Village Green/Town²

  Meanwhile, over in the real estate section… I spied the following houses on Twitter this week.* They all happen to be in Ellicott City. What follows is not a scholarly treatise on the state of real estate nor suburban architecture. It’s…well…commentary. House number one: House number one made the list because it is on Broken Lute Way, which is one of the notable Columbia Street names that people love to laugh about. (I have known actual lutenists who didn’t think it was so funny.) However, this home is said to be in Ellicott City.  Not with that street name, it ain’t. Of course what that means is that it’s in Dorsey which manages somehow to be in both Columbia and Ellicott City at the same time. This continues to bug me for no good reason, in addition to the fact that it’s  really none of my business. Still, if I broke down and bought a house on Broken Lute Way I would want everyone to know it was in Columbia.  Your mileage may vary, as they say. House Number Two l...

  Yesterday morning I was out running errands that would inevitably lead to my needing to get out of the car into the rain. Possibly motivated by this prospect, I took a detour over to Snowden River Parkway to see if they’ve finished work on the Starbucks. I’d heard they were adding a drive through to the location at Snowden and Deepage Drive. (What is Deepage? Is it like seepage, but deeper? Or is it meant to be Deep Age?) I went through my photos this morning looking for the images I took on my adventure but of course they’re not there. I don’t take photographs while I drive! Sheesh. You’ll just have to make do with recollections from my mind’s eye.  As I turned onto Snowden from Broken Land I began to notice signs along the road directing drivers to a Yard Sale. I recognized the logo of Animal Advocates of Howard County . This one: I figured they were getting set up for a Saturday event. A yard sale on a Friday in the rain seemed unlikely. What piqued my interest was the lo...

  I was once sent to a workshop for educators and, other than a few engaging exercises led by the keynote speaker, I don’t remember anything other than being excited that I learned a new word: Metacognition. Metacognition is a fancy word that means thinking about thinking. It also means learning about learning. Not to get too precious here, but, I’ve been doing some thinking about learning this week as I’ve been enjoying a birthday gift from my husband. It’s a camera-equipped bird feeder with artificial intelligence capabilities and wifi so it can film birds as they eat, identify them for you, and send the images to your smartphone. Feeding the birds became my pandemic hobby and stayed with me when I unexpectedly retired. I’ve been supported in my new interest by my husband who has continued to buy and mount different kinds of feeders to stay ahead of the squirrels. My sister and her husband sent me a bird book to help me indentify the creatures I’ve been seeing and a diary to make...

  Oh…NextDoor. You could’ve been so great. When I first heard about the concept years ago, I tried to create a NextDoor group just for the quadroplex community where I live. I couldn’t get anyone interested. It’s probably just as well. I’m sure it wouldn’t have turned out the way I imagined it would.  Why am I so sure? Well, all you have to do is look at how our local NextDoor groups are functioning to get an idea as to how it has evolved. When I finally broke down and joined the NextDoor group for my area, I wrote about NextDoor’s growing reputation as a place where (largely) white people went to lodge complaints. When Neighbors Start Talking , Village Green/Town², May 26, 2019 Sadly, there seems to be some sort of unwritten code that makes white people in groups think it is a good idea to share posts like, “There’s a suspicious male walking down the road,” when they see black and brown people. Not only is this a sign of deeply engrained racial prejudice (that they’d probably...

  Our washing machine has started talking to itself. Or maybe it is sending me Morse code messages via electronic beeps. Make it stop… In my right ear: the washing machine. In my left ear: the neighborhood birds beginning their morning chorus. In my brain: the sincere desire for a few moments of silence. There are a lot of loud voices at work in our community right now. It seems that there are some people who positively thrive on controversy. If there isn’t a controversy they will manufacture one. A day isn’t successful unless it contains a call to arms, revelations of “shocking facts”, or diatribes against “the other side.” I suppose it may always have been so, but social media amplifies it in a way that makes it both distorted and deafening. Cartoon by Paul Noth, published in the New Yorker Magazine What happens to the quiet voices?  It seems to me that the quiet voices are important, too, and we aren’t hearing them. We may hear them in quiet moments when we connect with fr...

