FROM THE NEW "NO CHILD'S MOTHER LEFT KICKED IN THE (BEHIND)" LAW

Another day in Annapolis and further proof of the near total collapse of Western Civilization. Yes, this lady can now officially join the ranks of neighbors we'd all love to have---have evicted! See today's Capital http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_09-45/TOP for a story about a foul mouthed "lady" who could use some anger management counseling. Before she chased the children with a butcher's knife and then from in her car, she told them:

"Tell your mother to come out here so I can kick her (behind)."

So much for no child's left behind--or right behind, or I'll be right behind you for that matter.

A REALLY REFRESHING AND EXCITING POLITICAL CANDIDATE

Quick-name the most exciting and pioneering African American candidate for federal office today. Hint--it's not Obama. CP wants you to learn about Donna Edwards who is working to unseat Al Wynn from Maryland's 4th Congressional District. Visit her web-site and if nothing else, click on the infomercial. What a breath of fresh air. Keep an eye on Donna Edwards:
http://donnaedwardsforcongress.com/

A FERRY SYSTEM IN OUR FUTURE???

CP invites readers to check out the final report of the Ad Hoc Ferry Committee at:
http://www.annapolis.gov/upload/images/government/reports/FerryReport.pdf

It's full of a lot of interesting data, photographs and illustrations showing how a passenger ferry system might work around Annapolis and the Upper Bay. Readers are urged to look at how such a system might become fully integrated with an expanded and enhanced and INTERMODAL transportation network. We need all the improvements we can get. Below is a brief update from two of its principal researchers:

The Ad Hoc Ferry Committee Report
by Craig Purcell, Principal, Matrix Settles Architects
and Chuck Weikel, civic activist and member, Annapolis Transportation Board

Everyone knows that our transportation network is stressed. The Bay Bridge is overloaded at peak times, roads are at peak capacity and the environment becomes more and more degraded as a result. It is time to look at other transportation options. An Ad Hoc Committee of the City of Annapolis Transportation Board was formed early this year and examined ferry service on the Bay as one such option. The group included marine transportation and planning experts from around the region. Annapolis participants included Bruce Johnson, marine architect and ship design expert, Craig Purcell, Annapolis urbanist, and Chuck Weikel, member of the City's Transportation Board. The report looks at possible routes and landing points for a ferry network. The environmental impacts and smart growth implications were considered as well. The report is being presented to Governor O'Malley and MDOT Secretary Porcari as part of the effort of looking at future alternatives. It is also an example of the value that citizens can bring to governmental processes when they bring their individual expertise to the table

CP READERS STRONGLY SUPPORT PLASTIC BAG BAN

CP readers overwhelmingly support the ban on plastic bags which will be voted on soon in the Annapolis City Council. Here are the results from the poll which was posted for one week and was responded to by 39 voters:

YES definitely 20 (51%)

YES but with some reservations 6 (15%)

NO definitely 10 (25%)

NO but with some reservations 3 (7%)

At this point, it is unclear whether the bill will pass and at a recent forum hosted by Alderman Arnett, who plans to vote "No", a substantial majority of the forty or so Eastporters in the audience voted against the ban by a show of hands.
As mentioned in my posting below, I support the ban but with reservations. I hope Alderman Shropshire will withdraw the bill or offer substantive amendments with the intent of getting it passed and of making the whole thing more effective and meaningful by giving people incentives and choices and encouraging the use and reuse of canvas or mesh bags.

But let's be clear on one thing--plastic bags are more than a nuisance. They present a serious environmental threat and they are unnecessary.

Interestingly, when compared to our previous polls, some of which attracted more and some of which attracted fewer responses, results were much closer to being evenly divided among readers.

CP has not picked a topic for the next poll.....but I'm thinking....hmmm....please help!

