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September 5, 2025

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Growing on Vine Street: A Chat with Talbot Interfaith Shelter’s Julie Lowe

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In December, Talbot Interfaith Shelter took a significant step forward in its mission by purchasing a new building—a former hospital daycare and IT office that had sat unused for years. Thanks to a generous donor, the building was acquired at an excellent price and will now house the shelter’s development office and conference room. This will ease space constraints at Evelyn’s Place and allow more use for people in need of housing.

The Spy spoke with Executive Director Julie Lowe about what this milestone means for the organization and its mission. We also discussed the TIS’s financial needs as the nonprofit enters a new era that anticipates less support from the state and national government levels in the upcoming years.

One way the community can support the Talbot Interfaith Shelter is to participate in their annual Lip Sync Battle 2025 on April 26 at the Waterfowl building in Easton. Doors open at 6:00; show starts at 7:00. For more information, please go here.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about Talot Interfaith Shelter please go here.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Spy and Avalon to Host Easton Election Town Hall Meeting on April 29th

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The Spy and the Avalon Foundation will continue their tradition of hosting town hall meetings for local election candidates on April 29th at 6 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre. Once again, Spy Columnist Craig Fuller will moderate an informative discussion of the issues and opportunities to improve the Town of Easton.

Candidates for Town of Easton Council President, Don Abbatiello and the incumbent Frank Gunsallus, have agreed to participate. The Avalon and Spy will be reaching out to the candidates for Ward 2 and Ward 4 Council seats to welcome them as well. Those include Rev. Elmer Davis, Moonyene Jackson, and Cameron Keefe for Ward 4, and Lynette Keefe and Robert Rankin for Ward 2.

The program is anticipated to last 60 minutes. It will be live-streamed on Mid-Shore Community Television’s YouTube channel and the Spy’s Facebook channel. Attendance at the Avalon will be on a first-come basis, and admission will be free.

Election Day: 

WHEN:
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 – from 7am-8pm

WHERE:
The Easton Firehouse, located at 315 Leonard Rieck Drive, Easton, MD 21601

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

County Council Highlights: Keep Solar Farm Regulation Local

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Pete Lesher appeared to represent the entire Talbot County Council on Tuesday night when he commented on a joint letter to Annapolis leaders urging them to reject a Senate and Assembly bill allowing the state to regulate the zoning of solar farms seeking to operate in the state, especially on the Eastern Shore. The Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to sign that letter.

This is an outtake of that portion of the meeting.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.

 

 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Watermen Closing Out Wild Oyster Season

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Lewis Carter, 79, has been oystering and crabbing since he was 15 years old. DENNIS FORNEY PHOTOS

A warm and sunny afternoon in late March. Light winds. A dozen or so deadrises still oystering out on Broad Creek.

Many of the boats have already come in; the earliest, two young divers who have been the first to get their 12-bushel limits for many days now.

Price has been holding steady at $35 per bushel to the watermen. Pretty much about that all season. When the wild season ends, the bushel price may nearly double for cultivated oysters. Supply goes down, demand holds steady for another couple months, price goes up.  Like the tides, up and down.

Last day of the 2024-2025 wild oyster season is just around the corner: March 31.  On April 1, the 2025 crabbing season opens.

Two of the vessels working the hand-tonging waters on this day carry watermen many generations apart in ages.

A third vessel, Bobby B, carries a waterman and his partner, Ann Barrett, who shares the culling chores. They’re underway toward the dock to offload.

Jason Gay can’t wait for the season to end.

“So many boats out there, after six months it’s getting harder and harder to get our oysters.”

They’ve been oystering many years. Six-month seasons, starting Oct. 1.  When March 31 arrives, they’re ready for a change of pace.  Then it will be about six months of crabbing.  When October rolls around, Jason will be glad to trade his trotline for his hand tongs.  That’s the rhythm for these watermen.

“I’ll probably start crabbing in mid April,” he says. “Get the boat cleaned up and then go.”

Tonging oysters off the bottom is dirtier work than dipping crabs from trotline baits.

Off will come the tongs and culling tables.  On will come the canopy to provide shade against the sun, along with the trotlining gear: baskets and nets and measuring sticks.

Jason Gay is ready for the wild oyster season to be over.

Out in the creek, men aboard the two other generations-apart vessels have finished tonging.  They’re near the end of their culling: separating legal-size oysters from the smalls with sharp blows from their metal hammers, tossing over empty shells to catch next year’s spat, filling their final baskets of the day.

