The Real Thing: Friday Links

While I was enjoying an imaginative view of local news yesterday, the real thing was happening all over Columbia/HoCo. Current events did not take a pause for April Fool’s Day. I must say I did not anticipate being pranked by the weather. Rain, sleet, snow, hail, and even graupel added a surreal twist to the day.

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

The Columbia Association has announced the appointment of their new President and CEO, Lakey Boyd. She will begin work on May 3rd. I must say it’s encouraging that anyone wants to relocate to Columbia right now.

Governor Hogan has announced the establishment of more mass vaccination sites, and one of them will be right here at the Mall in Columbia. If that doesn’t move you to spend some money on retail goods or in restaurants, the Governor suggests driving to Salisbury to get vaccinated and making a stop at Ocean City to spend some money on the way back. (n.b. - - don't do this. Vaccines don’t grant instant immunity. This is a wildly unsafe suggestion.)

County Executive Calvin Ball has released his proposed 304.6 million dollar capital budget. The operating budget will be released on April 19th. I’m generally not a “budget person” but I am happy to see continued funding for the new Talbott Springs Elementary School.

Student Member of the Board Zach Koung advocated for and moved forward two proposals for courses to be taught at the high school level.

The Howard County Police Department is investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Columbia. The fact that the people involved were a married couple makes me think of domestic abuse situations in the abstract and wonder if this was the end result of that kind of dynamic.

Finally, a tip of the hat to a reader who yesterday described Columbia/HoCo as “our small little big town.” If this blog didn’t already have a name, I’d definitely choose that one. We generally tend to think we’re a whole lot bigger than we actually are.

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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...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else. Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

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...

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