Top 5 Stories: April 16-20

I keep track of the stories readers seemed to pay attention to more and highlight them at the end of each week for those who have missed all the commotion.

So here are the week's top stories and a quick summary of each. Follow the link for the full story.

Martha Gardner, a fifth-grade teacher at , was among three Broadneck-area educators who were finalists in the awards ceremony. A 32-year teaching veteran, Gardner said she was honored for the award. She will now represent the county school system in the Maryland Teacher of the Year competition. She also won $1,000 from Comcast and two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, according to a press release.

The Anne Arundel County Council passed a vote of no confidence in Police Chief James Teare Sr. on Monday by a narrow margin of 4-3 with newcomer Councilman Peter Smith casting the deciding vote. Councilman Jerry Walker said he drafted the "no confidence" legislation in response to testimony that dysfunction within the police administration has given the department a "black eye."

The Decennial Charter Revision Commission delivered its final report Monday. Whether Crofton stays in District 7 or is moved to District 4 is in the hands of the County Council now, after the commission completed its review this week. Among the recommended changes are changing the district lines in Districts 1, 4 and 7.

The Chesapeake Bay's grade went down from a C- to a D+, the second-lowest it's been since 1986. But not everything is looking down. The region of the bay that includes the Severn and Magothy rivers got higher grades than last year on the Chesapeake Bay report card, which gauges the health of the waterway.

The first-ever Broadneck Kite Festival doubled as a chance for the Friends of Broadneck Park, a community group started by McGuirk-Allison, to spread the word about their effort