Village Green/Town²

Where do you get your local news? I ask this question because I’ve seen a number of people complain that they don’t want to read newspaper articles if they have to pay for them. We’ve talked about that here before. Journalists need to eat, etc. This isn’t another impassioned treatise on subscribing to local papers (but, come on, you should.) It’s about where you get your news. Journalists are highly trained professionals and they must follow a code of ethics. There are professional standards they are bound to uphold. When you are thinking about who you trust for your local news, this should be a big deal. Increasingly it seems that it isn’t. Many of us hang around in online social media groups like workers around the proverbial water cooler. It’s fun to shoot the breeze, as it were. But this isn’t news. These days it’s more like unchecked sharing of misinformation with a few tidbits of truth here and there in the mix. Treating that like news isn’t just inaccurate, it’s dan...

It’s amazing how working from nine in the morning until almost nine in the evening clouds your vision. Such is the life of a teacher on Back to School Night. The next day should really be a day off, but it never, ever is. On my mind this morning: crazy local parking. Two of my friends posted rather hilarious photos yesterday of people who clearly think that the rules of parking don’t apply to them. Now, I try to have mercy on bad parking because I have been known to be a bit off-center myself. But seeing these particular photos put me in mind of a slightly different topic. Are there places in Columbia/HoCo that you find it difficult to park? It could be that there’s not enough parking, or it is not close enough to where you want to go. It could be that folks who shouldn’t be there hog all the available spots. Or perhaps it’s not well enough lit at night? Have you ever thought, of a local place, “I’m just not going to bother because parking will be impossible “? Extra credi...

I decided a while ago that Howard County needs its own Dan Reed. In case you don’t know, Mr. Reed writes the blog “ Just Up the Pik e” about goings-on in Montgomery County. To be more precise: New restaurants? Old restaurants? Real Estate? Bikeability? Politics? Schools and redistricting? Mr. Reed covers it all. For those in Howard County who say we should simply do things the way they do in MoCo, you might be surprised to learn that they have many of the same challenges and they are struggling just as mightily as we are. When local podcast Elevate Maryland was asking for names of possible guests, I immediately suggested Mr.Reed. The good news: he’ll be the guest tonight . The bad news: I have Back to School Night for work. Please go on out to La Palapa on Main Street in Old EC this evening and show Mr. Reed a proper HoCo welcome. (You know, the kind without protest signs and matching t-shirts.) This is going to be a fascinating episode. Being there in person while they t...

Today’s post hails from way back in 2016. It might as well have been written today. The Face in the Mirror Meanwhile, back at the Board of Ed... The numbers are in for the Jump Start program and folks are concerned that it will not reduce overcrowding in a meaningful way. Overcrowding is a serious issue. Parents are right to have concerns. However... I’ve seen quite a bit of online posturing about how the Superintendent and BOE “caved” when it came to making the tough decisions on redistricting. Oh, please. We spent a summer of protest: sign-making, t-shirting wearing anger and rabble-rousing. Post after post dripping with thinly veiled racism. NIMBY-ism at its finest. People waving their property values around. Members of the community impugning the intent of the AAC. In short, our foray into possible redistricting showed a truly ugly side to Howard County that many of us are still trying to shake from our minds. Throughout this entire debacle, the saner voices suggesting...

I read in the news that Howard’s of twenty-two businesses were affected by the gas explosion in Columbia on Sunday. I’ve seen several laments about the loss of Riverside Coffee. While I’ve been there several times over the years, it’s never become my “go-to” coffee hang out. But it’s clear that it was a a special place for many in our community. Losing Riverside brings to mind other beloved coffee places that are no more: Anna’s Coffee Roastery, Bean Hollow. Are there more I’m not recalling? What happens when you lose the space that has become your “third space”? Straight out of Wikipedia: In community building , the third place is the social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). Examples of third places would be environments such as churches, cafes, clubs, public libraries , or parks. In his influential book The Great Good Place , Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that t...

