Coastal Connection

01/30/2015

We're sad to tell you that our final edition of Coastal Connection airs today. Here's a note from our host, Bryan Russo:

After 4 and a half years, more than 200 shows, 2 Edward R. Murrows and 14 Associated Press Awards, Coastal Connection will air its final broadcast today at noon and 8pm on 88.3 FM and tomorrow at 6am on both 88.3 and WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington DC.

While I am incredibly sad to see it end, and my future, from a journalistic perspective, will be uncertain and unwritten in the coming months, I am eternally grateful that it happened and incredibly proud of what we accomplished. I was always told to be prepared for when you get your shot, and then take it in a big way. I know that I did that, and I'm happy that what I put everything into, mattered to a lot of people.

It's not everyday a massive news organization comes into your little town and hands you the ball and says run with it to the top of the mountain, and I'm proud that I was able to create a successful show from nothing, with an unprecedentedly small team of just me and my fearless producer Tara Noelle Boyle... we got to follow a national program like the Diane Rehm show for all these years, and beat out another national program (Fresh Air) in our timeslot for the last 3, and I was able to tell the stories of this amazing region on a national level to millions of people on several occasions.

I will miss the people I met and the often wild things I got to do...charging into hurricanes, going toe to toe with powerful politicians and calling their bluff, interviewing folks from 2000 feet in the air, and chatting with icons, experts and geniuses in their respective fields. I know we did important work, I know it raised the bar of journalism in this market, where many organizations find it all to easy to just rip-off things from the wire or another publication, publish it, and call it groundbreaking work, and I'm completely proud of that.

I'm not sure what the future holds, but I know that this is a very significant moment in my life, and I can feel the page literally turning. It's as exciting as it is scary, but I have faith that it will work out as its supposed to....just like this show was supposed to happen... I'm glad it did, and I'm glad that you were listening.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I hope to see you soon.--BR

01/12/2015

Wondering what's been going on at Wallops Island since the rocket explosion there a few months ago? We've got an update for you here: http://www.wamucoast.org/shows/2015-01/were-aging-engines-blame-wallops-rocket-explosion

01/09/2015

We've got a brand-new edition of the show for you tomorrow! In the meantime, check out our host Bryan Russo's reporting on the Annapolis arts scene. If you're not hanging out in Naptown, you should be.

Sometimes the most remarkable scenes pop up in the unlikeliest of places. Just ask anyone from Washington, D.C., who got unexpectedly "fugazied" by hardcore music in the 1980s. Or people in the Seatt

12/09/2014

Did you catch the latest piece in our series, "Where the Party Never Ends"? Check it out here.

The statistics make it clear: Worcester County consumes more alcohol than any other county in Maryland. Much more. Police and public health experts say the county's booming tourism industry accounts for part of that difference, but not all of it. We'll look at the data on binge drinking, and how ove…

11/21/2014

In part two of our series, "Where the Party Never Ends: The Drinking Culture on the Coast," we'll look at the how the party atmosphere created by bars and restaurants can be problematic for locals. We'll get perspectives from both sides of the bar, and learn just how easy it is to get a drink here on the coast.

Join us, today at noon and 8 p.m. on WRAU 88.3 FM in Ocean City and tomorrow morning at 5 on both 88.3FM and WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington DC, or anytime at wamucoast.org

We'll look at the history of craft brewing on the coast. Then we'll hear about the expansion plans of a high-profile arts organization in Rehoboth Beach.

11/03/2014

Are you planning to vote tomorrow, coastal residents? What are the issues you'll have in mind as you head into the voting booth? Inquiring minds here at Coastal Connection want to know...

10/31/2014

What does the State Senate race to represent the Lower Eastern Shore have to do with the epic 1974 boxing match known as the Rumble in the Jungle? More than you think....
http://www.wamucoast.org/shows/2014-10/heated-fight-maryland-senate-enters-its-final-days

The State Senate race pitting Democrat Jim Mathias against Republican Mike McDermott is one of the most closely watched political struggles on the coast this season. Bryan Russo talks with each of the candidates about their records, the tenor of politics in Annapolis, and what's at stake for Marylan…

10/17/2014

Live in Ocean City, and want to know more about the candidates running for City Council? We've got you covered: http://www.wamucoast.org/shows/2014-10/ocean-citys-fluid-council-race-heats

10/10/2014

Food Trucks are all the rage in big cities all over the country, but are old laws and fear of competition stalling their emergence onto the coastal culinary scene?
http://www.wamucoast.org/shows/2014-10/can-food-trucks-gain-traction-coast

A handful of food trucks have begun popping up in coastal Delaware, serving everything from hot dogs to mahi mahi tacos. The cooks and owners of these trucks say they're trying to provide fresh, affordable food to tourists and residents alike. But will they be able to avoid battles with brick-and-mo…

08/08/2014

There are all sorts of costumed characters on the boardwalk in Ocean City this summer. Some people think they're a nuisance, but are they breaking the law? Bryan Russo digs into the issue and talks with a young man who says he wasn't fully paid for the work he did. Join us today at noon on 88.3, or online at wamucoast.org.

07/14/2014

Did you know that one the founding members of American Gospel Music was born in Berlin,MD? Listen to this fascinating piece about an important person in both local history and American history. http://www.wamucoast.org/shows/2014-07/remembering-founding-father-gospel-music

Charles Albert Tindley is widely considered one of the founding fathers of American gospel music. His hymn “I’ll Overcome Someday” was the primary inspiration for "We Shall Overcome," the most famous song of the civil rights movement. Many of his other songs have impacted not just the religious comm…