Village Green/Town²

Um...Twitter strikes again with conversations that pique my curiosity. whoever set the mansion on fire, YOUR MOM’S A HOE what mansion ? the one in ellicott city Ugh that mansion was so nice! It had all of the furniture and pictures in it still, that’s what made it so different from other abandoned places. Like history was preserved and kinda creepy in a way like they just up and left so fast i’m definitely sad about it, it was a cool spot. wtf i knoww  What’s all this about? A mystery mansion in Ellicott City? According to Catonsville Patch: CATONSVILLE, MD — An abandoned house is ablaze on Frederick Road, the Baltimore County Fire Department reported. Crews were dispatched to the fire at 3:08 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, officials said. So maybe not truly Ellicott City. But definitely the stuff of a good local story. Does anyone out there know more?

From Twitter: We were so proud to see Ms Lisa, our cafeteria manager, recognized!   She will not let anyone go without a hot meal at OMMS if they need one! She even uses tips from her second job to pay off student lunch debts!   OM loves you Ms Lisa!  The world is a better place because of Ms.Lisa.  There’s no question about that. But this bit of information leaves me with some questions. 1.Why does a cafeteria manager in the Howard County Schools need to work a second job? 2.Why is the problem of student lunch debt continuing to fall on individuals like Ms.Lisa? This situation brought to mind one in a series of adverts by Clyde’s restaurant picturing various employees and why they worked at Clyde’s. This particular one was of a Howard County Teacher. My immediate thought: Why does a teacher in Howard County need a second job just to make ends meet? This is Teacher Appreciation Week. In Howard County we celebrate all kinds of school ...

One of my favorite family stories involves my husband asking, “They’re having Mother’s Day again this year?” Why yes. They are. And next year too, probably. Let me make it easy for you. Let me tell you what I want. Experiences. I want to spend time with you. With my spouse, with my children, I want to do something fun, something that gets me away from cocooning in my comfy chair. My brother-in-law Evan is a Methodist minister and he often counsels couples that what truly builds and deepens love is shared experiences. You can’t win love or hope to keep it by things you wrap in a box or a bag. You can’t buy it, you need to live it. Some suggestions for my family? For my husband: You know, we still have that gift certificate for Tersiguel’s. How about making time for that Mom and Dad dinner date? And how about looking at this summer’s line up at the Chrysalis and asking which one I’d like to go to? We could have a picnic. For my kids: How about working on the garde...

From the folks at Cindy’s Spirits: Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our attempt to be granted a liquor license for The Loft. The Loft would be in the space next to Wegmans in Columbia. A hearing has been scheduled for May 8 at 6:30 pm in the Banneker Room at The George Howard Building. The Howard County Council will be deciding if they will uphold the Howard County Liquor Boards decision to grant us this license. If you are able to attend to show the county council your support for this we would greatly appreciate it! Here we go again. Even when you win your case it isn’t over, apparently. Tom Quick is still trying to open The Loft Wine and Spirits and The Perfect Pour (and others) are still trying to prevent it. Consumers want choice. Competitors don’t. I wrote about this attempt to get the Liquor Board decision overturned in December. Let me get this straight. Mr. Quick has invested time and effort and money in trying to move this project forward. He met a...

It's May! Time for all the good folks to gather at the Village Green--if only we knew where that was... So begins my first blog post for Village Green/Town². It made its first appearance on Columbia Patch on May 5th in 2011. Welcome to The Village Green. According to  Wikipedia , a village green “… is traditionally at a central location and provides an open-air meeting place for the people of a village, for example at times of celebration, or for public ceremonies.”   I am envisioning this space, where I will be sharing my ideas, as a village green of sorts—a place where we have the “customary right to indulge in lawful sports and pastimes.” Almost daily I read news of Columbia’s villages: calling for participation, creating new visions, or struggling to reach consensus amidst polarizing differences. Just as often I cannot make up my mind whether to be encouraged and frustrated by it all.  So, this will be a place to sort it out w...

Wood Metal Glass If you look around at the relatively new breakfast establishment First Watch, you will see these materials abound. Wood, metal, glass. It’s a look. It’s a feel, a kind of ambiance. It’s really, really loud. Lots and lots of hard surfaces and nothing soft to absorb sound. I wouldn’t recommend First Watch to folks intent on conversation. If you and your table mates mostly like to sit companionably and read the paper or look at your phones, then this is the place.  And yet the place was full with folks waiting for tables, so, what do I know?  An interesting twist: they take your cell phone number for the wait list. No more buzzing coasters for them. My daughter wondered what they would do if no one in the party had a phone. I wondered if I’d be getting follow up promotions now that they had my number. Getting seated was an efficiently run process. Our waitress got us set up with chilled water and coffee promptly,...

I’m so excited to be a part of this venture. Here’s this season’s schedule from Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods. Print it out and put it on your fridge, folks. Circle your favorites. Announcing the 2019 Season! (All dates subject to change) May 24th Arias & Ales with Baltimore Concert Opera and Jailbreak Brewing Company May 25th, 26th, 27th The FantasyWood Festival with Manneqart Inc., Circus Siren Pod, and Magic Under Glass Musical June 2nd Chrysalis Cabaret: Lavenia Nesmith June 15th Chrysalis Kids Dance Party on the Chrysalis with Julia Jackson McCready June 23rd Chrysalis Kids The Uncle Devin Show June 29th Chrysalis Kids Sonia De los Santos June 30th Columbia Orchestra Summer Pops Concert July 12th Chrysalis Cabaret Nikki Lerner July 13th Chrysalis Kids Barry Polisar July 14th  Chrysalis Kids Dance Party on the Chrysalis with Julia Jackson McCready August 4th Chrysalis Kids Mr. Jon and Friends August 4th Chrysalis Cabaret Steve Washington ...