Swine flu breakout

You’ve heard it all over the news. The virus, swine flu (or the H1N1 virus) has become a worldwide pandemic. People in countries such as Britain are wearing protective masks in public areas as the media provides constant coverage on infected people and death tolls.

President Obama has issued a national concern for protecting the country against this virus but says not to be alarmed. Customs agents have been checking those entering the U.S. by land and air. Obama says he is getting regular updates from agencies and the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control are keeping Americans informed.

However, controversy has formed over remarks made by Vice President Joe Biden. During an interview today on NBC’s The Today Show, Biden commented, “I would tell members of my family—and I have—I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now,” and specifically mentioned American subway systems.

These suggestions are nearly impossible for many workers in the nation who rely on public transportation to take them to and from work each day. The travel industry, particularly, is displeased with Biden’s comments and advises travelers to listen to medical experts.

Are Biden’s comments over-the-top or is he being more honest than other government and health officials by telling us this is bigger than we think? How does this breakout and its media coverage make you feel about the safety of you and your family’s health? Do you think the media is sensationalizing the swine flu or do you think this type of coverage is necessary?


Renèe N. Gibson
Institutional Advancement Intern

Send us your love notes!

In recognition of Global Love Day May 1st and as part of MPT’s Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, we invite our blog readers and MPT viewers to share their own stories of love!

Send us (outreach@mpt.org) your thoughts on love (around 200 words), and we’ll post it here on The Buzz to join in this international celebration of peace and love. Or, post your video story about love onto YouTube and send us your link. We’ll post it here with the other “love notes” on our blog!

Here’s our own first Global Love Day blog:

LOVE. Four letters that make up the most meaningful word in the world. I am only 21, so I would not say I am an expert (yet), but I do know a thing or two about love. When I was younger, I was told that love should be selfless and unconditional. I just thought it was something you say back to your mom and dad. But now that I’m an adult, I can now fully understand the meaning of love.

Selfless love is shown by way of sacrifice. This kind of love I am still working on, but have had much practice in my four-year relationship with my boyfriend. We go to separate schools now, so I feel that much of our relationship is based on sacrifice. Having to make time with both of our busy schedules. Having to sacrifice travel time (and split it equally) when we want to see each other. There is much that I am still learning about selfless love, but as of now, I feel that it is the most rewarding.

Unconditional love is something I get from my family; Mom, Dad, brother, aunts, uncles…This kind of love I put to the test with my parents when I was younger because my brother and I were always getting into trouble. I used to think, “Mom’s going to hate us after she finds out what we did!” But then I came to see that my family loves me no matter what, and that is truly a gift.


Krissy Leventis
Communications and Outreach Intern

Chesapeake Bay Week returns!

The Chesapeake Bay–the world's largest estuary—is approximately 200 miles long and runs north to south from the Susquehanna River to the Atlantic Ocean. The watershed includes parts of six states and is home to approximately 14 million people.

Most of us that in the watershed region have connections to the Chesapeake Bay, whether it’s memories of fishing, swimming, crabbing (or cracking open steaming hot crabs!), or even just a relaxing boat ride into the horizon. But imagine not being able to enjoy these activities because of pollutants infecting the waters and hurting creatures that call the Chesapeake Bay home. We need to help save the bay by being informed about what’s causing such harm to the water and animals—and what we can do to reverse that harm and stop it before it begins.

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the leading threat to the health of the Chesapeake Bay is excess nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, which destroys animal habitat and kills fish. Sources of these pollutants include agriculture, sewage treatment plants, run-off from urban and suburban areas and air pollution from automobiles, factories and power plants. Throw in sprawl and poor fishery management, and we have an even bigger problem on our hands.

So what can we do to help? There’s lots of ways we can keep our watershed healthy: use fewer hazardous materials, plant trees next to streams, carpool and recycle, just to name a few. Everything we do can affect the bay, so most importantly, we have to monitor what we do, use and how we dispose of it. The littlest things can help.

Beginning this Sunday through April 26th, MPT celebrates this important natural resource and highlights its most critical issues during its annual Chesapeake Bay Week. The only programming initiative of its kind, Chesapeake Bay Week is part of MPT's year-round, ongoing commitment to the bay and our environment.

Chesapeake Bay Week culminates with a Volunteer-a-thon to give viewers a chance to donate hours to help clean up the bay. Tune in Sunday, April 26 at 6 p.m. and donate some of your time to worthy bay organizations. You can donate online, too.

What are you going to do to help save the bay? What kinds of simple, everyday tips can you share with others on how to help the bay and the environment? What memories come to mind when you see or think about the Chesapeake Bay?

Check out what students at the Ruxton Country School in Owings Mills, Maryland, are doing to help clean up and appreciate the watershed region. Students, their families and staff have already donated 5,000 hours to our Volunteer-a-thon!




Krissy Leventis
Communications and Outreach Intern

What defines YOUR community?

Hello, my name is Peter Shea, and I’m a proud member of the MPT community.

I started working as a producer at the station on August 31st, 2006. I moved to Maryland just one day before I started my job here, and quickly felt at home. Prior to relocating to Maryland, I lived in Vancouver, Canada. Pleasant people, comfortable climate, lush landscapes, but, to be honest, I didn’t always feel comfortable as an American expat living amongst our “neighbours to the north.” I couldn’t quite figure out why I felt that way, either. Same language, same food, same traffic laws. What was missing? To this day I still don’t know the exact answer to that question. However, I do know that whatever piece that was missing I quickly found when I moved back to the States. I felt comfortable again. I felt a sense of community.

And then I started to wonder: What is this “community” thing?

Webster’s defines “community” as “a unified body of individuals.”

My mom defines “community” as “my friends and neighbors, even those jerks, the Andersons, who keep letting their dog loose to tear up my rhododendrons.”

They both can’t be correct, can they? Well, that’s what I’m going to try to find out. I’m currently beginning work on a new, on-going series for MPT called “Our Town.” The series is going to be a collection of hour-long documentaries showcasing different towns across Maryland, from the Eastern Shore to the western mountains.

But there’s a twist. Unlike a lot a historical documentaries on television, the “Our Town” series will explore different Maryland communities through the eyes—and camera lenses—of community members. I’ll be soliciting the involvement of a wide variety of each community’s populace: From the mayor to the bartender, the high school student to the chief of police, new residents and old residents and everyone in between.

After a participant is selected, he or she will be given a small digital camera and a week to collect footage that answers the question: “What is special about your community?” Will residents find their community to be “a unified body of individuals”? Or will they find it a collection of “friends and neighbors (who occasionally disregard local leash laws)”? Or will they tell us something else entirely?

I’m looking forward to finding out the answers to those questions, and maybe even shedding some light on what my own sense community is. I hope that you’re interested as well. Perhaps you’re so interested that you’d like to borrow a camera and find out the answer for yourself?

Well, if you happen to live in Chestertown, Maryland, you can! Chestertown is the first community explored in the “Our Town” series. You learn more about the “Our Town” project here.

Why Chestertown? Please stay tuned to find out… and how you can be involved. I'll be blogging here to tell you all about it!


Peter Shea
Associate Producer for On-Air Fundraising