Village Green/Town²

  Today’s unexpected wisdom comes from NextDoor, of all places. Question: Why are there so many people complaining on this forum, if it’s not about kids, it’s about who’s riding bicycles down lanes, geez people lighten up.  Life is good. Response: I discovered long ago that some people aren't happy unless they have something to be upset about.  I feel sorry for those people. If you have ever spent more than five minutes on NextDoor you will know how rare a sentiment this is.  I’m not saying there aren’t reasons to be concerned about local issues or that we should all strive to be Pollyannas at all times. And, to be honest, sometimes it can be a relief - - or even fun! - - to give oneself permission to carp or whine a bit.  But NextDoor is truly the home of every small and unimportant complaint. Some days there is nothing else to see there. Apparently their original slogan was “When neighbors get talking, good things happen.” Au contraire. When neighbors get talk...

  Tuesday is our Monday this week, which may mean that some of you will be rising, bleary-eyed, just in time to throw on some clothes and leave the house. I salute those who can spring from their beds, bright-eyed, no matter what the day. I was in the middle of a dream about a children’s birthday party which involved holding a scavenger hunt at the grocery. When the alarm went off on my iPad I might as well have been on Mars. Did you manage to get away for the holiday weekend? I did, in a way. Sunday evening my family had a hankering to get out of the house and we all piled in the car and headed to Pepperjacks in Scaggsville. Visions of a root beer float danced in my head. There’s something about the food and the atmosphere of Pepperjacks that makes you feel like you are eating out at the beach - - especially if you are sitting outside with a root beer float on a warm day. I haven’t been to the beach since the Before Times. I was up for a little first-class pretending.  Alas, ...

  A local restaurant posted this photo.   This weekend we wanted to honor the true reason behind Memorial Day. As you enter our restaurant, you will notice a Missing Man table, also known as a Fallen Comrade table. This memorial that is set up in military dining facilities in honor of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service members serves as the focal point of ceremonial remembrance. We wanted to honor these service members and say Thank You for their ultimate sacrifice. A member of the community posted a response, pointing out gently that those who gave their lives for our country held many different faiths, and so a copy of a Christian New Testament was not representative of who they were and what they believed. She respectfully asked that they remove it. The restaurant owner responded in a way that showed they understood the request. That’s where I thought the story would end. It gave me a good feeling about Howard County. Then the comments came. The posters attacke...

Apparently there are some folks in Carroll County who think that a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon in May is to drive to Howard County and disturb Target shoppers.  Image credit Moms 4 Liberty Carroll County If you are wondering why they are coming all the way to Howard County, I can’t explain that. There is a Target in Westminster and it looks like they may have been there already. Their visit appears to have been covered with great interest by the Carroll County Observer website, which is what the former HoCo social media maven ScottEBlog is doing in his retirement. No comment. I guess those Carroll County Moms are just not finished harassing Target yet. Who knows where they will be next weekend? Their “outrage du jour” is claiming that selling Pride apparel is a blatant attempt to “groom” children to be LGBTQ+. Of course, that’s not what grooming means and there’s no scientific evidence of any sort that shirts or signs or rainbows can influence gender or sexuality. Truth...

I fear nothing so much as a man who is witty all day long. - - Madame de Sevigne Of all the things I was supposed to memorize in school, it was often tiny unrelated snippets that stuck instead. Oh, how I loved this quote from the first time I read it! Today I offer a corollary: There is nothing so dangerous as as a white man who knows everything.  No, let me clarify that. It isn’t that the man actually knows everything, but that he makes himself a brand. He is The White Man Who Knows Everything. (This fellow most likely wouldn’t include the word “white” because for him white is the default state. But trust me, he is white.) I feel certain you have met him. He is the man who grinds a public meeting to a halt during the question and answer period because what he has to say “isn’t really a question, but more of a statement.” He belittles women on social media - - gaslights, manipulates, mansplains, just plain talks over them.  In intimate relationships he is the same. The White ...

  Let’s say your child is in their early elementary school years. They come home from school and say, “There’s a girl in my class with a funny name!”  What do you do? Do you ignore it? Do you laugh along at the sound of the funny name? Do you go the educational route and research together where that funny name comes from, how it evolved?  Do you try to explain to your young child that saying someone has a funny name is singling them out in a mocking way? That nobody feels good about being told they have a funny name?  Or clothes Or lunch Or accent It starts early. Young children notice differences, and that is completely natural. But there is a distinction between thinking “that name sounds different from my name” and “that’s a funny name!” One is an observation, the other is a value judgement. And, as innocent as it may seem, it can grow over time into a way to “other” people who are different and reinforce a mindset that some people are “normal” while others are no...