PLEASE--I STILL NEED MONEY FOR MAYOR MOYER'S "HOLIDAY PARTY"

Dear Readers:

Please send contributions now. If you don't, my lovely wife and I will be unable to attend the Mayor's big holiday bash at Homestead Gardens--in Anne Arundel County. We need $120 (plus gas money to add to the carbon footprint)--and party chair Kathy Nieberding tells me that's pretty reasonable for these type of things. Of course, she refuses to tell me why the mayor needs to raise money, but I guess we should just trust these political folks to know what's best (Don't these political folks know that when they don't give muckrakers straight answers that we roast them?)
All the Democrats will be there and we want to help the mayor raise more money, more money, more money. We're not sure why she needs it, but if she needs it, we want to help. Besides, it's a fancy catered event and I just have to dust off the old tux and I'm ready.
Here are my top ten reasons for why Mayor Ellen Moyer needs to raise money:

1. To pay for recent trip to Europe.
2. To pay for recent trip to Seattle.
3. To cover losses betting on horses at Pimlico.
4. To support other political candidates.
5. To support other political candidates.
6. To support other political candidates.
7. To support other political candidates.
8. To support other political candidates.
9. To support other political candidates.
10. To support other political candidates.
11. To support other political causes.
12. To suport other political causes.
13. To run for another office??
Oh, did I say top ten?

Dear CP Readers--do you wish to add to the list?

JUDGE JUST NEEDED TO TAKE A QUICK DUMP...AND THE PATAPSCO WAS AVAILABLE...

CP suggests you read the latest from today's Capital about Baltimore City District Court Judge Askew W. Gatewood Jr. who is being investigated for illegal dumping into the Patapsco River at http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_08-33/TOP .
The Capital reports that he "lives part-time at a home on Bay Road, a peninsula where Stony Creek meets the Patapsco River. On Oct. 9, 2006 the county received an anonymous tip that trucks dumped construction debris onto the shoreline, material that is normally place in a rubble landfill.
Judge Gatewood told inspectors he needed to restore shoreline destroyed by Tropical Storm Isabel, county spokesman Tracie Reynolds said. The county issued Judge Gatewood a stop-work order on Oct. 13, but a week later inspectors found evidence of more dumping."
I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go. And this judge has gotta go--to prison (if he is guilty I hasten to add)! Do you think he did not know it was illegal or did he not know what a stop work order is? "Young man, ignorance of the law is no excuse!!!"
Maybe those laws just apply to the little people?
I say stick it to Gatewood if he is found guilty. Better yet, send him to a prison full of inmates that he sentenced. Let them stick it to him. ...heh...heh...heh....

REMINDER: MEET WITH ALDERMAN ROSS ARNETT

Ward 8 Alderman Ross Arnett invites residents to meet with him on Thursday, November 8th, 7 p.m., at the Eastport Fire Station to discuss crime initiatives, the 2 am liquor licenses, the bill to ban plastic bags, and any other issues on your mind. CP applauds Arnett for putting on this meeting and wonders, if maybe, just maybe CP's reporting on the grumblings of many Eastporters about his less than stellar record on communicating with them had any impact.

CP would like to urge all Ward 8 residents to attend, hopefully by walking with your neighbors, rather than driving alone. No home in Ward 8 is more than a ten minute walk to this meeting. Walking fights crime. Walking is good for your health. Walking builds communities and brings neighbors together. Walking is the most energy-efficient and least polluting form of transportation. Walking is virtually free.

Ross-I hope you will invite your neighbors to walk there with you. And to Ward 8 residents, if you miss this chance to meet with Ross, remember that he is your neighbor and your Alderman and should be accessible to meet with you at other times.

