36th Annual Tawes Crab & Clam Bake! - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

CRISFIELD, Md - Thousands of satisfied seafood lovers made their way out to Crisfield for their biggest annual event on Wednesday, The Tawes Crab & Clam Bake.

We're told it's planned for every 3rd Wednesday in July, so this event is almost always a hot one. This year, temperatures were in the triple digits. But with 10 different food booths, serving unlimited crabs, clams, and everything that goes with it, not many seemed to mind the heat.

Event officials tell us tickets alone bring in about 240 thousand dollars. Minus expenses, it pumps roughly 100 thousand dollars into the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce. "This means everything for the Chamber and the City of Crisfield," admits Valerie Howard, Crisfield COC Office Manager. "It's our biggest event of the year. The money goes to the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce, and then we in turn give it back to the community. You know, to the different organizations and to help the businesses in town."

This is the event's 36th year, and we're told in it's first year, they only had about 3 hundred people attend. Now, more than 6 thousand people turn out, from as far as Colorado, Georgia, and Vermont!

Speaking of the turnout, the crab and clam bake is an annual hot bed for local politicians. And the topic many were fired up about Wednesday afternoon was gambling expansion in the state.

Governor O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch, and Baltimore city officials met behind closed doors in Baltimore, Wednesday morning. After the meeting, O'Malley told reporters he wants to call a special session soon to put to rest lingering issues related to gambling in Maryland.

But some candidates in Crisfield that afternoon are still doubtful. "I'm really upset we're losing 6 thousand jobs a month, 75 hundred jobs a month," expressed Dan Bongino (R) Candidate for U.S. Senate. "You have to come out with something a little bolder than just gambling."

In special session, lawmakers would take up allowing table games as well as a Prince George's casino. But they are facing an August 20 deadline to approve legislation, so voters can consider the proposal on the November ballot.

Another huge topic of contention among politicians was the alcohol tax. Today, Maryland health officials expressed their enthusiasm for the tax. In the first 11 months since it went into effect, Maryland's 50 percent increase in the alcohol tax has raised about 68.6 million dollars. Most of the money is now set aside for health-related initiatives, including aid for the developmentally disabled and expanding community-based services. But not everyone is convinced. "They're lying to you," Senator Nancy Jacobs, (R) Maryland, tells WMDT. Jacobs is running for Maryland Congressional District 2. "They get a very small percentage of that money. I'm hearing less than 15 percent. That's not helping them."

The alcohol tax is expected to raise about 75 million for the first year, just shy of the 85 million dollars projected when the bill was passed in 2011.

Many of the political candidates we spoke to Wednesday also have their sights closely set on the upcoming November election. And on the ballot, marriage equality in Maryland.

The same sex marriage bill was set to become law, but opponents collected signatures and now it's on the November ballot for voters to decide if it should be legal.

Candidates considering a run for the governor's office weighed in on the issue. "I'm a very strong supporter for marriage equality," admits Ken Ulman, who is currently the Howard County Executive. "I think it's about folks having the same rights as everyone else. Frankly, who's the government to tell people in love, who are committed to each other, that they can't have the same rights as everyone else."

Blaine Young, (R) Candidate for Governor, disagrees, "I would tell you, based on what I have seen, they have many of the same rights that they say that they do not have. This is just about saying that we're married. In terms of the rights of healthcare, the rights of visiting a loved one in the hospital, and things of those natures, they can be settled other ways."

In March, Governor Martin O'Malley signed bills legalizing same sex marriage which were set to take effect in January.

And if you're a pit bull owner in Maryland, you may be happy to know, the Maryland General Assembly may consider a legislative fix for a controversial court ruling. Since the State of Maryland deemed pit bulls "inherently dangerous", tension has apparently been building between landlords and pit bull owners.

Under the Court of Appeals' April 26th ruling, landlords can be held responsible if a tenant's pit bull or pit bull mix attacked someone or a pet. Lawmakers and candidates we spoke to Wednesday expressed their concerns. "What I feel is that the poor animals are the victims in this whole discussion," states Wendy Rosen, (D) Candidate For Congress.

"There's nothing wrong with pit bulls," agrees Senator Richard Colburn, (R) MD, "it's how they're raised, and how they're treated. We need to change Maryland law to reflect that."

Last month, the joint legislative task force, appointed to study this issue, discussed the details of a potential legislative fix. But if that doesn't happen, the issue would have to wait until January.