Health Homepage Highlights - Chestertown Spy

The dangerous Putin, Trump, and Musk alliance By Aubrey Sarvis

March 5, 2025 by Spy Desk 4 Comments

Forty days and forty nights of utter chaos, half-truths and loud lies as clever operatives moved quietly and efficiently to seize computers, servers, and a staggering amount of classified data at federal agencies and departments. President Trump and his conniving partner Elon Musk, who has a whopping 40.5 billion dollars in federal contracts if you include the 2.5 billion Federal Aviation Administration contract he snagged last week from Verizon, and their zealots are running amuck inside government agencies to get deep inside federal programs funded by Congress. This is not a slick Hollywood screenplay. These bold intruders with government badges really did get inside federal systems loaded with rich information about you and me, and they gained access by commandeering Office of Personnel Management watchdogs who guided them into the sophisticated and little known data tool known as U.S. Digital Service. They pulled off this stunning heist in broad daylight without any legal authority, and few were watching. They had their targets and priorities at the ready, knew who was vulnerable, and in short order they closed down federal programs and fired thousands of targeted government employees who administered programs they deemed objectionable or unnecessary.

I suspect Musk and Trump view all this as a hostile takeover. Their lieutenants on the ground said they were DOGE and made clear their disdain for government workers. Let’s be clear. This massive takeover has only just begun.

The marauder in chief from South Africa gave Trump nearly 300 million dollars in campaign contributions and now he roams freely about the White House in black wearing a baseball cap. Musk has reasons to believe his 300 million gave him a personal mandate and undisputed authority to single-handedly create a new government with light or no regulation that reflects the Musk/Trump brand and ideals. This Musk brave new world enriches the most privileged and provides little for the needy. Transfer as much of the caring and feeding back to the states. Let them pay if they care. The president and his cronies won the election, but no one elected Trump and Musk to bypass Congress, ignore our laws, use technology to create a new federal government, and kiss Putin’s derriere.

Instead of storming in with tanks, machine guns, and bayonets drawn this crew invoked DOGE Musk/Trump, flashed executive orders, and were quickly inside government networks and systems and had a staggering amount of classified data. Afterwards they escorted their stunned targets out of the buildings. Call it a hostile takeover if you like. To me it feels more like a coup d’etat underway “O’er the land of the free and home of the brave.”

A spineless Republican Congress cowers on the sidelines pretending nothing out of the ordinary is going on even as they are being neutered and rendered useless. Congressional Democrats appear paralyzed, unable to explain to the American people the danger going on. Notwithstanding a few brave souls calling the cowardly Trump out, most Americans, including lawyers and their state bar associations, teachers, doctors, bus drivers, nurses, students and professors, the baristas and bartenders, clerks and brokers, and members of the clergy, remain stunned and mostly silent.

None of this happened in a vacuum. Trump’s maddening chaos and distractions at home are directly linked to several of his campaign promises, including ending the war in Ukraine quickly. For years Trump told us Putin wasn’t such a bad fellow, that he could do a beautiful deal with Putin, foreshadowing the post WWII transatlantic alliance of America cooperating and partnering with its European partners was on life support. Trump invariably added NATO and our European Union trading partners were taking advantage of our generosity and competing with us unfairly.

Trump calculates, rightly, I think, he must deliver MAGA and his Christian right a few big wins and do it quickly before the tide turns against him, before we learn how much he is doing for Russia. Therefore, he and Musk are hell-bent on deregulating government without going through Congress. They are out to cut trillions in federal spending so the richest Americans can pocket trillions in another huge tax cut, no matter the costs to the poorest. And they want this cut permanent. Next, quickly rid America of millions of undesirable black and brown immigrants at breakneck speed without going through Congress. Forget the rule of law, human suffering, and deaths. Kick immigrants out now or hide them on secured military bases like Fort Bliss, Texas, and send more service members to the border to be policemen, a role for which they are not trained. Quick deliverables paramount. Break the Limoges and as many people as needed to get those wins.

Kill DEI throughout America. The first executive order issued focused on the Defense Department, targeting transgender service members who have served successfully for years. In Trump’s world these patriots pose a major threat and must be gone in thirty days, fire the female head of the Coast Guard immediately, fire women and blacks in leadership roles who must have been diversity picks and are clearly a threat to unit cohesion, good order, discipline, and morale, and, lastly, drum out the top JAG lawyers who serve the constitution first, not a president’s whims and wishes.

