53 beers on tap

Bag tax in MontCo... coming here?

So on January 1, a new tax takes effect in Montgomery County.  For any grocery shopper who does not provide their ownshopping bags, a nickel per bag tax will be levied for the use of either paper or plastic shopping bags.  The tax is a measure to increase environmenal awareness in Montgomery County, through the use of reusable shopping bags.

I'm not aware of any plans to do this in the HFC, but what would you, gentle readers, make of this?  Hopefully any Montgomery County readers of this blog (or residents of the HFC who shop in Montgomery County) can weigh in on this.

RIP White Owl Motel

Well, looks as if the White Owl Motel on US 1 suffered a pretty damaging fire Monday night.

What a shock to the cultural fabric of Howard County this is.  An obsolete motel that's only good for "rent by the hour" purposes, destined for obsolesence anyway due to the much needed US 1 revitalization, burning up on, of all days, the day after Christmas.  Unbelievable.

Thanks to the owners of the White Owl for giving their insurance adjusters fits over the next few months.  Looking forward to seeing what the cause of this fire is determined to be.  My bet is on gremlins.

Speed camera locations...makin' me go "hmmm"

OK, so weren't the speed cameras in Howard F'ing County supposed to be placed in school zones, and were supposed to be alleviating speeding and thereby, increasing safety in those speed zones?

Well then, why in the name of Rodney Allen Rippy are there speed camera locations listed for this week?  Schools are not in session this week, after all.

So does this tell us that a school zone remains a school zone, even if school is not in session?  Quite curious.

Turf Battle

OK, so now the artificial turf field genie is out of the bottle.  This article explains how the School Board last week, by a 4-3 vote, approved $2 million for the construction of turf fields at the stadiums of Atholton and Hammond High Schools.  In something I'm sure will shock you all, Board Members Dyer, Meshkin and Vaillaincourt voted against the capital expense.  Obviously, Board Members Aquino, French, Giles and Siddiqui voted in favor.

So the plan is that all 12 of the county's high schools will have turf fields at the rate of about three per year, until all 12 high school stadium fields are turfed.  The annual funding dredge for the $3 million needed to turf the fields each year is going to be fun.  So will the annual school board vote on providing artifical turf playing fields for the county.

So here's a way the county saves a little face and starts to win over public approval for turfing the fields.  Despite the short-term safety advantages of turf fields and long-term financial advantages, there is still a large body of opinion out there that believes that the funds could be better spent buying scissors, paste and paper.

As soon as the New Year turns, the county needs to come out with a donation effort to raise funds for turfing the fields.  But here's the kicker.  The fundraising drive should be coordinated throughout the county, going into one pot to turf ALL the high school fields eventually.  Let the School Board come up with a schedule of what schools get turf when, and then let all the fundraising donations-- be they $50 or $50,000-- go to the central pot to help offset the cost.  Later, when all the fields are turfed, each individual high school can keep a turf field maintenance fund, and if donors so choose, they can pay for fancy scoreboards and the like.

The turf field debate isn't going away, and I think a shared sense of purpose among the high school communities will help ensure that eventually, all the schools get the turf stadium fields they should have.

A little 53 Beers on Tap 101

I typically take this time of year to deviate a little from the norm.  I have some of that planned this year too, for example:

I've been asked before where does the name "Marshmallow Man" come from?  Well, obviously those who ask has never seen this scene from the movie "Ghostbusters".  Anyone who doesn't think that Mr. Stay Puft rates as one of the greatest movie monsters of all time should check themself before they wreck themself.

OK, now for the slogan, "Kicking ass and chewing gum since 1967"?  Ok, smarty-pantses, I was born in 1967.  As for the rest of it, I refer you, gentle reader, to this scene from the Roddy Rowdy Piper classic, "They Live". 

I'll already put on my Christmas list for 2012 glasses that allow me to see aliens, or in this case, enable me to identify instantly someone who will piss me off.

So there you have it-- invaluable 53 Beers trivia at your fingertips!  Consider it an extra gift for you this holiday season!

