Coming soon to a front stoop near you...

Howard County Blog #1 had an interesting house guest today. Before long, you'll probably come face to face with candidates as they knock for votes.

What the hell happened? Part III

It's been a little while since we talked about what happened at and after the Charrette. One of the issues of concern is who's going to pay for all the pretty stuff in the plans -- namely, the plazas, landscaping, and other street dressings. Related to this concern is who's going to pay for much needed infrastructure -- road improvements, parking, and so on.

Before we get into this, it's important to remember there's a lot of money tied up in the dirt and parking lots of Town Center. Over the next 30 years, this money's going to make a lot of people rather wealthy. Just keep that in mind.

In the Flier today, there is a story about this very topic (can you guess why I decided to write about it today?). Taking center stage is one of the most disliked men in Columbia, General Growth Vice President Dennis Miller. There are plenty of things to dislike about the figure head of our corporate overlords, but I try to keep in mind that he, like the rest of us, is just trying to do his job. Let's go to the tape, er, paper...

In the future, Columbia's downtown should be maintained with the same attention to detail as that paid to a golf course, a vice president of the planned community's developer said last week.

Plants, sidewalks, benches and services such as trash pickup in a redeveloped Town Center should receive a high degree of attention and maintenance in order to make it a first-class urban area, said Dennis Miller, a vice president with General Growth Properties Inc.

But who would perform and pay for such maintenance remains unclear, Miller and officials of Howard County and the Columbia Association said.

Yup, nothing new there. But further down, there's this...

The group discussed the idea of possibly using tax revenue generated from new downtown development to pay for maintenance.

"There should be some kind of dedication of a portion of the funds to Town Center," Miller said.

Ah yes, that's what I've been waiting for. Why not make those who've spent so lavishly to live in our new Town Center pay for the good things we all want to enjoy? To be sure, the value of Town Center land is only going to go up (and up and up and up and up and...), so why not take a bit of the increased tax revenue, divert it from the General Fund, and put it back into the place it came from?

Miller's talking about small potatoes, however. It sounds like he wants this dedicated portion of money to be spent on the little things, like flower bed maintenance and trash collection. Don't get me wrong, these are things that need to be done if we're going to have a truly great Town Center, but the money involved is tiny compared to what we're going to spend on roads, school improvements, transportation, and all the other infrastructure improvements making up the foundation of the new development.

Because Town Center development will necessitate these improvements, such development should pay for at least some of it. Through the use of Tax Increment Financing, other cities have found ways for development to pay its own way. The quick and dirty explanation of TIF is that increased tax revenue resulting from increased property values (brought about by development) is used to finance infrastructure improvements, as well as other things. Special districts are usually created for this purpose, and bonds are issued to pay up front for the infrastructure. These bonds are then paid off using a portion of the additional tax revenue. How much of these revenue increases remain in the special district is something that needs to be worked out.

Another solution is the use of special taxing districts, where property owners pay a little bit more in taxes, with the money going back into the district. This is probably not going to win the support of General Growth, as increasing the tax rate on Town Center property will bring about decreases in the value of the land -- meaning less profit for them. However, a little less profit never hurt nobody. Remember, we're talking about a lot of money here.

Without question, such taxing schemes are complex and require a lot of work to start. But they are at least predictable and provide a guaranteed source of revenue for debt service. It would not be hard for someone in the county's Finance office (or for a consultant) to generate a rough estimate of how much money we're talking about -- a figure that would be very valuable to know when discussing the merits of such programs.

Regardless, I'm glad to see that GGP is at least open to the idea of using tax revenue to pay some of the costs of their development. Now we just need to convince them that spending more money on infrastructure will surely have a multiplier effect on the value of all Town Center properties; that is, a better maintained downtown -- in terms of street dressings as well as actual streets -- is good for the current residents of Columbia, our future neighbors, businesses, and landowners.

There's a lot of money in Town Center, enough to make tidy profits for both GGP and the community. It's all a matter of how you allocate it. However, as county planning director Marsha McLaughlin has frequently said about the Charrette: "The devil is in the details." She better be careful -- we might start to believe her.

Accounting for weather predictions...

Might we have a chance to revive Hayduke's Weatherman Accountability contest? What started today as a chance of snow showers this weekend has become this:

LATEST COMPUTER GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT A WINTER STORM COULD
IMPACT THE MID ATLANTIC REGION SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. BASED ON
THE LATEST INFORMATION ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE ACROSS
THE REGION THIS WEEKEND.

