Just A Reminder....

Yes, it is bullshit that determines the elections--and the media are responsible. The Onion, our favorite news source originally aired this back in January, but it's so relevant for today that I thought I'd mention it (How they manage to so eloquently make fun of so many things in such a short time is just pure genius).


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters


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Local Newspaper is Outraged...it's the Lou Grant style of journalism

The editors of the local newspaper are outraged that elected officials are not screaming about there being ONLY two Bay bridge crossings! But where is their outrage about other pressing transportation issues? Could this be because editor Tom Marquardt drives from Kent Island to Annapolis every day?

Here is what they had to say:
"ANYONE LISTENING? - Where is the outrage over this traffic debacle? Do you hear the governor or local lawmakers demanding that something be done? Is anyone who takes your taxes promising any substantial relief?"

They go on:

"The truth is that elected officials have given up because the task before them involves another bay crossing, and that's just too daunting. Gov. Martin O'Malley won't support another span, but he doesn't have any serious alternatives to the backups either. Why be concerned when your commute to your office is a walk across the street from a state-owned mansion?"

Are those same editors concerned because their commute is a drive across the bridge? We should be asking those editors the same questions about threats and dangers to walkers and bicyclists, after all, this is the same paper that complained when local police started crosswalk enforcement "stings" to protect walkers slowed the ridiculous traffic down on outer West St. near their offices. Why does this paper not ask the same "outrage" question about the state capital not having express bus service to the state's largest city? Did they express outrage when Governor Ehrlich cut that route? No. They write about the lack of air conditioning on our poorly maintained local buses but do they editorialize about the lack of outrage from elected officials about this problem? No. Do they call for removal of the transportation director? No. And why? It's because their editors drive to work and have their own parking spaces.

Hey--if you choose to live on an island separated from the mainland by five miles of water and one bridge was not enough and now two bridges are not enough, you need to realize that it was these bridges that "opened" that land to you in the first place. Opening that land brought you and more people like you. Now that you are here,you want to open it even further--to yet more of you. When will it end? Will three spans be enough? And in the same breath, you call for safeguarding the Chesapeake. Sorry fellers, you can't have it both ways.

As if the ICC were not enough, a third bridge will cause a great sucking sound in our state budget. Maybe you should consider moving back to the region that your paper covers or living closer to work anyhow. Maybe you should be calling for permanent express bus service across those bridges. Or is build, build, build the only way to go?

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Wasilla, Alaska

It's just outside of Anchorage with a population of about 6,700 and the town has revenues (does that mean its budget?) of about 12 million dollars. So, you go from being mayor to being governor of what is essentially an enormous oil welfare state for a couple years and then to the Republican VP candidate at the tender age of 42? You know the old one-heartbeat-away from the presidency thing? And with a guy who turns 72 today, how many heartbeats has he got left?
I dunno. It just makes no sense, unless the entire goal was to draw female voters. But, that's not why vp running mates are chosen--is it? And if so, it sure won't work. And would that be cynical!
For sure Obama is an easy target for lack of experience, but his running mate is not, and even so, there were more people in his Illinois state district than in Wasilla and way more in Illinois than there are in Alaska And given the record of Alaska Republicans....). But even size is not the issue and to claim that he has no real foreign policy experience? Well, I guess being governor of Alaska is almost foreign. Heck, we bought it from the Russians and it's near them and those frisky Canadians so it's almost another country. I just don't get it. Besides all that, if running a presidential campaign is an indication of anything, Obama is a superstar. Like him or not, he is one smart,and inspiring fellow. Let's see what the governor of Alaska is like. Kind of makes Dan Quayle look like an elder statesman when he was the vp candidate.

Maybe Joe Biden should be telling her, "I knew Dan Quayle and you are no Dan Quayle."

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Gov. Adds Emergency Bus Service Over Bay Bridges

So this is what it takes? An emergency? A major accident? A forced closure of a lane for emergency repairs? While I am sure that commuters are grateful and this is a help, why does it take an emergency to get on the road what we have needed all along? If we had better bus service all along, who knows what kind of jams and accidents might have been averted?

Thanks Governor O'Malley for quickly making this happen, but please, please we need more transit and especially more commuter buses all over the state. You control the people who control the MTA, a major regional bus system. And we need commuter buses right now to serve Annapolis and Baltimore. To the many needy commuters who are forced to spend and spend to get to and from work, it is an emergency NOW.

