What gives?

In the last week, my real name comes out, a story about bloggers is published in The Examiner, and I basically shut down the shop for three days without so much as a failed cell phone photo post.

Blogging had been going at a pretty good clip for a while -- almost daily for several months -- and I guarantee I will return to my normal schedule in about a week. Until then, things will be hit or miss around here, with more misses than hits.

Here are a couple quick things before I go:

Evan's got some information on a Democrat candidates Meet n' Greet tonight at the Glenwood library. Go if you want. Let me know what you think.

Although finding a house was tough (then extremely easy), at least we used money. Some guy is trying to do it with one red paperclip.

An eye for detail...

I spent most of last night on a ladder painting as precise a line as I could between walls and the ceiling (we have the horrible “popcorn” style ceilings, so this can be a little hard).

Often I would paint a nearly straight line on the first try, while other times I had to go back and fill in spaces that didn’t look right. As I filled in spaces and tried to make the line as perfect as possible, I focused more and more closely, noticing with each brush stroke another minor imperfection that needed correcting.

Inevitably, if I spent too much time meticulously trying to perfect an area, the brush would slip and Warm Muffin would be all over the white ceiling.

When I finally finished with the work last night, I hopped down from my ladder, took a step back and inspected my work. Surprisingly, there was only one difference between places where I was very detail-oriented and places where I simply accepted the good-enough line: paint on the ceiling. From a distance, the lines themselves all looked good; it was the ceiling that looked crummy.

This isn’t an endorsement of laziness, or an admonishment of thoroughness. Rather, it’s a story about our perspective and how it affects our actions. Close up, the white spots bothered me. Further back, they were unnoticeable…but the paint on the ceiling certainly was not.

I thought about all of this after reading the Flier’s editorial about the charrette today.

Thursday Round Up: Low on time, low on thoughts...

Here’s a quick rundown…

Master plan loses momentum: Is my concern that the Town Center master plan is drifting further and further from the charrette and citizens valid? Looking at this timeline, it certainly seems so.

Thunder Hill housing plan draws criticism: I have no real comment (for now) on this story other than to say that the term “mixed-use” should not be applied to developments that are solely residential, regardless of whether they offer a mix of housing types. We have enough moving targets; language should not be one of them.

Openness, accountability for CA are common goal: The Flier issued endorsements today for the Columbia council elections. There are three contested races – Harpers Choice, Town Center, and Wilde Lake – for which the Flier endorsed Cynthia Coyle, Jud Malone, and William Santos.

Meanwhile, in the blogosphere, Evan Coren has beef with Malone and endorsed his opponent, Gail Broida, while David Wissing, a Town Center resident, thinks Malone has done a good job and should be reelected.

Evan's problems with Malone stem from, among other things, a vote he cast that would have closed some CA meetings dealing with the formation of a downtown partnership. In addition, Evan, after calling Malone a “very smooth, well practiced politician,” goes on to say:

I can see that if I had not 1) sat through the CA meeting where I watched with my own eyes Jud trying to close the public out of the Downtown Partnership planning meeting when there was no personnel or legal council reasons to justify the closing of those meetings, 2) sat through all of the focus group meetings where Jud has repeatedly preached how we must trust the developers and the county officials, 3) watched him preach our need to trust the developers and county official at the downtown Columbia public meeting on February 27th, I might have fallen for his smooth talk.

I’m not sure what he’s getting at here, but I can guess. Usually when someone mentions another’s “smooth” talking, the implication is that the person isn’t being entirely honest and likely has ulterior motives. What, I’m wondering, does he think Malone’s ulterior motives are?

Moreover, it seems to me that attacking Malone simply because he believes we should trust developers and county officials is highly cynical. Alas, such cynicism, which is a product of our screwed-up development system, is all too prevelant.

A reasonable goal of the charrette was to build consensus, and not just among citizens. It was supposed to be a way for us and them -- developers and county officials -- to have a dialogue about our future, rather than having us endlessly scream at each other.

At some point, we need to start trusting again. If we don't, we'll never have an acceptable master plan. What's more, if past generations had such a reflexive aversion to trusting developers, Columbia would not exist.

Evan ends his endorsement with this:

Town Center and Columbia needs CA reps like Gail Broida who helps find solutions so the redevelopment plan serves both the developer AND the community.

Meanwhile, in the open meetings post linked to above, he says:

And while we are at it I think a lot of credit is due Ken Ulman for opening the whole downtown Columbia redevelopment process up by pushing to have the charrette.

I don’t want to take any credit away from Ulman for making the charrette a reality, but if I am recalling things correctly, it was actually Jud Malone and Josh Feldmark who really got the charrette movement going. If you remember back to December of 2004, CA took the lead on this issue by deciding to fund a preliminary study and (I believe, though I could be wrong) the charrette itself before the county, a few months later, took over. I know this so well because I attended the meeting where CA debated whether to fund this project and offered testimony in support of it.

It is fine with me if Evan wants to claim that Malone is too secretive or too much of a smooth talker, but saying he hasn’t worked for solutions that serve “both the developer AND the community” is flat out wrong. If it weren’t for Malone’s leadership on this matter, there might be a Wal-Mart on the Crescent property today, and there would almost certainly have been no charrette or master plan.

Just like Frogger...only real...

As a regular pedestrian in Town Center, I can sympathize with this:

Martin Kinsler lives so close to The Mall in Columbia that he can walk there. But, rather than cross one street, he gets into his car and drives.

The 64-year-old resident of the Evergreens apartments, a rental community for ages 55 and older, said crossing Ring Road, the roadway that circles the mall, is life-threatening.

"I was walking across to get to the mall, and it was difficult. ... Me and my wife were nearly hit," said Kinsler, who said several of his neighbors had similar experiences and now drive across the street.

Pedestrian safety – or the lack thereof – in Town Center is nothing new. It has been brought up repeatedly in during the master plan process and before then, was a major topic of discussion during the two zoning cases involving the Crescent.

The mall’s management, however, is taking steps to make this area of the Ring Road safer. To wit:

Karen Geary, manager of the mall, and public officials met with residents of the Warfield Triangle in February to address the pedestrian problems.

Geary said this week that the following actions are expected to be completed by the end of this month:

• Rumble strips will be installed on Ring Road between the Evergreens apartments and the Cheesecake Factory.

