🍦Eight years later 💔

Good morning, Annapolis. If you plan to grill burgers this weekend, allow me to suggest an innovation that will revolutionize your patties. It’s called a cheese melting dome and for $10, you can do it just like the restaurants. A small detail that makes a huge difference. Two other tips? You probably need more salt on the patties and 80/20 beef is the only option.

In today’s Naptown Scoop:

Let’s get to it.

— Ryan Sneddon

This June, Yoga Factory is celebrating Pride Month with movement, music, and community. One of our teachers, Swierk (pronounced "work" with an S), says it best:

June is Pride Month and for me Pride is about showing up as yourself, whether that means bright, bold, and extra, or soft, quiet, and chill. It’s about embracing your uniqueness while creating space for others to do the same.

All month long in my yoga classes, we will be flowing to music from LGBTQIA+ artists (+gay icons, obvi) while holding one simple intention: be yourself. In every pose, every breath, and every transition, I invite you to honor your own body, your own pace, and your own expression. Take the shapes that serve you. Move in the way that feels nourishing. Celebrate who you are—authentically, fully, and unapologetically—in body, mind, and spirit. Together, we’ll celebrate community, self-expression, and the beauty of letting everyone shine in their own way. 🌈✨

Yesterday marked eight years since five members of the Capital Gazette were murdered in their Annapolis newsroom: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters.

Undaunted, the Capital published the next morning anyway. We’ll never forget the now famous tweet, “We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow.” For that courage, the paper won a rarely-awarded Pulitzer Prize Special Citation and was honored as part of TIME Magazine’s 2018 Person of the Year, The Guardians.

Rick Hutzell (now at the Baltimore Banner) was the editor then. This week he wrote about returning to 888 Bestgate — the building where it happened — and all that comes with living through unspeakable tragedy. It is the best thing you will read about that day, and we can’t recommend reading it enough.

Read Rick’s column in The Banner.

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Team Naptown Scoop Coast 2 Coast 4 ALS progress: $12,363/$20,000

July's basically here, so we did the legwork — two guides to carry you through the red, white, and bluest month of the year.

First, everything we're looking forward to in July: outdoor concerts, the World Cup final, an SNL comedian at Rams Head, and plenty more. Then the big one — our full Fourth of July guide, every parade and the two big fireworks shows mapped out.

A few things to circle now:

This year doubles as America's 250th, so there are heaps of special events on Independence Day weekend and throughout July. Bring lots of water, bring a blanket, and leave the dog at home (with some background noise on to help with the booms).

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The best healthcare isn't rushed. It's having the time to ask questions, discuss concerns, and work with a provider who sees the bigger picture—not just a list of symptoms.

That's the approach at Warrior Medical. Through personalized primary care, their team takes the time to understand your health, your goals, and what's really going on beneath the surface.

For some patients, that conversation may include Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT), a personalized treatment designed to help support energy, wellness, and overall quality of life.

Because better healthcare starts with having a provider who truly knows you.

Learn more about primary care and BHRT at Warrior Medical.

🎈 = family-friendly events

🎶 🎈Tunesday Floating Concert - This week's Tunesday brings Shelby Morgan (synth-pop, indie-pop) to Chronic Sailing's catamaran on Back Creek, about 90 minutes before sunset. Watch from a boat or kayak, or grab a spot on the Ellen O Moyer Nature Park dock.

🍽️ 🎈Dinner Under the Stars - Outdoor dining, live music, and pickleball on West Street.

🎶 🎈Music of the American Revolution: The 250th Anniversary - Period music performed in costume on hammered dulcimer, violin, and historic guitars at Historic London Town and Gardens.

🎶 🎈Tides & Tunes - The Grilled Lincolns w/ Michael McHenry (rock, funk, reggae, R&B, blues) play the Annapolis Maritime Museum. Zero waste so bring a reusable cup (or buy one there). Walk or bike if you can. Parking’s tight.

🎶 🎈Thursday Night LIVE! - Outdoor concert at Annapolis Town Center featuring Remains of Radio (R&B, pop). Food & drinks available on site.

🐶 Yappy Hour - Bring your dog for a sunset paddle on the Chesapeake Bay.

🎶 🎈ASO Brass Quintet Opens for Hamilton at St. John's College - The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet performs patriotic favorites before a screening of Hamilton on the lawn at St. John's. Bring a blanket!

