Pleasant weather means the pace of life in Annapolis shifts outdoors, and one of the most pleasant things about the season may be the opportunity to enjoy theater under the stars.

Ralph Parker’s story is unlike any others you’ll hear as we approach Memorial Day. It is about secrets and secret families, and a man who otherwise won’t be celebrated.

When the mayor of Annapolis plans a $10 million, glass-walled maritime welcome center at City Dock — right on top of an $88 million public works project to save downtown by lifting part of it above climate-driven flooding — Historic Annapolis pays attention. The question is, is anyone listening?

I recently caught up with state Sen. Sarah Elfreth over coffee, days after she won the Democratic nomination for Congress in Maryland's 6th District. She recently adopted a puppy named Ollie and thinks often of the late House Speaker Mike Busch, who encouraged and inspired her.

There are four chances to catch the Blue Angels during the Naval Academy’s Commissioning Week in Annapolis, which begins May 17.

The rally came out of Prince George’s County just after midnight when police were alerted it was on the move. Anne Arundel County Police say the drivers were headed for the Giant Food parking lot in Gambrills, where they planned to set up an exhibition of wildness behind the wheel.

Democratic voters — early voting is over and election day is Tuesday — have to decide not just who is better for the job, David Trone or Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. They have to decide if his spending so much of his own money to win an election is, well, right.

Montgomery County is the beast that beats them among Maryland’s local governments. Its budget proposal is a whopping $7.1 billion, more than the combined spending plans for Anne Arundel, Howard and Frederick — plus seven of the state’s 16 smaller counties. Why should you care? What happens there affects the rest of us.

Here’s a look at great things to do in Annapolis for the week starting May 9.

Maybe the best I can do on this or any Mother’s Day is to write a little note to her. I know she won’t read it, but it feels good to write it as if she would.

A man taking photos of students at an Annapolis school Tuesday afternoon was approached by staff members. He told them he was me.

Ranked choice voting could flip the narrative in Maryland elections. Voters would rank candidates as their first, second and third choices. The number could be greater, but let’s keep the example simple.

Eight opera singers, three judges and $30,000 in prize money on the line should make for an unpredictable Sunday afternoon in Annapolis.

When Maryland and the feds begin building a new crossing of the outer Baltimore Harbor where the Key Bridge once stood, engineers, bureaucrats and bigwigs would be wise to remember the symbolism. A bridge is always more than it seems.

The week ending Thursday, May 2 is a great one to wander around some boats in Annapolis, take in a ballet classic or dig deeply into books with their authors.

I listened with interest last week to a panel discussion of the University of Maryland’s groundbreaking study on the state of journalism in Maryland. No surprise, what it found ain’t great. But there is reason to hope.

Former Capitol Hill police officer Harry Dunn and state Sen. Sarah Elfreth were among the candidates who participated in a forum in Annapolis. The candidates, who are vying to success outgoing U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, face off in the May 14 primary election.

April is finally warming, and that means there are opportunities to get out on the water in Annapolis. There’s also free music, a festival for female voices, a maritime collective market day and student art to enjoy through April 24.

I’ve been commuting from Annapolis to Baltimore a couple of days each week for a few months now. We’ve got traffic in Annapolis, and sometimes it’s maddening. There was that one time a sailboat mast got caught in a powerline on Forest Drive. But I have to ask you Baltimore Beltway commuters a question: Is it always this bad?

St. John’s College in Annapolis will look at its most complicated graduate as part of a wider reckoning with its history of racism.