Village Green/Town²

Last seen on Facebook, with names removed to protect the innocent: Finish this sentence: I would come to my farmer's market more often if it had________________ Artisan cheese. (This post is for my wife...who decides what Farmers Markets we go to) Bear in mind, my village is Owen Brown, and I feel strangely possessive of its farmers market. "If it had weekend or after work hours." Since it currently does not I go to Oakland Mills. So "if it had more greens." Me:  I am wondering about added attractions which would make a Farmer's Market more of a "happening." Live music? Children's activities? A cafe set up for sipping coffee and eating fresh bakery treats? Artisan vodka.  Me:...and free samples? . . . moved with me. ;) I miss being able to walk up the street to it!!! :) You can't go wrong with a moon bounce as a family magnet. Live music Goat yogurt. ... hot models in bikinis giving car w...

The next election for school board members isn't until November, but that hasn't kept issues concerning the board out of the news.  We have been fortunate, I believe, to have local news supplemented by the Hoco Blogger community on this topic. However, there is one issue that I don't see anyone covering.  I hereby issue a Village Green/Town Squared Challenge to local news outlets and bloggers to address the following: Does the Board exist solely to receive information and directives from Central Office/Superintendent and vote yea or nay,  OR Does the Board have the right and/or responsibility to ask for/require evidence, metrics, background information to make decisions?  Can they use said information to make their own suggestions in regard to the issues submitted to them? In my opinion, this is probably the biggest divide on the School Board right now.  Although Mr. Dyer has taken up a good deal of the Board's time, getting rid of him does not solve thi...

It takes a lot of people to make our county run.  For a moment, lets consider these folks:  store clerks, janitors, nurses’ aides, child care workers, office cleaners, groundskeepers/landscaping crews, fast food workers, stock personnel, day laborers. We need all of them, and more,  in Howard County.  They are the working poor.  But where do they live? We all know how expensive it is to live in the #hoco. I don't buy the argument that, "so what, if you can't afford it, don't live here."  These jobs are here, they serve to make this a desirable community, and the folks who are working them often can't afford cars, and options for commuting are limited. So the folks with fewer options are doing jobs that need to be done, and they need to live close to where they work. What do you do to earn a living?  Do you work in Howard County? Do you need to drive somewhere out of the county to work?  Do area transit options meet your needs, in or out of...

The following is reprinted from my post of May 26, 2011, on Columbia Patch. *** I moved to Columbia in the late spring of 1999, on the verge of beginning a new life. I knew very little of Columbia except that it was planned, and that it was extremely easy to get lost here. Since I continued to commute to Baltimore City for several more years, I was limited in my time and energy for exploring. I learned how to get to the grocery, the gas station, and the mall. In 2003 I began to work for Columbia School Aged Services. As a part of my training, I attended an orientation session designed to impart both the history and philosophy of The Columbia Experience. I was excited to explore my new land. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Probably the worst occasion was when I dragged my family down to The Lakefront to see The People Tree, which I had learned was a symbol of all things Columbia. It was beautiful—there’s no denying that. The vista at the lakefront was lovely. And still. ...

Before I shuffle off from the scene of the Oakland Mills Board in my rumpled raincoat , there's one last piece of news I want to share with the hocosphere. It's about why trash is trash, poop is poop, and why good customer service will put you at the top of the heap. On Thursday April 18, mac and I participated in the 20 minute Howard County Cleanup .  We walked to the top of Timesweep with a trash bag and gloves, and cleaned up the entrance area into the new Blandair Park. There is no official waste receptacle near this pedestrian entrance, and it was beginning to look a bit "trashy." We were dismayed to discover that quite a few folks had been bringing their dogs up into the park to relieve themselves.  mac was both disgusted and indignant.  She's waited her entire life for this park--how could people do this? When we went home I posted about our experience on Twitter, and was advised by fellow blogger Wendi to address my Tweet to @LiveGreenHoward.  Here is...

Tonight is my last meeting as a member of the Oakland Mills Village Board.  I've decided that I needed to take a break, because the year coming up will be a life-changing one for me:  my oldest is getting married in September, and my youngest is making the transition to Middle School. (Thanks goodness there isn't one in between!)  This is a year I need to devote to my family. It isn't any easy decision to make because I have learned so much in the past two years.  If you really want to know the "skinny" on what is going on in your Village, plus greater Columbia, and even, to some degree,  in Howard County, you should serve on a Village Board.  Yes, you have to put the time in, but the education is phenomenal. And your feeling of ownership in your community increases. I think that most people assume that being on a Village Board is about going to meetings.  The Oakland Mills Board has two meetings a month. But you might be surprised how many other t...

There seems to be some confusion as to the overall message of yesterday's post.  Let me restate it:  bullies have to learn how to be bullies.  Someone has to be modeling this behavior for them.  They are learning that this is acceptable behavior.  The title of the post,"Where The Killers Come From". was an (as yet uncredited) reference to this post . "The Bully Side", by Tom Coale at HCR. He states, "You don't need to tell me if you're being mean to other kids at school and I don't want to know.  I do want you to know that if you are, you are killing someone else's child , (emphasis mine) and it will live with you for the rest of your life." I have recently learned that programs to combat bullying often fall on deaf ears because those who are bullies, don't perceive themselves to be bullies, so they think it doesn't apply to them.  This would seem to be borne out by some responses yesterday over at TO2C. Where do bul...