Of course, there's too much uncertainty to say anything more, but we'll be keeping an eye on it.

Twofer...

I’ve got almost no time to write today, so I’m squeezing two stories into one post.

First, it looks like we might have another police chief make the jump to politics. However, contrary to the rumors in November about him running for county executive, Police Chief Wayne Livesay appears poised to go after the District 5 council seat…as a republican (the only way to win the western district). From The Sun:

…Livesay was a registered Republican from 1969, when he graduated from Glenelg High School, until 2002, when he became a Democrat to help support the re-election of County Executive James N. Robey, also a Democrat, and out of disagreement with Republican positions on gun control.

…The chief's entry into the District 5 race would complicate matters for both parties. Greg Fox is the only Republican announced for the seat so far, and he has received strong backing from state Sen. Allan H. Kittleman. Donald Dunn is the only Democrat in the race.

With his name recognition and long record as a western county resident and police officer, Livesay could be a formidable opponent.

That’s true, and one of the reasons Republicans don’t sound to enthusiastic about the chief’s intentions.

But (state Sen. Allan) Kittleman and Brian Harlin, the county GOP party chairman, said Livesay will have a tough battle if he switches parties again to run against (Republican District 5 candidate Greg) Fox.

"I don't know that Wayne's done anything in the party in the last 10 years. Greg has tremendous support in the party," Kittleman said yesterday.

"You can switch [parties] once, but not twice" without risking charges of political opportunism, Kittleman said.

Harlin warned that while anyone is welcome to run, Livesay is "going to have a hard time in the primary when candidates bring up quotes he made when he switched parties. You can't have it both ways."

My dime store take on this is that Livesay’s the better candidate, regardless of who the party is supporting. On the local level, it’s all about name recognition, which Livesay’s got in spades. I don’t think his party switching will matter as much to the regular voters as it does to party insiders, who usually take their party way too seriously anyway. I think voters want someone they know and trust, and that’s what Livesay is.

Item #2 for today involves the current councilman from District 5 and his overly ideological approach to fiscal conservatism. I’m no fan of government waste, though I am a liberal, but raising the pay of members of the county council doesn’t strike me as wasteful.

The council voted, 4-1, Monday night for a major pay raise for the next crop of elected officials, raising council pay nearly 45 percent to $49,000 and the executive's pay 8 percent to $147,000.

(District 5 councilman Charlie) Feaga, known for speaking his mind regardless of circumstances - a decade ago he suggested letting a house burn a bit longer if life and limb weren't at risk to save taxpayers' money - stood up for a smaller pay raise.

Well, yes, the 45 percent increase does look a little scary, but you’ve got to remember where we were starting from - less than $35,000 a year for a supposedly part-time job that in reality requires a full-time commitment and is treated by most councilmen as such. Prior to this raise, members of the Howard County Council were among the worst paid council people in the State-and we’re the richest country.

Look, if you want good people to serve the county, full-time or not, you’ve got to compensate them. The reality is that being on the council requires most members to neglect or “reprioritize” their other duties-work, family and otherwise. Instead of creating disincentives for service by paying council people next to nothing, shouldn’t we create an incentive by paying them a reasonable salary.

If you think I’m just a liberal unafraid to spend taxpayer money, check out a republican’s take on the Feaga silliness on Howard County Blog #1.

Short and sweet today. Gotta go for now…more tomorrow.

How 'bout those podcasts...

David Wissing has updated his post about the Great Podcast Debate of 2006 with a response from Howard County GOP Chair Brian Harlin. The skinny: the Flier took things out of context and made conflict where there wasn't any. No surprises there!

Village center redo...

Sometimes I wonder if HoCo Blog (a.k.a. Howard County Blog #2, a.k.a. the Charrette Blog) even knows I exist. I’ve written several posts about or in response to him, but as of yet, I haven’t heard anything back (not even a measly link). Maybe it’s just a matter of priorities and I’m pretty low on the list.

My fragile emotional state and need for validation aside, I always prefer linking to other blogs rather than newspapers. Blogs present thoughts, opinions and ideas, all the things that make up a discussion, while newspapers, for the most part, tell you what happened-a good starting point for a discussion, but that's about it. So while blogs are an ongoing, forward-looking dialogue -- the territory of dangerous/new/compelling/visionary ideas -- newspapers are a static monologue for days gone by.

Today, HoCo Blog presents one of those interesting, forward-looking ideas. After providing some context (population growth will exert pressure on the county), Evan links to a letter to the editor of his in last week’s Flier, which offers a possible solution to the growth problem.

