Md. Makes Travel Less EZ

We love our EZ pass, which we use regularly in the summer as we travel back and forth between youth baseball games, the beach and other jaunts.

But do we love it enough to pay $1.50 a month?

State officials apparently think so, according to this Sun report.

Over vocal objections from the public, the Maryland Transportation Authority's board voted this morning to raise truck tolls at its bridges and tunnels on Interstate 95 and to impose a $1.50-a-month fee on its E-ZPass customers.

The actual cost of the tolls for passenger cars will remain the same. But don't lose your transponder...it'll cost $21 to replace, even if it stops working out of no fault of your own.

Some opponents complained that the state's action will only lead to longer lines at the tolls for everyone.

Examiner To Close

WaPo reports the Baltimore Examiner is closing up shop, which means we lose another source of news.

It's been obvious the paper's been in decline for a while -- the Howard coverage initially showed promise and then all but disappeared. We never could figure out why the paper would appear at the end of the driveway one day and not the next four.

Nevertheless, given the anemic state of Howard reportage these days, the loss will be felt by the Columbia Talk team.

Blame It On Obama

See what happens when we adopt a "flinty Chicago" personna?

From HoCo PD:

Howard County Police are investigating a minor school bus collision that sent 10 children to area hospitals today as a precautionary measure. According to emergency medical personnel on the scene, no one suffered evident injuries. The children were transported for medical observation.

The driver of the bus, which was taking students to Veterans Elementary School in Ellicott City, reported that the bus slid on ice in Patapsco State Park around 11 a.m. The bus struck the side of a small bridge.

Police and ambulances were called to the scene and 10 of the 23 children, ranging in age from 5 to 8, were taken to Howard County General and Northwest Hospitals. The other 13 children were taken to school by another bus.

Parents of the students were notified of the incident by the school system. No charges have been filed.

Spring Break Is Safe

Never mind.

School officials have decided against doing away with the traditional spring break, according to this story in the Baltimore Examiner.

The Howard school board this year received more than 700 comments on the proposed calendar for the 2009-10 school year with most of them from parents, students and others pleading not to shorten the annual spring break by three days.

So the board recently voted to keep the current six-day break schedule so now spring break will be from April 2, 2010, until April 9, 2010.

Maybe we just need some more of that "flinty Chicago toughness" around here. After all, it's not like they don't already get some long breaks. Kids are just wrapping up a five-day two-hour break on account of regularly skedded leave combined with this week's snow and ice.

OK, we're just kidding people!

Auditions for Columbia Idols

From CA:

The Columbia Association (CA) will be holding auditions for teens to play at Teen Tuesdays, part of the annual Lakefront Summer Festival, Tuesday, Feb. 3, and Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. at Columbia Teen Center. Teen Tuesdays became a featured part of the festival in summer 2007 as an opportunity for teens to listen to performances by their talented peers.

Bands, solos, duos, etc. will be eligible to audition. All genres of music are welcome. Teens must fill out an audition form before they can schedule an audition time. Forms are available here or by calling Carol Wasser at 410-715-5523. Please submit completed forms to Carol.Wasser@ColumbiaAssociation.com. Columbia Teen Center is located in the Oakland Mills Village Center at 5853 Robert Oliver Place in Columbia.

More Humps

Up and down we go as we try to engineer our way to civic obedience....

We saw this on the Town Center listserv:

A Howard County construction project to provide traffic calming on Tamar Drive in Columbia is scheduled to begin on or about Monday, February 2. A total of three flat-top traffic calming tables will be installed on Tamar Drive between Old Montgomery Road and Saddle Drive. Weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed by late February 2009. Flagging operations will be in place to direct traffic as needed, and signs will be posted to advise motorists of the construction during construction hours, weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For questions or concerns about Capital Project T-7076, contact Lisa Brightwell, Public Works Customer Service, at 410-313-3440, or by e-mail to publicworks@howardcountymd.gov.

US Foodservice Departs

Hey, this is the first "news" we discovered via Twitter (which linked to the Baltimore Business Journal).

