He references Columbia ’s
“original planners” as his source for this blatantly erroneous statement.
Ian Kennedy, who with fellow Columbian Justin Carlson, played a role in keeping Merriweather alive in the dark years, rebutted Russ. He
pointed out that that the outdoor theater named after Majorie Merriweather Post, had originally hoped to be the summer home of the National Symphony
Orchestra, not the Columbia Orchestra.
“Furthermore, during the early years of Merriweather -- when
the "original" planners still owned the pavilion and ostensibly
oversaw its operations -- it hosted such acts as The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink
Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and other amplified acts.”
It was those types of performances that kept Merriweather
viable when the National Symphony opted to make Wolf Trap Farms their summer
home instead.
The proposed noise legislation that the Howard statehouse
delegation recently approved is intended to protect and preserve Merriweather for future generations of concert goers. It
allows for noise levels up to 95 decibels between 9 AM and 11:30 PM within a
quarter mile of the theater. Right now there are no residences within this
quarter mile radius but as the downtown Columbia
redevelopment progresses, this will change. It is inevitable that some of
these new residents will complain about the noise just like those who now live
outside that radius do now, even though Merriweather was there, rocking away summer nights, long before they
moved in.
Predictably, the only member of the HoCo delegation to vote
against this legislation was Liz Bobo.