And along comes Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House last Friday afternoon with hat in hand, but soon it’s clear Zelensky is not entirely with the Trump program and priorities. Zelensky doesn’t seem to appreciate President Trump promised to end the war in days, that Trump needs his big win in Ukraine and soon. As President Trump and his shameless oval office band of sycophants saw it last Friday their rude visitor even had the temerity to be thinking long term, to be concerned about the future security and safety of his people, that the visitor didn’t trust Putin to keep the peace and his promises!

The “ingrate” from Ukraine, as Trump’s devoted gang viewed matters, didn’t appreciate President Trump had his own pressing needs at home, that the president planned to tell his Congress in his State of the Union address Tuesday night that victory in Ukraine was near, that his beautiful deal would save the world. Surely Zelensky had seen Trump’s USA, along with North Korea and China, voting at the United Nations with Russia on the war in Ukraine.

And here was this Zelensky talking back to the president, insisting it was Putin who invaded his county, not the other way around. That was enough to send this White House over the top. Millions around the world saw Trump, and America, in real time. Just you wait, Zelensky, the White House threatened. You have no cards. We’re about to show you how much President Trump can favor Russia, maybe even normalize U.S. relationships with Russia. Don’t be shocked when we stop funding and weapons to Ukraine. Our compliant Pete Hegseth may stop pentagon cyber operations against Russia. Who knows, but Putin knows how to say thank you. Think these are negotiating tactics to have you crawling back? Europe will save you? Don’t be so sure.

This American was disgusted and ashamed by what he saw televised from the oval office last week. Our president who never wore the uniform of our country and who invariably thinks me, myself, and I ganged up with his White House staff to disrespect a brave man who has waged a long, deadly war for freedom against an invading brutal dictator. As if that sad spectacle wasn’t bad enough, clueless Congressional Republican toadies and Neville Chamberlain appeasers rushed in to attack Zelensky and side with Putin. As New England lawyer Joseph Welch put it to Senator Joe McCarthy in 1954, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

None of us knows where Trump’s tantrums and threats on tariffs, his irrational attacks on Ukraine, and his flirting with switching sides in the middle of the Ukraine War may be going. All of this is very frightening. I hope some members of the House and Senate stand up on the floor of the House of Representatives Tuesday evening and turn their backs when President Trump attempts to justify why he licked Putin’s boots in the White House Friday, attacked Ukraine’s brave leader, threatened to switch sides in this war, and declared our European allies don’t matter to him anymore, that our transatlantic alliance is over as far as he is concerned.

Aubrey Sarvis served as a senior Senate and House staffer, and Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).

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

Clutching Pearls By Jamie Kirkpatrick

March 4, 2025 by Jamie Kirkpatrick 3 Comments

My friend the Professor recently ran an idea up the flag pole of his social media that included the phrase “clutching their pearls.” I hadn’t heard that phrase in years—“limousine liberals” yes, but nothing about “clutching their pearls.” It got me thinking…

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, my Aunt Addie lived with us in the big house in Squirrel Hill. She wasn’t really my aunt; I think she was my mother’s great aunt which means (I guess) she was my great, great aunt. I think she originally came from New Jersey and was the last of her family’s line, Her full name was Addie McClaus and by the time she came to live with us, she was well into her 90s. She always dressed in widow’s black and always wore a string of pearls. It must have been quite a shock to her system to come into our household in her waning days, but that was how things were done back in the 1950s. I remember the day she died. My mother found her in bed one morning and called for an ambulance, but Aunt Addie was already gone. I ran upstairs to tell my big brother Aunt Addie was dead, but he didn’t believe me until he saw her being carried down the stairs and out the front door. I’d like to think she was wearing her pearls when she was called to heaven.

Anyway, that’s what my friend’s flagpole post brought to mind when I read it. The child in me remembered Aunt Addie; the grown-up thought about what it means to be clutching one’s pearls. In case you don’t know the expression, it means to be excessively or naively shocked, dismayed, or appalled, as in “everyone at the film festival was clutching their pearls over all the explicit sex scenes in the director’s new film.” Of course, that was not the reference in the professor’s post. I bet you can imagine the scene to which he was referring, you know, the recent one that occurred in the Oval Office…

Be that as it may, the image of someone clutching her pearls (I imagine it was a woman who was doing the clutching, but maybe not), perfectly captured my sentiments as I watched that horrific tableau unfold. If I had been wearing pearls at the time, I would have been clutching them so hard they would have turned into diamonds. It was that bad.

