Village Green/Town²

I am here tonight to represent people who can’t be here. They are parents, feeding their children, reading to them, putting them to bed. They are young professionals who are working late at their jobs to try to get ahead in a difficult economy. Let’s not forget high school students enjoying the first moments of Spring Break, and younger children who can’t stay up past their bedtimes. These are some of the people who asked you to support the Inner Arbor Plan and Trust. They wrote letters, sent emails, signed petitions, and came to meetings. They spoke for themselves, and in many cases, parents spoke on behalf of their children. They thank you. I thank you. I am here tonight to remind you that they have complete faith in the work that you are doing, and they trust you to keep moving forward. But I am here for another reason as well. Lately I have been seeing what I can only describe as bullying behavior aimed at this board. Negative letters in print, nastiness online, separate m...

Since I declared my candidacy for Columbia Council Representative in Oakland Mills, I have been thinking a lot about partnership. Columbia could not be the amazing community it is without it.  My two years on the Village Board confirmed this for me. Knowing how to create and foster successful partnerships is even more important today.  Look at some of the challenges we face: Fulfillment of the Downtown Plan will require the cooperation of multiple stakeholders. Realization of the Inner Arbor Plan will be possible thanks to successful partnerships between the Columbia Association, the CA Board, the Inner Arbor Trust, and Howard County. Inclusion of newer residents and newer generations into the workings of Columbia will demand ongoing partnership between Village Boards, the CA Board, and the Columbia Association. Online research into successful partnership brought me to some unlikely inspiration: an article on the Badminton Central website, of all things. ( http://w...

As a newlywed, I adored my food processor. Back then I cooked everything from scratch and it was one of the wedding presents that got frequent use. So, I tried to talk my mother into getting one. She was still chopping everything in a wooden chopping bowl. Her resistance amazed me. "How do you make sure that the plastic pusher-thing doesn't get sliced off by the blades?" She asked, doubtfully. "It doesn't! Trust me! And besides, do you think they could successfully market something that got sliced up as soon as you used it?"  I wasn't very patient with her line of thinking. She got a food processor. But she never really used it. It sat on the kitchen counter looking sparkly and new. And she continued to use her wooden chopping bowl. I won the battle, but I lost the war. In Columbia we are proud of recalling that our community was founded with racial, ethnic, and economic diversity in mind.  But on days when things go horribly wrong, ...

We need to make Columbia meaningful to all residents. We need to make Village life, along with the mission of Columbia, relevant to newer residents, younger residents, and residents whose economic or ethnic backgrounds make them feel disenfranchised. In Oakland Mills, the revitalization process helped us focus on our strengths and establish priorities through a Village Master Plan. The Street Captain Program, the weekly e-newsletter and the Village website have built on that process. We still need to do more, because within every resident we reach lies the future of our village. The Columbia Association has also done an excellent job in recent years of reaching out through email, newsletters, blogs, social media and informative community events. My own understanding of and appreciation for CA has been positively influenced by their efforts. And yet, we still need to do more. I am running for Columbia Council Representative in Oakland Mills because I believe it is an i...

My dad died in 1984, at the age of 57. He didn't live to see any of his grandchildren. He died of COPD , or what had been known before then as emphysema.  He had smoked since his teen years. My grandparents smoked as well. Both had emphysema, though lived much longer--my grandfather to 84, my grandmother, 79. Perhaps my father's allergies, asthma, and childhood bouts of pneumonia predisposed his lungs to weakness. Perhaps his workaholic nature wore him down as he put in crazy-long hours in the early days of computers: coffee and cigarettes and nothing but a candy bar from the machine for dinner. These were computers that took up whole rooms, punch card machines...He moved to IBM, selling computer systems to newspapers and magazines in the early 70's, then to developing IBM products for newspapers and magazines...working on the early printers...coffee and cigarettes, long hours, long commute from Stamford to White Plains. Frequent travel. Trips to Japan, Engla...

Have you written any thank-you notes lately?  My Mother drilled into me the importance of writing them as a child. I don't think I write as many these days as I should. People just don't write letters anymore, right?  But even though technology has changed how we communicate, it shouldn't change our need to express thanks. And there is one thank-you note that I really, really need to write. Dear Columbia Council Representatives, Thank you so much for your recent vote in support the Inner Arbor/McCall Plan for Symphony Woods. It was just what I wanted!  The best part is that I can share it with my family, friends, and neighbors.  It's a really thoughtful gift. The Symphony Woods project is a gift that will keep on giving. I am so excited to be a part of something new and beautiful for Columbia. Finally we have found a way for other generations to contribute to something lasting and meaningful for our community. We love Columbia, too. We want to buil...

It wasn't too long ago that I wrote this: "Are you willing to put your hopes, your values, and your time into the ongoing, living being that is Columbia?" And this: "We can't be static. We need to keep reaching, striving, working so that more people and visions are included." Yes, only a few days ago I said this: "The People Tree in motion...looks like participation in your neighborhood, your village, and in the ongoing plans for Columbia." Well, I must be pretty persuasive, because I convinced someone to run for Columbia Council Representative for Oakland Mills. Me. I love Oakland Mills, and I love Columbia. Exciting things are happening in our community and we have the chance to bring our friends and neighbors into this process, to share knowledge and a sense of ownership. That's what makes a community awesome. Serving as Council Representative means creating a positive working relationship with both the Village Board and th...

Years ago, my sister's high school boyfriend came to her with a story of a nightmare. He dreamed that she had died and had left everything to her "19 Closest Friends." He spent the whole dream trying to find out if he was one of them. For some reason, the story of the 19 Closest Friends became legendary in my family. It still means something to me, many years later. I thought of this story this morning when I read Dennis Lane's response to a comment on Tales of Two Cities, "Finally, is important to note that the vast majority of Columbia residents don't really care about this. If you combine the people who opposed the (Inner Arbor) plan with the people in support it wouldn't number over 500. That's less than 1% of the lien paying population." The people who know, and who really care = less than one per cent of the lien paying population. I'm having trouble getting my mind around that. What it means is that, whatever Columbia...

In the beginning it was all good. We were all the right sort of Columbians. The world was wholesome and fair. We understood that all we needed was our own Village Center, and the great good Mall to unite us.   It was all forming into a beautiful utopia, just for us. Just to meet our families' needs. Everyone was involved in making Columbia a better place.  Participation in self-government was enthusiastic. Lifelong friendships were forged at the community mailboxes. The world was safe; it was easy to find a babysitter.  But mostly, Moms stayed home and made our neighborhoods welcoming. Oh, mom took a painting or ceramics class now and again, for fulfillment, you know. But we knew she'd be there when we needed her.  Once upon a time we were pioneers in integration and multiculturalism.  We had just the right kind of diversity, you know: nice upwardly mobile middle class integration and nice university professor sort of multiculturalism...