Village Green/Town²

  There are many, many jobs involved in running a local political campaign. For every person you can see handing out literature or working at the polls, there are numerous others working behind the scenes at tasks you probably haven’t even thought of. Candidates must martial their volunteers strategically.  That’s why they probably don’t have a specific election category called “Watching election signs at the polls after dark.” Nobody has that many volunteers. And besides, why should this even be necessary? Why, indeed.  Alas, Early Voting in Howard County has been marred by political vandals who are stealing and/or destroying campaign signs at voting sites. Perhaps I should simply be grateful that no one has of yet been threatened with a machete, but - - come on! - -  asking people to respect the other side’s candidate signs seems like a pretty low bar to me.  People used to make fun of Howard Counth for our Choose Civility campaign. We’ve moved on from that,...

Thanks for the feedback on yesterday’s post about the unsolved goings on at Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park. It seems that some of my readers are quite knowledgeable on this particular topic.  ***** I’ve been seeing some folks spouting uninformed views about the Homewood Center lately. There seems to be a misconception that Homewood is where we isolate undesirables that “decent people” want to separate from the general population. Maybe Homewood needs to rebrand itself with a series of adverts that proclaim: Homewood. We’re not what you think we are. Or perhaps all those “decent people” could do the work to become better informed. Speaking of which,  Did you know that there are three different educational programs including three high school programs and two middle schools at Homewood Center? We would like to invite you to consider supporting two upcoming things that benefit the Homewood Center. Please consider sharing these upcoming opportunities with your workplaces, your friend...

It’s back… It looks like that odd and disturbing story about the Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park in Elkridge is still unresolved and it isn’t going away. In what may or may not be a Halloween tie-in, Tim Prudente and Stokely Baksh of the Baltimore Banner have written a piece which dredges up the disturbing details. It begins like this:  Questions linger about the graves dug up at Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park Off U.S. Route 1 in Howard County, in the shadow of new townhomes and industrial-style apartments, a stone wall hides a forgotten little park. The lawn here is pockmarked with depressions where, year after year, the bronze plaques are sinking deeper in the dirt. These are the graves. There’s not much else. A battered old house, a collapsed barn, watchful stone buddhas. A black cat creeps through the tree line (honest). Stephen King might have written about this place. This is not a bare bones recitation of the facts. The article presents both the current state of affairs and the histo...

Posts on local foodie sites seem to fall into about four categories, excluding positive/negative reviews. 1. I’m looking for a particular kind of restaurant, please recommend. 2. Remember that awesome restaurant from long ago and how amazing it was? 3. Why hasn’t that new restaurant opened yet? 4. When is Taco Bell re-opening??? Yes, the laments from languishing locals over the temporary closure of Columbia’s lone Taco Bell have practically become a category unto themselves. Their fierce loyalty perplexes me; I’m not a Taco Bell fan. Still, their passion cannot be denied.  In honor of these devoted folks, I’m happy to announce that this Wednesday will officially bring their season of deprivation to a close. Image from Taco Bell social media  Hey everyone! Your local Taco Bell GM here! Excited to say we are back to open this Wednesday, October 30th. Please stop by and check out our brand new building! Hope to see you guys soon!  7102 Minstrel Way, Columbia MD Lest you thin...

In recent years I’ve been trying to be less judgmental about when folks start doing “the holiday thing”. I was raised in a non-religious home where the rule was nothing Christmas-themed until the conclusion of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, although we didn’t put our tree up until about a week before the actual day. As an adult I have leaned towards observing the time before Christmas as Advent which has a personality all its own and is not merely Christmas Lite. But everyone is not the same. And it’s really not something worth fighting over in the grand scheme of things. Is it?  And yet, the appearance of the following program on Public Television last night definitely activated my Too Early button. Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghosts of Christmas Eve Saturday, October 26, 10:30 pm on MPT Celebrate Christmas with Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s allegorical rock opera.  Almost a full two months before Christmas??? Deep breath.  So here we are. Popular culture pushes the hol...