I am still aghast at what transpired. A brave man who had been leading his country in a fight for its life was being berated and bullied by two individuals who seemed to be having temper tantrums that would send a two-year old to his room for a timeout. Even members of the hand-picked press that were present got involved in the melee by asking our guest why we didn’t wear a suit to the Oval Office. I bet no one thought to ask Winston Churchill that question when he appeared in the Oval Office wearing his wartime siren suit. Be that’s where we are, God help us.

I apologize. As you know, I don’t usually wade into political waters, but I’m still clutching my pearls about what I saw. And it wasn’t even a film. It really was that bad.

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives in Chestertown. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores.

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

YMCA Profiles: Wendy Palmer on Working in Tandem on Dementia

February 24, 2025 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

Many families are impacted by dementia and Alzheimer’s, a new program piloted at the YMCA, TANDEM, hopes to support the individuals with the diagnosis and the caregiver that is often struggling with stress, depression and anxiety.

Tandem is a loving community for individuals diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. The Tandem program includes gentle and safe exercise therapy, music therapy and art therapy, all of which bring joy, provide social interaction and improve quality of life for all. This 16- week pilot program was the first of its kind in our area and is offered at no charge to the family. Tandem meets twice a week and offers several sessions for the caregivers to connect for support and respite. We do it all with encouragement and love.

“I look forward to serving families impacted by dementia and Alzheimer’s. As we know caregivers experience higher levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. If we can support them through love, support and encouragement in Tandem, we can be a lifeline to families that are in survival mode.”

The YMCA hopes to replicate this program in all of our communities. Please contact Wendy Palmer if you would like to hear more about becoming a TANDEM Coach, volunteer or if your family needs the support. [email protected]

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about the YMCA of the Chesapeake, please go here.

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

Done By Jamie Kirkpatrick

February 18, 2025 by Jamie Kirkpatrick 1 Comment

Now, I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am done with winter. Especially this one. To begin with, winter is overrated. After the December holidays, New Years Day (forget its Eve; sometimes I do), and a few college Bowl games, there’s really not much to warrant all the trouble—the cold, the snow, the ice, the wind, the rain, the endless string of gray days. Even getting dressed is a pain in the boots, gloves, layers, scarfs, hats, and coats that make me look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man on steroids. My flip-flops are bored out of their skulls; my shorts and golf shirts feel like federal workers who have been fired. Sigh.

It’s not just the weather, although that is certainly the crux of the matter. It’s the backyard and the garden that look so forlorn; it’s the front porch that’s crying out for a gathering; it’s the golf course waiting to mock me; it’s my friend Chrissy whom I haven’t seen since the geese flew in from Canada. (Speaking of Canada, let me just say it’s a great nation and Canadians are wonderful people. I’m proud to be their neighbor. Same goes for the Gulf of Mexico.)

Anyway, I’m done with winter. Overdone, like the steak I left too long on the grill. Like a few writers I know who eschew simplicity and opine with words that require their readers to Google their meaning. (See what i did there?) Overdone like a metaphor hanging like low fruit on the bough waiting to be plucked. (Oops; I did it again.)

As a child, I was taught not to carp about the weather. The sun will come out tomorrow. Soon enough, I’ll be complaining that it’s too damn hot, or that we need rain, or that I’m sick and tired of tomato pie. There’s some truth to that, so let’s think about what’s good about winter.

I’m waiting…

Someone’s hand is up. “What about skiing? Skiing is fun, isn’t it?”

No. Skiing is expensive; it’s lift lines, broken bones, or, in my post-Montana case, a cold that has hung on like a leech for the past eight weeks. (Hmmm…maybe that’s why I’m so grumpy.)

I see another raised hand: “What about the beauty of a new snowfall? The revenant silence, the morning sparkle, making snow angels, or the gift of a day off from school or work.”