Nancy Thompson came to Talbott Springs Elementary School to be the Principal when my child was entering First Grade. Yesterday I learned that she will be retiring. Today my child is graduating from college. Naturally it all feels connected to me. Mrs. Thompson has been a fierce and persistent advocate for Talbott Springs during her tenure. It is not an “easy” school according to the conventional wisdom of such things. Children and their families often come to the school doors with many needs. While the outside world often looks at such schools as “bad schools” according to test scores, Ms. Thompson has always seen the kids and their potential first. In 2013 Mrs. Thompson helped the school to celebrate its 40th anniversary. In 2017, she cut the ribbon, along with Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano, to open the new playground. In 2020, she was named by the Howard County Schools as the Principal of the Year. Here she is speaking to gathered guests at the opening of the NEW Talbott Sprin...

 Exciting news! Youth Climate Institute Announces Nationwide Expansion, Accesswire Today the Youth Climate Institute, founded by the Howard County Conservancy, announced their innovative certification program has expanded to include chapters in two states and metropolitan DC. This pioneering program for 10th and 11th graders provides foundational climate education and engages students in meaningful community action projects . (May 23rd, 2023) The article (probably a press release) includes quotes from Howard County Conservancy Director Meg Boyd and Youth Climate Institute Director Jessica Kohout. From the latter, this statement made me think about yesterday’s blog post: At a pivotal time for their college and career goals, YCI supports students and provides important recognition of their achievements, including certification, digital badges and compostable graduation cords to wear with their cap and gown. "Many people are familiar with recognitions that come with honor societies,...

Awards assemblies. Yay or nay? As I’ve mentioned before, school was a struggle for me.  I received positive feedback for writing and for singing but I never won any awards. I “lettered” in Drama in high school through sheer participation over the course of my high school years. I looked longingly at the cool kids who were named to the National Honor Society, but I also knew full well that I was unwilling/unable to do the persistent academic work that resulted in the grades they had.  They were in my classes, and I spent a lot of my high school years with them. But I was never going to be them. This was not the end of the world. There was far more angst in my teenage life that took precedence over the twinge that I would not be receiving academic honors. This is the time of year when schools hold awards assemblies/awards nights and I am pondering what it feels like for all the kids who are never recognized. Schools are (or should be) communities first - - communities of learni...

  The return of warmer weather each Spring puts many of us in the mood for outdoor festivals. It’s such a relief to be outside and having fun after the gray and gloomy months of winter. This year in particular, with no appreciable snow to play in, winter was just long, boring, and inhospitable.  Home gardeners and/or those who till the soil in community gardens use those long, boring months to plan the next season. I am not one of them. But I read a lot, and have learned that this is so. I honestly don’t think much about our little front garden bed until warm weather hits me in the face. Even then, the decisions I need to make are small: to mulch, or not to mulch? One of the local stories I have neglected over the years is Howard County agriculture. There are several reasons for this, the largest of which is my lack of knowledge and experience. Howard County’s farms are not in my neck of the woods and I have no real personal connection that would open a door of understanding f...

  Have you very clicked through all the channels on television and lamented that “there’s nothing on!”? That’s my brain this morning. There’s absolutely no local story that is speaking to me today. I’m going to bring something back from the past instead. It’s a question I’ve never completely resolved for myself and I think my readers can help. What is Ellicott City? In my mind it is Main Street. No, Route 40. (Stop, stop! They’re both right.) It doesn’t make sense to me. Is it the old and carefully preserved? Is it the endless parade of shopping centers and chain restaurants? This is not criticism. This is my way of explaining that I haven’t been able to wrap my brain around it.  Columbia, where I live, may be a wacky and artificial concept but, after some twenty-plus years I understand the lay of the land. I understand where the center of town is and how the community spreads out from that point. There’s no question that it may be easier to grasp precisely because it was a pl...

Finally! This was a long time in coming: The skies will be safer for birds and buildings will be more energy-efficient thanks to a new state law signed this month. The Sustainable Buildings Act of 2023 requires new and renovated buildings with 51% of funding from the state to protect birds from window collisions and to conserve energy. Read how to make your windows safer: https://buff.ly/3WcLmr4 - - The Howard County Conservancy In 2020, Howard County became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to pass legislation for bird-friendly design standards. I remember writing  at the time: Similar legislation was brought up in the Maryland State legislature in 2019, I believe, although it didn’t get any traction. I remember a discussion about this on Episode 54 of Elevate Maryland with Roughly Speaking’s Mileah Kromer and Luke Broadwater. I seem to remember that some legislators didn’t take this topic at all seriously. Episode 54 was taped in front of a live audience at Clarksville Commons....

