What Is Up With "What's Up Annapolis"? Mayor Moyer, That's What!

I'll get to the mayor in a moment. If you like "lifestyle" and "feel good" magazines, you won't like this posting and will probably complain that CP is being negative. Oh well. Go read "What's Up Annapolis" if you need an injection of elitist, snobbish, hoity-toity, vacuous and conspicuous consumption "lifestyle" culture. If not...read on.

I could wax eloquent about the dangers and pitfalls of this local pub and its tinier competitor "Inside Annapolis" but they are not worth the trouble...unless you are paying me to do it. Pick them up, browse through them, put them down, recycle them, line the bird cage with them, or whatever. Just read them with as critical an eye as you would read, say, this blog for example. Or take my word for it and avoid them all together.

If I had to choose between which one to take on a desert island, I'd choose "What's Up" since it has prettier pictures and is printed on nicer paper. The food layouts are nice. Looking at the fake waterfalls in high-priced landscaped backyards might help too.

But wait, the mayor and three other local leading ladies grace this month's cover. I'll focus on...let's see, the mayor. Yeah the mayor. I picked up the mag in the doctor's office today and just about gagged. "What's Up"? My blood pressure! My pulse! My temperature! The nurse quickly ushered me in to see the doctor. Without a second hesitation, he thoughtfully pulled up CP on his laptop to give me a dose of truthful medicine and I got back to normal. Vitals okay....I put "What's Up" down....and the doctor advised me against reading such harmful, toxic reading material. Blood pressure--down. Temperature-down. Same for pulse.

The piece was a gushing, adulatory, effulsive, maudlin "puff piece" about our unpopular, unpleasant and difficult mayor. You know, the one who argues, fights and has to get the last word out...and never listens. Yeah that one. Well it seems that the "award winning" writer Laura Oliver and her editors think Mayor Moyer is a pleasant and polite leader whose virtuous hallmarks are teamwork, collaboration, democratic participation and listening. They even swallowed her oft-used and fallacious quote about Annapolis having three times the national average of police officers per capita (yes that one...again). What planet are they from?. (What's Up Mars? Inside Pluto?)

So pick up your copy of "What's Up", but be warned. Make sure you are in a doctor's office, because if you think the truth hurts, you should try utter fabrication. And when Annapolis wants to know what is up, or what is inside, Annapolitans will have to look carefully....very carefully, but not in "lifestyle" or "feel good" publications.

Six and a half acres on the Bay--42 Townhouses or a Park?

Alderman Sam Shropshire Invites You To A Discussion About The "Rodgers Property"

Thursday, 7:30 PM, March 20th, 2008

The Norair Auditorium at BayWoods

7101 Bay Front Drive
(Corner of Edgewood Road and Bay Front Drive)

Plans have been presented to the Annapolis Department of Planning and Zoning for the development of the Rodgers Property on Edgewood Road. The property is about six-and-a-half acres between BayWoods and the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Plans include 42 townhouses.

Please join me for a discussion of the development plans, and let's talk about how we can proceed with purchasing this beach front property to preserve it for future generations. I'd like to see this property added as an extension to Back Creek Nature Park. We must act now! If we are successful this will be Annapolis' first municipal park on the Chesapeake Bay.

To make this dream a reality your help and guidance are needed.So please join me and other community leaders in the Norair Auditorium at BayWoods on Thursday, March 20th, for this city-wide community event.

Phone / 443-603-1516

Email / sam@aldermansam.com

Website / www.aldermansam.com

The Last Resort of Scoundrels: Where is Carl Snowden On This One?

(PHOTO FROM THE CAPITAL) WHEN A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS---WHAT WE CAN CALL A REAL PHOTO DUMP!!!
In previous posts, CP has covered the case of Baltimore Judge Askew Gatewood who has apparently dumped--illegally dumped, tons of debris on his waterfront home. As the poor judge sinks deeper into his own dump in response to the ensuing legal situation, he and his lawyers now blame this on politics, John Leopold and because he is African American!

This is what The Capital reports:

They [his lawyers] said Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is singling out Judge Gatewood for "considerably more severe treatment than others who are alleged to have committed similar violations" because of his prominence in the community and maybe even because their client is an African American.

Oh good grief. This man is supposed to uphold the law without prejudice. Now he is being tried for violating the law by those sworn to do the same. Well-did you do it or not Judge Gatewood? That's the issue. You have risen to a position of power, respect and prominence in our society. Did that happen because you are African American or because you deserved the position and worked hard to attain it? None of us can have it both ways. Did you violate our trust? If you deserve to be a judge because of your merits, then we will try this case on its merits. How many times did criminals come before you and swear they were being singled out or mistreated?

