Top Ten Leader Stories of 2012
By Jay Friess
Editor
This year, we saw new development come to Lexington Park, controversies swirl around Naval Air Station Patuxent River programs, the fiscal cliff threaten the local economy and a giant hurricane sweep through the area. It wasn’t the end of the world, but 2012 was one for the books.
Here are the top ten news and opinion articles that appeared on the Lexington Park Leader, written by us and selected by you, our readers.
10) Cherry Cove Launches Revival of Great Mills Road
The landscape of Great Mills Road changed dramatically this year with the demolition of the old Besche gas station and Mike’s Bar, events funded by the Community Development Corporation. However, it wasn’t until the September meeting of the Lexington Park Business and Community Association when Cherry Cove Properties gave a hint of its long-term plans for a complete overhaul of the area. Cherry Cove later expounded on their their plans for the East Run development, which include a new housing development, a community center and retail spaces.
The ongoing development woes surrounding the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter have raised Pax River’s highest profile testing program to the level of national political football. A January report, issued by the Pentagon’s Developmental Test and Evaluation office, fanned the flames of debate over the future of the aircraft. Lockheed’s test pilots stepped up to defend their project.
8) Verizon Store and Cantina Coming to Lexington Park
While Cherry Cove’s plans for Great Mills Road are a tantalizing look at the future, this March story promised more immediate changes to Lexington Park’s landscape. The Verizon Store is still under construction, but Coco Cantina has opened for business.
7) Pentagon Wants to Preserve Rapid Prototyping Ability
One of the sleeper issues facing the St. Mary’s County economy is the coming reduction of federal war funding for unmanned aircraft. The Patuxent Partnership and the Association of Naval Aviation’s Squadron #18 held a panel in May with representatives from the Pentagon to discuss moving this programs into a more permanent funding arrangement.
6) NAVAIR Leadership Seeks to Clarify Budget Cut Rumors
“Drawdown.” “Sequestration.” “Fiscal cliff.” However you spell it, the reality is that the federal government is planning to put less money into the defense industry this coming decade, and that has caused a lot of uneasiness in Lexington Park this year. The Naval Air Systems Command brass gathered with contractors in July to try to calm fears and clarify their plans for coming budget reductions.
5) Pax River Limits Hours on Gate 3, Despite Pleas
As the Navy has prepared to take hits on next year’s defense budget, it has been tightening its belt at bases around the country. Pax River was no exception. In September, the base announced that it would be reducing the hours of Gate 3 at Pax River and at the pass office at Webster Field. It was not a popular decision.
4) F-35 Machinists Strike to Protest Lockheed Contract
A good, old-fashioned picket line manifested outside of Pax River’s gates in April as members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had a showdown with Lockheed Martin over their latest contract negotiation.
3) Hurricane Sandy’s 1st High Tide at St. George Island
Could any Top 10 news list this year not include Hurricane Sandy? The ginormous hurricane buffeted and soaked Southern Maryland in October but largely spared it before going on to trash the coasts of New Jersey and New York. Our intrepid publisher Viki Volk stayed on St. George’s Island to document Sandy’s impressive tidal forces.
2) Law Could Alert Navy on New Wind Turbines
The proposal to construct wind farms off the coast of Eastern Shore caused a lot of concern for radar operators at the Atlantic Test Range, based at Pax River. New windmills had the potential to scramble the signals of radars that Pax River uses to track test aircraft. A coalition of Southern Maryland legislators managed to get a law passed at this year’s Maryland General Assembly session that requires counties to notify the Navy if they are about to approve new windmills in order to give the Navy a chance to inspect the plans.
Who knew that so many of you really want a new movie theater in Lexington Park? Our publisher knew, and she felt compelled to write in July about why we haven’t gotten one, why we aren’t going to get one and why we don’t need one.
Have a great 2013!
