tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359214702024-03-14T01:25:01.141-04:00Tales Of Two Citiesa blog about stuff around here... Ellicott City and Columbia, MDwordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comBlogger2778125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-88531876011482231602013-05-09T21:26:00.003-04:002013-05-09T21:33:28.324-04:00Beans Last Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buedIAt0DRM/UYxKkVNx0LI/AAAAAAAAF_c/GJTHOk6mjmw/s1600/DSC01385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buedIAt0DRM/UYxKkVNx0LI/AAAAAAAAF_c/GJTHOk6mjmw/s400/DSC01385.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Thirteen years ago, at The Rouse Company annual shareholders
meeting, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/anthony-deering/">Tony Deering</a> announced that catalog retailer <a href="http://www.llbean.com/">LL Bean</a> would be opening
its first ever retail (non-outlet) store at The Mall. The story goes that this announcement
upstaged the retailers own plans to break the news. To show their displeasure
at this preemptive PR strike by a real estate developer, LL Bean went ahead and opened their Tysons Corner store first.<br />
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Despite this <a href="http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/musical-chairs-in-the-boardroom-stu-heinecke.jpg">corporate silliness</a>, LL Bean opened its <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city> store in May of
2001, a few months after Tysons Corner. This Sunday, after twelve years selling khakis and canoes to HoCo locos, the <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city> store will close. By midsummer the
30,000 square foot building that housed them will be gone, replaced by a new
plaza and a <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/01/back-to-center.html">reopening</a> of the old main entrance.</div>
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wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-13245917210691909472013-05-08T20:53:00.000-04:002013-05-08T21:07:17.324-04:00In This Months Business MonthlyWhen my family moved into the Bryant Woods neighborhood in <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city> in the summer of
1968 there were model homes on our cul de sac making it a regular stop for the <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city> tour buses.
There was 7-11 store nearby with a snack bar but the real action was
up at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wilde</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Village</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> where, in addition
to a grocery store, there was a <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6009/B43B100Z/posters/david-sipress-butcher-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">butcher</a>, a bookstore, a <a href="http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/539019_10152514337985249_343718673_n.jpg">cheese </a>shop, a pharmacy
with a soda fountain, a women’s clothing store and a record store. The village center was the social and commercial hub of the community. One of the highlights of the
holiday season was when the village center would host an open house. As <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city> residents
visited the different stores, each merchant provided some type of holiday fare.
The <a href="http://youtu.be/EMiPjnNF7Dc">punch</a> that Columbia Bank and Trust ladled out was particularly popular.<br />
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For some residents of <st1:place w:st="on">Columbia</st1:place>,
this was the embodiment of the <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2009/10/jim-rouse-was-not-oracle.html">Jim Rouse</a> vision. </div>
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Only it wasn't.</div>
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In the late sixties, <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
was still a small town with a population of less than 10,000. A forlorn silo
stood where The Mall is today. </div>
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It didn't last long. The true Rouse vision was to build a
city ten times that size. By the beginning of the seventies residents of the <st1:city w:st="on">new city</st1:city> began to get new
places to gather. Oakland Mills village center came online in 1969 and Harper's Choice got
their own village center in 1971. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wilde</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place> was no longer something unique, it was simply one of three.</div>
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The biggest change for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wilde</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place> though came in 1972 when that lonely silo was replaced with a regional mall. The
bookstore and clothing store moved out of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wilde</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place>
and into The Mall. The slow decline of the centers fortunes had begun. By the
mid seventies memories of those early year holiday open house nights had
already begun to fade. </div>
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You can read this months column <a href="http://www.bizmonthly.com/catching-up-with-the-neighborhood/">here</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-30933411581587285842013-05-07T16:36:00.000-04:002013-05-07T18:39:09.986-04:00Rain CloudsRain. Nobody seems to be enjoying <a href="http://youtu.be/FgGMsdN6azo">the rain</a> today. It doesn't help that its cold too, at least for May.<br />
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I was thinking about this as I drove from The Mall back to
<a href="http://www.writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/on-clear-day-you-can-see-best-buy.html">my office</a> this afternoon during one of the heavier downpours. It occurred
to me that rain is a getting a bad rap this spring. Thanks to the General
Assembly, Marylanders have a new to tax to associate with this weather event.
The very term “rain tax” comes off as an affront to <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6005/BGFB100Z/posters/lee-lorenz-i-think-we-agree-gentlemen-that-one-can-respect-mother-nature-without-c-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">Mother Nature</a>.</div>
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I think it’s doomed. </div>
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What started with grumbling on the fringes of the left and
the right is now becoming a bipartisan backlash. The <a href="http://danieljmitchell.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/asay-left-wing-mindset.jpg">lefties</a> are pissed because
this is a tax that treats everyone equally, rich or poor. The <a href="http://www.drawmark.com/wordmark/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RightWing-NutLand.jpg">righties</a> hated it
because they hate anything that includes the word tax. It was one thing when
Repub county exec <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/02/hoco-eda-chief-becomes-aa-exec.html">Laura Nueman</a> came out <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-04-25/news/bs-md-ar-stormwater-veto-20130425_1_council-chairman-jerry-walker-neuman-leopold">against it</a> but when a prominent Dem like city
councilperson <a href="http://www.marypatclarke.com/">Mary Pat Clarke</a> added <a href="http://www.wbal.com/article/99575/21/template-story/City-Official-Looks-To-Amend-Rain-Tax">her voice to the fray</a>, it got my attention.</div>
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Finally, here’s an issue that both parties can come together
on. This could be the beginning of the end of the rain tax, at least in
its current form. I suffer no illusion that this tax will actually go away. It will quietly get repackaged into some other environmental or public utilities legislation. Something less susceptible
to a nickname like rain tax.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-79223583959825754432013-05-06T21:52:00.001-04:002013-05-06T21:53:09.317-04:00Moving Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBqDqCTjhQQ/UYhcrc4uekI/AAAAAAAAF-8/8i6dvyEy_aQ/s1600/DSC01239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBqDqCTjhQQ/UYhcrc4uekI/AAAAAAAAF-8/8i6dvyEy_aQ/s400/DSC01239.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I've spent more time thinking about things to post here than
I have writing them. The fact of the matter is that I've been a little
preoccupied lately. My real job has caused a bit of writers slack.<br />
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I have been going through a transition at work. The company I've represented for the past fifteen years or so, ceased to exist last month.
It wasn't a surprise. For the past year the principals had been working through
the process of becoming the <st1:state w:st="on">Maryland</st1:state>
office of the national brokerage firm <a href="http://www.lee-associates.com/">Lee & Associates</a>. At the end of March it was finally a done deal.
