Everybody smiles for the cameras. A ribbon is cut, the story runs across multiple media outlets. Some people heave a sigh of relief or say, begrudgingly, “It’s about time!” I am sad. Columbia police open new satellite office at the Mall in Columbia after fatal shootings, WBAL TV 11 Our community has been ablaze with hateful and unsubstantiated rumours about a project to create a community center for young people. But everybody smiles about more police at the Mall. Why? I’d smile if they were opening a special hub for teens at the Mall. Let me know when they do that. This is how we spend our money. This is how we think we can address complicated problems. What are we calling it these days? Crime prevention? Rapid response? Investment in public safety? Crime prevention is meeting the unmet needs that cause suffering and put people into a continuous cycle of crisis and failure. Rapid response is truly paying attention, in real time, to vulnerable and distres...
Yesterday was a rare, low-humidity day in June - - shocking! I took this as a sign. After several days of false starts I managed to get myself into the car and head over to St. John Baptist Church for early voting. I don’t know if you remember, but there was a bit of an uproar when St. John Baptist built their new church on the corner of Tamar and 175. Some people seemed to suggest that James Rouse had forbidden church buildings as a part of the Columbia Plan. Since then I’ve observed so many ways that this congregation has connected with the community and opened its doors to educate and to serve. I wonder if the naysayers have noticed? A few things. Something yellow caught my eye in the parking lot. What office is the duck running for? I’m serious. That’s a duck. Apparently it’s associated with Linfeng Chen, whose enormous sign you can see in the center of the photo. I don’t know if there are any electioneering rules which expressly forbid duck signs. But what would happen if every c...