Blue Crabs in times of recession

The local blue crab season officially opens every year on April 1st. This year it couldn’t come soon enough for crab house owner Richard Smith, 49, owner of Seafood Stop in Fallston, Maryland.

Every year Marylanders wait patiently for heavy, sweet, local blue crabs. This year crab house owners throughout Maryland are hurting for customers due to the recession.

“We carry Louisiana crabs throughout the winter, but because of freight costs the crabs are almost double the price than Maryland crabs,” Smith said. “People can’t afford to spend over $50 dollars for a dozen of crabs; they need to conserve their money in times like these.”

The start of local crab season always stirs excitement for die hard crab fans. The prices of local crabs are cheaper, and the qualities are better than out-of-state crabs.

“We run specials at the Seafood Stop during the week in the summer; you can get crabs for $1 a piece,” Smith said.

Despite the news coverage on the condition of the Chesapeake Bay and the population of the blue crab, this year looks like it will be a great year for heavy sweet crabs.

“In past years, the news has scared people away from eating crabs, saying that if we over fish them there will be none left for future generations,” Smith said. “Last year the state changed the law so now commercial crabbers have a shorter period to crab female crabs, in hopes to protect the crab population.”

Smith is looking forward to this year’s local crab season and hoping his business picks up relatively quickly. It has been a long and slow winter for crab house owners in Maryland.

So whether you’re celebrating Memorial Day or just a sunny afternoon, stop by your local crab house and get some of them hot, sweet, local crabs, hon. Your local crab house owner will appreciate your business and you will definitely enjoy those crabs!

WALL

A 10-day-old baby survived a tragedy Thursday after a woman started a one alarm fire by spraying insecticide from an aerosol can which caused a wall to collapse on the newborn's crib, officials said.

Arnetta Sands, 36, of the 200 block of North Aisquith Street, was spraying an aerosol can by her nearby stove when it caused a combustion and ignited a fire. The fire caused the wall between her apartment and the neighbors to collapse from the explosion and land on the baby, Andre Henderson, in his crib.

The incident occurred shortly after midnight while the baby was already sleeping. Firefighters soon removed the portion of the wall off of the crib, fire investigators said.

The fire was said to be accidental, police said. Sands suffered first degree burns on her body and was treated and released from Hopkins.

HOLD UP

Three male suspects robbed the Provident Savings Bank on Greenmount Avenue Tuesday afternoon according to Baltimore City Police.

The three suspects entered the bank around noon. While one pointed his .22 caliber sawed-off rifle at the back managers, the other suspects ordered everyone else to lie on the floor.

The suspects then ransacked several tellers safes and emptied money into pillow cases.

The suspected fled with an undisclosed amount of cash with no arrests made in connections with the robbery Baltimore City police said.

Ballroom Dancing

Tuesday begun the third season of America’s favorite ballroom dancing competition, Dancing With The Stars.

“Ballroom dancing has become a new hobby of mine,” said Mary Cumberland, 54, senior project manager of Housing and Urban Development. “It is a good form of exercise as well as a way to relax after a long day of work.”

Classes are now available at many locations, including local gyms and dance studios.

“I attend classes twice a week at my local gym,” Cumberland said.

Recent trends show that ballroom dancing is becoming popular among many different age groups.

Post 2- Children Who Have Become Caregivers

Children Who Have Become Caregivers

LANTANA, Fla. – Throughout the United States, children are recently becoming more of a caregiver rather than the care receiver. Children often younger than 15, are helping take care of their sick parents and grandparents. These responsibilities are often tasks that a parent would do for a child such as dressing, washing, feeding and medicating.
The effects on these caregiver children can be empowering or depressing. The stress that comes along with caring for a sick person is not something a child should have to go through.
Teachers are now supposed to know the signs that say a child is a caregiver at home. Often parents will be hesitant and embarrassed to tell anyone that they need help from a child. Teachers often can detect an uncertainty in a child when something isn’t going well at home.
Due to the state of the economy, parents and grandparents cannot afford to pay for help. The child is free health care.
No child should have to lose out on their childhood because their family could not afford care giving help. It is saddening that more and more children will have to grow up in a home with a sick guardian. Without the child’s help, where would these families be?

Post 1- Children Take on Role of Caregivers

Children Take on Role of Caregivers
LANTANA, Fla. – Throughout the United States, children are recently becoming more of a caregiver rather than the care receiver. Children often younger than 15, are helping take care of their sick parents and grandparents. These responsibilities are often tasks that a parent would do for a child such as dressing, washing, feeding and medicating.
Children may experience a sense of self worth from taking care of their elders or experience depression and low self esteem. Often times school is left behind when a child has to spend a majority of their day helping their family.
Less than 3% of families are living with a child caregiver, but studies suggest that these numbers will rise as long as our country is facing a recession.
There are different organizations that have stepped up to the plate to help these children cope with being a caregiver. The Caregiving Youth Project prides itself on helping children out who may feel lost and depressed due to caring for their sick family member.