Village Green/Town²

Last night I started making plans for December. I have reached the point of complete overload with this election and I wanted to find a point on the horizon far beyond November 4th. We are all inundated with mailings, television ads, requests to volunteer, and friends and acquaintances "having it out" over candidates and issues. In December I will be wishing for snow. I will be wondering if my teen will still get the sled out and go careening down the awesome hills in our neighborhood of Cinnamon Tree. In December I will yet again be making a crazy Advent calendar with activities for every day until Christmas. I will be planning Christmas dinner with Alice as we look forward to the first Christmas in their new house. I will be going to concerts. I will be soaking up the music. In December I will be looking at baby pictures, amazed that what seemed like the worlds longest election season could produce such a tiny, miraculous " bébé ". In December I will be counting ...

Long ago my father asked me if I knew what earning a bachelor's degree would qualify me for. I floundered around with the typical answers: the right to get a better job, the qualifications to apply to graduate school... No, he said. It earns you "the right to ask a question." Apparently that is the case, if you go back to much older educational traditions. I did some cursory digging around for this blog post and I can't find anything, but my dad was pretty convincing. It has stuck with me all these years. I raise this concept today because what is going on right now at the Board of Education is just that: will Board member Cindy Vaillancourt be permitted to retain the right to ask a question? It is pretty clear that the Board is attempting, through a pattern of behavior, to discredit her in an effort to prevent her re-election. So, let's look at the kind of questions Mrs. Vaillancourt has asked while on the Board: Why, after firing in-house attorneys, did the scho...

Wednesday morning I put out the call to my Facebook friends: tell me something good. They didn't let me down. If you care about something, then that means you love. And if you love, then there is always HOPE. It is Girl Scout cookie season. Chocolate Children's laughter Unicorns and rainbows! I'd like to add one more to that list: Dylan Goldberg and a dog named Thor. This is Thor.   This is his story, recounted by Dylan. Spent Wednesday night sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor of campaign headquarters with this Husky with a blue collar that I found out in western HoCo while on a sign delivery. The Ellicott City animal hospital couldn't take him in because he didn't have a chip and I couldn't take him home because of my own dog...so we found a home at campaign headquarters. I took him to the animal shelter Thursday morning, and thanks to Courtney Watson - Howard County and the power of social media, the lost dog post was shared nearly...

Today's post owes a huge debt of gratitude to friends who jumped in with information on the topic. First of all, I got this explanation from a former Owen Brown Board member. The Village Boards have the power to recommend boundaries as part of their Master Plan. That definition, once provided to the Department of Zoning, would then be taken into account and used as part of the criteria a developer would have to address as part of any plan submitted to the county. They aren't per se defining the boundaries as proposing them. It has to do with both who can file for a proposal to redevelop a village center and what are that plan must include as part of the overall plan they must provide. If you are interested, read this . Now Oakland Mills already had a good Master Plan, developed during the Revitalization Process. So what is this all about? This answer comes from a former Wilde Lake Village Board member. When New Town Zoning was amended to allow for Village Center redevelopme...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, last Tuesday ths happened: At the September 23rd Oakland Mills Board meeting board members unanimously approved new boundary lines for the "OM Master Plan 2/Community Plan" as well as the Final Draft Recommendations from the Housing Committee. Let me get this straight. They approved new boundary lines for the Village Center. They can do that? They took a map and a marker and made the Village Center bigger. Wow! It appears that they are taking in the apartments and some condominiums. I had no idea Village Boards had the power to do that. It also looks like Oakland Mills will be sponsoring a meeting of the HCCA, which doesn't particularly make sense to me. HCCA should be promoting their own events, in my opinion. And of course they have recently released a plan which puts a backward spin on community planning. Do I see a trend here? I have a very early morning today, so I don't have all the details filled in for you. I'll be adding ...

Late yesterday afternoon, Howard County Times released Blair Ames' piece about the Board of Education. Please read it. Read it online, don't wait for a print version because the print version is heavily edited and is therefore less informative. In fact--read it now. I'll wait. Okay, now let me ask you a question. Did you know they were carding young people who wanted to buy condoms at the Hickory Ridge Giant? You might know because Board Member Cynthia Vaillancourt was so concerned about the public health implications of this for our young people that she got involved to do something about it. And I wrote about it on my blog on September 6th. (Read that, too. Thanks.) The issues of safe sex, condoms as barrier protection, and overall sexual health are a part of the Howard County curriculum from eighth grade onward. They are considered an important part of the education of our young people. These are public health issues. They are printed publicly on the hcpss website, alo...

