NEWS ROUNDUP: DDT IS GOOD FOR YOU AND THE BIG BANG NEVER HAPPENED and more good stuff

News Roundup
DDT IS GOOD FOR YOU AND THE BIG BANG NEVER HAPPENED
CP has had occasion to meet with and read about State Senator Andrew Harris, an articulate, intelligent, yet woefully conservative lawmaker who also happens to be an anesthesiologist. And he’s in the news again for arguing against a bill introduced by Sen. Brian E. Frosh, D-Montgomery, to set aside each May 27 as Rachel Carson Day in Maryland. The pioneering author of the influential book “Silent Spring” spent most of her life in Maryland and was born on May 27, a spring day, CP should add. Many credit the US Fish and Wildlife Service employee’s book for ushering in the modern environmental movement with its warnings about pesticides and DDT in particular.

According to The Capital, Harris said the banning of DDT had negative consequences and “is a valuable public health tool against malaria, and without it, millions of people have died worldwide.” Uhh yeah…but with it things were pretty bad too Senator. Not only that, while we banned it here for good reason, it is used elsewhere for bad reasons, and we may still end up eating food from those places where it is used. If CP recalls correctly, banning DDT has also helped bring about a resurgence in the once severely threatened populations of Osprey and Bald Eagles.

Harris said, "It's convenient for us in the United States, that does not have a problem with malaria ... to preach to the rest of the world.” CP would like to ask this Senator, who has a bust of Jesus Christ in his Senate office, whether or not he thinks it’s right for the US and the Catholic Church to preach to the rest of the world when it comes to uhh, let’ see, abortion? Family planning? Global warming???

His Earth is Flat view is about as weird as Sen. Janet Greenip (R-Anne Arundel) and Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil) who declined to vote when Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's) introduced John C. Mather, co-winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics to receive a resolution from the Senate. Mather won the prize for his work at Greenbelt’s Goddard Space Center in in providing the first tangible evidence to prove that the big bang started the universe. CP does not have a problems being a descendant of apes, but having those who are lesser primates sit in the Maryland Senate is something else.

New Head at Chesapeake Bay Program
New Chesapeake Bay Program Director Jeffrey L. Lape has a big, big job ahead to drive the lumbering, bureaucratic and often maligned Chesapeake Bay Program. CP served as the assistant to the former Director for 2.5 years in the 1990's and used to believe it was a worthy and productive organization with a valuable mission. CP now believes it may not even have a valuable mission. Lape has to play bureaucrat, scientist, manager, interpreter, politician and cheerleader to this massive aggregation of agencies, committees, sub committees, workgroups and Neptune knows what else!

According to The Capital, Lape says he passes a stream in his yard in Montgomery County and hasn't been shy about investigating problems in his stream and reporting potential polluters to authorities.

"I feel like the job comes home with us," he said.

Hmm. Well, that’s great that he has reported potential polluters, but CP is in complete agreement that the job does indeed come home with Lape if he drives to and from Annapolis and Montgomery County each day. That’s the problem! Millions of people in our watershed moving around in cars way too much and consuming and polluting way too much. If you’re not part of the problem, you’re part of the solution. Good luck to you Mr. Lape. And CP hopes that in addition to the hours you'll spend sitting in traffic, that you'll also enjoy sitting in meetings…lots and lots of them…and wading through reports, lots and lots of them. CP often asked why the 20 million dollars per year for the Bay Program would not have been better spent if it just shut down and bought forests, wetlands and farms. Needless to say, that was swallowed by the porcine bureaucrats like a poison truffle.


Ferry? Monorail? And still no Commuter bus from Kent Island and Annapolis to Baltimore?
CP has posted about the proposal bubbling up in Annapolis to create a Bay ferry system. CP readers know that while CP is interested in the idea, CP would much rather see a solid bus system first. And after penning the term “ferry tale” to describe this idea, CP is pleased to see that in today’s front page of the Capital it has picked up, er borrowed its term. Read on…
“First came the ferry tales. Now, solutions to Bay Bridge traffic are looking a lot more like Disney World. Grasping at perhaps one of the last straws possible to relieve congestion on the bridge, Del. Michael D. Smigiel, R-Cecil, is proposing that the Maryland Department of Transportation examine the feasibility of creating a monorail to run from Annapolis to Kent Island.”