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST ROCK...OR BROKEN TOILET...INTO THE PATAPSCO

Or shall we say "Judge not lest ye be judged??" The Capital reports that Baltimore City District Court Judge Askew W. Gatewood Jr. is being investigated for illegal dumping into the Patapsco River. http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_07-34/TOP This has caught the attention of County Executive John Leopold.
From The Capital:
"This case is the most egregious violation of its nature within the collective memory of our inspectors and attorneys," Mr. Leopold wrote. "Judge Gatewood has done irreparable harm to the waters of the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay and deserves to be punished."
I must emphasize that according to the article, this case is only at the investigative stage. The judge is being investigated because he owns the land from which the debris was apparently dumped. This does not mean he did it. However, two things seem odd. For one thing, why would a landowner make an unsightly dump of debris on his waterfront? One answer may be because it is a cheap way to stop shoreline erosion. The other questions is, what landowner would not report such a sight to authorities if he came across it on his waterfront?

READER COMMENT ON BALTIMORE ELECTIONS

The following message was sent in by a reader:

Yesterdays' 'election' was extremely disappointing. I was the only electioneer at my polling place. I left after the 'morning rush' but I may have been the only person there for any candidate or party all day - while driving kids around I whizzed past the polling place front and back several times over the course of the day.The turnout was low enough that the kooky write-in candidates would have had a chance if they had had more organization than their large signs (and maybe some credibility).Since republicans don't have a shot in Baltimore City - I would like to see viable Green candidates in every race. This is a wake-up call to Greens - if you can recruit some black candidates with creds and focus your campaigns you will win some city council seats and some legislature seats. Allwine did not get 17% because she was a great candidate - she got it from the people tired of machine politics. A candidate running a serious campaign would have done very well. A compelling story why to vote against the incumbent would help.Like we just elected a Mayor with a reputation, who will follow orders I don't want to advocate a lot of 3rd party runs as much as I want an election where the issues matter, where there are viable alternatives, and where the incumbents realize who they should be accountable too - and work to earn their jobs.

PLEASE VOTE IN PLASTIC BAG BAN POLL...CP READERS PLEASE VOTE TO THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN

Plastics. From “The Graduate”:
Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word.
Ben: Yes sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Ben: Yes I am.
Mr. McGuire: "Plastics."
Ben: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
Ben: Yes I will. Mr.
McGuire: Shh! Enough said. That's a deal.

Is it a deal? There may not be such a great future for plastic bags in Annapolis. The subject of this week’s poll is Alderman Shropshire’s controversial bill to ban them in stores. The poll is posted to the left of the screen. See here for the bill: http://www.annapolis.gov/upload/images/government/council/Pending/O2707.pdf CP has used and reused and reused the same canvas bags for years and years. Most of them were free at conferences or various events. While in graduate school, CP researched the paper versus plastic issue and concluded that from an environmental point of view, it was a toss-up. They both have negative attributes. Others have come to similar conclusions, but when the plastic bag folks and the stores came out in full force to whine and moan and cry "hardship", that sealed CP’s decision. If corporations mount a pr campaign to fight rather than solve the problem, it can only mean one thing-they are messing with us, so we need to fight them. It’s not really about paper or plastic. It’s about waste or reuse. The only real solution is to reuse and reuse.
While I come down on the side of the ban because it‘s ultimately a good thing, and we should continue the momentum, I have not been completely pleased with the way that Alderman Shropshire has handled this. He was asked repeatedly to provide a posting for CP readers yet never provided one or an explanation as to why not. Apparently, he much prefers to be in Time magazine and The Diane Rehm show (NPR) rather than the leading political blog right here in his town. CP suggested that he work with the grocery stores and non-profits to make reusable bags with promotional and social marketing messages and sell them in stores to raise funds.
However, Whole Foods has already voluntarily banned plastic bags. Plastic bags are a hazardous and blatant example of our wasteful and overly consumptive society. Who needs them??? They end up in our trees and our water, harming and killing wildlife. This baloney about recycling is just a whole lot of #%@^*&#. Recycling is but a band aid for a major disease, and while not a bad thing, its shortcomings avoid the serious medicine, only prolonging the illness. We can live without these wasteful bags.
Banning plastic bags is a good step toward the ultimate goal of sustainability in a seriously flawed and wasteful system. If you think it will cause a hardship, well, I am sure you’ll manage. Get some canvas bags and try it. Every major step forward to protect our Bay has come about because of strong legislation such as the Rockfish moratorium, the phosphate ban and the Critical Areas Law. Sometimes it seems that is all that works. Speaking of paper or plastics, I’m more concerned about how our state government will cover our deficit. Will we be asked when the tax bill is due, “How would you like to pay for that? Paper or plastic?" Either way hurts.

