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No deeper meaning to today's post, true believers, except wishing each and every one of you Happy Leap Day!
Not sure how one celebrates Leap Day, so good ol' MM is going to give all the HFC a pass on this one. In other words, celebrate it however the hell you want. Go get your Leap on!
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So the PTA Council has joined the Howard County Education Association (HCEA) in calling for changes in the tone and tenor in school board members' communications with each other at board meetings. You can read about it here. And I have to say, I like how the PTA Council said it.
Unlike the HCEA President, the PTA Council President didn't spew any nonsense about demanding that the board members resign if they can't all play nicely in the sandbox together. They are right to be concerned about the behavior of certain board members, most recently Brian Meshkin's journey into incoherence and meanness on February 9. And they are also right to expect more, and better, of citizens who have been elected to serve a public trust.
I still say that the solution to this pollution can be found at the ballot box (or more properly, one of those freaky, suspicious Diebold machines). That's a great way for the citizens of Howard County to take out the trash on the board. And after they do it in 2012, there's another chance to take out some more in 2014.
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Lindsey McPherson wrote a very good article about local reaction to the Governor's proposed gas tax increase in this week's Patuxent publications. You can find it here.
The article couldn't have been better timed, as nationally, gas tax prices rose by 12 cents, on average, last week alone. And many gas price prognosticators are predicting a nationwide average of $4 per gallon by Memorial Day, and $5 sometime over the summer. All the fun and games going on with Iran's nuclear program is at least partially to blame for the increase, those as we know, the US doesn't get a single drop of cruse oil from Iran.
All of this being the case, why the heck is the Governor still pressing forward with the gas tax increase? Wouldn't it be prudent to wait until next year to advance the gas tax, and simply withdraw it this year? Especially since Governor O'Malley considers himself a Presidential candidate for 2016. Wouldn't make much sense to be known as the Governor who raised gas taxes during what may be the largest spike in gasoline taxes in history, now would it?
I get the fact that the tax increase is to pay for transportation projects and that long-term, and more importantly, the state's focus should be on developing green technology. But I would caution the Governor to be sensitive to the climate of the times. And right now, the last thing people want to hear is "gas tax", no matter how noble the cause.
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So who else (besides HoCo Rising) knew that the HFC was subject to not one, but two fire tax rates? Moreover, who knew that at one point, the HFC was covered by SIX different such rates? Certainly not I. But this article tells the whole, sordid truth about the fire and rescue tax rate, and the Ulman Administration's insidious plan to bring the county under one rate-- a measure first proposed by the Robey Administration in 1999.
So the tax rate for the eastern half of the county is 13.55 cents, and for the west, 11.55 cents-- a reduction of about 15 per cent. I wonder how that statustic jibes with the corresponding average assessed value of property in the east vs. the west? I'd be willing to wager that those in the west are making out on the deal, based on that criterion.
I say, creating one rate for the entire county is a good idea. Possibly there are some administrative efficiencies that can be realized by creating one county rate. And if not, even still-- the rationale for two different rates are not clear to me. I mean, I get why this would meet resistance-- there are more people in the east than west, and I'll bet that more fire and rescue calls occur in the east than the west. But I don't buy that as the basis for calculating the tax rate.
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If you're like me, gentle reader, you possess unending curiosity about all things in the world of Ken Ulman. Not in a personal sense, of course, but everything that he's doing as Howard County Executive to make Howard County a great place to work, live and play. And certainly, if you're like me, you would share my interest on Ken Ulman's unique vision for Maryland as we close the first fifth of the 21st Century.
To get your Ulman fix you would typically go to this website, for example. I find the Executive's website to be truly, a dive deep into the Ulman Sea. You can get videos of the latest TV interviews and speeches, read through online volumes of press releases and policy statements, and just immerse yourself in everything Ulman.