• A marked crosswalk will be added on Ring Road between the AMC Theatre and Cheesecake Factory.

• Pedestrian signage will be increased in the area, and the yellow lights affixed to stop signs at the three-way intersection next to the AMC Theatre will be changed to red.

That’s a start, but these – like most of the pedestrian accessibility measures we currently have in place – are just cosmetic. Town Center – as currently construed – is fundamentally an auto-centric area and painting more crosswalks and adding more signs, though admirable, ain’t gonna change that.

Making downtown more pedestrian friendly isn’t that hard – at least from a physical standpoint. Better connections, more sidewalks, better streetscapes and such are all part of the master plan, but are not on their own going to make Town Center suddenly a place where pedestrians feel at home. No, that requires something a little more difficult: Behavioral change.

At the first charrette meeting, I argued with a couple at my table who wanted to be able to walk around Town Center at will, but at the same time wanted to make the trip from Oakland Mills to the mall in only five minutes. Reducing the speed limit or number of lanes on Little Patuxent Parkway was not an option, nor, for that matter, was inconveniencing drivers in any way.

Pedestrians, by their very nature, are an inconvenience for drivers if we assume, as we should, that one of the main purposes of driving is to get from one place to another in the most efficient (read: quick) way possible. Pedestrians just junk up the works.

Usually, changing human behavior is next to impossible, but in this case it shouldn’t be, as the process is cyclical and self-driven, albeit with a little help from outside forces. For example, enhancements are made that increase the safety, accessibility and enjoyment of walking in Town Center. More people start walking. Drivers, in turn, notice – either on their own or by coercion – that more pedestrians are on the street, and they start slowing down. As driving slows, it becomes less convenient to hop into the car and go from one part of Town Center to another. Accordingly, more people start parking their cars and using their feet for something other than pushing the accelerator.

It’s not exactly that easy, but the train of thought gets to the point I’m trying to make, which is: there’s a delicate balance between "safe for pedestrian" and "convenient for drivers." How far towards one side or the other we go depends on what our true priorities are.

Yes, we can have both, but only to a certain extent. Like in everything, we have to make tradeoffs based on our priorities.

So what’s more important to you in Town Center: walking or driving? I'm not trying to be flippant. Whichever we decide -- and to what extent we value one over the other -- has a huge impact on the future of our city.

Speaking of Town Center...

From the Department of What We Already Know…

The current County Council will not rule on a development plan that aims to turn downtown Columbia into a bustling urban environment with additional shops and homes.

Responding to resident criticism that the development plan is rushed and lacks detail, the county has postponed taking it to the council for approval until February at the earliest, when the group will have five new members after the November elections.

…A new schedule sets out two options. In one scenario, the Planning Board would hear the plan in early October, and the council would vote on it in February. The second option has the Planning Board hearing the proposal in early February, with the council ruling on it in June.

That’s June of 2007, mind you. Almost two years after the charrette – the foundation upon which this plan should be built – took place. The more distant the voice, the softer it becomes.

I know there are a lot of details that need to be worked out. I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with is the growing disconnect between the plan and the hundreds of folks whose input was supposed to shape it.

The Master Plan Focus Group is supposed to be representative of the participants in the charrette. Representative how, though? In demographics? View points? In level of commitment to Columbia?

If the ostensible purpose of the master plan was to allow citizens to take control of their future, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a focus group – the group that now, for better or worse, controls the fate of the plan – that is representative of all Columbians and not just those for whom DPZ collected demographic data at the charrette?

That the youngest member of the focus group is – I’m told – in their late 30s speaks volumes about its structure and the likely outcome of its work (since meetings are scheduled during the workday, I have trouble attending). I’m well aware that the number of 30-year-olds who attended the charrette is dwarfed by the number of 50-year-olds, but I would argue that makes it even more important for there to be at least one young voice in the group. Certainly, Evan Coren, who has attended every focus group meeting, is doing his part, albeit from the peanut gallery.

I don’t want to turn this into some big thing. I just wanted to highlight that we’re now talking about a fundamentally different process than we had before, a process that is being directed by an oligarchy and not the citizens. Granted, the citizen-driven component was more republican than democratic, but that was as it should be.

This hasn’t been fully thought out. I’ve got Warm Muffin on the brain.

UPDATE: In my obsession with Columbia and age, I realized, with the help of a reader, that in addition to young voices (or a young voice) we should have more Howard County voices. I know there are at least a few non-Columbia people on there, but the discussion is so tighly focused location-wise that it could benefit from more and broader perspectives. Maybe it's time to do another charrette? Who knows, we've certainly learned a lot over the last six months.

Also, I added a link to Evan's blog. I meant to do so, but the smell of Warm Muffin distracted me. Now, I really have to go.

I on Howard...

Here's a picture I took during lunch...

After this attempt failed, I think I finally figured out how to post these pictures directly from my phone. I hope to do more of this, for no other reason than it's kind of fun.

That's it for today.

More on my house...

After thinking more about this post, which is the story of how I came to afford a house in Howard County, I began to worry that one could perceive it as indulgent (isn't that what blogging is all about?).

I know this is my blog and I can write what I want. But I still like to keep things focused on what matters in Howard County, and my story is probably not the most important one you'll ever read. Writing about buying our first house, I thought, would hopefully provide some insight into what it's like for a first-time buyer. If it does, that's great.

Obviously, I'm extremely happy about it -- going over there now to do some more painting -- and it's hard not to write about. It's also hard not to write a lot about it, since it has been such a consuming part of my life for the past few weeks (and many more weeks to come, I'm sure).

I already wrote a disclaimer (two even) for the post, so I'm not sure why I feel the need to do this. I guess I just don't want people to think that this space will turn into a celebration of all things me, because it won't. Frankly, I'm not that interesting.

Response to HoCoBlog

Many entities are involved in the planning for the HFStival, which is as it should be. The concert, scheduled for Memorial Day weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion, is going to be one of the biggest shows ever, and developing a coordinated plan involving public safety officials, the Columbia Association, IMP Productions, General Growth, and other county agencies is the best way to everything goes smoothly, which it will.