Please God, make it stop!!!! Every so often somebody comes around with some brilliant and visionary scheme to study or develop some type of waay cool futuristic transit system without actually knowing a darn thing about transportation, except that you turn the key and drive, and suddenly there’s a whole lot of interest in yet a new and revolutionary idea. Well, first off, CP will say again, can we please get some cheap and easily developed buses first? Let’s get real with a real bus transit system and then start talking about the next big thing. But we can’t even get a commuter bus from Kent Island to Annapolis and Baltimore!!! Puuuhlllleeeeze!!
By the way, monorails are not exactly new or revolutionary. CP has been on the system in Seattle which some have been trying to expand for years with limited success, and of course at Disney World and Disney Land, and of the new system in Indianapolis (CP was just there too!) and Las Vegas, which is privately funded by…guess who?
Okay, perhaps we should study a monorail, but maybe, just maybe we should stop sprawling all over the place which makes all these transit expansions so necessary. But a monorail???

GIVE BUSINESS OWNERS A VOTE??? WHY DON’T THEY MOVE HERE AND START TO THINK AND VOTE AS IF THEY WERE RESIDENTS??

From the roll your eyes category, The Capital reports today that the Annapolis Business Association (ABA) wants its own City Council seat to represent downtown businesses.

CP agrees with Mayor Moyer who reacted by saying, "They need to have an agenda as to what are some of the things they want to accomplish.” This must come directly from the Please Tell Me Something I Need to Hear But Don’t Want To Hear Department. Downtown businesses should get their act together and put their money where their mouths are. If they want to have a say, get organized and get active, but business owners already vote where they live, and if that’s not here, that’s too bad. Move here or let me vote where you live. After all, if I spend my money in your store which helped you buy your home, should I vote where you live? Actually, as with most Annapolitans, downtown stores are almost irrelevant in CP‘s daily life-which may account for some of the “problem". What if a downtown business owner also lives in town? Why should he or she get to elect two Aldermen? How will we define exactly what is a business owner? If CP rents a stall in an antique store, will he get a vote?

CP has in fact rented store space on West Street, in West Annapolis and on Maryland Avenue and is well aware of many of our local business challenges. Having grown up in a family in the retail business, CP is sympathetic to business owners who are working hard to earn a living and who sometimes feel at the mercy of local elected officials. But hey-that’s why they have trade associations, and chambers of commerce. When they work, they can be powerful and effective. When they have leaders who are willing to participate with their time and money, they are free to have a say. This does not give them a right to their own lawmaker. CP is of the opinion that businesses in general often have a great deal of access to lawmakers, and if they can’t get their own seat, let them buy their votes! (just kidding-but it happens in Congress)

Downtown business owners have rarely stepped forward with real money and real conviction. They work on many things, but do not always agree either, and as the Mayor says, they need an agenda. They have an Alderman representing downtown, The ABA, and they even have the headquarters of the Maryland Association of Retailers downtown. They have a Chamber of Commerce and a conference and visitors bureau (one of its vp’s is apparently leading this effort). There is also an Eastport Business Association, a West Annapolis Business Association, an association representing Maryland Avenue and State Circle merchants and there is an Inner West Street Business Association. CP figures two of those are “downtown”. And now with Main Street jeweler Ron George, they even have one of their own in the House of Delegates.

All of which leads CP to suggest that the real “problem” if there is one in this story are that businesses are not clear about what they collectively want now, or about the future of downtown. Wake up and smell the Starbucks as Parole is looming like an August thunderhead-and it won’t bring a boom to downtown! Let’s not forget, businesses may have some over-arching interests, but they are competing against each other as well and they don‘t always get along. As a longtime resident, activist and former city employee who often worked with downtown business owners and leader, it was clear as a Main Street store window that businesses were never well organized or collectively committed to any big goals. In 1979 when CP worked on a big charter boat and spent beaucoup bucks downtown for liquor and wine to stock the boat, he attended meetings with local business owners who complained about everything even back then from parking to crime to trash removal.

They still are good at pointing fingers at each other, at residents, or at city officials. CP frequently asked why there were so many different business associations. CP asked why they did not really get serious, put their money together, hire an executive director and get an office. When CP was a city employee, he organized a meeting for business owners and brought in an expert from New York to help them set up a Business Improvement District. CP also witnessed similar internal dissent within the other handful of local business associations. CP tried repeatedly to meet with different presidents of the ABA but they were always too busy to be bothered. The Annapolis Business Association has made progress and has accomplished good things, but if it’s serious enough to suggest a special Alderman, why not a business improvement district or an executive director?