BALTIMORE'S ELECTIONS--GREENS SHOW SURPRISING STRENGTH, VOTERS AND REPUBLICANS SHOW UNSURPRISING WEAKNESS

CP looked at yesterday's Baltimore elections, and is bothered by the low turnout, and the fact that Democrats (almost all incumbents) swept the races with huge margins. In most races, they ran unopposed. This is not a good sign for our political vitality and speaks of the power of a machine, of business as usual, of one party politics and of incumbency of professional politicians. See today's Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/

BUT WORST OF ALL WAS THE LOW VOTER TURNOUT. It is bad enough that most races were unopposed, but for whatever reasons voters find not to mark a ballot, and I am sure there are many (I was tired, traffic was bad, it was cold, my Sudoko was waiting, the kids had soccer, my favorite show was on......etc., etc., ), it just weakens the entire political process. Low turnout spells bad news for democracy and is just another sign of creeping fascism (of course election fraud as perpetrated in Florida is a much larger sign......).

I hope others have noted that while Republican opponents got seriously trounced (margins by percent of votes of: 88 to 12, 83 to 17, 91 to 9, 90 to 10, 89 to 11, 77 to 23, and 94 to 6 with ultra conservative and aggressive blogger Mark Newgent trailing the worst in that one), it was BILL BARRY THE GREEN CANDIDATE IN DISTRICT 4 that got the highest percentage of any of the losing candidates. He tallied 902 votes, or 27 percent of votes cast in a two way race against a Democrat incumbent.

SIMILARLY, AND AS IMPORTANT, A GREEN POLLED THE HIGHEST ACTUAL NUMBERS OF VOTES CAST IN ANY COUNCIL RACE AS WELL! Green Maria Alwine got 6,798 or 17% of votes cast in the biggest turnout of any council race, losing to Democrat Incumbent Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for City Council President. There was no Republican in that contest. Interestingly, that was almost 2000 votes more than the losing Republican received in the citywide race against Sheila Dixon for Mayor WITH NEARLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF VOTES CAST, or about 39,000 total. About 75% of the city's total population of 651,000 is of voting age. OUCH!!!!

THE MEANING OF THE VOTE COUNTS FOR THE GREEN PARTY IS CLEAR. They are organized, active and on the way up. And as always, they represent a threat to the Democrats much more so than to the Republicans.

WARD TWO VOTERS IN ANNAPOLIS----TAKE NOTE!! You get to vote for Alderman in a race with the three (shall I say it here?) major parties come December. A Green polled 42% of the votes in Ward One in the 1990's.

MAYOR MOYER'S FUNDRAISER TAKE TWO

In a recent post, CP displayed an invitation letter to the Mayor's Holiday Part (read fundraiser) at which all the various Democratic pols are expected to attend, except for the Governor and his Lt. CP questioned why the Mayor, who is in her final term, is holding a fundraiser. Is the Mayor planning on higher office? Surely age is no necessary barrier, but CP remembers when the Mayor was still but an Alderman and she told him in no uncertain terms that at her age, she had no interest in further office. That was perhaps a decade ago. Of course, she then ran and won her current office after that conversation.
These are legitimate questions that Annapolitans deserve to have answered. In response to my email, CP received the following reply from Kathy Nieberding, a longtime associate and supporter of the Mayor who sent out the invitation:

Dear Paul,
I'm honored to be 'blogged' by you again. Our Annual Holiday Gala has been held at Homestead Gardens since the Mayor was first elected in 2001, and it's become quite a festive tradition. For an event of this nature, the $60 ticket price is quite reasonable.

