There is so much I do not understand in this modern world. Why is this so? Is it aging? Is society going off the deep end? Am I just not embracing the latest trends? I’m not sure why I feel such a ... [Continue Story]
Public Affairs
Easton Council Highlights: The Question of Removing a 10 Cent Fee on Paper Bags
While there were a number of interesting issues brought before the Easton Town Council last night, including the struggle to find funds to complete ... [Continue Story]
- Easton Economic Analysis by Urban3’s Joseph Minicozzi
- Route 301 Traffic Up Over 30% Since Middletown By-pass Opened
- Cambridge Ex-Major Andrew Bradshaw to Run Again this Fall
- Town Manager Don Richardson and Town of Easton Part Ways
- Easton’s Housing Task Force: A Chat with EEDC’s Holly DeKarske and TOE’s Miguel Salinas
- Key Bridge Focus Continues Its Steady Shift from Removal to Rebuilding
Spy Highlights
CCF 2024: Monda Raquel Webb Through Storytelling and Social Impact
Monda Raquel Webb is a force of nature—a visual storyteller who has carved out a unique space in the film industry by bringing hard-to-talk-about narratives to light. As a filmmaker, author, and poet, Webb’s work is deeply rooted in uncovering the stories that often go unnoticed, stories that challenge the status quo and push audiences […]
- Please Take the Spy Survey on Lifelong Learning on the Mid-Shore
- From and Fuller: The Politics of Coattails and Endorsements in 2024
- It was a Small Town by Sue Ellen Thompson
- Easton Art Galleries Unite for Washington Society of Landscape Painters Annual Exhibition
- From and Fuller: Does Policy Matter in 2024; Never-Trumpers Not Endorsing Harris, and RFK Jr. Exit
- Chicken Scratch: Make Way – Losing What We Have, Gaining What We Need
The Arts and Local Design
17th Annual Chesapeake Film Festival and the Man Behind It All by Steve Parks
For the 17th annual Chesapeake Film Festival – opening Sept. 27 in Easton, preceded by a one-day mini-fest Sept. 12 in Chestertown – more than 200 ... [Continue Story]
- “Rivers” Exhibit at Kent Cultural Alliance By Mary McCoy
- Mid-Shore Arts: A Spy Check-in with the Avalon’s Al Bond and Jessica Davies
- Say Hallelujah: Tred Avon Players Sammie Adams-Mercer and Sharon Gilroy Preview of The Hallelujah Girls
- Spy Art Review: American Modernist Blanche Lazzell by Steve Parks
- Plein Air ‘Meet the Artists Party’ and More by Steve Parks
- Founded in Gratitude: Celebrating 20 Years of Plein Air Easton
Chesapeake Ecosystem
Maryland Levies Fines on Perdue, Valley Proteins for Environmental Violations
Two major agricultural companies ramped up operations recently on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and the environment paid a price, according to the ... [Continue Story]
- Bay Climate Adaptation: The TNC Guide in Finding the Money for Major Infrastructure Change
- Mid-Shore Arts Plein Air Easton and ESLC Pair Up to Promote Land Conservation
- Wild-Caught Chesapeake Blue Catfish Phenomenon Booming: Thank Goodness
- Blue Crab Populations are Down, But Experts are Not Worried
- First Baby Eagles Hatch on Reborn Chesapeake Island
- Report dolphin sightings with Chesapeake Dolphin Watch and help scientists with Chesapeake Bay research
Maryland News
Analysis: Hogan tries to define his brand of Republicanism
The event Wednesday night, at a fancy hotel in College Park, was billed as a look at the legacy of the Watergate scandal on today’s politics, 50 years ... [Continue Story]
- Declines in Revenue, Federal Aid Drive Cuts in Proposed Transportation Projects – Maryland Ma
- Maryland Supreme Court reinstates Adnan Syed’s murder conviction, orders new hearing
- Questions about Moore’s integrity arise anew after 2006 report surfaces
- Juvenile justice reform commission could start meeting next month
- Cambridge Election Forum Set for October 5 Co-Hosted by the Spy, WHCP, Dorchester Star and CAN
Health
Let’s Talk About It: Suicide on the Mid-Shore with For All Seasons CEO Beth Anne Dorman
Suicide might be the last taboo, even as many American families are becoming more comfortable in talking about mental illness these days. While ... [Continue Story]
- Having a Baby in the 21st Century with Shore Health’s Jessica Genrich and Stephanie Blades
- Six Marylanders hospitalized so far in listeria outbreak tied to deli meats
- Easier, Shorter Radiation Treatment for Early Stage Breast Cancer Now Offered at Shore Regional Health Cancer Center
- Everyone with Cancer Needs a Navigation Team: A Chat with UM Shore Regional Health’s Robin Ford and Rochalla Jones
- Saving Lives in Talbot County: A Chat with Talbot Paramedic Foundation’s Wayne Dyott
Education
Talbot County STEM Camp Completes Another Excellent Summer
Like many communities throughout the country, the summer can be an essential time for young students to catch up on critical cognitive skills and be ... [Continue Story]
- Talbot County Library Hosts Youth STEAM Program
- Spy and WHCP New Series: Checking in with Superintendent of Dorchester Schools Dr. Jymil Thompson
- The CBMM PATRIOT’s Dynamic Duo: A Chat with Joyce and Matt Gauthier
- Radcliffe Creek School Initiates Search for Head of School
- WHCP Spy Report: Dorchester School Board Susan Morgan on Her Resignation
Food & Garden Highlights
Serene Green to Headline Adkins Arboretum Beer Garden Sept. 28
There’s something magical about live music in nature! Local beer, food trucks and music by nationally touring act Serene Green are all on tap when ... [Continue Story]
- Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the Photo!