Literally overnight we went from an office on <st1:street w:st="on">Dobbin Road</st1:street> with four people to an office
in Gateway with seven. We have new everything and while that is nice in many
ways it still requires having to deal with new passwords, new copy machine, new
phone system, and so on.</div>
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Recall that I am <a href="http://www.gatewaypets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/olddog.jpg">an old dog</a> and all of the sudden I’m being
hit with a lot of <a href="http://lopezfamilynow.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/old-dog-new-tricks.jpg">new tricks</a>. </div>
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It’s all good, even those hiccups you always encounter in a
new space. This morning for instance we arrived to find all office communications
completely shut down, no phones, no server, <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/59/5997/JROQG00Z/posters/pat-byrnes-how-am-i-supposed-to-cook-the-internet-is-down-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">no Internet</a>. It was noon before that got ironed out.</div>
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In a way this move, like the others I've been through
before, provides first hand knowledge for my clients. When I suggest that
moving their offices will be disruptive in ways they may not have anticipated,
I speak from experience.</div>
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Perhaps you’re wondering what the picture of the <a href="http://snow-and-associates.com/rouse.htm">Rouse</a>
brother statue has to do with any of this. The answer is nothing. I just happen
to like the shot.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-24319345163457077332013-05-06T15:12:00.001-04:002013-05-06T16:09:15.594-04:00Growler Guy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DA9G2T9V0MY/UYf9-GY3bKI/AAAAAAAAF94/ov4KN-DEu9E/s1600/DSC01061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DA9G2T9V0MY/UYf9-GY3bKI/AAAAAAAAF94/ov4KN-DEu9E/s400/DSC01061.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Beer is best when it’s fresh from the tap and one of the
best ways to enjoy that freshness at home is the beer growler. Last year the Maryland
General Assembly <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/search?q=growlers">passed legislation</a> to allow HoCo restaurants and liquor stores
to sell draft beers in growlers. Less than one year later I've become a regular
<a href="http://www.bottless.net/v/vspfiles/assets/images/rushing%20the%20growler.jpg">growler guy</a>.<br />
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Growlers are also one of the best ways to enjoy the
<a href="http://www.scenemagazine.info/wp-content/uploads/USE-THIS-ONE-Tap-Handle-2.jpg">seemingly endless</a> progression of craft beers. At the <a href="http://www.winebinec.com/">Wine Bin</a> in <st1:place w:st="on">Ellicott City</st1:place> for instance, they feature six growler offerings
at any given time. Once a tap goes dry it is replaced with something new. There
is always something different to try when I go in for a refill. Since they also offer a 32 oz growler you don’t
have to make a big commitment to any one brew. Anyone can drink two pints of beer
they only sort of like, <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6068/T7YD100Z/posters/frank-cotham-you-can-t-worry-what-non-beer-drinkers-think-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">right?</a></div>
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There are some things to take into consideration with
growlers. For one, they don’t keep long. If you bring home beer in growler you
should drink it within a week. The longer it sits, the more it loses that
freshness. How it’s filled could be an issue as well. In his <u>Thirsty in <st1:city w:st="on">Seattle</st1:city></u> blog, <a href="http://www.thirstyinseattle.com/?p=617">Dan Swanson writes</a> he’s “had enough flat, oxidized growlers to know that consistency in
properly filling growlers is a big problem, at least at some
establishments. Let’s look at the array of filling technique
advice. Some folks say you should bottom-fill a growler using a
tube. Others say you can just fill from the top. There are even
more pro tips: Use a CO<sub>2</sub> purge, make sure the growler is cold,
cap on foam, use plastic polyseal caps (not the cheap white metal ones), and
fill using counter pressure. With all the varying information out there,
it’s no wonder growlers aren't consistently filled flawlessly.”</div>
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<i>“If your growler was not filled and capped properly, the
beer will start to oxidize and go flat the minute you walk out the door.”</i></div>
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So far, I haven’t experienced any freshness failures. I guess the
Wine Bin boys are using proper filling techniques but I can just as easily appreciate
how that might not always be the case.</div>
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Still I like the upside. As <a href="http://brewsandbooks.com/index.php/2013/04/fresh-beer-growler-reform-and-ld-1082/">Josh Christie writes</a> in <u>Brews
and Books</u>, "Growlers are also environmental friendly and often less expensive
than prepackaged beer, which works out for everyone.”</div>
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I’ll drink to that.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-3779024599358252502013-05-05T21:59:00.000-04:002013-05-05T22:01:16.800-04:00Wooly Bully<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q0JfT8l6-E8/UYcKASVaq-I/AAAAAAAAF9Q/ZRVTVP8JfY0/s1600/DSC01309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q0JfT8l6-E8/UYcKASVaq-I/AAAAAAAAF9Q/ZRVTVP8JfY0/s400/DSC01309.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
It’s too late for this year but you might want to pencil the
41<sup>st</sup> <a href="http://www.sheepandwool.org/">Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival</a> into your calendar for next
spring. I readily admit to being surprised at how big it is. The two day event at
the Howard County Fairgrounds attracts about 85,000 visitors from all over. It
is the premier festival “celebrating all things <a href="http://www.wpclipart.com/animals/S/sheep/cartoon_sheep_front.png">sheep</a> and wool” in the world.<br />
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It’s free too.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uqEWHYgG0eU/UYcOFTF718I/AAAAAAAAF9o/_chG4_b6vQ0/s1600/DSC01316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uqEWHYgG0eU/UYcOFTF718I/AAAAAAAAF9o/_chG4_b6vQ0/s400/DSC01316.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We watched sheep dogs go through their paces, ate lamb
sausage sandwiches, sampled lambs milk cheese, and checked out at a lot stuff
made out of wool.</div>
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There was even sheep art. Conni Tӧgel has a collection of
works she calls <a href="http://www.charisma-art.com/sheep_incognito_by_conni_togel_reference_gallery/">Sheep Incognito</a>, perfect for this crowd. This work is entitled “Ewe
Tube.”</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rlgTwKUDnDk/UYcKjgOw-LI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/oa41RQ_Qets/s1600/DSC01354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rlgTwKUDnDk/UYcKjgOw-LI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/oa41RQ_Qets/s400/DSC01354.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a dry event and after all that <a href="http://www.ericsgraphics.com/images/ewe_sheep_cartoon.gif">lamb</a> I was a little thirsty
so to keep in the spirit of things I picked up a six pack of <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/73965">Baba Black Lager</a> on
the way home. Not baaaaad.</div>
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Ahem.</div>
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All in all, it was a <a href="http://youtu.be/9JPNJpp5QnQ">wooly bully</a> day.</div>