A veteran of past HFStivals, HoCoBlog is happy to see it is coming to town, and highlights this excerpt from a Washington Post story:

“It will probably be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, events of the summer,” said Capt. Merritt Bender, commander of the special operations bureau for the Howard County Police Department. The bureau, working with Merriweather officials and county fire and rescue services, already is deep into the details of staffing, security and traffic management.

Nothing strange in there, or at least nothing that strikes me as strange. If anything, it sounds like the police are ahead of the curve. But something does not sit right with HoCoBlog.

It is my understanding that since the Howard County Police Department is not staffed to handle an event like this (nothing wrong with that) they are going to hire Baltimore County Police Officers for the additional resources they need.



SO WHAT? You may ask. This may seem like a non-issue to you, but let me ask this question anyway.


Why doesn't the Howard County Police Department utilize the resources of the Howard County Sheriff's Department? Why outsource security to Baltimore County? Doesn't our own Sheriff's Deputies have the necessary experience and training to provide this extra level of security? We trust them with security at the Courthouse, transporting prisoners, handling domestic violence, issuing warrants, backing up the Police Department Officers in the line of duty, etc.



Aside from that, if our Law Enforcement Officers need assistance with affordable housing couldn't they use the overtime pay too? Why would the HCPD spend our money on extra security on an outside party instead of caring for our own?

Leaving aside the question of how he knows this fact when the article made no mention of it, I think he’s needlessly questioning a common practice to score a few easy political points. Every time there is a massive rally in DC, I hear stories about cops from Prince Georges and Montgomery County coming in to help with security. It’s the way things are done.

But why not use the Sheriffs? I suppose they could, but don’t Sheriffs have other things they should be doing? And isn’t their department significantly smaller than the police department? And, have you ever seen a Sheriff at Merriweather? Maybe they are not properly trained for this type of work – it is, after all, overseen by the “special operations bureau” and, one would hope, requires additional training.

How about paying overtime to police officers who would otherwise have the weekend off? I’m sure there is some of that, but you also have to remember that this is Memorial Day weekend – so many officers will, like us, take the opportunity to get a way. Moreover, regardless of the size of your force and how much overtime you pay, there are only so many extra man-hours you can get out of your people. Obviously, we’ll need officers on duty before and after the show, and we certainly can’t expect them to pull 24-hour shifts.

This is simply a matter of not having the human resources. Although in theory, we probably have enough cops in our department to patrol Merriweather during the concert, they’re human and can’t be redistributed as easily as money. Thus, we pay Baltimore County for the temporary use of their manpower.

The final paragraph in HoCoBlog’s post is what makes me think this is more about politics, as he lambastes Ken Ulman’s bill to make housing more affordable to local officers in an earlier post.

Another response to HoCoBlog

My intention is really not to go after HoCoBlog – he just posted a few things that I feel need clarification. As you saw above, I responded to his HFStival post, and this is in response to his “Dryer’s Ice Cream and Town Center” post, which was also written today.

In it, he expresses concern about the cost of upgrading our wastewater plant in order to accommodate the Dreyer’s Ice Cream plant in Laurel. It looks like Dreyer’s is footing half the bill ($42 million of the $85 million total), but HoCoBlog is more concerned about the plant sticking around, especially in light of Nestle S.A.’s recent acquisition of the Dreyer’s brand.

What we don't know is if Dreyer's will be here in 30 years and what Nestle S.A.'s plans are for their new business unit they took control of in January 2006. Who can predict that far out?

But, that’s not really what I want to talk about (and, for that matter, neither does he). The bulk of the post is spent discussing the Town Center master plan and what effect it will have on our wastewater treatment capabilities. He quotes this FAQ put out by the Department of Planning and Zoning that describes amount of wastewater that would be created by the current plan.

Sewer: DPW projects the design peak sewerage flow for the proposed development will range from 2,128,000 gpd to 3,400,000 gpd. DPW already has capital projects underway for both expansion of the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant and for additional capacity for three sewer interceptors within Town Center and the Little Patuxent parallel sewer interceptor from Columbia to the Water Reclamation Plant in Laurel (about 8 miles). DPW will have its consultant study the anticipated additional capacity needed for Downtown.

Well, that certainly sounds like a lot of gallons per day, but given the current capacity of the plant – 18 million gpd – and the capacity it will have at the end of its expansion – 25 million gpd – the Town Center discharge starts to look a little smaller. But, what do I know? HoCoBlog then quotes an anonymous “someone:”

"[This is] massive ... compared to Dreyers, [the] increases in water and sewer use will blow the entire utility system out of the ground. ...the top utility guys ... think the TC plans are DOA, because of this overlooked fact. The capital improvements planned for utilities barely take this ... expansion into account. Additionally, a study, if it can be done, would take months. The big question is this. Why is DPZ flying on autopilot without checking with DPW to address the feasibility of the whole plan? Another $1/4 million or more down the toliet, literally, due to totally incompetent planning from DPZ. The TC master plan is nothing more than ... delusions of granduer passed along to an inept county planning group. One of those "looks great on paper" ideas [but] are impossible to build. If the approach to roads is, 'We will deal with the traffic issues as they arise.' so is the approach to sewer and water. That meanthey will take care of the problems after they occur, which is not the kind of planning I want done in my backyard.



Treatment plant upgrades can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and that is only if MDE [Maryland Department of the Enviroment] grants a permit for expansion. There should be no increases in density until the permitting process is well underway. You can't build the toliets either until the plant upgrade is complete. Just the upgrade and permits could take 5 years. with everything going just right."

Whoever it is, the person he quotes is making statements without basis, though HoCoBlog seems to think he/she is worthy of being listened to. His/Her statement is so full of cynical, not-provable and not-sourced stuff that I don’t see how it can be taken seriously. Yes, I acknowledge the irony in me calling out an anonymous person, but at least I try to provide links to back up claims.

So, what claims are without merit? “Top utility guys” means nothing. That is no source. Saying the DPZ has failed to coordinate with DPW is patently false. See the excerpt from the FAQ above – those numbers didn’t come out of thin air.

Criticizing the charrette, which was a citizen-driven process – despite what so many who are upset with the outcome are now trying to claim – is not going to engender positive reactions from those who participated and who continue to participate. Maybe this person didn't like what he/she heard, but I did. That's doesn't make either of us right or wrong, though. These are value judgements.