More recently, the Ulman campaign set up an e-mail service, so you could have the latest goings-on with our County Executive sent directly to your e-mail box. So if you want to know the latest on what the County Exec is doing, you can do so without leaving your e-mail inbox and searching the web.
Now, most recently (like today), that e-mail update has been repackaged. It is now "The Two Minute Ulman Update!" and it is simply spectacular. Here are the heretobefore unthought of things that are presently revealed about our Executive:
--Ken thinks healthy food is critical for all citizens. (Going to assume he's really gung-ho for oxygen and water, of course)
-- Ken wants to "stop the shift" of pension responsibility for public workers from state to local hands (reasonable lest we start having to fill out Howard County income tax returns soon)
-- Ken announces the first Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site
OK. So, I get politics. And I get politics is driven by and about personality and ego. But, really?
I'm finding the need to dim down the previous e-mail updates into a more rapidly-digestible two-minute version a tad insulting to my intelligence. And, two minutes? Really? For whom? More like 18 seconds for yours truly.
I look forward to continuing to read the update!
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Kudos to the State Senate for their 25-22 vote in favor of allowing same-sex couples to marry last night. The bill now goes to the Governor for signature, and of course, the Governor is expected to sign and thus enact the bill. In fact this may happen as early as next week.
I'm going to join the chorus of shiny, happy people holding hands and loving this, and looking forward to Governor O'Malley's signing the bill into law. But, I know, as I have said before, this issue will be settled on the highways and byways, in the villages, towns, cities and suburbs of our fine state. This will be settled in referendum.
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I attended the forum for Board of Education candidates held on Saturday by the African-American Coalition of Howard County. I will address my perceptions of the forum as a whole in a later post, but for now, I do want to address an issue near and dear to the hearts of many a Board of Education voter: ethnic diversity on the board.
I am proud to say that, if their presence and performance at the forum is any indication, that there are two wonderful candidates who would be fresh perspective and insight to the board, while also adding ethnic diversity. And they're not the two you may be thinking of. The two candidates I'm speaking of are Jackie Scott and Olga Butler.
These candidates were the most refreshing aspects of the entire event. Ms. Scott's responses to questions were concise, substantive, and informed. I especially appreciated her response as to how to address the "other 80%" of the student population-- those who are not in GT programs or remedial/special education work. Her answer demonstrated that she knew that finding ways for EVERY student to find their path to success via the schools is far from a "one size fits all" situation and that a multimodal approach is needed.
Olga Butler, like Jackie Scott, is a first time candidate and also an African-American female. I was very fond of her response to the matter of the "achievement gap" in Howard County. She answered the question in a totally blind manner-- blind to the issues of color, race, ethnicity, language barrier, or socioeconomic status. She clearly recognized the full spectrum of why these inequities happen. And her response didn't focus on one source of inequity. Her answers were smart and sensible and indicated a business sense that I feel the board could likely benefit from.
So, most of the hopes for candidates to bring "ethnic diversity" for the board ride on the candidacies of Ann DeLacy and Pat Gordon. At least so the political elites would tell you. Take my advice: don't vote for either of them.
Judging by what I saw today, you, Howard County voter, have far better choices with which to place the franchise of your vote. Ms. DeLacy, the former head of the Howard County Education Association (and also the Montgomery County Education Association too, though she apparently doesn't want you to know that she's headed TWO teachers' unions, because she never mentions this) was just plan caustic. Take this statement from her opening remarks: "I know where all the bodies are buried!" Really? That's nice. Someone who wants to be on the board in order to settle past grudges and right past perceived wrongs. Wow, just what we need.
And as for Pat Gordon, who was sighted this morning placing her signs asking for voters to "Return" (not "Re-elect") her to the School Board... well, I'm of an age that I can remember Jim Palmer trying to make a comeback with the Orioles, two years after entering the Hall of Fame. His fastball long abandoning him, he could still rely upon the ball placement that made him a dangerous swingman at the end of his career (and still the only pitcher to win World Series games in three decades) but his velocity was gone. Four innings and two runs in spring training later, and Jim was retired again. For good.
