Village Green/Town²

Meanwhile, back at the Board of Ed... The numbers are in for the Jump Start program and folks are concerned that it will not reduce overcrowding in a meaningful way. Overcrowding is a serious issue. Parents are right to have concerns. However... I’ve seen quite a bit of online posturing about how the Superintendent and BOE “caved” when it came to making the tough decisions on redistricting. Oh, please. We spent a summer of protest: sign-making, t-shirting wearing anger and rabble-rousing. Post after post dripping with thinly veiled racism. NIMBY-ism at its finest. People waving their property values around. Members of the community impugning the intent of the AAC. In short, our foray into possible redistricting showed a truly ugly side to Howard County that many of us are still trying to shake from our minds. Throughout this entire debacle, the saner voices suggesting we should all pull together and make this transition work for our children (and everyone’s children) were...

This unusual fundraising pitch is making the rounds on Twitter. Is this for real? Could this be any more poorly written? What on earth is going on in this photo? And how did County Executive Allan Kittleman get involved with this bunch? I’m all questions and no answers this morning. Well, maybe one answer. I’m sure that the Montgomery County GOP doesn’t use ScottE because he’d never allow this kind of train wreck to go live on social media. Sheesh. Have something to add? https://www.facebook.com/VillageGreenTownSquared/?ref=bookmarks

Just keep going. Keep finding things to be interested in. Keep being curious. Don’t lose your passion. Don’t take yourself too seriously, though. Keep your sense of humor. Just keep going. Make sure you know the backstory, but don’t get mired in the past. Don’t be afraid to get excited by the new, but take a good hard look at what it means. Just keep going. Listen to people’s stories. Listen to what they’re not saying. Look for the unspoken connections. Figure out what the important questions are. Ask them. Just keep going. Don’t be afraid to be who you are. Try to make your community a better place. Don’t forget to have fun. Happy Birthday, Wordbones.

A few things to clear up this morning. So far I have had two responses to my letter to the CA Board the other day. One from CA President Milton Matthews and one from River Hill Rep Chao Wu. I appreciate their prompt replies. As I only received three entries into my “caption this photograph” contest (really, folks?) I’m going to reward all three of them for taking the initiative to enter. Look for more news on that in an upcoming post. Candidate for County Executive Calvin Ball had a meet and greet event yesterday at Club Pooche. If you think candidates are only interested in shaking hands or kissing babies, think again. Pols with pups may be the wave of the future. And possibly fewer germs were being spread during flu season—a win for everyone, I’d say. County Council member Jon Weinstein is running ads on Facebook asking “How Would You Make Howard County Better?” Do you have any suggestions for him? Looking forward and asking for input from constituents is great. It’s also ...

The first Cosmopolitan is the declaration that it is, at long last, Date Night. The second one is an indication that I have lost all good sense and I will feel like hell in the morning.  All righty, then. I want to ask you all a favor this morning. I have received an email from a local student. This year I am taking a journalism class online, and am covering the water main breaks in the city for a news story.  I was directed to your blog by my journalism instructor who thought that you might be able to put me in contact with local business owners or others who have been affected.   I have spoken with some business owners in Baltimore whose businesses shut down because of water main breaks.  If you could point me to a business in Columbia that was affected, that would be best.  I heard from the utilities director in Howard County that the issue here was majorly residential so I am having trouble identifying businesses that were affected.  I do not...

Dear Columbia Association, I’m writing on behalf of funding for pathways in Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods. A lot of people think of the Columbia Association as the pools, parks, and pathways people. But we know it’s so much more. CA means listening to and responding to residents, enhancing quality of life, and connecting people to the best their community has to offer. The last part is so important to me, because I’m from Oakland Mills and, as you may know, our slogan is: we value connections. My CA Rep Ginny Thomas certainly knows how important making connections is. She reached out to her constituents for feedback on the budget, and so here is mine. The last time I came to CA Headquarters was for meeting of the Inner Arbor Trust with the CA Board. Although I was only present for part of the meeting, in the brief time I was there I heard at least three people express support for the park and make the case for improved pathways. They were speaking on behalf ...

This weekend you have the opportunity to see an amazing, one-woman show that is the true story of one woman’s journey through the horrors of the Holocaust. Her name was Helen Lewis. She was a dancer. The play, “A Time To Speak” is an adaptation by Sam McCready of a book by the late Helen Lewis and is performed by actress Joan McCready. Mrs. Lewis spent her postwar life in Northern Ireland. From her obituary in the Belfast Telegraph: Having made a new life in Belfast she became involved in dance teaching, choreography and enjoyed a long association with the Lyric Theatre. It is through the Lyric Theatre that the McCreadys met Mrs. Lewis and became lifelong friends. In 2009, shortly before Lewis’s death, Maryland-based director/actor husband and wife Sam and Joan McCready premiered a dramatisation of  A Time to Speak . It takes the form of an extended monologue, in which the words of the writer are given voice by Joan, adapted and directed by Sam. On many levels, this wa...