Food distributor U.S. Foodservice, long one of Howard County’s major employers, will close its Columbia office, eliminating 150 local jobs.

U.S. Foodservice said Jan. 12 that it would cut one level of management, consolidating the jobs performed in Columbia into its Rosemont, Ill., headquarters and Phoenix processing center.

The company is one of the country's largest distributors of food products to restaurants and cafeterias. It was part of the Ahold-Giant Food conglomerate until being sold to private equity investors in 2007. The company attracted a bit of notoriety for an accounting scandal a few years back.

HoCo Warns Of Facebook Scam

With all the Internet scams out there, this alert from the county struck us as odd. Why single out this one? There must be a back story. Either that, or Facebook has become so mainstream that its days are surely numbered :)

From HoCo Gov:

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman warns Howard County residents to be alert for bogus e-mails from individuals who purport to be “friends” who need emergency cash. Howard County residents report that they have been contacted by friends who claim that all their money and credit cards have been lost or stolen while traveling and need money to return home. These e-mails, however, have been sent by imposters who have hacked into social networking sites such as Facebook to obtain personal information that will enable them to pose as the “friend in trouble” as well as a list of “friends” who become the targets of the scam.

“This e-mail scam is just the latest of a number of ‘phishing’ schemes that have been reported to our Office of Consumer Affairs and other consumer offices around the country,” said Executive Ulman. “Phishing” involves the sending of e-mails that appear to come from government agencies, well-known companies, or even friends that are, in reality, from con-artists attempting to obtain private financial information or cash from the recipient. Consumer agencies around the country have reported that a number of people have immediately wired money to overseas locations only to learn later that their friend was safe at home.

“These e-mails are very deceptive since they often contain details about the person, such as the name of his/her spouse or children,” said Rebecca Bowman, the County’s Consumer Affairs Administrator. “Such details can easily fool someone into thinking the e-mail is real and their friend is in trouble. It is therefore important to verify the legitimacy of all requests for personal information or money, regardless of who the sender is,” warns Bowman. “Before wiring money to a friend in a jam, try contacting your friend through other means to confirm the situation. If you can’t make contact, ask your friend a question that only they could answer,” Bowman suggests.

While social networking sites are intended to allow people to share information, the Office of Consumer Affairs also suggests the following tips to avoid being targeted by con artists:

* Don’t post everything. Some information, such as telephone numbers and addresses, are best kept private.
* Be selective when choosing the “friends” who can access the information you post. It is generally best to decline an invitation for friendship if you don’t actually know the person.
* Be extremely wary of messages from friends or strangers that direct you to another Web site via a hyperlink.
* Make sure your computer's operating system and antivirus and firewall software are up to date.

Howard County consumers are also urged to report the receipt of this and other internet scams to the Office of Consumer Affairs, regardless of whether they have lost money. “It is usually next to impossible to get back money lost to phishing scams,” says Bowman. “So getting information about such scams from the public is essential in our efforts to warn others before it is too late.”

Home Depot's Expo Stores To Close

The Talk Team was over at Home Depot over the weekend where clerks were busy handing out fliers for the store's handyman and renovation services. Hmmmm, we thought, another sign of the times?

Then comes news from WaPo today that the chain is closing its Expo stores --- which we assume won't be good news for the Columbia's own Expo.

Life Sentences For Killer of 7-Eleven Clerk

A former Columbia man received two consecutive life sentences for the 2007 deaths of a Running Brook 7-Eleven clerk and later an acquaintance, according to the ExploreHoward blog.

Citing the “heinous nature” of the crimes, Judge Diane Leasure sentenced Charles David Richardson, 25, formerly of Brook Way in Columbia, for the murders of 7-Eleven clerk Alevtina Zhilina on April 26, 2007 and Trae Allen on May 20, 2007.

Leasure described the crimes as calculated and cold-hearted. “In each case he showed a complete disregard for human life,” she said in handing down the sentence.

