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Easton Experiments with Closing Main Street for Pedestrians

July 3, 2020 by Dave Wheelan 1 Comment

Like almost every town these days, local leaders have been scratching their heads to come up with ways to help downtown merchants, and mainly, restaurants get back in business as the region enters the second phase of opening back up. And in the case of dining venues, that means trying to maximize their outdoor seating capacity, which right now for many is just a narrow sidewalk.

The Town of Easton council decided they could help some of those businesses by closing down a block of a downtown street (Washington Street) which would provide an extra 25 feet of room for outdoor seating but also a safe place for the community to gather with plenty of social distancing to enjoy other retail stores, live music or other family fun programming.

For a few hours on select days, the Washington Street block in front of the Talbot Courthouse will almost instantly transform itself into a pedestrian mall. The town will be calling it the Washington Street Promenade.

We sat down with Ross Benincasa, director of Discover Easton, to get the details on how this might work for Easton and other towns.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.

Health Officer Warns Pandemic ‘Far From Over’ as Talbot Cases, Positivity Rate Jump

July 2, 2020 by John Griep 1 Comment

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Talbot County has jumped in the last 12 days, while the county’s positivity rate also has significantly increased.

As of Wednesday, July 1, Talbot County had 133 cases; 20 percent of those in the last 12 days. Meanwhile, the county’s 7-day average positivity rate rose from 0.5% to 3.4%.

Talbot’s health officer says more cases have been linked to social gatherings and warns that local residents relaxing their safety precautions is a major factor in the upticks.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over,” Dr. Fredia Wadley, Talbot County health officer, says. “We need to stop pretending that it is.”

Wadley joins the chorus of health officials warning that relaxed restrictions and increased travel over the July 4th holiday will accelerate an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Until recently, the number of new cases in Talbot County was low in comparison to surrounding counties on the Eastern Shore and other rural counties around the state. But the county’s numbers have surged in the past week, with an additional 21 confirmed cases. The county added 4 more cases today.

“We did not even have a week with that many cases in the first wave that peaked in May,” Wadley says.

Despite the alarming increase, Talbot’s positivity rate remains below Maryland’s average. As of June 30, the state’s seven-day average positivity rate was 4.72%.

While Talbot County’s growing numbers are partially related to increased testing, the rise in cases is also being caused by a return to “business as usual” for many. Adherence to social distancing measures and mask usage have dropped as businesses have reopened.

“We are finding more confirmed cases of COVID-19 related to family reunions, trips to the beach, and other social gatherings,” Dr. Wadley confirms. “But it’s not just where you have been that increases your risk of infection. It’s where everyone within six feet of you has been over the past two weeks — especially if those people were not wearing facial coverings.

“Anyone who has been part of a large group event, visited a crowded beach or boardwalk, had a recent
commercial air flight, participated in multiple smaller but varied social groups over the past two weeks, or has a household member that has done any of these should consider being tested,” she adds.

Corey Pack, Talbot County Council president

Talbot County Council President Corey Pack urges residents to remain vigilant over the holiday weekend and throughout the coming weeks as the virus remains a threat.

“We are asking our citizens to listen to the health experts and take their advice seriously,” he says. “The recommended precautions are fairly simple, but they can save your life or the life of a loved one.”

Maryland’s number of new COVID-19 cases is holding steady, but other states have not been as fortunate. Last week, 29 states and U.S. territories were showing an increase in the number of new cases. Some of those states are concerned about their surge capacity because of the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, a statistic that typically lags behind the increase of new cases.

“Since we have no really effective drugs for COVID-19, the world is praying for an effective vaccine by the first part of 2021,” Wadley says. “Even if we are fortunate and have a vaccine by then, it will take months to vaccinate those willing to be vaccinated. Until then, we only have non-pharmaceutical interventions proven to prevent many cases of COVID-19. Those include social or physical distancing, wearing facial covering, and good hand hygiene.

“We have the testing capability now to test when anyone has symptoms,” Wadley says. “We have the
contact tracing capacity for another surge. We have the surge capacity at our hospital and adequate stores of personal protective equipment. Unfortunately, it appears that we may need all of these if we continue to pretend that the pandemic is over.”

The Talbot County Health Department’s testing site at Easton High School is open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Identification confirming Talbot County residency is required. Call 410-819-5632 for an appointment. There is no charge for the testing.

For complete updates on Talbot County’s coronavirus response, visit www.talbotcovid19.org.