Lewis Carter works by himself. “No January, no February for me,” he says.  “Can’t stand no cold. Used to break ice to get out here but no more. I’m 79 years old.  Been doing this since I was 15.  64 years.  Charles Bryan took me on when I was 11, culling oysters, cleaning up. Quit school when I was 15. Other than time in the Army,  I’ve been at this ever since.”

Lewis says he opted for the water to make a living. “Back then the minimum wage was 75 cents an hour. Figured I could do better on the water.”

Lewis trotlines summers out of Kent Narrows, mostly in Cabin Creek and Chester River. He lives nearby in Queenstown but brings his boat down  to Broad Creek in the winter for oysters. “They won’t let you oyster in the Chester, only certain times they have reserved.”

He says he doesn’t like the sanctuaries the state has in place where oystering is prohibited.  He doesn’t think the sanctuaries are doing much for the Chesapeake’s oyster populations. “The oysters have always taken care of themselves.”

He named his boat after his granddaughter, Chelonte.  “I bought it off of Capt. Warren Butler.  He had 17 boats over the years.  This was his last one.”

He said this year’s been a good oyster season. “Good oysters, about the same as last year. I guess I’ll keep on doing it until I can’t do it any more.  It’s better than settin’ home, waiting for death.  I’ll meet him halfway.”

A few hundred yards away, also working the typically productive bars of Broad Creek, just north of the Choptank, Kadan Longenecker and Severn Cummings agree that the 2024-2025 season has been a good year despite the ups and downs of the market.

Kadan says the bars are in good shape with lots of little ones still coming. “You can see the growth in them.”

Many decades younger than Lewis, they worked right on through January and February, as long as they had market and weather cooperated.  They’ll follow suit with Lewis, switching to crabbing. They will start in April

But Lewis said he won’’t start until probably the middle of May.  He’ll take his time switching his gear, giving his lean and hard body a rest, letting the air and water warm up, but giving little thought to staying home as he enters his eighth decade of life on the Chesapeake.

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Congressman Jamie Raskin Speaks at Cambridge Town Hall

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On March 22, the political groups Cambridge Indivisible and Eastern Shore Indivisible held a “People’s Town Hall” for a packed house in the Mace’s Lane Middle School gymnasium. In response to Congressional Representative Andy Harris’ refusal to participate in an in-person event with constituents, this gathering featured Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County. Raskin made a speech without notes before the very friendly and lively crowd and then listened to a few personal stories of attendees before answering some questions from the audience.

“I know I was not your first choice,” Raskin began, “but I heard your congressman couldn’t quite squeeze you in today.”

He continued, “I keep hearing my Republican colleagues talking about paid protesters. Is anybody out there being paid to be here today?”

The crowd yelled, “No!”

“Well,” said Raskin, “what’s interesting to me is that the people who are showing up are not paid protesters, but the people who are not showing up are paid politicians.”

He explained that town halls are supposed to be for representatives to report on what they’ve been doing and then listen to the constituents. He said he wouldn’t have shown up for the event if he’d been in Washington voting against Medicaid and trying to dismantle the government, alluding to the absent Harris.

Raskin went on to ridicule Donald Trump’s recent State of the Union address as a “seven-hour Fidel Castro style speech,” during which Trump accused NIH of spending $8 million on developing “transgender mice.” Raskin said he’d looked up the project to find that they were “transgenic mice” (injected with DNA).

“My friends,” he said, “we are being governed by morons.”

Every aspect of the US Constitution is under attack by President Trump and his associate Elon Musk, claimed Raskin. So, he announced he would give a “refresher course into the Constitution because America needs it.” After reciting the preamble, Raskin discussed Article I and the powers of Congress, including to raise taxes and armies, levy tariffs, and regulate immigration. Then, he went to Article II, the most important part of which is how to impeach a president.

“The core job of the president is simple: to take care that the laws are faithfully executed,” said Raskin, who then addressed Trump with “Do your job!”

The congressman then talked about current court cases brought against the Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. These included the attack on birthright citizenship, freezes on funding, the attempt to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the collection of Social Security data. Raskin said that most Americans oppose authoritarianism and that they should stand up for women’s reproductive rights, the LGBTQ community, and freedom of speech.

Raskin threw out a number of quips and quotable lines, including “A rally a day keeps the fascists away,” “In this age of artificial intelligence, we need some intelligence,” and “Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, but he doesn’t own the American people.”