The concept of the mall or the big box strip has always been that people like to shop where they can do all their errands in one place. Thus the more draws to an area the more likely people will shop there and eat in the restaurants there. In recent years I have heard much debate about the "death" of the village center concept. As a result the Owen Brown and Oakland Mills village centers have been downsized and turned into strip shopping centers.

Instead of downsizing the village centers for them to survive, they need two things: 1) better signage and 2) to be upsized for our modern scale of retail. If we were to integrate the modern scale of retail into our village centers by stacking big box stores like Borders and Best Buy on top of grocery stores we could add economic draws to the village centers, make the shopping experience more pleasant and absorb the population pressures that face the county without destroying existing green space.

If we could stack big box stores on top of our grocery stores, then the land taken up by big box stores could be used to build a new village of Columbia, allowing developers to get more bang for their buck off that land and allowing the county to steer new development into this space rather than existing green space. This is not a new concept, but has been used very successfully in Seattle.

It's an interesting thought, though one that is doomed in practice, for several reasons. But first, some clarity. Though it isn’t said explicitly, I’m guessing that once big box retail stores have been established in village centers, the existing big box shopping centers (Snowden Square, Columbia Crossing, Dobbin Center) would be demolished to make way for a "new village." With that cleared up, on to why it doesn't matter in the first place.

Although considered "commercial" areas, village centers are supposed to be a part of and serve the daily needs of the local neighborhood. In that sense, they are as close to a residential-type use as a shopping center can be. They're meant to meld with the neighborhood in ways that more commercial type uses don't or can't. As such, the centers are home to convenience shopping establishments--grocery stores, dry cleaners, liquor stores, drug stores,restaurants, local insurance agents, and so on.

These are the types of establishments we need to visit several times a week. Moreover, they are the types of businesses that can thrive off of low population densities because their customer base, though small, is built in (the surrounding neighborhoods) and dependably regular. Businesses like these have been a part of all communities for as long as capitalism has reared it's cold, ugly head on American society. Hence the inspiration to include them in the neighborhood context as part of the original Columbia plan.

Big box retailers, meanwhile, are a product of car-centric suburbs. They serve a much larger, more dispersed customer base, and provide a wide range of purchasing choices--the economics of which depend on serving a large, heterogeneous community rather than a smaller, more-homogeneous neighborhood. What makes them convenient is the fact that such businesses support each other--customers can go to one big box store for books, then go next door for sporting goods, and then another door down for computers. Thus, people are willing to make extended trips to these shopping centers because they can do a lot of shopping in a relatively compact environment. (I know, calling big box centers compact seems like an oxymoron, but considering the range of buying choices available and relative ease of navigating them in cars, compact is not such a misnomer.)

Trying to build big box stores in a neighborhood setting, however, is like trying to fit a square peg in a circular hole. It just won't fit. Instead of concentrating big boxes -- which, don't get me wrong, I think are the scourge of communities -- we're dispersing them, and in so doing we eliminate their one saving grace -- that they can all be relegated to their own centers. So, instead of having ten stores on convenient location, we've got them spread throughout the county, potentially causing more driving and bringing the dreaded holiday traffic into our own neighborhoods. No thanks.

Moreover, demolishing the existing big box shopping centers and replacing them with a "new village" probably wouldn't represent the most wise use of this land. The fact is that big box stores were built around Snowden River Parkway for a reason -- it's already a fairly intense commercial/industrial corridor. And many of the existing commercial/industrial uses in this area, presumably, would not be demolished as part of the big box relocation, meaning we'd plunk down a new village in an area where it's not very appropriate to build houses. That's not to say it won't ever be appropriate, but it will take more changes than just removing big boxes.

Finally, I'm not so sure the big box retail model is very sustainable. Each year Amazon and other online retailers (including big box retailers) take a little more business away from the big bricks and mortar boxes. In time, costly construction measures, such as the one Evan is proposing, will lose their appeal to these businesses, and they'll find that it's better to use existing spaces or rely solely on online revenue. I know Target's been willing to build multi-level stores in urban places (and even Montgomery County), but they days of expensive liabilities -- like physical stores -- are coming to end. And I wouldn't at all surprised if these days are gone before the big box village center concept becomes a viable option for Columbians.