You received a personal letter from me because you are in my professional database of contacts.

Thanks for the spell check. I knew I should have gone with "appetizers."

Regards,
Kathy Nieberding

Kathleen M. Nieberding
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
410.212.1051
knieberding@comcast.net

As readers might have observed, not a single one of CP's questions was answered. Ahhh politics. CP has responded and asked for clarification. Hey--what would Ted Koppel do?

REPUBLICAN PAONE WILL RUN IN WARD 2 SPECIAL ELECTION

According to Republican activist and blogger Brian Gill at Annapolis Politics, Fred Paone will run as a Republican in the Ward 2 Special Election. Paone, an assistant state's attorney, is a colleague of Alderman Dave Cordle (R-5) and is the Chair of the City's Ethics Commission (according to the city's website, his term expired this year, but these positions are often not updated). We'll be following this.

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS...

Controversy and conflict are nothing new to downtown's historic district but a recent article in The Baltimore Sun details how seemingly minor violations or disregarding of preservation goals can add up to major changes in the look and feel of our precious downtown. Is it wood? Plastic? Vinyl? Stamped metal? From plastic rose trellisses to "green" rooftops,controversy is always brewing (and coffee shops are proliferating too) in our historic district. Former Historic Annapolis President and current president of Envisioning Annapolis Greg Stiverson calls these creeping violations, "death by a thousand cuts." See the Sun's piece at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.historic04nov04,0,6428621.story

TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR.....ABSENT AGAIN

The below is an automatically generated email response from Transportation Director Danielle Matland sent on November 4:

"Until the last week of November, I will be away from the office. Please contact Sonny Hinton x108 for Administrative issues, Dwight Parker x118 for Transit Operation issues. Thank you for your patience."

CP does not fault anyone for taking vacations, but having worked in the Transportation Department for nearly eight years, I am painfully aware of the numerous and lengthy vacations taken by Ms. Matland during which time nobody seemed to be in charge. I am also painfully aware of how much she isolated herself from services and operations even when she was in town. This is a big department with many employees, assets and property. And by the way, she drives to work from her home about a mile away even though there is frequent bus service and she could walk or ride a bike.
Although it is not her fault that our city government scrapped the deputy director position, a position she once held, it does call into question who is running our transportation department, when she is away (not to mention when she is there). It is just another side of the lack of oversight problem in that department and in that of many other departments. By the way, as with other department heads, she is paid well in excess of $100,000 per year. Not bad work if you can get it, along with the weeks and weeks of vacations. Of course she has been there for well over twenty years. That may explain a lot of the situation.

IT'S TIME FOR MEDIA BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PEOPLE

The Capital launched a new section called "My Time" which is their reaction to having to pay actual professional reporters as well as concerns that regular folks are just not reading their paper. See here for an explanation of their launch:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_04-30/NBH

and click here for its first issue: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/art/storypics/mytime1.pdf

Yawwwwwn. Big yawwwwn. If it's any indication of what we can come to expect, I think I'll just expectorate. Blaah! Smiley faces, sports, kids, more kids and reading to kids. I'm gonna have a cuteness attack. Is there not already enough sports and smiling kids in the paper?

Maybe their real concern is the increasing influence of blogs such as, well, such as, let's see, maybe Capital Punishment or Annapolis Politics?

But here is the best part:

The Capital says, "MyTime is not only a page devoted to you, the reader, it's a page produced by you." Oddly enough, they call this "citizen journalism." Ha. Ha. The flipside is that newspapers are corporate journalism. It gets worse. They add, "We're going to trust that you have enough respect for your fellow Anne Arundel residents that you won't make up stuff for a laugh. No poetry. And no opinions. This is not a forum for politics." Damn, we can't make stuff up for laughs as Eric and Joe have done for years? But how much of a "citizens" thing is it? Read on, "Like everything in the newspaper, material is published at The Capital's discretion and is subject to editing."

