile on any beach that received public money for beach replenishment.

But an appeals court overturned those rules in 2008, deciding that the state had no right to order towns to allow 24-hour access to their beaches or to require bathrooms there. Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters said her town already provides plenty of access, bathrooms and ample parking to beach-goers.

"The biggest change with the DEP seems to be their willingness to listen," she said.

Stone Harbor and nearby Avalon fought the rules, particularly the 24-hour access requirement, on the grounds that it exposed the borough to lawsuits from people who might enter the water after drinking, and drown.

Robert Dinerman owns a summer house in Bay Head, N.J. -- a town that legally restricted its beaches to residents only, until a landmark 1984 court decision said public beaches must be open to anyone. The 73-year-old Cincinnati resident acknowledges many Jersey shore towns have tricks to keep outsiders away. Bay Head offers no public restrooms and bans food from the beach.

In neighboring Mantoloking, where Dinerman was enjoying the surf view from atop a wooden staircase, police zealously enforce a two-hour parking limit on most streets so beach-goers can't park in one spot for two hours, then move their car. This makes it impractical for anyone but residents to use the beaches, some of which charge hundreds of dollars for a seasonal badge.

"All these towns have their little idiosyncrasies to try to keep people off the beach," Dinerman said. "I have no objection to making it more public.

The DEP says it will consider arrangements like Bay Head's ban on toilets and food, Mantoloking's restrictive parking and lack of an affordable daily badge, and miles of inaccessible beaches on Long Beach Island blocked off by private homes, when it considers what to approve under the new rules.

www.wavy.com

Regardless Of How It Feels Summer Is Almost Here

Summer begins today at 7:28 A. M.

Young Island Vacationer Donates Poem To Chamber

CHINCOTEAGUE -- Allison Doss of Dacula, Ga. is a budding young poet.

Allison, 9, a student at Freeman's Mill Elementary School, had an assignment to write a poem with the subject, "Beauty Is."

Allison wrote the following, arranging it in the shape of a Christmas tree:

Beauty Is

Salty air

A quiet marsh

On a secret island

Crashing waves

An Egret's nest

Muller's Ice Cream Parlor

On a hot summer night

A bike ride through mini Africa

A long hike up the striped lighthouse

My friends don't know this place

My teachers don't know this place

This secret island called Chincoteague

But I know

My Pop knows

The ponies know

That is what Beauty is....

Allison's poem won first prize at Freeman's Mill Elementary School and went on to win first place in a countywide competition in Gwinnet County, Ga.

Allison presented the poem to her "Pop," Walter Bulmer, as a Christmas gift last year.

Allison presented a framed copy of the poem to the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce last week, while she was on vacation with her parents and grandparents.

www.easternshorenews.com

Drugs Smuggled In Soup Packets

WASHINGTON

Authorities have arrested a Pennsylvania man who allegedly tried to smuggle more than four pounds of cocaine through Dulles International Airport using powdered soup packets.

Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Jose Acevedo, 41, after he arrived on board a flight from El Salvador on Thursday.

Authorities say a customs dog identified Acevedo, of Carlisle, Pa., as carrying drugs. When authorities opened the soup packets, the drugs were hidden inside some of them.

It isn't the first time authorities at the airport have seen creative smugglers. Last year officers found heroin in juice boxes and cocaine in cooked chicken.

www.hamptonroads.com