  Remember Saturday? The twenty-second of April? You may recall there was the annual surge of attention on Columbia elections. Even CA got involved with their Columbia Votes campaign. So, what happened? We don’t have a local radio station, or television station, or even a daily newspaper. While CA promoted the elections, they haven’t reported the results. And they may not feel that it’s their place. I have seen a few statements from individual Village Associations but overall it feels like…nothing. Nothing happened. Where is the one central place that Columbia residents (or any interested parties, for that matter) could look to find out the outcome of Saturday’s elections? Am I missing something? I do know that in my own village, Oakland Mills, the deadline for mail-in ballots means that we’ll be waiting a bit longer to know the final results. And that’s fine with me if it means we have included more voters. But, if you don’t live in Oakland Mills, and you’re not obsessive about kn...

Just when I think I cannot stand the wholesale denigration of public libraries one more minute… It’s National Library Week! And not a moment too soon. Columbia/HoCo has been roiling with the tempestuous waters of conflict ever since the announcement of the new Downtown Library. If online diatribes were enough, there’d be a tidal wave of negativity washing over the Lakefront right now.  To be clear, there are different categories of “not liking” the proposal. I’m not here (today, at least) to, lay them all out with 8 X 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one. Another day, perhaps. What has been painfully disheartening to me are the comments from people who outright deny the value of libraries to the community. Period.  Howard County may have reached the impressive number of 95 percent of the population having library cards. But the other five per cent are loud, loud, loud. And adamant in their ignorance. My top two most outrag...

  It occurred to me last night that I am not really a homeowner. Oh yes, my name is on the deed but, let’s be honest. I’m only a homeowner by marriage. Never in a million years would someone like me have been able to afford a home on my own. I would have been renting apartments until the day I died. There’s a never-ending stream of discourse in Columbia/HoCo that strongly opposes renters. “We don’t need more apartments!” “Renters aren’t invested in their communities!” One of the primary reasons that Kimco’s plan to redo the Hickory Ridge Village Center was rejected by residents was that it included apartments. Friends, I need to be honest with you. At heart I am really a renter. I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I live among you, enjoy your local amenities and my child attended your schools. I vote in your elections.  Who was I before this dubious life transformation? A early-childhood educator (you’d probably say “preschool teacher”) - - divorced. I carried from that marriage ...

  April showers bring May flowers. Of course, climate change is bringing those May flowers earlier every year. And, as much as we need showers, did they have to arrive on this year’s opening day at the Chrysalis? Phooey. Yes, I had tickets for the now-canceled Maryland Winds concert at the Chrysalis and I hope they will be able to reschedule it. They’re a wonderful performance ensemble and the thought of some Sousa in the park is appealing. Alas, today’s weather forecast is, as they say, nice weather for ducks. I also have tickets for tomorrow’s Downtown Columbia Mini Maker Faire in the Park. The weather is far more promising plus the pervious pathways installed by the Inner Arbor Trust will mean an enjoyable outdoor event rather than a quagmire.  It rained on the opening day of the Chrysalis, which was April 22, 2017:  Earth Day, just like today. The official program, which included both performers and audience on the stage, kept those in attendance out of the elements....

  Wednesday I got out of The Bubble. I had plans that involved a stop in Dickeyville and a visit to Village of Cross Keys. Neither are all that far from Columbia/HoCo, yet they feel like worlds away. Dickeyville is an old mill town located on the Gwynns Falls river. The houses, as they say on the village website , have historic charm. Right now it’s the gardens taking center stage I know there are plenty of fine gardeners (and gardens) in Howard County but there’s something about Dickeyville…rather like Lake Woebegon, “a place that time forgot and the decades cannot improve.” If you spend most of your time in Columbia, Maryland and you find yourself plopped down in Dickeyville, your brain definitely registers the difference.  And yet…there are similarities. They have architectural guidelines (shades of Columbia) plus the complications of the care and upkeep of historic properties. (Can you imagine the day that Columbia homes are defended as historic properties?) They have the...

  This Saturday at Cradlerock Elementary brings the return of an annual event put on hold by the pandemic: It’s the Children's Consignment Sale run by the local nonprofit group CAMOM . The name stands for Columbia Area Mothers of Multiples (meaning twins, triplets, and higher order multiples.)  You don’t have to be the parent of multiples to come to the Consignment Sale,  however. Admission is free and the only stipulation is that you may not bring children in strollers because of space limitations at the event. (I am now having visions of tots and traffic jams and it’s not pretty.) So leave the strollers at home, but make sure to bring along cash, Visa or MasterCard  (minimum credit card charge is $25). I see on the flier that bags will be provided for shopping. From current President of CAMOM Beth Napoda: This is great way to buy good-quality clothes/items for multiple-aged children in a family, a one-stop shop. The club used to hold a children's consignment sale t...