After his speech, he took some questions, such as “What can we do to fight?” and “What can we do to make the Democratic Party cool again?” (Raskin’s responses: Start by getting your data back from Elon Musk and reach out to young people.) Toward the end, a woman asked Raskin if he would ever run for president, and he answered that he would do whatever the people asked of him.

The video (with thanks to Rick Hughes) is approximately 30 minutes in length.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Budget agreement could generate more than $1 billion in new revenue

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 House Speaker Adrienne Jones (center), Gov. Wes Moore and Senate President Bill Ferguson announced an agreement to a budget framework Thursday, as the legislative session enters its last 18 days. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

A compromise spending plan for the coming budget year includes more than $1 billion in tax increases, including a proposal to let local governments increase the maximum local piggyback tax rate.

The revenues were unveiled Thursday by the governor and legislative leaders as part of a broad budget “framework” that will guide negotiators in the next few weeks, as they rush toward the end of the session.

The new revenues, coupled with an estimated $2.5 billion in budget cuts, are designed to cover a projected $3 billion deficit in the fiscal 2026 budget, and leave a reserve for fiscal 2027. The budget will also include “federal government spending triggers” that would activate in response to likely federal budget cuts.

“It ensures that those who rely on federal benefits are informed, prepared and can advocate for their continued access to essential service regardless of what happens at the federal level,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said.

Topping the list of new taxes unveiled Thursday is nearly $500 million from a 3% sales tax on data and IT services, according to budget documents shared with Maryland Matters. The tax, originally proposed as a business-to-business tax, would apply to anyone who uses such a service.

While the new proposal will have consumers pay the tax, too, the service on which the tax will be applied is smaller than the original proposal. Ferguson called it a modernization of the state tax code at a time when Maryland’s economy has become more service-based.

Tasha Cornish, executive director of the Cybersecurity Association Inc., said the tax has “harsh consequences for the state’s security” as well as Maryland’s ability to compete.

“We are sympathetic to the fiscal pressure exerted on lawmakers, but this tax is an unwise move,” Cornish said. “Maryland risks losing its competitive edge in cybersecurity, forcing companies to relocate and taking high-paying jobs with them. It’s a short-sighted attempt to gain revenue at the cost of our security and future economic stability.”

Another $367 million would come from a 2% surcharge on capital gains income over $350,000. The rate is double what Moore proposed in his budget.  Most of the tax would land in the state’s general fund, with about 40% earmarked for the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.

The state would also raise $344 million from changes in the tax code, including the creation of two new tax brackets: Those earning $500,000 to $1 million would pay 6.25%; those above $1 million in earnings would pay a rate of 6.5%.

“We are asking those who have done exceptionally well to pay slightly more so we can have the best schools in the country, so we can support law enforcement and our firefighters, so we can make sure we are growing our economy.,” the governor said.

Moore said the “refinement”of his tax plan ensures “we hit our goal of delivering tax relief to the middle class.”

He told reporters that 94% of Marylanders will see a reduction in their taxes or no increase. But when asked how many would see a reduction and the size of the average reduction, Moore could not provide specifics.

Moore, in his budget, had also proposed doubling the standard deduction, but the framework unveiled Thursday called for a 20% standard deduction increase.

The compromise agreement also increases the maximum piggyback income tax rate for local governments to 3.3%. The current maximum is 3.2%.

The agreement also ruled out a number of potential tax changes;

  • No increase in the state’s 6% sales tax on goods.
  • No 75-cents fee on each retail delivery.
  • No property tax increase.
  • No expansion of gambling into iGaming.
  • No estate tax increase.
  • No changes to the car trade-in allowance.
  • No taxes on snacks or sugary drinks.
  • No increase in the gas tax.

The framework was roundly criticized by Republicans.

 

House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said “the lack of clarity and mushy talk was disappointing.”

“I expected someone to come out and say this is what the total revenue package is,” said Buckel.

Republicans make up about 30% of the House and Senate. They said Thursday’s announcement was the first time they heard how the spending plan would be altered.

“The word framework was used a lot more often than details, and that’s our biggest question,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore). “How are they going to get to the cuts that they talk about?”

Hershey also questioned Democrats’ plan to impose a 3% sales tax on data and IT services at a time when Moore has said he wants to attract “IT and cyber and AI” to  the state.