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You can see more pictures of the 40<sup>th</sup> Maryland
Sheep and Wool Festival <a href="http://wordbones.tumblr.com/post/49733635850/40th-maryland-sheep-wool-festival-west">here</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-43650326626590206402013-05-02T21:13:00.000-04:002013-05-02T21:13:41.979-04:00HoCo’s Outer Beltway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EFae9-mqjmE/UYMLQt_1dNI/AAAAAAAAF9A/3v1HGK0rQGs/s1600/DSC01290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EFae9-mqjmE/UYMLQt_1dNI/AAAAAAAAF9A/3v1HGK0rQGs/s400/DSC01290.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Since moving to the corporate colony of <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-fever.html">Columbia Gateway</a> I've begun using an interstate highway to move between <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
and <st1:place w:st="on">Ellicott City</st1:place>. From Route 32 to the south,
to Route 100 to the north, I-95 has become part of makeshift HoCo outer beltway.<br />
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The numbers bear this out. According to the <a href="http://www.marylandroads.com/Traffic_Volume_Maps/howard.pdf">MDOT traffic maps</a>, average
daily vehicle volume on I-95 increases from an average daily volume of 190,680 cars below Route
32 to a peak volume of 197,902 vehicles between Route 175 and Route 100. After MD Route 100
the volume drops back down to the 191,280.</div>
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Today, at 4:00 PM, as I merged on to 95 from 175, traffic <a href="http://www.michellehenry.fr/traffic-cartoon.gif">had slowed to 35 mph</a>. By the
time I hit 100 it was picking back up again. </div>
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Even with the slower speed, I managed to make it from my
office in Gateway to my appointment in <st1:place w:st="on">Ellicott City</st1:place>
in just over 10 minutes.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-60575174292629959712013-05-02T10:42:00.000-04:002013-05-02T10:53:19.291-04:00Mumbles & Squeaks Closing <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC352DEOsIY/UYJ4v0rvhGI/AAAAAAAAF8w/IZrkkz-yF74/s1600/DSC01278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC352DEOsIY/UYJ4v0rvhGI/AAAAAAAAF8w/IZrkkz-yF74/s320/DSC01278.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Mumbles & Squeaks is not just a toy store with a great
name, it’s <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2006/12/if-you-have-never-visited-mumbles.html">a great toy store</a>. For twenty some years Ed and Frank offered HoCo
locos an alternative to big box and mall <a href="http://youtu.be/d-V9YjmABr4">toy stores</a>. Mumbles & Squeaks was
like a curated exhibit of simple and <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/61/6147/E92G100Z/posters/arnie-levin-small-girl-looking-in-toy-store-window-at-two-dolls-one-doll-is-labeled-cartoon.jpg">unique toys</a>. I don’t believe they carried
anything electronic.<br />
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I refer to them in past tense because yesterday, on their
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=577638082260913&id=156724444352281">Facebook page</a>, Ed and Frank announced that they are closing up shop “to fulfill
a long time dream of becoming beach bums in <st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state>.”</div>
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Can I <a href="http://youtu.be/lB8Nkn3Xjes">come</a>?</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
They will remain open until the end of the month as they
sell off their inventory.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“We travel lite so we will only take our memories.
Everything must go! Please come by wish us well! Share our news and our sale
with all your friends so we don't miss anyone. You may forward this message to
them.<br />
<br />
Please come to Mumbles and Squeaks to share a story, a hug, a tear. As we said,
this is bitter sweet. We won't say, "Goodbye." We would rather say,
"We will save you a seat on the beach!"</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mumbles and Squeaks was one of those businesses that make <st1:place w:st="on">Ellicott City</st1:place> unique. They will be missed.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-33453772138794112152013-05-01T07:43:00.000-04:002013-05-01T07:43:00.644-04:00On the Fringe of a Boomtown<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bloomberg recently ranked the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/money-gallery/2013-04-24/the-top-12-american-boomtowns.html#slide1">Top 12 American Boomtowns</a>.
The business editors “sorted through U.S. Census data for metropolitan areas to rank
those with the greatest population growth, then scored areas on growth in gross
domestic product, adjusted for inflation.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They should have labeled them Boom-metros though, by the way
they lumped areas together to achieve a certain population threshold. For
instance, the number one <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/68/6842/LGXY100Z/posters/christopher-weyant-you-think-that-s-bad-bloomberg-once-tried-to-kick-me-out-of-new-york-cartoon.jpg">Bloomberg</a> boomer is <a href="http://www.brandextract.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/KeepAustinWeird325.jpg">Austin</a>-<a href="http://www.bettysellsaustin.com/images/1.12.09%20%20Round%20ROCK%20resized.JPG">Round Rock</a>, <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state>. A quick
calculation using Google Earth puts Round Rock about 16.5 miles from <st1:city w:st="on">Austin,</st1:city> as the crow flies.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I point this out because <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state> “which includes neighboring towns in <st1:state w:st="on">Virginia</st1:state> and <st1:state w:st="on">Maryland</st1:state>”
is Bloomberg boomer number 6. Using the same methodology I used with Boomberg
one, I determined that 16.5 miles in a straight line from the center of DC
would bring you <a href="http://www.company7.com/mccmo/graphics/hcreservioir1210807.jpg">right about to </a><st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.company7.com/mccmo/graphics/hcreservioir1210807.jpg">Fulton</a> on the southern fringe of HoCo</st1:place>.
Close enough to feel the <a href="http://jokeslifeandtoughlove.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/tidal-wave.jpg">booms ripples</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some ways HoCo, with its 5.2% unemployment rate is even doing
better than its next door boom-metro area where it is averaging 5.5%.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-3697744889914173272013-04-30T16:26:00.002-04:002013-04-30T17:07:34.704-04:00Kimco QR Fail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLcnY5FDYRI/UYAmRd8hsFI/AAAAAAAAF8Y/gLZycDiC0Xk/s1600/DSC01261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLcnY5FDYRI/UYAmRd8hsFI/AAAAAAAAF8Y/gLZycDiC0Xk/s400/DSC01261.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
This afternoon I spotted this QR code stuck to one of the
windows of the <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2008/03/produce-galore-no-more.html">former Produce Galore</a> space in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Wilde</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Village</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
I was curious to see if it would enlighten me about the progress that <a href="http://www.kimcorealty.com/">Kimco</a> is making on the
<a href="http://wildelake.org/node/1704">redevelopment of the center</a>. I whipped <a href="http://www.writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/iphonefinally.html">my i5</a> and gave it a quick scan.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following message immediately appeared on my phone:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>The Marketing Package for the selected site was not found.