See the article about this at:
www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.bridge29aug29,0,5239522.story
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And Now For Something Totally Different...or what to "Putin" the news and what to leave out

Pravda, which means "truth" was the official mouthpiece of the Soviet Union. Of course, the problem with such vehicles of official "truth" is when you start to believe your own lies. Of course here we have the corporate media, which although they may be free of official government control have their own set of values and inherent contradictions which too often make them...uhh...hard to swallow....except for Fox News of course. Hmmmm....Anyhow, you may enjoy reading Russia's official version of world events including of course the "invitation" to "liberate" South Ossetia from Georgian aggression. CP is certain of but one thing with the news. Where there is smoke, there is fire. And as a corollary, the truth is out there. Just how far "out there" is the problem. Perhaps the truth lies in the middle. Or perhaps it just lies.

Just as one example, consider this online poll the Russian news service is running:

Question:
What is the best way to resolve conflicts in the 21st century?
UN style: sanctions and peacekeepers
U.S. style: long well-advertised military operations
Russia style: quick penetration, fast withdrawal
Israel style: bomb your own to scare your neighbours

Does one laugh or cry? CP has one question about "Russia style". Does this leave the women unsatisfied?

Enjoy reading the official Russian news at
http://www.russiatoday.com/en


"Russia is a riddle wrapped inside a puzzle in an enigma..."(or some such thing like that) Churchill

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But Officer, He Really Does Live on Clay Street....and you should be more respectful toward our citizens

CP's readers are aware of how much I like the local blog I Live on Clay Street but the latest posting is just a neat little story by our friend Ellis that I think all Annapolitans should read. It says a lot...about a lot of stuff going on--and it's entertaining, although I don't like the way the police officer was speaking to him. Maybe he deserves a talking-to by the Chief on how to approach citizens. At least in court we are innocent until proven guilty.

Thanks to you Ellis. I hope you enjoyed the beer.

Speaking of Clay Street, the blog's publisher and local activist Timmy Grins was good enough to give me a tour of Clay Street on a lovely morning and I was so impressed to learn about and to see just how good it is. Clay Street is good--and getting better. I had to laugh at the run-down trashcan with the mildewed and discolored "Lacey Anne Regina" sign that our mayor loves so much.

Thanks Tim! And by the way, the latest edition of the city magazine features news and articles about Clay Street, including a piece by Trudy McFall, who happens to be running for mayor. I don't think Tim was mentioned but he deserves our appreciation. I hope you get to meet Tim and his neighbors and see that Clay Street is good.

It's all here at http://www.iliveonclaystreet.com/
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What's New or News at the Local Newspaper?

The economic "downturn" is hurting them as well, and shrinking news staffs and shrinking news holes have been evident from some time. Certainly the Sun, now The Baltimore Sun with its new design, has had cutbacks. They put a positive spin on it with a huge color spread last weekend laying out their new layout. Big changes at The Sun, but they don't seem to shrink their sports news. Same with our local newspaper.

In an editorial last weekend, Tom Marquardt, editor of our local paper, wrote of necessary cutbacks, stating that the $1.50 cost of the Sunday paper is a fourth of the price of a stadium beer. Actually Tom, it's less than a fifth of the price of a stadium beer, but I am not sure which one is either more or less filling or tastes better.

It seems that both local papers are finally coming to understand the power of the blogosphere and their own expanded role in that realm as they both are taking up more bandwidth even as their newsprint space shrinks. Speaking of which, after CP slammed the local transportation blogger, his columns seem to have disappeared.....???

Even the Baltimore City Paper has covered the cutbacks at The Sun.

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Kapital Kareckshins...Just The Facts Ma'am

The recent merger of two area synagogues was covered in the local newspaper which has caused it to write an unusually lengthy correction column. The correction appears on page A8 of the Saturday, August 23 edition and cites that the name of the new synagogue was wrong, and one of the merged congregations was incorrect as well. The holy Torah was improperly described and a synagogue member named Ira was misidentified as a woman (I've always known this Ira to sport a beard). A quote by County Executive John Leopold was also misconstrued--or worse.