“I don’t understand why those companies would end up coming to Maryland,” Hershey said. “That’s one of the biggest things we’ve talked about from day one, is that’s who he’s trying to attract, and yet he’s going to put a first-in-the-country tax on those types of services. We just don’t think that’s the way to go if you want to grow the economy, and for businesses here in Maryland.”

On Thursday afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee also approved a plan to implement combined corporate tax reporting. Moore had proposed phasing the reporting in by 2028, then cutting the corporate tax rate from 8.25% to 7.99%.

Appropriations kept the language implementing combined reporting but nixed the corporate tax rate reduction. The change faces tough sledding in the Senate.

Some of the changes proposed, include the addition of combined reporting, tracked with legislation backed by advocates for passing much more aggressive tax reforms.

“Marylanders value and deserve good schools, transportation, health care, and other essential services,” according to a statement released by Fair Share Maryland. “As our communities are being harmed by indiscriminate federal layoffs and threatened cuts to grants and programs, our state level services are more important than ever. Having sustainable, fair sources of revenue is essential to help us get there.”

The agreement makes other changes including:

  • Adding the state’s 6% sales tax to vending machine purchases.
  • Repealing the exemption for sales of photographic and artistic material used in advertising.
  • Repealing an exemption for sales of coins and bullion over $1,000 . The change leaves an exemption for sales made specifically at the Baltimore City Convention Center.
  • Increasing the tax rate on sports wagering from 15% to 20%. The change will bring in $32 million in new revenue.
  • The cannabis tax rate will jump from 9% to 12%, raising $39 million.

The House plan also calls for additional money for state transportation. It would:

  • Increase the excise tax on vehicle sales from 6% to 6.8%. The change would raise $158 million.
  • Raise $51 million by accelerating the implementation of vehicle registration fee increases passed last year.
  • Increase vehicle emission fees from $14 to $30. That change would raise $20 million.
  • The package would also raise another $9 million by changing the definition of vehicles eligible for historic tags by defining eligible cars as vehicles older than model year 1999. The current definition of an older car is any car 20 years old.
  • Raise $47 million by imposing a 3.5% tax rate on short-term rentals.
  • Doubles titling fees on new and used cars to $200, raising $80 million.

The Senate has yet to sign off on the transportation-related proposals. The House and Senate have agreed to a roughly $400 million package for transportation. The two chambers differ on the specifics of reaching that number but are expected to come to an agreement before the session ends on April 7.

The House could have the budget on the floor for a preliminary vote early next week. A final vote could come soon after. The Senate could complete work on the budget within a week after and send differences quickly to a conference committee.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
March 20, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Our Cold, Snowy Winter could Benefit Rockfish Population

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This Jay Fleming photograph shows a striped bass–known locally as rockfish–underwater in the Honga River near Fishing Creek in Dorchester County. A prominent Chesapeake Bay marine photographer, Fleming shows many of his works at www.Jay FlemingPhotography.com.

Long, wet, snowy and cold winters, as 2025 has brought us, are just the thing to spark at least “cautious optimism” in Maryland’s striped bass program manager.

Beth Versak of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources said this week that really cold and snowy winters can result in above-average spawn success. That could lead to a strong year-class of juvenile striped bass–known locally as rockfish–in 2025 which in turn could lead to a nice infusion into the overall striped bass population along the Atlantic coast.

“The past six winters have been relatively warm and not too wet,” said Versak.  “This year is  different.”

Warm winters, she said, can create a mismatch between production of zooplankton in the Chesapeake which feed tiny rockfish larvae. The zooplankton life cycle continues in warmer winters meaning less food for the rockfish larvae when they really need it.

Cold winters however can cause a pause in the lifecycle of the microscopic plankton.  When warmer water returns in the spring, the plankton life cycle resumes which can create an abundance of food just when the spawned larvae need it.

It’s all about timing.

“Just after the spring spawn,” she said, “eggs hatch and the larvae feed initially on what remains in the yolk sack. After the yolk is gone, they begin feeding on the plankton.

“‘Cautiously optimistic’ may be too strong,” said Versak, “because there are so many other variables. We won’t really know the effect of this year’s cold winter until we begin surveying the juvenile index for the 2025 year class in July.  By that time the young fish should have grown to about two inches in length and we can begin gathering them in fishing gear to determine just how many have survived from this year’s spawn. That’s called the young-of-the -year survey and it continues through August and September followed by our annual juvenile index report in October.

“By then the young fish should have grown to about four inches. People anxiously await that statistic.”