Possible reasons include:</b></i></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>The
site reference ID is incorrect, invalid or no longer in use</b></i></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>The
site has been sold or removed</b></i></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Documentation
is not available</b></i></li>
</ul>
<div>
I scanned it again just to make sure. Same message.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ko6K_ix1wE/UYAmUfpsXsI/AAAAAAAAF8g/oif-iMBaD_8/s1600/DSC01256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ko6K_ix1wE/UYAmUfpsXsI/AAAAAAAAF8g/oif-iMBaD_8/s400/DSC01256.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s obvious that something is about to get cooking besides fast food at the old village center. There is
now a stockade construction fence surrounding the former KFC building and there's an
<a href="http://www.cartoonaday.com/images/cartoons/2009/11/Mesothelioma-Is-Not-Covered-Interview-at-Asbestos-Removal-Company-598x435.jpg">asbestos removal</a> notice taped to another storefront window.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe I should have asked <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/10/siri-vs-human.html">Siri</a> what was going on.</div>
</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-2821138818163788042013-04-30T08:47:00.000-04:002013-04-30T08:57:31.096-04:00iPhone…Finally!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lccps5CsLcU/UX8jkU25_BI/AAAAAAAAF8I/MTKYBA6bjJo/s1600/DSC01209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lccps5CsLcU/UX8jkU25_BI/AAAAAAAAF8I/MTKYBA6bjJo/s400/DSC01209.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Initially I <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/01/verizon-iphone-imminent.html">pined for the day</a> that the iPhone might become available
on Verizon. Back in 2009, when Apple’s revolutionary phone hit the market you had
to be on the AT&T network to use it, legally anyway. Like many, I decided to
stick it out and hope for the day when it might become available on Verizon.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I was waiting Android phones started getting better <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/05/ascension-of-android.html">and better</a>. I actually passed up the first opportunity I had to get a Verizon iPhone
opting instead to stick with my <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2010/12/desk-phone-demise.html">Motorola Droid X</a> which I’ve kept long past its
useful life. I figured I’d probably just stick with an Android phone when it
came time to replace it. Some people were even saying that Samsung's new <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/technology/personaltech/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-phone-bristles-with-extras-state-of-the-art.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">Galaxy phones are superior</a> to the iPhone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then I got <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-toy.html">an iPad</a>. The iPad with the <a href="http://costargo.com/">CoStarGo</a> product
is the most powerful tool in commercial real estate. It’s not available on the
Android operating system. No iPad, no CoStarGo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is when I learned that Apple doesn't play well with
others. My Android phone and my iPad had communication issues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What finally pushed me over the edge though, was how easily
the iPhone worked with our Microsoft servers. Last week as we transitioned into
our <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/on-clear-day-you-can-see-best-buy.html">new offices</a> I could not get my phone to sync my email but I noticed that the
people in the office who had iPhones <a href="http://9to5mac.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/smug2.jpeg">experienced no trouble</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next morning I was at the Verizon store picking up the <a href="http://img1.digitalversus.com/produits/71/14366/apple-iphone-5_1348748219.jpg">iPhone 5</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can you <a href="http://www.cartoonaday.com/images/cartoons/2012/09/iphone-5-cartoon-birthday-598x427.jpg">love a phone</a>?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it’s just that initial passion you get at the
beginning of a relationship but I have to admit that I sometimes just like to
hold my new i5. As David Poque points out in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/technology/personaltech/apples-iphone-5-scores-well-with-a-quibble-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">this column</a> in <u>The New York Times</u>, the iPhone 5 is the thinnest smartphone in the world <span style="font-size: 12pt;">“just under four ounces; it disappears
completely in your pocket. This iPhone is so light, tall and flat, it’s well on
its way to becoming a bookmark.” </span><br />
<br />
Its beauty is matched by its elegant performance. It’s rather
fast too.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> "The iPhone 5 is now a
4G LTE phone, meaning that in certain lucky cities, you get wicked-fast
Internet connections."</i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I returned to the office I was able to sync with our servers on the first try. Smugness ensued.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the best part, it gets along very well with my iPad.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I'm becoming <a href="http://www.esarcasm.com/wp-content/apple-fanboys.jpg">a fanboy</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-9170060719020114702013-04-29T13:06:00.000-04:002013-04-29T13:06:10.221-04:00Funny Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b3aIAlHLjpc/UX6mOE4nLwI/AAAAAAAAF74/kq1Oxa1j59o/s1600/gertler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b3aIAlHLjpc/UX6mOE4nLwI/AAAAAAAAF74/kq1Oxa1j59o/s400/gertler.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
David Gertler should be on the school board. He is funny,
smart and has a passion for mathematics yet twice now HoCo voters have chosen
<a href="http://53beersontap.typepad.com/53beers/2012/02/confessions-of-an-allen-dyer-voter.html">lesser candidates</a> over him. As far as I’m concerned it’s a loss for our
students.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then again, we really haven’t lost him. Despite his
electoral loss, David has remained engaged with the system by organizing the
first countywide <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/303573179772306/permalink/306363069493317/">STEM Festival</a> to be held Sunday, June 9<sup>th</sup> at HCC. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He also does stand up comedy which distinguishes him from
your stereotypical <a href="http://img.math-fail.com/images-old/pi-color-cartoon-01.jpg">math geek</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David was one of those guests we felt we could jump right in
with since he’s pretty well versed in HoCo issues. In fact, our freewheeling
chat about HoCo loco stories almost didn't leave us enough time to talk about
his upcoming festival.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had plenty of news items to fill the show, particularly on
the political front with the announced retirements of <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-robey-retire-0418-20130417,0,1817466.story">Senator Jim Robey</a> and delegates
<a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/catonsville/ph-ca-at-deboy-malone-retire-20130415,0,2204500.story">Jim Malone and Steve DeBoy</a> and <a href="http://www.hocorising.com/2013/04/howard-county-unfrozen-fy14-operating.html">Ken Ulmans budget</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can listen to 88<sup>th</sup> episode of “and then there’s
that…” <a href="http://www.hocomojo.com/group/andthentheresthat/forum/topics/episode-88-props-for-stem-with-guest-david-gertler">here</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-89374859442458808552013-04-28T16:37:00.000-04:002013-04-28T16:39:33.862-04:00More Bad News for CreigOccasionally I get asked about a post I wrote back on <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/12/cracks-in-bedrock.html">December 20, 2011</a> concerning a lawsuit filed against HoCo über realtor, <a href="http://northropteam.com/">Creig Northrop</a>. “Whatever
