I am so tired. I have written about this so many times, most recently in February of this year. A Poolside View , Village Green/Town², February 12, 2026 I feel like CA has long wondered why people don’t use the Talbott Springs Pool the way that the largely white, more or less affluent suburban folks were always expected to use them when Columbia was established. Or, to be less pointed, I feel as though they are operating on expectations and assumptions that may be counterproductive to a solution to this problem today. And here we go again. Columbia Association board mulls trying to save money by converting pool into splash park , Kiersten Hacker, Baltimore Sun CA uses the term “low foot traffic.” I don’t doubt that they have counted. What I would like to see is a look at the numbers that show all the Columbia Villages by income level. And then I would like the see the most monetary investment in the poorest areas and the cost-cutting initiatives in the most affluent areas.* Why? ...
Sometimes I save something because it speaks to me, or because I see within it the seed of a future blog post. If I’m lucky, another thing comes down the road and reminds me of the first thing. Remember this? Remember how you wanted to talk about how this could be relevant right here in Howard County? Case in point, this September 7th piece from NPR: Missed shifts were costly to this McDonald's. An app has fixed the problem. Unexpected absences can cost employers tens of thousands of dollars a month. An app that helps workers with last-minute transportation, food and childcare is making a difference. - - Andrea Hsu, NPR In order for us to understand why this story mattters, we have to acknowledge that some people experience barriers and challenges in their daily lives that we do not. Period. For example: we have to understand that if we want parents to engage in school events that we need to provide childcare. If we want neighbors to come to community meetings w...