I received an email from a reader yesterday. I’m sharing it here because this isn’t the first time this has come up and I’d like to lay this subject to rest once and for all. I also don’t have a child in school system any longer, but don’t you think it is a bit hypocritical to berate others? I heard from several friends that although you live in the OMHS district (which you often defend in blog and tweets) you chose to send your own child to RHHS - the most socioeconomically/racially segregated in HCPSS. You had a choice because of your husband’s position at RHHS but few others do. My response: I don’t berate others. I do speak strongly but there are very few people I would be moved to berate.  Only those who are outright racist or mean-spirited, I would think. As far as my daughter is concerned, the choice we made as a family was very specific to her particular needs. Because of this, it is her own personal story to tell and I don't get to blab it around so that the gene...

The Superintendent has released his plan for redistricting. It’s a comprehensive plan that addresses both overcrowding and issues of de facto segregation in our schools. This is the beginning. A time for public response will follow. The Board of Education will work with the Superintendent’s plan while taking into account community input and their own knowledge and judgement.  That’s the process. Truth in advertising: I have no children left in the schools so my opinion is, necessarily, different than that of someone whose children stand to be moved. So take it with a grain of salt, if you will.  So far my response to the plan is hopeful. I imagine there are some bits here and there that may have to be tweaked. But I do think that we are long overdue for redistricting and that this plan attempts to meet some important goals for the system as a whole.  Of course it is human nature to feel change in a very personal way. How will this plan affect me, my child, my ...

They say your whole life passes before your eyes. In my case, it was a little different. It was my daughter’s life. I lay on the floor of a preschool classroom. I heard screams and the sounds of people running and furniture being pushed aside. Then, for a moment, I was briefly alone. I lay there, my face against the cool linoleum floor and thought of my daughter. How she was at home, packing the last of her things for college. How I would have to drive her somewhere and leave her and our lives and relationship would never be the same. She was the child of my old age, I used to joke. The child I had longed for all those years when I was divorced and dreaming of a stable, loving relationship and a new family. She burst onto the scene with jet black hair and star-sapphire eyes and, in so many ways, was a bundle of mysteries. They say that childhood lasts such a brief time. When you are getting no sleep and losing your mind with the exhausting labor of it all, you wish someone wo...

Here I am this morning, derailed by current events. Or, rather, how people respond. I’m referring to the recent report of a well known area businessman for repeatedly soliciting sex from a masseuse/massage therapist.  No, I’m not going to go through the story as reported in multiple locations. And no, I’m not going to talk about guilt or innocence. I want to talk about responses I’ve seen that made my skin crawl. A majority of the responses I have seen so far have been from men making excuses. If you wonder why certain objectionable behavior persists in our culture look no further than the underlying attitudes of what many men think is acceptable behavior. Some examples: 1. He was just bargaining for sex, it isn’t like he did anything without her consent. Under what circumstances do you think it’s acceptable to “bargain for sex”? At the doctor’s office? At the grocery? From the pizza delivery person? “Bargaining for sex” is never appropriate in situations that are not ...

Well, even though I should have known better, I hadn’t anticipated how much of yesterday at my new job would involve moving heavy furniture. I’m flattened. As a result I am putting you off one more day on that write-up of my visit to the Howard County Innovation Center. In the meantime, I refer you to the best article I have read so far on the MOU between HCEDA and Born2Global: Howard County trying to attract companies from Korea, other countries with new innovation cente r,  Morgan Eichensehr  for the Baltimore Business Journal There are some cool photographs as well.  I’ll see you tomorrow.

On Monday, August 12th I attended the signing of the MOU between the Howard County Economic Development Authority and Born2Global to “establish an international soft-landing space for South Korean tech companies at the Howard County Innovation Center.”(HCEDA) Here are the dignitaries who spoke: This is what they said: More on that tomorrow.  Listen, if you can wait for the Superintendent’s presentation on redistricting, you can certainly wait one more day for this. Today’s my first day at a new job and I’ll be walking through the door at  seven am. Enjoy the word cloud and talk amongst yourselves until then. A shout-out out to Howard County Deputy Chief of Staff Jennifer Jones who extended this invitation to me when I expressed an  interest in the new things going on at the Innovation Center in Gateway.

