https://chestertownspy.org Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown Thu, 08 May 2025 15:29:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/08/spy-art-review-photorealism-at-the-academy-by-steve-parks/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/08/spy-art-review-photorealism-at-the-academy-by-steve-parks/#respond Thu, 08 May 2025 15:29:17 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=184055 “Urban Landscapes,” the subtitle of the new photorealism exhibit at Easton’s Academy Art Museum, has been the subject of Richard Estes’ lifelong career as a fine art painter.’ Estes, now 92, studied art at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, starting in 1952 when his family moved to Illinois. By the early 1960s, the art-world […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/08/spy-art-review-photorealism-at-the-academy-by-steve-parks/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/the-question-is-not-how-trump-is-doing-but-how-we-are-doing-by-al-sikes/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/the-question-is-not-how-trump-is-doing-but-how-we-are-doing-by-al-sikes/#comments Wed, 07 May 2025 13:30:03 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/the-question-is-not-how-trump-is-doing-but-how-we-are-doing-by-al-sikes/ Mea Culpa. I was at least partially wrong when I titled my book, circa 2019, Culture Leads Leaders Follow. A central point in the book: people who run for important elective office organize their brains and rhetoric around what is culturally acceptable. Or to put it another way, marketers of one sort or another and […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/the-question-is-not-how-trump-is-doing-but-how-we-are-doing-by-al-sikes/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/#comments Wed, 07 May 2025 12:30:01 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=184049 Sometimes I forget the sun will rise tomorrow even if the news is bad. Yes, we live in challenging, uncertain times that find Americans deeply divided and worried. And when I say worried, that means everyone these days, even the President’s supporters. But I also find that reading and writing about what I call “troubling […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/07/springtimes-blessings-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/words-of-wisdom-from-fran-lebowitz-some-things-to-think-about-by-maria-grant/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/words-of-wisdom-from-fran-lebowitz-some-things-to-think-about-by-maria-grant/#comments Tue, 06 May 2025 12:30:47 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=184037 The author, public speaker, and humorist Fran Lebowitz displayed an incredible amount of energy, wit, and wisdom at Saturday night’s Avalon performance in Easton. The evening was pure delight filled with frank and refreshingly honest comments about modern life and politics. Here are just a few of Fran’s viewpoints that I’ve been thinking about the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/words-of-wisdom-from-fran-lebowitz-some-things-to-think-about-by-maria-grant/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/boking-gloves-by-jmaie-kirkpatrick/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/boking-gloves-by-jmaie-kirkpatrick/#comments Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:21 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=184035 My memory is increasingly suspect these days, but this really happened. At least, I think it did… It was the summer of 1966, the months between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. I was heading north, part of a group of young volunteers organized by what was known at […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/06/boking-gloves-by-jmaie-kirkpatrick/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/05/whats-next-on-marylands-fiscal-challenges-by-david-reel/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/05/whats-next-on-marylands-fiscal-challenges-by-david-reel/#respond Mon, 05 May 2025 13:07:23 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/05/whats-next-o-marylands-fiscal-challenges-by-david-reel/ In my most recent column, I wrote about the following three thought-provoking news reports on Maryland’s bond ratings and fiscal policies that merit immediate attention of Governor Moore and the leadership of the General Assembly: Decisions by Moody’s to downgrade Maryland’s fiscal outlook from stable to negative for the first time since 2011. Unanswered questions […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/05/whats-next-on-marylands-fiscal-challenges-by-david-reel/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/03/the-governor-and-his-democrats-declared-war-on-maryland-taxpayers-by-clayton-mitchell/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/03/the-governor-and-his-democrats-declared-war-on-maryland-taxpayers-by-clayton-mitchell/#comments Sat, 03 May 2025 12:30:59 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183962 If you try to drive… I’ll tax the street If you try to sit…  I’ll tax your seat If you get too cold… I’ll tax the heat If you take a walk… I’ll tax your feet … Taxman! -The Beatles Governor Wes Moore once said raising taxes in Maryland would be a “high bar” for […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/03/the-governor-and-his-democrats-declared-war-on-maryland-taxpayers-by-clayton-mitchell/feed/ 3 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/01/gus-is-grieving-by-angela-rieck/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/01/gus-is-grieving-by-angela-rieck/#respond Thu, 01 May 2025 12:00:58 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183946 My dog, Gus, is grieving. He misses Annie, my cockapoo who died several weeks ago. I adopted Gus after I already had Annie, so he has only known a household with her. They were close, although they did not play together (neither of them learned play in their previous dwellings), they would sleep together and […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/05/01/gus-is-grieving-by-angela-rieck/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/kent-county-commissioners-take-aim-at-bureaucratic-gridlock-by-clayton-mitchell/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/kent-county-commissioners-take-aim-at-bureaucratic-gridlock-by-clayton-mitchell/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:30:37 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/kent-county-commissioners-take-aim-at-bureaucratic-gridlock-by-clayton-mitchell/ Kent County is fortunate to have commissioners willing to lead. Let us give credit where it is due: the April 15 meeting called by the Kent County Commissioners was a textbook example of local government doing its job. As Kent County News reporter Will Bontrager chronicled in detail, Commission President Ron Fithian and his colleagues […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/30/kent-county-commissioners-take-aim-at-bureaucratic-gridlock-by-clayton-mitchell/feed/ 6 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/one-step-forward-two-steps-back-by-maria-grant/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/one-step-forward-two-steps-back-by-maria-grant/#respond Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:30:39 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183907 It’s interesting to analyze the effects that various administrations have had on the current state of America. Of course, in a democracy, campaigns are built on the promise of change. Yet, how much sense does it make to take a wrecking ball to almost everything your predecessor has built? How about adopting the concept of […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/one-step-forward-two-steps-back-by-maria-grant/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/183900/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/183900/#respond Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:00:14 