53 beers on tap

25 events per year? WHFC will never be the same

Hooray for free enterprise!  Hooray for private property rights!  See, government CAN act to help the property owner.  Take that, right-wing freakazoids.  Get your arses back to explorehoward.  Tell citizentaxpayerjane she sucks.

This article tells us that the Woodbine couple who wanted to use their historic farmland property to host events there, can!  The Board of Appeals has approved their conditional use.

So now they can hold up to 25 events there annually, with up to 150 people!  This will add another 80-100 cars to western Howard F'ing County roads, 25 times per year!  How will the county's infrastructure stand the strain?

Moreover-- or maybe, to make matters worse-- the couple will be operating a-- wait for it--- antique store on the property!  That means all sorts of people will be visiting the property at Heavens knows what hours-- maybe weekdays between 2 and 4pm!  Oh, the horror for the poor, poor rural west!

I am glad to see this decision.   To all the enemies of progress in the WHFC, a hearty TTTHHHHHFFFFFFTTTTTT!!!!! to you!

Aqua Plan

For those who didn't know (and if you did know all about this topic, why would you be reading this?) the CA Aquatics Master Plan Task Force has been meeting over the past several months, plotting and scheming the future for the water-loving public of Columbia.  In fact, one may find the draft Master Plan here.  You can also find lots of other information, like the names of the scrapple-eating bohemians who comprise the Task Force.  Let's examine their nefarious scheming, shall we?

First off-- whatever dope devised the catchy, water and pool-related subtitles for the chapters of the Master Plan ought to be tased on their windpipe.  Are we writing a serious planning document for a city of 100,000 or an agenda for a Boy Scout den meeting?  Cute, but let's save the cute.

So, Stevens Forest being my home pool (well, one of them, I guess, now), I'm still waiting for it to become an "adult" pool.  I'm waiting for my 84-degree covered pool, my jacuzzis, but most importantly, my swim-up complimentary bar and scantily-clad bartenders and masseuses.  Can anyone on the Task Force help me out here?

As I continue to review the draft report, I come across Page 1 of Chapter 4, which describes public meetings that were held in October, 2012.  Wow, I hope I can make it!  Although I'm one of the last people who should criticize others' typos.  But I will anyway!

Chapter 5-- Stevens Forest pool gets it's hot tub and spa.  Whoo-HOO!!!

OK, now for Chapters 6 and 7-- the recommendations and costs of same.

I think there is a dearth of Olympic-length pool lap inventory in Howard County-- as in, practically none.  So wherever there is the opportunity to create that inventory, I say it should be created.  Recall my earlier posts on the swim club tax breaks.  CA, through the pools, exists in competition with those swim clubs.  So how about offering a unique resource?

I don't think any of the current pools should be closed.  Rather, I think they should become indoor facilities with possibly some of these "zero-depth" water options added.  One of the locations could possibly be the location of an Olympic-length facility-- maybe, say,Talbott Springs?

The Columbia Swim Center/ Splashdown issue.  There appear to be some of these Task Force members who have an axe to grind about this facility.  Wonder if any of them live in Wilde Lake?  I can recall several years ago when some noise was made about keeping the Columbia Ice Rink where it is because the Oakland Mills Village Center was "dying".  Well, it's not so "dying" now, and many an ice hockey or figure skating family comes over to the village center to patronize a merchant or two.  I tend to think that the same will happen once Wilde Lake's village center undergoes a face-lift.  I also have to wonder if again, the Swim Center can't be expanded to include an Olympic-length facility, or maybe build said facility (or perhaps an enhanced diving venue) to replace Splashdown.  After all, people would then still be splashing down!

I am not those who feel that a pool is an unalienable right of every Columbian-- though of course, I do support the recommendations to increase access to the pools.  But I do believe that the pools are a unique resource and as the needs of the communities change, so too must the facilities.

 

It's a brick, it's a brick, yeah the bricks are back!