Today’s post is a bit out of the ordinary. It’s a sermon. In fact, it’s the sermon preached this last Sunday at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church by Pastor Gigie Sijera-Grant. I asked and was granted permission to share it here. I am running it in this space not because of its religious content, but because it addresses a very current issue. What happens when citizens speak out and work against injustice? These days they are often called “divisive.” When the truth makes others uncomfortable, then it is the truth that will be accused of wrongdoing.  If you don’t want to read a message couched in religious language, skip this one. You might want to read the paragraphs I’ve highlighted in bold, though. It’s some pretty powerful news. ***** I want to invite you to look at the front cover of your bulletin. There is a quote from Jesus in very large print: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?” (Luke 12:51) Do you think that Jesus came to br...

Needs and wants. You know the drill, right? You either got the lecture from your parents when you asked for an astoundingly expensive pair of shoes or you figured it out once you were on your own trying to make your paycheck “play nice” with your budget. There are things we need, like food and shelter, and things we want, like trips to the beach, dinner in fancy restaurants, designer clothing. Much has been made in certain circles of the fact that County Executive Calvin Ball has a security  detail and driver when former County Executive Allan Kittleman did not. It floors me that none of this trash-talking addresses the concept of why . The assumption is being made that if Kittleman didn’t need it, neither does Ball. So it’s clearly a “want” and not a “need”. That’s the argument. And it’s wrong. Security protection isn't offered as a perk like a steam towel with your shave. Do we think so little of our local law enforcement that we think they wouldn’t do an assessment spe...

Just in time for back to school, the meme of the moment takes us back to the school lunchroom. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?  One is presented with an array of choices, perhaps personality types, musical preferences, literary genres, and so on, and asked: Where are you sitting? It uses a familiar scenario to  ask you to place yourself according to some set of likes and dislikes. It’s  a fun little intellectual construct. No deep thought here. Yesterday I allowed myself to get drawn in to an online discussion about redistricting in the Howard County Public Schools and suddenly this meme came to mind. The lunchroom is Howard County. Lunch equals getting an education. And each table represents a point of view about redistricting. We have a choice where we decide to sit. Where would you be? Some suggestions: 1. Do what you want, just don’t change my situation. 2. Wait until the next High School is opened. 3. “Those Kids” will bring test scor...

You may know that one of my guilty pleasures is following what are known as “inanimate” accounts on Twitter. There’s the Bear Statue at MSU, Karl the Fog in San Francisco, even the famed Bull statue of Wall Street. In Baltimore there’s Mr. Trash Wheel and his compatriots, ManWoman Statue, the Ghost of McKeldin Fountain, and the i83 Pepsi Sign. Of course, right here in Howard County we’ve had a few of our own: Gingerbread Girl, ColGateway (not exactly inanimate) and Ms. Frizz, who looks to be the sassy personality of a certain multifaceted statue at the Columbia Lakefront. Naturally when a new landmark came to town, I was on the lookout for a budding new local Twitter Personality. So far, no dice. By new landmark I mean Azlon , the kinesthetic sculpture by Anthony Howe which was recently installed by Howard Hughes in the Merriweather District. One wonders what kind of an online presence it may eventually have. No, I haven’t been to see it up close yet. I’m looking forward to it....

Columbia/HoCo seems to have been divided on the coming of Woodstock, the 50th Anniversary music festival, but everyone can feel pretty jazzed up by tonight’s showing of Woodstock the film at Merriweather Post Pavilion. It’s a ten dollar “sit on the lawn” experience and it probably won’t be so loud that it disturbs the neighbors . Even if you’re disappointed that we’re not hosting a live show, it’s still going to be a fun and nostalgic community event. Sunday evening brings another one of Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods free Community Concerts at the Chrysalis. This time it’s award-winning Cultura Plenera, who specialize in the music of Puerto Rico. You can learn more here . The concert begins at five pm and I believe there are a few tickets still available. They’re free but you need to register so they can make sure they have adequate parking available for everyone. Bring a picnic or buy food and drinks onsite from the friendly Chrysalis team and/or the folks from Corner Ba...