Our Board of Education has invented a new way to smear a colleague. It is called "passing a resolution expressing disappointment." Yes, there were (more) shenanigans at the Board of Ed. last night. Thank heavens Blair Ames of the Sun is back on the Education beat. He was at last night's Board meeting, and he will be covering this story. Look for an article later today. I know he'll cover the facts. I'll review that here tomorrow. What I want to focus on today is that this Board has chosen: once during the Primary cycle, and now again leading up to the General Election, to go to the extreme lengths of "passing a resolution of disappointment" against board member Cynthia Vaillancourt. If Mrs. Vaillancourt were actually guilty of anything, or even if the evidence looked strong, the Board would be able--no, they would be required --to take specific legal action. There would have to be open hearings, witnesses called, lawyers would be involved. The press woul...

Yesterday a friend asked me this question: Which of the candidates has the HCEA endorsement and should that mean something to voters? Which candidates will represent the students and parents the best- in your opinion? I want to give the Board of Ed race a rest for a few days, but I'm going to come back to that on Thursday. It is a good question, and it deserves an answer. **** My daughter and her husband bought their first house in Oakland Mills this Spring. We were thrilled. We're in Talbott Springs, they are in Stevens Forest, so we are neighbors in a way and yet not so neighborly that the young folks have to worry that Mom will drop in unannounced. The style/model of house that they bought is called a Pacesetter. This is an example of a Pacesetter .   This is the definition of the word " pacesetter ". a person, group, or organization that is the most progressive or successful and serves as a model to be imitated. Columbia was once seen as a pacesetter. I...

Remember this?   Question, "What do you think the job of a Board of Education member is?" Please address the following: 1. What power does the position convey? 2. What is the best use of that power? 3. To whom is the Board of Education member responsible? In summing up my impressions of the candidates' forum, I want to look through the lens of these questions, which I asked the candidates to respond to in the Spring.* The reason I asked these particular questions is that I feel that there has been a trend away from transparency and responsiveness, and that the process has shifted towards power being centralized from the top down. I don't think that's healthy. I also don't think that's what the statute dictates, either. Where things stand: board members Giles, DeLacy, and Siddiqui will remain. I want to be honest that I do not know much about Ms. Siddiqui, but at this point her record appears to be on the side of voting with the group. And the grou...

Blog : a Web site that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site This blog began in May of 2011 on Columbia Patch, and moved to Blogger in October of the same year. Since then I have written 506 posts. I am still working to get better at what I do--3 years and 143,913 pageviews later. I began to write in order to relate my experiences of becoming a part of Columbia and Howard County life: what does it all mean if you didn't grow up here? How do I fit in? If anything has changed about that mission it can be found in this post: " WWDD ?" (May 31, 2013.) From that day forward every post I have written has been to honor Dennis Lane , and in some small way, to carry on his work and his love for our community. This blog contains personal reflections, comments, and hyperlinks. I write about what I care about. I am extremely careful to post only what I know to be the truth. I will sometimes...

On Wednesday evening at the Candidate's Forum, a funny thought popped into my head. As I listened to Mike Smith talk, I realized that he reminded me of someone. It stayed in the back of my mind until I got home and realized who that was. There was just something about Mike Smith that reminded me of that fellow that Wegman's recruited to be the owner for their (ill-fated) liquor store. Do you know the story ? I started digging around online, and it turns out that both have the same name: Mike Smith. What a coincidence. Both are Ellicott City lawyers. Hmm. The more I looked at photographs and compared information, the more it sunk in: this is the very same guy. He may have traded in his necktie for a dapper bow tie look, but it's the same Mike Smith . Why do I care? Why should you care? Well, among the issues surrounding the Wegman's proposed liquor store was the fact that Smith had absolutely no experience as a liquor store owner. I believe he had brewed beer in his...

Here are my notes from Wednesday's Board of Education Candidate's Forum at The Other Barn in Oakland Mills. I chose to cover the first part of the evening, where candidates were allotted five minutes to focus on an issue of most interest to them. It had been suggested that they pick one of the topics from the questions submitted in advance. Some did; some did not. Bess Altwerger-- has worked as a teacher of teachers. Has first hand experience of current educational trends and what is happening in the classroom. Her remarks were confident and focused. She addressed 1. Improving equity based on need 2. Less emphasis on high-stakes testing 3. Economic disparity between students. Was outspoken in her support for the quality of teachers through the county. Mike Smith--began his remarks with a disclaimer that he was a completely independent candidate who answered to no one, who had no alliances that could influence him. (Note to self: Ann DeLacy ?) Then st...

