Village Green/Town²

  I’m about to make a claim for which I have no scientific proof. You have been warned. Nobody who has read this news is happy about it: Howard County Police arrest teen, charge him with first-degree murder in weekend shooting , Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner Or, to be more precise, every response I have seen on social media has been expressed with varying degrees of anger, fear, sadness, and frustration. At long last, Howard County can agree on something. That’s where the agreement ends, however. Where we diverge is in how we respond, how and if we want to lay blame, or what we think should be done next. I can safely say that some folks want to lay blame a whole lot more than they want to entertain viable solutions. In reviewing three of those online conversations/threads, I wasn’t surprised to see that some used this inicident as an open door to spew all kinds of racist nonsense and glaringly obvious dogwhistles. The sheer enthusiasm of this kind of online behavior looks less li...

The Baltimore Banner ran a brief piece yesterday about Howard County seasonal cocktails.    What’s on tap in Howard County this fall? Sip into the season with autumn-inspired drinks , Claire Duarte, The Columbia Mom for the Baltimore Banner I don’t know exactly how these sorts of arrangements work. I don’t think that Claire Duarte works for the Banner in the traditional sense. She’s an independent content creator with an emphasis on advertising and marketing. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram .  Also, she’s not to be confused with Kris Schneider of  Howard County Moms   which is a Facebook group focused on community. Both women were written up in the Baltimore Sun in April. Alas, I no longer have access to that article . The Columbia Mom page is pushing content out , whereas Howard County Moms engages group members in community-oriented conversations around local opportunities and events. Both share relevant local information; the way they do it a...

I can’t tell you how thrilled I was at the positive response to last week’s post about the eel ladder. I was afraid it was one of those things that intrigued me personally but lacked general appeal. This happens.  I never would have known about the eel ladder if it weren’t for someone whose name might be familiar to you: AJ Metcalf. Metcalf was a local editor for Patch back in the day. The early days of Patch were peopled with some legitimately gifted journalism folks and I’ve kept track of some of them since then.  Mr. Metcalf is now the Director of Media Communications for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. It’s that human connection that prompted me to follow DNR’s     social media accounts . You may recall I wrote about their intriguing call for acorns last year.  “We need yours nuts.”  Simply because of this one personal connection I’ve frequently found myself fascinated and better informed about aspects of Maryland I had really known very...

I’m just going to admit it. I’m more ticked off about a bunch of things than I am inspired about any particular local stories right now. For today, I’m asking you to humor me. You most certainly do not need to agree with me. But a blog is meant to be commentary, after all. My current laundry list: 1. People who want to celebrate Columbus Day should be required to give public readings of the atrocities committed by Columbus during his lifetime. 2. Not everything you don’t like in community affairs is an evil scheme. 3. Professional football is violent and racist, wildly expensive, and contributes nothing positive to who we are in this country. 4. While we’re at it, high school bands should not exist to serve football. 5. I really, really hate political campaign seasons, national and local. Local is worse, I think. 6. Not a fan of what Larry Hogan thinks passes for leadership.  7. I hate that I am always discovering little pockets of racism in myself.  8. So pleased that inflati...

  I feel as though it has been a while since I’ve talked about arts education. The topic reached out and grabbed me last night when I stumbled upon a program in public television called Mambo Legends: The Music Never Ends. This program is a part of a larger series called Voces.  About VOCES Produced by Latino Public Broadcasting, the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES features the best of Latino arts, culture and history and shines a light on current issues that impact Latino Americans. Devoted to exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience, VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience. - - PBS/mpt This episode tells the story of the Mambo Legends Orchestra, a music ensemble “committed to keeping the sounds of the great Afro-Cuban bandleaders Machito, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez alive for future generations.” The program is rich with engaging storytelling that invites the viewer into t...

Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods is the place to be this weekend with back to back community events. (Does that sentence need an exclamation point? I’m not sure I’m awake enough for that yet.) On Saturday it’s the return of the Hops and Harvest Festival  from 12 to 5 PM.  From the event page: The Hops & Harvest Festival returns to Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods on October 12th! For 2024, Hops & Harvest is running a single extended festival session from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. This year's lineup features more than 100+ local beers, wines, and spirits with unlimited tastings, live entertainment, artisan, vendors, fresh local eateries, games, and more! Featuring live performances by the best local artists, the entertainment lineup for this festival is great! Enjoy activities like cornhole while letting the little ones play in the children's area. This is a paid, ticketed event. Click here to purchase tickets. To learn more about what’s on offer at the festival, visi...

I just lost an hour of my life because the clocks downstairs are an hour later than the one upstairs. It seems our bedroom clock took itself off of Daylight Saving Time in the middle of the night…  That hour I lost? You guessed it: it’s the hour I write the blog in. Phooey. Here’s a local story for your day. From WJZ TV Baltimore: A Latina artist from Columbia, Maryland, is using her creative talents to uplift Latinas with her first illustrated book, "Viva Latina: Wisdom from Remarkable Women to Inspire and Empower." Maryland artist inspires Latinas with first illustrated book: "We should celebrate Latinas" , Alexus Davila, WJZ TV, CBS Baltimore  The artist is  Sandra Lucia Diaz. The book is  Viva Latina: Wisdom from Remarkable Women to Inspire and Empower, by Sandra Velasquez , published by Rock Point. As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, this might be a good resource to check out. Ask for it at one of your favorite local bookstores. Or put in a reques...