Interviews

On this week's 1430 Connection, WNAV's Donna Cole focuses on the Environmental Committee of the Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC). Donna's guest is Heidi Rothenhaus, chair of AYC's Environmental Committee. They discuss the work being done on Spa Creek and beyond that the committee is doing, including growing and distributing spat - a lot of it. Also discussed are creek cleanups, involvement with local environmental groups/projects, environmental education in AYC's camps, green design elements in AYC's buildings and around the properties, plus a whole lot more.

We had the opportunity to visit the HMS Queen Elizabeth today. Take a look at all that we saw and heard on the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier, currently anchored in the Chesapeake Bay.

On this week's 1430 Connection, WNAV's Donna Cole focuses on the Eastern Shore, sea level rise, erosion and resiliency. Donna's guest is Jim Bass, coastal resilience manager for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC). Topics include salt water intrusion on farms, how property owners can help preserve their land for decades to come, rip rap, phragmites, conservation easements and yes, another bay crossing.

For more information on ESLC, visit https://www.eslc.org/

On this week's 1430 Connection, WNAV's Donna Cole focuses on Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Joining Donna in the studio are Dr. Mike Gavin, AACC's vice president for learning, and Tara Carew, financial aid director for the school. It is college application season - a big part of that is financial aid and what's available. The conversation includes the benefits to starting at a community college - academic and financial. Also, the Maryland College Promise - what it is, who qualifies for it and how to apply for it.

For more information on Anne Arundel Community College, visit https://www.aacc.edu/

For more information on the Maryland College Promise, visit https://mhec.state.md.us/preparing/Pages/FinancialAid/ProgramDescriptions/prog_MDCommunityCollegePromiseScholarship.aspx

On this week's 1430 Connection, WNAV's Donna Cole focuses on Bob Nilsson and the 100 Entrepreneurs Project. Nilsson is the president and founder of the Entrepreneurs Project, which provides wounded veterans, their caregivers/families, with stepping stones to their next career. Nilsson is a veteran himself, having served with the U.S. Marine Corps during Vietnam. After his service was over, he worked at Turner Construction Company and became the president of the Turner International group. While he was with Turner and in the years since his retirement, his commitment to helping veterans navigate that uncertain period of time between active duty and their next chapter has been Nilsson's mission.

For more information on 100 Entrepreneurs Project, visit https://www.100entrepreneurs.org/

Two Bald Eagle Rescues in Two Days for Recently Retired Maryland Natural Resources Police Officer

Sunday began with pouring rain in Anne Arundel County and for one injured bald eagle that meant having no place for cover, unable to move from a farm field in Lothian.

A homeowner on the property called the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about the bird. Colleen Layton-Robbins, founder and director of Frisky’s Wildlife and Primate Sanctuary, a Woodstock-based nonprofit, which specializes in rescue and rehabilitation of injured, orphaned, abandoned or displaced wildlife, said she got a call from DNR, then called Michael Lathroum.

It was a familiar scenario for both Frisky’s and Lathroum – there was another bald eagle that required a rescue in Pasadena on Friday. Layton-Robbins called Lathroum on that one too.

Lathroum, a resident of Linthicum, is recently retired as a Maryland Natural Resources Police officer and has done many wildlife rescues during his career - it seems retirement hasn’t stopped him from continuing to help our natural resources.

According to Layton-Robbins, the bald eagle is at Frisky’s now. It has a wing injury, possible rotator cuff issue, has a good appetite and will be seen by Chadwell Animal Hospital on Monday.

For more information on Frisky's Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary, Inc. or to help them continue doing what they do, visit http://www.friskys.org/

On this week's 1430 Connection, WNAV's Donna Cole focuses on Brigitte McKee, who has metastatic breast cancer. Brigitte is a Navy veteran and mother of two young children. She shares what she's been through with breast cancer and the local organizations that have helped her through it. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and for those diagnosed with breast cancer and their family members, knowing who to turn to for help and wellness is extremely important.

To help Brigitte with the voluntary leave transfer program, contact John Oliver at the U.S. Naval Academy Human Resources Office.

For more information about the Annapolis Dragon Boat Club, visit https://annapolisdragonboatclub.org/

For more information about the Wellness House of Annapolis, visit https://www.annapoliswellnesshouse.org/

For more information about Casting for Recovery, visit https://castingforrecovery.org/

For more information about METAvivor, visit https://www.metavivor.org/about-us/

Several students from Kent High School had the opportunity to build reef balls today at school. Students from Queen Anne's County Public Schools (QACPS) will build 200 reef balls over two school years - 100 at Kent Island School, where we visited today. And another 100 will be built at Queen Anne's County High School.

These reef balls will be used to create an artificial reef in the water off of the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC), which provided support for the project. Additional support came from Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, ShoreRivers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Our students are learning by doing and protecting our natural resources due to the generous contributions of expertise, funding, time and energy of our partners. I am so proud of all they will accomplish together," said QACPS Superintendent Dr. Andrea M. Kane.

On this week's 1430 Connection, Torrey Snow joins WNAV's Donna Cole for a discussion about race relations, local politics and a meeting held about the achievement gap by the Anne Arundel County Executive. Snow offers a perspective from a man that grew up in rural America, lives in North Anne Arundel County currently, a registered republican and former candidate for Anne Arundel County Council.

A Tree Grows in Annapolis

This is the story of a tree. A single tree. But at the same time, it's much more than that. It's about a man and his relationship with nature, about a community and about the loss of a specific type of tree within that community.