The Analysis of From and Fuller: Trump at Tulsa, Kentucky Senate Race and COVID Testing

June 25, 2020 by Al From and Craig Fuller Leave a Comment

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

Today the Spy commentators to discuss President Donald Trump’s political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the tight Democratic Primary Race in Kentucky between moderates and progressives, and President Trump’s instructions to reduce COVID- 19 testing.

This video is approximately fifteen minutes in length.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

‘Talbot Boys,’ Diversity Issues Cause Contention at County Council Meeting

June 24, 2020 by John Griep 5 Comments

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since its original publication. The public hearing for Resolution 290 is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at the Easton High School Auditorium.

The question of the “Talbot Boys” statue and issues concerning diversity created unusual contention among county council members at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The Talbot County Council considered two proposals concerning the monument and statue to Confederate soldiers on the courthouse grounds; two administrative resolutions regarding diversity; and a request to send a letter supporting federal legislation on police accountability and training.

Council President Corey Pack sought most of those measures, noting he had changed his mind on the statue, which he voted to retain four years ago.

Pack has proposed removing the statue but keeping its base, which names county residents who had served in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America — including some who moved to Talbot after the Civil War, also known as the War of the Rebellion.

Resolution 290 would require the removal of the Talbot Boys statue and would prohibit any statues depicting persons, signs, or symbols associated with military action on Talbot County property.

Councilman Pete Lesher joined Pack in introducing the resolution, but noted he would seek to amend it to include the removal of the base as well.

A public hearing on Resolution 290 is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at the Easton High School auditorium.

Councilman Frank Divilio offered a different approach, one that was slated for discussion only on Tuesday night.

Divilio suggested a unity statue that would list the names of Union and rebel soldiers from Talbot County, with a statue depicting soldiers from each side.

His proposal is modeled after the Civil War monument in Chestertown, which lists the names of soldiers from both sides, and the state of Maryland monument at Gettysburg, which shows a wounded Union soldier and a wounded rebel soldier helping each other on the battlefield.

Pack also asked fellow council members to consider two administrative resolutions — one to require the development of a diversity statement to include in the county employee handbook and another to require a report from the county manager regarding diversity training for county employees.

Both resolutions refer to the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department and said Floyd’s death “has prompted important conversations across the country about racism and has galvanized support for concrete steps at all levels of government to promote police reform and greater cross-cultural sensitivity.”

No vote was taken Tuesday night on developing a diversity statement after Councilman Pete Lesher’s motion to move the resolution to a vote died for lack of a second.

The council voted 4-1, with Councilwoman Laura Price opposed, to require the diversity training report from the county manager.

A future report will provide additional details.

The Talbot Boys Conversation (Redux): John Ford

June 21, 2020 by The Spy

Editor’s Note. On August 23, 2017, the Spy published an extensive interview with the Town of Easton Council president John Ford. One of the topics we discussed was his belief that the Talbot Boys statue should be removed from the Courthouse green. President Ford passed away on February 4, 2020.

This video is approximately two minutes in length

Spy Minute: BAAM Marches in Celebration and Protest to Honor Juneteenth

June 20, 2020 by The Spy

Building African American Minds, otherwise known as BAAM, decided to take a new approach with their annual recognition of Juneteeth this year.

Under the direction of two of BAAM’s younger leaders, the organization hosted a march through downtown Easton to bring attention to the importance of this national day of celebration with the formal ending of slavery in the United States. But it was also staged to be a call to action to end systemic racism, acknowledge that Black Lives Matter and demand the removal of the Talbot Boys, the Confederate statue on the Talbot County Courthouse green.

The Spy was there on Friday afternoon as more than three hundred citizens started to gather in front of the BAAM campus on Jowite Street to begin the march.

This video is approximately one minute in length. For more information about BAAM, please go here.

The Analysis of From and Fuller: COVID Leadership, Military Base Names, and Spy Poll on Monuments

June 18, 2020 by Al From and Craig Fuller

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

Today the Spy commentators to discuss President Donald Trump’s leadership during the COVID- 19 crisis, the possible renaming of military bases that had honored confederate leaders, and the Spy’s poll on the future of Confederate statues in 21st century America.

This video is approximately thirteen minutes in length.

Background

Cook to be Sworn in as Easton Council President

June 15, 2020 by Spy Desk

Megan Cook will be sworn in tonight as the president of the Easton town council.

