Village Green/Town²

  I’ve been known to indulge myself with “what if?” posts over the years. What if I could own the Columbia Flier Building and live there? What if I could redo it along the lines of the HGTV show “Extreme Homes” or “You Live in What?”? What if the Wilde Lake Village Center could be turned into a History of Columbia theme park? What if the Lakefront could be transformed into a kid’s birthday party paradise? What if the students in Howard County schools could begin each day by writing a thank you note? This is why I absolutely have to hand it to Jeremy Dommu of The Merriweather Post for taking that concept and running with it. Buc-ee’s is Heading North , The Merriweather Post  Dommu takes the what if… Is Maryland's I-95 corridor its next exit? Does Howard County have the land? Does it want the beaver ? …and gives it the full Merriweather Post treatment.  It’s delightfully speculative yet still backed up by the kind of well-laid out assessment of the available facts for which...

  Today: Sunny. High of around 66. Pollen levels will be trying to kill you  high. It’s Saturday and you’ve got things to do. Perhaps: Howard County Green Fest at HCC Autism in the Park, Blandair Return of the clock, Old Ellicott City Children’s Discovery Fair, East Columbia 50+ Center Fostering Hope Summit (youth mental health event) Harriet Tubman Cultural Center  Columbia Orchestra: Cinematic Pops *, Jim Rouse Theatre All these and more can be found in the listing at the Visit Howard County website. Got plans? Something fun I’ve overlooked? Let me know. Village Green/Town² Comments  *This is a $ ticketed event. 

This photo appeared on Bluesky with these words:  Science lady is excited. Alt text: Screenshot from the nasa stream when their science ops person learns that the astronauts observed impact flashes on the moon  This week has provided many opportunities to see moments like this - - where we can see the sheer joy of those involved in the Artemis II mission. Joy in discovery. Joy in seeing the thing that you deeply love - -  and have worked so hard for - - finally come to fruition. Joy in sharing these moments with others. Never forget this joy. Never underestimate the power of joy.  Photo property of ABC News More joy this week from New York City mayor Mamdani as he highlights the importance of public workers. Mayor Zohran Mamdani:  Beautiful day to fill the 100,000th pothole of the year. Screenshot from Mayor Mamdani’s Bluesky account Chad Loder:  Mamdani is not just filling the potholes with the crew. He's creating a visual and personal reminder of the dign...

  I haven’t done a HoCo Holler! post for a while. I’m happy to share this story (with permission) about someone who used their personal influence to make a difficult moment better - - inviting community members to see things in a different way and to feel empathy for people they may not know. ***** We love our restaurants in Howard County, don’t we? We love to eat out, we love to talk about our restaurant meals, we love to try new restaurants. We eagerly await the opening of new places and get cranky and impatient if there are delays.  The dark side of all this is the tendency of some folks to use their social capital to go online and snipe about imperfect restaurant experiences, encouraging others to pile on and validate their views. These amateur reviewers can be savage.  The damage they may do is significant.  There’s no law that says you can’t go online and vent. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Recently one of our independent resta...

Here’s a local job listing.  Sounds interesting. (If you don’t need health insurance and other benefits, that is.) Do me a favor and think for a moment. Imagine the kinds of activities that this job will entail. Okay? Now look at this. Must have own transportation, must be able to operate an automobile …hmm… Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds, remain seated for long periods of time, and bend,stoop, reach, and climb without difficulty. Wait, what? Read the original job description again. Do these additional requirements make sense to you? They do if you understand that they are quite useful in discouraging people with disabilities from applying. It against the law to discriminate against the disabled in matters of employment. However, if you articulate specific requirements that would exclude applicants with disabilities… That’s not technically discrimination. Or is it? Imagine you are skilled and capable and can perform all of the tasks the job outlines, but you are disabled. You...

  Let’s start out this morning by thanking a few people: The person who passed along this blog post to county council candidate James Handley. The writer at the Sun for making the correction. Mr. Handley himself who reached out to me with the update and some very kind words. Here’s the Before: Here’s the After: Do you see the difference? I sure can.  In my first job out of college (library circulation, Westminster Choir College Talbott Library) I came across this quote and posted it by my desk.  If Language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant. If what is said is not what is meant, then what ought to be done, remains undone. Confucius Accuracy matters. How you say things matters. How you frame things matters. ***** Before:  Image from HoCoGov social media After: Photo credit: Reddit userAneurhythms In between, seen on Ellicott City Reddit:  What happened to the TARDIS in OEC? Some responses: It’s in Rockburn Park now.  Sounds like they’re ...