Burst Pipe Shuts Down Bain Center

From HoCoGov:

Howard County’s Bain Center recently received significant water damage due to a broken water pipe. The Center is now closed to the public, and all day and evening activities have been cancelled or relocated. The Center hopes to reopen on February 17.

The new location for the annual Penguin Pace on February 1 will be Harper’s Choice Middle School, 5450 Beaverkill Road in Columbia. The course will remain the same.

The February Arts Showcase on February 19 in honor of Black History Month has been moved to Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Row in Columbia.

Center participants may continue to receive the following services by calling these numbers:

Maryland Access Point (MAP) 410-313-5980

Senior Health Insurance Assistance 410-313-7392

Noon time meals may be received at other senior centers. For information about reservations and locations, please call MAP at 410-313-5980.

AARP tax preparation appointments will be held at the Ellicott City Senior Center beginning 2/2/2009. Call 410-313-1400 for appointments.

If you are scheduled to attend an event at The Bain Center and have not been contacted with a new location, call 410-313-7213 (Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm) for information.

Free Cosmetics

We can't say if it is too late. But we are told by one normally reliable member of the Talk Team that there have been long lines at the cosmetics counter at Nordstrom's and other department stores, the result of a settlement by some cosmetic companies, requiring them to give away freebies worth $18 to $25 to past customers.

Check out the details of the settlement here.

WaPo's account earlier this week is here.

Math Error Costs Schools $3 M.

Ouch!

An accounting error apparently led the state to give 17 counties too much money for their school systems. The mistake could total $31 million, says an AP report posted on WJZ's Web site.

State officials estimate they overpaid Anne Arundel County schools by $5 million for the current school year. Overpayments totaled $3 million for Howard County schools, $2.5 million in Charles, $2 million in Frederick, $1.5 million in St. Mary's, $1 million in Calvert and less than $100,000 in Prince George's.

Merriweather Props

A Baltimore band called Animal Collective is attracting notice from Rolling Stone and others for its latest trippy release "Merriweather Post Pavilion."

We assume that means they'll get an invite to perform this summer, though oddly we don't see any mention on their tour sched yet.

That Didn't Last Long

Filene's Basement may be closing its Snowden Square store, according to the Sun. The retailer first arrived in town in the fall of 2007.

The chain, known for its discounted brand names and annual bridal gown sale, is preparing to close three stores in Columbia, Hunt Valley and Towson, leaving the Inner Harbor location as its only spot in the Baltimore region.

The three Baltimore-area stores are among 11 locations nationwide that are expected to be shut down by the end of next month unless the retailer is able to negotiate lower rents with their respective landlords, Filene's general counsel, Julie Davis, said in a brief interview yesterday.

Barack's Columbia Kin

The Sun has a story about Carleton and Stanette Robinson, uncle and aunt to Michelle Obama. Carleton, a Northrop senior project manager who lives in Columbia, is a younger brother of Michelle Obama's late father, Fraser.

Does the story have a little scoop about the Obama's future dog?

The Robinsons took their wire-haired fox terrier along when they traveled to the Obamas' home in Hyde Park, Ill., to spend Thanksgiving with them and the rest of their extended family.

"When we knocked on the door, the girls opened it and started squealing, 'Look! Tucker's here!' and I'm thinking, 'What about us?'" Stanette said, chuckling.

"Michelle pointed out to Barack how much the girls love Tucker, but he's saying he wants a bigger breed - 'no little bitty sissy dog' for him."

The family has narrowed their pet search to a Labradoodle, which is a Labrador-poodle mix, or a Portuguese water dog, Stanette said.

Follow That Plow

Wondering where the plow is? Check out the county's snow plow tracker here.

Retirement TV Teams Up With Comcast

We're written about these guys before, they are based here, and they continue to grow:

From a press release:

Retirement Living TV (RLTV), the only network dedicated to adults 50+, and Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services, announced today that they have reached a carriage agreement with Comcast for its digital television level of service.
 