happened with that?” they’ll ask.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had no idea. It seemed to have faded off into that silent
world of <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/61/6151/XLAG100Z/posters/danny-shanahan-damn-and-we-were-this-close-to-an-attorney-friendly-settlement-cartoon.jpg">negotiated settlements</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until today that is. In his column in <u>The Washington Post</u>, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/lawsuits-shine-light-on-kickbacks-sham-agreements-in-real-estate-services/2013/04/27/5fd91e42-adf7-11e2-98ef-d1072ed3cc27_story.html">Robert McCartney writes</a> that an unrelated new suit, filed in federal court, alleges
that Creig “received hundreds of thousands of dollars of illicit
payments over a period of 13 years to send settlement business to a local title
firm.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That would be <a href="http://www.lakeviewtitle.com/index.php">Lakeview Title</a>. McCartney also mentions them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“The agreement provided that Northrop would “designate
Lakeview as its exclusive preferred settlement and title company,” and would
not “designate or endorse any entity” other than Lakeview for such business.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The new lawsuit alleges that the marketing deal was a clear
violation of a <st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place>
law, known as RESPA, which prohibits a firm from receiving compensation in exchange
for referrals for real estate settlement services.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The column also <a href="http://stockercary.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/shedding-light.jpg">shed some light</a> on the case from my earlier post.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Much of the earlier lawsuit, in state court, was defeated
on technical grounds. A judge ruled that the complaint didn't qualify as a
class action and that the statute of limitations had expired. The plaintiffs
plan to appeal.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now you know.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-42473845062709603042013-04-28T11:59:00.002-04:002013-04-28T14:50:31.783-04:00Lt. Governor UlmanMy friend, and HoCo loco political operative, <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/03/berry-protein-shakes-and-speed-cams.html">Roger Caplan</a>
has generally dismissed the notion of <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/09/handicapping-gubernatorial-race.html">Ken Ulman</a> playing <a href="http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0908/pg2_backup_qb_576.jpg">backup quarterback</a> to
the guv. “I can’t see Ken carrying a clipboard,” he likes to say.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe he can’t but apparently Ken can. The prospect of a <a href="http://anthonybrown.com/meet-anthony/">Brown</a>-<a href="http://www.kenulman.com/">Ulman</a> gubernatorial ticket is beginning to look like a done deal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/brown-ulman-ticket-could-shake-up-democratic-primary-for-md-governors-office/2013/04/27/01aaebf4-add7-11e2-98ef-d1072ed3cc27_story.html">this story</a> by John Wagner in <u>The Washington Post</u>
“several people familiar with talks between Brown and Ulman described the
Howard executive as the clear front-runner for the <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/10/game-of-thrones-local-edition.html">No. 2 spot</a> on Brown’s ticket.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Ulman’s interest in the job has been prompted in part, the
sources said, by a growing realization of the challenges he would face in
winning the nomination and a sense that he is young enough that he could run
for governor later in his career.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would be a pretty formidable ticket. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>"Brown, a former delegate for Prince George’s County who
served a tour of duty in Iraq as an Army reservist, is the handpicked successor
of O’Malley (D), who is term-limited and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/gov-omalley-ponders-big-question-what-next/2013/04/21/002f9d08-a8df-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html">weighing
a 2016 presidential bid</a>. If elected, Brown, 51, would be <st1:place w:st="on">Maryland</st1:place>’s first black governor and only the
third African American elected governor in the country since Reconstruction.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Ulman has gained recognition for expanding access to health
care in his county, among other initiatives. Now 38, Ulman was 32 when first
elected, making him the youngest county executive in <st1:place w:st="on">Maryland</st1:place>’s history."</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those aren't my words. Those are a real <a href="http://afrocityblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/brenda-starr-reporter-cartoon-white-house.jpg">reporters perspective</a> and provides a great story line for a campaign. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A narrative like this coupled with the support of <a href="http://tickets.avalontheatre.com/uplimage/OMALLEYBAND.jpg">the incumbent guv</a> immediately makes Brown-Ulman the front runners.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-45765745136142673812013-04-27T16:54:00.002-04:002013-04-27T16:56:19.026-04:00No Scanners No ProblemOn more than one occasion I've encountered an empty scanner
rack at Giant. I hate this. No scanners mean no <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/05/technology-redlining-in-retail.html">Scan It</a> for me, not on this
trip anyway. I’m a big fan of the little handheld buggers so that when I find none available I get <a href="http://youtu.be/1KKcUrdXWH0">a little bummed</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sko3fmu0yXc/UXw4yRqKKbI/AAAAAAAAF7o/JID7rjtClLk/s1600/Scan+It.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sko3fmu0yXc/UXw4yRqKKbI/AAAAAAAAF7o/JID7rjtClLk/s320/Scan+It.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They've fixed that problem, at least for people with
<a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2010/05/smart-phone-dumb-user.html">smartphones</a>. Earlier this week I saw this notice in the Columbia Palace Giant
announcing a <a href="http://www.giantfood.com/our_stores/tools/scan_it_mobile.htm">Scan It mobile app</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've haven’t tried it out yet but it sure sounds like a good
idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And…this week I bought my first <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2010/03/end-of-iphone-envy.html">iPhone</a>. More on that later…</div>
<br />wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-82343424364400762832013-04-25T21:03:00.000-04:002013-04-27T00:27:59.235-04:00Fire in the WestFrom my experience, the best way to sum up the politics of
the HoCo Fire Department is to say it’s complicated. Whenever a major issue
crops up like a change in <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/03/lisbons-last-stand.html">fire districts</a> or, more recently, the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/lisbon-fulton/ph-ho-cf-lisbon-fire-0425-20130424,0,2501378.story">contingent firefighter program</a>, the internal battle lines are not always clearly drawn, at least it can appear that way to this outsider.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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It is clear that passions can run high yet it’s hard to get anyone within the department to speak out. It's almost as if everyone wants to keep their stuff <a href="http://d1mpb3f4gq7nrb.cloudfront.net/img/toons/cartoon6460.png">within the family</a>.</div>
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The exception to this is the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company.