Of course, Evan's idea that village centers should serve a wider purpose is spot on. As is his desire to see residential growth kept out of "green" spaces. So why not skip the big box idea and just build residential units in village centers. Although this idea failed in some early village centers, the loss of developable areas for homes and the increased growth pressure means its an idea whose time may soon come again--only this time, it will be successful. Indeed, I think we'll see a need for residential units in village centers long before we'd see a need for big box space.

It makes sense to build residential in village centers. Such an option really does build in a customer base to support the businesses, which is especially useful in they "dying" village centers. They are already centers of moderately intense land uses and activity. Parking is never an issue. Village centers already serve as mini transportation hubs, and their use in this capacity should be expanded. And finally, the most vocal opponents to such an idea -- NIMBY-ites, often found in single family housing -- are shielded from village centers by apartments and condominiums -- places where people are used to living close to others.

In addition to redeveloping village centers into truly mixed use areas, I foresee a time when much of our existing stock of garden apartments gets redeveloped. The life span of these places is only so long, and some are already good candidates for Extreme Makeover: Apartment Complex Edition.

Clearly, this isn't a fully reasoned argument. It's all just coming off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are things I haven't thought about. But it's a discussion, right? I'm just throwing something out there, hoping for a response.

The cheating continues...

Um...

Er...

Well...

I'm kind of at a loss for what to write about today. Sure, there are plenty of available local topics, but nothing that's really inspiring me. Nonetheless, it's my job to at least write something, and since I've consumed only Super Bowl related news and food over the last 24 hours, I just want to say a few things about the game.

First, congratulations go to the Steelers; I can go back to hating them now.

Second, Seattle's fans and apologists in the media have really blown out of proportion the "questionable" officiating. As a Terps basketball fan, I'm very sensitive to such matters, but the conspiracy theories over the Super Bowl outcome have just gone too far. It's kind of sad, really. As far as I can tell, the only "bad" call was the illegal blocking penalty on Matt Hasselbeck, which occurred after he threw an interception. The Big Ben touchdown was legit (remember you need indisputable evidence and the goal line camera wasn't even perfectly aligned). The offensive pass interference, though ticky-tack, was a good call--watch the replay and you can clearly see Darrell Jackson push off his defender, which, in case you didn't know, is illegal. As for the phantom holding penalty called just before Hasselbeck's interception, from what I can gather the refs called the wrong number when announcing the infraction (dumb, not conspiratorial).

In short, everyone needs to shut up about this. It is demeaning to the Steelers, who rightfully won the game, and their fans, who don't deserve to have these good times marred by a bunch of poor losers. If you're upset with the outcome, you should have won the game.

Third, there was nothing sweeter than watching Joey Porter--Pittsburgh's supposed Star Linebacker--do absolutely nothing to help his team win. Sure, he was close to a lot of plays, but didn't make any (except a horse collar tackle that didn't get called--further evidence of Porter's dirtiness). Superstars show up for big games; Joey Porter failed to show up for the biggest game; Ergo, a superstar Joey Porter is not. Got it? Good. Let's all move on and forget this idiot even exists.

Finally, if people want to talk about injustices at the Super Bowl, there was none bigger than the fact that the Rolling Stones headlined, while the truly great Stevie Wonder was forced to play warm up. What's more, Stevie had to play his songs with a bunch of johnny-come-latelys more interested in making their mark (read: oversinging) than sounding good. Joss Stone, India.Arie, and John Legend? Puh-leaze. Put Stevie on stage with a piano and leave it at that.

I know I said I'd write something intelligent today, but it's Monday and life is full of disappointments (and the lack of a new Hayduke post for today--besides this one--has to be low on the disappointment scale). Tomorrow, I promise.

Feeling cheated?

Do today's posts seem a little skinny? Are they short on the substantive analysis you long for?

Yes and yes.

Well, you know what, it's Super Bowl Sunday, and I've already missed a couple hours of the pregame watching and eating. What's more, there's a Terps game on in less than an hour, an event that, like the Super Bowl, requires significant "prep" time before watching.

So, I rushed through the posts today (and it still took me over two hours!). Today's not a day for local issues anyway. Today is a day -- like the Fourth of July or Christmas -- where we celebrate what it means to be Americans. So, I say, quit reading this and celebrate away!

Intelligent, thoughtful posts to return tomorrow.

Worst. Headline. Ever.

The Sun's political round up story leads with a tantalizing headline -- "Growth drops a tad off radar with voters" -- and then goes on to disappoint. The headline has nothing to do with the story, which is really about a bunch of political fundraisers where growth may or may not have been discussed. If you're looking for trends in voter sentiment at political fundraisers, you're not going to find many other than "voters like free food" and "politicians are very friendly in person."

