A NEW CITY WEBSITE…CP believes that the more news is generally good news, except this one is likely to be reflective of the Mayor’s constrained view of the world. Most interesting and perhaps most telling of all is this from the city’s website.
“In the very near future, citizens will have the opportunity to blog online and engage in live chat with City Officials and others regarding specific issues facing the City of Annapolis.”
Once again, although not willing to take credit, CP can only wonder what role the web blog you are now reading, has played in this decision!
LATEST EDITION OF THE CITY MAGAZINE…Each issue gets better each time. This latest edition is better designed and laid out than any of the previous ones. It was a good idea when they Mayor suggested including the Recreation and Parks catalog as part of this widely distributed publication. This one has less clutter, fewer teeny-tiny pictures, and a lot less of that egregious emphasis on the Mayor herself...a most welcome improvement. Amazing what a difference an election year can make! CP chalks up this publication and the service it provides as one of the finer improvements in city government. One glaring disappointment is the inconsistent information displayed about our transit services which promotes a summer youth pass, says nothing about the regular youth discount, and for that matter, does not even provide information about the base bus fare (It’s a dollar by the way). Oddly enough, they manage to get their own website address wrong on the page displaying the route map which is listed incorrectly in bold letters as www.annapolis.gov/transit (leading to a dead page), yet they label it correctly as www.annapolis.gov/transport on a preceding page. That’s a big boo-boo to provide a bad address for your own site. The site says that new bus route maps are available but they cannot be found on city buses…except on a few if you are willing to look for them tucked away--hidden behind the driver’s seat…..???…and few if any of the once multitudes of local sites where they used to be are on display…sad but true
AND THE GANG LEADERS AND DRUG DEALERS MUST BE “CRACKIN’ UP” OVER THIS ONE….CITY EMPLOYEE TONY SPENCER BUSY IN MIAMI “COLLECTING IDEAS”
The Capital reports http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/03_25-74/TOP how jurisdictional infighting and turf issues (that sounds like gang warfare--eh??) is hampering cooperation between different governments and the Housing Authority to deal with violent crime in public housing communities. Those in the know will recognize Mayoral hopefuls Trudy McFall (HACA Board Director) and Alderman David Cordle among those mentioned in this article. It's two years away but response to crime will be the hot topic. Even City Police Chief Joseph Johnson, one not shy about politics, reportedly called The Housing Authority’s proposal, “GARBAGE”…Here is a timeline taken from The Capital:
As city and housing authority officials argued over the best way to control violence, it continued unabated.
Feb. 20: Three teens are shot in a drive-by as they walked in the Annapolis Gardens neighborhood.
Feb. 23: County Executive John R. Leopold schedules a meeting between city, county police and school officials to discuss ideas to stop the violence in Annapolis.
Feb. 25: Marcus A. Downs, a 19-year-old Annapolis High School student, is shot in the back in a drive-by as he stood outside his home on Copeland Street.
Feb. 26: Mr. Leopold holds a meeting with city, county police and school officials to discuss violence in the city’s public housing communities. The Annapolis Housing Authority is left off the invite list. The meeting concludes with the launch of a “full-court press effort” on Robinwood.
Feb. 27: Mr. Leopold’s office calls Eric Brown, director of the Annapolis Housing Authority and sets up a meeting to discuss how the housing authority can assist in the effort on Robinwood.
March 3: A multi-jurisdictional task force is announced to tackle the violence in Robinwood.
March 13: The Annapolis Housing Authority announces its ideas during a community crime meeting in Annapolis. By this point, officials had sent their proposal to Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and Annapolis police Chief Joe Johnson for feedback, but got none.
March 15: The first task force meeting is held at the Board of Education building. The Annapolis Housing Authority announces its proposal. Neither Mayor Moyer nor Chief Johnson were at the meeting, citing other obligations.
March 19: Lamar Dameone Fleming, a 29-year-old father of four, is gunned down after he steps outside his Bywater home to get a cigarette. He is pronounced dead at the scene.
March 20: Bryan Simms, 40, is shot in the chest as he crosses the street in Robinwood.
March 22: Chief Johnson and Mr. Brown meet for the first time in two months. Chief Johnson tells Mr. Brown he is not pleased with the Annapolis Housing Authority’s proposal and calls the ideas “garbage.” Mr. Brown tells The Capital he is confident he and Chief Johnson can iron out their differences.
March 23: Ms. Moyer tells The Capital she is disappointed with the housing authority’s proposal. She said Tony Spencer, coordinator of community and social programs for the city, is at a summit for at-risk youth in Miami and is collecting ideas to bring to Annapolis. He will return Tuesday and the city will then announce its own proposal on how to tackle the crime in Robinwood.
How nice to see that Tony Spencer, a former city firefighter and US Marine who strongly supported Ellen Moyer in her initial Mayoral election and whose job was apparently created by Mayor Moyer, is in sunny Miami “collecting ideas”….CP cannot wait to hear some of these ideas…If you wish to learn what Mr. Spencer does while receiving his firefighter’s pension and his city salary, visit his, er we mean, the city’s website and read all about him... http://annapolis.gov/info.asp?page=1362 and we mean ALL about him and by him in great detail, beginning with this convoluted quote:
“If the character of a community is measured by the manner by which the most challenged are valued, our compassion must demonstrate their worth as substantially treasured. “
We all anxiously await Mr. Spencer’s return from Miami with new ideas so we can finally get moving on fighting crime.