As they were with the fire district dust up, the <st1:city w:st="on">Lisbon</st1:city> firefighters have taken the point on
opposing the plan to eliminate the contingent employee program. Contingent
employees are paid part-time workers who assist in the staffing of volunteer
fire companies, notably West Friendship, Elkridge and <st1:city w:st="on">Lisbon</st1:city>. According to <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/lisbon-fulton/ph-ho-cf-fire-house-0214-20130214,0,5679320.story">this story</a> by Blair Ames
in <u>The Sun</u>, Fire Chief Bill Goddard believes that ending the program will allow
the department to operate more “efficiently with career and volunteer personnel
working together.”<br />
<br />
<i>
"The only people that suffer in this is the community," said Kenny
Livesay, a volunteer firefighter at the <st1:city w:st="on">Lisbon</st1:city>
station. "It's setting us up for failure."</i></div>
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<br /></div>
This is likely more indicative of the political
disconnect between the urban east the rural west and a desire to preserve a way of life that is rapidly disappearing in HoCo than it is a disagreement with <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/awh/lowres/awhn118l.jpg">fellow firefighters</a><span style="font-size: small;"> .</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]-->wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-48844637727562696162013-04-24T21:12:00.000-04:002013-04-24T22:27:12.799-04:00Spring FeverThe blog has slipped down my priority list lately. It’s not
that I don’t have the time is just that I've chosen to spend that time
differently. For instance, Mama Wordbones and I spent the last five weeks binge
watching <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vlQVPKm3TzQ/UNCRnye33yI/AAAAAAAABcM/iAvWI0s6F9g/s1600/ht_homeland_season_2_nt_120927_wg.jpg">Homeland</a>. We had both heard people rave about this series so when FiOS
gave us two months of Showtime for a free trial we decided to check it out. We
were hooked on the <a href="http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kickdoor/Homeland-NicholasBrody.jpg">first episode</a>.<br />
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<br /></div>
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Work has cramped my blogging time as well. In case you hadn't noticed, commercial real estate in HoCo is becoming red hot. I've lost count of
the number of projects underway; <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/07/whole-lotta-hoco-shakin-goin-on.html">Whole Foods</a>, <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-clydes-reopening-20130422,0,2907784.story">Clyde’s</a>, <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/02/merrill-lynch-facelift.html">Merrill Lynch building</a>, the
<a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-developers-break-ground-on-100-million-apartments-in-downtown-columbia-20130211,0,270293.story">Metropolitan</a>, <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/01/tear-down-this-wall.html">The Mall expansion</a>, <st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-wilde-lake-0228-20130228,0,4878107.story">Wilde Lake Village Center</a></st1:place>. There is more to come too, with at least two more projects being announced in downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia alone</st1:city>
before the summer is over.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If its any consolation, I've at least been thinking about posts for
To2C. One of the topics that has started germinating in my twisted mind is the dynamics life in HoCo’s largest <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/trh/lowres/trhn149l.jpg">business park</a>, Columbia Gateway. It’s really another Columbia village of sorts. People may not live in Gateway but a very large population
spends the <a href="http://www.toonpool.com/user/589/files/the_cubicle_697715.jpg">better part of each work day</a> within its bounds.</div>
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<br /></div>
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How many?</div>
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<br /></div>
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The National Association of Industrial and Office Parks
<a href="http://www.naiop.org/en/E-Library/Perspectives/Changes-in-Average-Square-Feet-per-Worker.aspx">recently concluded</a> that the average <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> worker occupies 176 square feet of <a href="http://blog.marsdencartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/cubicle_office_marsden.jpg">office space</a>. Columbia Gateway has 4,185,941 square feet of office space so that would work
out to 23,782.1 people. That doesn't include those who work in buildings that aren't classified as office, which would include most single story buildings in
the park.</div>
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<br /></div>
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That’s a lot of people, the majority of which will never
have the chance to interact with each other within their corporate village.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Maybe we can change that. My colleague TW often quips about
<a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6060/Y74D100Z/posters/al-ross-colonel-mulveahy-here-exercising-unilateral-restraint-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">Colonel</a> Gateway in reference to the state highway signs leading to the entrance
off of 175 that reads “<st1:street w:st="on">Col Gateway
Drive</st1:street>.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Maybe we can create a fictional character called <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6000/N9RQG00Z/posters/jack-ziegler-level-with-me-colonel-what-kind-of-worst-case-scenario-are-we-talking-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">Colonel</a>
Gateway and throw a big birthday party for his fictional birthday. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m thinking April 1st would be the perfect fit.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-88488396498821980412013-04-23T11:25:00.000-04:002013-04-23T16:29:45.598-04:00On A Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQ3eGpqmFqY/UXajaY2u6zI/AAAAAAAAF7Y/5oKu6ZL0Tro/s1600/DSC01198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQ3eGpqmFqY/UXajaY2u6zI/AAAAAAAAF7Y/5oKu6ZL0Tro/s400/DSC01198.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
When the Howard Hughes Corporation purchased the former
Ryland Headquarters building last August, it was more than half empty.
Yesterday, with the announcement that <a href="http://us.gpstrategies.com/">GP Strategies</a> had leased three floors in
the nine story office building, it’s now 94% leased. In the commercial real
estate game this is a <a href="http://youtu.be/tKLR8oywd4Y">home run</a>.<br />
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<br /></div>
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Howard Hughes is beginning to make home runs look easy. In
his remarks at yesterday’s ceremony, John DeWolf, Senior Vice President of
Howard Hughes told the guests that downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
was one of the top three projects for the company. The other two were in <st1:state w:st="on"><a href="http://www.howardhughes.com/PDF/properties/WardCenters.pdf">Hawaii</a></st1:state> and <st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.howardhughes.com/PDF/properties/SouthStreetSeaport.pdf">New York City</a></st1:place>. </div>
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<br /></div>
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There is more exciting news to come in Columbia too, including the <a href="http://www.writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-stuff.html">pending announcement</a> of the new restaurant for the former Red Pearl space. The company
has actually found itself in the enviable position of having to manage
announcements so that each new development gets its own time in the <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ndi0680l.jpg">spotlight</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And speaking of spotlights, <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2011/03/governor-ulman.html">Ken Ulman</a> was also on hand
yesterday to help celebrate this latest downtown development and I took the
opportunity to chat briefly with him. I asked the exec what he thought about
the talk of <a href="http://dutch.house.gov/e_newsletter/Dutch%20Ravens%20Tie%20Resized.jpg">Dutch Ruppersberger</a> getting into the <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-04-10/news/bs-md-rodricks-0411-20130410_1_ruppersberger-legal-expenses-hudson-family">2014 gubernatorial race</a>. Ken
did not betray any concern about this development. He suggested that it may already
too late for Dutch in terms of both grassroots organization and fundraising. Apparently
any monies Dutch has raised for his <a href="http://www.dutchforcongress.com/">congressional races</a> cannot be used for a statewide
race. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In the meantime, Ken can look forward to more
opportunities to stand in the spotlight in the coming months as downtown
<st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
continues <a href="http://youtu.be/I_MqvP3VL74">on a roll</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-38785384835680117182013-04-22T12:51:00.000-04:002013-04-22T16:10:37.561-04:00Comedy is Hard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--9t62ScA7Dw/UXVnEAnQweI/AAAAAAAAF7I/kjNFYEC1Wfk/s1600/DSC01181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--9t62ScA7Dw/UXVnEAnQweI/AAAAAAAAF7I/kjNFYEC1Wfk/s400/DSC01181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
This weekend, the 2<sup>nd</sup> annual <a href="http://www.writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-celebration-2013.html">Spring Celebration</a>
in <st1:place w:st="on">Ellicott City</st1:place> featured four <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3wO4SbvywLs/TVIj-dcVVfI/AAAAAAAAA9s/P1Rq69MkjdE/s1600/unknown+comic.jpg">comedy acts</a> in addition
to a wide assortment of bands on three stages. I was able to catch partial
performances of two of them; Michael Freidman at the Tiber Park stage and an act
called SM Stefano Stratakis at the Wine Bin stage.<br />
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<br /></div>
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I came to the conclusion that grassroots loco comedy is
<a href="http://matthewsavides.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/st2.jpg">hard</a>. Just because someone tells you that you are funny doesn't necessarily mean that
funniness translates into a successful stand up act. Both of these acts
struggled to elicit any kind of audience reaction. As a few people pointed
out, all successful comedians likely started out this way. I couldn't help but
think that this is a very <a href="http://youtu.be/4bgjY1gM_bA">hard road to travel</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cvXTaPUkAuM" width="400"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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Other than the comedy acts, you’d have to call the Spring
Celebration a big success. The weather was perfect and the crowds turned out.