RLTV features original television series and specials built on partnerships with leading organizations in the fields of aging and media. The network has more than 1,000+ hours of original programming on health, finance and other issues important to people 50+. These include My Generation and Inside E Street, two programs produced by AARP, the quintessential 50+ organization. This new agreement provides Comcast with more programming targeting this audience, which is now the nation’s largest demographic and one of the fastest growing. 
 

Man Shoots Woman, Kills Himself

From WaPo:

By Aaron C. Davis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 16, 2009; B03

A man under a court order to stay away from a Laurel woman shot her in the face as she returned home from church, fled and then committed suicide early yesterday morning on the side of Interstate 95 in Howard County, police said.

Laurel police said Aqil Abdul-Haqq, 32, waited Wednesday night in the 15400 block of Arbory Way for Soyini Taylor, whom he had dated. When she arrived home about 10 p.m., Abdul-Haqq approached and fired. He then stood over her and shot her in the face a second time, police spokesman Jimmy Collins said.

Taylor, 34, was conscious when police arrived. She identified Abdul-Haqq as her attacker, Collins said. She was rushed to a hospital and was upgraded later in the day from critical to serious condition.

At 2 a.m., about four hours after the attack, a Maryland state trooper spotted Abdul-Haqq's 1998 blue Ford Explorer pulled off on the right shoulder of I-95, north of Route 32, state police said.

The trooper ran the license plate number and discovered that the driver was a suspect in the Laurel shooting. The trooper approached the vehicle and found Abdul-Haqq inside, dead of what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"I believe he thought he had killed her," Collins said.

Abdul-Haqq, of the 2500 block of Markham Lane in the Hyattsville area, was ordered to stay away from Taylor in a September peace order issued in District Court in Hyattsville. Three months earlier, an order that he stay away from another woman was dropped when the woman failed to appear in court.

In October and November, Abdul-Haqq, a former Navy seaman, twice violated the terms of his peace order with Taylor. He was scheduled to appear in court later this month for the October violation.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

State Of The County

HoCo Exec Ken Ulman delivered his state of the county address. Read it here.

Some excerpts:

WE ARE FACING THE POSSIBILITY OF ZERO REVENUE GROWTH IN NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET. THIS IS IN COMPARISON TO MORE THAN 8½ PERCENT AVERAGE ANNUAL REVENUE GROWTH OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME SINCE 1964, WE FACE THE PROSPECT OF A DECREASE IN INCOME TAX REVENUE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT. REVENUES FROM BOTH RECORDATION AND TRANSFER TAX ARE DOWN MORE THAN 40 PERCENT FROM THEIR PEAK JUST THREE YEARS AGO. NEW PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS WERE JUST RELEASED FOR THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY, AND AS WE EXPECTED, THEY ARE DOWN.

IN PREPARATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET, WHICH I WILL SUBMIT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL IN JUST A FEW MONTHS, I HAVE ASKED ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS TO PUT TOGETHER FLAT BUDGETS, BUT AS ANYONE WHO HAS EVER PREPARED A BUDGET KNOWS, WHETHER FOR YOUR HOUSEHOLD OR YOUR BUSINESS, A FLAT BUDGET IN THE REAL WORLD MEANS CUTS. BASIC COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS ARE STILL RISING, AFTER ALL. I HAVE ALSO ASKED DEPARTMENT HEADS TO SUBMIT TO ME BUDGETS WITH 5 PERCENT REDUCTIONS, AND ALTHOUGH WE HOPE TO AVOID DOING SO, MAKING SUCH DRASTIC CUTS MAY BE NECESSARY.

....IN ECONOMIC TIMES LIKE THESE, MORE PEOPLE TURN TO GOVERNMENT FOR SUPPORT AND SERVICES. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN EVIDENCE OF THIS, AS PARTICIPATION HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY IN OUR HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE SEEN A 66 PERCENT INCREASE IN FAMILIES RECEIVING EVICTION PREVENTION ASSISTANCE, AND A 55 PERCENT INCREASE IN ENERGY ASSISTANCE SUPPORT.