Despite inconsistencies in executing it mission, the city’s Economic Development Office has grown and helped in a number of areas. Due to city efforts, many things have improved downtown and along with crowds they bring, businesses have benefitted. If they are not getting what they want, perhaps it is because they cannot agree upon what they want-which of course would put a “special” alderman in a constantly weird position.

Whose next? Eastport will want one, West Annapolis will want one……or maybe taxi drivers will say they need an Alderman. Perhaps the guys who live in Edgewater and sand boat bottoms and drink Natty Bo’s will need a special boat sanding-Natty Bo drinking member of City Council. Maybe all the old timers who were born here and remember Sam Lorea’s will need their own Alderman as will the blue blooded yachties who have million dollar boats but don’t get a vote”. (One man may have one vote, but may one man have one boat?)

We would essentially get a downtown Alderman for residents and one for businesses. This will open a Constitutional can o’ worms! As for the argument that non-resident property owners in some beach resort towns have a vote, CP says those small places have huge seasonal jumps made possible by throngs of non-residents visiting and non-residents owning property. Virtually their entire municipal concerns asnd budgets focus on the resort issues. Even so, those votes are for non-resident property owners and NOT non-resident business owners.

If downtown businesses get a special Alderman, can they make a special seat for bloggers who opine about city issues? CP is definitely a special interest and thinks one of ten votes for its own interests is a good ratio. Take this to its logical conclusion whereby every individual is a special interest and voila, you get total Democracy. Everything voted by plenary, by referendum. Hey, wait a minute, this is a Republic. What was CP thinking?

MINORITY RECRUITMENT LAGS AT NAVAL ACADEMY AND OTHER SERVICE ACADEMIES

The Capital reports on this ongoing cause for concern and suggests through a caption beneath a photo of Mids that the makeup of its midshipmen should look “like the enlisted ranks they will lead and the nation they will defend.”

CP wonders if enlisted ranks look like the national population or if they reflect those who are generally underserved, unable to get better educations or see the military as an option because other options look closed. Well, if the military overall is open, and seemingly very much open to minorities, certainly the service academies need to figure out what they are doing wrong--if that is what they want to figure out.

Well, look what just happened to Lamar Owens, whose case has been taken up locally. Would this have happened if his father or grandfather or great grandfather were Admirals? The military serves many purposes and both can lead or follow when it comes to social change. Eisenhower integrated the Army and two generations later, Colin Powell became the top officer in the US Army and then Secretary of State. The service academies have long been elitist bastions run by old boy networks, some of whom no doubt, were unhappy with and hesitant to follow commands from civilian leaders and Congress to admit women.

STUDENTS FEEL UNSAFE IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS

New reports say students continue to feel unsafe in middle schools. Bullies become bullies for many reasons, including bad parenting, poor self-esteem, being beaten or bullied at home or elsewhere or in some cases, they may be mentally challenged. Whatever the cause, schools and their communities need to take this very seriously and provide assistance such as counseling to both victims and perpetrators, and to punish bullies when appropriate--which is to say anytime they threaten, intimidate or physically abuse anyone.

As a former middle-schooler and the parent of middle schoolers, CP has a special hatred for bullies, whether in schools or in the political arena.

Parents need to teach their children not to be bullies and how to stand up to them when appropriate, or how to defend others who are threatened. Schools need resources. Why is our President talking about a troop surge in Iraq when what we really need is a surge in teachers and counselors in our schools? Well, maybe middle schools are seen as good training ground for bullies who can then go on to the military? Okay-CP is admittedly somewhat facetious and merely speculating, and CP recognizes many fine people and leaders in our military and our service academies.



ROBINWOOD and CLAY STREET DRUG BUST

We are glad to see law enforcement action taken recently. More needs to be done, perhaps with state and even federal assistance. Send a strong message and clear out the apparent source of our violent crime. This recent bust apparently came following on the heels of a closed-door meeting with the mayor, county exec, school superintendent and city police chief, CP has one question: Why did you leave out the public housing authority director?


AMERICAN DREAM BECOMING NIGHTMARE?