I think you knowingly violated the law (well--you are a judge!) and thought you could get away with it because you are a judge. Doubly-bad! Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Now that Attorney General Doug Gansler has been accused by your lawyers of taking you on because of your race, let us see what Mr. Gansler's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Carl Snowden has to say. As I said, it's the last resort of scoundrels.

What will you say next--that it amounts to a high tech lynching???

See The Capital's article:
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_12-06/TOP

Eric Hartley on Immigration: "Last time I checked, Maryland shared its southern border with Virginia, not Mexico."

It is amazing how great minds think alike. A few days ago CP wrote about Delegate Ron George's take on illegal immigrants and driver's licenses, suggesting that his concern is legitimate but that the alarming rhetoric needs to be turned down. Now comes The Capital's Eric Hartley with a similar angle on the immigrant issue:
www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/readne/2008/03_09-57/COL

Eastport Civic Association Events

K E E P I N G Y O U I N F O R M E D
March 11, 2008

As a follow up to our meeting last Thursday, here is an opportunity for our community to get involved and make a difference. If you can volunteer your time for this valuable service, please contact the people below. Thank you, Vic Pascoe, ECA President Want to do something about the root causes of crime? Help with the Tools 4 Success Workshop Saturday, May 24 Help the Maryland Crime Prevention Association, the Maryland Community Crime Institute and the City of Annapolis in their efforts to reach out to at-risk youth at the second Tools 4 Success Workshop on May 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Stanton Community Center. Topics: - Domestic Violence & Abuse - Drugs and Alcohol - Sexual Behavior For ages 10 years and up. Youth rotate between workshops. We need volunteers who can help organize and transport kids, help get the word out, prepare lunch or are just interested in sitting in on the sessions. For more information or to volunteer, contact Lt. Robert Beans, MCPA Area Leader, at 410-562-5364 or Chuck Weikel, MCPA Member, at 410-670-8066.

~~~~~ Thursday, March 13 AMM Winter Maritime Seminar Series: Shari Valerio Shuckin' and Tongin': A Day's Work at McNasby's As part of an oral history project for the Museum, Remember Inc. is collecting interviews with people who worked at McNasby Oyster Company. Their colorful memories are transformed into theatrical presentations. Two first person narratives debuted in the Grand Ole Osprey presentation in December. Combining some details of gathered history and oral history, Artistic Director Sharie Valerio will bring to life this special time and place. Held at the Museum's Barge House, Second Street at Back Creek, 7 p.m. Information

