Skip to main content

Some Love for CA?



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 CA is not a government entity. You may laugh, but it isn't all that clear to many. After all, we do have elections...

In the Oakland Mills Village Center they own The Barn (Youth and Teen Center), The Other Barn (Village management and events), and the Ice Skating Rink. It is to the Columbia Association that you pay your assessment fee each year. Open Space, tot lots, and a variety of activities and amenities, so many that I am afraid of leaving something out. Within the monies that you pay to CA is a portion which they are authorized by prior agreement to collect on behalf of your Village--in my case, Oakland Mills, to support individual village programs. 

Yes, CA Elections are visible on the horizon and perhaps a push to communicate what the Columbia Association is and does is in order. I look forward to reading what questions are submitted by community members. For heaven’s sake, ask them a question. It will be embarrassing if nobody does.

I wonder if anyone will ask about this startling screenshot that turned up on Twitter this week.

Dark humor meets the Columbia Association. Yikes. I must admit that my brain processed that as, “Every night the town votes one resident to sacrifice to the CA Board,” which says more about my current state of mind than theirs, I think.

Back into the sunlight. I’d like to give a tip of the hat to CA for the Valentine-themed photos they ran yesterday on their social media accounts. As I have recently taken them to task for centering white people in their photographs, I want to give them credit for a more diverse offering in their Valentine set.


Photo credit: @imiivo

This last photo I want to share was posted Monday, and may be a nod to Black History Month. I adore it.


Photo credit: @imiivo

I wonder if any these were taken when the Columbia Association was looking for people to be the Face of CA last summer. I also wonder if these are the work of local photographer @imiivo, who did the earlier photos I featured about the Columbia Conversation. I’ll see if I can find out. 

UPDATE: These photos are the work of Shané Gooding @imiivo ! 

Imiivo was recently featured on the County Executive’s Facebook page marking the opening of their new business location in Savage Mill.




Back to the beginning: What is CA? Read the first post in the series and tell me what you think.



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