WHAT NICE AND INTERESTING NEIGHBORS WE HAVE IN EASTPORT...or in the hood and on the hood....

Just in from the City of Annapolis Police Dep't reports:

1. AUTO ACCIDENT, HIT AND RUN: On October 10th at 5:21 PM, officersresponded to the area of Jackson and Bay Ridge for a report of an autoaccident. No one was found on the scene, but there was a 2000 LincolnTaxi-Cab parked with obvious fresh damage on it. The officers beganchecking with citizens in the general vicinity. A group of people toldthem that they had seen a tan Subaru drive by with a man clinging to thehood of the car. One of the officers then spotted the Subaru with theman still on the hood as it turned from Van Buren onto Brashears Street.The officer stopped the car by activating the emergency lights of thepolice car. Once the car came to a stop, the man on the hood jumped off.He told the officers that he was the owner of the taxi-cab on JacksonStreet that had been struck. He said he saw the Subaru strike his car,then watched as the driver pulled away from the Lincoln, causing furtherdamage than the initial impact had inflicted. The driver of the Subaruthen began to leave. The Lincoln owner hollered at the driver to stop,but he continued to pull away, so he jumped on the hood to try to stophim. The driver of the Subaru was identified as Richard Emil Kozak,51,of Chesapeake Avenue. He told the officers that he felt threatened bythe other man and that was why he left the scene. When asked whatspecifically the other man said or did that Mr. Kozak found to bethreatening, all he could say was that he was telling him to stop.Independent witnesses were located, who said that Mr. Kozak appeared tobe leaving the scene of the accident even before the Lincoln ownerapproached him, and that they did not observe him to say or do anythingthat could be considered threatening other than to tell the man to stopfor purposes of reporting the accident. Mr. Kozak was arrested andcharged with Hit and Run and Negligent Driving. (07-005685)

DEAR ANN COULTER-PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO BE PERFECT LIKE YOU!!

(Warning--this is not a local story, or is it?) For evidence of creeping fascism in America, look no further than Ann Coulter, a hateful, mean spirited, self righteous, loud-mouth, phoney fascist if there ever was one (and there are negatives about her too...). In her latest rant, she tells CNBC radio host Donny Deutsch that Jews need to be perfected, as in become Christians. Okay Anne, I'll become perfect as soon as you become a kind, intelligent, tolerant, rational, open-minded, pleasant human being, or at least register as a Democrat. In other words, it's not likely. For the full dialogue visit:

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003657196

It hurts when a civil libertarian, free speech proponent such as CP has to defend Coulter's right to speak, but it has to happen. But, why does she garner so much attention and grab so much of the airwaves and whine how the media are controlled by liberals, or did she mean "The Jews"?

CP's COMMENTS ABOUT GEICO'S GECKO-GET THE HECKO...get amplified...a "banner" headline

A couple weeks back, CP wrote a poem blasting GEICO for its bothersome low-flying banner over the skies of Annapolis. Click Here: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO GEICO: BUZZ OFF!!! GO AWAY!! (possibly can be sung to the tune of the "Rehab" song "no. no. no" by Amy Winehouse.) Today's Baltimore Sun tells how it upset other Annapolis residents and how the FAA cited the plane for flying too low. See the full story here: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.banner12oct12,0,5219087.story Then, early this morning, CP got a call from a television news channel inquiring about whether the plane flies on Fridays so it could come to Annapolis and get some film. It would be a perfect opportunity to promote marine insurance with the Boat Shows in town. Perhaps GEICO did not buy enough ads in The Sun or on that tv station. Or maybe, just maybe, they are trying to get even more promotion out of it???? Ahh, yes, we in the media work in a contagion. Ahhh-chooo!

HONK. HONK. HONK........

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET CHECKED OUT THIS YOU TUBE VIDEO PRODUCED BY THE ONION, PLEASE CLICK ON THE VIDEO SCREEEN TO YOUR UPPER LEFT. You will learn how we can quickly and easily eliminate that vexing traffic congestion we all hate....rrrrghhhhh.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING SUMMARY...

CP is pleased that Brian Gill of Annapolis Politics http://www.annapolispolitics.blogspot.com/ (also known as one of the two most influential blogs in Annapolis....perhaps the second most influential...depending how many windows you have open at any time) attended the last City Council meeting instead of CP. Thankfully. In case you missed it on Comcast, Brian gives a full report, except for the brief period he left the room to buy a $1.25 soda. Brian did not specify if any more moulding fell from the ceiling.

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED LOCAL THEATER?...all the world's a stage...

Located on Inner West Street, the 85-seat Bay Theater Company is now performing the musical, "I Do, I Do" through November 10. This is a professional, non-profit theater company that pays its actors! How they do this with an 85-seat theater has got to be tough, but ticket prices for adults are only $25 per show and there are even discounts for groups or subscribers. Sounds like a bargain to me. The Bay Theater is also in need of volunteers, subscribers or folks to host an actor or director. Visit http://www.baytheater.org/ for details.

And then of course there is the much better known Colonial Players, an all-volunteer organization that performs in a small downtown Annapolis theater. Ticket prices for adults are at $20.00. Visit http://www.cplayers.com/.

