Village Green/Town²

The Sheraton at the Lakefront is going to have a new life as a Marriott. Not just any Marriott, mind you, but the four-star Marriott Autograph brand. In an article for the Baltimore Business Journal, Carley Milligan writes: Owner and developer Costello Construction will add 70 rooms, bringing the total to 290, and update the entire interior and exterior of the hotel that sits on Lake Kittamaqundi at 10207 Wincopin Cir. The focus will be on creating a "high quality" and "luxury" product, Costello Construction President  David Costello  said. Well that’s just great. I’ve never been able to afford staying there, and now I really won’t be able to afford it. Why would I need to stay in a hotel in the place where I live? Well, what about for fun, a kind of “be a tourist where you live” experience? It must have a lovely view. I wonder... This piece about Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum opening its doors to overnight guests made me wonder if Columbia/HoCo has a...

Starting out with a shout out to Washington Post reporter Ovetta Wiggins, who provided much-needed context to a Statehouse photograph. My initial response to the same photo looked like this: The lack of representation of anyone who isn’t a white man is appalling. No matter what they were discussing, this lack of diverse perspectives limits the conversation. That’s a problem. Speaking of problems: Truth in advertising: I haven’t yet read the article because I was so gobsmacked by the assumptions made in the promotional tweet. I couldn’t resist pushing back a little: My brain made the leap from the latter photograph to the former. Maybe there’s no women in the top photo because they’re too busy applying makeup to work on advancing their careers? Or, perhaps they haven’t been able to establish political power because they’re not applying makeup well enough? Perhaps to understand why I find such an article frustrating you might appreciate seeing i...

A recommendation to get out of the Bubble and do some time travel at the same time. The Venus Theatre in Laurel is running a series of interactive events or “iterations” entitled “ JaneApp ”. From the playwright, Deborah Randall: Reg had all of the best intentions. She was an app designer, a volunteer. She wore a yellow vest and protected women in abortion clinics. She held their hands. Until one fatal day when the abortion clinic she was volunteering for was bombed. Reggie made it out alive but completely changed. Diagnosed with PTSD she spends most of her time in her basement apartment working on her Jane App. She believes if she can get  herself back to 1971 and meet the woman of a successful  underground abortion movement in Chicago, she might be able to change some things. Or at least understand the hostile world around her.  I had never heard about the Jane Movement until reading the promotional materials for this play. It’s not something we learned...

To close off Women’s History Month, here’s a fictional exercise based on very real things I have heard and continue to hear spoken about men and women in leadership positions in Columbia/HoCo. I’ve compressed them all into two imaginary “candidates for promotion.” Perhaps you have met someone like this. Perhaps you are someone like this. We still have a very long way to go. The Candidates: He’s a real leader. A real take-charge guy, you know? Sure, he’s a little rough around the edges but he really says what he thinks. And it just shows how passionate he is about his work. Boy, does he ever know how to put his foot down. He knows what he wants and won’t tolerate any deviation from the goal. Staff know they’d better get the job done and no back talk. That’s why he’s won so many awards. He shakes things up. Makes things happen. You don’t go around his back, no sir. Not if you value your life. Wouldn't stand for it. Listen, leadership isn’t about being everybody’s b...

It’s not often I get to send you to a student newspaper. Thanks to a Twitter link, I read this article from Wingspan, the “Centennial High School daily online news source.” High School Students to Participate in First Ever Howard County Student Exchange Day  by Sasha Allen and Emily Hollwedel On Wednesday, March 27, participating Wilde Lake students will travel to Glenelg, and Long Reach students will go to Centennial. On April 4, participating Glenelg students will go to Wilde Lake, and Centennial students will go to Long Reach. On the days of the exchanges, the students will attend classes until fifth period, where they will meet with school liaisons and debrief.  It all started with an idea from Wilde Lake Student Rachel Henry. She looked at the many differences between her school and Glenelg, and wondered what it would be like to visit Glenelg for a day. The article outlines how she took her idea to school administration, reached out to Board Members, and how...

