Skip to main content

The Back Burner

Some things that are percolating but aren't ready to roll yet:

  • Changing acoustics in Downtown Columbia. I keep reading about this. Changes to the landscape due to development in the Crescent, combined with changes at Merriweather, appear to be affecting who is hearing what, where, and how much.
  • Expanded summer feeding centers in hcpss: good. One of the sites has recently-verified mold issues: bad.
  • Why do elected members of the Board of Education often learn of hcpss/Board actions by reading about them in the newspaper?
  • Women community and/or political bloggers in HoCo: we need more of them.
Good news from Michael Blackman of the Columbia Concert Band:

The Columbia Concert Band returns to where it has always belonged - the Columbia Lakefront July 4th fireworks! It's been so long, I can barely remember the last time the "hometown band" has been part of the Independence Day celebration - I am thinking 26 or 27 years (yeah, I played). Unfortunately, due to space restrictions, we can only bring a little over half the ensemble, but it's a start! Come hear a nice variety of music, including marches, popular songs, patriotic medleys, and original symphonic band music. We start at 7:00 and finish - well, when the fireworks begin!

This is exciting stuff--live community band music for the Fourth. It's wholesome, sugar-free, yet won't offend anyone's sense of fair play. Get your blanket out there early, folks. Also, it sound like there may be a back-story here. Yet another thing to put on the back burner.

Time to start cooking up some future posts.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...