Skip to main content

What’s in a Name?



Yesterday brought news that Columbia has been named the safest city in America by personal finance company Wallet Hub. 

 There’s just one thing. Columbia isn’t a city. A little background from Wikipedia:

 Columbia has never incorporated; some governance, however, is provided by the non-profit Columbia Association, which manages common areas and functions as a homeowner association with regard to private property.

 Columbia is not a city. We’re an overgrown homeowners association..

 This does not negate the good news of hearing that our community was deemed to be a safe place to live. That feels great. And I don’t think that Wallet Hub just picked our name out of a hat. They claim to have:

 compared more than 180 cities across 39 key indicators of safety, including things such as assaults per capita, unemployment and road quality. 

 A quick Google search indicates a number of over 19,000 cities in the US. I’m wondering how Columbia came to be considered when we are not actually even a city. Was this something we had to apply for to be considered? What were the criteria for being one of the 180 to begin with?

 I love Columbia. I do think it is a safe place to live. I have nothing snarky to say on that front, and, if I didn’t spend my days in a classroom, I’d be online combating the haters who came out of the woodwork on this one. I hear rumors that the team at ElevateMaryland may have touched on this last night, but I haven’t had time to listen yet.

 But this raises a point which comes up every so often: should Columbia be a city? Should we incorporate? I think that, as time goes on, we have many residents who don’t even know that we aren’t. But every year when participation in Village and Columbia Council elections is so pitifully thin, I think about it. 

 What benefits would Columbia stand to enjoy if we incorporated? What, if anything, would we lose? 

 And how on earth did we come to be in the Wallet Hub study, anyway?







Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar:

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....
1 comment
Read more