I enjoy interesting questions. Baltimore Sun reporter Christina Tkacik asked this one on Twitter: It's my first official day as dining reporter for the @baltimoresun.  What's opening? What's closing? What's #trending? Send tips to: ctkacik@baltsun.com She got another interesting question in return: I'd like to see a story that covers the evolution of dining in Columbia. How well does it today reflect Columbia's founders' vision and how has it changed and shifted as Columbia and surrounding areas matured? Big story. (If it were me, I'd have fun digging thru the archives!)  @ babuwriter What a cool story that would be: a history of Columbia specifically through the lens of its restaurants. Do they say anything about who we are? If the Columbia Archives has already done this, let me know. Speaking of history: You can pick up this piece of Columbua ephemera on eBay for only $37.00. Any takers? Now that the weather is beginn...

Mother told you things. She said, “before you leave the party, always thank the birthday party mom.” She said, “If you accept a date earlier in the week, you can’t ditch them for a better offer later in the week.” And she most definitely said, “Don’t make a big deal out of being invited to a party when you know that other people haven’t been invited. It will hurt their feelings.” You remember that, right? But social media was not raised by your mother. Social media bursts onto the scene with the energy of a two year old who has gotten into your stash of chocolate espresso beans and the brazenness of a teen who wants you to know that yes, they were invited to the party and you weren’t. So there. This painful realization came to mind recently when I viewed pictures online of a private party to which I was not invited. Now, it doesn’t bother me to view photos from fundraisers which I couldn’t afford or family birthday parties for aquaintances from whom I couldn’t expect to rec...

While my official family birthday celebration is going to be at lunch today, my husband suggested I pick a place for dinner last night, in honor of the day. If your neighborhood place is having a party on your actual birthday, I think that’s a sign. So to the Second Chance we went. They clearly knew I was coming. I ordered my favorite chicken cheesesteak with marinara on the side. You’ll be happy to know I also got my birthday beer. I even received birthday greetings from 2C manager Jacquie. And, true to their word, we all got birthday cake. Yum. It’s good to have a neighborhood place. It’s especially good when they help you celebrate your birthday. And there was not even one hint of humiliation by birthday singing, for which I was mightily grateful.  Do you have a neighborhood place? I’d love to know the stories of what makes it special. If I get enough responses it would make a wonderful follow-up post to this one. So tell me about the place ne...

Things I’ve been looking forward to on my birthday: Well-wishes from family and friends on Facebook. Birthday snacks at work from my co-teacher. Things I wasn’t expecting: Unicorns at Clarksville Commons. An arty party at the library . This conversation: Talking about my upcoming birthday with students.  Me: You know, I don’t really know what I want for a present this year. Little boy: Beer? (I teach four year olds.) I certainly wasn’t expecting this   Since it’s my birthday, and I can write what I want to, I want to take a moment to express gratitude for the gifts that make my birthday, and every day, joyous and worth living. Those gifts are people: family, friends, coworkers, blog readers, acquaintances I know from their passionate involvement in our community, leaders who lead with insight and love. Columbia/HoCo wouldn’t mean what it does to me without you..  Y...

Signs of Spring in Howard County: High schools in bloom with their annual crop of musicals. High school fundraisers selling mulch. The annual reminder from the nice folks in my village not to over mulch your trees. Discussions of the Orioles prospects . The almost unnoticeable blip of CA and Village elections. Rain. Worries about Old Ellicott City. Impatience about graduation dates at Merriweather. Announcements of the Summer line up at Merriweather. Village cleanup day. To pull up dandelions or leave them for the bees: that is the question. Counting down the days to Sine Die in Annapolis. What says Spring to you in Columbia/Howard County?

More anxiety. Less ability to focus. Under-developed fine motor strength. Poor core stability and balance. More and more children are coming to school showing one or more of these issues. Slime. Mermaid fabric. Microbead pillows with Lycra coverings. Kinetic sand. Squishy toys. Inflatable bounce playgrounds and trampoline party zones. You might be surprised to learn that these are two sides of the same coin. All these toys and experiences are like over-the-counter medications to address a serious and often ignored crisis.  On the whole, our children today are starved for sensory experiences. Their worlds are missing the experiences of childhood that earlier generations took for granted: climbing, swinging, sliding, spinning, hanging upside down. Walking barefoot, balancing on a wall or railroad tie. Digging in sand and dirt, mixing in water, squishing mud, carrying sticks and rocks and incorporating them in play.  The need for creative, open ended outdoor play often...

