The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • Page 5

MARYLAND WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6,2010 A5 THE STAR DEMOCRAT STATE BRIEFS Prohibition is Over! Celebrate the start of the local oyster season with our Local Oyster Raw Bar Washington Street Pub hosts the only local oyster raw bar in the area. 20 N. Washington Easton 410-822-9011 www.wstpub.com Friday and Saturday: 11 am 10 pm; Sunday through Thursday: 11 am 9 pm. Celebrate our Grand Re-Opening with Daily Draft Beer specials New location at 108 Marlboro Ave. (next to Railway Mkt.) Moving Special! No Sign Up Fee! No Payment November! effective Oct.

11th Oct. 31st STEVE SZKOTAK Associated Press Writer has opened more Chesapeake Bay waters to oyster harvesting this month, anticipating greater demand for the meager oyster stocks because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission historically has opened public waters to oyster harvesting in stages through the fall and winter months, starting Oct. 1. This year, the commission agreed to an industry request to open up more of the Bay and its tributaries to oyster boats that use power dredges and individuals with hand tongs.

October opening for Virginia is going to give them a jump on the market that already is paying higher than normal prices for oysters because in scarcer commission spokesman John M.R. Bull said Tuesday. Large areas of commercial fishing have reopened in the Gulf but consumer demand for Gulf seafood has waned and so have prices. The wider Bay opening gives Virginia oystermen about a one-month jump on the oyster season. The change was first reported by the Daily Press of Newport News.

John Meekins was working his leased oyster reefs Tuesday in the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach. While Virginia oysters are favored by purists for their high salinity level, he said, more plentiful Gulf oysters have traditionally been critical to the shucking houses along the Bay. Meekins, who hand-picks his oysters for local restaurants, said he welcomes the higher prices for Virginia oysters but is mindful of the economic disaster confronting his counterparts along the Gulf coast. like to flourish off of other he said. The oyster population has plummeted to 1 or 2 percent of historic highs, primarily because of diseases that attack the oyster and water-quality issues.

The diseases pose no threat to humans. annual oyster harvest totaled more than four million bushels a half century ago but declined to 103,000 bushels last year. holding on by our fingertips, and where been for several decades Bull said. diseases kill these oysters regardless. Our management policy has been better to harvest these adult oysters as opposed to letting them go to Blue crabs are another story, and a part of the decision to speed the opening of Bay waters to oysters.

Watermen say an abundance of crabs has depressed the market. Some who crab pushed for the wider oyster harvest so they could join in. Joe Palmer, who also works the Lynnhaven, hauled in 10 bushels of crabs from 70 pots on Monday, then 11 bushels on Tuesday. He sells his crabs to local restaurants and seafood stores. got established markets, but a lot of the guys, they sell their he said.

He has seen a in the crab population. Bull said, some regards, done our job almost too well. rebuilt the population so well that there are millions of crabs out there, more than there used to Virginia and Maryland have restricted seasons and licenses to ease pressures on crabs, which have doubled their population over the past two years. Bull said the commission will closely watch the oyster harvest and evaluate the new management approach. Virginia opens oyster grounds in Bay waters October opening for Virginia is going to give them a jump on the market that already is paying higher than normal prices for oysters because in scarcer John M.R.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission BRIAN WITTE Associated Press Writer ANNAPOLIS (AP) Baltimore City Circuit Court has ruled that poor defendants are entitled to an attorney when they appear before a court commissioner who determines probable cause and whether a person should be detained. The law firm that argued the case described the ruling Tuesday as a historic leap in constitutional protection throughout Maryland if it is upheld. Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Alfred Nance wrote in his ruling that the initial bail hearing before the commissioner holds significant consequences to the accused, because it decides the liberty. bail is denied or set at a level that the defendant cannot afford, the defendant is deprived of his or her freedom, a fundamental Nance wrote in the ruling. decision reversed his prior ruling in 2007.

The Court of Appeals, highest court, sent the case back to Nance in March, after hearing arguments in a class-action lawsuit last year, when plaintiffs in Quinton Richmond v. District Court of Maryland argued that the public defender law requires representation at all stages of the legal proceeding. The judge stayed the ruling pending a potential appeal by the state. A spokesman for the attorney office said the state is reviewing the ruling. Venable law firm, which worked on the pro bono case with University of Maryland Law School students, noted that defendants can be incarcerated for up to three days without having any legal representation.