And why is that Chesapeake Bay statistic so anxiously awaited?

“In any given year,” said Versak, “seventy to ninety percent of the spawning stock of the entire Atlantic coast striped bass population is produced in Chesapeake Bay. The current spawning stock biomass level–all of the mature, spawning fish in the entire adult population–is capable of producing a good year class when environmental conditions are correct. Of course we’re relying on mother nature here but currently the population is holding. They’re tough fish.”

So there’s the silver lining to this year’s tough winter, spiced with just a touch of gray.

Striped bass historical perspective

Here’s an excerpt from a current DNR press release about the striped bass population.

“Many Maryland anglers remember the striped bass population collapse of the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a moratorium on striped bass fishing until 1990. Concern about low recruitment over the last several years can lead to comparisons to this dire period in the history of striped bass fishing, but the reality is not that stark.

“The female spawning stock biomass for coastwide populations of Atlantic striped bass was 191 million pounds in 2023, which is below coastal management goals but more than three times higher than the biomass recorded in the mid-1980s and at a similar level to 1993 and 2015, years when very large year-classes were produced.”

The full text of that release cann be found here.

Striped bass life cycle

And for those interested in facts about the overall striped bass life cycle, here’s this from the website of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a federal agency rooted in science and charged with helping to manage fisheries resources:

“Atlantic striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are an estuarine species that can be found from Florida to Canada, although the stocks that the Commission manages range from Maine to North Carolina. A long-lived species (at least up to 30 years of age), striped bass typically spend the majority of their adult life in coastal estuaries or the ocean, migrating north and south seasonally and ascending to rivers to spawn in the spring.

“Mature females (age six and older) produce large quantities of eggs, which are fertilized by mature males (age two and older) as they are released into riverine spawning areas. While developing, the fertilized eggs drift with the downstream currents and eventually hatch into larvae. After their arrival in the nursery areas, located in river deltas and the inland portions of coastal sounds and estuaries, they mature into juveniles. They remain in coastal sounds and estuaries for two to four years and then join the coastal migratory population in the Atlantic Ocean.

“In the ocean, fish tend to move north during the summer and south during the winter. Important wintering grounds for the mixed stocks are located from offshore New Jersey to North Carolina. With warming water temperatures in the spring, the mature adult fish migrate to riverine spawning areas to complete their life cycle. The majority of the coastal migratory stock originates in the Chesapeake Bay spawning areas, with significant contributions from the spawning grounds of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.”

Dennis Forney has been a publisher, journalist and columnist on the Delmarva Peninsula since 1972.  He writes from his home on Grace Creek in Bozman.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Talbot Council Highlights: Proposal to Remove DEI Statement Fails on 2-3 Vote

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Last night, the Talbot County Council rejected a proposal by Councilmember Dave Stepp to remove the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statement from the County’s employee handbook and website. The Stepp resolution gained the vote of Council President Chuck Callahan but was voted down by members Keasha Haythe, Pete Lesher, and Lynn Mielke. Before the vote, each member took the opportunity to comment on the proposal.

Here are the highlights of those comments.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton Council Highlights: Not so Fast on Peter Lesher Appointment to EU Commission

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Pete Lesher must have felt quite flattered last night as the mayor and other council members praised his character and qualifications for serving on the Easton Utilities board, which oversees this important publicly owned utility company. The mayor nominated Lesher to replace Buck Duncan, who has served on the commission for many years. However, despite the council’s desire to approve Lesher’s selection, there is concern that his dual role as a member of both the Talbot County Council and the town’s utilities board could create a conflict of interest.

Ultimately, the Council voted for more time and legal review to consider the matter.

Here are some highlights.

This video is approximately 8 minutes in length.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Easton Growth Rates and Annexation: A Chat with Holly DeKarske and Miguel Salinas

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In the latest edition of the Spy’s ongoing conversation with Holly DeKarske, the Town of Easton’s Director of Economic Development Corporation, and Miguel Salinas, its planning and zoning director, we talk to them about two parts of the municipality’s comprehensive plan. The first is the projected growth rate for Easton during the plan’s lifetime, which is currently being moved from 1% to 1.75%. What is the significance of that change and its use in determining housing needs?

The second is the state of annexation in Easton. With 900 housing units in the pipeline waiting for approval, should there be a temporary moratorium on permitting until the town’s infrastructure is monitored with annexation?

This video is approximately 15 minutes in length.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.