Editor's notebook

DISASTER - Maryland's two U.S. senators, Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, are just doing their job by asking the federal government to declare a "fishery disaster" for the Chesapeake Bay's blue crabs.

But last week's announcement was still a melancholy moment. Any "disaster" that has befallen the crabs, though it may fit the appropriate federal criteria, is hardly an act of God. It's a long-term failure of environmental management and a failure to heed abundant warnings by experts.

The two senators, along with Gov. Martin O'Malley, are asking the federal government for $15 million over three years - to be shared by Maryland...