So, what did happen, aside from eating, drinking, handshaking, and forced conversing? Well, at Harry Dunbar's first fundraiser a jazz quartet performed, and the crowd only outnumbered the band by one--or two, if you count the security guard. Ouch. That's not a good showing at all, and as much as I disagree with Dunbar, I don't want to see him go down like this.

But was the culprit a lack of interest or support for his "slow growth" cause? Maybe not, his allies say.

Angela Beltram, leader of a successful drive to petition a comprehensive rezoning bill to referendum on November's ballot, was one of the five there, and she attributed the turnout to poor publicity, not a lack of concern about development.

She might be right, as Hayduke's usually aware of most fundraisers, and knew nothing of this one. (By the way, a word of advice to candidates--or their friends--send me your press releases and announcements. Even if I don't write about it specifically, I'll at least know about it and may make mention of it in a post).

Dunbar, meanwhile, seemed fairly upbeat and self-aware.

"I'm not discouraged at all," Dunbar said. "I know it takes hard work."

(Sounding very presidential.)

District 2 Democratic candidate Calvin Ball had about 70 folks at his fundraiser, while across town, Mary Kay Sigaty--Democrat for District 4--had about 60. Sigaty received a couple endorsements, including one from a Republican (kiss of death?), while her challenger, Joshua Feldmark, received Ken Ulman's endorsement, to no one's surprise.

Also included in the story is a mention of the lonely plight of District 13 Delegate Neil Quinter, who has been left off the incumbent ticket of Dels Shane Pendergrass and Frank Turner. In addition to Councilman Guy Guzzone, the Democratic alliance now includes State Senate candidate James Robey. Yes, it's a pretty strong ticket.

Needless to say, Quinter doesn't appear happy about being the odd man out, but one has to wonder if he didn't bring this upon himself. After all, Guzzone announced his candidacy only after Quinter decided to move up in the world and go after the seat being vacated by Congressman Ben Cardin, who has set his sights on the Most Exclusive Club in the World -- the U.S. Senate. Quinter reconsidered his candidacy as the congressional race grew overcrowded, but it was too late. Guzzone, Pendergrass, and Turner had already made their hats.

Southside Doughoregan

More news on the Doughoregan front, only this latest story just makes things more confusing.

Seven descendants of Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll of Carrollton have outlined plans to divide 540 acres they own on the southern portion of Howard County's Doughoregan Manor, while relatives who own the historic mansion are trying to raise millions of dollars to repair and preserve their larger portion of the estate.

The 540 acres, called "South Manor," belong to six Carroll cousins and one older relative who want to divide it into seven parcels. That will allow the five who don't live on the property to sell some development rights and build a few homes on other parcels to obtain cash.

Though it's all one estate, there are already several different mini-estates with different owners with different needs and desires. Still confused? Me to. Here's some clarification.

...the South Manor plan to divide 540 acres was outlined by John L. Carroll Jr. at a Howard County Historic District Commission meeting Thursday night.

...Carroll made clear to the county's historic commission members that his group's plan isn't connected to his relatives' proposals for their larger, more northern property.

"I've got nothing to do with that. They pretty much do their thing, and we do our own," said Carroll, 42, a psychiatric social worker.

Well that's a little clearer. Now what do they actually want to do?

"We've spent about three years negotiating a [land] division plan that everybody likes. We want to divide it up so that everybody has a piece of the pie," he said.

The subdivision plan does not prevent more development, however. Carroll said the hope is to use a provision of county zoning law to sell developers the right to build 38 homes elsewhere in the county, permanently preserving the largest of the parcels, a mostly wooded 123-acre tract east of Manor Lane.

Seven homes could be built on a panhandle-shaped, 75-acre parcel just north of Open Run Road, west of Manor Lane. Homes could rise on two parcels totaling 148 acres near The Preserve, an estate subdivision off Centennial Lane, Carroll and McLaughlin said.

But Carroll said he and his cousin, Natalie Ziegler, hope their arrangements would prevent development near either of their homes on the estate.

..."I have a vested interest in preventing development," said John L. Carroll Jr., one of the seven. He wants to build a new home for his wife and baby near the historic 1830 Manor Lane residence called Stone House, where his family lives on the 2,000-acre Doughoregan Manor estate.

Whew. Sorry for the long excerpts, but I was having fits trying to summarize the article; this effort certainly wasn't helped by the fact that reporter Larry Carson included an entire family tree in his piece (too many Carrolls!). So instead, I just rearranged it.