That's Pat Gordon. I admire her service to the board but she needs to do the right thing and deactivate her campaign. Her responses were not as crisp and sure as I remember (referring a few times to our locality as the "County of Howard"), and..well, I'll say it... I'm not sure this county is well-served by having an octogenarian school board member. Although her recent board experience does allow her to be qualified to be "in touch" with current affairs, this board is not the one she left. It's nasty and chock full of personal agendas. I have concern that she would get lost in that shuffle.
We should look at diversity on the school board, and we should look to bring fresh faces forward. From what I saw today, voters in Howard County have at least two excellent opportunities to have both. I would like to learn more before formally endorsing, but right now I feel very good about Ms. Scott's and Ms. Butler's candidacies.
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I should be more ecstatic over Friday night's news that same sex marriage has passed the House of Delegates. After all, I certainly lambasted many lame-o Delegates last year for chickening out and not supporting the bill, and I did thr same a couple weeks ago on these pages. But I guess while I'm happy for the fact that the legislation passed, my happiness is tempered by a thought about what is to come.
Of course, there will be the need for the State Senate to pass the bill. I think at this point though, passage through the Senate is all but assured.
So then, comes the fun I've been talking about for two years now: the eventual referendum. As I have written, I think the appropriate place for this issued to be settled in Maryland is through the referendum. And as soon as Governor O'Malley signs this bill into law, the referendum push will begin. In fact, the effective date of the bill is January 1st, 2013-- because a referendum is expected.
So for those of you wishing for a boring election season in Maryland, where the most exciting race on the state level would be the 6th Congressional District race... think again! The biggest referendum in at least 20 years is coming to a state that we Marylanders happen to live in! And let the games begin.
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So, what's being referred to as the "beer-to-go" bill for Howard County (also known as simply "the bill to allow for refillable growlers to be sold in Howard County") may now also be the "wine-to-go" bill. This article talks about how wine is being added to the bill, much to the pleasure of the owner of the wine bar Aida Bistro in Columbia, which happens to (gasp!) sell wine out of approximately 30 taps.
I've been to Aida Bistro a few times and it's a fun place. But even if it were worse work than being the Kardashian girls' gynecologist, or a sign spinner (shout out to you-know-how!) I would advocate for the addition of wine to the refillable growler law. Why not? As long as, of course, the adult beverage can be consumed responsibly, and certainly NOT on the way home.
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Haven't written anything about Monday night's blog party yet, but it was a splendid time. Many thanks to Brian Dunn and Columbia 2.0 for hosting a wonderful event at The Corner Stable in Kings Contrivance.
BTW, let me get in this shameless, unsolicited promotion for the matriarch of the local blogosphere, Jessie Newburn. Jessie's apparently looking to attend some high falutin' weddings this year so she can look all proper, cultured and whatnot, and do that crraaaaaaaaaaazy networking thing she does. You can read all about Jessie's wanna-be hobby here. See, it made a globally-respected site and everything!
Robot roll call for this edition of the blog par-tay: Council Members Calvin Ball and Jen Terrasa; School Board member Ellen Giles, School Board candidate (and friend of this blog) Leslie Kornreich; League of Women Voters co-President Alice Giles; Mary Catherine Cochran and Christie Lassen, representing the hospital and library, respectively; and local blogamanics including but not limited to: Tom Coale, Dennis Lane (who for once I didn't talk too-- sorry, Dennis), Julia McCready, Mickey Gomez, Chris Bachmann, Lisa S., Thursday Bram, Amy Monteith, Columbia Compass Guy, Cherie Beck, and last but not least, the lovely, talented, insightful, smart, funny, and downright cool local blog enthusiast I call Batgirl. It was a fun time.
Can't wait for the next one! In the meantime, if anyone's going to a wedding and needs a date....
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