Friday, May 18, 2012
My friend and I thought we were joking. School leaders took it seriously.
This sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. My life was almost completely changed, because days before my high school graduation, some school staff members had reason to worry that I was part of a plot to bomb the library. This was 13 years ago this May, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. And, it’s also one of the more difficult stories for me to tell, and it usually comes out after a few beers or with a very trusted friend. But writing Wednesday about senior pranks gone awry, resulting in arrests with student mugshots splashed across news websites, I got a cold pit in my stomach, remembering. It could have been me. I was a straight-A student in a senior class of about 70 or so at a small high school in Iowa, Dike-New Hartford. I …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Taking a look at the development of Town Center through a recent walking tour put on by the Columbia Archives.
On Saturday, I took a walking tour around Town Center led by Jane Dembner, the Columbia Association's Director of Community Planning. As you may know, I'm fairly new to Columbia. I took over the responsibilities of editing Columbia Patch in early March and have been quickly learning the ropes of a new, yet historical city. Currently, one of the most talked-about issues in Columbia is the development of Town Center into a more urban, walkable downtown. I went on the tour as an opportunity to explore today's Town Center. On a beautiful Saturday May morning, the first thing I noticed was the lack of people at the lakefront. I wondered why, in a city of 100,000 people, there weren't more people enjoying the lake—fishing, sailing, walking or …
Friday, May 11, 2012
What are you reading?
There is frequently a perception that news can be objective, that facts are facts and spin is the province of politicians and, perhaps, Fox News. To a certain extent, this is true; the base facts of a story are bedrock, beyond which further fracking has no yield. How those facts are presented, though, how they are ordered and emphasized, can effectively prime our perception of a given story. A recent Baltimore Sun story boasted an attention-grabbing headline: “Howard school board to give Foose up to $25,000 in relocation costs.” Below, the subhead (aka dek, in newspeak): “New superintendent is moving from bordering Frederick County.” Taken together, these phrases seem designed to provoke. A quick read, the skimming attention usually …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
A round-up of comments from stories on Columbia Patch.
- OPINION
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Saturday, April 28
We've assembled a smorgasbord of your comments from the past week: $250,000 Contract Approved for New Howard County Schools Superintendent – “Cool last name but she's making as much as MoCo Supe[rintendent] who runs a system three times the size of HoCo.” – Bill Bissenas From the Columbia Patch Facebook Page – “I guess she thinks she needs to drive a luxury vehicle around to remind people of her status as the Super. That monthly bump buys a nice Volvo sedan. And, she gets $25,000 to move ONE county away? Maybe two or three? That must be one big house with 450,000 pounds of personal belongings. Is this person married with 10 kids?” – Ted Cogdell Wine With Your Wegmans? Second-Floor Liquor Store May Be on Tap – “Beware, if you live in …
Friday, April 13, 2012
The dream is free, but the ticket'll cost ya.
On March 30, six white plastic balls, whose fate would otherwise have landed them in a cup of beer during a college beer pong competition, rolled out of a spinning machine and changed forever the lives of three Maryland public school employees. Over the past few days my mind has often dwelled upon these lucky Baltimore folks who just hit it big in the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot. The self-dubbed “Three Amigos” purchased the winning ticket at a 7-11 in the town of Milford Mill. After the March 30 drawing, each of the amigos immediately became $35 million dollars richer, approximately 583 times more money than the average yearly salary they likely receive as public school employees. This afternoon I discussed the big local win with …
It's been one year since 3-year-old Elijah LaJeuness was killed at his Columbia home.
Editor’s note: The following is a tribute to Elijah LaJeuness, the 3-year-old toddler found unresponsive one year ago Friday in his Columbia home. It is written by his father, Robert LaJeuness, of Hyattsville, MD, who lived separately from his son. The boy's April 13, 2011 death was ruled a homicide; no charges have been filed. -- “Elijah was my best friend. When he was around, we would do everything together. He loved going to Six Flags – Thomas Town, going to the parks, lakes, and so much more. He always loved to sing and dance and just have fun. Elijah had a way to bring out a smile in just about anyone that he interacted with. Everyone used to comment about how smart he was. When talking to him, you wouldn’t know he was only 3-years…
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
George Zimmerman charged in death of Trayvon Martin.
Updated, 6:29 p.m. George Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida, according to the Miami Herald. Zimmerman is in custody at an undisclosed location, according to the Herald, after turning himself in without incident. Zimmerman, 28, shot 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford, FL, where Martin was visiting his father. The story has been in the national spotlight for more than a month, prompting marches and vigils in Florida and across the country, including in Howard County and other parts of Maryland. On Monday night, Columbia residents gathered at St. John Baptist Church to hold a vigil to demand justice for Martin. Local politicians and African American leaders at the …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The congratulations were plentiful, but criticisms of the BOE's appointment of a new superintendent took center stage online.
The Howard County Board of Education (BOE) has chosen a new superintendent. According to a statement from the Howard County Public School System and BOE Chairperson Sandra French, Renee A. Foose will assume the superintendent position July 1. The announcement was sent at noon, about 12 hours after board members finished their deliberation, which included input from the community, according to board member Allen Dyer. “I got home at about 12 a.m.,” he said. Howard County residents have taken to the Internet to discuss the appointment. Scores of "Congratulations" and "Look forward to working with you" tweets peppered Twitter, but elsewhere residents expressed concerns. One blogger questioned the announcement Monday of the other finalist, S…
Monday, March 26, 2012
Removing the Columbia Association from the Maryland Homeowners Association Act may result in less transparency.
The need for more open and transparent governance is just as important an issue at the Columbia Association (CA) as it is at local, state, and federal government agencies. However, there is a recent proposal, drafted by CA staff, that would go in the opposite direction, making CA less accountable to the people of Columbia. The proposal is in the form of a potential State bill, which would redefine CA and Columbia’s village associations. They would no longer be considered “homeowners associations,” under State law. They would be called “nonprofit community service corporations,” a new category that would have weaker provisions. The proposal would remove some State protections of Columbia residents' rights under the Maryland Homeowners …
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Talking To My Kids About Trayvon Martin
As someone who was forbidden to sport the punk looks of the 1980's, I like to let my kids enjoy them – up to a point. Temporary hair colors. No permanent tattoos. No gauges. I dread the day one of them comes home with a piercing, but at least you should be able to remove whatever studs you put through the holes. I don't people to get the wrong idea about my kids, you see. I don't want them not to get jobs based on bad-but-permanent fashion statements. I don't want them hassled by cops because they look like they ought to be stealing things. What white people don't get about the Trayvon Martin thing is that “looking wrong” is a lot more likely to get you killed a lot more often when you're black than when you're white. Certainly, being …
BOH
11:48 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
I won't pretend that I would be glad to see more apartments crop up in Columbia, because for some reason the county housing initiatives have resulted in generally poor apartment management and, even worse, lots of shadiness. I'm conflicted on the idea of affordable housing initiatives, as I think they can be good things for the intended beneficiaries, but I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't be long … more ›