Queen Anne’s County Library has been expanding efforts to get more services to incarcerated individuals at Queen Anne’s County Detention Center. This project, funded by an $11,000 grant from the Library Services and Technology Act. Since September 2023, when the first order was submitted, the library has delivered approximately 650 new books, replacing a large... Read more

A camper went up in flames Thursday morning in Chestertown. WBOC reports at approximately 4:45am, a fire broke out at 500 Double Creek Pt. Road. The incident was described as a fire in a “30′ aluminum camper with attached living quarters”. According to state fire officials, the fire, which was discovered by the owner, took... Read more

Three out-of-state men were charged by the Chestertown Police Department for the theft of Pride flags and other rainbow-themed items taken from the Emmanuel Church on Cross Street during the weekend of the Juneteenth celebration, June 15, 16. The Kent County News reports in all, nine victims of theft were identified. The crimes occurred on... Read more

In Rock Hall, Ferry Park Beach Boardwalk will be closed Monday, July 29th through Thursday, August 1st (daytime only) for the Boardwalk to be replaced thanks to the Parks & Recreation Beach Grant from 2021. If you have any questions, please call the Town Office at 410-639-7611.

A man is charged in Queen Anne’s County with driving under the influence. Authorities say 43 year old Steven Lunczynski was pulled over late at night on July 18th for failing to maintain his lane. The deputy who made the stop detected alcohol on the driver’s break and administered a field sobriety test, which he... Read more

Heron Point’s riverfront garden has met the criteria of a Certified Wildlife Habitat® as established by the National Wildlife Federation. The Evening Enterprise reports the area has been transformed into a sustainable native garden that supports a variety of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, bees and frogs. According to a news release, the National Wildlife Federation... Read more

The Queen Anne’s County Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve “re-including” 101 acres of property on Piney Creek Road owned by Chesterhaven Beach Partnership, LLP back into the Chester Growth Area. The Bay Times & Record Observer reports Chesterhaven Beach Partnership, LLP submitted a Reconsideration Comprehensive Rezoning Request to add to the Chester Growth Area and... Read more

Queen Anne’s County has now accumulated upwards of 90,000 acres of preserved agricultural land, pending the settlement of an additional 1,830 acres. County Commissioners have made land preservation a top priority in recent years, dedicating over $1 million this year to the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation program, which, after the state match, resulted in... Read more

A Chestertown pediatrician surrendered his license to practice in Maryland. The Kent County News reports Julio Ramirez, formerly head of his private practice at 6602 Church Hill Road in Chestertown, is being sued by a Kent County woman seeking relief from the court for physical, psychological and emotional injuries she said she incurred while seeking... Read more

Schools across Queen Anne’s County Public Schools have raised more than $16,000 during recent fundraising efforts for the American Heart Association. Seven schools took part in the efforts including Kent Island Elementary School, Bayside Elementary School, Centreville Elementary School, Grasonville Elementary School, Kennard Elementary School, Centreville Middle School and Sudlersville Middle School.

California’s largest active fire exploded in size on Friday evening, growing rapidly amid bone-dry fuel and threatening thousands of homes as firefighters scrambled to meet the danger.

The Park Fire’s intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.

More than 130 structures have been destroyed by this fire so far, and thousands more are threatened as evacuations were ordered in four counties — Butte, Plumas, Tehama and Shasta. It stood at 374 square miles (967 square kilometers) on Friday night and was moving quickly north and east after igniting Wednesday when authorities said a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then calmly blended in with others fleeing the scene.

“There’s a tremendous amount of fuel out there and it’s going to continue with this rapid pace,” Cal Fire incident commander Billy See said at a briefing. He said the fire was advancing up to 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) an hour on Friday afternoon.

Officials at Lassen Volcanic National Park evacuated staff from Mineral, a community of about 120 people where the park headquarters are located, as the fire moved north toward Highway 36 and east toward the park.

Communities elsewhere in the U.S. West and Canada were under siege Friday, from a fast-moving blaze sparked by lightning sent people fleeing on fire-ringed roads in rural Idaho to a new blaze that was causing evacuations in eastern Washington.