Okay so write for us for free they are saying, and we might accept it, but no politics please. It's just their way to head off the increasingly spinning-around-them-world-of-blogging. But CP just has to laugh after seeing its first edition. Here are the kinds of things they suggest that we can send to them:

"Next week you'll read about a blood drive at the School of the Incarnation. But you can also write about your history or your encounters. Have you met Mother Teresa? Donald Trump? George Clooney? Let us know. Or tell us how you coped with cancer or recovered after an automobile accident."
As if there are not enough sources of feel good trivial stuff all around us? In other words, let's trivialize, personalize and depoliticize everything. Instead of junking Eric Smith, Joe Gross and all the columns about astrology, dogs and who knows what else, this is what we get? Sanitized trivia. Oh boy, this is going to be great fun to observe and write about!! I will be sending in a piece about how I recovered from cancer after an automobile accident in which my car hit Donald Trump's limo. He was inside the limo having sex with Mother Teresa while George Clooney filmed the whole thing. Now that's newsworthy! If only I could have recovered the film. Gawsh dang it!
How about an article about the time I met Jackie Robinson? Oh, sorry, that was Joe Gross! Actually Clooney and Trump were having sex. Mother Teresa was just watching it while clad in a corset and fishnets. Now wait, what really happened was Mother Teresa was driving drunk, while Clooney and Trump were yelling out the window, "You're fired." No wait, what really happened was.......well, I was in the limo with Mother Teresa and then.......

PLEASE DONATE TO CP TODAY TO ATTEND FRIENDS OF ELLEN MOYER FUNDRAISER

It's outside of Annapolis and outside of our price range…CP received the following email invitation and provides it here as a public service in support of Friends of Ellen Moyer (yeah sure…):
“Dear Friends,
On behalf of Mayor Ellen Moyer and her Special Guests, I'd like to invite you to our Annual Holiday Gala in the seasonal splendor of Homestead Gardens on Friday, December 14, 2007 at 8:30 PM. This festive event will feature live music and dancing, along with gourmet hors d'oeurves and desserts by Ken Upton of Ken's Creative Kitchen. Please take a moment connect to www.mayorellenmoyer.com for this special invitation, along with all event details.
Our special guests for the evening include Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman John Sarbanes and Mrs. Dina Sarbanes, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Attorney General Doug Gansler, Speaker Mike Busch and many other dignitaries.
General Tickets are only $60 per person. Event Sponsors are $1000 and Event Patrons are $500. Checks are payable to "Friends of Ellen Moyer" and mailed to: Friends of Ellen Moyer, Attn: Kathleen Nieberding, PO Box 3527, Annapolis, MD 21403
Formal invitations will be mailed out next week. Please, if you haven't already, send me a quick email with your mailing address so I may add you to my database. And if you would be so kind, please RSVP for the event by December 7th to knieberding@comcast.net
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Regards,
Kathy Nieberding
Gala Chair, Friends of Ellen Moyer Committee
Kathleen M. Nieberding
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
410.212.1051
knieberding@comcast.net
By auth: Friends of Ellen Moyer, Clarence Goldberg, Treasurer www.mayorellenmoyer.com”

CP has replied with the following to Ms. Nieberding:

Kathy:
I was quite surprised to receive an invitation for the mayor's Annual Holiday Gala, which interestingly, is held outside of Annapolis. My many blog readers and I would like to know the purpose of this event. While of course it is for fundraising, why does a second-term mayor feel she needs to raise political and financial capital? If she/her campaign gather thousands or tens of thousands of dollars from this event, is she planning to use it to run a campaign for office? If so, which office? Surely, she has many other options, many of which could actually include "average folks" if her goal is to simply hold a holiday party.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Paul Foer www.annapoliscapitalpunishment.blogspot.com

I like the part in the email that says, “general tickets are only $60 per person.“ For that, can’t they at least spell hors d’oeuvres correctly? Perhaps that is cheap for politcs these days. As if CP would spend $120 so he and his lovely wife can don formal attire and rub elbows with a bunch of Democrats at a garden center! It’s certainly more fun than doing so with Republicans in a waterfront mansion, but what’s this all about? Not only is it outside of Annapolis, but it’s outside of the price range of a huge chunk of Annapolitans, CP included.