Dave Carney told me that the ECBA is working on a summer festival too, most
likely to occur in mid July.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You can see additional pictures of Saturdays’ event <a href="http://wordbones.tumblr.com/post/48619890407/2nd-annual-historic-ellicott-city-spring">here</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-28916704307785407542013-04-19T16:42:00.000-04:002013-04-19T22:40:59.970-04:00HoCo Losing Corporate HQOn Tuesday shareholders of <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
based <a href="http://www.arbitron.com/home/content.stm">Arbitron</a> voted overwhelming in favor of being acquired by <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> based <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en.html">Nielsen</a>,
combining the dominant <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/dpa/lowres/dpan3168l.jpg">radio</a> rating service with the dominant <a href="http://www.weblogcartoons.com/cartoons/if-i-had.gif">television</a> rating
service. If the deal passes muster with the antitrust cops, the <a href="http://cdn-media.hollywood.com/images/l/anchorman083109-anchorman-2.jpg">television guys</a>
will win and HoCo will lose a major corporate headquarters. According to <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2013/04/17/arbitron-shareholders-approve-nielsen.html">this story</a> by Gary Haber in the <u>Baltimore Business Journal</u> the radio ratings company
“is one of the largest employers in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Howard</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">County</st1:placename></st1:place>. It employs about
860 people in the <st1:city w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:city> area, out of a <st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place>
workforce of about 1,000.”<br />
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<br /></div>
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The ratings business is struggling to keep up with tech
savvy consumers. In an article entitled “<a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/nielsen-family-is-dead/">The Nielsen Family is Dead</a>” in <u>Wired</u>,
Tom Vanderbilt writes that “Nielsen and others have been scrambling to generate a new kind
of TV rating, one that takes into account all of the activity that occurs on screens
other than a television.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“Since the 1970s, television has been ruled by the Nielsen
Family—25,000 households whose TV habits collectively provide a statistical
snapshot of a nation’s viewing behavior. Over the years, the Nielsen rating has
been tweaked, but it still serves one fundamental purpose: to gauge how many
people are watching a given show on a conventional television set. But that’s
not how we watch any more. Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Roku, iTunes,
smartphone, tablet—none of these platforms or devices are reflected in the
Nielsen rating. (In February Nielsen announced that this fall it would finally
begin including Internet streaming to TV sets in its ratings.)”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Arbitron has been trying to keep up as well. In 2005 they
began rolling out the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/magazine/10NIELSENS.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=portable%20people%20meter&st=cse&oref=slogin">Portable People Meter</a> which was meant to phase out its dependence
on diaries. Four years later they encountered some <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2009/05/truth-sometimes-hurts.html">unanticipated regulatory blow back</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Change may be <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/336994-the-only-thing-that-is-constant-is-change--">constant</a> but it can also be unpredictable.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-10947323664326816822013-04-18T20:57:00.002-04:002013-04-18T20:57:41.428-04:00Spring Celebration 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_CKNR-Vhcw/UXCVEoM9QfI/AAAAAAAAF6w/DAjZgOdkWKA/s1600/springfestival2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_CKNR-Vhcw/UXCVEoM9QfI/AAAAAAAAF6w/DAjZgOdkWKA/s400/springfestival2013.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
<br />
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This Saturday the Ellicott City Business Association will
host their 2<sup>nd</sup> Annual Spring Celebration in the historic district.
Live entertainment, craft beers and <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/MI/EdisonLee_20080422c-de.jpg">Earth Day</a> activities will be spread up and
down <st1:street w:st="on">Main Street</st1:street>
from noon to 7 PM.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If <a href="http://www.footsforecast.org/2012/10/the-central-maryland-team-on-facebook.html">Foot’s Forecast</a> is right, the weather should be perfect. “Morning
clouds will break to a fantastic afternoon! Skies will gradually become
sunnier, with highs reaching generally the lower 60s.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Perfect weather for <a href="http://youtu.be/cg4YrOlAkds">festing</a>!</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-13476196219222890612013-04-18T12:12:00.001-04:002013-04-18T12:45:21.946-04:00On a Clear Day You Can See Best Buy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p2Yyni38_AI/UXAVsznpzYI/AAAAAAAAF6g/k2q0quffgOk/s1600/DSC01111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p2Yyni38_AI/UXAVsznpzYI/AAAAAAAAF6g/k2q0quffgOk/s400/DSC01111.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Some people can spend their entire working life in the same
office with the same morning commute and the same view. Not me. Since beginning
my professional career I've occupied sixteen different offices in five states.
Three of those offices were <a href="http://getopenspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/officespace.jpg">windowless</a>. I liked them the least.<br />
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<br /></div>
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My sixteenth move has landed me in the Gateway Corporate
Community in <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>.
Corporate community is an apt label for the 600 acre <a href="http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/120910/office-park-off-of-office-park.gif">business park</a> that
contains almost seven million square feet of commercial space but no residences.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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It wasn't <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/02/gateway-vs-town-center.html">my first choice</a>. If I had my way we would have located
our <a href="http://www.writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/whats-in-name.html">new office</a> in downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>.
That said, I have to admit that I’m warming to life in this corporate community.
I have a second floor view overlooking thickly wooded open space. In the
distance I can just barely make out the Best Buy sign at Gateway Exchange. In
matter of weeks, as the trees leaf out, I probably won’t even see that. In my
former office my view was of another building.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Gateway is also <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>’s
largest disenfranchised community. Even though it is larger than any of the ten
Columbia villages and its building owners pay the same CPRA lien as village
residents, it has no representative on the governing body of the <a href="http://www.columbiaassociation.com/index.php">Columbia Association</a>.</div>
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It’s our own HoCo loco version of <a href="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/61/6150/PYCG100Z/posters/ed-fisher-as-for-me-i-believe-in-no-taxation-with-or-without-representation-new-yorker-cartoon.jpg">taxation without representation</a>.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-89987658681178756702013-04-17T17:46:00.001-04:002013-04-17T19:52:36.714-04:00Spring StuffThe only thing I dislike about spring is that many of the acts of natures great color show end too soon. A week or sometimes just days can dramatically change the scene from brilliant color to something greenish.