- Harvest and postharvest practices for improving apple fruit marketability: Fruit quality and safety workshop on Nov.4, 2024
- Wine of the Week: Antonelli Montefalco Rosso DOC
- Adkins Arboretum Mystery Tuesday: Guess the photo!
- Wine of the Week: Vernaccia Di San Gimignano DOCG
Brevities
Pumpkin Everything by Katherine Emery
Walking down the grocery aisles the other day was an explosion of pumpkin flavored products, everything from cereal to coffee to cookies, and ... [Continue Story]
- Talbot Historical Society Project Flashback: Getting Ready for School
- Notes by Katherine Emery
- Talbot Historical Society Project Rewind: Shopping at Corkran’s General Store
- Opposition and Equinox: September 2024 Sky-Watch By Dennis Herrmann
- Knock Wood by Katherine Emery
- Talbot Historical Society Project Rewind: A Fire Over at People’s Meat Shop
Commerce
CCF 2024: Monda Raquel Webb Through Storytelling and Social Impact
Monda Raquel Webb is a force of nature—a visual storyteller who has carved out a unique space in the film industry by bringing hard-to-talk-about ... [Continue Story]
- Let’s Talk About It: Suicide on the Mid-Shore with For All Seasons CEO Beth Anne Dorman
- What to Do When You Don’t Understand by Maria Grant
- Pumpkin Everything by Katherine Emery
- UM SRH Establishes Shore Community Outreach Team to Serve Dorchester Count Residents
- Academy Art Museum Announces 27th Annual Craft Show
Community Notes
The Easton Prayer Breakfast Continues 41-year Tradition, Blessing our Community Leaders and Service Members
Easton Prayer Breakfast – 7 to 9 AM - October 17, 2024 | Easton VFD Firehouse – 35 Leonard Rieck Drive The Easton Prayer Breakfast for 2024 ... [Continue Story]
- Constitution Alliance to Host Sept. 17 Liberty and Freedom Event Performances by Thomas Jefferson and Frederick Douglas Reenactors
- Lottery for The Residences at Port Street Now Accepting Submissions September 3-20
- Drive Forward: The Classic Motor Museum’s Capital Funding Campaign to Purchase 906 S. Talbot Street
- Back to School, Back to the Y: Ymca of the Chesapeake Announces September Membership Drive
- A Special Evening at the Cooperative Oxford Lab
- YMCA of the Chesapeake Team Certified in Chronic Disease & Prevention Programs
Senior Life Highlights
Cruisin’ with Christine: Erica Hardeo and the Art of Engagement at Londonderry
Over the last ten years, the Spy and Londonderry on the Tred Avon have worked together on stories about this unique retirement community that educates ... [Continue Story]
- Cruisin’ with Christine: New Londonderry Residents Barbara Pratt and Phillip Gibson
- Herb Cain Appointed Executive Director of Upper Shore Aging
- Water, Water Everywhere…For Drinking, Playing And Exercising!