In eastern Oregon, a pilot was found dead in a small air tanker plane that crashed while fighting one of the many wildfires spreading across several Western states.

More than 110 active fires covering 2,800 square miles (7,250 square kilometers) were burning in the U.S. on Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Some were caused by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the region endures record heat and bone-dry conditions.

The fire in eastern Washington was threatening homes, the railroad, Interstate 90 and the community of Tyler, which was evacuated Friday. The Columbia Basin fire in Spokane County closed part of Highway 904 between the interstate and Cheney. Multiple planes, helicopters and fire personnel were working hard to contain the fire, according to the Washington State Patrol.

In Chico, California, Carli Parker is one of hundreds who fled their homes as the Park Fire pushed close. Parker decided to leave her Forest Ranch residence with her family when the fire began burning across the street. She has previously been forced out of two homes by fire, and she said she had little hope that her residence would remain unscathed.

“I think I felt like I was in danger because the police had come to our house because we had signed up for early evacuation warnings, and they were running to their vehicle after telling us that we need to self-evacuate and they wouldn’t come back,” said Parker, a mother of five.

Ronnie Dean Stout, 42, of Chico, was arrested early Thursday in connection with the blaze and held without bail pending a Monday arraignment, officials said. There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether the suspect had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf.

Fire crews were making progress on another complex of fires burning in the Plumas National Forest near the California-Nevada line, said Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman. Most of the 1,000 residents evacuated by the lightning-sparked Gold Complex fires were returning home Friday. Some crews were peeling off to help battle the Park Fire.

“As evidenced by the (Park) fire to the West, some of these fires are just absolutely exploding and burning at rates of spread that it is just hard to even imagine,” Tim Hike, Forest Service incident commander of the Gold Complex fire about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Reno, said Friday. “The fire does not look that bad right up until it does. And then that just might be too late.”

Forest Ranch evacuee Sherry Alpers, fled with her 12 small dogs and made the decision to stay in her car outside a Red Cross shelter in Chico after learning that animals would not be allowed inside. She ruled out traveling to another shelter after learning the dogs would be kept in cages, since her dogs have always roamed free at her home.

Alpers said she doesn’t know whether the fire spared her home or not, but she said that as long as her dogs are safe, she doesn’t care about the material things.

“I’m kind of worried, but not that much,” she said. “If it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Brian Bowles was also staying in his car outside the shelter with his dog Diamon. He said he doesn’t know if his mobile home is still standing.

Bowles said he only has a $100 gift card he received from United Way, which handed them out to evacuees.

“Now the question is, do I get a motel room and comfortable for one night? Or do I put gas in the car and sleep in here?” he said. “Tough choice.”

In Oregon, a Grant County Search and Rescue team on Friday morning located a small single-engine air tanker that had disappeared while fighting the 219-square-mile (567 square kilometers) Falls Fire burning near the town of Seneca and the Malheur National Forest. The pilot died, said Bureau of Land Management information officer Lisa Clark. No one else was aboard the bureau-contracted aircraft when it went down in steep, forested terrain.

The most damage so far has been to the Canadian Rockies’ Jasper National Park, where a fast-moving wildfire forced 25,000 people to flee and devastated the park’s namesake town, a World Heritage site.

In Idaho, lightning strikes sparked fast-moving wildfires and the evacuation of multiple communities. The fires were burning on about 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) Friday afternoon.

Videos posted to social media include a man who said he heard explosions as he fled Juliaetta, about 27 miles (43 kilometers) southeast of the University of Idaho’s campus in Moscow. The town of just over 600 residents was evacuated Thursday just ahead of roaring fires, as were several other communities near the Clearwater River and the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Complex, which breeds salmon.

There’s no estimate yet on the number of buildings burned in Idaho, nor is there information about damage to urban communities, officials said Friday morning.

Oregon still has the biggest active blaze in the United States, the Durkee Fire, which combined with the Cow Fire to burn nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers). It remains unpredictable and was only 20% contained Friday, according to the government website InciWeb.