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the Oakland Mills Village Center last night was a Mike Smith campaign sign planted in the ground, which I found to be rather cheesy. I don't know what the rules were for last nights Candidate's Forum, but my gut feeling is that candidates were not invited to plant signs on Village Center property. Once I parked my car, I noticed candidates Mike Smith and Christine O'Connor chit-chatting out front by his campaign sign. From the other side of the parking lot came a friendly shout, "Well, look! There's my favorite candidates!" It was current Board Member Ann DeLacy. The candidates' response was rather odd. "Shh!" They shushed her. "What do you mean, Shh?" "Shh! You're not allowed to do that anymore." "What?" "Didn't you see?" At this point Ms. DeLacy had reached them and they bent their heads together in private conversation. I just kept on walking...

Last night when the O's clinched the AL East Division Championship (did I say that right?) I kept seeing the year 1997. "Seventeen years is a long time..." began many a tweet. Something about that year rang a bell. 1997. Oh, yeah. September of 1997 is when I met this guy. He had long hair tied back in a ponytail, wore a leather jacket, drove a fast car, and sang counter-tenor in the professional choir at Grace and St. Peter's Church in Baltimore. I was new. He stood behind me in the choir stalls and helped me navigate my way through the complex, high-church liturgy. Yes, seventeen years is a long time. Long enough for a courtship (beginning approximately 11/98) marriage (11/99) birth (11/00) and many other celebrations, most notably Alice and George's wedding on 9/16/12. Wait--was this post supposed to be about baseball? Well, maybe. One thing I didn't know back in September of 1997 was how much this guy loved baseball. Over the last seventeen years I have w...

Five things that scare me: Football players beating four year old children Online ads that follow senior citizens around the internet Dancing With the Stars (wow, is that ever creepy!) Open Forums where "anything can happen" Depression What's your list?   Posted with Blogsy

Today is Dot Day. I learned about Dot Day by following Howard County Media Teacher Matthew Winner on Twitter. You can learn more about his work on his blog, The Busy Librarian. Dot Day, or rather International Dot Day , is a "global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, (which) began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009." Dot Day is significant to me because it is an example of teachers connecting through social media and the World Wide Web to create a creative and affirming learning experience for students. I write a good bit here about what high stakes testing and the emphasis on data, graphs, and endless meetings about the same, are doing to education. Dot Day is an example of what teachers really want to be doing: creating, collaborating, challenging students to be their best selves. These teachers don't need professionally vetted surveys to rate their level of engagement. They...

This post was originally published about a year ago--9/24/13, to be exact. I am running it again to ask the same question: what are you willing to do to participate? What will it take for you to be engaged? A Face in the Crowd Saturday I attended the kick off event for Courtney Watson's campaign for the office of Howard County Executive. I was with the band. The Lexington Brass Quintet Truth be told, I would have been there even if my husband hadn't been playing tuba. I like Courtney. I've seen her reaching out to constituents through social media, most notably during storms and power outages. And I like the people I see working to support her. Someone must do the work. Even before well-wishers walked in the door Saturday morning, people were busy. It's not just about wearing a "We're With Watson" t-shirt. The event itself had to be planned, the venue chosen and booked, tasks assigned, logos for signs and t-shirts created, food ordered, supplies purchased,...

Scene: two teens on Twitter.   "just saw the article on the Glenelg student." "exactly" "seriously.... what if their flag offended me? Bet you they wouldn't get suspended. people need to get their facts straight." "exactly .... ppl are stupid"   **** "You can drive around out here in a couple locations and see Confederate flags, southern flags flying up on flagpoles," he continued. "I am not going to question the intent of people flying them, but clearly they feel comfortable flying them and they have no issue." ***** Oh, those crazy kids. They say and do the darnedest things. Wait, that second quote is from Republican Warren Miller, Maryland Delegate from District 9 A. That quote is from an adult? I highly recommend read...

