Skip to main content

The Seen and the Unseen: Columbia in the News


 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Residents to Columbia Association: Leave our facilities alone, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

I found this article to be helpful in shedding some light onto the current CA controversy. Big news: even if you don’t subscribe to the Banner, you can read it, too. The Howard County Library System has added the Baltimore Banner to its collection of free online resources.

Heads up: you will need your Library Card barcode and PIN to do this.  

  1. Go to HCLS website
  2. Click on Online Resources
  3. Under “Download”, click on enewspapers
  4. Under Current Enewspaper Issues, click on Baltimore Banner 
  5. You will neeed the barcode and PIN for  your library card account to gain access.
  6. Next, you will need to enter the designated code to gain free access.
Whew! You’re in!

Now you just need to find the article. You can search using the handy-dandy magnifying glass icon, or you can simply scroll down until you find it.

Even if you don’t want to read the article, you should still go through these steps for two reasons. Firstly, it’s good to have the ability to access news through the library. Secondly, I’d like you to look at the photographs that accompany the article. (Photo credit: Ulysses Muñoz)

I sighed when I saw the photos of the CA meeting. Can you tell why? Yet again news from the Columbia Association shows us predominantly white people of a certain age. 

We are doomed. Doomed, I tell you.

Deep breath. 

This is not to negate the issue at hand nor to cast aspersions on the people who showed up. But it’s never a bad time to remind ourselves that the New American City was not meant to turn out like this. At least, I don’t think it was. 

“But that’s not the point!” you might say, especially if this particular issue is important to you. And I guess you’d be right. But the longer I live here, the more I’m convinced that it’s always the point.


 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more