If you really like semi-professional theatrics, try attending a city or county council meeting or Maryland General Assemby hearing. Admission to these events, which often involve audience participation, are free, but production costs are soaring!!!

JOE SACHS, 1934 to 2007

Having just posted the below piece on "Who Wants To Be An Alderman?" it is saddening and perhaps ironic that we just learned of the death of former Alderman Joe Sachs. Joe was an Alderman because he cared and believed in public service and improving the town in which he lived in for so long. I think I first met him when he owned the Peppercorn, a little luncheonette in a building that also housed my family's medical offices. Our paths crossed many times and I always enjoyed Joe's company. As an Alderman, he knew the issues and tried to be fair and reasonable. He was funny and smart, some might say a bit "curmudgeonly" but in a nice way. He served his city, his constitutents and his community. He made a difference.

WHO WANTS TO BE AN ALDERMAN??

Who wants to be an Annapolis Alderman? Not many apparently. One of them has referred to the job as "community service with a stipend" and in the last year, we have seen three of them leave. Each time one leaves, it means a special election which costs us a lot of money and requires a lot of work on the part of city staff and volunteers. One went to higher office after about a term and a half (says more about the staggered election than anything else), one left for an appointed position with the new county executive (which did not last too long) and now one for....well, I can't confirm why the latest one is leaving, and it may not really matter. CP has been an Annapolitan long enough to know many Alderman and to see many come and go, and even to see a few of them become Mayor.

Here are some things to think about. It takes commitment to even run for office. It's hard work. You need to pump the flesh, wear out the shoe leather, raise some money, fill out forms. Your name is out there--for better or worse. Then you can win and get that tough job for little pay, or you lose and well.....you lose. Then you go start a blog I suppose.

But, if you win, then everybody is after you all the time. Meetings and more meetings, phone calls, emails, paperwork, complaints and who knows what else will follow.

Some of it must be tedious, some of it may be gratifying, but it is work and it is public service. We ask a lot from our Alderman and we give them, well, we give them, I am ashamed to admit, all of $12, 500 per year. Yup. No office. No staff, just a lot of work and headaches, and maybe a whole mess of invitations to all kinds of events where you hope the food is still hot.

We need to do better. If you are wealthy and or retired, it's easier, but do we only want retired or wealthy lawmakers? How can a working person with a family do this? Our current City Council is a mix of retirees and working people. I believe that two, and possibly three are single. Some obviously work harder than others and get more done. Some are team builders, others are more, shall we say, independent? However, CP believes that over time, City Council has become a more collegial place than it used to be.

CP once lived in a 24-unit condominium. He served on that condo board the whole time he lived there and was constantly amazed at how few of those 24 members would not even consider serving on the board. That was their home!!! They had huge amounts invested in it and its future. People of Annapolis, we are no different when it comes to our own Board, our City Council. Please get out there and get involved. Know your Alderman. Work with him or her. And maybe, just maybe even consider running for office. If you are in Ward 2, here is your big chance! Let's hope nobody else leaves prematurely.

TOWN HALL MEETING--GLOBAL WARMING

From Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Annapolis Town Hall Meeting
October 25, 2007
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Anne Arundel Community College
Room 101 Florestano Building (FLRS 101)
Town Hall Meetings provide a public forum for education and mobilization around a specific issue - in this case, Global Warming Solutions! With 3,100 miles of coastline -- more than California -- Maryland is one of the most vulnerable states in the nation to the effects of global warming. Maryland must take action now to address its accelerating global warming pollution but we won't commit to the necessary reductions without vocal and consistent support from people like you! This year, the Global Warming Solutions Act will come before the Maryland State Legislature. We need to put the pressure on now to make sure that real science-based reductions of 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 are imposed on Maryland's global warming pollutants. Town Hall Meetings are occurring across the state as part of the Global Warming Solutions Month of Action. We need you to show your support for Global Warming Solutions! Come to the Town Hall Meeting, and help demonstrate to elected officials that this is an issue we care about!
CONTACT: holly@chesapeakeclimate.org

HARRY POTTER FESTIVAL??? "Waiving" fees...

City Council is considering "waiving" fees for a Harry Potter street festival. Why doesn't somebody open up a wand shop on Maryland Avenue and just give City Council a Nimbus 2000 (probably a Nimbus 2007 by now) and WAVE the fees....I could not let that one pass.... Maybe the wand we'd use would be called a Nimby 21403......Okay, I won't make any comments about witches or ogres in city hall or the dark arts of government.....might be referred to as "negative" some such thing..... Good thing Brian over at http://www.annapolispolitics.blogspot.com/ is covering the council meeting. Check out what will surely be humorous and perspicacious comments.