Completely slept through the alarm today. This is probably a sign of something.  I do feel slightly more rested, at any rate. The comments from recent posts have been enlightening. When I first closed comments on this page and asked people to respond on Facebook, I wasn’t sure it would work. It took a while, but the transition has been successful. Eliminating anonymous trolls has been delightful. I do continue to find it puzzling that comments and “likes” to my blog are primarily from women. I don’t think that my blog is a “women’s blog”. (Whatever that may be in 2019.) Anecdotally, my observations from way back when still hold up. Women will “like” and comment on posts by both men and women. Men primarily interact with and show approval for posts by men. Most of those aforementioned anonymous trolls? They were men. Hmm... I once heard the theory that girls will go see a movie about a boy and his dog, but boys won’t see a movie about a girl and her dog, so movie makers ...

I wish I had something fully formed for you this morning. I don’t. But I do have a question, for those of you who are Columbia-minded. How long has it been the fashion to distrust and decry the actions of the Columbia Association? Surely it can’t always have been like this. It seems unlikely to me that it has been adversarial from the beginning. The recent attempt to change CA’s status from an HOA to a Community Benefit Association stirred up that old familiar song. We can’t trust CA. You have to watch them every minute. They’re trying to pull a fast one. And much, much more. Another social media disturbance centers around certain statues at the Lakefront which will be put in storage while construction is going on. People are quite heated on this topic as well. Never mind that CA has a proven track record in caring for and returning public art. For some reason that doesn’t factor in to the public response. Correction: H/T to reader Debbie Nix who pointed out that it i...

I told myself I wouldn’t be judgy. And yet, here I am. A moment that I can’t get out of my mind from yesterday’s Solidarity Vigil at Dar Al Taqwa came at the very end, as folks were leaving. A group in front of me on the sidewalk paused as a man held up his phone to take a picture. Someone said,  “Put your scarves back on.”  “Yes, get one with the head coverings.” And in that moment I felt a prickly uncomfortable feeling that these people were somehow at the mosque as tourists. They wanted a souvenir photo in native dress.  That one little moment left a bad taste in my mouth after what was a powerful and sacred event. The message from speaker after speaker was clear: we must come together, again and again, as neighbors. It is not just a nice thing to do. It is essential.  Being a neighbor is not the same thing as being a tourist. Wanting a souvenir photo wearing your vaguely exotic headscarf is an act of playing pretend, dressing up, and wanting to g...

The first time I attended Soup r Sundae it was the very last time it was held in the old Rouse Building. It was a warm day and some folks wandered out on a balcony to look at Lake Kittamaqundi. The young son of local media team HoCoMoJo got up and danced, much to the delight of the crowd. A charming college student was there in some official capacity. He remembered me from checking out books at the library and I was flattered. The Rouse Building is now Whole Foods, and that adorable dancing two and a half year old is now in Middle School. The charming young man is a college graduate and works for a legislator in Annapolis. Soup r Sundae, once a project of the local Rotary, is now put on by The Faith Partnership and hosted by Wilde Lake High School. One important thing remains the same: it benefits Grassroots . My daughter and I haven’t always made it every year, but we try to. She actually brought it up to me this time. “Are we going to that Souper Bowl thing? Because I like ...

This has been a rough week, It began for me one week ago when friends, family, and former students gathered to celebrate the life of my beloved father-in-law. As beautiful as the service was, it couldn’t ameliorate the pain of the farewell. And that is to be expected. The week that followed included a brutal (for me) time change, a completely uncalled-for smear of a local advocate, continuing racist jabs on the County Executive’s Facebook page, a horrific slaughter of Muslims in prayer in New Zealand, and a bout of some kind of stomach virus. Big and small, this week wrecked me. Into this week came the glimmer of something worth being happy about. The Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission’s Ian Kennedy announced that Darin Atwater’s Soulful Symphony will be the Orchestra in Residence at Merriweather. The announcement has been all over the news so I doubt you have missed it. But it hasn’t popped up here because, well, this has been a really. Bad. Week. You can get a...

