Dietary experts have long preached that children should be taught healthy eating habits early on. Baltimore City schools have hit on an approach that would work well in school systems throughout Maryland.
Meatless Mondays is a campaign to teach students the value of healthy eating. Instead of a meat entree on Monday, the schools serve vegetables, cheese sandwiches, no-sugar-added peanut butter and pasta dishes.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the school system has its own organic farm, where children visit or help to grow vegetables. The idea is to show kids healthy eating can be fun and different.
Until the mid-1960s, Catholic school children, as well as their parents, routinely went without meat on Fridays because of church guidelines. But the rules were relaxed and today Catholics are asked to refrain from eating meat only on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent....
Maryland lawmakers have lost a small perk in the midst of state budget cuts. The legislature is ending its free E-Z Pass program that allowed lawmakers to go through toll booths for free.
The issue of free tolls came to light in the Maryland Politics Watch blog recently. The blog noted that the passes were still in use even though the Maryland Transportation Department had just imposed additional monthly fees on everyone else....
Uniontown, Pa., is another community struggling with fire department cutbacks. Thirteen paid firefighters may lose their jobs and the mayor, Ed Fike, has said a total of 25 furloughs may be needed to balance the budget, according to a report by FireFightingNews.
In Manitowoc, Wis., city officials are considering whether to charge car owners a fee if their vehicle spills chemicals on the road that the fire department cleans up....
Cape Air commuter service officials in Hagerstown are more than happy with the results of its shuttle between the Hub City and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshal Airport.
From March 24, when the service began, through Aug. 30, 2,750 passengers took the trip (counting each one-way trip separately). “As far as the initial response, we couldn’t be happier. The community support has been terrific,” spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said.
The Hagerstown Herald-Mail said the service is part of the Essential Air Service program, which provides a federal subsidy to link rural communities with larger hub airports. The subsidy was set to expire at the end of September but has been extended through March 2010....
TV viewers who are annoyed at the loud volume of some commercials may soon get some relief. Congress is considering the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM), which would establish standards for commercial volume levels.....
The Times-News will publish its annual Homecoming Memories and Rivalries section on Tuesday, Oct. 27.....
While Cumberland still is in need of permanent restroom facilities for Friday After Five and the many other activities, Hancock recently saw delivery of a pre-fab bathroom building for the town’s Joseph Hancock Jr. Park....
Seen on the Internet — Funny newspaper headlines:
• Cold wave linked to temperatures
• Kicking baby considered to be healthy
• New study of obesity looks for larger test group
• Child’s death ruins couple’s holiday
• Never withhold herpes from loved one
• Milk drinkers are turning to powder
Jan Alderton is managing editor of the Cumberland Times-News. His email address is jpalderton@times-news.com.
Jan Alderton - Opinion
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Meatless Mondays hit the spot
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Internet sales tax coming?
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Frederick may lose postal jobs
At one time, it appeared that U.S. Postal Service jobs in Cumberland would be moved to Frederick. But the agency couldn’t justify the move, so now it is considering moving Frederick’s operations to Baltimore.
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Their days are numbered
Incandescent light bulbs and mercury thermometers — long staples of everyday life — are nearing extinction in the United States.
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Why not ask those who know?
Instead of considering another survey about the condition of its streets, the city of Cumberland should turn to its own employees for input.
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Let’s test your memory
How is your recollection of major local news events of the past year?
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Talking turkey (and more)
While researching Cumberland Evening Times files for some information on local historical sites, I ran across several items that gave a glimpse of local Thanksgiving observances 90 or so years ago.
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eEdition generates interest
Although it been less than two weeks since it was launched, the Cumberland Times-News eEdition is generating a lot of interest.
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Meetings: Still only partial sunshine
On March 15, 1973, The Cumberland News — which was the morning newspaper published by the Times-News — carried the following column written by me about the need for more open government in Maryland.
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We’ll get a break this winter
Amidst one of the hottest summers on record comes a forecast for how much snow we might expect this coming winter.
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Guess who’s 60? Beetle!
A Deep Creek Lake house recently sold for $3.5 million — a record for the Western Maryland resort spot.
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Internet sales tax coming?