The issue of the Confederate Flag and Glenelg students has taken up a good share of my Facebook conversations for the past few days. There have been some soul-searching discussions. And, when Ken Ulman and Courtney Watson stepped up and squarely addressed the problem, some unbelievable nastiness and name-calling spewed forth. It all depends on what you read. But the place to go for on the ground observations is Twitter. Why? Because here you will find teens sounding off. And, in the nature of teens, they are sounding off without any real understanding that the whole world might be watching, so they are entirely candid. It's fascinating. I encourage you to do your own search. These are primary sources, after all. I'm sharing a few today. I'm including all the raw language because I think it is necessary. Search "Glenelg Confederate" Sad to say this is not the 1st time us Glenelg people have seen the confederate flag around school Its been going on forever wi...

This morning Tom Coale of HoCoRising wrote a post that stopped me dead in my tracks. Entitled "The Bubble" it is a frighteningly accurate indictment gentle reminder to those of us who live in The Bubble, which he describes as follows: The Bubble is "us". It is the 500 to 800 people across the County that pay attention to hyper-local politics, talk about hyper-local politics, and can name at least three members of the Board of Education (if we were a club, that would be the pass-code). We pay attention to each and every move a candidate makes and will look at campaign literature more than once after it arrives in our mailbox. If you're reading this, you are at the pinnacle of the bubble - you cannot get enough of this stuff. The gentle reminder is that the Bubble isn't everything, and that it can distort reality. This post really made me stop and think. I had plans for what I was going to post today but suddenly I wanted to stop and rethink. Shortly afte...

Tonight there's a party for local bloggers and their readers from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at Nottingham's. Tickets are free, and include some free food and one drink ticket. (!) Sign up here . I have to confess I have never been to Nottingham's, so I'll finally get to rectify that. Advance reports suggest you'll be able to catch HoCoHouseHon , Marshmallow Man , and possibly even the elusive Eric Freed . Join us. Wednesday night there's a Board of Education Candidate Forum at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center, hosted by the Columbia Democratic Club. I can't be there because of Back to School Night (there's that delicious irony again) but you should definitely go. It begins at 7:30 pm. I have it on good authority that all but one of the candidates will be in attendance. Each will make a brief (2 minute) introduction. The moderator will get the discussion going with one initial question, then they will be taking questions from the floor. So, come and bring your q...

Over the weekend, a friend posted this on Facebook: Photo circulating of confederate flag displayed by Glenelg HS fans at football game in #hocomd Friday PM. Haven't seen any further info. :-( The responses: It was part of this photo gallery and was still up yesterday. It has since been removed. Lot of parents have gotten involved in the next moves. *headdesk* Although I will say, having grown up out that way, not surprised. Oy . I have a hard time knowing where to start with this. I must admit that including that photo in the online collection was a pretty gutsy move by the Sun and certainly made it more difficult to sweep the students' action under the rug. Now there will have to be consequences. And that is as it should be. I am reasonably certain that the Confederate Flag is not the official flag of Glenelg High School. Therefore, the choice to display it at a football game was meant to send another message. While there seems to be a general agreement that many f...

Over the last year I have received some thank-yous that have meant a lot to me. I have been thanked for campaign contributions, blog posts, children's chats at church, and even a box of Pop Tarts. These moments of gratitude take a variety of forms: preprinted, hand-written, emailed, and person-to person in conversation. (Even a thank-you party!) I have a few thank yous to share today. I have been carrying them around with me in my head, and they have gathered enough momentum to command their own blog post. 1. To whoever fixed the lying-down sign at the intersection of Oakland Mills Road and Oakland Mills road (near Pete's Snowballs) with one that is ten times nicer--thanks! I love it. 2. To the staff member at Walgreen's who authorized the complete overhaul of the outdoor plantings, landscaping, etc. It was getting really depressing and now it looks loved and cared for. Nice work. 3. To the parents who serve on my school's PTA, on the PTA Council of Howard County, and a...

Imagine you nip into the store to buy condoms. You aren't feeling particularly chatty, so you opt for the self check out. Then, this happens: your purchase triggers the machine to require a staff member to come do a manual reset (like you are buying NyQuil) and then, you get asked for ID. At this point you would probably feel like an enormous, light-up arrow is pointing directly at you. As the kids say, "Awkward." Yes, this has really happened, right here in Howard County, at the Hickory Ridge Giant. I learned of this through a posting on Facebook by Cynthia Vaillancourt. It piqued my curiosity as I had just been reading through the Howard County Public Schools Health and Human Sexuality curriculum, which covers contraceptives at the eighth grade level. Did you guys know the Hickory Ridge Giant sometimes "cards" young people trying to buy condoms? Apparently it is not official store policy (according to regional manager) - but when you go through the self c...