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Decisions, Decisions

  “Why are Maryland pools so boring?” asked a poster on the Columbia Reddit. Below are images of a typical pool from the Cleveland Ohio area, versus a typical pool from Columbia Maryland. What gives? The poster, relatively new to the area, uses a pool from Rocky River, Ohio to compare to the Clemens Crossing pool in Columbia.  It’s an interesting discussion. I left Cleveland a very long time ago, but I found the Rocky River pool to be nothing like my neighborhood pool in Cleveland Heights. Cumberland Pool was built in 1927 and is still in use. Cumberland Pool, Cleveland Heights As I watched the conversation progress, I had a realization that we were talking about something which was the topic of much conversation in the past.  Do you remember the word Aquaplan? The year was 2011, and CA held a number of community meetings about the future of the pool system. I attended one of them. (Shocking, I know.) There was quite a bit of emotional pushback from these meetings, which ...
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Recent posts

The Front Page

  Once upon a time I was encouraging people to read the Columbia Flier.  Hard Copy, Hard Issues , July 21, 2016 Today there is no Columbia Flier.  This story from WMAR2 News presents an interesting juxtaposition with my post from ten years ago.  Diversity wins: Howard County on track for first-ever minority-majority county counci l, Blair Sabol That’s not how you spell “dais”. Ten years ago I was concerned at how “white” our local news coverage was.  But as I reviewed this week's paper, an untold story leapt out at me. Almost everything in this week's edition could be categorized as The Stories of White People. The article about school suspensions is clearly the exception. But really, I urge you to get a copy yourself and leaf through it. Is this who we are as a community? Is our story just The Story of White People? I still see way too much of that kind of Columbia/HoCo coverage. But it’s not quite so predominant. Not “all better”. Not perfect. And I haven’t f...
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Monday Mystery

  Another day, another mystery. Screenshot from Bluesky Who or what is RingJing? I’ve never heard of this company before. Here’s how they describe themselves on BlueSky: Okay, they have a website . They have an “About Us” page. But it doesn’t tell me who they are.  This drives me nuts. If you want me to trust your product and the information you disperse - - tell me who you are.  You wouldn’t drink water if you didn’t know its source. Especially today, when so much of what we see is the result of an aggregator on the other side of the planet or unadulterated AI slop.  A simple Google search shows that the only information available about RingJing is the company’s own website. So, naturally, the Google AI function is attempting to extrapolate that tiny bit of information into an entire explanation. Ugh. It is operated by its own RingJing Editorial Team.  Okay? They have an editorial team. Who are they? Are they local? Are they also the owners? Is RingJing a HoCoL...
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Magic Words at Enchanted Forest

  Hold everything! New HoCoLocal restaurant brings back a local favorite! This glowing testimonial comes from the Howard County Eats FB Group: We went to Tony's of NY in Ellicott City tonight and everything was great!!! We had garlic knots, Caesar salad, mozzarella logs, pepperoni and cheese New York style pizza!!! We will be back again. Yes, community foodies have been abuzz with word of the opening of Tony’s, more officially known as Tony’s of New York, Ellicott City. They’re located in the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center. Image from Google Maps  Here’s a reel from their Instagram that gives you a glimpse of today’s magic words. “ All You Need ” Tony’s of NY EC Have you guessed yet? No? It’s “garlic knots”. Long time hocolocals may remember the outcry that arose when the Tomato Palace at the Lakefront took garlic knots off their menu. The outrage! The laments! And it wasn’t just a brief objection - - people mourned the loss. It was ongoing.  Some folks even went so far...
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Got Plans? Maybe Not.

  It’s Saturday in the summertime. The top story in the Banner is not the usual “What to do this weekend.” It’s this: How to protect yourself as wildfire smoke blankets Maryland,  Sara Ruberg, Baltimore Banner Nota bene: a doctor quoted in the article states that wearing a mask won’t help. A reader comment disputes that. The doctor quoted is rejecting the advice of many public health officials who say a well fitted N95 or KN95 mask can significantly help reduce exposure to these type of fine particulate. Please be more accurate when reporting on public health emergencies. Even Fox is reporting that those masks can help. - - reader comment In my opinion you should limit outside time as much as possible but, if you must leave the house, wear a high quality, well fitting mask.  Lung damage is no joke. This air is ugly stuff right now. Food for thought - - I noticed this comment in a Bluesky conversation about outdoor events this weekend: I'm starting to think that in our li...
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F ³: A Reason for Living

  The Maryland State Department of Education proposes increasing instructional time for mathematics at the Middle School level. This will necessitate decreasing instructional time for other subjects. Want to comment? Time is running out. Revised Mathematics Policy Implementation Timeline & Secondary Mathematics Program , Comment form Every time I see those “other” subjects reduced or eliminated in schools I want to throw things. I am not a violent person.  Students are not geese to be force-fed with the aim of producing foie gras somewhere down the line. They are human. We are preparing them to have full human lives.  We have to give them a reason to live.  The more we narrow educational experiences, the less kids have to connect with and care about. What kind of a life is that? It’s also an ineffective methodology for education. We can’t simply pour content onto children and young people. They need to have the ability to absorb it. Reducing time spent in areas ...
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When Farm to Fork is @#$%&-ed

  It’s Farmer’s Market Season. It’s CSA season. It’s bury your face in buttery, sweet corn on the cob season. Fresh, juicy raspberries. Salads with every variety of greens. It’s the very best of summer brought to you by our local farmers. And now it’s cyclosporiasasis season, too. Information shared by the Howard County Health Department  Without nationwide diligence in monitoring food safety issues, our food supply is compromised. What we once anticipated as special summer treats are now something to be feared. And it’s not simply a “special treat” issue. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is an adequate nutrition issue. It’s an addressing food insecurity and hunger issue. It’s also a terrible blow to our HoCoLocal farms. Farm map from HoCoGov While there is information available* about safe ways to consume fresh produce, many folks are likely to deal with this current crisis in food safety by avoiding it altogether.  What happens, then, to our farmers? And to local r...
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