OUR TOP-RANKED AND WELL-USED LIBRARIES, TOO, HAVE GROWN MORE CROWDED, WITH A 26 PERCENT INCREASE IN VISITS AND A 15 PERCENT INCREASE IN ITEMS BORROWED.

AND HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS WITNESSED TWICE THE ENROLLMENT GROWTH PROJECTED FOR THIS YEAR, AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE DISCOVERING THE HIGH QUALITY, AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION AVAILABLE AT HCC.

He also called on the county to approve a plan for downtown Columbia:

ONE OF THE AREAS WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT THE FUTURE OF HOWARD COUNTY IS DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA. FOR TOO LONG, COLUMBIA HAS LACKED THE TYPE OF VIBRANT, WALKABLE, LIVABLE DOWNTOWN THAT WE DESERVE.

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AS WE HAVE LISTENED TO EACH OTHER AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE ENGAGED IN A CAREFUL, DELIBERATIVE PLANNING PROCESS FOR DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA, AND WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. THOUGH THERE MAY NOT BE AGREEMENT ON ALL THE DETAILS, I BELIEVE WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY.

I WANT TO SHARE A QUOTE FROM JIM ROUSE WITH YOU, AND ALTHOUGH THIS QUOTE IS FROM MARCH 10, 1964, I BELIEVE TODAY IT IS MORE TIMELY THAN EVER. ROUSE SAID:
“WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OUR CITY—IN OUR GENERATION—THE MOST LIVABLE, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE CITY IN AMERICA.”

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US. LOOKING BACK AT THE ROUSE COMPANY’S PROPOSAL TO THE COUNTY FIVE YEARS AGO AND COMPARING IT TO GENERAL GROWTH PROPERTIES’ CURRENT SUBMISSION, IT IS HARD TO MISS THE REMARKABLE IMPACT THAT THE PUBLIC DIALOGUE HAS HAD SO FAR.

THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE REFINED AND IMPROVED IN THE CURRENT SUBMISSION, BUT WITH CONTINUED COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION BEFORE THE PLANNING BOARD AND COUNTY COUNCIL, WE WILL ENSURE THE REALIZATION OF THE COMMUNITY’S VISION FOR DOWNTOWN BY PUTTING A PLAN IN PLACE THAT EMBODIES OUR HOPES, OUR IDEALS, AND OUR PRINCIPLES.

HOWEVER, I AM TROUBLED BY THE FALSE NOTION THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE UNKNOWNS ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND GGP’S FUTURE, WE SHOULD PUT THE PLANNING PROCESS ON HOLD. I COULD NOT DISAGREE MORE.

WE MUST COME TOGETHER TO APPROVE A PLAN.

UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE ONLY STRENGTHENS THE CASE FOR HAVING A COUNTY-APPROVED PLAN THAT REFLECTS COMMUNITY CONSENSUS FOR THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA. SUCH A PLAN WILL ENSURE THAT NO MATTER WHO ULTIMATELY OWNS LAND IN DOWNTOWN, ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE GUIDED BY THE COMMUNITY’S VISION.

Car 54 Where Are You?

Most of you are probably too young to remember that show. But this is no comedy.

From HoCo Police:

Howard County Police are investigating thefts from two police cars broken into overnight in which a secured, police-issued firearm was stolen. Both cars were parked in the residential Mayfield community in Elkridge.

Two officers who had marked police cars parked separately in the community reported this morning that their vehicles had been broken into. A firearm and other police property were stolen from the cars.

“This case is a top priority for us,” said Police Chief William J. McMahon. “Anyone with information is urged to call our investigators.”

In both cases, which police believe are linked, the suspect broke a window on the police car to gain access. The suspect forcefully removed a secured and locked firearm and ammunition, as well as blank police forms and a police baseball cap, from one car. The gun was properly secured in a locked rack affixed to the interior of the car. The suspect stole ammunition from the other car.