- Londonderry on the Tred Avon Named “Best Retirement Community” by What’s Up Eastern Shore for Ninth Consecutive Year
- Cruisin’ with Christine: Getting to Know Londonderry’s Manager of Buildings & Grounds James Brooks
- Talbot County Gets Its Very Own Senior Fair: A Chat with Jennifer Pierson and Jenna Marchi
Arts Notes
Academy Art Museum Announces 27th Annual Craft Show
This year’s 27th annual Academy Art Museum Craft Show will be held on October 26 & 27 with a Preview Event on October 25. The show will feature a ... [Continue Story]
- Oxford Community Center September through October 2024 Activities Overview
- AAM Community Program Series Presents: 48-Hour Video Race
- SMAL Announces Winners of 2024 “Endless Summer” Exhibit at The Easton Library
- Carpe Diem! Arts Alive! Brookletts Place Second Tuesdays: Free Lunch-Time Performances
- SMAL Presents “Capturing Autumn” Exhibit at Easton Library
- The Working Artists Forum to Hold “Pretty and Pink,” Charity Art Exhibit for Breast Cancer Awareness
Ecosystem Notes
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage to Hold Monarch Workshop Sept. 28
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage will host its annual Magnificent Monarchs workshop on Sat., Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. at Barnstable Hill Farm in Chester. ... [Continue Story]
Education Notes
Gunston Embarkation Welcomes New Students & Faculty for 114th Year
The Gunston School commenced its 114th year on Tuesday, September 3, with its annual Embarkation tradition, welcoming a total of 74 new students and ... [Continue Story]
- The Needle’s Eye Academy Advances Read in Color® through Unionville Little Free Library
- Blueprint board extends special education work group for another six months
- Chesapeake Forum Presents, US Navy in the Civil War with Mickey Terrone
- Chesapeake Forum: Monarch Tagging, Mahjong, Mobility and More
- TCPS Appoints New Assistant Principals
- Maryland Test Results Show Small Gains, Nagging Achievement Gaps Among Demographic Groups
Health Notes
UM SRH Establishes Shore Community Outreach Team to Serve Dorchester Count Residents
University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, has established a new Shore ... [Continue Story]
- Talbot County Department of Social Services Offers Empower Me! Child Safety Presentations
- 5k Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness Set for October 9 in Cambridge
- Talbot Paramedic Foundation Fund Drive Under Way for 2024!
- Talbot County Health Department Launches Initiative to Promote Responsible Alcohol Sale
- Sept. 13 Brings Conversation on Sustainable Weight Loss to Easton
- Stefano Muscatelli, MD, Joins the Orthopedic Center
Commerce Notes
CCF 2024: Monda Raquel Webb Through Storytelling and Social Impact
Monda Raquel Webb is a force of nature—a visual storyteller who has carved out a unique space in the film industry by bringing hard-to-talk-about ... [Continue Story]
- Let’s Talk About It: Suicide on the Mid-Shore with For All Seasons CEO Beth Anne Dorman
- What to Do When You Don’t Understand by Maria Grant
- Pumpkin Everything by Katherine Emery
- UM SRH Establishes Shore Community Outreach Team to Serve Dorchester Count Residents
- Academy Art Museum Announces 27th Annual Craft Show
- Oxford Community Center September through October 2024 Activities Overview
Food Friday
Food Friday: Fall Colors
I had to stop and gawp at this multi-color arrangement of carrots at our Food Lion the other day. It was not the usual pyramid of plastic bags of orange carrots - it was ... [Continue Story]
Looking at the Masters with Beverly Smith
Looking at the Masters: Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann (1847-1935) introduced Impressionism to Germany. His parents owned a leading cotton factory in Berlin. Liebermann studied art at the ... [Continue Story]
Design with Jenn Martella
House of the Week: Pastoral “Dunrovin”
It is always a pleasure to feature a property that I know well. I have enjoyed attending parties and other events at “Dunrovin”, hosted by the gracious and fun couple who have become treasured friends. This property combines the best of both worlds; privacy in a pastoral setting of a small neighborhood with large lots, […]
From and Fuller Podcast
From and Fuller: The Politics of Coattails and Endorsements in 2024
Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment. This week, From and ... [Continue Story]
- From and Fuller: Does Policy Matter in 2024; Never-Trumpers Not Endorsing Harris, and RFK Jr. Exit
- From and Fuller Special Edition: The Harris Moment and a New Republican Future
- From and Fuller: The Magical Thinking of a Harris Landslide
- From and Fuller: Evaluating J.D. Vance and Trump’s MAGA Moment with Black Journalists
- From and Fuller: The Biden Withdrawal, a New Harris Gravitas and VP Guessing Game
- From and Fuller: The Politics of Assassination Attempts, J.D. Vance as VP, and is Joe Biden’s Time Up?