This is what The Capital reported recently about local home prices. There is a flipside. While the housing affordability has gone down and down in our area, the “dream” side of the equation in that many homeowners have become wealthy through equity growth and appreciation. This is of course good news if you are in a home you bought a few years ago or before, but if you are looking to move here now? And what will happen when throngs of baby boomers go to unload the homes they have been in for a generation? Will there be a huge “correction” whose signs have only just begun? Reporting on this local angle on this increasingly national phenomena almost always begins and ends with questions about financing and affordability.

In a country where Republican leaders and businesses fight even a modest increase in the minimum wage while corporate CEO’s reap millions, what do we expect? Many studies have shown that the rich are getting richer while the rest of us…… so of course it’s harder to buy a home!

CP asks if we need to build more, what about the quality of life and degradation of our air, land and water? More people want to live here but can’t afford it, so, where will the give and take occur? Will they move to once “outlying” areas and build them up and clog our roads more? Will we continue to sprawl forever? CP asks if these huge homes being built and built and overbuilt will eventually be turned into multi family homes, or is that already happening? CP wonders if we are seeing the beginnings of a housing and land use revolution, the likes of which are as far reaching as post World War 2 sub urbanization brought about by soldiers returning home, economic expansion and the interstate highways. The factors in place today to “drive” a housing revolution include soaring home and land costs, rising commuting costs, changes in employment pattern and options, smaller family size and the rebirth of our older and inner cities. And then there is immigration. We live in interesting times and here in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, CP predicts more people, more building, more traffic….and yes, higher home values.

THANKS TO THOSE WHO MADE ELECTIONS POSSIBLE

Hats off to those Annapolis City Employees who managed to pull off the two recent special elections in what must have been record timing. With the various holidays and short notice, it must not have been easy. Regina Eldridge, the City Clerk and her crew , Theresa Bucalo, Assistant City Clerk and Shanta Ludwick, Election Assistant deserve special praise.

Pulling off not one but two special elections in such a short time required great effort and diligence on their part. As a candidate, I can say that Regina and her entire office staff was helpful, courteous and always efficient. The elections went off pretty smoothly, though not without a few glitches.

The success of the Election was in great part due to the City Attorney, Shaem Spencer, Esq., and the Election Board Members Michael Van Geertruy, S. Lee Caudle and Don Lamb-Minor.

Unfortunately, despite the enormous effort and great costs, it is terribly disappointing that so few citizens actually see it as their duty to vote.

Lest anyone think that CP and all blogs are just whiney, hand-wringing, cynical, nay saying nattering nabobs of negativism, let it be said that CP is just as interested in recognizing and heaping praise upon public servants and elected officials as it is in pointing fingers. CP’s intent is to help government and civil society work better for everyone’s benefit.

CAPITAL FOR SALE? CP SWEARS IT IS NOT AMONG BIDDERS

IS THE CAPITAL FOR SALE? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

With the demise of former Capital owner and publisher Phil Merrill by his own hand last year (gives new meaning to the term “news anchor“), it was not long for rumors to surface that our local newspaper is up for sale. Aaaggghhh rumors. They are but whispers of intrigue and speculation, but they are grist for the blogger’s mill. The large and supposedly highly profitable but privately-held local employer would be a real sweet cherry for Gannett or The Washington Post Company or some other larger and voracious media conglomerate to swoop in and swallow.

Lest there be any groundswell of gossip, CP would like to lay to rest here and now the very notion that it is leading a group of investors to purchase the august daily, which bills itself as America’s oldest newspaper. Although there may be a kernel of truth to that claim of longevity, there is no truth, absolutely no truth to the rumor that CP is either involved with purchasing the paper or has been tapped to become its new editor.

However, if there is a deep-pocket media mogul snooping around, CP would like to express its interest in joining the team so here it is now for all to see:

Savvy, hard-hitting, fire-in-the-belly, crackerjack reporter/editor with strong commitment to journalistic integrity and public service interested in making print or electronic media institution into pertinent, powerful player in the fourth estate. Inquire at www.capitalpunishment.blogspot.com . Our motto--“We fit all the news that we feel like fitting”

And just because The Capital always digs and snoops and reports about everyone else, this does not mean it will keep we the readers informed and updated as to its oh-so-private business dealings. CP promises to keep you abreast of the situation with up to the nanosecond coverage.

However, CP does wonder, what would it be like to run our local newspaper. What if CP really were in the editor’s desk?????? Let’s imagine the first day on the job….

