Over at the Salisbury Daily Crimes, the editorial page is pleading with people to "not ignore warnings" from weather forecasters and meteorologists.

Tomorrow's editorial, according to our crack electronic eavesdropping sources from the Nursing Home:  Please flush the toilet when you are done taking a pee.

My favorite line though-- which shows a complete detachment from the reality of hurricane forecasting:

"a bit of a practice run for the hurricanes likely to come this season"

Why does the editorial page assume that an East Coast hurricane is likely to come this season?  Given that the forecasts for both 2006 AND 2007 have been wildly wrong to date -- mostly due to El Nino and La Nina influences in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans-- it seems a little presumptuous for the Daily Crimes to predict "likely" East Coast hurricanes.

This isn't to diminish the importance of preparation.  In fact, the entire area is well prepared.  After all, hurricanes are nothing new to the Eastern Shore.

Rather, it is to question if such editorial space couldn't be put to better use.  For example, pushing for greater accountability in Salisbury City Government finances.  Especially given the recent discovery of an additional $5 million in the water and sewer fund.

Or asking why Gary Mackes had to be embarrassed into finding a more responsible and cheaper alternative to full replacement of the civic center roof.

Or maybe a full investigation into allegations that the designation of certain historical districts is what keeps those neighborhoods in the grips of crime and destitution.

Or looking into how the Wicomico Neigborhood Congress may -- or may not -- improve citizen involvement in County government.

Or any of 1000 other issues that the Daily Crimes should be covering in far more depth than they already do.

Freedom of the press is important.  But with that freedom comes a very important responsibility to cover issues of the highest importance to their readership.  And there are a lot of important issues on the Lower Eastern Shore that the Daily Crimes should covering much better and in much better detail.

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If you are going to be in the Cockeysville area on October 12th, you should plan to attend the Anderson/Snyder Memorial Fund Bull Roast at Martin's Valley Mansion to raise money for the Anderson/Snyder Memorial Fund.

Lance Corporal Normal "Wally" Anderson III and Corporal Joshua David Snyder were both graduates of Hereford High School, class of 2002, and United States Marines killed wihin a month of each other in 2005.

For more information on the Bull Roast, click here.

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I want to tip my bourbon tonight to Outback Steak House, who helped sponsor a great fundraiser for the 2nd Annual 9/11 Remembrance Dinner at Hereford Volunteer Fire Company this evening.

Why Outback?  It's pretty simple.  Outback provides 500 FREE full dinners served buffet style.  The fire company charges $15 a ticket-- and they keep every dime.  It's a great fundraiser that goes a long way to insure quality fire coverage in rural northern Baltimore County.  HVFC -- Company 440 -- has one of the highest response rates of any volunteer company in Maryland, and is able to provide great coverage to the "Hereford Zone" because of fundraisers like this.

So, say thanks to Outback by visiting their local restaurant in Hunt Valley!

By the way -- Saturday Pit Beef at HVFC this Saturday from 10am to 2pm, and the Ladies Auxiliary Spaghetti Dinners kick off again on September 19th from 4-7pm.

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Baltimore holds their primary elections on Tuesday, September 11, 2007.  Of course, since Baltimore is the ultimate one-party town, this really amounts to the primary election and general election all rolled into one.

So who do I think should win?

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Well, not really.  Be warned:  Runaround Sue is not covered by the shield law for journalists in this state.  But worse, he is none too bright when it comes to cleaning up source emails.

I refer, of course, to his post "The Following Message Was Sent To Me & Not Verified……….".

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It turns out that Runaround Sue-- aside from being a "recognized" expert in flourescent light condoms and ultra-violet light -- is now an expert in crisis management.

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Exxon/Mobil is now up to FOUR stations in Nothern Maryland that have had serious problems pouring MTBE into the ground.

First, there was the Exxon in Upper Crossroads (MD 165 and MD 152) outside Fallston. 

Second, there was the 26,000 gallon gas spill in Jacksonville at Four Corners.    Jacksonville thought they had it bad when the US Army virtually destroyed the underground water supply when Nike Missile Fuel was spilled.  That was peanuts compared to the 26,000 gallon leak that was "discovered" last Winter.

Third, the Parkton Exxon closed this winter after the MTBE levels got too high and Exxon said "to hell with it".

The fourth station in the list -- another Meadowcroft station, by the way, just like in Parkton -- is the Hereford Exxon on Mt. Carmel Road.  The station will close in a couple of weeks for almost three months as tanks are replaced as a result of the MTBE leaks.

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I want to tip my bourbon to Capt Marty Lurz and the Cockeysville Precinct of the Baltimore County Police.  After our little bout of Gunplay in the Gunpowder a couple of weeks ago, I had a chat with one of his regular patrol officers.

All I can say is that Capt Lurz took the traffic situation up here seriously in the last couple of weeks.  Enforcement is WAY up.  They even ran a sobriety checkpoint at the old Parkton Exxon the other night catching drunks coming out of the Parke Inn.  They've been running speed enforcement in Maryland Line, and the number of patrol vehicles on the road lately has been ASTONISHING.

I hope that Councilman T. Bryan McIntire and his colleagues on the County Council will find more money in the County Budget next year to keep up this level of enforcement.  While the North County has grown substantially in the last decade, the police presence hasn't.  Capt. Lurz needs more officers and equipment to cover an area that stretches from almost the Baltimore Beltway clear to the PA line.

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Well, I spent this week working hard.  So I didn't get to post much.  And I spent part of today working, and when I realized it was getting late and my cigar supply was running low, I headed out to my favorite smoke shop (The Humidour) to stock up.

But when I got back, the WildTurkey Phone was ringing off the hook, and my Eastern Shore friends had lit up a giant bottle of bourbon in the sky.  So off to the Bourbon Cave to decode the secret messages...

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Guvnah Marty The Mick O'Malley, General Secretary of Maryland's own version of the Communist Party USA, is at long last starting to unveil his strategy to overcome the "structural deficit" that a decade of teat-sucking by the General Politburo in Soddom on the Severn has given us.

His strategy can be broken down into three separate programs:

1)  Break any and all campaign promises used to whore votes from all his left-wing, on-the-dole constituents in metropolitan Baltimore and the Washington suburbs. 

2)  Raise each and every tax he possibly can and kill small business.

3)  Continue to let his politico buddies and financial supporters suck at the teat of Maryland government while he screws the actual hard-working citizens of the state.

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