Columnist J.E. Dean
The Foul Odor of the Trump-Kennedy Alliance by J.E. Dean
When I woke up on Sunday, I planned to write my weekly Spy column about the importance of Democrats not becoming overconfident. After the Democratic ... [Continue Story]
- The Trump Spell Has Been Broken by J.E. Dean
- What I Learned from the Paris Olympics by J.E. Dean
- Will Trump’s Weirdness Save America? By J. E. Dean
- The Rise of Kamala Harris and the Challenge of the “Independent” Skeptical Voter by J. E. Dean
- Election 2024: The Cards Have Been Reshuffled by J.E. Dean
- Donald Trump is Not a Martyr, Really by John E. Dean
Columnist Howard Freedlander
Out and About, Sort Of: Unconscionable, Unsuccessful by Howard Freedlander
In the late 19th century, as Native American reservations faced dissolution at the soiled hands of White settlers, the Catholic Church decided to establish boarding schools for Indian children. The purpose was an ill-fated effort to assimilate, involuntarily, indigenous youth and decimate their culture. It was cruel. Schooling by the Catholic Church intended to impose […]
- Out and About (Sort of): Stars in Different Realms by Howard Freedlander
- Out and About (Sort of): Slavery of Thought by Howard Freedlander
- Out and About (Sort of): Higher Education on Edge by Howard Freedlander
- Strike for Democracy by Howard Freedlander
- Out and About (Sort of): American Voter by Howard Freedlander
- Out and About (Sort of): Hospice Heroes by Howard Freedlander
Columnist Hugh Panero
Mr. Biden, It’s Time to Hand Over the Keys by Hugh Panero
Convincing a retired, aging parent with diminishing site and reaction speed, hearing, etc., to give up their car keys is tough. They’re sure they can ... [Continue Story]
- The Mess in Oxford Gets More Messy by Hugh Panero
- Be Like a Cicada and the Catharsis of Dreams by Hugh Panero
- Let’s Retire the Word “Retired” by Hugh Panero
- Top 15 Indicators That You Are Too Old For Technology by Hugh Panero
- Dune Part 2 and My Son Got Me Back Into a Movie Theater by Hugh Panero
- Governor Moore is About to Have a Moment by Hugh Panero
Columnist Craig Fuller
MPT, the Chesapeake Bay and Viewers Like You: A Chat with Station Manager Steven Schupak
While there are a number of things that bring all Marylanders together, crabs being the best known, there has always been special affection for ... [Continue Story]
- So Much Money, So Little Time by Craig Fuller
- One Amazing Story by One Amazing Individual by Craig Fuller
- A Presidential Debate: No Commission / No Audience / Perhaps, No Gloves by Craig Fuller
- An Enjoyable and Important White House Story by Craig Fuller
- Biden’s Two Biggest Problems: Perception and Trust by Craig Fuller
- An Important Set of Facts – It’s Up to You to Form an Opinion by Craig Fuller
Columnist Jamie Kirkpatrick
The Dreamcatcher: Chapter One
Author’s Note: For the next few weeks, I will be unraveling a serial story in this space.) Chapter One: “Coconuts” Tatu DeSouza’s marvelous ... [Continue Story]
Columnist Laura Oliver
You’ve Got Mail By Laura J. Oliver
Dear Reader, I often tell students searching for voice to write a letter to someone they trust, dead or alive, real or imagined. “Tell that person ... [Continue Story]
Columnist Angela Rieck
The Worrier by Angela Rieck
I am a recovering worrier. I got it honestly, my Dad was a worrier. We worriers are a product of both nature and nurture. First, the nature part of ... [Continue Story]
Columnist Al Sikes
Courage Is On The Ballot by Al Sikes
Years ago, under entirely different circumstances, I was generally a Republican voter unless a good friend was on the other ticket. Donald Trump changed that and several years ago I changed my registration. Independent always in attitude and now in affiliation as well. The US Senate race in Maryland is for me an opportunity. An […]
Opinion
The Real Debate We Need by Heather R. Mizeur
It matters that the leader of the Free World has the faculties and mental acuity to perform the functions of such a demanding job. While it’s ... [Continue Story]
- When Peace Visited War: A Christmas Story by Tom Timberman
- A Christmas Carol 2023 by Maria Wood
- The Carbon Darwin Award by Bob Moores
- America’s Civil War of Weaponized Words and the Middle East by Tom Timberman
- Here’s a Test: Can You Recognize a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? By Maria Grant
- What Happens Next to Israel, Hamas, Palestinians and the US? By Tom Timberman
- Still No Planning? By Carol Voyles
- America is Losing Control of the Israel/Palestinian Global Narrative by Tom Timberman
- Things To Do In A Deer Stand by Rob Etgen
- Towards A National Directory Of Gun Violence by Stan Salett
- Wars, Political Chaos, Confusion and Anger: What to Do? By Tom Timberman
- Are We Judged by the Company We Keep? By Maria Grant
- October 7 Perspective by Bob Moores
- Rockfish Conservation by Rob Etgen
- Thoughts from the Mayor Of Crisfield on the Tawes Crab Feast and Clam Bake by Darlene Taylor
Letters to the Editor
Letter to Editor : If It Ain’t Broke…
Supporters of Easton’s Plastic Bag Law filled the chamber at Tuesday night’s Easton Town Council meeting as Council President Frank Gunsallus ... [Continue Story]
- Letter to Editor: Let’s Not Gaslight on Paper Bag Fee
- Letter to the Editor: The Cut That Hurts Us All by Marion O. Arnold
- Letter to Editor: Why Delmarva Power’s Prunes Tree Canopies in Oxford
- Letter to Editor: A Push for Real Civic Education
- Letter to Editor: Walz For Dad (and VP)
- Letter to Editor: Sorry Larry Hogan
