Thursday, January 27, 2011
Vote for Delmarva's Best!
What's Up? online magazine is asking you to vote for your favorite Eastern Shore spots to eat. Here's your chance to spotlight your favorite locally owned and operated restaurant. Visit What's Up? and cast your vote!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Welcome Island Transmissions and Powersports
Shop Local Delmarva welcomes Island Transmissions and Powersports to the family of locally owned and operated businesses. Located in Stevensville, Queen Annes County, MD, Island Transmissions and Powersports specializes in rebuilding transmissions, transaxles, differentials, and transfer cases and much more. With 20 years of experience in the automotive/marine service industry, they provide a full range of services from simple maintenance to the most complicated repairs on automobiles as well as boats, pwc’s, heavy duty and agricultural vehicles. Please let them know you found them on Shop Local Delmarva.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Raising chickens in Northampton County a no-no
Apparently, raising chickens in Northampton County on the lower Delmarva is not allowed. Who would have thought that raising chickens in a rural area was prohibited?
Locally owned businesses are over burdened with stiff regulations and often overlooked in local economic development plans. It's ironic how communities balk at allowing their neighbors to raise chickens, citing a need to protect the Bay or depreciating property values, but then welcome this big chains of Target, Walmart, Home Depot or even new housing developments.
A documentary airing on PBS quoted a fact that a single family home on one acre of land produces more pollution runoff to the Bay in a year than a two hundred acre farm. Unlike a farm that maintains a wooded buffer zone between its property and the watershed, the home has a paved driveway that leads to a paved street that allows runoff to flow directly to the Bay. Chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides used to maintain lawns and gardens and control pests, chemicals and cleaning solutions used to clean vehicles, patios, decks, and the outside of the house, improperly functioning septic systems, car exhaust and leaks on the pavement - all have a clear, unbuffered flow to the Bay.
Runoff from chicken farms can harm the Bay, but the problem can be minimized with strict enforcemnet of buffer zones between the farm and watersheds. It's a little harder to enforce effective buffer zones around shopping centers and housing developments. Northampton County, and all of Delmarva, should strive to keep and protect the small farms and ban the shopping centers and housing developments.
Please read another opinion provided by delmarvanow.com/The Daily Times.
Locally owned businesses are over burdened with stiff regulations and often overlooked in local economic development plans. It's ironic how communities balk at allowing their neighbors to raise chickens, citing a need to protect the Bay or depreciating property values, but then welcome this big chains of Target, Walmart, Home Depot or even new housing developments.
A documentary airing on PBS quoted a fact that a single family home on one acre of land produces more pollution runoff to the Bay in a year than a two hundred acre farm. Unlike a farm that maintains a wooded buffer zone between its property and the watershed, the home has a paved driveway that leads to a paved street that allows runoff to flow directly to the Bay. Chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides used to maintain lawns and gardens and control pests, chemicals and cleaning solutions used to clean vehicles, patios, decks, and the outside of the house, improperly functioning septic systems, car exhaust and leaks on the pavement - all have a clear, unbuffered flow to the Bay.
Runoff from chicken farms can harm the Bay, but the problem can be minimized with strict enforcemnet of buffer zones between the farm and watersheds. It's a little harder to enforce effective buffer zones around shopping centers and housing developments. Northampton County, and all of Delmarva, should strive to keep and protect the small farms and ban the shopping centers and housing developments.
Please read another opinion provided by delmarvanow.com/The Daily Times.
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