“Okay, this is Ben Bradlee. Has anybody tracked down Woodward and Bernstein today? With so many damn parking garages in Annapolis, I don’t know where they are. And when they said something about Watergate, I heard the apartments have a new pool and club room…”

Okay. This would be more like it. CP would get on the newsroom intercom.
“This is the editor. I want Eric Smith and Joe Gross to clear out their offices, pack up and leave. You have 30 minutes. Next- no more stupid columns such as Dog World or Village Idiot. No more photos of kids getting their faces painted. From now on, any reporter who makes a serious factual mistake gets docked a day’s pay. Second time they are sent home for two days. Third time-they are fired. From now on, corrections and clarifications will be published in bold on the front page. We aim to show our readers that we are serious! No more free rides for advertisers when it comes to news coverage. We’re here to serve the people. Comics, Sudoku and Crosswords will all go into a Sunday weekly magazine. This paper is for news and commentary and a public forum. When political leaders and government official do well, we’ll recognize them, but woe to those public services who misuse their office. And finally, we’re scrapping Sports coverage. Instead we’re starting a whole new section to cover quality of life. In place of pages of photos of athletic all stars, we’ll have academic all stars. No more photos of girls in plaid dresses with field hocky sticks and mouth guards. Each and every day we’ll delve into news and features and opinions about whether our quality of life is improving or declining. Getting rid of sports is a good way to improve our quality of life. Instead we’ll cover fitness, health, disease, air and water quality. We’ll write about local food production, how to eat and live better and how to overcome addiction in our daily lives. We’ll explore the quality of school lunches, work to promote walking and bicycling and we’ll create a free classified section for carpooling and ride-sharing….

CP must be dreaming…..

A Special 59th Anniversary Wish...

Today's Capital Punishment is dedicated to friends Bob and Esther Slaff who celebrate 59 years of marriage. Wow-that's longer than Capital Punishment has been publishing by about, let's see.....58 years and ten months! Longtime Annapolis-area residents, businesspersons and community activists, Bob and Esther are well known to and appreciated by many in our community. CP is already thinking about what to do for their 60th..... Hey, isn't there a bridge and a song named for your 59th???

The Eastport Bridge…under “a salt” from State Highway

The first two snow “events” of the season, which were little more than just minor dustings, brought out our State Highway Administration to the Eastport Drawbridge in full force, resulting in a thick spreading of some sort of ice-melting chemical on the bridge‘s sidewalks. This thick coating of quickly-dirtying crystals remained for days if not weeks each time and actually resulted in making walking more hazardous during that time.

Yes-it is SHA’s responsibility to clear the bridge during snow events but the inches-thick spreading of this “salt” slowly finds its way into Spa Creek. Alderman Sam Shropshire quickly reacted to the concerns of Capital Punishment and residents and began inquiring and communicating first with Annapolis Public Works and then with the office of the SHA District Engineer, which originally misplaced his electronic inquiry.

While it’s not clear what transpired, it seems that during the latest wintry-mix event, SHA either got the message, or did not “salt” the bridge walkway at all. Despite nearly sub-zero wind chill temps, Capital Punishment rode his bike to downtown and saw the bridge walkway was clear a couple days after the storm.

Capital Punishment has long noted how walkers are treated as second class citizens, subservient to the needs of cars, and this is especially evident during snow storms (another topic for another posting), but in this case, it appears that common sense and good government has won out--thanks to Sam Shropshire and the SHA. Let’s keep a “weather eye” open for the next winter event and see if SHA really got the message.

Honk if you love…..honking?

Beep! Beep! Honk! Honk! Noise invades our lives and our communities all the time. Annapolis Alderwoman Julie Stankivic, upset by taxicabs laying on their horns to alert fares of their arrival, is exploring possible legal, administrative or even legislative remedies to stop them (Capital Punishment is still thinking of a pun or wordy witticism to write coyly about this mundane topic. Honky? Horny? ….Lay it on to us with your suggestions…)

Our popular state capital boasts a huge fleet of as many as 200 or perhaps more licensed cabs and whether anyone realizes it, they are a big business and an integral part of our transportation and economic development network. Sometimes cab owners and operators can be their own worst enemies and they have never been able to get beyond their inner turmoil, petty bickering and squabbling to unite as the economic powerhouse they are. So, they muddle on, subject to the whims of the City Council and our Department of Transportation which is responsible for inspecting and licensing the vehicles and operators. The quality of the vehicles and their drivers range from excellent and first rate to last stop before the junkyard-or jail.