Anyway, these Carrolls, like those who own the larger piece now being discussed, seem to be doing things the right way. They have a right to tap into the wealth that's locked in their land, but they also see the importance of preserving as much as possible. Moreover, they've opened their plans to daylight well in advance of any action and have been willing to talk with the county and citizens.

Who says improper influence?

This week's Speakout question in The Sun dealt with the influence developers -- through their deep pockets -- have over politicians. Certainly, many people are wary of this situation, some so much so that they've proposed banning developers from contributing to campaigns. I'm not terribly concerned about this because if politicians are really just developers' puppets, they'd never win elections.

Apparently, my views on this might be shared by others, since The Sun's question only prompted one person to write in, and he actually turned the question on its head:

The Sun poses the question: Will developers' campaign contributions influence Chris Merdon or Ken Ulman, when one is elected Howard County executive? It would also seem fair to ask The Sun: Do advertising revenues from real estate brokers and developers influence the paper's coverage of local news?

The questions reflect a common reality: It takes money to run for office just like it takes money to run a newspaper.

The mere presence of contributions or ad revenues does not mean undue influence is taking place. But it behooves the electorate and the reading public to watch carefully for any evidence to the contrary.

One of the best responses I've ever read in the year or so The Sun's had this feature.

Everything you ever needed to know about...

Gary Rosenbaum, nominee for the open seat on the Planning Board (his nomination will almost definitely receive council approval).

Some highlights from The Sun profile:

Gary Lester Rosenbaum is 53, but he looks a good deal younger, and he lacks a speck of gray in his full, dark hair. All that may change soon, though, because he is poised to join the Howard County Planning Board, which has been overwhelmed with profound issues and, as a result, has become a focal point of controversy.

Rosenbaum first laughs off the prospects, but then he acknowledges that he understands what he is getting into.

"I'm used to people complaining," he says.

Brother, you ain't never seen complainin' like you'll see on the Planning Board.

He received a bachelor's degree in conservation and resource development from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1974, and a master's degree in regional planning from the University of Michigan two years later.

"I was interested in coastal zone planning - that kind of brought me back to Maryland, looking for positions having to do with the Chesapeake Bay and the [Baltimore] harbor," said the Highland resident.

He worked as a planner for the state for five years, first with the Department of Transportation, then with the Maryland Railroad Administration, specializing in mass transit and light rail station development.

He has a background in planning? Are we sure the planning board is the right fit for him?

His father had a chain of shoe stores and his father-in-law was in the catering business in Atlanta. "He was using a lot of disposables at the time," Rosenbaum says of his father-in-law. "He said it might be something you want to look into as a potential retail business."

Rosenbaum researched the party supply field and determined "the market was underserved." He opened Party, Party, Party, a small store in Randallstown.

Until I started reading about Rosenbaum last week, I always thought Party, Party, Party was a national chain store. Shows what I know.

His appointment to the Planning Board would mean coming full circle for Rosenbaum in two ways. First, it would get him back into the field in which he was trained. Second, it provides the opportunity to help determine the shape of downtown Columbia.

"I remember in college taking field trips to the so-called new town of Columbia," Rosenbaum says. "Back then, I said, 'That's going to be a unique place. I'd like to live there someday.'"

And we're all still hoping it's going to be a unique place...still hoping.

Any last words, Gary?

"I know it's a thankless job," Rosenbaum says, "... but I have a passion for it at the local level. I was involved in the state level and I had some contact at the federal level, as well. But the rubber meets the road at the county level. This is where things happen.

"You have a chance to influence what's happening and that's what makes it interesting. In the end, just the satisfaction that you get in helping guide and help implement how things are [done] in the community."

Well, in my least sarcastic voice, let me say that Rosenbaum sounds like a great pick, and I'm looking forward to him being criticized by developers and citizens alike.

Good luck, Gary (you'll need it)!

One of these days...

Hayduke's blog is going to move to it's own server. Using the Blogger system is easy and free, but things like this (frequent and, like today, long outages)--as well as the fact that it lacks many features the "commercial" programs offer--push me to want to make the switch.

For those of you who have better things to do on a Saturday than read a silly blog, the site was inaccessible for many hours, and they still haven't totally fixed the problem.

Punting pooches

By now you've probably heard the story of the Anne Arundel County jogger who, after being nipped repeatedly on the ankles, reared back and punted the offending beast--a four pound poodle. Now, I really don't like poodles, but in this case, I'm obviously siding with the pooch.

