Calvert Bond Rating Adds Up to a Plus

· 10 years -- Paula Andreas, Jane Dodds, George Goodwin, Mona Smith and Yvette Thompson.

· 15 years -- Jack Lenderman and Rose Mary Longfield.

· 20 years -- Kim Engman and Mary Snavely.

· 25 years -- Vic Krasnokutsky, Cindy Spalding and Janet Williams.

Salute to Building Trades

Members of Southern Maryland's congressional delegation were in Charles County on Monday to deliver support for projects.

· Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D) visited the College of Southern Maryland La Plata campus with a check for $286,899 in federal funds for the college's Partnership for the Advancement of Construction and Transportation Training program. The program offers courses and training for workers in the construction and transportation industries.

Much of the funding will be used for the development of new curriculum for the construction trades, including a new "boot camp" training model that prepares students for apprenticeships in carpentry, HVAC and electrical work. The 10-week program will provide alternative training, particularly for the under-employed and unemployed workforce in Southern Maryland, and will also be available for new high school graduates.

"The need for trained professionals in the trades is reaching alarming levels that threaten the well-being of Southern Maryland," CSM President Brad Gottfried said in a statement.

In recent years, Southern Maryland has been the fastest-growing region in the state. Workforce shortages in the residential and commercial building industries are reaching a critical point, Hoyer's office said.

· Also on Monday, Hoyer and Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) joined representatives of the Trust for Public Land, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the National Park Service in Piscataway National Park to announce the protection of an additional 73 acres of land directly across from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.

The new park land adds to tracts already preserved to protect the historic view-shed along the Potomac River across from Mount Vernon.

Funds approved by Congress were allocated to the Park Service for the protection of the park land. The newly protected land comprises 63 acres that will be incorporated into Piscataway National Park and 10 acres that belong to private landowners Tim and Liz Cullen, who have agreed not to develop the land.

"Today Marylanders can celebrate and enjoy the addition of 73 acres to Piscataway Park," Cardin said in a statement. "Across the Potomac River, visitors to Mount Vernon also will benefit because this critical viewshed will be protected forever and will remain just as it was during George Washington's time."

The land will be managed as part of Piscataway Park, a unit of the National Park Service, consisting of approximately 5,000 acres along the Potomac River.

Aiding Female Veterans

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) joined as a co-sponsor last month in introducing the Women Veterans Health Improvement Act of 2008.

The measure is aimed at preparing the Department of Veterans Affairs for the unprecedented influx of female veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan who will turn to the VA for care in coming years.

The bill addresses some of the unique health-care needs of female veterans by creating programs to improve care for military sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, increasing research on the current barriers to health care and expanding programs for women at all VA medical centers. Veterans officials estimate the number of women receiving care will double in the next five years.