The good people of Planet Earth can now once again purchase bricks with your two to three-line inscription of choice to be placed on the walkway along Columbia's lakefront.  No word on what will become of these bricks once the redevelopment comes.

I think these bricks are cool and I'm thinking of softening my little heart and buying one.  Maybe even more!  You can find the order form here.

You want the best? You GOT the best!!!

Howard Magazine has published their 2011 Best of Howard County lists here (for everything not related to dining) and here (for all things dining).

Are there picks I agree with wholeheartedly, and picks I think were entirely off the mark?  As Sadie Palin teaches us, "You betcha!"  You want some examples.  Sure, I'll give you my dirty dozen picks and pans from these lists!

1. Amazon.com gets an Honorable Mention as the best place to buy books?  Really?  When did amazon move to Howard County?  With all those corporate taxes we ought to be shrinking the water and sewage area.

2. Anyone who voted for Antwerpen as best car dealership is a crackhead.

3. I LOVE Arthur Murray for the win for best dance studio!  Because, holy granola, I didn't even know Arthur Murray studios still existed!

4. The inclusion of the Oakland Mills dry cleaner as among the county's finest indicates a shrewd voting public for this honor!

5. How's Clyde's the best place for a first date?  Doesn't anyone know anything?  I think...uh, let me think about this.... so, really?  Clyde's?  Hmmmm......

6. How is anyone in this county qualified to vote for best police officer?  Does anyone have experience with a significant percentage of the 500 or so cops in this county?  Other than Bill McMahon?  And probably not even him!

7. Columbia Animal Hospital is the best veterinary practice in Howard County.  Though all mentioned are very good.  Still missing my buddy a little.

8. I can't think of anywhere in the county better to be outside than Cheesecake Factory.  That's for all of you whose aspiration it is to die of carbon monoxide poisoning.  What about the mixture of cheesecake and exhaust is appealing?

9.  OK, settled!  Going to Maiwand Kabob this week!

10. Excuse me?  Timbuktu in Dorsey didn't even make the list for best crab cake?  Pretty sure that the joint still lies within Howard's borders.  Then again, people in Dorsey don't read Howard Magazine.

11. Shocked that the Canopy restaurant on US40 didn't hit the board for most romantic restaurant in the HFC.

12. Wine tastings at Iron Bridge?  Can you say, four glasses' worth of wine before 11am on a Saturday morning?  No wonder its the best!  WHOOO-HOOO!!!

Gender identity discrimination law passes

This news is several days old, but certainly worth reporting!  This article discusses the Council's passage on Monday night of the legislation making gender identity a basis for discrimination in Howard County.  The HFC is now the third jurisdiction in the state to make this criterion a basis for discrimination.

There was acomment on my last post about this topic asking me, "What problem is this solving?"  Well, preventing someone from owning or renting property in Howard County based on their gender identity is kind of important.  Or their employment.  I think those are kind of big deals.

Moreover, I am looking over to this (or a future) local administration's first appointment to a significant county board or commission who is an active member of the transgendered or transsexual community.  Then we'll have broken another social barrier that needs breaking.

Not sure when all will realize that it matters not who a person sleeps with, what day of the week they worship, what color (or if they have hair on their head)....these are not measures of their character and contribution to their community.  These things exist in said person's heard, heart and gut.

These civilized people? They'll eat each other.

Only Western FC can do something to make me title this post with a quote from Heath Ledger's Joker in "The Dark Knight Returns".   Wowza.

See, I've always found the citizens of WHFC to be a curious lot.  They love their agricultural heritage, and they love their open space.  But they also want the same amenities as their more densely-packed neighbors and fellow HFCians to the east.  They want their grocery stores.  After a lot of haggling, they finally decided that they wanted a regional park.  With lights.  They want their library and their community center.  But, they are still the WHFC. They are rural, dammit!  Let's not be too enterprising.