OK, maybe that was a little bit fun. Once upon a time, I could sleep in, or go sled-riding, or throw snowballs at cars, except for the time some huge man slammed on his breaks and chased me all over the neighborhood. He didn’t catch me, but I’m still breathing hard. And as for making snow angels, I got my face snow-washed more times than I made snow angels. I grew up in a tough neighborhood!

No; try again. “What about delaying gratification? Doesn’t a long winter make a verdant spring greener, more promising, all-the-more spectacular?”

OK; that may be true, but we’ve delayed long enough now. Let’s get on with the next act!

We have some friends who have escaped to Jamaica for a week. My wife and I could have gone, but for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t in our cards. I need a new deal.

The forecast for the week ahead doesn’t look promising. Inches or feet? Maybe ol’ Phil up in Punxsutawney is on to something. I wouldn’t mind going back to bed for another few weeks.

I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be so down on winter. I guess there are a few benefits: the crackle and warmth of the fireplace; another good book, beef stew. Hmmm…maybe that’s the antidote: beef stew!

I’ll be right back.

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

Your Side of the Bed by Jamie Kirkpatrick

February 11, 2025 by Jamie Kirkpatrick Leave a Comment

You’re probably aware that we—that is to say, my wife and I—have a small home in Chestertown, so small, in fact, that we call it SRO: Standing Room Only. One of the by-products of our housing situation is that when anything new comes into the house, the question one of us inevitably asks is, “Where are we going to put this?” The answer is always, “On your side of the bed.”

That’s easier said than done. There’s already a lot on her side and my side, everything from our computer printer to suitcases, shoes, two outdoor plants wintering over inside, a stack of books, a humidifier, and a large cedar chest full of next/last (take your pick) season’s clothes. To make matters worse, even the space under the bed is already claimed: storage bins, some artwork that has yet to find a permanent home on a shelf or a wall, even the bulky case where my bagpipes have resided, unused, since the onset of COVID. Sigh.

The attic might be a solution, but it involves a pull-down staircase and some careful footholds that are increasingly difficult for us to navigate. Plus, a lot of Christmas paraphernalia lives up there for eleven months of the year. To be blunt, there’s just not very much freeboard, anywhere.

But somehow we make do. I like to think that whatever furniture or artwork or dinnerware or knick-knacks that we use or display have risen to the top, cream-like. In these cramped quarters, if you’re used and enjoyed, it means you have passed muster and become part of the family. You’ve proved yourself worthy. You’ve won. In Darwinian terminology, you’ve survived by being the fittest!

There is, of course, attrition. Styles change, things break. Like the player who has toiled for years in the relative obscurity of the minor leagues, suddenly there’s an opening on the big league roster and its your turn to shine. You better be ready to make the most of that opportunity because if you’re not, someone or something else will come along and take your place.

But back to the issue of one side of the bed or the other. The truth is that if we want something to be part of our lives at SRO, we’ll find a place for it. There’s always room chez nous. We’re a naturally inclusive couple and we have no intention of abandoning our DEI roots. Exclusivity and minimalism may have its place somewhere in this crazy world, but not at SRO. That’s not to say we’re hoarders. We have standards. There is a certain set of dinnerware left over from my bachelor days that has been on my wife’s chopping black for a few years, but so far, I’ve been able to hold her at bay. Like faith, hope, and love, my old dinner plates and pasta bowls abide, and they’re not even on my side of the bed. Yet.

Cramped as it is, we love SRO. We’ve talked about finding bigger quarters that can give some extra space and accommodate the grandkids, but the conversation always returns to what we love most about our small house: our in-town location, our welcoming front porch, and our wide and warm circle of friends. There’s always more than enough room for them!

I’ll be right back.

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

Soul Café: a WIN for everyone By Lisa J. Gotto

February 10, 2025 by Spy Desk 3 Comments

From left to right, store associate, Sondra Mack, Admin, Cheryl Hurt, and WIN’s director Karen Dionisio

Just one of the things we love about Chestertown is our small business community. We love to frequent and support our local shops, restaurants, and service providers whenever we can, and we certainly love when we hear about a new business opening up.

As part of our recent travels in and around town we stumbled upon a sweet, new little spot called The Soul Café. Perhaps, you have yet to hear about the Café, but before you start asking how good and affordable the food is, we have to tell you it’s more of a BYO-type place, and it isn’t exactly new.