It wasn’t hard to find the racist social media post. Hurt and angry students pointed the way. And their words show that they are more than outraged. There’s a sense of weariness, that these acts of blatant racism will never cease. I get the feeling that they wonder how this can continue if it isn’t somehow condoned. They feel let down by the system. The poster is your typical “nice” white kid with good grades and admirable extracurriculars. Her apology (once caught) is an exercise in what happens when the bright light of truth shines on white privilege. It was just a joke. My dad does it. I thought it was okay if I didn’t really mean it. Now everyone will think I’m racist . So we all know by now that teens apply dark colored facial masks, and feel inexplicably drawn to sharing this “look” on social media. But when one takes the extra step of adding a joke about the Jim Crow South it is not an accident . It is deliberate. Let’s face it, you think the experience of blacks du...

Sometimes a parent or a teacher pauses in the midst of confrontation or difficulty and says, I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Well, folks, today I’m just mad. I’m mad at people who don’t care about how others are treated because it doesn’t impact them personally. I’m mad at people who hold forth online with only a tiny shred of information and a whole bunch of opinion. And call it fact. I’m mad at ignorance, willful ignorance which is fueled by selfishness. Or mean spiritedness. Or racism. Or all three. I’m mad that all of this is right here where I live in Columbia/Howard County. Tomorrow I will get back to the work of this blog. Today, I am just...mad.

I offer you my most sincere apologies. I overslept and my brain doesn’t appear to be on straight yet. I’m working on a piece about my visit to the Howard County Innovation Center yesterday, but that will need a bit more time to firm up. In the meantime, I offer you my favorite tweet from this year’s Howard County Fair: During my early writing days, the newspaper I worked for in Howard County sponsored the fair. We had to volunteer, so I did the announcements. I announced the pig races in the most dead panned way possible. I was curious. Did you work for Patuxent Publishing? That’s a great story!   He responded: I did. Sports writer for the Howard County Times/Columbia Flier from 01-06! The writer in question, Matt Palmer, is now a media relations director. I have no knowledge of why he isn’t working as a journalist anymore but it’s not hard to guess. Today Patuxent Publishing is but a memory, having been devoured by a series of bigger fishes. Our local ...

If you own a smartphone, you have a camera with you whoever you go. If you are on social media, you participate in an ongoing stream of shared photographs, whether purely as a consumer or perhaps by posting yourself. Probably both. When I was young...blah blah blah Instamatic blah blah blah...developing film at the Revco...blah blah blah....photo album. There, we’ve dispensed with the historical context. I think we can agree that the current situation is wildly different. The “see it, snap it, share it” mantra seems to course through our veins. But is there a right and a wrong way to navigate this new world? I’ve been wondering. This kind of photography has always been wrong and is still wrong, whether it gets shared on the internet or not. Upskirt photos are a violation of the subject’s personal privacy and they are taken without consent. That’s pretty easy, right? But not everything is quite that simple. Knowing where to draw the line can be complicated. I found myself...

Somewhere out there, in the wilds of HoCo, is a blogger who writes solely about how he would completely redo sections of Columbia and the County if he were in charge. At the moment I can’t remember the name of the blog. He posts rather sporadically. His blog is on my mind this morning because I recalled a post in which he went to work “fixing” my Village, Oakland Mills. In particular, he stated that the group of quadroplexes where I live would need to be torn down and replaced because “people want garages.” Is that true? Do you have a garage? Do you think that having a garage is an essential? And, if you have a garage, do you actually park your car in it? Do we think there are more garages in Columbia or Howard County? A garage takes up space. Space is land. Land is money. HoCo Blogger AnnieRie once explained to me that the houses that annoy me, the ones with the garages out front, are made in that way to make the most economical use of the lot size. That hadn’t occurred to ...