🇺🇸 🎈 Join Historic Annapolis for the Naturalization Ceremony - Watch as new citizens take the Oath of Citizenship in the William Paca Garden.

☕ 🎈 What's Brewing: Mrs. Howard's Coffeehouse - Drop in at the Hogshead Trades Museum and meet Mary Howard, proprietress of a colonial coffeehouse, to discover how these spots became hotbeds of revolution.

🍽️ 🎈 Food Truck Fridays - Over 12 food trucks serving an ever-changing menu. Be sure to check their Facebook later this week for the menu.

🇺🇸 🎈Severna Park Independence Day Parade – We aren’t afraid to say it. This is our favorite Fourth of July parade. It’s huge. It runs mostly on neighborhood streets. And it’s just got that perfect Americana feel.

🇺🇸 City of Annapolis Independence Day Parade - As we said above, SP has our favorite parade. But Annapolis has something SP doesn’t: an evening parade. That means you can go straight from parade to fireworks and that is special. P.S. There’s a new route this year because of City Dock construction.

⚾ Premier Lacrosse League - Maryland legend Paul Rabil’s PLL brings its All-Star Weekend to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Men’s and women’s all-star games.

🐮 🎈 Anne Arundel County Farmers Market - Fresh local produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, coffee, tacos, and crafts on Saturday & Sunday mornings.

🎨 🎈 First Sunday Arts Festival - Over 150 vendors, live music on multiple stages, and local food on West Street—free admission.

🎶 The Red Barn Sessions: Cory Seznec / Rhys Jones - Intimate concert of traditional music at Hollywood Farm's Red Barn—bring a picnic, musicians welcome to join the session after.

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🅿️ Parking prices – Ahh. . . parking. Annapolis’ favorite thing to moan about. On July 1, new parking rates will go into effect per the city’s new budget. And yes, new parking rates almost always mean higher parking rates. Unless you’re an all-day parker at Park Place in which case you’ll get a little break. See all the changes. ($)

🗳️ Primary participation – Last week’s primary was a quiet one with just 21% of eligible voters participating. That’s 9 absolute percentage points lower than 2022 (30%). The smart folks who get paid to think about such things pinned it on uncompetitive races. We pin it on the prize being stickers instead of Snickers. That said, those same smart folks expect a much bigger turnout in November. ($)

⚽ Clean Sweep – The Annapolis Blues closed their final doubleheader with a soggy sweep on Saturday. The women blanked Virginia Atlantic 4-0, and the men clawed out of a 2-0 hole with six unanswered goals for a 6-2 win over Christos FC. Brady Geho was the star of the match with a hat trick. The final men’s home regular season match of the season is July 11. Read more. ($)

🦪 Founding Foodies – NPR set its big "what America ate in 1776" story right here in Annapolis, with stops at Middleton Tavern, the William Paca House, and the Hogshead Trades Museum. Believe it or not, the wealthy of the day were eating so much terrapin (usually in the form of turtle soup) that it almost wiped out Maryland’s state reptile. Prohibition may actually have saved them because sherry was a key ingredient in the soup.

🪧 Sign of the Times – Want a literal piece of Annapolis history? The wooden sign that hung over the Annapolis Seafood market is up on Facebook Marketplace for $400. The beloved market closed over four years ago and this sign’s been the coolest porch decoration ever since. Fair warning: it’s kinda huge (about 10 feet long) and pretty heavy. Check it out.

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88 🌡️ 69 | 🌤️ | 4% ☔ | 💨 E 6 mph (5 knots)

89 🌡️ 73 | ☀️ | 8% ☔ | 💨 S 13 mph (11 knots)

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 77ºF
Temperature readings taken from the mouth of the Severn River the night before publication

🌳 🎵= Outdoor concert

49 West | Rehash | 7:30–9 PM
The Admiral’s Cup | Aaron Hawkins | 7–10 PM
Rams Head On Stage | In The Vane Of Yacht Rock | 7 PM | Tickets

49 West | Unified Jazz Ensemble | 7–9:30 PM
The Admiral’s Cup | Daphne Eckman | 7–10 PM
Captain’s Daughter | TBA | 5–7 PM
🌳🎵 Chronic Sailing | Shelby Morgan | TBA
Middleton Tavern | Nicky Stacy | 6–9 PM
Pirates Cove | Hardly Know Her | 6–9 PM
The Point | Kavoossi | 5–8 PM

Thanks for reading Naptown Scoop today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who trolls better than Sophie Cunningham (if you can find such a person).