Will it Work?

Video Please

U Tube Tester

Very cool stuff tonto.
We tried. We'll try again with UTube.

Soccer Season's Back!

Go Hawks! Frederick News Post here has the write-up of last night's season opener.

Keep the Baltimore Harbor Clean

Hey, look at this one, Baltimore Harbor Watershed Association.

Baseball? In Frederick?

Guess What This Is:

Frederick Keys

Pre-Season Blues

Here, it says that the National's new home team locker room will be oval, not square or rectangular. The visitor's will be rectangular, however.

No doubt, that's going to be a winning combo. How will the O's be able to keep up with that feng shui?

A Special Election

Brunswick, MD, Special Election will be Feb. 6, 2007

Getting Back to Work

A Union/Conservation Alliance here from Washington Post

Hot news

The National Association of Homebuilders case (cert granted in Supreme Court on Friday) gets some attention at the V Conspiracy here. And,
here is Holly Doremus writing it up.

Brunswick, Baseball, and Conservation

I know there has got to be a connection. Soon there will be, in the form of some useful baseball links. The game is big in this town they say. The Frederick Keys have a site here, so check them out from time to time. Now I have it, the more baseball parks we build, the more grass gets to keep on growing, the more people get to enjoy just being outdoors in the summertime, and the more everybody can learn to appreciate nature. All by just playing baseball. What a fantasy, but I can think of worse.

Well, my dream now is to hit just one major league home run (sort of like the ones I used to hit when I was 13) since it does not look like my fantasy of dunking a basketball at my age (I'm not saying) is going to come true. Cinderella, here I come!

I had promised readers of my other, Z The Legal blog, that I would be reviewing "Soldier" (recent bio of General Powell). That is still on the way. Here, however, I want to note that if I find the time I will be reviewing "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero" by David Maraniss (who also wrote "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi"). Roberto was certainly my hero when I was a kid. I saw him play one time at Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) and I can still remember him hitting the game-winning rbi in the bottom of the ninth, a line drive to the wall in left center field.

Spring training, baby bring it on!

Conservation Easement Sample Deed

A sample deed of trust for a Virginia conservation easement (pdf) is here.

Virginia Governer Timothy M. Kaine has set a goal to conserve four hundred thousand acres during his four-year term. Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. has called for more lawyers to counsel landowners about the legal and tax ramifications of donating or selling conservation easements.

The Virginia State Bar is partnering with the DNR to offer continuing legal education to prepare attorneys for this work.

From the Highlights of Virginia State Bar Council Meeting.

What is a Conservation Purpose?

The following is Guidance from Internal Revenue Code

Internal Revenue Code Section 170(h)(4)(A) defines conservation purposes as:

i) The preservation of land areas for outdoor recreation by, or the education of, the general public,

ii) The protection of a relatively natural habitat of fish, wildlife, or plants, or similar ecosystem,

iii) The preservation of certain open space (including farmland and forest land) where such preservation is ----

• For the scenic enjoyment of the general public and will yield a significant public benefit, or
• Pursuant to a clearly delineated Federal, State, or local governmental conservation policy and will yield a significant public benefit.

iv) The preservation of an historically important land area or a certified historic structure.

Such an easement may qualify for a federal income tax deduction under IRS criteria or a state tax credit under Virginia law (and probably also Maryland law).