READER COMMENT ON TRANSPORTATION AND CITY CONCERNS

Thanks to Lori of Eastport, who sent in this comment:

Paul: Much of the information I've included in this post I am pulling together in a letter to the editor of the Capital, but based on your post today about the city's "Free Bikes" program, I felt it important to add my two cents.It is important to note that the problems you are discussing in terms of bicycles are applicable to scooters as well.I am an Eastport resident and the company I work for recently moved into Park Place. My immediate thought was "I'll get a scooter to commute." The city professes to be such a bike and scooter-friendly town, but I've found it to be the opposite. It took two days of phone calls to get any sort of answer on the city's policy toward parking scooters in city garages. While the short version is that scooters are not technically allowed in city garages, you can usually tuck the scooter into an unused corner of the garage. Yes, you can park the scooter on the street, but there is a difference between parking on Main Street to run into a store and parking the scooter while in the office -- all day long. After two days of phone calls and much searching of city web sites, we were able to determine (through phone calls, no online information), that scooters can be parked on bike racks. But big surprise -- like most other local garages, Park Place has not put a bike rack in. According to Danielle Maitland with the city's Transportation department, the city received a "gift" of bike racks some time ago. Apparently our company representative can call up and request the bike rack and it will "appear", according to Ms. Maitland. But why do we have to request it? Why can't they install these racks into all the city garages? They already have them --- they do not need to purchase them.For a city and a mayor that has milked a lot of positive press out of its efforts to be "green" and says it wants to encourage alternate modes of transportation (http://www.annapolis.gov/info.asp?page=2613) for commuters, and wants to bring business into the city limits, their official "no scooter parking" policy and lack of bicycle racks in city garages says otherwise.The reality is that the ability to park a scooter in a downtown spot for a few hours has a negligible effect on both traffic and the environment. Traffic and environmental concerns will see positive change when those commuting on a daily basis make the change. My using a scooter to commute to work means one less car on the road, something the city of Annapolis purportedly supports, at least according to its website. I decided to go ahead and get the scooter, primarily because I don't feel like paying the Parks machine $150/month to park my car in their "luxury garage." I have been facing all the same dilemmas and problems with my scooter as you have posted about the bicycles, including the impatience of drivers. I really wish they made a giant "student driver" sign for scooters. If that won't get them to back off, nothing will!

LORI--Thanks very much. Please contact me directly and we can discuss. You have run smack into the wall of lack of concern and lack of leadership in our city to really do something about this. I laughed when I read your comments about speaking with DOT Director Danielle Matland. She commutes to work in a truck from near the library ALL THE WAY to Chinquapin Round Road. Sometimes she enjoys scoootrers so I thought she would be more helpful. No, that would be wishful thinking. Consider this--The Knighton Garage is EMPTY!!!! They need scooters--or anybody in there.
I agree with your concerns, however, while there are some positives to scooters, they are more dangerous and less maneuverable than are bicycles, they avert exercise and use fossil fuels, albeit , on a much lesser level than a car. You could do like like local lawyer and former Alderman Gil Cochran does, and ride it and park it on the sidewalk. Or you could do what Economic Development Director (is that office or department?) Mike Miron does and park it on a sidewalk. You could try biking, walking or taking a bus, or a combination of biking and the bus. Thanks very much for reading CP and for your comments.

CP PROPOSES TO WRITE EDITORIALS FOR THE CAPITAL...

Dear Capital Editors:

I suppose we could call it "the great minds think alike syndrome" but I could not help but notice how two of your recent editorials were remarkably similar to my recent posts. For example, here is what I wrote on October 1:

"If we are to truly make Annapolis greater and keep it special, we must capitalize (yeah capitalize) on what is great and special. … So, why do we make downtown more and more car-oriented when what makes us special AND ATTRACTIVE and different is the exact opposite? Now, do any of us really think that The Chamber of Commerce has seen the light? Do we think the same folks that brought us The Market House will bring us better things?"
October 1, Capital Punishment

Nearly a week later, this is what you wrote:

"The downtown can't compete directly with any of these facilities, and doesn't have to - it's a historic district, not a retail megaplex. Its strength is compactness and charm, not retailing variety or ease of access by car. But city officials do have to be smart about utilizing the assets they have.
In short, they'll have to do better - much better - than they did with the Market House." October 7, Capital Editorial

It happened a second time when I wrote about the irony of a Mid-East peace conference here where our local governments don't even get along:
"WHY CAN'T WE GET ALONG HERE? WHY CAN'T MAYOR MOYER AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE LEOPOLD GET TOGETHER? Why can't we have real regional planning and cooperation? Why can't the Mayor, the Housing Authority and The Police work more cooperatively on fighting crime? ….CP cannot remember a time when The Mayor of Annapolis and The County Executive meaningfully worked together. Do Ms. Moyer and Mr. Leopold need to go to Jerusalem, Geneva or The Hague, or New York to start this process?" September 29, 2007, Capital Punishment

A few days later, look at what you wrote:

"After all, what better place is there for harmony and sweet reason to prevail? Annapolis is home to three governments - state, county and city - and just think how well the various officials get along together, how readily they communicate, how few feuds there are, and how quickly and amicably major problems are resolved. Well, on second thought, perhaps we'd better not think about that. There are many wonderful things about Annapolis, but no one is ready to propose "Let bygones be bygones" as the city motto." Oct 6 Capital Editorial

Well, I guess that imitation is the best form of flattery. Will the third time be a charmer? This is quite a turn from your earlier negative editorializing about blogs a while back. But hey, we're here, so pease write if you are out of ideas.