  Have you seen the map? There’s a new map in town. It’s the Howard County Food Connections Map . We’re used to local maps popping up these days, curated with a particular purpose such as where to see cherry blossoms close to home or the best holiday lights displays. This one is different.  It was created to address ongoing food insecurity in our community. Here are some of the things you can find on the map: Transit: Routes (blue line) Transit: Bus Stops (blue bus) Maryland Restaurants (Howard County Only): Yellow Pin Summer Food Service Program Sites: Blue Pin All Food Retailers (inlcuding non-SNAP): Red Pin SNAP Food Retailers: Yellow Highlight Food Assistance Programs: Green Marker Nutrition Education Programs: Black Marker WIC Vendors 2022: Blue Highlight This map can be used not only by individuals trying to find food resources but also by community advocates/service providers who provide help to those in need. I’m still learning how the interactive map works so I can’t ...

  I save things. I take a screenshot and I tell myself, “I’m going to write about this.” Sometimes that works. Sometimes the moment slips away. This time I caught it as it almost got away. ***** Last night at sunset marked the beginning of  Yom Hashoah   , Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Howard County it was observed with a service at Temple Isaiah in Fulton. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. County Executive Calvin Ball marked the occasion with a statement on his social media accounts. Yom Hashoah is a somber time for us to remember and honor the six million Jews and millions of others who lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which marks the largest single revolt by the Jewish People during World War II.  Today, we honor the memory, the bravery, and the heroism encompassed by our ancestors who fought for their rights. As time continues to put...

The alarm went off while I was in REM sleep and I feel like I just washed my brain and I can’t do a thing with it. It’s a Monday. This can be forgiven. Voting is open for Howard County Magazine’s “Howard County’s Best Restaurants 2023 contest.” You may vote daily through April 27th. You do not have to be a subscriber but you will have to give an email address. That email address will then be connected to a dedicated link which you will use each time you vote. This is what I have called in the past a “click fest” - - it relies on the enthusiasm of voters to come back again and again for the duration of the voting period to click their favorites one more time. I exhorted you to  submit nominations  and it looks like you did. In fact, there are so many nominations in each category that I found it rather overwhelming to get through each one. I’m wondering if in earlier years the staff at Howard Magazine received nominations and then winnowed them down to a certain number of ones ...

  Election Day for Columbia Village Boards and positions on the CA Board is April 22nd. That’s next Saturday. You don’t actually have to vote on the day itself. You may mail in your ballot (act soon!) and in many villages there is now electronic voting. Finally. I have a question about a particular campaign promise that some of the candidates for CA Board are making. I’m throwing it out to you all for some feedback. I see that some candidates are running on a promise “not to raise the cap on assessed properties.” The last time it was raised was in 2016 (for fiscal year 2017) to its current rate of 3.5 per cent. Why is this an important promise to make? And, more to the point, is it realistic and/or responsible? CA’s main sources of revenue are from the sales of memberships for the use of various facilities, and the monies derived from what is called The Annual Charge. From the CA website : Your annual charge allows CA to manage and maintain all of the programs and facilities we e...

  What are the chances that you will consult your weather app at 5:55 am and it will inform you of a Lightning Alert beginning at 5:55 am? You’re more likely to be…well…you know.  Despite the timely warning, the overall weather outlook is promising. Just a chance of showers mid morning. There’s a lot going on today Columbia/HoCo. Ellicott City Spring Fest , 12-8 pm Green Fest at HCC,  10 am - 3 pm April Spring Preview Market, Clarksville Commons , 10 am - 2 pm These are not the only local events today but they are the biggest ones.  You’ll be able to quench your thirst while enjoying the music festival in Ellicott City with mocktails from Sobar . On offer: Mocktail Beverages including a new Espresso Martini and 4 new flavors from  Zen Hemp Infusions.  It’s great to see Sobar invited to participate in so many area events.  Greenfest features so many local initiatives and or businesses that it would be hard to list them all. Off the top of my head: Commu...