But perhaps the worst part of all is the flawed notion that we have to figure everything out before the plan goes through. I think HoCoBlog said it best earlier in the post when referring to a different 30-year plan: “Who can predict that far out?”

Infrastructure needs to be in place to accommodate development. A plan is not development. Infrastructure does not need to be in place to approve a plan. A plan for infrastructure, perhaps, but this – I can assure – is being worked on.

The Town Center master plan is a process, and we’re still in the middle of it. Asking for outcomes before the process is finished only serves to prolong and possibly harm the process.

A housing parable...

ATTENTION: This is an extremely long and somewhat personal blog post. It is by far the longest yet and the one post that took me the longest to write. I know it’s not easy to read long stuff on a blog, but since I don’t have any other medium, this is what I have to use. Copy and paste it into Word if that helps. Or, you can always just scroll past it – I promise I won’t be offended.

We’ve been over the fact that I have a tendency to write about my personal life on this blog. I try to stick with Howard County stuff, but since one of my main motivations for starting this was to make myself a better writer, any practice is helpful. What’s more, anecdotes are a good way to convey a message and -- though I am a strong believer in backing up claims with real data -- sometimes can be used to make inferences about broader topics, such as Howard County.

So why the preface/disclaimer? I’m going to talk about something that is both personal and potentially revealing. Revealing in the sense that if you know me but don’t know I’m Hayduke, chances are you’ll make the connection after reading this (if not, you’re sure to find out soon enough). This will also explain where I was during the well-attended (by bloggers, at least) candidate forum last Wednesday.

April 5, 2006 was a pretty big day in the Hayduke household. It involved one of those “big steps” in life -- a suburbanite’s rite of passage, like graduating from high school, getting married or buying your first house, which is what we did.

Affordable Housing? But how?

The housing market in Howard County has gone gangbusters over the last five years. And for a young married couple with negative wealth (student loans) and earning, uh, less than Howard County median household income, finding an affordable house is not easy. But, if you read the papers or talk to just about anyone, you probably already know that. You probably also know that creating more affordable housing in this county has become a priority for many, including me.

Though support for affordable housing is strong, there is little consensus about how it should be created. Some say we need to force developers to provide it by setting aside a certain percentage of all the new houses they build for buyers in predetermined income brackets. This method, known as inclusionary zoning, is pretty popular in the affordable housing world, but I’m not completely sold on its ability to make a significant dent in the overall need.

Others say we need more publicly financed affordable housing, which in order to make a real impact would seriously tax our local government’s resources. By all means, however, lobby the Feds to throw more money at housing.

Still more claim that we should focus on building a wider range of housing, so options are available and affordable for everyone, regardless of their income bracket. This is the approach I am most supportive of, and not surprisingly, it was the same approach used by Jim Rouse when he built Columbia.

And, yet again, I have Jim Rouse to thank for making my life better. But first, some more background.

The Long and Winding Road

The path we took to purchasing our home seemed, for a time, endless. Abbzug and I were in the market for a house for a long while, but considering our financial position, “in” the market might not be the best description. More appropriately, we watched housing prices spiral upwards for a few years, losing a little bit of hope with each new day.

Renewing the lease on our apartment last year was a concession, of sorts – a personal admission that either we’ll be stuck renting in Howard County – where we’ve both lived for more than half our lives and where we both consider we “grew up” – or be forced to move somewhere else, which neither of us really wanted to do for the obvious reason that Howard County, or more specifically, Columbia, is The Greatest Place on Earth. Well, it’s at least one of them. Also, this blog is about Howard County, and it would be pretty lame to write about a county that I don’t live in, right?

Maybe our standards were too high, though. Certainly, we could find something, right? A condo, perhaps? An older house that needed some TLC? Although the prices of both were not really in our budget, there were other reasons we didn’t go for one. Perfect for some, condos were pretty much out of the question for us because, well, we’re products of the suburbs. It’s hard wired into our very existence to have a garden/yard, and we both are fond of our privacy – in case you couldn’t tell. Moreover, we’re both pretty handy and enjoy the work involved in maintaining a home. And finally, there’s the dog, who has grown weary of only having a small balcony on which to enjoy the outdoors. Since we’ll always have a biggish dog – another one of those hard wired things – having a yard, even a small one, is essential.

As for older houses, we looked at a bunch online but only one in person. The only one we could reasonably afford, the older house we toured was built in 1813, had a shower with 5 foot ceilings, and was in need of significant work, much of which we couldn’t do on our own and couldn’t afford to pay someone else to do.

Our rental concession notwithstanding, Abbzug still spent the bulk of her free time over the last few years trolling the websites of realtors, an exercise that was at once informative and discouraging. We also had realtor friends who kept an eye out for us, but to no avail. In short, we knew what was out there and none of it was for us.

The problem, however, was that we were going about it the wrong way. The free market clearly wasn’t for us. But what if we left the market out of it?

Dumb Luck, Divine Intervention or Part of the Plan?

How about all three? Dumb luck presented us with an opportunity to buy a house that met our “high” standards at a discounted price; discounted because the sellers are people we know, and realtors, who I have nothing against, were thankfully left out of the equation entirely. Fate – or rather my employer – also played a role in making all the numbers work – a raise came through at the most perfect of times.

But how was it part of the plan? Enter the vision of Jim Rouse.

Rouse, as most of us know, planned Columbia as a place where everybody could live. He built single-family homes, townhouses, apartments, condos, duplexes and anything else that would serve his goals of creating a diverse community, one where ZIP codes didn’t determine who lived where. While offering a range of different housing types was essential to realizing this vision, equally important was providing an array of sizes. As made clear above, Abbzug and I wanted the suburban dream (still more on that later), a single-family house. Size was, for the most part, irrelevant – it’s just the two of us and the dog (for a couple years, anyway).

It used to be there were housing options known as starter homes. Maybe you’ve heard of these relics. As is pretty clear from the name, they were designed for people like Abbzug and I and as such, are small, inexpensive and offer the chance for first-time buyers to build some equity and learn the ropes of homeownership. Sadly, they’ve gone out of favor, as developers focus on building bigger and bigger houses, regardless of type (see: 3000 square foot townhouses). Of course, developers aren’t entirely to blame, our zoning system makes it difficult to build – much less turn a profit on – small houses on small lots. Fear of density, I suppose.

