This past week was a short one for me, but it ended up to be quite busy.

Most of the company was furloughed on Monday, but we still had just as many papers to put out and just as much space to fill on the website.  In four days, I managed to produce a whole mess of stories:

• I rode along with the Natural Resources Police as they looked for oystering violations in Southern Maryland.  I also shot pictures, which were featured in an online slideshow.

• I attended the annual gathering of environmental advocates in Annapolis. They come each year to learn about key issues being debated in the General Assembly. That story included pictures, too.

• Off my normal beat, I wrote about the resolution of a thorny tax issue relating to “short sales” of homes.

• I explored some controversies related to controlling stormwater runoff, which is a major source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.

• And last but not least, I wrote about questions that are being raised about a project that involved putting steel slag on the bottom of the Severn River to create an oyster reef.