  Oh, my goodness. Without NextDoor I would not have known this crucial etiquette rule.  PSA Neighbors!!!!!!! When you see someone walking THEIR dog it is rude and dismissive to ONLY acknowledge the dog attached to the Human. We are all human beings and neighbors in this community you should greet the human first then ask to greet and or pet the dog (with permission) You wouldn't do this with a child. Please and thank you! This rather emphatic post, from a resident of Columbia Town Center, floored me. I always talk to the dog first. I smile at dogs. I chat with dogs. I practically flirt with dogs. I had no idea there was an Emily Post protocol for these things.  Now, when it comes to petting, I completely agree that this should be done only with the owner’s prior consent. And the dog’s, for that matter. If you pay attention, it’s usually pretty clear whether or not a dog wants to be touched. That’s why I used to worry as a teacher when young children wanted to run up and ...

Photo credit Baltimore Sun.   Here we go again. Howard schools superintendent recommends staff reduction, class size increase to close $67.3M budget gap , Ethan Ehrenhaft, Howard County Times  There often seems to be a bit of brinkmanship involved with the annual school budget. The choice of the photo used to accompany the article adds a heightened sense of tension to the situation.  Dr. Martinaro gives the grim news while County Executive Calvin Ball looks on. Of course, this is a staff photo they have on hand which has nothing to do with this situation. It simply conveys the idea that there is a conflict of budgets between the Superintendent and the County Executive. Have you ever noticed that the first things that get mentioned for cuts are teachers and class sizes? It seems to me that those are the last things you would ever want to cut. They are the most painful cuts and the ones that would upset the most number of people. Maybe that’s why. You are truly going to get...

Rep Stage, the professional theatre company located at Howard Community College, will be closing this year. I have heard nothing but good things about it and yet I never managed to get there, largely because I couldn’t convince myself that I could afford it. Needs vs. wants. You know how that goes. Way back when I had an opportunity to tour the inside of the Columbia Flier building, I was amazed to see how much space was occupied by costumes, props, and other equipment belonging to HCC. I can’t remember if it was the property of Rep Stage or the College’s own theatre department. Maybe both? Anyway, it’s an impressive amount of stuff.  If it belongs to Rep Stage, I wonder where it will go? I am envisioning the yard sale of the century. Over the past decade HCC has made a few unpopular choices to end some of the programming that endeared it to the community at large, notably: Children’s Learning Center Swimming pool Rep Stage At the same time, they have been forging ahead to expand ...

  Tell me the truth. If you read this tweet, wouldn’t you click on the link? In today's Baltimore Banner, Abby Zimmardi investigates the alleged theft of koi fish (!) in Howard County. "How did that happen? They just don't get out and walk:" - - Dylan Segelbaum  The mystery of Howard County's disappearing koi fish , Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner Photo credit Julia Reihs for the Baltimore Banner If you know me, you know I had a moment of imagining koi with legs departing from their suburban pond captivity: yes, with legs, also suitcases, plane tickets, and cell phones.  But that would be fiction.  There appears to be a rash of koi disappearances in Howard County and the surrounding area. Is it theft? Hungry predators? (Plane tickets?) Zimmardi’s piece lays it all out with lovely photos by Julia Reihs. It’s an ongoing investigation, so you’ll find no definitive answers here. I came away with a few questions.  Why do people have koi ponds?  How many folks i...

 Three things. 1. Congratulations to local journalist Ethan Ehrenhaft for winning the MDCC Rookieof the Year Award.  Ethan Ehrenhaft wins the MDDC Rookie of the Year 2022 prize for new journalists for his sharp, clean writing across a variety of disciplines, from breaking news to election coverage to community features and obituaries.  He has become an “indispensable” member of the team covering the Howard County community. Of course he is indispensable. He writes the entire paper these days, and we are lucky to have him. Make sure to paste his photograph in your local journalism scrapbook before he gets away. 2. A warm welcome back to the written page goes out to Jenny Solpietro of Howard County Progress Report. I’m a little late on this, but, I highly recommend her come-back post: Moms for the First Amendment  , Jenny Solpietro, Howard County Progress Report 3. The most recent write-up of the CA Board’s activities by Michael Golibersuch on The Merriweather Post mad...

  Over in my neck of the woods, a section of Oakland Mills road was transformed in a Complete Streets project. It was completed relatively recently - - within the last year or so? One of the features of the transformation is a protected two-way bike lane on one side of the street. I believe the dividers are flexible traffic bollards. The County made a short video explaining how to use the new road features safely. Oakland Mills Road Complete Streets Project Every time I have driven on that section of road since it’s completion, I have looked for bicyclists. After all, the project was meant to facilitate safe bike riding. I’m a cheery, well-meaning sort, so I’ve hoped it would be a success. No bicycles. Not a one. Until the other day. I finally spotted the elusive Oakkand Mills Road two-way bicycle lane cyclist. They were wearing a brightly colored reflective vest and a helmet. Official business? Just good sense? When I reported this sighting on Facebook I was surprised to learn th...