Anyway, because Rouse wrote the zoning for Columbia, he could pretty much do what he wanted. Which he did when he built the neighborhood I’m moving into – the same one my parents almost moved into when they were at the same stage in life that I’m at now. Our section of Oakland Mills (that’s right, I’m coming to your neck of the woods, OMers) is comprised of small, contemporary, but not flashy, houses. Some of the models are larger and many folks have expanded, but the house Abbzug and I purchased is smaller than our apartment, a perfect-for-us 850 square feet, give or take a few, with two bedrooms and one bath. In short, it is the elusive, extinct starter house.

The idea that first time homebuyers need thousands of square feet of living space strikes me as completely misguided and the source of so much of our struggles in making housing more affordable in Howard County. The affordable housing programs we have in place require developers to build their reduced-price houses to almost the exact specifications, including size, of their market rate units. But this is the same program that developers claim is killing their profits and that the rest of us claim, rightly, is barely making a dent in the need. The new proposed affordable housing bill (I think) even spells out rather large minimum sizes for the reduced-rate units.

So, we press on but make no progress, and those who can’t afford housing and aren’t lucky enough to have their name drawn from the hat to buy one of these few reduced-price houses are left out.

“It’s not profitable.” “Density is unacceptable.” “We can’t change the zoning.” “We’re out of land.” Hogwash.

Do you want more affordable housing? Do you want places for young professionals, teachers, fire fighters, service workers, and the next generation to live? Do you want to extend the benefits of homeownership to as many people as possible? Do you want a county that includes rather than excludes? Well, then it’s time to stop rearranging deck chairs and start building more, and more truly diverse, houses in more appropriate locations (read: not the rural west).

Jim Rouse was onto something – something that was later tainted by those who replaced him. (You don’t see any starter houses in the newer villages. Trust me, I looked.) Why have we yet to learn what he knew over forty years ago? Why have we failed to see that what worked in the past – at least until Columbia approached build-out and development came to a halt in the county – is the same approach we should be using now? My story alone isn’t proof enough. But it is something, and I guarantee you, it is not unique. It was, after all, part of the plan, with a little luck and fate thrown in. But it’s time fate threw us – well, Abbzug – something more than just monkey wrenches.

What Really Matters?

In every life, there should be balance. Good things happen, bad things happen, and we just deal with it and move on. It’s all you can do, I suppose. There is no one who has not endured difficulties, regardless of who they are, where they’re from, or how much they make. Comparing one person’s trials with another’s is, at best, foolhardy. But we still do it.

At the risk of providing too much information or being too foolhardy, I’ll just say that Abbzug’s been through her share of life’s trials. Only through her astounding personal strength has she been able to cope and persevere. Someone like me would have given up long ago. It is a testament to my good looks and tremendous sense of humor that she bothered marrying someone as weak-willed as me. I thank her daily for this.

Buying this house meant more to Abbzug than I could possibly express on a blog. Despite the constant letdown of the Homes For Sale section of the classifieds, she pressed on, taking what we had and what we hoped (and a little bit of good luck…for once) and making it reality.

My debt to her will surely outlast our debt to the mortgage people. Never, however, have I been so happy to owe so much.

Sunday Round Up: Masters edition...

...and Tiger's in the hunt.

Say what you will about golf and particularly the patriarchal Augusta National Golf Club -- host of the Masters Tournament -- but there is something about Jim Nantz ("Hello friends"), azaleas, the Amen Corner, and irredeemably ugly green sport coats that makes this one special. Then again, I'm a sucker for sentimentalism, and that, it seems, is what this one's all about.

Back to our neck of the woods, things seem pretty quiet, which is good for me. Here's the requisite rundown.

The Planning Board barely approved the county's request for funding for improvements at the Belmont Conference Center. The divisions among the board were sharp, with a couple members really taking the county to task for not having a clearly-defined plan for how it would spend the money. If only they could be this critical when reviewing plans submitted by developers.

More on Merdon's Mystery. Following councilman Chris Merdon's introduction of a smoking ban bill that he doesn't support and that is nearly identical to the one he helped kill a few months ago, everyone -- including myself -- is still trying to figure out why? This passage is the most sensible take I've seen...

Glenn E. Schneider, legislative chairman of Smoke Free Howard County, had a theory for Merdon's surprise move.

"He wasn't sure if the exec [Robey] or Ken would wait until September or October to do this," he said.

If they did, Schneider reasoned, smoking would become a campaign issue just as the public began focusing on politics. Merdon's choices then would be to vote for a Democrat-sponsored bill or vote against a popular ban, he said.

This way, Schneider said, the issue will be done and gone by fall, and Merdon can at least claim he initiated action even if he votes against the bill.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have seized the opportunity to throw a little old-fashioned Republican rhetoric at their chief opponent, unitedly calling him a flip flopper.

I'm actually sorry I missed this. Local high school students organized a film festival to show off their work. Titled HOCO, the event took place last Wednesday at Howard Community College. Congratulations to all those who participated. Now let's see more stuff like this.

Got something to say about the police department? Here's your chance.

That's all for now, folks.

Friday fun...

I almost decided to not update the blog again until Sunday, but like a preacher needs pain…

Remember those developments in Town Center that were never annexed into Columbia? Well, tonight you can finally sleep easy again.

This is strange. Local police are investigating one of there own for allegedly setting off fireworks. I’m usually a strong advocate for fireworks, believing that they bring great joy to the young and young at heart and occasionally help with removal of unwanted fingers. That said, things have been pretty dry around here, and indiscriminately launching roman candles off your balcony doesn’t seem like the most intelligent thing to do. But I’m not here to judge. I’m here to ask what is going on with this:

Police launched the investigation after a 2:20 a.m. incident March 11 in which Officer Kevin Layman admitted to igniting fireworks from the balcony of his apartment, according to a police report on the incident.

Police also are investigating officers Christopher Williams and James Zamillo in connection with the incident, the report states.

…The police report, which was written by Sgt. Joe Gibbons, mentions that Layman had a "moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage" on his breath and that Zamillo was spitting tobacco into a coffee cup. Gibbons also wrote that the neighbor who called in the complaint had written a "thesis paper" on "ethics" for the University of Baltimore that he was willing to provide to the police department's Internal Affairs Division.