More of a traditional concept with a new twist, the Soul Café is located in a place that you’d least expect, tucked into about 230 square feet of the existing 10,000 square-feet of display space of the Women in Need Vintage & Thrift store at 106 Philosopher’s Terrace—a store and a community stalwart celebrating 25 years in operation in 2025

Soul Café Coffee Bar

The Café, which has actually been open for well over a year now, is in-part the brain child of the thrift store’s director, Karen Dionisio. Designed initially to be a space for local artisans and craftspeople to display and sell their offerings within the confines of the greater thrift store, Dionisio fleshed the concept out further, added a donations-encouraged coffee bar and enhanced the space with some cozy little seating areas and curtains. With a lot of ingenuity and some existing (and charming) donated goods and furnishings, Dionisio created a place where “thrifters” can take a break from shopping and neighbors can sit and chat a bit when they inevitably run into one another there.

What is novel, is the concept of converting some of a thrift store’s square footage into a multi-use community gathering space that, Dionisio says, is attracting a respectable amount of repeat patrons. Those patrons could be among the many who support Women In Need, WIN, with their tangible donations on a regular basis, or those looking for items in the store, or basically anyone who enjoys the sense of community fostered around a cup of coffee and a space curated to encourage conversation and connection—and there has been a lot of both over the years at WIN.

It was connection that inspired Dionisio about three decades ago, to assist a friend in need who was struggling to find a way forward from an emotionally abusive marriage with little to no resources. Dionisio, who is a Chestertown native, said she was living in Virginia at the time with her young family, when she and some other friends saw their friend floundering and they all decided that they would pitch in in some way to get her back on her feet.

“We helped pay her rent, we helped find her a new place to live because she had to get out of where she was in Fairfax, Virginia, which is very expensive,” says Dionisio.

Thrifting at Win

“So, it took a lot of us. There was a group of us. And to make a long story short, we carried her through her situation for about two years,” after which, Dionisio adds, she felt the need to come back to Chestertown to address some issues with her own family homestead. What was supposed to be just a temporary stay, turned into a much bigger mission.

It turned out that Dionisio’s friend would also relocate to Chestertown, and in doing so, would shed light on the larger issue of women who are at-risk and low on opportunities when leaving untenable relationships.

“We recognized that this was a ministry basically, that there were many women like her that we needed to provide that kind of support and resources to. That’s really what started it, and so then we incorporated Women in Need,” explains Dionisio.

Many from the original group who assisted Dionisio would relocate to Chestertown, as well, and would play an integral role in the formation of the 501 C3 nonprofit as board members.

“They all loved it over here, so they relocated, which was great, because that made it much easier for us as board members to meet and to plan,” says Dionisio.

Those plans included assessing what the greatest needs in our local, rural area were. From those assessments several of the concern’s first programs were developed. One would address the issues that living and getting around in a widely rural area present if you don’t have access to an automobile.

In that first effort, Dionisio says, they received four or five donated vehicles.

“We provided the insurance, we kept them on the road, we lent them out to the women who were living outside of town who needed them to get their kids to school or needed them to get to jobs.

“And then we began to look at housing. We wanted to have a home where people could transition,” Dionisio explains. They wanted to ensure that access to a roof overhead was always available at least in the short-term so women could transition back to safer lives where they can start building agency for themselves and their children; lives where they would have access to the key things that everyone needs to perform life’s most basic, but necessary functions.

The programs that WIN was able to establish at that time would help people pay their rent, utilities and even prescription medication, when necessary. One of the ways they raised money to fund these programs was to hold a silent auction. Dionisio recalls a responsive community who were willing help make the auction a success.

“People donated a bunch of stuff to this silent auction.” It was from this effort, Dionisio says, they realized the funds that could be raised from goods liquidation, and they had so much to liquidate at that time, they asked the landlord of their present space, which was sitting empty at that time, if he would consider letting them use it for just a few weeks so they could house and sell the goods they collected for the good of others in the community.

And so began the relationship between that 10,000 square-foot storefront on Philosopher’s Terrace, the Women in Need organization, and the community at-large.

WIN was able to officially begin renting the space in 2000, and it has been a beehive of community-supported activity ever since.

Soul Cafe

“I have been patronizing the store ever since it opened,” says long-time Chestertown resident, Sue Caswell.

