Village Green/Town²

  Today is the last day of February. This would be a good time for me to admit that I haven’t been as thorough in keeping track of Black History Month events in Columbia/HoCo as I intended to be. The bad news: I got overwhelmed. The good news: there were so many interesting events to choose from!  Yesterday I made it over to the Columbia Art Center to see the Beyond the Blues art exhibit and the Columbia Archives exhibit on the life and legacy of Millie Bailey . The young women who greeted me as I entered were so friendly and welcoming that it would’ve been worthwhile to make the visit for that alone.  I started with the life of WWII Veteran and community activist Millie Bailey. I did not know her in real life but became aware of her through social media and the news. The exhibit is entitled “A Life of Service: Journey Through the Legacy of Vivian “Millie” Bailey.” For some background on the exhibit: Columbia exhibit documenting legacy of WWII vet and activist Vivian C. ‘...

  It’s possible that you have already seen it, but I still want to make a pitch for Rebecca Bryant’s piece on The Merriweather Post. Reimagining Columbia’s Tot Lots , Rebecca Bryant, The Merriweather Post (guest post) Bryant is a member of the Oakland Mills Village Board. She is a member of Yards Alive , which I’ve written about here, and helped organize and staff the bike corral for the Fourth of July Festivities in collaboration with Bicycling Advocates of Howard County. Bryant’s piece does a good job of outlining the current challenges surrounding the network of 175 tot lots spread throughout Columbia.  Ten years ago I wrote about some of my issues with tot Lots. It was prompted by a video presentation released by CA called “Creating Gathering Spaces” on the short-lived Inspire Columbia website. The link is in the piece but, alas, it doesn’t work anymore. Looking for a Sign , Village Green/Town², June 27, 2013 While my focus in that piece was about my longstanding frustrati...

  Back in November of 2020 a ghastly photoshopped image was circulated by Republican operatives in Howard County. Do you remember? It was relatively early in the COVID pandemic, well before vaccines were available. As most of us planned very different, and smaller, Thanksgiving celebrations this year, the folks over at ReOpen Howard saw fit to post one of those tawdry photoshop jobs for which our local Republican Party has become infamous. There, standing on the the outside looking in a dining room window, table set in holiday finery, lurks the County Executive.  The photo is captioned: The typical Thanksgiving scene across Howard County today. (Look closely) There you have it. There’s a world-wide pandemic and the amount of human suffering is continuing to balloon beyond what most of us can comprehend but, that’s not the problem for ReOpen Howard. No, they want to make sure that you know the real problem: there’s a Black man outside your window who doesn’t belong there and h...

Saturday Events! Ahem. Today, beginning at noon at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center, the first annual Black History Fest. This event has been student led and student organized and they’re hoping for a good turn-out so it will become an annual event.  You can learn more at the Eventbrite page for the event: Black History Fest . Over at DOODLEHATCH in Long Reach, you can catch the most recent production of the Stand Up For Theatre group: Clue.  Tickets are Twenty dollars in advance and twenty-two at the door, with reduced rates for seniors and members of the military. I’m not seeing kids’ prices so perhaps it’s not a kid-friendly show? If you haven’t been to the DOODLEHATCH space it’s definitely worth the trip.  Tonight at the East Columbia Branch of  the Howard County Library is their annual Evening in the Stacks fundraiser to support Library programs in the community. This year’s event has a pop culture theme. Festivities begin at 7 pm. $125 per person or Two...

  College actually made me realize I like learning... they should really start off high school with taking classes you actually want to take. - - Jude Jawhar I’ve saved that quote from a former hcpss high school student since 2018. I found it on Twitter and it instantly resonated with me. I remember longing to pursue the subjects I was passionate about in high school. I struggled with the endless burden of the classes I “had to take”, many of which seemed to reinforce, day after day, how bad at school I was. I know now that I was battling undiagnosed ADHD . All I knew then was what adults asked me over and over again:  Why do you only do well in the subjects you’re interested in? They asked that like it was a bad thing. Recently I came across a tweet from Pam Moran, co-author of Timeless Learning and a former teacher, principal, and superintent in Albermarle County, Virginia. How do learners' desire paths in schools become visible? Shape adult actions? Communicate to us? What...