Well, yesterday, because of a weird quirk in Maryland law that requires felony charges to be brought in all animal abuse cases involving a person who is not the animal's owner, the jogger got off.

"We felt that we shouldn't ruin his life over this," said Janice Tippett, the owner of Jacquelyn, the tiny toy poodle that she described as still unable to walk or eat without assistance. "When we realized the ramifications associated with a felony charge, we decided not to pursue that."

That was pretty nice of them, considering the injuries sustained by the dog require loads of extra caregiving (and probably money). Naturally, the jogger must be happy that he's not potentially looking at 3 years in jail.

Reached yesterday, the jogger said, "The whole experience has been really amazing." He declined to comment further. Police said the jogger cooperated with their investigation.

By "really amazing" do you think he means it's been amazing how forgiving the dog's owners have been? Or has it been amazing learning about the Maryland legal and criminal justice systems? Or it could be that he's just an ass, which is understandable considering that he kicked a four pound dog because it was disrupting his morning jog.

Criticizing Mr. Jogger, however, is not why I brought this up. For one thing, Janice Tippett is a Howard County business owner, so she's technically in my beat. But the main reason is this:

More than 100 people from Maine to Florida have sent get well wishes to Jacquelyn, Tippett said, adding that she hopes the publicity will bring about a change in Maryland's law.

...The state's attorney office has received more than 60 e-mails about the dog, Weathersbee said.

Kristin Riggin, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office, said the poodle's plight has received more attention than cases of murdered or abused children.

"Are people sending checks to children who are abused?" Riggin said. "Are people sending money to foster care?"

Good questions. I'd say it depends. On what? Things we don't usually discuss here (or anywhere for that matter).

Restaurant bill moves forward....

Howard County's delegation to the General Assembly approved a measure to allow restaurant owners to possess multiple liquor licenses, and by extension, open multiple locations. When a local delegation approves a bill it is usually approved by the entire body, as well.

As I said here, the existing restriction of one license per owner is a significant factor in the long waits experienced at many of the county's more popular chain establishments, like Outback Steakhouse.

Richard W. Story, the Economic Development Authority chief executive officer, told the legislators that the current law that limits one owner to two restaurant licenses is restricting growth. In some cases, he testified at an earlier hearing, one corporation owns two different chains, limiting the company to one restaurant per chain.

The original bill would have removed any limit, which drew a question about whether that might invite large corporations to flood Howard with multiple-chain outlets.

"Even though nobody in Howard County actually cooks at home, the market wouldn't allow it," Story replied deadpan, to laughs from the officials.

Aren't we already flooded with chain outlets? I know they've got different names over their doors, but really, how different are these places? Previous restaurant griping here. I'm also interested to hear if others find our restaurant selection as disappointing as I do.

Certainly, this legislation will help the chains, but will it help or hurt the local establishments? I could see it going both ways, as popular local restaurants--for instance, Iron Bridge or Great Sage--could expand in much the same way that Riverside coffee shops did in the 1990s. Or, they could just get pushed out of the market by the Macaroni Outback Cheesecake Uno Grill Steakhouse Factory Food Emporiums of the world.

New protocol...

It won't bring back Scott E. Caplan and Theresa E. Howard, but it's a sensible policy that could save lives in the future.

In a change ordered after two teenagers were killed at a nonfunctioning traffic light in Columbia last month, Howard County police will require officers to stay at nonfunctioning signals until they are fixed or until a stop sign or another temporary device is taken to the scene.

The county also is moving ahead with plans to test its first battery backup system for traffic lights, which can keep a signal running for up to eight hours after it loses electrical power.

Meanwhile, police are continuing an internal investigation to determine whether disciplinary measures should be taken against any officers.

So, how about that online summer camp registration?

D'oh.

Off the top of my head...

Sometimes I just feel like throwing out a few random thoughts to see if they get any reactions. Mostly, however, these are things that have bothered me as of late and I think it will be therapeutic to let them out.

Today was Groundhog Day, and as you probably heard, the Official Rodent predicted "Six more weeks of mild winter weather." Huh? The way I always thought he had only two choices -- spring or more winter. There's no hedging in folklore. More importantly, why did we even bother watching woodchucks today? These guys, like the rest of us, have been lapping up some of the warmest winter weather ever; they've been seeing their shadows for weeks and loving it! Meanwhile, I'm still hating it, and Phil's prediction did nothing to lift my spirits.