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183900 We see from afar. If we’re lucky, maybe we catch a brief glance, a quick peek, a first impression of something truly wondrous or beautiful, and sometimes that’s all we get. But what if we took the time to really focus our attention and inspect the details, to absorb all that there is to see […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/29/183900/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/28/letter-from-the-grave-by-al-sikes/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/28/letter-from-the-grave-by-al-sikes/#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:15:58 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/28/letter-from-the-grave-by-al-sikes/ Yevgeny Prigozhin, Founder of Russia’s Wagner Group June 1, 1961 to August 23, 2023 Cause of Death: Hand Grenade Detonated in Airplane Dear President Trump, “There was a time when my name would still be vivid. Not today. Events happen, splashes occur, and then the world moves on. I was once Page 1, now you […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/28/letter-from-the-grave-by-al-sikes/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/27/victory-garden-101-how-do-i-start-by-nancy-taylor-robson/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/27/victory-garden-101-how-do-i-start-by-nancy-taylor-robson/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:00:03 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183872 So, you want to start a victory garden. Or your version of it. What next? “You just put a trowel in the ground,” says Master Gardener Eileen Clements. “There’s almost no wrong away to begin.” Other Master Gardeners agree. Sara Bedwell is growing in buckets drilled with drainage holes. Deb Silberg starts seeds in reused […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/27/victory-garden-101-how-do-i-start-by-nancy-taylor-robson/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/26/balancing-justice-and-speed-in-constitutional-immigration-enforcement-by-clayton-mitchell/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/26/balancing-justice-and-speed-in-constitutional-immigration-enforcement-by-clayton-mitchell/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2025 12:30:30 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183849 When I wrote recently about the case of Abrego Garcia and the appearance of due process shortcomings that surround modern immigration enforcement, a volume of well-meaning comments flooded in, I invited thoughtful comments and criticisms, as the article showed my understanding of this complicated case and the governing law.  Several readers had valid criticisms (see […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/26/balancing-justice-and-speed-in-constitutional-immigration-enforcement-by-clayton-mitchell/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/what-does-the-bond-market-say-by-al-sikes/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/what-does-the-bond-market-say-by-al-sikes/#respond Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:30:08 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183805 Business markets are unsentimental. Leading investors don’t wear the hats of partisans. And they certainly don’t wear a MAGA hat—an adornment of emotion until President Trump pivots. Risk is measured, rated, and informs real-time investing and relatedly our various accounts of wealth. President Donald J Trump has decided to restructure international markets for goods and […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/what-does-the-bond-market-say-by-al-sikes/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/asteroid-2024-yr4-redux-by-angela-rieck/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/asteroid-2024-yr4-redux-by-angela-rieck/#respond Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:00:06 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183801 In February, I wrote about an asteroid (2024 YR4) that originally had a 3.1% projected chance of hitting the Earth in 2032. As its orbit became more predictable, this was lowered to virtually 0%. Recently they upgraded the chance of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting the Moon to 3.8%.  A team of astronomers recently studied the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/24/asteroid-2024-yr4-redux-by-angela-rieck/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/due-process-and-the-deportation-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-by-clayton-mitchell/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/due-process-and-the-deportation-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-by-clayton-mitchell/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:48:24 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/due-process-and-the-deportation-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-by-clayton-mitchell/ If one were to believe Senator Chris Van Hollen, the tale of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a constitutional melodrama fit for a Frank Capra screenplay—replete with high-minded allusions to liberty and due process, starring the senator himself as the stoic guardian of American ideals. But as with many modern tragedies staged for political theater, the […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/due-process-and-the-deportation-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-by-clayton-mitchell/feed/ 5 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/#respond Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:36:52 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183790 Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) disappointed me this week by telling constituents he supported Trump but wasn’t so sure on the tariffs.  I should not have been surprised, even a little.  McConnell, if nothing else is a party loyalist, someone I call a “congenital Republican.”  The term is not a compliment. While McConnell and close to […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/23/the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-by-j-e-dean/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/spring-cleaning-by-jamie-kirkpatrick/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/spring-cleaning-by-jamie-kirkpatrick/#respond Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:00:55 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=183779 It’s that time of year: some atavistic impulse kicks in and we all go off on a cleaning tear. Maybe we’re just shaking off the winter doldrums, or maybe it’s all that green pollen that coats everything, our noses and throats included. Or maybe it’s just that we want a clean, fresh start, and what […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/spring-cleaning-by-jamie-kirkpatrick/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/promises-promises-why-does-anyone-believe-what-a-politician-promises-by-maria-grant/ https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/promises-promises-why-does-anyone-believe-what-a-politician-promises-by-maria-grant/#respond Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:41:33 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/promises-promises-why-does-anyone-believe-what-a-politician-promises-by-maria-grant/ In his first term, Trump promised to build a wall that Mexico would pay for. He promised to repeal Obamacare. The Washington Post tracked sixty other pledges that Trump made in his first term. Let’s just say his track record is less than stellar. During the 2024 campaign, here are just a few of Trump’s […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2025/04/22/promises-promises-why-does-anyone-believe-what-a-politician-promises-by-maria-grant/feed/ 0