“I’ve always been committed to recycling and re-using, and that piece of what WIN’s mission is, struck a responsive chord, and I am also very committed to any woman who has encountered challenges, and could use a hand in meeting those challenges in a variety of ways.”

Beyond the obvious give-and-take going on at the store, Caswell says, she also appreciates how involved Dionisio, and her organization have been on many levels and with many people throughout the area.

“Karen helps out on the periphery, as well,” Caswell continues, pointing to the subtle ways the organization supplements their mission by working with other businesses and organizations throughout the community to address needs.

“For example, if the theatre is doing something at the Garfield or the high school, and they need props or furniture, Karen is more than willing to lend anything that she has in her inventory.”

Caswell relays that while she often shops the store for fabrics for the quilting and crafting she does, she sees the experience of shopping there as something much more, and she has also donated her own time to assist WIN with special projects and events.

“It’s that small-town awareness, liaisons, and comradery that happens in a community like Chestertown.”

And it is that sense of comradery that encouraged Dionisio to want to create The Soul Café, which she hopes will become that great little spot where small local groups can gather, grandmas can compare their WIN “finds” and where good friends can just sit and share a moment, a smile, and a cup of coffee.

When asked what her favorite “find” at WIN has been over the years, Caswell posited, “You mean besides friendship?”

And a better find we do not know.

To learn more about all the ways WIN works within the community, visit win-foundation.org. Store hours are Thursday & Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lisa J. Gotto has written for What’s Up Annapolis, Star Democrat, and Kent County News, among other publications.

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

A call for fairer taxes: A talk with Chestertown Mayor David Foster

February 8, 2025 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

" target="_blank">http://

Chestertown Mayor David Foster continues to fight for a fairer tax balance between the town and county and he’d like your support at the County Commissioners meeting at 3pm on Tuesday, February 11 at the County Commissioners Building, 400 High Street.

For Years, Foster has appealed to the county to consider a re-evaluation of the tax relationship between the county and municipality. Kent County remains one of only three counties in Maryland where residents and businesses are taxed twice for public services, including street maintenance. Unlike most counties in the state, Kent has not implemented a tax set-off to address duplicative taxation, leaving municipalities like Chestertown burdened with both county and municipal taxes for the same services.

Kent County has the highest property taxes on Delmarva and the highest municipal property taxes in the region. However, he expressed frustration with local officials’ lack of action on the issue.

To date, 18 out of Maryland’s 23 counties provide some form of tax relief to municipalities. Kent County, Wicomico and Worcester counties are the only three counties who do not. Kent County already imposes the highest property taxes anywhere on Delmarva and the highest property taxes on town in Maryland.

At A February 6th special public meeting Foster discussed a tax study conducted for the Town by the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland. The study found that the county is overtaxing Chestertown by 10-15 percent.

Complicating the county’s financial landscape, however, is the implementation of The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, also known as the Kirwan Plan, a multi-billion-dollar initiative aimed at improving public education. The program is expected to cost Kent County an additional $1.3 million, adding pressure to an already strained budget.

Foster points to Centreville in Queen Anne’s County as a model for Kent to follow. Queen Anne’s successfully negotiated a 15% reduction in county taxes through a tax differential set-off, offering relief to municipal taxpayers.

The Mayor urges Kent County officials to consider similar measures to ensure fair taxation for its residents.

The Spy recently talked with the Mayor about the upcoming meeting and the need for the community’s support.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.

Butterflies and moths, with their vibrant colors and intricate patterns, are more than just enchanting creatures flitting through our world. They play a pivotal role as pollinators, and are important for the reproduction of numerous flowering plants. Butterflies and moths are also a source of inspiration and research for scientists. PBS NOVA recently did a segment on the technological insights that we can gain from butterflies. The show inspired this column after I discovered that there is even more that we could learn from butterflies.

Butterflies or moths dart about for only three weeks to six months, depending on the species and environmental conditions. Despite their brief existence, butterflies offer important insights into the natural world’s intricacies. Science has explored the nanoscopic structure of butterflies’ and moths’ wings and antennae, uncovering secrets that can advance our own technology.

The best-known product from moths and butterflies is silk, produced by the Bombyx moth caterpillar, also referred to as a silkworm. Each caterpillar can spin up to a mile of silk fiber, which has long been a staple in the textile industry.