~~~~~ Saturday, March 15 Special Preview Screening of Pip & Zatrow: An American Friendship A special screening of Pip & Zatrow: An American Friendship, a film by local film makers Vicki Bruce and Karin Hayes, will be held on March 15 at 7 p.m. at Maryland Hall. The film is a true story of two men who cross racial boundaries during segregation in the 1940s with a life-long friendship that takes extraordinary turns. With humor and heartbreak Pip and Zastrow navigate through 60 years against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and a country that has yet to overcome deep seated racism and social inequity. Ticket information

~~~~~ Sunday, March 16 Eastport Democratic Club St. Patrick's Day Party 525 State Street Festivities begin at 11 a.m. and include green beer races, a keg toss and live music. Corned beef & cabbage buffet, hot dogs & hamburgers. Information: 410 263-2022. ~~~~~

Join the ECA EMail List!

There was More Than Coral On That "Reef" The S.S. Minnow Hit

In what has already been called "Mary Ann's' Mary Jane bust" in news reports, we learn that Dawn Wells, the 69 year old actress known as Mary Anne on the 60's show "Gilligan's Island" has been busted for pot.......well darn if that just doesn't explain a whole lot of things I've been wondering about for years.......!

Dear Senator Astle--MD's Global Warming Solutions Act Needs Your Vote!

The Global Warming Solutions Act passed out of committee and is on to the full Senate. District 30 folks have scheduled a constituent Meeting with Senator Astle...this WEDNESDAY at 4pm!

These meetings are short and to the point. You don't have to be an expert. You just have to care. Liz Nelson from Maryland League of Conservation Voters will meet you at 3:50 in the hall outside Sen. Astle's office (Room 123 James Senate Office Building) for a quick briefing. Don't forget your photo ID. If you cannot attend, please consider calling or writing Senator Astle. He is a reasonable, moderate voice in the Senate, but he has not always been as ardent an environmentalist as many of us would like him to be, but he does listen! Sen. Astle is a key swing vote in the Senate. Please take a moment to call or email him and urge him to vote in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act and against any weakening amendments. The Senate floor could vote as early as Thursday, so your call today could make the difference. For more information: www.chesapeakeclimate.org/md Contact information: Senator John Astle Email: john.astle@senate.state.md.us Phone Number: (410) 841-3578 --- Sample Email: Dear Senator Astle: As a constituent who is deeply concerned about global warming, I strongly urge you to vote in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act (SB 309). I also ask that you vote against any weakening amendments. This landmark piece of legislation will position Maryland to be a national leader in innovation and economic growth in the clean energy sector for years to come. Maryland can address global warming while stimulating innovation, creating jobs, lowering costs to consumers and businesses through energy efficiency upgrades, and making our power system more secure and reliable by diversifying our energy sources. The productive investment in clean energy industries that will be vital to reducing the effects of global warming will have immediate benefits to the state. This bill will help us develop a long-term plan for an orderly transition toward a modern clean energy system. By phasing in the start-up costs appropriately, this transformation will come at a net savings to the state and boost the economy. Once again, I urge you to strongly support this bill as it is currently written. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, YOUR NAME YOUR ADDRESS --- Sample Phone Script: Hello. I would like to leave a message for Senator Astle. My name is _____________ and I am a constituent from (YOUR CITY/TOWN). As a citizen who is deeply concerned about global warming, I am calling to encourage Senator Astle to vote in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act (SB 309), and to vote against any weakening amendments. Passing this bill will be good for Maryland's climate, economy, and future. Thank you!

Mayor's State of the City Report

It's amazingly brief
and disappointingly short
talking 'bout the state of the city report

I give the mayor and our finance department credit for maintaining our excellent bond rating. It seems we are doing what we need to do to attract police officers, but the proof is in the pudding--and we are not there yet.

She talks about how our police department is accredited, which is true, but what does it really mean to we the residents? She talks about how the recreation and parks department is seeking accreditation, which is nice and that department is among the best managed and service-oriented in our fair city, but I'll focus on the one thing in the report about which I am most familiar and that is our transportation department.

You know, the one with all the broken down and dirty buses? The one that just cut a number of routes? The one that can't maintain its signs, buses or its own facility? The one that is widely regarded as being uncaring and out of touch with its customers? The one whose director (with over 25 years service) is often away for as many as four week vacations? The one which she leaves in charge of a marginally qualified individual with severe health and medical problems and things going on about which I can't report until I substantiate their veracity? Yeah, that one. And what does the Mayor say about it?

In her words, "our transportation department has received national recognition."

Okay, let's be honest. She is referring to a recognition when yours truly served as the department's marketing specialist. We had brought about a number of changes and improvements and at that time I wrote an application to a national transportation magazine called Metro (in which I have since been published a few times) and Metro named Annapolis Transit as one of the ten most improved transit systems in the US. Okay, that was six years ago! Yet so many of the changes and improvements which we worked so hard to bring about many years ago have been abandoned, disregarded or dropped. It's just so silly that she can't find a good thing to say about what the department is now doing that she refers obliquely to a recognition it got six years ago!