Maybe the Flier’s cherry picking the report for the best parts, but I’m having trouble seeing why chewing tobacco and a “thesis paper” are even being brought up. Is there something I’m missing? Weird story.

The Flier editorial board notes that politicians are doing things for political gain. All I want to know is who’s going to tell the children?

Apple Computers is now allowing its perfect machines to be infected with Windows XP. What say you, Machater?

Candidate Forum Reax Round Up...

Leave it to the bloggers to do a better job covering the RestoreUS.org candidate forum than the old media. Actually, I can’t really say bloggers had “better” coverage, as their’s was the only coverage of the event – although the local reporter for the Baltimore Examiner was apparently in attendance.

I was the only Howard County blogger to not attend the festivities. Despite my strong desire to watch the maturity level in the room drop as the questions dragged on, I thought having all four of us in the same place at the same time might result in a “crossing the streams” scenario, something you only want to invoke with the totality of human existence hangs in the balance.

Actually, that’s not why I didn’t go and neither was my fear of revealing my tightly-guarded true identity (I have many disguises for that). I didn’t go because, quite simply, I had something much more important going on (and yes, there are things more important than local politics…I think). If I told you what I was doing, you would surely agree with my decision, but some of my anonymity would likely fade at the same time. One day, maybe soon, I’ll stop playing this game and come out with it, at which time I’ll share with you the fuzzy details of my absence from the forum and blogging last night.

Anyway, so what went down? David Wissing and Howard County Blog #1 have posted lengthy recaps, while Evan Coren at Howard County Blog #2 promises more details tonight. From what I gather, there wasn’t much new on the county executive front. Here’s Wissing’s take:

…Merdon and Ulman began the question and answer period attacking each other and pretty much kept it up throughout the entire forum. Merdon mainly focused on Ulman’s lack of management experience while Ulman spent most of his time criticizing Merdon’s past votes on a myriad of topics. Frankly, it is stuff I’ve heard over and over again from both sides, so there really wasn’t anything new for me to really learn.

That’s not terribly surprising. When you spend as much time following local politics as we do, things begin to sound a little repetitive. HCB1, on the other hand, highlighted a question about leadership.

Merdon sounded like someone who has been managing a great deal of people for a long time. The principles he articulated (rather easily as an experienced manager should).

Lead by example. The people one leads look and expect that in a leader so don’t shy away from it. Set annual goals, reach out and communicate with employees, set direction but seek input so all employees feel that they own the goals and the results. In Government it is slightly different. The County Executive also has to lead the citizens and that requires disappointing some people some times, especially when hard decisions are required. Merdon launched into his resume and management experience in a Fortune 500 company, and the difficulty of managing over 2,000 county employees and 23 various departments, and a $1 billion budget.

Ulman thinks that character is more important than management experience. He would appoint strong directors to the County Agencies. Sorry, a very weak answer. Yes, character counts – Merdon has a great deal of character. Harry Dunbar is a character. Character is not leadership.

Lost in my snarky post from last week about a different candidate forum was my belief that Merdon’s leadership “dog” just won’t hunt. Business management experience does not guarantee one will be an effective leader, nor does it guarantee one will have any idea how to handle the different management style of government. Leadership is for the most part a quality that either you have or you don’t. Managing is something you can learn.

We have plenty of people managing our county government, but we only have one person leading it. It is up to the leader – the county executive – to ensure that we have the right managers, not to oversee the actions of every individual employee. Bureaucracy breeds over- or micro-management. In short, we don’t need more management. We need more leadership. Let’s not confuse the two.

I’m glad to see that both bloggers were glad to see the issue of politicizing the county website was only briefly touched upon. Let’s just forget it was even brought up.

I’m also glad to see they both had interesting takes on Harry Dunbar, someone I assume neither has had the opportunity to see before. As you can see above, HCB1 refers to him kindly as “character,” while Wissing had this to say:

Meanwhile, and I hate to say this about someone running for office because I am sure he really believes what he is saying, but Harry Dunbar pretty much provided the comic relief for the night and not much else. Dunbar’s entire campaign is based on one issue, slow growth, and spent the entire debate criticizing both Ulman and Merdon for their votes and touting his website.

I find it hard to be critical about Dunbar for the same reason Wissing does: he is refreshingly earnest. But that doesn’t make him right.

Following the portion of the forum involving the county executive candidates, the candidates for the District 5 council seat took the stage, and HCB1 even got to act as a moderator. For more about this portion, I’m afraid you’re going to have to go straight to the horses' mouths, here and here and, soon enough, here. For now, I have to run.

We ain't that easy...

Mixed into this story about the proposed Green line extension for the Washington Metro is the real motivation some lawmakers had for including a provision to study the potential of a stop in Columbia.

State Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Prince George's), a strong proponent of the Green Line extension, said planners talked for years about Columbia as a possible connecting point between the two cities. After the Pentagon approved a plan last year to expand Fort Meade -- a move that could bring tens of thousands of people to the surrounding region -- Giannetti said it became clear that the rail extension needed to go through the base in Anne Arundel County, about eight miles east of Columbia.

Transportation officials said the extension could be paid for by a combination of federal and state money, private investment and contributions from Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Howard counties.

"You really need Howard County's money to make this work," Giannetti said. "They are one of the wealthiest counties in the country."

He has proposed a "Guilford/Columbia East" stop on the Green Line, near Interstate 95 and Route 32. Bus service could then connect that stop to downtown Columbia, he said.

"That's how we get Howard County's money," said Giannetti, who added that Howard County Executive James N. Robey (D) has pledged to support the project. Robey did not respond to requests for comment.

Actually, that’s not how you get our money. One stop, roughly eight miles from the center of the most populous city in our county – and the second most populous in the state – is not going to win my support. If, big “if” here, we extend the Green line and the most we get is this Columbia/Guilford junk, I won’t support the county spending gobs of money on the project, and I’m a huge supporter of public transportation.

My problem with this idea is that it’s the same old, same old that has proven to be ineffective. In concept, maybe, having people catch a connecting bus from downtown to the Metro stop might seem reasonable, but in reality all it will mean is a bunch of empty buses.

