Paul Skalny made an observation at lunch today that older
folks (my people) tend to use letters to the editor to publicly share their thoughts and
opinions while younger folks (his people) use social media such as Facebook and
blogs.
Of course there are no absolutes. There are plenty of older voices on Facebook and the blogs…including yours truly.
That being said, I think in general terms he’s right, particularly
if you consider this letter to editor in Explore Howard, the online successor
the Columbia Flier. Cy Paumier, a former planner for The Rouse Company in the
late 60’s and early 70’s tells the community that the plan he worked on for
Symphony Woods “was approved by the Columbia Association and
the Howard County Planning Board in July of 2012.”
CA has now scrapped his plan in favor of a plan devised by Michael McCall, another planner who was influenced by Jim Rouse.
Over in the social media world, Tom Coale, who serves on the
Columbia Association Board of Directors representing the Village of Dorsey’s
Search, shared his own view of what was actually approved, writing on his blog
this morning that “the Paumier Plan, as
conceived in the public, is not what was accepted by the Planning
Board. The revised Plan would require meandering paths and better
connectivity with Merriweather Post pavilion. The Planning Board also
expressed a lack of excitement or draw by the Paumier Plan, which is a
conceptual defect that cannot be cured by redirected paths.”
I wonder which published view is reaching the larger audience.