As a result of the incidents, the police department has issued a temporary prohibition on storing firearms in police vehicles, even when they are properly locked and secured. Officers will be required to bring their weapons indoors to be stored, using trigger locks and gun lockers.

“We want to evaluate the various equipment we use to secure firearms and the installation of that equipment in our vehicles,” said Chief McMahon. “While we believe this is an isolated incident, we want to be sure all weapons are stored as safely as possible.”

Police also are continuing to investigate the July theft of a computer from a police vehicle parked at police facility in the same Mayfield community. Detectives are investigating whether that theft is linked to last night’s break-ins.

Anyone with information should call police at 410-313-3200.

Town Center TV

At Columbia Talk central, we're just as likely to get our "TV" from Hulu, YouTube, or Blockbuster these days as we are through our favorite coaxial cable.

So we liked what Columbia2point0 is attempting here with its YouTube channel, as a medium, even if the content is not exactly as gripping as an hour in the life of Jack Bauer.

Bumping Into Obama

We read the WaPo story and completely missed the local hook. Thanks to the Explore Howard blog we meet the Wickers, an Oakland Mills family that got a chance to share a chili dog with the president elect at Ben's Chili Bowl in DC. In the pic, Cheron Wicker, left, and Courtney Wicker laugh after learning Obama is right behind them waiting for his lunch. (Linda Davidson / The Washington Post)

After greeting everyone at Ben’s, Obama took a seat with his dining partner, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, at a table directly behind the Wickers, Cheron Wicker said.

At one point, she said, Obama noticed that another diner had melted cheese on his chili dog, and told the cook he wanted some himself.

When he tried to explain what he wanted, Darrell Wicker suggested “shredded cheddar,” and the president-elect said that was it.

When the cook came up with a small container of the cheese, it was Darrell who handed it to Obama.

The exchange opened Darrell up to some good-natured ribbing the next day, when he told the story at his job as director of finance for Voxtec, an Annapolis high-tech company.

“For the rest of the day I was ‘Mr. Cheddar’ and ‘The Cheese Man’ and ‘cheese adviser to the president,’ ” Wicker said.

Downtown Differences

General Growth and HoCo planners are busy negotiating over the terms of the company's 30-year redevelopment plan for downtown. The ExploreHoward blog outlines some of the differences that remain, and talks with GenGrowth point man Gregory Hamm and company zoning counsel Todd Brown.

For example, the county wants the project developed in six, five-year phases, not the three, 10-year phases favored by General Growth. But Brown said the company’s plan would work better for financial and planning reasons. He did not specify those reasons.

The two sides also disagree on creating housing for a range of incomes. The county wants 15 percent of homes to be targeted to people making under 80 percent of the county’s median income, or less than $80,000, and 10 percent of homes for people making between 80 and 120 percent of the county’s median income, roughly $80,000 to $120,000.

General Growth’s proposal would have 10 percent of homes for people making under 80 percent and another 10 percent for those in the 80 to 120 percent bracket. Hamm said the county’s suggestion would limit the company’s flexibility in developing downtown....

General Growth said it had no problem with a suggestion of replacing any trees that are destroyed in Symphony Woods acre-for-acre, but suggested that already existing natural areas that are rehabilitated should count toward that replacement figure.

Assessments Down - On Average

We say on average, because that certainly wasn't the case for our home, which actually saw its assessment rise (Hmmmmmmm).

The Sun/Flier/Times ExploreHoward blog said assessments dropped an average of 7 percent in the eastern part of the county.

It is the first assessment done in the eastern part of the county since the 2006 tax year, when residential property values went up by 74 percent and commercial values increased by 15 percent, according to state figures.

This time around, residential values dropped by 7.1 percent, although commercial rose by 16.6 percent. Any increase in value is phased in over the three years while decreases are credited immediately to owners.