Look, extending Metro to Town Center would be difficult and expensive, although as I’ve said there are existing, completely unused rail lines that get us pretty close. But if we’re planning to building a denser, more populated Town Center and improving our existing county transit system in the process, putting a stop in downtown should not be just a possibility – it should be a priority.

Thursday Round Up: Undefeated (Baby!) Edition...

That’s right, undefeated. The Orioles are undefeated after two games for the first time in six years. Get in your enthusiasm while you can…we’re sure to be out of it by summer.

Anyway, on to the news…

The Flier runs down the candidates for Town Center Village Board. Interestingly, many were prompted to run by this thing that’s apparently going on in Town Center – something about a “charrette” or master plan. Maybe you’ve heard of it.

First they get the Sportspark – complete with skate park, batting cages and a mini golf course – and now Harpers Choice gets a tot lot with a putting green. That’s totally not fair. What do they need a putting green for anyway? Isn’t Hobbits Glen right around the corner? What about the East Side – are we just Second Class Columbians? Seems so.

On a more serious note, the police department is concerned, as it should be, about the gang MS-13 establishing a presence in our county. Unlike our existing “wannabe” gangs – those comprised of neighborhood kids emulating what they see on television – MS-13 is a well established national franchise that began in east Los Angeles. However, unlike “real” gangs – those that exist for a purpose, usually to make money, albeit in a roundabout, illegal and violent way – MS-13 apparently just likes to beat people up – no drugs, no chop shops, no crime syndicate, nothing but violence and intimidation, the most pathetic of all motivations. Apparently, they haven’t established a foothold yet, but they are present in Montgomery and Prince Georges County and Baltimore City.

I promise, one of these days I’m going to write something on the capital budget. For now, however, keep yourself occupied with Howard County Blog #1’s coverage – or you could just read the day-late, nickel-and-dime version in the Flier.

Oh, shoot, I can’t resist. In this post by HCB1, he asks why we’re spending so much money (he says $25 million) on improvements at our wastewater treatment facility if many of these improvements are needed specifically to accommodate the new Dreyer’s Ice Cream factory. Well, from the Flier today, it seems the county is actually spending $15 million for the needed expansions caused by Dreyer’s and $25 million because of new regulations from the state Department of Environment. While the expansion needed to accommodate Dreyer’s is costly, it represents a permanent expansion in capacity that we’ll need eventually anyway, and I’d say it’s better to spend that money on an Ice Cream factory than it is on more inefficient development.

Finally, via the Baltimore Examiner, the Howard County Police Department will honor auxiliary officer Pieter Lucas during it’s annual awards ceremony (which may be tonight or tomorrow – the Examiner’s website is so screwed up that in addition to looking bad and being a beast to navigate, it posted this story today but dated it for tomorrow). Active in both the police and fire departments, Lucas, you may recall, was struck by a car while directing traffic several months ago. The injury was so severe that his leg had to be amputated. At 22, Lucas is finishing his studies at the University of Maryland and still plans on joining the police force. He is more than deserving of this honor.

Tuesday's loose ends...

A couple of loose ends before we're off to watch the Lady Terps take on the Devils in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Tired of all that "liberal bias" in the Sun. Well, here's your chance to vote with your eyes -- or your mice, depending on how you consume your news. A new paper, the Baltimore Examiner, is coming to the city and some of the suburbs with what it calls a "second opinion" on the news. This is the third paper for Clarity Media Group, a Denver-based company owned by conservative billionaire Philip F. Anschutz. The Examiner came to Washington, D.C. about a year ago, where it has failed to capture a large audience. Patuxent Publishing has, apparently, been preparing for this for some time, now.

Interestingly, the Examiner's entrance into the market comes at the same time the "liberal" Sun teams up with the "conservative" WBAL radio station. Not sure what to make of that, but there it is.

Whew, we came this close to losing the only (as far as I know) stripper-turned-model, gun-rights activist, Oriole wife we had. Anna Benson, thank you for honoring the sanctity of marriage.

Boiling on the front burner...

Back for another round in the political maelstrom is a smoking ban for Howard County. Inexplicably introduced last night by council Chairman Chris Merdon, the measure is identical to the one proposed by County Executive James Robey last fall, the one that Merdon helped derail in January. Follow that?

The bill would ban smoking in all establishments in Howard County in less than two years. Merdon said he still doesn't support the bill, but with a new council person replacing his crucial third vote -- David Rakes -- he decided to avoid another protracted debate on the matter and do what the Democrats were going to do anyway -- only first.

But if he doesn't support the bill, why introduce it?

"I can't imagine any motive other than a political motive, said Councilman Ken Ulman, a west Columbia Democrat who is also vying for county executive. "What's the urgency?" he asked, pointing out that it would not take effect for months.

Ulman may be right. Merdon has said recently that he was the only county executive candidate who actually approved a smoking ban -- a bill that was subsequently vetoed by Robey. These were just political statements designed to hurt Ulman, as he knew of the impending veto and has never really supported a smoking ban anyway.

Merdon opposed Robey's bill last year, arguing that business owners and restaurant patrons should have the right to choose whether to eat in a place that allows smoking. Current Howard law permits smoking in bars and restaurants that have physically separate smoking areas with separate ventilation systems.

..."The new council member will likely determine the fate of the bill," he said, meaning that if the new member votes with the other two Democrats, they would have a 3-2 majority. Western county Republican Charles C. Feaga said he still opposes a smoking ban.

It is pretty clear that he still doesn't support a smoking ban. Maybe he wants to take this issue away from Ulman by claiming he took a leadership position and got the bill passed when others couldn't (or, rather, before others could). So maybe we just have to take his statements last night at face value.

Merdon said he took action to forestall another long dispute over smoking while the council faced the budget and other more important issues. He asked for a suspension of council rules to introduce the last-minute measure, even though he later indicated he would likely not support it

...Merdon said the county executive would re-introduce the bill once another Democrat was appointed to fill Rakes' vacant seat, so he decided to act sooner rather than wait for Robey to do it.

"Obviously, the change in the dynamics on the council has driven me to reintroduce the bill," he said.

But this would mean he's essentially conceded defeat on this issue, which could ultimately benefit him, or could just as easily hurt him, especially if a smoking ban is really what the people want.