Look-evryboody makes misteaks, evun the righter of this blog from thyme to tyme, and so does evry noosepayper BUT, getting facts weong, basic facts, such as whether a person is a man or woman and the name of the institution about which one writes, are rather unpardonable in journalism. The basic tenet of journalism is to get facts straight and it is upon this which all respect for the medium is predicated. Everything is filtered, interpreted and affected by a variety of complex forces which constrain reporters and editors, and errors get by, but simple facts must be accurate and checked. Did it rain or was it sunny? Partly sunny? Partly cloudy? Showers or thunderstorms? How much rain fell? From what direction did the wind blow and at what speed? Who won? What was the final score? Were there three bullet holes or two? Did they come from a 9 mm or a 45? What was the name of the two synagogues that merged? Was the member a man or a woman?

Jack Webb, where are you when we need you??

Speaking of such, did you read the leading front page piece about the local high school's International Baccalaureate (IB) programs? Good news indeed, but the article by reporter Elizabeth Hulette was lifted out of a press release and even then, was difficult to decipher. Talk about typos--try this sentence:

Students in need to pass six of the subject exams to be awarded the IB diploma, which they earn in addition to their high school diplomas.

Was there an extra "in" in there? (Sorry, there is no room at the "in"...)

In one sentence, she wrote how IB students have to perform 150 hours of community service. Two sentences later, she said the same thing. Like this. Two sentences later, she said the same thing.

Hey editors, freshen up that pot of coffee!



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Have You Heard of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer?

Wow. This guy is very impressive! I can see why he made a speech at the Denver Convention. Listen to this dynamic governor who had never held elected office before tell his family's rags-to-riches story as he stumps for Obama, talks about energy independence, global warming and criticizes McCain, asking if we can afford four more years of the same?

Brian Schweitzer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKoKHCxWYM8

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New City Attorney....coming soon to a city near you

CP congratulates City Attorney Shaem Spencer, who has just been appointed to the District Court by Governor O'Malley. CP has always been impressed with Mr. Spencer's sincerity and straightforward demeanor and his ability to somehow navigate his way through difficult waters, often muddied by an irritable boss and the vagaries of public opinion. He was called in to put out fires not of his own making, and CP wonders if maybe his advice had been taken in the first place, if some of those fires had never started burning. Once can only speculate. I'm not a lawyer (don't play one on tv)and with so many legal issues shrouded in political intrigue as well as necessary secrecy, who can know for sure? CP wishes Mr. Spencer well and please don't forget that if I'm ever before you for BWI (blogging while irritated) to be lenient on me.

RUMOR ALERT: Now-to the matter at hand. With about a year left in her failed administration (that long?), Mayor Moyer may be hard pressed to find a lawyer willing to step in. However, CP has heard rumors (alert! alert! rumor alert!) that DNEP Director Mike Malinoff may be in line. Another possible appointee may be Eastport resident Steve Kling. Oh, that will be fun indeed if he gets the position. CP can't wait for that one Mr. Kling. You may be just the perfect guy for the job.

Kling was listed as a patron for Mayor Moyer's holiday gala, which means he put in $500 (along with the police officer's union). Oh, he must have had to shuffle papers for an hour or so to come up with that pocket change--and it may be paying off.

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Sustainable Annapolis

CP is a longtime tree-hugger and frothing-at-the-mouth environmentalist who has written about our local government's conservation and environmental protection efforts. I've given Mayor Moyer both strong marks as well as demerits for her leadership and occasional bungling in this area. I don't doubt her sincerity, but I think much of it is misguided, though well intentioned. She has focused hard in some important areas yet also gotten involved in some issues that are just fluff-n-puff (i.e. Lacey Anne Regina...Cloud Nine...The Clean Air curriculum or fourth graders) A few weeks back, CP exposed a silly, wasteful and hyped slide show about our so-called "sustainability" efforts (see July 30).

Now Mayor Moyer has come up with yet more busywork in this area with a Sustainable Annapolis Program Kick-Off Event on September 11th. Yes, September 11th. Yet two weeks before the "kickoff", the only thing one can find at the city's web-site is an announcement about the "kickoff".
http://annapolis.gov/upload/images/news/sameeting.pdf

I'll bet many of you did not even know that we have an official Sustainability Coordinator. Now this is probably a good thing, but how did this new job get wrangled in place? One day when I have absolutely nothing else to do, I am going to study just how many new such jobs Mayor Moyer has created. She made a whole Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Protection, installing her own choice (sort of like with Economic Development Office? Department?)but that was not enough. Now we have to coordinate such protections. She has created another choice position for Youth and Family Coordinator (or something like that) as well as an Aquatics Coordinator. These are all great and well if you believe in activist government as I generally do, but not so good if you believe in a government that should only provide police and fire protection and build roads. But what bothers me is not so much whether we have the jobs or not, as whether spending the money actually does anything useful for the residents.