I have always wondered why cabs need to honk two, three or four times. Perhaps with radio and cell phones, they don’t need to honk at all. Stankivic tells Capital Punishment the fine for such honking in New York City is a whopping $500! I remarked that it costs $500 to flush a toilet or blow one’s nose in Gotham and hoped such a steep fine would not be on the table in our own little borough. This honking has upset the feisty first-term Alderman a few times too many and she has taken up the case with City Attorney Shaem Spencer and Annapolis DOT Director Danielle Matland. Admittedly, it’s not the most exciting story on the radar screen, but where it goes may tell us a few things about Stankivic’s ability to be effective and wrestle it out with an equally determined city department head while both attempt to deal with (or not?) an important yet immature industry that is vital to our community.

Capital Punishment firmly believes this is yet another example of why the City needs something along the lines of a Hacker’s Board or Taxi Commission. The Department of Transportation, with one full time staff person dealing with the burgeoning taxicab situation, is a regulatory agency with little oversight, much the same as with Annapolis Transit. The Transportation Board is a paper tiger that occasionally meets and does little else. A civilian review panel overseeing taxicabs and meeting with regularity and regular authority would be able to review complaints, suspend licenses and carry out other business with a higher degree of uniformity and fairness than with the current system, which is mainly subject to the whims of the DOT.

Ferry Tales….take two….this ship has not left the dock

Today’s Baltimore Sun (Arundel section) reports on the ongoing discussions to reinstate some form of commuter ferry service between the Eastern Shore and Baltimore and Annapolis. I continue to argue that while it’s always fine to discuss and learn, we have so many undecided, unmet and unfulfilled transportation needs throughout our state that are so much more pressing. These other options will have vastly more potential impact, so it is ludicrous to keep yakking on about a ferry service (Your editor, who spoke with the Sun reporter at length, and suggested many additional sources, is briefly quoted)

As a merchant marine officer, and long-time boat captain in these parts, as well as being the former transportation marketing specialist for Annapolis, not only do I know a little bit about this issue, but I could stand to profit if such a service were revived. Yet I am against it for a variety of reasons, with the main one being what I said above. There are other priorities already creating a great sucking sound! For example, the Purple Line, and the need to reinstate express commuter service from the Eastern Shore through Annapolis and on to Baltimore. I don’t think this service will be economically viable, it will have little impact on traffic and will be difficult to market because of its cost and the physical limitations imposed by geography, demographics, economics and finally--where will all the commuters park at each end in Kent Island and Annapolis? How many people will take it from one place to another?

Transit works where it is marketed and where driving and or parking is costly, difficult or severely limited. Do we have this in place for a ferry transit? I don’t think so.

Now there is nothing wrong with thinking ahead, but to truly do that, we have to think way ahead, and to think about how many other things will change such as costs of fuel, commuting times, growing population etc. But let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this ferry will be some great thing. It’s impact will always be minimal. It may go fast while crossing the Bay, but it will have to slow way down to a crawl for much of the Severn River as it approaches or leaves Annapolis. A trip will probably cost $10 or more each way. Unlike ridesharing and vanpooling which spreads costs among a group, this will cost you the same whether you board with twenty or board alone. And when you arrive in Annapolis, where will you go--and how will you get there? Will you need a car? A bus? How many jobs are there that will support commuters?

Ferry proponents will argue all these questions can be answered with further study. I say phooey on that! We need commuter buses, ridesharing and enhanced transit around our state. We need smart growth and infill and a reordering of transportation and land use priorities. We don’t need more dust gatherers. This ferry is a tweaking, a drop in the bucket.

My wife commutes to Baltimore from Annapolis and cannot take an express bus because Ehrlich killed that service. The same is true for friends on Kent Island and here in Annapols too. My wife cannot find a carpool partner because the so-called ridesharing services as well as the larger employers in Baltimore are of no help. She could take a combination of city bus or state bus and the light rail but this is terribly slow and inconvenient with only limited service. Our city bus service is mismanaged, resources are squandered and federal funding is insecure. The MTA is a poor excuse for a bus system. Light rail is underutilized because it is under marketed. If it is not working well, how will a ferry work? Raising our fuel taxes to shore up our dwindling transportation fund, lowering our speed limits and applying revenue to build up much needed transit is what must happen. Anything else is window--er porthole dressing.