I voted yesterday. It was legitimately busy at the Florence Bain Center but the wait was minimal. I followed my traditional protocol for thanking each poll worker for being there so that I could vote. In turn, most of them thanked me for voting.  What would we do if we didn’t have enough poll workers? How would it impact free and fair elections? Some areas of the country are grappling with this right now. Some of it is likely due to COVID. Older people have traditionally stepped in as poll workers and they have been disproportionately disabled or have even died over the last several years. The pool is smaller. The other reason that it’s getting harder to find poll workers is the steady wave of threats associated with former President Donald Trump’s incursion into national politics and the rise of the MAGA movement.  Police and poll workers train for possible election threats , Katja Ridderbusch, NPR I haven’t heard of any of that kind of behavior happening here in Howard Count...

Is it possible you’ve been bombarded with numbers about the election lately? Here are some numbers I bet you haven’t seen. Images from Arts for EveryBody Instagram account Did you know… American adults who attend art museums or live arts performances are 20% more likely to vote than non-attendees. 4 OUT OF 5 young adults were more likely to vote after engaging in the arts. 97% of arts administrators vote. Cities with high concentrations of art have increased civic engagement. Arts participants are more than TWICE AS LIKELY to volunteer in their communities, independent of education, age, gender or ethnicity . These numbers, shared on the Arts for EveryBody Instagram account, come from The Arts Impact Explorer, an initiative of Americans for the Arts.   The Arts Impact Explorer is an interactive tool that provides factual information on how the arts are interconnected with every aspect of community life. Here’s a screenshot from their website. Visit this page to use it yoursel...

Today is the first day of Early Voting. I suspect that many who are reading this now have already voted by mail. Just in case you are planning on going in person, I’d like to say a few words about the Board of Education race.   Longtime readers of the blog know that I am squeamish about making endorsements. I don’t consider myself to be an endorsing body and it feels like hubris to me. Still, as a community blogger with a lifelong interest in education, it would be foolish to suggest that I have no opinions on the matter.  Here are five* areas of concern for me as we choose from the current BOE candidates: 1. Do they actively support students who don’t look like them and who don’t live in their particular cachement area? Do they understand the needs of LGBTQIA students and families?  2. Do they support intellectual freedom both in choosing library materials, classroom libraries, and in the teaching of history?  3. Do they respect teachers and are they committed to wo...

Have you seen this story? It piqued my curiosity. Image from Baltimore Sun social media  A gymnast with more than 156,000 followers on Instagram, Columbia native and UMBC freshman Kaleb Cave is making waves in a new sport: diving. First impressions: diving is a new sport? Or perhaps diving is a new sport at UMBC? That doesn’t seem right. I had to know. It is a local story, after all. And, for the first time ever, I was able to access something I was looking for through the Howard County Library website using Proquest. It’s a miracle, I tell you. His new platform: Star gymnast is making a lot of waves for UMBC in a different sport: diving , Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun And here’s the answer. Diving isn’t new, it’s new to him . Cave, a Hammond High School* graduate, has been training and competing in gymnastics since his elementary school years. How’s this for an origin story?  Cave was introduced to gymnastics when he was 7 years old by his uncle, DeAndre Cave, who taught him how...

  If you look on social media or keep up with community newsletters these days, you’ll notice the number of cleanup events held throughout the year. Then there’s Sharkey d’Shark whose entire existence is centered around picking up trash in order to prevent its reaching the local waterways. The folks at Upcycled host regular cleanups, too.  This has been on my mind lately. Whoever is putting that trash out there is really doing a bang-up job. It isn’t any kind of organized initiative but it is wildly successful. It must take a lot of work to generate enough trash and make sure it is located in public areas in order to keep all these local groups hopping, year after year.  A rather odd way of looking at it, I know.  My childhood was filled with the exhortations to “Keep America Beautiful” and “Don’t Be a Litterbug”. Why didn’t that work? This article from Mother Jones is quite educational.  “ The Origins of Anti-Litter Campaigns ”, Bradford Plumer, Mother Jones ...