And it gets worse. We have all kinds of coordinators and Lord knows what, but we can't even get a bicycle and pedestrian planner/coordinator, which I would argue is vastly more important than aquatics. And as far as sustainability, why can't we even have working air conditioners on our buses? Now I will give the mayor credit for taking strong positions with bicycling improvements, and despite my political opposition to her, she has chosen me to sit on the committee tasked with planning those improvements--and we are working hard to make those improvements with her support.

I guess the big question is do we really need another program, or committee or fancy project such as "sustainability"? What we really need is a hard-nosed assessment of progress and an evaluation of results. Are we getting bang for our bucks, so to speak? Mayor Moyer creates jobs she likes, puts in people she likes and what do we get? Announcem

CP also wants good government and wants to know if this government is sustainable with this spend, spend, spend and crony mentality.

One last thing---while we're embarking on this sustainability effort to create green and thriving neighborhoods, does anybody know what has happened to the Comprehensive Plan? I think it is months and months behind. Please let me know.

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Commuter Bus To Baltimore....the ball is rolling, but not the buses...yet

Regular readers know that I am passionate about improving our regional transportation and having options to single occupancy automobiles for all of us. As part of this, I have been working with the Maryland Transit Administration and our elected leaders to reinstate commuter bus service to Baltimore that was axed by the previous administration. County Councilman Josh Cohen has said he has written to the Governor and now CP has been informed that the entire District 30 Delegation has written to Maryland Transportation Secretary John Porcari asking for his support. CP would like to thank Cohen as well as House Speaker Busch, Senator Astle and Delegates Clagett and George. Now we need your help!

The bureaucratic ball is rolling....maybe one day the buses will roll as well. We have three commuter routes to Washington and none to Baltimore. If you believe that the state capital also deserves commuter bus service with the state's largest city, please write to your state elected officials and even city officials, and ask for their support. And by the way, did you realize how much more ironic this situation is considering that our Maryland Transit Administration is a STATE agency? It's already totally within its jurisdiction to run such a bus. As far as CP knows, Maryland is the ONLY state that operates a regional transit system. While Delaware, Rhode Island and New Jersey (second largest system in US)have statewide systems that build, support and maintain statewide service, Maryland is the only state with a state agency that operates only a regional system--and we can see how well that works considering there is no service between the capital--and the largest city, but 25 miles away.

Maybe, just maybe our own Annapolis City Council members will weigh in. So far, only Alderman Shropshire has replied to CP and he, along with Alderman Stankivic have worked to create light rail. However well intentioned that may be, CP remains adamant that we start NOW with bus service and then we can concentrate on rail. We can only hope.

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More On The Annapolis to Baltimore Bus Service...or lack thereof

On Friday, August 14 (see post below) I wrote to local and state elected officials asking for their support in reinstating commuter, express bus service between Annapolis and Baltimore. Quickly I received replies from House Speaker Busch, Delegate Ron George, County Councilman Josh Cohen and Alderman Sam Shropshire.

Delegate Virginia Clagett had been supportive and was in touch with me and the MTA but I have not yet heard back from her in reply to the letter of August 14.

Delegate George's office has been supportive of this proposal and I have been communicating with him on other transportation issues as well. here is the reply from his office:

"Your letter re bus transit from Annap to Balt was a good one. Clear and informative. Ron is interested in this - just needs to decide what to focus on!"

Speaker Busch sent an insubstantial form email response. Alderman Shropshire, who has worked to develop rail service but has seemed to not understand that buses need to come first, did reply positively:

"Thanks for this encouraging message!"

Hmmm. So I wrote back on August 16:

"Will you work with Virginia [Del. Clagett]and ask her to take the lead on this? Will you work with me to invite elected officials to take the MTA 14 to Baltimore one day and see how slow it is?I remember our bus ride together and I also took Ross [Alderman Arnett]on a similar ride. Will you and he take the lead in shaking things up at Annapolis Transit? Transportation in a basic human need and the lack of concern and the mismanagement is unacceptable."

As of today, August 25, there was no reply, so I have again written to Alderman Shropshire.

