Time Travel with The Baltimore Sun

Oops. They did it again.

 Recognize that building? It’s not the Columbia Association headquarters. This is.

It is now 2023. CA moved from its old HQ at the Lakefront to its new location on Hillside Court in 2015. And the Baltimore Sun/Howard County Times still hasn’t caught up yet.

This really gets my goat. They’ve made this mistake at least twice before since 2015 and I see I’ve written about it in dismay both times.

Small Story, 2016

Local News, Local Lives, 2020

Apparently our local newspaper got stuck in 2015 and cannot be budged. Therefore, Allan Kittleman is the County Executive, Renee Foose is Superintendent of Schools, Milton Matthews is the President of the Columbia Association.

This is the Howard County Courthouse. 

Photo from Howard County Government website 

Things that don’t exist in 2015:

• The new Elkridge Library
• The new Wilde Lake Middle School
• The Merriweather District 
• The Chrysalis 
• Clarksville Commons and The Common Kitchen
• The new Wilde Lake Village Center? (I haven’t yet nailed down a date on that.)
• Bridge Columbia (transformed pedestrian bridge over Route 29)

I’m sure there’s more. 

In all this time, throughout all these changes, the Baltimore Sun has not seen fit to change their file photo of the Columbia Association Headquarters. They appear to know who the current County Executive is, and the location of the new courthouse. So their insistence on time travel seems to be selective. 

It’s just this one building. I guess they don’t like it?

I get it. The old headquarters at the Lakefront is just so picturesque.

Honestly, the folks at the Sun know that CA has moved. Luke Lavoie wrote about the decision in 2014. Guess which photo they used, by the way? It was accompanied by the caption “ CA Headquarters located on the Columbia lakefront. (File)”

It’s an appealing springtime view, taken at an eye-catching angle to get both the building and the lovely seasonal blooms. I wonder who took this photo? I’d love to credit them. I wonder if they get a payment every time it’s used?

I doubt it.

Why is it important? Well…

This picture accompanies an article which is meant to inform residents about the upcoming Columbia elections. There are plenty of good reasons this year to try to reach more people and encourage more participation. But if you moved to Columbia any time after 2015, this building means nothing to you. We’re trying to inform people here, not confuse them. I’m tempted to write a letter to the Editor but I don’t think that’s even an option anymore. 

Anyway, since we’re throwing it back to 2015, here’s a photo of me with someone whose presence on the local scene I am far more sentimental about than the building at the Lakefront.

Julia Jackson McCready, a local blogger, accepts an "Esteemed Use of the Twitters Award" from Colonel Gateway. (Staff photo by Jon Sham, Baltimore Sun Media Group)