So when uses for land in WHFC are proposed, that one can perceive as capitalizing upon the rural nature of the area, it's always odd to me to see WHFC residents turn on their own.  Witness this article. 

OK.  Let me get this right.  Wineries, farmers who keep bees, people who want to hold events on their farms... these are all uses of farmland that take advantage of the land, but they are somehow a problem because such uses have to do with the manufacture and distribution of goods and services.  But when in operation, a farm does what, exactly?  I do believe the growth of a crop constitutes the manufacture of a good, and loading said crop onto a truck and getting it out of dodge constitutes the distribution of said good!  No?

My head hurts.  The part of me that digs private property rights comes into play here.  Let the people make their wine, keep their bees, and hold their events, for crying out loud!  You'll still have open space and gee whiz, you may even build your tax base.  Not exactly like anyone's planning a sewer treatment plant in Daisy.

Congrats, HoCo Rising!

I believe this blog would be better served if it were called "Howard F'n County Rising" but what do I know?  I drink.

Back from a slight break because the ol' blog was starting to get stale like Gail Bates's rhetoric.  But, I am back with zest and vigor!And as token of such, I would like to offer a hearty, Marshmallow Man-sized "HUZZAH!!!" to Tom Coale, the driving force behind HoCo Rising, by being voted "Best Howard Blog" by Howard Magazine.  You can read Tom's post about the honor here.

I like many of the blogs here in the HFC, but I admit to liking Tom's some of the mosterest.    He's a bright young(er than me anyway) man who cares much about his community and gives back to it, not simply through random electron blasts through the Internets.  His blog has credence and it should be required daily reading (along with this one and some others!) for HFC Blogamaniacs.

Spann: Not the Mann!

Well, I'm going to refuse to cry over the news presented to us in this article.  Howard F'n County housing director Stacy Spann is leaving to take a similar job in Montgomery County.

I can't say "good riddance" fast enough.  Too long and too indistinguished was Stacy Spann's tenure in that position.  The article lists the major accomplishments of his tenure in that office; however, my view was that it was always Tom Carbo who made that office work.  So it's a good thing that Carbo has been elevated to the title of interim director.

It should kind of tell you, gentle reader, my opinion of Mr. Spann when even I refrain from my normal stream of potshots when talking about someone whom I hold in very little regard.  I'm just really, really glad he'll be rid of Howard County as of December 30.  Buh-bye.

Campaign Finance Info all Over the Internets!

I'd like to thank Maryland Reporter for the source material for this post.

If you have an interest in campaign finance, who gives what to who, transparency in government, all that good stuff-- you need to bookmark this website.  This is the State of Maryland's new and most definitely improved campaign finance website.  The website allows the user the ability to view campaign committees, slates (a new feature), lists of contributors, it allows searches by contributor, and you can see all violations for a particular campaign account (another new feature).

Information leads to knowledge and knowledge leads to power, so it is fantastic that this website exists.  I've played with it a little bit over the past couple days and I do find it easier to use-- more obscure search parameters yield results, for instance.  I like it!

With the 2012 election cycle upon us, you can't tell the players without a scorecard, and locally that means who support these candidates financially.  This website does a wonderful job at revealing the true sources of a candidate's support.

 

Catch the Madness in Ellicott City tonight!

I enocurage everyone to visit Historic Ellicott City tonight, to take part in the 34th annual Midnight Madness.  This year's festivities will feature the opening of the new Howard County visitors' center, and will feature many great deals in Main Street shops, activities, events, food and fun for all!

It runs 6pm to midnight, but I encourage everyone to get there as soon as possible to take advantage of the parking!  Of course you know parking is free (but limited in downtown EC; there are free shuttles from the George Howard Building available.  I dunno, I think it's cooler to walk.  So park as close to downtown while still being legal!  I've parked at the old courthouse myself and walked to the Madness many a year.

Tonight should be seasonably cold, so don't lame out on Friday night!