Finally, former Alderman and now County Councilman Josh Cohen wrote the most substantive reply and is taking action:

"As you know, I agree with you that we need to significantly enhance commuter service to Balto and D.C. It makes sense for so many reasons, and the rise in gas prices is certainly a motivating factor.

I've been in touch with John Sarbanes' office and Virginia Clagett, both of whom see the value in it and are supportive. It is on the radar screens of several key leaders and I am grateful for your efforts with keeping the issue in the forefront. Unfortunately my understanding is that a federal fix to the transit funding formula is unlikely until Congress takes up the omnibus reauthorization in a couple years. The
state funding issue should be a much simpler fix but of course it comes down to money. It is a challenge for the state to add any new services when it is struggling simply to maintain its existing levels of service. But I will continue to push for it and will send a letter to the Gov."

CP wrote back to Josh and thanked him but suggested another approach:

"Thanks very much. I know the challenges to do this, and I appreciate that you will send a letter to the Governor, but I suggest that you and District 30 do this together--and do it not simply as a District 30 need, but based on the fact that I outlined---the state capital has no commuter service to the state's largest city--but 25 miles away-- and all this with a state-run system in place!

And here is a real idea if you really want to make some news--and I'll do it. Invite your colleagues and the District 30 delegation and the Governor to try taking the MTA 14 one morning from Annapolis to Baltimore. When you see how slow and inconvenient it is.......

We are not necessarily talking about NEW money, but we may be. We are talking about reordering existing routes and maybe switching some money around. As for federal dollars, that may or may not be the big factor. Really it is state dollars and MTA spending that is the big challenge, and this is where our delegation comes in. They can work with the Governor and MTA to make it happen.

I am hoping that Virginia will continue to take the lead on this, and perhaps you can encourage her. I have spoken with Ron G. as well. But, until elected officials take the bus and really understand what it's about, I don't have much hope."

Do you want to see commuter express bus service restored between Baltimore and Annapolis? Please write to Governor O'Malley and the District 30 Delegation. And if I do get a substantive reply from Speaker Busch or Senator Astle or others, I'll let you know.



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Bay Bridge Toll Revenue Down.....

CP has opposed the concept of a third Bay Bridge crossing, most recently on a posting on Wednesday, August 13th following the tractor trailer crash and tie-up.

It was not long that some of the more active, or I should say hyperactive members of the Maryland blogosphere took keyboard in hand and personally attacked CP, condemning me with all kinds of insults and negative labels. It seems however that maybe, just maybe CP was on to something as the Maryland Transportation Authority announced that toll revenues are down three percent. Yup. Three percent. All over the country, high gas prices have fueled a slowdown in vehicle miles traveled. CP believes this is just another sign of the startup in the long decline of personal automotive travel. This is why we must look at all of our transportation options and begin planning a future based not solely on more and more roads, but on more and more options and management solutions.

Okay, hyperconservative bloggers (and that's labeling you mildly), bring it on. Your antics, insults and hyperbolic harangues propelled little old CP to number 11 last week on BlogNetNews Maryland's influence list. But the national and local number of vehicle miles traveled don't lie. And it's just the start.
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Redesigning Urban Transport....in Annapolis?

I refer you to a chapter in a new book published by the Earth Policy Institute by Lester Brown in which he passionately argues for innovative transportation systems in cities and points to many successful examples. Many of us know that we have to do something differently here at home. CP has repeatedly stressed the need to decrease cars, promote transit, walking and bicycling and overhaul our own transportation department, something called for explicitly by then incoming Mayor Dean Johnson over ten years, yet much, in fact, something, anything, remains to be done.

Just the other day, CP was reading about the attractive and successful Lincoln Road promenade in Miami Beach, Florida where the visionary developer said, "Cars never bought anything. People buy things" or something to that effect. We should consider the same idea here in Annapolis. Rather than make more and more spaces for cars, let's make more options for people to move around. CP has visited Lincoln Road and many other pedestrian ways (I prefer to call them no-car zones, or people only zones) in domestic and foreign cities and it is time we started thinking along those lines here.

I refer you to: http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB3ch10_ss3.htm
(Note: Brown states that bicycle production and use has climbed dramatically in China since 1978, but I have always though that the opposite occurred and that China is maddeningly rushing into an automobile-centric future...)

Thanks to Will Small of Eastport for recommending this article.

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