Right now, here in Howard County, people are hurting. People of the Muslim faith are reeling from the news of brothers and sisters in New Zealand shot down during Friday prayers. People who have made it their business to advocate against gun violence  are hurting, those who have lost loved ones to gun violence are reliving their pain. Everywhere you go today in Howard County, you will very likely be near someone who is in pain. The new editor of the Howard County Times, Erin Hardy, comes to us from the Capital in Annapolis. This morning she writes: I lost five of my loved ones, family members, co-workers in the Capital Gazette shooting last June. Every mass shooting hits me like a ton of bricks that is magnified x 1000. I'm so tired and angry and sad that we KEEP DYING. To everyone who is in pain today, most especially my friends and readers of the Muslim faith, I offer my condolences and my support. You have friends here, you have allies here, you are not alone. I...

Almost every day I see comments on the County Executive’s Facebook page decrying the hiring of so many African Americans to leadership positions. It seems perfectly acceptable for these people to suggest that, because Calvin Ball is a person of color, his hiring of other people of color is a scheme, a scam, some kind of racial nepotism. Oddly enough, when previous County Executives hired mostly whites, these people weren’t online complaining. I wonder why. I am put in mind of this quote from Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg: When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that. It has become increasingly apparent to me that many white people are just fine with an all-white world into which one or two “minorities” are slotted to show how open-minded they are. The truth of the matter is that there ar...

I just dropped my glasses into my coffee. Let’s do this thing. Did you know there’s a social media group where teens can post a photo of their prom dress so no one else will get that particular dress? How is this even a thing? Yes, prom season is upon us and I do believe I’ve written about it before. Notably: It is sad that we don’t have local prom venues so our kids don’t have to go out of town. Multiple staged group prom photos are silly, IMHO. Prom-posals are DREADFUL Here is something a bit cheerier in the prom department, from a group of parents at Atholton High School: ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!!!!  Becca’s closet has about 700 dresses in our closet at Atholton High School. The Discovery Channel is donating 200 MORE dresses. Last time we got a donation, the dresses were brand new and never worn.   My principal is so supportive of us taking up more space because it’s such a good cause but as soon we we get those dresses in, they have to go out!!!!!  ...

There are many fascinating things going on in Howard County right now but this morning I chose to sleep in. I hope you will forgive me.The time change is not my friend. While I have you here, I want to give a shout out to everyone who went to Annapolis yesterday to March for education funding. Recommended reading : “Maryland’s Red for Ed Moment” by Cheryl Bost. If any of my readers have handy dandy tips on how to cope with this Spring Forward thing, please share them in the comments.

Meanwhile, over at Mount Hebron... The video in question has been taken down. A viewer described it as: A student asking other students on camera what types of ethnicity they wouldn’t date and why. The responses and reasons were insensitive and straight up racist . Over on the County Executive’s Facebook page there’s a steady stream of visitors claiming there’s no racism in Howard County. I think they may not be looking hard enough. I look forward to seeing what kind of response the school system will taken on this. It was my understanding that a lot of work had been done to improve the school culture at Mount Hebron. This video calls that into question. This new incident reinforces the concept that addressing racism is not a “once and done” proposition. The work is ongoing. Also, even if you change the school culture, if the way that families address or don’t address issues of race in the home remains unchanged, then the cycle is likely to continue...

2114. That’s the number of blog posts I have published. 20. That’s the number of blog posts that contain the word “Republican”. Yes, I checked. Although I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am a Democrat, I truly haven’t spent much time here dragging the Republican Party. That’s just not how I operate. Well, there’s always a first time. Yesterday I saw the most vile accusation, complete with photographs, printed on the Howard County Republican Party Facebook page. Translation: here are brown skinned people in photographs together. They are not our kind of brown skinned people. Let us take one piece of information we know about one of them and smear the whole lot of them without any other facts or context. Here you see the dregs of political discourse. Annihilation by association. Truth in advertising: I know Deeba. She is a strong advocate for equality and social justice in Howard County. She also loves being in photographs as much as I hate them...