When I first read this story, I was inclined to see it only as political maneuvering. And perhaps it still is, but my feeling that is just crass politics is not as strong anymore. I can see it both ways -- that is, as cheap politics or as a politician who, like me, knows the end is in sight and just wants to put this whole smoking issue to bed.

The only thing I can say for certain is we are already in the thick of campaign season, the time when things are almost never as they seem.

Cooler Day: Part II...

I know...I said I'd write something today about some of the stories I punted on yesterday. Well, after working late, I got home just in time to watch the first real thunderstorm of the season roll through. It's hard to not pay attention when the skies open and hail starts falling. So, that and the fact that I haven't eaten dinner are the reasons why yesterday's promise has become today's regret.

Anyway, not wanting to leave you totally without Haydukian ramblings, I've got a few things worth posting.

First, if you haven't yet checked out Howard County Blog #1's analysis of the proposed county capital budget you should. Part I, Part II (Education) and Part III. He has been doing a superb job laying out the numbers and asking questions, without unnecessary partisanship. I only wish I had more time now to get into these numbers myself, but I guess I'm too busy complaining about my wife going to Orioles games (see below).

Second, remember that this Wednesday RestorUS.org is hosting a candidate forum at the Glenwood Library in on Rt. 97 in Cooksville. Here is the schedule:

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm - Meet & Greet (All Candidates are Welcome)
6:00 - 7:00 - County Executive Candidates
7:00 - 8:00 - County Council Candidates (5th District Candidates Only)
8:00 - 9:00 - School Board Candidates

If nothing else, it will be an opportunity to see grown men insult each other for things wholly unrelated to the future of our county. Good times.

Finally, I have been thinking about this for a few weeks and hope to write something about it soon. But for now, I'll pose the question and let you ponder and maybe help me answer it. You may remember that a few months ago a roost of vultures was terrorizing a neighborhood in Columbia. I believe the vultures have since found other sleeping accommodations. But that's not the point.

As I was wandering Town Center on a recent sunny day, I noticed that our downtown lacks something most others have: pigeons. Now, I'm not saying I necessarily want massive flocks of pigeons moving into our city, but certainly their presence -- predicated on a supply of food from humans -- is some type of indicator of an area's "vibrancy," or something like that. At the time, I thought about writing about our dearth of pigeons and how this was related at least tangentially to our currently non-people friendly downtown, but nothing ever materialized.

Then, I began to think about vultures more generally, perhaps in response to seeing them roost in the mornings on the sides of several of Town Center's taller buildings. There is nothing that I know of that would keep pigeons and vultures from co-habitating the same spaces -- the two generally don't compete for food -- but there is clearly some limiting factor preventing pigeons from moving in. This may be the lack of vibrancy (or people walking around) or it may be something else. That's also not what I'm concerned about either.

What I am interested in is why we have a proliferation of vultures and what this says about our community. My quick take is that vultures are and will always be more suited to live in Columbia because of our numerous acres of open space, which provide habitats for small- and medium-sized mammals, and our miles of unobstructed asphalt, which provide anti-habitat (or dying grounds) for small- and medium-sized mammals.

Vultures, like pigeons, live off of our waste, though they prefer the waste we create when fast cars meet small creatures. Pigeons, on the other hand, rely on either people or trash cans for scraps, both of which (I'm guessing) we lack in high enough concentrations to support a viable population.

I'm going to stop here, as this ornithological discussion has dragged on long enough. Let me know if you have any thoughts on the Great Vulture-Pigeon discrepancy in the comments. The only thing I'll add is, although I'm not terribly fond of pigeons in general, seeing them in Town Center wouldn't be all bad. First, it would mean more people are downtown walking around. Second, it would dramatically increases the chances of The Baddest Bird of Them All taking up residence on the side of one of our tall buildings, which, in case you were wondering, would be sweet.

Life just ain't fair...

Happy Cooler Day!

For those of you too lazy to click the link, Cooler Day celebrates the greatest sports day of the year. Today -- the first Monday in April -- serves as the beginning of the baseball season, the end of March Madness (for the men, anyway), and the first day of Masters week -- the first major in the PGA season. Coupled with these significant occurrences is the fact that we've just pushed the clocks ahead an hour -- something I very much lamented this morning -- giving us more light in the evening -- when we'll actually put it to use.

While I toiled away in the office on Cooler Day 2006, Abbzug had the pleasure of attending Opening Day at Camden Yards. A friend of ours scored a couple of tickets Southwest Airlines -- probably because he is the sole reason their BWI to Norfolk flights turn a profit. Since they were free tickets, neither Abbzug nor our friend knew where they would be seated.

Usually, I wouldn't be jealous of her attending the game without me, as she and I have received tickets to more than our fair share of Opening Days. However, when she sent me a camera phone picture taken from the front row, directly behind home plate, I could no longer contain myself.

Life just ain't fair...

Oh, well. The O's won and, for now at least, share first place in The Toughest Division in Baseball.

And the Terps made it past UNC last night, setting up for a championship game against, who else, Duke.

Let's Go Terps!

Sunday Round Up: Lazy Edition

I'm feeling extremely lazy today. Vacations, however short, will do that to you.

With that in mind, here's a Sunday Round Up, Instapundit-style, which means one or two sentence (or word) takes on the news. I'm sorry, but it's all I have in me. More tomorrow, perhaps with expanded coverage of some of the stories linked to here.

I for one welcome our new corporate overlord, GGP VP Douglas Godine.

Robey releases record capital budget of more than $330 billion...Howard County Blog #1 analyzes trends and looks at school funding.

Politics, Shmolitics: The county's self-identified independent voters are increasing in number but not cohesion; Rakes' final day on the council; and dressing up fundraising events as something that might, possibly, under the right conditions be construed as fun.

Affordable housing, better police pay, and increased public safety all in one piece of legislation. Not too shabby.

Many letters on Belmont.

Town Center delays elections in effort to ensure everyone can actually vote. That's a novel idea. More here.

Two county bills aim to increase number of affordable houses. Those in need of affordable housing collectively shrug.

Are you kidding me?

Good luck to UMD's women's basketball team in their game tonight against UNC.

Finally, hope springs eternal (or at least until tomorrow night): Let's Go O's!