Applying prior knowledge isn’t always as helpful as you might think. Case in point: when I first heard (on The Merriweather Post blog, undoubtedly) that a restaurant called Toastiqe was coming to the Merriweather District, my mind went straight to Lake Woebegon. A feature of the old Prairie Home Companion radio show, Lake Woebegon, “the place that time forgot and decades will not improve” was the creation of the show’s host Garrison Keillor. A monologue about current happenings in Lake Woebegon was in each week’s show. The quirky (and sometimes almost believable) tales kept audiences tuning in week after week. One of my favorites was about Toast & Jelly Days. It was the Lake Woebegon, Minnesota equivalent of a street festival and it was exactly what the name tells you: a festival for toast and jelly. Folks set up their stands along the route with all the necessary accoutrements. They had their toasters ready, rigged up with extension cords to local homes and businesses.  The s...

  You’re invited to a Five-Star Soirée!  Those words caught my eye as I scrolled through Twitter last week. Was it a glamorous fundraiser for a good cause? Not exactly. Calling all #realtors in the Baltimore area! Miller & Smith is excited to host an #openhouse at their new Multi-Generational home in Ellicott City this Saturday. RSVP now! #newconstruction #EllicottCity #multigenerationalhomes It was an announcement for what I guess would be called a broker’s open house in a development called Patapsco Crossing . The developers, Miller and Smith, were hoping to draw in an enthusiastic crowd of real estate professionals to experience the feel of their Bradburne Multigenerational house model. If I were more familiar with the real estate business, I would know whether an event like this is over the top or par for the course. It made me wonder if real estate brokers have become such a jaded lot that one must bribe them to invest their time with culinary notables and beef sirloi...

I’d like to recommend to you the PBS program on the history of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. I’ve been watching quite a bit of Black History Month public television programming this year. I found this program to be informative and truly eye-opening.  Alpha Kappa Alpha: A Legacy of Service , PBS Back in 2016 I attended the Tipping Point event hosted by the African American Community Roundtable at Howard Community College.  ‘Tipping Point’ town hall tackles race relations in Howard County , Fatimah Waseem, Baltimore Sun As is typical at most public events, the evening began with the acknowledgment of local notables in the audience. I was used to this. But as the introductions proceeded I noticed something that puzzled me. Why were people from sororities and fraternities being introduced? Why were there names heralded with such enthusiastic applause? I knew absolutely nothing about the existence of Black sororities and fraternities.  When I went home that evening I carried...

Things that make you scratch your head: My town is trying to lower the driving age to 15 because the current legal age "prevents teens from being able to work" & they're trying to implement a rule that teens can't be at the mall without an adult chaperone so a 15 year old can drive themself to work but not to the mall. - - @baptisedbones Now, that's not here in Maryland. It’s in Pennsylvania . I’m sharing it because it reveals examples of people trying to “fix the problems with teens” in a way that doesn’t really make sense in the big picture.  Here in Columbia/HoCo the big news has been that the Mall in Columbia is considering the implementation of a youth escort policy.  After complaints about teen ‘chaos’, Columbia Mall adds police patrols, could require chaperones , Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner I have no first-hand knowledge of this problem. I have not ever been at the Mall during times of ‘teen chaos’. Readers of the blog know I haven’t ever been an a...

Stop everything. Before I do anything else I want to encourage you to support a hocolocal culinary entrepreneur who has been nominated for a big honor. This week, the Restaurant Association of Maryland named their annual awards finalists in the categories of: chef, manager, server, and bartender of the year.  See a familiar face? Althea Hanson, of Althea’s Almost Famous , has been nominated for Chef of the Year. You may have seen Hanson’s Food Truck at local events and/or Farmers’ Markets.  I wrote about trying her food for the first time about a year ago. I’ve since gone back to try out all her varieties of Jamaican patties. Everything I have tried from Althea’s Almost Famous has been delicious and I frequently see posts from other satisfied customers on social media.  In addition to cooking up fresh Jamaican deliciousness all around the community, Ms. Hanson has also taken an active role in philanthropy by establishing a scholarship at Howard Community College in memo...

