Village Green/Town²

 Looks cute. It’s deadly serious. Take a look.  How LGBTQ Voices are Being Erased in Classrooms , Leslie Rafei, ACLU How LGBTQIA+ Book Bans Impact Kids and Teens , JoAnn Yao, WNDB The Impact of Book Bans on LGBTQ Students , Sarah Zhang, Institute for Youth in Policy When you vote in our upcoming local elections you can do something tangible to ensure that school environments are truly conducive to learning: safe, accepting, and fully prepared to meet student needs. The responsibility of schools to support all students clearly includes LGBTQ+ students. In fulfilling that responsibility, school must have the freedom to choose materials that are appropriate to meet a variety of student needs. There’s nothing radical about this.  People who support intellectual freedom in schools, especially in school libraries, are not “radicals.”  I don’t know if I can make this any plainer: if you live in Howard County the ability of your local schools to fulfill their educational mi...

  Trying something new this morning:  this week  soon  down the road apiece This week: the Howard County Office of Aging and Independence is hosting a showcase event at the new East Columbia 50+ Center this Thursday, May 2nd, from 2-6 pm. Join the Howard County Office on Aging and Independence on May 2 at the East Columbia 50+ Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Learn about healthy aging programs and services, connect with neighbors, enjoy fitness demos, crafts, speakers, giveaways and more. This might be a great introduction to the new space for those of us who couldn’t find parking on the day of their grand opening. In fact, they’ve arranged a shuttle service for this Thursday. Smart thinking. You can learn more about the event (including details about how the shuttle will work) at the following link. OAI: Creating Community, Cultivating Connections  One question I’d love to ask is how the 50+ Centers see themselves serving 50+ residents who are still working. It’s entire...

To play, or not to play. That is the question. I showed up at Jazz in the Woods at around 12:30 yesterday, and planted my green (Chrysalis rental) chair up towards the front. Image from Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods social media  I was in time to hear the end of the Mount Hebron Jazz Band’s set. Wilde Lake would be up next. The weather was cool and overcast. In a literal sense, the high school musicians had come to play. Music, that is. It’s interesting that the expression “they came to play” means something more akin to competitive athletes taking the field. “come to play” American English, informal: to be disposed to play or participate in a manner reflecting a determination to win or succeed But this wasn’t a competition. It was more of a musical love-fest to high school jazz bands. The MHHS musicians finished their set and the Wilde Lake group began to set up. It began to rain. Not heavily, but steadily. That was when I noticed that many of the adults around me had pulled...

  Are you ready for some weekend fun? Here goes: The OMCA annual plant sale in Oakland Mills is this morning from 9 am to 11 am at The Other Barn. HC Drug Free ’s Medication & Sharps Disposal is from 10 am to 2 pm at the Wilde Lake Village Center. Jazz in the Woods at the Chrysalis, 11 am -  6 pm at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods.  Little Portion Farm is holding a plant sale from 9 am - 2 pm,  12290 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City Wilde Lake CARES will be doing cleanup at the Snowy Owl Adopt-a-Spot location from 9 - 11 am.   Coffee Run & Fun  from 2 - 4 pm at The First Presbyterian Church of Howard County. This one merits some explanation:   For the 15th year in a row, we will be holding a fundraiser for the Coffee Microgrants Project, inviting everyone to participate in an afternoon of games, fun, and fellowship - including a chance to try your hand at pickle ball right inside the church!  The event will be held at First Presbyt...

  Who has the correct ideology to invoke the name of Rouse? Honestly, I would like to be done with this practice now and forever. I have decided to create a new term for this: “Rouse-signalling”. My objection is to anyone trotting out Jim Rouse’s name when it serves them - - especially when they want to win something - - as though it’s a celebrity endorsement.  I do wonder every so often what Rouse would think of various goings-on today. Of course, if it were possible, it would be fascinating to get his take on the here and now.  - - from “The R Word”, Village Green/Town², 8/16/2022 Yesterday these words came back to me as Jim Rouse himself turned up in my inbox and spoke to me. And now he’s going to speak to you. Jim Rouse Speaks If you’re an expert in all things Rouse, and you are thinking, “I’ve never heard that audio clip before,” you’re right. It came to me through the technical expertise of long-time Columbian Dave Bittner. Mr. Bittner had noted my frustration earl...

