Village Green/Town²

I find it rather startling that we have several actual “news” news stories breaking around town at almost the same time. It’s almost as though we’re a big enough place to have actual news.  Manor Hill Brewing violated Howard County zoning rules, hearing examiner finds: Brewery must seek new approvals to continue private events , Kiersten Hacker, Baltimore Sun 11/26/25 Howard County Council advances plans for new Columbia lakefront library , Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner 12/2/25 Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan Leaves for Howard County Jo b, Rona Kobell  and Lillian Reed, Baltimore Banner 12/2/25 If you don’t have a subscription to one or both of these outlets, you do have access through the Howard County Library system. You will need the same information from your library card that you use to request books online. Once you try it you’ll be amazed at how easy it actually is.  ***** Many thanks to the good folks that responded to my rather despondent quanda...

Giving Tuesday is one of those days when I am so upset that I don’t have enough money to give that I just shut down.  I wrestle with how much money I can safely donate while still having enough to meet personal needs. As you might imagine, this struggle is not methodical nor scientific. I do not have lists nor analyses to inform my charitable giving. I have a gut feeling about how much I can afford to give and I try to work with that. If you read this blog with any regularity you are aware of the causes I support and the nonprofits I admire. I try to give when I can and use my social capital to promote them when I can’t give an actual monetary donation. They tend to fall (roughly) into two categories: responding to concerning needs, and pursuing important goals. This year I truly feel a whole new category of need rising up out of the usual candidates on Giving Tuesday: those who are responding to catastrophic crises mostly caused by the current administration in Washington. For exa...

  Now the first of December was covered with snow… So says the song by James Taylor. But he was on the highway from Stockbridge to Boston, and not in Howard County. There was a bit of sleet yesterday morning and some rumblings for Tuesday. But today? Nope. My weather app says it “feels like” 25 right now and it’s only going to reach about 42 degrees.  I wonder it there will be outdoor recess. I always hated recess in cold weather and that’s probably because 1) I was not a run-around sort of kid and 2) girls were compelled to wear dresses to school in those days. (!!!) If we had indoor recess it was rare and probably due to rain. My memories of that involved a game called 7 Up or possibly multiple rounds of Hangman at the chalkboard. Here in HoCo we can expect outdoor recess to be derailed by cold temperatures, snow - - and possibly ice - - all through the winter months.  My years as a teacher of young children taught me how deeply that kids need to move and to have self-d...