Regional Government: Riverkeeper Wants County to Come Clean About Litte Patuxent, Feathers Ruffled Over Chickens

In this week’s collection of Patch government stories, you’ll learn about the latest attempt by Maryland residents to save local education, water resources and....chickens.

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  The group’s goal for self sustainability fits a national trend of relying more on locally grown and produced food, but in Laurel, council members still can remember farm animals roaming Main Street, something some say they don't want to relive. To read what is ruffling everyone’s feathers, be sure to visit .

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  Patuxent Riverkeeper Fred Tutman says he wants an explanation from Howard County about the contamination he sees in Little Patuxent River. But officials at the Howard County Department of Public Works see it differently.

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  A shuttered federal government would have hit Maryland particularly hard because it is home to more than 130,000 non-military federal employees—the largest contingent of workers in the state. To learn , read the story on and see the accompanying installment of "" (video with Joe Flacco), thanks to Owings Mills Patch.

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  The president of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners says residents need to know the whole story behind a proposed property tax cut and the education budget. Go to to find it, and check out what your neighbors think with the video "."