  I’m not waiting until Saturday on this one! It’s the first big concert weekend of the season at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods and I don’t want you to miss it.  The Big Green Lady is getting ready for her closeup. Image of the Chrysalis amphitheater from IAT social media  Saturday it’s Jazz in the Woods from 11:00 am to 6:30 pm at the Chrysalis, featuring students Jazz Bands from HCPSS and The Navy Commodores. Event Poster, Jazz in the Woods HCPSS student musicians take center stage to showcase their passion and creativity at the 5th annual Jazz in the Woods, followed by the iconic Navy Commodores! Student Performances are from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. Groups participating include Guilford Park, Centennial, Marriotts Ridge, Wilde Lake, Glenelg, and River Hill High Schools, along with the High School GT Jazz Band.  The Navy Commodores will perform from 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm. The Navy Commodores, image from Jazz in the Woods event page U.S. Navy Band Commodores, Navy's ...

The publicity you want:  CA Recognized as National and Regional Leader in Sustainability During Earth Month* The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) honored CA with a Goal Achiever award for hitting its 30% energy savings goal as a partner in the Better Buildings Challenge. This significant reduction was achieved due to innovative energy efficiency efforts across CA’s 500,000-square-foot building portfolio.   In addition, CA earned a Green Community Leadership Award from Howard County’s Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Environmental Services. This award was presented at GreenFest, an annual Earth Month event that was held at Howard Community College on April 13.    The publicity you get: Columbia Association has lost its mind!!! - - NextDoor Supreme Sports Club Getting Rid of Women’s Gym - - Reddit/ColumbiaMD  I sometimes wonder if our local NextDoor consists of the people who dominated the comments section HoCo Times/Columbia Flier until both papers turned of...

The Tweet: the reason Koreans don't need 3rd spaces is because there is already a coffee shop optimized around beauty & slowness on every other block. this is prevalent across all of Asia.  i'm concluding that it's the culture that creates this, not the other way around. it we want more of this in America, it starts at culture. and culture starts with grassroots efforts. it starts with us. The Quote Tweet: The reason the US lacks this isn’t “culture” (everyone likes nice coffee shops)…it’s just zoning. I responded to the QT:  But where does the impetus for certain types of zoning come from? No response. Mr. QT probably didn’t see my question. There’s something else he didn’t see. Look at the original Tweet. the reason Koreans don't need 3rd spaces is because there is already a coffee shop optimized around beauty & slowness on every other block. this is prevalent across all of Asia. (Italics mine) I must admit I missed that the first time around, as well. The re...

Seven years ago I was honored to play a small part in a Very Big Thing. Happy Earth Day/Birthday to the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods!  I’m also thinking this morning of the late Michael McCall, who wasn’t afraid to dream big and who shepherded this project to its completion.  The imagination and joy that Michael McCall shared with us will always be present in the park. For me it will be a reminder of how important it is to share your gifts. Share them, believe in them; your community needs you more than you know.   Imagination and Joy, Village Green/Town², 8/3/21 On this Earth Day, seven years later, I want to pause to celebrate the hocolocal individuals and groups who believe in their gifts and are sharing them as they work to care for our planet. We are blessed to have so many: Columbia Association  Community Ecology Institute Harper’s Choice CARES  Howard County EcoWorks Howard County Conservancy  Inner Arbor Trust Jon Merryman and S...

  CA has a new president: Shawn MacInnes , who will begin in the position on June 17th. I’d love to know more information about the search purely because I’m a naturally curious* person. For instance: how many people applied, how did they winnow them down, how did the finalists differ from one another, and so on. Let’s face it: I want to know if Columbia is still able to draw qualified applicants when our track record with CEOs is…rocky. CA/Village Elections were yesterday. Bill Santos was re-elected in Wilde Lake, Harper’s Choice did not achieve quorum, and I don’t know what happened in Owen Brown. So, fill me in. I can tell you that this is not a good day for lil ol’ provincial “New American City” me to be searching “Columbia” on Twitter. If you don’t know why, try it yourself. Tomorrow:   MTA offering free rides by bus, light rail, MARC and subway for Earth Day , Tony Roberts, Baltimore Sun Would you take a free ride? Do buses in Howard County go where you need/want to go?...

First order of business. If you live in Harper’s Choice, Owen Brown, Wilde Lake: vote! It’s true that I allowed myself some feelings of apathy/hopelessness about this year’s CA Election. Nevertheless, it does matters who gets elected. I received the following response to my recent blog post:         Despite the fact that there is widespread apathy towards CA governance, despite pervasive feelings of futility in the community, despite the fact that volunteers for these positions often get personally attacked and have nasty things made up about them… Despite all those things that contribute to this feeling of cynicism, there are still a few people willing to volunteer a big chunk of their time on behalf of the community and deal with the hassle of contested elections. And if they weren’t willing to do that, then people with unethical track records or questionable values would be able to step into these community leadership positions unopposed. Food for thought.  ...