Please send donations to this blog NOW or I will ne be able to attend this party (actually I have already been been invited to Tehran to debate with President Ahmad whatever his jihad name is, but I'll take donations anyhow).

Just one question please. Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why is Ellen Moyer raising money? Why would we want to support this failed administration and give our Mayor more of our money? And finally, how did CP ever get on a Friend of Ellen Moyer mailing list? That really upsets me. I gotta call my therapist…
Wait, I have an idea, let’s hold our own Peoples Holiday Party that same night. It will be a real event to celebrate community and it will be free!!! We don’t need a bunch of politicians to have their own elite shindig.

MAYOR MOYER AT CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE IN SEATTLE or Do Rising Temperatures Mean a Rise in Murders?

CP commends Mayor Moyer for being visionary enough to understand the dire consequences of global warming for our city and the rest of the planet. I commend her for spurring discussion and for planting trees, but I am at a loss as to why she has to keep going to conferences. She was in Seattle when the eighth homicide of the year occurred in Annapolis. This is of course after her prolonged trip to Europe this summer on The Queen Mary.
Mayor Moyer--please focus on climate change in Annapolis and sop going to conferences. While we are undertaking a major rebuilding of City Dock, what will we be doing there to prepare for sea level rise? Will we again return City Dock to its silly parking lot status, thus encouraging more cares to drive downtown or will we turn the area into something useful and appropriate for the best waterfront real estate in Maryland? Will you dismiss the Transportation Director and take steps to reinvigorate and uplift our failing bus system? Will you meet with The County Executive to plan for regional transportation? Will you do a transportation survey of our own 600+ city employees and take steps to reduce their transportation induced carbon footprint? Will you work toward converting all of our diesel-powered city fleet to biodiesel? Will you take a strong stand to discourage our rampant automobile use and encourage walking, bicycling and public transit? I am talking about real encouragement and building real opportunities, not assembling some used bikes downtown. Will you create a city position to develop and coordinate bicycling and walking options? Will you put on a major, citywide conference here in Annapolis to help us all understand what we are facing? Or will you go to more conferences?

DOWNTOWN, COME AND GET IT!

Annapolis Politics has displayed a collection of vacant and “for lease” storefront photos from downtown Annapolis to make a point about its future. See "A Sign of things to come" at http://annapolispolitics.blogspot.com/ . While I do not completely agree with his dire assessment nor his description of downtown’s “lackluster transportation” I have blogged before about how political and business leaders may not grasp the coming storm due to massive new development near but not in downtown. We cannot nor should we try to compete directly with Parole, the Mall etc.. While we have a lot of transportation options, they are not properly marketed or utilized while we focus too much on parking and “parking problems”. We suffer from a sort of split personality disorder about downtown, with different factions wanting almost totally opposite goals.
What we must do is focus and “capitalize” on what makes downtown special and unique. In addition to its inherent colonial charm and scenic waterfront, what I am referring to is its walkability, rather than moving cars and storing cars and more cars. Downtown must be for people, not cars. Let the big box and big developments invite cars. We can be better.
Downtown has always had high turnover with stores coming and going, yet there are also many stores and restaurants that have been there for many years, if not decades. Many of the stores currently vacant and available are that way because they have been newly renovated, in some cases due to to three fires. They will be busy again soon. Consider this period of renovation and re-letting to be a period of renewal. Some would say that is a sign of strength, rather than a sign of weakness. However, the long-term prognosis is still shakey.