Cook defeated fellow Councilman Ron Engle in the July 9 special election to serve out the remainder of the term of John Ford, who died Feb. 4.

Cook has represented the town’s 4th Ward for more than a decade.

Engle, the town’s Ward 3 councilman, has served as interim council president since mid-November.

Talbot Council Talks Floyd, ‘Talbot Boys;’ Lesher Calls for Removal of Confederate Monument

June 13, 2020 by John Griep

The “Talbot Boys” monument should be removed from the county courthouse grounds, Talbot County Councilman Pete Lesher said Tuesday night.

Lesher is the first county councilman to call for the removal of the monument to the county’s Confederate soldiers (including some who moved to Talbot after the war) since a renewed effort began after the death of George Floyd.

Council President Corey Pack later asked council members to adopt a resolution to prohibit all statues depicting persons, signs of symbols of military actions on the courthouse grounds. He said the resolution would not prohibit monuments listing the names of Talbot County veterans of war.

The Talbot Boys monument has a statue of a young color bearer holding the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia atop a base listing the names of the Confederate soldiers. If Pack’s resolution was approved and applied to existing monuments, the statue would be removed but the base would remain.

The council discussion comes as the nation grapples with police brutality against people of color and amid demonstrations calling for racial justice and equality after the death of George Floyd while pinned down by Minneapolis police officers.

A peaceful protest last Saturday in downtown Easton attended by hundreds included calls for the monument’s removal.

During a public call-in comment period at its Tuesday night meeting, the Talbot County Council heard from several county residents urging them to remove the statue.

During the public comment period, Emily Thompson said she had emailed the council members about the statue’s removal.

“There will be a future Talbot County Council that will take this down,” she said Tuesday night. “You have an opportunity now to take action and listen to black voices. Are you going to wait and let your successors do the work you should have done years ago?

“All across the state and across the United States, we have seen true leaders,” Thompson said. “Show you don’t sympathize with rebels against the United States and white supremacists.”

“This isn’t history,” Benjamin Rubenstein of Trappe said in a call. “This is an opportunity for the county to act and take a stand. This is an opportunity for Talbot County to be a part of the solution.”

“I’m extremely outraged and disappointed” that a “symbol of slavery, white supremacy and racism” remains standing in Easton and Talbot County, Ari Rubenstein said.

“What side of history are you going to be on?” he asked. “We’re going to eradicate symbols of oppression. You need to be on the right side of history.”

Pack, who voted against a request to remove the monument in 2015 and 2016, said he had shared a written statement with his fellow council members before the meeting. Each council member spoke about the issue — some more directly than others — during council comments.

Pack, in his statement, said he was going to ask the county council to put a question on the November ballot asking Talbot voters whether the statue should be removed.

But to do so would have required action by the Maryland General Assembly, which completed its 2020 legislative session in a shortened session in March.

Pack, instead, offered his proposed resolution and also called for:

• a report outlining the county’s diversity training over the past two years and additional steps the county could take in the future;

• the drafting of a diversity statement to be included in the county employee handbook;

• putting a question on the ballot to amend the county’s charter to limit council members to two consecutive terms (a member could run for election again after sitting out a term);

• the council to send a letter to federal lawmakers supporting the Justice in Policing Act of 2020.

Current council members Laura Price and Chuck Callahan had voted with Pack against the monument’s removal in 2015 and 2016, after the NAACP officially requested the monument be removed following the murder of nine black parishioners at a Charlotte, N.C., church by a white supremacist.

The issue arose again in 2017 after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., during which a counter-protester was killed and numerous others injured by a white supremacist who drove into a crowd.

Eight Seek Four Seats on St. Michaels Commission

June 13, 2020 by Spy Desk

Eight candidates have filed for the four St. Michaels town commission seats up for election on July 13.

The three candidates with the highest votes will be elected to full four-year terms; the fourth-place candidate will serve a two-year term.

When the filing deadline closed on Friday, June 12, the following candidates had filed for the election:

Michael E. Bibb

William E. Boos

David H. Breimhurst

T. Coleman duPont

Dennis F. Glackin

Joyce D. Harrod

William C. Harvey II

Jefferson C. Knapp

The election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, July 13, in the meeting room of the Edgar M. Bosley Jr. Municipal Building (Town Office), 300 Mill Street, St. Michaels. For further information, please call 410-745-9535.

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