is truly a milestone win on behalf of fairness and common sense in criminal justice Venable attorney Michael Schatzow said. representation at a bail hearing has severe consequences, for both defendants and the Currently, defendants who are taken into custody and charged in district court appear before a court commissioner within 24 hours of arrest for determination of bail and probable cause an appointed public defender. Opponents of the system contend that leaves the defendant alone to persuade the commissioner of employment and family circumstances without the ability to corroborate their statements and without being told of the risk of self- incrimination. a lawyer, people have no voice and they have a very difficult job being said Doug Colbert, a University of Maryland School of Law professor who has called attention to the issue for 14 years along with his students. Colbert said the change is important to defendants charged with nonviolent crimes, because there is a greater likelihood that a lawyer could persuade a judge to allow them to return home.

is the first time that a Maryland court has recognized that poor people are entitled to legal representation when they first appear before a judicial Colbert said. Colbert also noted that the hearings before court commissioners tend to be brief, and he said requiring legal representation would not cost more compared to the expense of incarcerating people. legal representation, taxpayers are spared the exorbitant expense of keeping people in jail before their trial when they do not pose a danger to the public, and in these harsh economic times, providing lawyers will save substantial amounts of Colbert said. Colbert, who wrote about the issue 10 years ago in the Illinois Law Review and is writing another article for the Buffalo Law Review said just over half of the states provide representation to lower-income defendants within the first 48 hours. Court rules on right to lawyer at bail hearings bail is denied or set at a level that the defendant cannot defendant is deprived of his or her freedom, a fundamental Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Alfred Nance YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL search is under way in Yellowstone National Park for a Maryland man who has been reported missing.

Authorities say 48-year-old Stuart Isaac of Burtonsville left a note for his family on Sept. 6 saying he was going on an extended cross- country trip. His black 2009 Lexus sedan was found Sunday evening, Sept. 26, at Craig Pass along the section of the Grand Loop Road linking Old Faithful and West Thumb. The keys were still in the unlocked vehicle.

Repeated searches from the ground and air have failed to locate Isaac, described as a black man who is 5-feet, 8-inches tall with black hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his shoulder blades and right triceps. Maryland man missing, car found in Yellowstone BALTIMORE (AP) of schooners will race down the Chesapeake Bay to Virginia later this month in the 21st running of an annual event to raise awareness of the history and restoration. Organizers say more than 45 schooners are expected to participate in this race, which will start Oct. 14 at the Bay Bridge near Annapolis. The boats will race through the night and dock the next day in Portsmouth, Va.

Before the race, the boats will dock in Baltimore, where a parade through the harbor and other activities are planned. The first race was held in 1990 after the late Capt. Lane Briggs challenged the Pride of Baltimore II to race against his Tugantine, the Norfolk Rebel The race has been held in memory since his death in 2005. Online: Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race: http://www.schoonerrace.org/ Schooners to race again down Chesapeake Bay FREDERICK (AP) health officials say there does not appear to be a higher rate of cancer near Fort Detrick than in the rest of Frederick County, though the chemical Agent Orange was tested there three decades ago and workers also dumped industrial chemicals there. Clifford Mitchell, the acting assistant director of the Maryland Department of Health No increased cancer rate found near Ft.

Detrick and Mental Hygiene, said at a meeting Monday night that a one-mile radius around the Army post has the rate of cancer he would expect. Mitchell said the analysis was the first step in determining whether the area may suffer from an unusual amount of cancer. The next public meeting about the issue is scheduled for Nov. 1 at Winchester Hall. ANNAPOLIS (AP) Middendorf Foundation of Baltimore has given a $60,000 grant to archives to build a case to display the handwritten speech George Washington held as he resigned from the Continental Army in 1783.

Mimi Calver, executive director of the Friends of the Maryland State Archives, said Tuesday unclear how much the state-of-the-art case will cost, but she described the grant as a huge step forward in eventually displaying the fragile document. The state plans to display the speech in the Old Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House where Washington resigned, once the room is restored to resemble its late 18th century appearance. That is scheduled to be completed by December 2014. The state acquired the speech in 2007. Archives gets grant to display Washington speech BALTIMORE (AP) is Walk to School day, an idea being promoted as a way to not only help keep students healthy but also improve the environment.

Organizers say the percentage of students walking or bicycling to school in the United States has dropped from 41 percent in 1969 to 13 percent in 2001. Obesity among children, meanwhile, increased from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent in 2008. Proponents say walking and bicycling are healthy physical activities that stimulate brain development while reducing pollution and roadway congestion. Organizers say in Baltimore, police on horseback will lead students to their elementary school. In Takoma Park, students plan to meet at a local park before walking to school.

Online: Walk to School Maryland sites: http://www.walk toschool.org Maryland Safe Routes to School Network: www.saferoutespartnership.org/maryland Washington Area Bicyclist Association: www.waba.org Walk to School day promoted for.