Holiday hiatus!

The Beers is taking a few days off to celebrate every possible holiday-- Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the anniversary of Rob Goldman's hair, International Lichen Week-- you name it!

Have no fear, mes amis, the Beers will return next week with it's fearless end of year editions, the posts 12 months in the making!  As opposed to 12 minutes in the making, like most of them.

Until then, have a joyous holiday season, whatever your celebratory preference!!!

The New Wilde Lake moves forward

The mixed use redevelopment of Wilde Lake Village Center has taken another step forward.  You can read more about it here.

I would love to see more of the plans for these apartment buildings.  They sound very interesting (even if they ARE more than four stories) and I'd like to see how the parking garage will be integrated into the buildings.

However, I do think it's a tad premature to state that it's "expected" that the new units will sell out quickly.  After all, we're talking about a 2014 completion date, and who knows the state of the economy by then?  But, developers do as developers do-- seize every possible (and even some impossible) opportunity to market!

 

Bye-Bye Bobo???

The next (and last, as far as Howard County is concerned) domin has fallen in redistricting a-go-go for the decade, with the unveiling of the Governor's proposed state legislative redistricting map.  Oh, is this one ever interesting.  For methinks someone is getting their just desserts for being a pain in the ass several too many times.  Specifically, I'm talking about Delegate Liz Bobo, whose Christmas present from the Governor would appear to be retirement.

Looking at the map, there is a lot of great interest.  First off, more of district 9 is brought into Howard County, in the form of a new legislative subdistrict that looks to separate Ellicott City and its environs from the Western Howard County portion of the district.  And one would have to wonder if that doesn't provide an option for one Courtney Watson, as an alternative to running for County Executive?

District 13 remains laregly unchanged.  That has been a stalwart Democratic district and should remain so under the new map.

Where the fun begins is District 12.  The legislative subdistricts have been removed, so that now District 12 is a three-Delegate legislative District stretching from the southwest corner of the Baltimore City-Baltimore County border to west Columbia.

That district is currently represented by Senator Ed Kasemeyer and Delegates Steve DeBoy and Jim Malone in District 12B (Baltimore and Howard Counties) and Liz Bobo in 12A (west Columbia).  With the removal of the subdistricts, this means that Bobo, in 2014, will have to run in places like Halethorpe, the Baltimore Highlands, and Bob Ehrlich's hometown of Arbutus.  Not exactly Bobo Country.

So what could cause a longstanding Howard County political stalwart such gastrointestinal distress?  Perhaps, it's all payback for the crap she's stirred, to no purpose, for the past several years.  Perhaps this is the way the Governor, the local delegation, or perhaps just plain old karma, thanks her for being against downtown Columbia development and so many other reasonable measures in Howard County.  Perhaps all of the above is just plain tired of her nonsense.  And who could blame them?

Given this map, I highly doubt Bobo will seek re-election in 2014.  And I can't see her moving so she can run in the new single-member district in District 9.  And so the clock has started to wind down on an over 30-year political career.  A career that was marred at the end, like with so many outstanding athletes, by not knowing when to leave the field.  So now she's been retired.

Go see the new library open today!

For those of you who have been unaware, the new Miller Branch Library building is opening in Ellicott City!  Read all about it here!

I'm spending the early part of my morning in Baltimore running the Celtic Solstice Five Miler, my last race of 2012-- but after that I do intend to return to the HFC to participate in the opening day merriment!  And you should too!  Not every day a new library opens, and this one seems really nice!  Make a point of it to stop by today if you can.

Oral Surgery Death Lawsuit

You may remember in the spring I commented upon the news we become reacquainted with in this article.  Being the father of two teenages, inclding a daughter who recently underwent surgery, I can relate to this in a major way.

I can obviously not venture an opinion as to the validity of the lawsuit and whether or not the parents of this girl have a claim.  And I certainly can not comment upon the procedure or the qualifications of the doctors who administered the procedure.  But I do hope that this exercise gives these parents peace.