Is there not a single good thing it has done in the last year or two about which the mayor can write? Who knows? They no longer produce a public annual report of accomplishments, performance data or outlook for the coming year. It used to go out to elected officials, business and civic leaders, news media and others, usually after waiting for the director to take her sweet time in approving it (I came to understand that she really never wanted such reports to go out...) That annual report, along with so many other things that led us to get the recognition for improvement in the first place, started and apparently ended with my tenure there.

Read the state of the city here:
http://annapolis.gov/headlines.asp?ID=12584

Learn about the department of transportation at www.annapolis.gov/transport on what's left of the once extremely popular and extensive web pages we created many years ago, most of which has since been whittled down and rarely upgraded.

Grounds for Concern,,,

Is it just me or have you noticed that the Capital writes about a story every month or two about coffee and coffee shops? Maybe their reporters spend a lot of their days gulping the caffeinated brews and just can't help themselves. While coffee shops are important places for many folks, I just think The Capital is a bit too interested in these brewhouses. Here's yet another example: www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_11-35/BUS

What Would Jesus Bomb?

What Would Jesus Bomb?--It was on a bumper sticker I saw today. I just had to laugh out loud. What an elegant statement! It reminds me of the one years ago that said, "Nuke a gay whale for Jesus." No doubt such stickers must offend some, and no doubt my repeating it here will offend yet more, but hey--if you're going to use the Lord's name (or that of any deity, the creator, prime mover, great spirit or other ultimate and omnipotent being) in vain, it must go both ways! (too bad that won't fit on a bumper sticker, except maybe on a Hummer...)

Delegate Ron George on Illegal Immigrants and Driver's Licenses

District 30 Delegate Ron George (R-Arnold) has taken the lead on a bill to clamp down on illegal immigrants getting driver's licenses. While I am in full agreement with the need for a real national policy on illegal immigration and for states to take action as well, I question some of George's fears and concerns, especially when he starts talking about infectious diseases and health care.

For example, he writes:

"There has been a rise in infectious diseases. Tuberculosis, malaria, plague, polio, dengue, hepatitis A to E, and Chagas' disease cases are on the rise in illegal immigrant target states......Foreigners with diseases or in need of operations can head here illegally. They are openly received and get treatment at the expense of taxpayers and hospitals, since by law hospitals must treat everyone."

Why do I have a problem with this? For starters, I think it's overstated and it plays on our worst fears. Handgun violence kills tens of thousands a year, automobile wrecks claim tens of thousands, over three thousand soldiers have died in Iraq, and AIDS has killed countless thousands. We have a ridiculously administered so-called health care system, and a population of sedentary, overweight, poorly nourished and overfed walking diabetes and heart disease time-bombs, but whooaaa.....immigrants are spreading disease! I think we've heard it before, like when my grandparents came here from Russia and Poland.

The issue is that if someone is here illegally, how can we even consider granting them privileges such as a driver's license and access to health care? There are many, many recent immigrants going to the County's Health Department on Truman Parkway to get pre-natal care, and from what I understand, it has overwhelmed that department. Yes--we need to stop illegal immigration and deal with all the illegal immigrants here. It won't be easy. It won't be painless, but we missed the chance to have a national dialogue on this thirty years ago. They are here, and if they weren't, things would be very different for us. For example, you probably would not be able to buy cheap processed poultry at the grocery store. Sure--that's just one example, but what an enormous industry that has become, and based, I would venture, almost solely on new immigrants.

Elsewhere on these pages, I have written about the increasing incidents of people with Hispanic surnames being caught driving without licenses. I don't want anyone driving around without a license, but if they are here illegally, we cannot give them one! But this is what I ask as we debate this--please, let us all be careful of the rhetoric. And let's not ever forget the reasons why so many people are coming here. When my grandparents came here, they were escaping conditions which had nothing to do with the foreign policies of the US government. Many of the people coming here now are coming here as a direct result of US foreign--and even domestic policy. We are rich. They are poor. We hire them to do cheap labor for us, so don't hate them or blame them. They are victims as much as some of us who are being adversely affected by their presence.

See The Capital:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_09-60/OPN

Mayor's State of the City Report Out This Evening...

This got me to wondering. If cities have a state of the city report, and states have a state of the state report, why don't states have a city of the state report? And what if we were a city-state, as in ancient Greece or Italy? Would we have to issue a state of the city-state report? If the nation has a state of the union speech, is that speech really a state of the union of states? If city states were united, as in say Athens and Sparta, would the leader issue a state of the union of city-states?
(Or would it go something like "THIS IS SPARTA....AND ATHENS TOO!)

While I am on this, since we are the state capital, should our report be the state of the city of the state report?