Watching the Terps game, it occurred to me: Is there a more pretentious uniform accoutrement than the University of North Carolina's argyle side panels? Yes, I'm upset.

I'm a Ravens fan. I know this means I'm supposed to hate the Steelers. But, come Sunday, I'll put differences aside and root for the Iron City 11. They're a team of destiny and history. Pittsburgh's a decent city. And though the story of Jerome Bettis returning home for his final game has been run into the ground, it's still a good one.

That said, I wish nothing but missed tackles, poor playing, and a game-ending injury for Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, whose continued response to some harmless statements by Seattle's tight end show just how mentally unfit he is for football. Of course, I lost all respect for Porter in 2004 when he took a cheap shot on an obviously-injured Todd Heap. But his outbursts this week -- neither funny, good-natured, original nor "quotable" (all prerequisites for trash talking) -- are just painful to hear. I can't understand why is team is still supporting him with the "Oh, that's just Joey" line. At what point do they finally realize he's a total buffoon? Everybody else has.

Finally, in response to my earlier post today, a reader reminded me of another politician certainly more worthy than Robey of the Flier's scorn for using government communications for political gain. So to the editors I ask, what about Bob?

(Pod)Casting aspersions...

I'm just guessing here, but I figure probably 25 percent of county residents know what a podcast is, 10 percent have listened to one, and less than 0.1 percent (less than 3000 people) would listen to a weekly podcast delivered by our county executive--regardless of his or their party affiliation.

Which makes me wonder why James Robey's recent introduction of podcast as a means of communicating with county residents has drawn the ire of county Republicans and the Columbia Flier.

The podcast, which allows Internet users to hear pre-recorded material, amounts mostly to political commentary designed to promote Robey, who is a Democrat, and does not provide county residents useful and needed government information, Brian Harlin said.

"It's not public information. It's more campaign posturing," said Harlin, the chairman of the Howard County Republican Central Committee. "It's very interesting the way he is using his office for political purposes. It's shameless."

Shameless?! And I thought Harlin was supposed be a toned-down GOP chair.

How do podcasts amount to anything different than press releases, photo opportunities, press conferences, speeches, ribbon cuttings, and the myriad other activities one expects a county executive to engage in (and his communications office to coordinate)? Talk about misplaced priorities.

Aside from being totally innocuous, the podcasts aren't being forced upon the citizenry. Indeed, if you want to listen, you have to download them onto your personal MP3 player. Doesn't seem like a very effective political tool, if you ask me.

At least one local Republican sees how silly the Flier is making itself look by touting this story. David Wissing at the Hedgehog Report writes:

If you go to the White House website, or any other Department website in the Federal Government for that matter, there are new podcasts, videos, audio files, etc posted everyday that are supposed to be "“informational"”. Let'’s face it though, these are nothing more than promotional pieces for the party in power paid for the you and me. Being able to place items on the Government websites is one of the perks of winning.

I believe it's called "keeping up with the times," and the Flier, with its old, poorly designed, hard-to-navigate website, could actually learn a few things from Robey. That is, if it weren't too busy chasing and writing stories of no significance.

(I don't mean to be so harsh on the Flier [well, yes I do]. But Patuxent Publishing could really increase its value to our community if only it tried, which apparently it doesn't.)

Back in the saddle...

And with that, the bird flu has migrated elsewhere, preying now on the feeble immune system of whichever unsuspecting person followed me into the office today.

Of course, having news stories worthy of extended comments on the day of my return to total consciousness would be too much to ask. So, in keeping with the theme of the title, we're going with a Round Up.

As a recently-announced candidate for the District 4 council seat, Joshua Feldmark's resignation from the chairmanship of the CA board was the right thing for him to do. What was unfortunate about the situation was the fact that the three board members who expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest did so to the press and not directly to Feldmark. Both classy and mature.

Even after reading this story a few times, I'm not sure what is motivating Chris Merdon and his Council Majority. Is it just to score some political points, or do they honestly think a reduced assessment cap is a better policy proposal than a straight-up property tax rate cut? I'm not sure of the exact merits of each proposal, so this question is being asked honestly. However, this sentence makes me lean towards the political points motivation: "Rakes described the bill more as a bargaining tool in discussion with Robey."

We've found someone willing to fill the vacancy on the Planning Board. Best of luck, Gary Rosenbaum.

The county yesterday sold over $94 million in bonds. Nothing really to add to that.

Wow. Maybe we should, um, have more summer camp spots available. Just a thought.

YEEHAW!