Barack-lock

That's gridlock, 2009 style: It's not going to be easy to get to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, according to Maryland transportation officials. Here's an edited advisory from the state:

No matter what mode of transportation attendees may be planning to use, movement in and out of Washington , D.C. , and the surrounding area on Inauguration Day is expected to be extremely challenging. The region’s transit systems will be operating at capacity, travel on the road network in and out of the Washington , D.C. , area will be severely restricted, and parking will be very limited.

In addition, those attending the events on Inauguration day should be aware of the following:

·Charter buses will be the only vehicles allowed to park within walking distance of the event.

·Due to the security restrictions in and around the National Mall, all the access roads into and around the Mall will be tightly controlled.

·Passenger car and commercial vehicle traffic will be restricted in downtown Washington , D.C.

·Many routes in the Washington region will only be open to buses and pedestrians.

·Event organizers are warning of the potential of long waits at transit stations and security checkpoints.

Special MARC commuter rail service and MTA commuter bus service will operate on Inauguration Day. The Metro system in Washington will operate a full schedule. Details are listed below:

MARC

·MARC will operate inbound trains from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and outbound trains from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

·Reserved tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold on Inauguration Day.

·Roughly 700 tickets remain on the Brunswick line.

·MARC reserved tickets on the Penn and Camden lines are sold out.

MTA Commuter Bus

·MTA commuter buses will operate from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and then from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

·9,000 tickets will be available on the day of the Inauguration for the commuter bus service.

·MTA commuter buses will operate between park and ride lots at specified locations across the state and suburban Washington Metro stations.

·Customers can then board Metro to the downtown Washington area.

·Tickets are $10 for a round trip on the bus.Metro fare will be additional at the Metro station.

·Park and Ride lots offering MTA commuter bus service include:

Frederick (Monocacy Park & Ride) to Shady Grove every 30 minutes
Columbia (Broken Land Park & Ride) to Greenbelt every 30 minutes
Scaggsville/Burtonsville to Silver Spring every 30 minutes
Annapolis to New Carrollton every 30 minutes
Kent Island to New Carrollton every 60 minutes
Prince Frederick/Dunkirk to Branch Avenue every 30 minutes
Upper Marlboro to Branch Avenue every 30 minutes
Charlotte Hall to Branch Avenue every 30 minutes
Waldorf (Blue Crabs Stadium) to Branch Avenue every 20 minutes

For more information on the commuter bus service, go to www.mtamaryland.com and click on the Inauguration icon.

WMATA / Metrorail

·Metro officials expect extremely crowded conditions on Inauguration Day.

·The U.S. Secret Service has deemed the Inauguration as a special national security event and due to security measures, the following stations will be closed on Inauguration Day:

-Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station on Metro's Green /Yellow Lines
-Smithsonian station on the Blue and Orange Lines

·Parking at all Metro facilities will be $4.00, cash only.

Those who choose to drive on Inauguration Day should be aware of the following:

·Many roads will be closed and street parking will be severely restricted by law enforcement.

·Parking close to the Mall will not be available.

·For safety reasons, SHA and the Maryland State Police will be prepared to close ramps from the Maryland ’s portion of the Capital Beltway to local roads if traffic backs up onto freeways.

·The Maryland State Police will tow immediately any abandoned or illegally parked vehicles along state and interstate routes.

For updated information on Maryland transportation plans for the 2009 Inaugural citizens can visit www.marylandtransportation.com and click on the Inauguration icon on the home page.

No "Spa" At Stevens Forest

CA is holding a public meeting at 7p on Thursday to hear thoughts on some of the proposed changes to the budget for the fiscal year covering May 1 through April, 2010.

No changes in the 68-cent per $100 assessment fee are contemplated, but various membership rates are going up plus or minus 3 percent.

One proposed change is to cut $300,000 slated to fix up the Steven Forest pool. The money was originally aimed at "installing a spa, gazebo and shade structures and upgrading the bath-house," according to budget documentation. Swansfield and Phelps Luck would get extra money to fix up their pool shells, and the entire deck is to be replaced at Huntington and Dorsey Search.

A facelift for the People Tree would be postponed as is other maintenance work for the town center plaza.