Silk moth (Bombyx mori), reared in captivity.

However, silk’s utility extends beyond clothing. Scientists have identified two primary proteins in silk: fibroin and sericin. At Tufts University, researchers are looking at fibroin for potential medical applications. By dissolving the fibroin protein in water and subsequently removing the water, they can create a versatile substance that is either flexible for bandages or as hard as Kevlar for medical implants. This natural material does not trigger inflammatory responses, making it well-suited for medicine. Current research is exploring its use as surgical screws.

There is even more that we can learn from the Bombyx moth. The antenna of the male is so sensitive to scent that it can detect a female 6 miles away. Simulating the antenna’s nanostructure, scientists hope to be able to detect dangerous compounds (e.g., sarin) from a distance. Attached to drones, a sensilla structure (which is used by the moths to detect scents) could warn the general population of contaminants or dangerous chemicals from miles away.

There is even more. Scientists have also identified cocoonase, an enzyme in the Bombyx and other butterflies and moths that breaks down blood clots in the test tube. Like fibroin, it is compatible with human biology and could dissolve blood clots in the human body.

That is a lot for one species. But another species, the beloved male Blue Morpho butterfly is equally intriguing to scientists.

The iridescent blue wings of the male Blue Morpho butterflies have long fascinated people and scientists. The Blue Morpho does not use pigment to create its bright blue iridescent color on its wings. Rather than absorb and reflect certain light wavelengths as pigments and dyes do, their wings have a layered microstructure that causes light waves to hit the surface of the wing to diffract and interfere with each other so that certain color wavelengths cancel out while others, such as blue, are intensified and reflected. The Morpho’s colors are a structural color, reflecting only blue light due to the wings’ unique nanostructure. At the University of Rochester, researchers are studying this phenomenon to develop light-absorbing materials for solar panels. By mimicking the Morpho butterfly’s nanostructure, they can create an absolute black which will increase solar panel efficiency by 130%.

A technology known as plasmonic color display screen is made up of self-assembled nanostructures based on the Blue Morpho’s wing structure. These screens reflect light to create a more natural look and use less energy. The technology mimics the technique used by male Morpho butterflies to create color by scattering and reflecting light on the microstructures on their wings.

Another beautiful species can also contribute to solar technology. The Glass Wing butterfly has wings that are transparent without reflectivity. This is not currently available in transparent materials that we use, for example, glass has approximately a 10% reflectivity. Like the nanostructure of the Blue Morpho butterfly, the transparent wing nanostructure of the Glass Wing butterfly has significant implications for solar technology. By eliminating reflectivity, solar panels can absorb more light, improving their efficiency.

The nanotechnology of the Glass Wing butterfly wing can also be used in cell phones, tablets, and other devices to eliminate glare.

At Caltech, scientists are also investigating the nanotechnology behind the Glass Wing butterfly’s transparency to create eye implants that monitor the progression of glaucoma.

Another butterfly can help us with the design of more efficient solar panels. The common cabbage white butterfly’s wing structure allows it to efficiently use the sun’s rays to warm its body. The configuration of the cabbage white wing can be combined with butterfly nanostructures to further improve the efficiency of solar panels.

All butterfly wings possess a natural ability to repel water, absorb heat, and control the flow of vapors. Scientists are looking into that nanostructure for other applications. A butterfly cannot survive with water on its wings, so its wings have a unique microstructure that repels water and cleans the wing. Understanding these nanostructure properties could have far-reaching technical applications, including the construction of ships with water-repellent surfaces and metals that “float.” This unique nanostructure also has applications in self-cleaning surfaces, protective clothing, and sensors.

Another special butterfly is the Green Hairstreak butterfly, which is native to areas from the UK to Siberia. The Green Hairstreak’s wing has one important difference from other butterflies. Its nanostructure forms a unique optical material. This structure allows the splitting of circular polarized light and can be used in telecommunications for developing integrated photonic circuits for optical communications, imaging, computing and sensing.

Wow.

From medical applications to solar energy advancements to non-glare screens, butterflies can guide us toward a future where technology takes advantage of the evolution of the natural world. As we continue to unravel the mysteries of butterflies, we enhance our own technological capabilities, and deepen our appreciation of these beautiful insects.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Sections

More