The National Interagency Fire Center said more than 27,000 fires have burned more than 5,800 square miles (15,000 square kilometers) in the U.S. this year, and in Canada, more than 8,000 square miles (22,800 square kilometers) have burned in more than 3,700 fires so far, according to its National Wildland Fire Situation Report issued Wednesday.

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Associated Press writers Holly Ramer, Sarah Brumfield, Claire Rush, Terry Chea, Scott Sonner, Martha Bellisle and Amy Hanson contributed to this report.

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CHICAGO (AP) — “ Brats for Harris.” “ We need a Kamalanomenon. ” “ Gen Z feels the Kamalove.”

In the days since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Gen Z voters jumped to social media to share coconut tree and “brat summer” memes — reflecting a stark shift in tone for a generation that’s voiced feeling left behind by the Democratic party.

Youth-led progressive organizations have warned for months that Biden had a problem with young voters, pleading with the president to work more closely with them to refocus on the issues most important to younger generations or risk losing their votes. With Biden out of the race, many of these young leaders are now hoping Harris can overcome his faltering support among Gen Z and harness a new explosion of energy among young voters.

Since Sunday, statements have poured out from youth-led organizations across the country, including in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, as leaders thanked Biden for stepping aside and celebrated the opportunity to organize around a new candidate. On Friday, a coalition of 17 youth-led groups endorsed Harris.

“This changes everything,” said Zo Tobi, director of donor organizing for the national youth organizing group Movement Voter Project, when he heard the news that Biden was dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris. “The world as it is suddenly shifted into the world as it could be.”

As the campaign enters a new phase, both Harris and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, are expected to target messages aimed at younger voters who could prove decisive in some of the most hotly contested states. Trump spoke late Friday at a Turning Point USA conference and Harris plans to deliver a virtual address Saturday to Voters of Tomorrow, an organization focused on young voters.

John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, who has worked with Biden, said the “white-hot energy” among young people is something he hasn’t seen since former President Barack Obama’s campaign. While there’s little reliable polling so far, he described the dynamic as “a combination of the hopefulness we saw with Obama and the urgency and fight we saw after the Parkland shooting.”

In many ways, it was the first time many young people felt heard and felt like their actions could have an impact on politics, he and several young leaders said.

“It’s reset this election in profound ways,” he said. “People, especially young people, for so long, for so many important reasons have been despondent about politics, despondent about the direction of the country. It’s weighed on them. And then they wake up the next morning, and it seems like everything’s changed.”

About 6 in 10 adults under 30 voted for Biden in 2020, according to AP VoteCast, but his ratings with the group have dipped substantially since then, with only about a quarter of the group saying they had a favorable opinion of him in the most recent AP-NORC poll, conducted before Biden withdrew from the race.

That poll, along with polls from The New York Times/Siena and from CNN that were conducted after Biden dropped out, suggest that Harris starts off with somewhat better favorable ratings than Biden among young adults.

Sunjay Muralitharan, vice president of College Democrats of America, said it felt like a weight was lifted off his chest when Harris entered the race.

Despite monthly coalition calls between youth-led groups and the Biden campaign, Muralitharan spent months worrying about how Biden would fare among young voters as he watched young people leave organizations such as the College Democrats and Young Democrats to join more leftist groups.

College Democrats issued statements and social media posts encouraging the party to prioritize young people and to change course on the war in Gaza and have “worked tirelessly to get College Dems programming” at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this summer. But they received limited outreach in return, Muralitharan said.

A Harris campaign represents an opportunity to move in a new direction, he said. The vice president has shown her vocal support for issues important to young voters such as climate change and reproductive rights, Muralitharan said, adding that she may also be able to change course and distance herself from Biden’s approach to the war in Gaza.

“The perpetual roadblock we’ve run into is that Biden is the lesser of two evils and his impact on the crisis in Gaza,” he said. “For months, we’ve been given this broken script that’s made it difficult for us to organize young voters. But that changes now.”

Santiago Mayer, executive director of the Gen Z voter engagement organization Voters of Tomorrow, said the Biden campaign “created an entirely new framework for operating with youth organizations” that can now be transitioned into supporting Harris’ campaign.

“Gen Z loves VP Harris, and VP Harris loves Gen Z,” he said. “So we’re ready to get to work for her.”

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