I won't be surprised if there is some frank and serious straight talk to us about a looming fiscal crisis and some strong comments about our ailing water infrastructure. Last year I gave her high marks for no-nonsense talk about our budget and revenue situation. I just hope the mayor covers all the bases, is sincere, does not gloss over ongoing problems with the market house, police station, firefighter's pension, crime and does not try to divert our attention toward her minor successes in the environmental area. ...and please no Segways or horses....states, cities...whatever....

Public Transit...The Poor Stepchild to Highways

The Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG) is pushing our state government to direct more transportation dollars toward public transit rather than to highways and roads. CP has only just seen the executive summary, but so far, it's a bit spooky because it focuses on rail. Buses and bus rapid transit can meet many of our needs much sooner than and for less money than can rail. Of course we need to plan and invest in rail, but what do we do in the decades it takes to get a new rail line going?

See the MaryPIRG report here:
www.marypirg.org/news-releases/transit-not-traffic-news2/transit-not-traffic-news/local-leaders-cite-new-report-as-boosting-marc-expansion-red-line

The Capital appears to be coming to understand that transit is indeed vastly underfunded when compared to roads and highways. However, reporter Andrew Childers makes the common and oft-repeated mistake of referring to the "county's lackluster 8 percent ridership for public transportation". Well, first of all, eight percent is nothing to laugh about. Eight percent of anything really big, and commuting in this county is really big, is in and of itself, a big thing. Second of all, is it not ironic to build and build roads and essentially ignore transit and then point to transit and say "See, it's not being used!" That's like saying nobody is swimming at the beaches in Alaska or snow skiing in Louisiana. Transit is more heavily used in places where it is more heavily offered and available. That should come as no surprise.

He writes about rail and buses and the attractive options for buses, yet as Mr. Childers usually does, he ignores contacting local experts, including yours truly--despite the fact that I was the only resident of Annapolis (in addition to Aldermen Stankivic and Shropshire) to testify on this very same issue when he covered it a week ago at a House hearing!

www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_10-33/TOP

Overall, this was a good article, but I encourage Mr. Childers to seek out the many local experts on this topic, as Earl Kelly of The Capital has done.

"LOOK NOW LOOK ALL AROUND" at Maryland State Arts Council

"LOOK NOW LOOK ALL AROUND"

at the Maryland State Arts Council's JAMES BACKAS GALLERY
March 13 - June 13, 2008
Reception: Thursday, April 17, 2008, 5-8pm
Gallery talk at 5 p.m. with Curator and Artists

"Look Now Look All Around", features work by Maryland artists who
utilize maps and related systems of spatial orientation, organization
and demarcation to reveal what might ordinarily be invisible or
overlooked. --Dawn Gavin, Curator

Susan Main, Brian Garner, Foon Sham, Jefferson Pinder, Julie Jankowski, Beverly Ress, Lillian Bayley Hoover, Anna Fine Foer www.annafineart.com
Lynn Cazabon, Renee van der Stelt, Emily Hunter, Timothy Horjus

This is in conjunction with Baltimore's Festival of Maps, from March to June
2008, an event featuring unique exhibitions and public programs by
more than 20 area arts and cultural organizations exploring the rich
history and contemporary interpretations of maps and the mapping
process.

175 West Ostend Street, Baltimore, Maryland
410.767.6555, TTY410.333.4519
Free Parking (but also accessible by nearby Light Rail...)
For more details online, visit:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?DeptofBusinessandEco/6c77635ccc/0c454e2012/0a99876cfa/sec=Gallery&id=202

Here's a Real Column for You....First It Was Bags, Now It's Porches

The paper versus plastic bag debate rages on, yet with a new twist. A debate now rages in our Historic District about whether a porch column can be made of fiberglass or must be made of wood. As reported in The Sun, on the one hand are Bryan and Valerie Miller, longtime residents, civic and political activists who have put in fiberglass porch columns, apparently in violation of a building permit that specified they must be wood. Ms. Miller was also the legislative aide to former County Councilwoman Barbara Samoracjzak. Supporting (or should I write "upholding"?) their case is historic preservationist Daniel Sams of the MD. Historic Trust. On the other side are the members of the Historic Preservation Commission, and according to the Sun, Mayor Moyer as well.

This was brought to CP's attention many months ago by local folks who were concerned, but CP deferred at that time from posting about it. CP is acquainted or friendly with the Millers and every individual mentioned in the article in today's Sun.

This and more makes me hesitant to take a stand. I don't live in the historic district, and when I renovated my 1920's era home in Eastport, I used a lot of non-traditional materials, but I kept all of the footprint and much of the look and feel of the era. Of course, I don't live in a nationally recognized historic district with these restrictions. On the face of it (pun intended) I would tend to side with sticking to wood, rather than using technology which has only been around for the past fifty years or so. I just feel that historic is historic and something as readily apparent and visible as porch columns should not be made an exception. Were it less visible or obscured, I might feel differently. On the other hand, as I have opined before, how are cars, electric lights and jets flying overhead historic, but perhaps I am being...petty?

I just hope that this can be sorted out in a friendly and amicable manner and that it will not serve to make life among the residents in the already crowded and contentious historic district yet more unpleasant. See today's Sun:
www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.fiberglass09mar09,0,1838811.story