If you need a little good news to help you ease into your Monday, may I suggest: Columbia barbershop marks 100 years of haircuts — and mentoring Black barbers, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner  Photo credit Jessica Gallagher, The Baltimore Banner It’s a beautiful and thorough piece about Warren’s Barber Shop in the Owen Brown Village Center. Warren's is the first Black-owned barbershop in Howard County. And no, nothing in Columbia is a hundred years old, obviously. You’ll have to read the story to learn more about their roots.  The Village of Owen Brown doesn’t pop up in the news all that often. Although, over last year or so it has been a pretty happening place. The Department of Recreation and Parks has worked with the community to fine tune plans for a new East Columbia Library Park, and the new East Columbia 50+ Center received the “ Large Project of the Year Award”  , awarded by the County Engineers Association of Maryland (CEAM).  And, while it may not make the ...

  Friends, may I present today’s weather predictions for Columbia, Maryland: Image from Weather Bug App, 10/20/2024 This is an especially good thing, since two local events which had to be scrapped due to bad weather are rescheduled for today.  Over in Wilde Lake (aka Vibrant Wilde Lake) they are actually hosting two events back to back. Beginning at noon it’s Wilde Lake Fall Fest.   Join us for a fantastic day of fun at the Wilde Lake Fall Festival! Celebrate the season with the community on Sunday, October 20, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM at Wilde Lake Park. There’s something for everyone: live music, local vendors, delicious food, trick-or-treating, and family-friendly activities. Kids will love the moonbounces, scarecrow spoon craft, and exciting games! It’s the perfect way to kick off the fall season. Don’t miss out—be part of the #VibrantWildeLake fun! RSVP HERE! This event is free and open to the public but they’re asking you to register in advance. (See link abo...

  HCPSS Media Specialists were suprised this week to discover a note in their work email wishing them a Happy National School Librarian Day. If you thought they were surprised since National School Librarian Day is in April and not October, you’d be partly right.  But what really made them scratch their heads was who sent the email: Trent Kittleman, a candidate for the Board of Education, District 5. Image used with permission. Thank you Media Staff! Dear HCPSS Media staff: Shoutout to all the superheroes behind the shelves! Happy #NationalSchoolLibrarianDay Dear Media staff, I am truly thankful for the dedication, hard work, and commitment you show in providing first-class media centers to all our students --including my five grandchildren! Trent Kittleman Candidate for Board of Education, District 5 There are several reasons why this email is puzzling if not downright troubling. It appears to violate accepted boundaries for ethical campaigning. Teachers are being solicited ...

There’s quite a lively conversation going on over at the Columbia MD Reddit on the theme: The worst parking lots in Columbia. After reading many responses filled with heartfelt frustration I began to wonder. Is there such a thing as a good parking lot? An excellent parking lot? Can you think of a place you look forward to visiting because the parking lot is just that good?  Don’t limit yourself to HocoLocal examples. I’m thinking of parking lots everywhere.  Parking lots have to be designed by somebody. There’s clearly a range of expertise involved. Has anyone ever designed a parking lot of such intrinsic excellence that they won awards for it? Where does the budget come from for parking lots? Do they often get the short end of the stick when funds are allocated? The public can be persnickety when it comes to parking preferences, and I admit to being one of them. When I lived in Rodgers Forge I got to a point where I wouldn’t shop at the Towson Mall at all if I couldn’t get p...

Maybe you’re a pumpkin spice person or maybe you’re a mulled cider person. What ever your preference, I think it’s safe to say that Fall weather is making itself known and it may very well be time to put away the last of the summer clothes and pull out some sweaters or comfy hoodies.  Maybe. We know how quirky Maryland weather can be. Speaking of pumpkin….are you a pumpkin carving person or a pumpkin painting person? I’ve done both. After years of encouraging squeamish preschoolers to stick their hands into pumpkin guts for the sensory experience, I’m certainly not afraid to get my hands dirty. But a whole lot of glitter paints (and maybe even glow in the dark?) can be fun, too. Why do I ask? Well, I noticed that Tribos Peri Peri in Ellicott City is doing their free pumpkin carving again this year. From Tribos Peri Peri Instagram  Join us at Tribos Peri Peri Ellicott City for spooktacular evenings of creativity all month long! Enjoy free pumpkin carving-bring your own tools or...