Catching the really big shows like the cherry blossoms <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/not-yet.html">in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tidal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Basin</st1:placetype></st1:place></a>
is often a matter of luck and timing.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
looks good. There are flowering trees all over the town and some like the
<a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2009/04/ubiquitous-bradford-pear-tree.html">bradford pear</a> have already done their spring thing. Others like the <a href="http://www.mrjacksfarm.com/dnn/Portals/0/Ornamentals/Cherries/Cherry_Kwanzan.jpg">kwanzan cherry</a>
are just getting amped up. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETodwzTllMg/UW8U2aBTpBI/AAAAAAAAF6A/-_JkIOJ8DYE/s1600/DSC01110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETodwzTllMg/UW8U2aBTpBI/AAAAAAAAF6A/-_JkIOJ8DYE/s400/DSC01110.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Life is returning to the lakefront too. Earlier today I
walked by <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-second-clydes.html"><st1:place w:st="on">Clyde</st1:place>’s</a>.
The new façade is up and new employees are being trained. Paul Kraft, the
general manager, told me that they hope to reopen by next Monday. He let me peek in the
door and, from what <a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/kty/lowres/ktyn243l.jpg">little I could see</a>, I was impressed. New ceiling, new lighting, new back bar, new carpet,
you get the picture. It’s familiar yet different. “That’s what $5 million will
get you,” he quipped.<br />
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<br /></div>
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I understand it also paid for a kicking new kitchen and
bathrooms.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aU8lOzgBtgY/UW8U5Lj4ITI/AAAAAAAAF6I/vCL46sHdis0/s1600/DSC01078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aU8lOzgBtgY/UW8U5Lj4ITI/AAAAAAAAF6I/vCL46sHdis0/s400/DSC01078.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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There will be announcement soon about who will takeover the
<a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2012/10/dead-pearl.html">former Red Pearl</a> space. I've sworn not to reveal <a href="http://youtu.be/kp9BJxFHDYI">what I know</a> even though it’s
killing me. I’ll just say that I’m excited.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETTDptnXXqM/UW8VYuwKwrI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/7H3vA9pY4eA/s1600/DSC01074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETTDptnXXqM/UW8VYuwKwrI/AAAAAAAAF6Q/7H3vA9pY4eA/s400/DSC01074.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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You can find more pictures <a href="http://wordbones.tumblr.com/post/48217989612/natures-spring-performance-in-columbia-maryland">here</a> that I snapped around town while goofing off a little this afternoon.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-78235609612181547932013-04-16T15:48:00.000-04:002013-04-16T15:51:22.387-04:00Busboys and PoetsA couple of months ago I discovered Busboys and Poets for
the first time. I was in Hyattsville on a work assignment and
came across their newest location in the <a href="http://mygatewayarts.org/">Gateway Arts District</a>. I had heard the
name before but I’d never been in so I decided to check it out.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7WeZpvdkMs/UW2nx0scsII/AAAAAAAAF5o/OsIn30ImshU/s1600/DSC00618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7WeZpvdkMs/UW2nx0scsII/AAAAAAAAF5o/OsIn30ImshU/s400/DSC00618.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
My first reaction was that Busboys and Poets would rock in <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>. That was only further <a href="http://www.coolcartooning.com/images/NegativeReinforcement3.jpg">reinforced</a> when I read how they describe themselves on <a href="http://www.busboysandpoets.com/">their website</a>.<br />
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<i>“Busboys and Poets is a community where racial and cultural
connections are consciously uplifted...a place to take a deliberate pause and
feed your mind, body and soul...a space for art, culture and politics to
intentionally collide...we believe that by creating such a space we can inspire
social change and begin to transform our community and the world.”</i></div>
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Am I crazy or does this sound like it came right out the <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2008/03/jim-rouse-tribute-wwwmarcsilversteincom.html">Jim Rouse</a> playbook?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jJAtiB1FCEs/UW2n3Ba0myI/AAAAAAAAF50/osIgN4RMw4E/s1600/DSC00619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jJAtiB1FCEs/UW2n3Ba0myI/AAAAAAAAF50/osIgN4RMw4E/s400/DSC00619.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I decided to see if I could make a Columbia location happen so I
sent an email to Andy Shallal, the impresario behind Busboys and Poets. I refer
to Andy as the impresario because, as <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/46637-busboys-poets-grows-stores-and-publishing-program.html">Judith Rosen writes</a> in <u>Publishers
Weekly</u>, “I’m not really a restaurateur,” says Shallal, who opened his first
restaurant in 1987. “I’m an activist with food. We all eat. There’s a
commonality.” </div>
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He responded to my email in relatively short order, thanking me for the “vote of
confidence” in his venture. Regarding downtown Columbia he wrote that he’d “keep this in mind.”</div>
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Now the real work begins. </div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35921470.post-22492451577878358342013-04-15T17:47:00.000-04:002013-04-16T09:43:26.577-04:00The More Things Change…While cleaning out my desk for <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2013/04/whats-in-name.html">our move</a> last week I found a
copy of <u>The Sun</u> from June 9, 2002. Presumably I saved this particular paper
because it featured an in-depth report on <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>
on the occasion of the towns 35<sup>th</sup> birthday.<br />
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As I reread the piece to decide whether it was worthy of
continued retention, I chuckled when I came across the following
paragraphs.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BKB4s2vxBJc/UWxylURZ7EI/AAAAAAAAF5Y/xNzhqnF3Tsw/s1600/LowIncomeHousing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BKB4s2vxBJc/UWxylURZ7EI/AAAAAAAAF5Y/xNzhqnF3Tsw/s400/LowIncomeHousing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lately, some <a href="http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2010/08/bobo-klein-beat-down.html">loco activists</a> have begun carping about the
need to do more for low income housing in downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Columbia</st1:city>, besides the <a href="http://howardcounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?meta_id=41972&view=&showpdf=1">Columbia Downtown Housing Corporation</a> which was established
as a part of the redevelopment legislation. The trust receives its funding to
provide affordable housing from a fee assessed on every new housing unit created
in downtown. It was seeded with a million dollar check from <a href="http://www.howardhughes.com/">Howard Hughes</a>.</div>
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Eleven years ago nothing like this existed or was proposed.</div>
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Is it enough?</div>
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Of course not. Providing low income housing in an area of
relatively high housing values will always be <a href="http://www.coastalhawaii.com/images/gifs/afford.gif">a challenge</a>, just as it was back
in 1967. Instead of demanding more subsidized
housing in one place from one developer though, perhaps the better strategy would
be to create a countywide housing trust that assesses a fee on all new residential units in HoCo.</div>
wordboneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00250201271555676642noreply@blogger.com