CA is proposing to set aside $450,000, to be matched by the state, to help restore the stream feeding Wilde Lake to improve the health of the lake.

School Chief Seeks Spending Hike

HoCo Schools Superintendent Sidney Cousins seeks a 0.3 percent increase not counting any extra money that might be needed to pay for salary increases -- and personnel costs are traditionally one of the county's largest expenses.

The fiscal 2010 budget preparation was underway when the dismal economic news from Wall Street broke. Simultaneously, Maryland officials were addressing revenue shortfalls and forecasts coming from the Howard County budget office were grim. But tough economic times do not lessen our obligations.

The proposal notes that the school system is projected to grow slightly, from 48,888 students now to 49,308 this fall. The budget would allow the school system to hire 44.3 more teachers, and it anticipates that the immigrant population will grow, requiring nine teachers and 5.5 paraeducators in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program.

Funds also are included to support two elementary after-school mathematics tutoring sites as well as mastery courses and after-school assistance for students who fail the required high school assessments.

See his full proposal here.

Student Caught With Gun At Homewood

From HoCo PD:

A 15-year-old male student was arrested yesterday for having a handgun on school property. The Columbia teen is a student at the Homewood Center in Howard County.

A teacher reported to school administrators in the late afternoon that the student was acting suspiciously. An administrator and school resource officer responded and found an unloaded handgun and ammunition in the student’s coat pocket.

The teen was charged as a juvenile with possessing a concealed deadly weapon and having that weapon on school property. He also was charged with resisting arrest, disturbing school operations, failing to obey a lawful order and reckless endangerment.

The teen was processed and turned over to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

The Homewood Center is described by the school system as “a county-wide alternative educational program for students in need of intensive academic and behavioral instruction and support.”

Tennis Anyone?

We saw this on Free Market via the Sun. The 600-member strong Howard County Tennis Patrons wants to build a regional tennis center at a proposed Troy Hill regional park in Elkridge.

Art Tollick, who heads the group, told the Sun the center would have 11 indoor courts, 19 outdoors, and stadium seating for 2,000 spectators -- making it one of the largest in the mid-Atlantic.

If the deal goes through, the county would lease the land to the tennis group. Tollick's group would raise construction funds and pay off the debt through fees charged to players, he said. The $200,000 already raised and about $300,000 more hoped to be raised would go for planning and engineering costs.

Catching Up On A Recent Fire

We missed this when it happened, but Lynn's Day Spa over by Princeton Sports was hit by fire over the holiday week. That's bad news for Daddy Talk who has relied for several years on Lynn Shannon for emergency gift inspiration.

According to the Sun:

The blaze occurred about 1 a.m. yesterday at 10720 Little Patuxent Parkway. No one was injured, but the fire caused about $1 million in damage, according to county fire officials. Investigators have ruled that the fire was accidental, having started on the first floor of the two-story brick commercial building, according to Howard County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Bill Mould.


Lynn told the Sun she plans to reopen.

Shannon said clients who purchased gift certificates during the holidays can redeem them at the spa's second location in Clarksville. She predicted that the Columbia spa, where about 50 people work, will return.

"We'll be up and running," Shannon said. "We're not going out of business."

Blessings

Sorry for the absence...we've been learning a thing or two about recovering from major surgery. Up to now, most of our stays in hospitals have been brief, often too much so. It seems they, or at least the insurance companies, can't wait to kick you out, no matter what sad shape you may be in. But in this case, we outstayed all our roomies and we were eager to get home. Young Talk still has some pretty nasty looking staples in his gut and it'll be a couple weeks before he can return to school, but he's up and about and he's his old cheery self again (most of the time).

For the Talk Team, that's meant for a quiet, and quietly satisfying, Christmas. There was no rushing to and fro. Very little multitasking. We just sorta unplugged a bit. We're grateful for all the well wishes and for the friends who stopped by to lift spirits(especially those bearing chicken soup and gumbo!)

So here's to a peaceful 2009. And may it be a healthy one.