Village Green/Town²

"Are you from Long Reach?" I was chatting with a young couple who'd just come in and sat down at the party. "Oh, no, I'm from Oakland Mills. Are you from Long Reach?" "Yes, we just walked over." Oh my goodness, I spend so much time focusing on the affairs of my own village. It was rather fun to be from "out of town" at a party last night. I don't know anywhere near enough about the Village of Long Reach, and it's about time I worked on fixing that. Goals for the New Year, and all. What do I know about Long Reach? I worked in the High School one summer as a paraeducator supporting summer school classes. I used to shop at the Safeway....hmm...the Art Center is there...I went to an Arts Festival there once... Not enough. Clearly I need to talk to more people who are Long Reach-centric. For heaven's sake, it's only four minutes from my house. I ought to be better informed. If you are from Long Reach,what do I nee...

Wait, what? From the Twitter account of East Coast Alert (@eastcoastphotog): ICYMI: Three people shot inside a residence just after 2am in #EllicottCity Howard Co. #Maryland I scanned back through the account to find the first mention. There it is. 2:07 am SHOOTING: THREE SUBJECTS SHOT Police & Fire responding. Howard County #Maryland #BREAKING 2:16 am THREE SUBJECTS SHOT confirmed  EMS requests Medevac helicopter  Howard County #Maryland 2:20 am MEDEVAC LANDING ZONE  4701 New Cut Road #EllicottCity #Maryland 2:21 am THREE SUBJECTS SHOT EMS requests a second Medevac helicopter Howard County #Maryland 3:00 am MEDEVAC HELICOPTER LANDED  4701 New Cut Road #EllicottCity #Maryland Priority 1 teenage male shot in head s/i 3:11 am Three subjects shot. One self inflicted shot in head. 4800 blk knoll glen Dr.  #EllicottCity #Maryland #crimescene At the moment this isn't even a story, it's a skeleton, the bare bones of informati...

The long-awaited report from Lisa Kershner, the Maryland public access ombudsman, was released yesterday.  It confirms an entrenched pattern of non-compliance from HCPSS Central Office in response to Public Information Act requests. While the majority of requests were handled properly, it is clear from the report that, in certain areas, the school system response was wholly inadequate. Basically, if the subject of the request was something that the school system didn't want to tell, their response was, "Don't ask." Notable examples include requests focused on the now-infamous 'disappearing' Special Education report, information pertaining to mold at Glenwood Middle School, and emails and school records requested by the mother of the late Grace McComas. The ombudsman notes the importance of adhering to the law in all requests with the same responsiveness and even-handedness. Clearly that was not happening here. I can say "clearly" with a good dea...

Political hack: A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends, (Vocabulary.com) A negative term ascribed to a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction. (Wikipedia) I'm pondering the meaning of the term political hack this morning as I read Fatimah Waseem's article in the Howard County Times. Entitled, "Howard County Council seeks 'sanctuary' status ahead of Trump presidency" it outlines the goals of the proposal and gets reactions from key leaders in the community. This comment from Councilman Greg Fox leapt off the page: "Regardless of the bill's intent, Calvin Ball is showing a very poor pattern of behavior and that he is nothing more than a partisan political hack," Fox said . Good grief, Mr. Fox. Did you leave your Civility in your other pants? It must be quite a...

It was thirty years ago today. I'm having a bit of difficulty wrapping my brain around that. Thirty years ago my older daughter came into this world, and I became a mother. Her father and I rented an apartment in Bolton Hill. She was delivered at Mercy Hospital. She's a Baltimore girl, born and raised: trips to the Walters, visiting Santa at the Inner Harbor, walking everywhere or taking the bus. Fully and thoroughly educated in Baltimore: Bolton Hill Nursery Grace and Saint Peter's School Bryn Mawr  Baltimore School for the Arts John Hopkins Unuversity She loves the city life, loves arts and culture and easy walkability. She loves old architecture, symphony concerts and street festivals. Artscape and Pride are a part of her formative years. Today, on her thirtieth birthday, I marvel at the fact that she has cast her lot with us in Columbia. She and her husband own one of those classic Pacesetters in Oakland Mills and they are continually tweaking it. Well, p...

I'm thinking of having a party. The guest list is pretty big. Quite a few notables. It should be quite the affair. So far, I've got: County Executive Allan Kittleman Council Members Calvin Ball and Jon Weinstein Delegate Frank Turner Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary Board of Education Members Bess Altwerger, Kirsten Coombs, Christina Delmont-Small, Mavis Ellis, Cynthia Vaillancourt HCEA President Paul Lemle, and various members of HCEA An assortment of teachers and paraeducators President of SECAC Barb Krupiarz Lisa Markovitz of The People's Voice Blogger Bill Woodcock Former BOE candidate Corey Andrews If you don't see your name on this list, don't feel bad. This is a list of the folks who have been insulted, smeared, baited, and generally defamed in the Comments section of the Howard County Times and Baltimore Sun lately. That would include me, obviously, since I'm the one throwing the party. One or two toxic trolls, or possibly one with multiple ac...

Spotted yesterday in the parking lot of the Columbia Target: - couple walking towards the entrance, the gentleman carrying a life-size Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy. At least, I'm assuming it was a toy. What else could it be? A towel rack? A clothes valet? A home security system? Anyway, as my husband and I watched the couple traipse across the parking lot, we began to imagine various scenarios for why the couple happened to be there the day after Christmas. He: Why do I have to carry this thing? She: Because it was your idea. And because I'm looking for the receipt. Or, She: I told you not to buy that thing. He: Well, who knew she'd get six of them? Or, She: Well, I thought you'd like it. He: I do like it, honey. It's just that it...scares the dog. Who knows? There are a million stories in the return line on the day after Christmas. This is just one of them. Some exciting news in the Village of Oakland Mills: the Second Chance Saloon announces:...