Things that pop up: A Jack-in-the-Box. The timer in a Butterball turkey. Old-school onscreen adverts from the 1990’s.  But wait. There’s more. Retail shops. Restaurants. Hotels. Hotels? Yep, this week I read an announcement describing Columbia’s first pop-up hotel. WhyHotel by Placemakr Pop-Up Hotel Opens in Downtown Columbia, Maryland Placemakr today announced the launch of its newest pop-up hotel WhyHotel by Placemakr, Columbia. The new pop-up is located in Marlow in Downtown Columbia and will begin welcoming guests in March. WhyHotel by Placemakr pop-ups are a limited-time-only chance for guests to book a room at a brand-new location. In partnership with The Howard Hughes Corporation, this pop-up hotel will allow guests to experience hotel amenities and services, while staying in fully furnished, open-floor apartments featuring stainless steel appliances, full kitchens, and in-unit laundry. The property features a resort-style pool, co-working and conference spaces, a penthouse ...

Right now it is still dark and it is raining. I had intended to write about something on the lighter side today but I find that my mind is full of John Fetterman. NEWS: Statement from Senator Fetterman's Office WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman's Chief of Staff, Adam Jentleson, on Thursday released the following statement: "Last night, Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Ce nter to receive treatment for clinical depression. While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks. "On Monday, John was evaluated by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. Yesterday, Dr. Monahan recommended inpatient care at Walter Reed. John agreed, and he is receiving treatment on a voluntary basis. "After examining John, the doctors at Walter Reed told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to him...

  I have recently become fascinated by overhead views. Here’s one that shows the new East Columbia 50+ Center in progress.  Construction is progressing on the new 50+ Center in East Columbia When drone photography came onto the scene it seemed rather like a party trick to me. “Look! I can go way up high!”  - - it seems to be say. But over time I have realized how much I value being able to see how a place fits into its larger location: context, if you will. What I like best about the 50+ Center video is seeing the overall shape of building in relationship to the library building, and also how both buildings are flanked by the apartment community next door. In less than one minute I had a more comprehensive understanding of that location than I had ever had after living here over 20 years. I have become a fan of the bird’s eye view.  How do places relate to one another? How are they situated in relationship to one another? I find myself more interested in those questi...

Possibly as a response to recent discussions about whether Columbia should go the incorporation route, or as a result of the CA Board debacle, the folks running social media for CA posted the following: "What is CA?" You asked, and we answered! Check out our new series ASK CA where our resident experts answer submitted questions. Got a question? We'd love to hear from you too!  Drop a comment with your questions or send them to communications@columbiaassociation.org. Check back to see which questions make the blog!  Read the first edition here: bit.ly/3RM9X3O It’s certainly true that many local folks don’t really understand what CA does. A very long time ago I tried  to put it in context along with other local institutions in a post called The Gift That Keeps on Giving. Moving up: the Columbia Association. Heads up: "the Columbia Association (CA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit service corporation that manages Columbia, MD., a master planned community..." This means C...

  Local connections can bring things that are worlds away as close as the next street over. On Monday, February 6, Ellicott City restaurant Syriana posted this photograph and the accompanying words. Waking up for "rough" Mondays in winter can be harsh, but life is good in giving us perspectives.  Today, millions in Syria and Turkey woke up 5:24am, local time, to a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake with a series of powerful aftershocks rendering 1,800 dead, and hundreds of thousands homeless in a brutal winter. This catastrophe mostly affected the most vulnerable of Syrians, already displaced to these areas after a brutal 12-year conflict.  Our nonprofit, Syriana, is working to identify partner organizations working in the affected areas to support; here is an opportunity for anyone who would like to donate towards this fund Syriana Let's be thankful for all the blessings we have, enjoy our days, and get out there and try to make a good difference wherever we can. and ...