Columbia Talk

Thinking big

2011-06-06T11:38:00.000-04:00

This column originally appeared in Capital Business on June 6:

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

That’s a rhetorical question we toss around the house, to inspire our kids to aim high and take chances.
Of course, the difference between being fearless and foolhardy can be small.

I was thinking about that threshold last week while attending an awards banquet for the region’s chief financial officers, hosted by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. (Capital Business was the media sponsor.)

More than other corporate officials, CFOs often have to assess risks and confront difficult choices. The good ones seem to know how to help their companies do the spectacular while avoiding the reckless.

I’m fascinated by how companies manage that push and pull. Executive engagement is often key.
At the NVTC event, Nigel Morris, one of the co-founders of the McLean financial giant Capital One, was honored for his contributions to the region’s technology business community.

“I’ve often wondered,” he said, “how much of Capital One’s success is due to luck and how much is due to being good.”

One piece of good fortune: The former Signet Bank out of Richmond was willing to take a chance on some no-name business strategists who were tinkering with ways data could be used to inform lending decisions.

Morris also credited the business acumen of his co-founding partner Richard D. Fairbank, who started in 1988 and remains the chief executive today.

Fairbank, he said, was a tireless “advocate for the best of human capital.”

And the secret for hiring the best? More than benefits and salaries, Morris said he learned that what most people want is “to be part of something bigger.”

Capital One certainly became that. When Morris retired in 2004, his start-up had become a public company valued at more than $20 billion. He now occupies himself with his family foundation in Alexandria and serves as managing partner of QED Investors, a firm that invests in companies that are trying to “solve a pain point for consumers.”

Morris is no passive bystander in the companies he assists.

“We are operators masquerading as investors,” Morris said.

Pushing them to think big, no doubt.

A graduation story

2011-06-01T10:04:00.001-04:00

This column originally appeared in Capital Business on May 30.

It’s graduation season, which explains why I found myself in the stands of the auditorium at the University of Maryland’s Baltimore County campus recently watching a parade of caps and gowns happily clutching their real or faux diplomas.

Graduations can be inspirational stuff, and this one was no different.

One candidate for a master’s degree had to overcome serious affliction to claim her parchment.

Another got hers at the ripe young age of 70.

A third crammed his work into 18 months to get it all paid by the GI Bill, all the while holding down a full-time job and adjusting to life with an infant son.

Then there was one woman who spent eight on-and-off years working toward hers.

She too had a full-time job.

With two kids to raise, and an husband who kept long and unpredictable hours.

She found her education interrupted not once, but twice, by unexpected trips to the hospital. And her pursuit of a degree in Instructional Systems Development represented a shift in career plans from her days as an undergraduate.

But she persevered.

I know a bit about her because she is my wife, Valerie.

The example she set made it difficult for me to slack off in my own work. But more than that, watching her absorb knowledge and then apply it at home or on the job taught me just how magical an educational journey can be.

I seem to know a lot of women like that. My own mother did not get her bachelor’s until after she had given birth to four boys. She steadfastly kept after it until she realized her goal of becoming a teacher.

My mom is like that. She could barely run a lap around the track when I was in high school and ended up a marathoner and triathlete, racing in competitions up and down the East Coast.

It helps to be passionate about what you are doing, as serial entrepreneur Renee Lewis reminds in her interview this week with staff writer Steven Overly.

“Without passion, perseverance is hard to find, and perseverance is key to success.”

There’s a lot a business person can learn from advice like that.

The AOL legacy

2011-04-12T07:59:00.000-04:00

This column first appeared April 11 in Capital Business, The Washington Post's weekly local business paper, and my daytime job:

It has always been something of a mystery to me why, with all the technology talent we have in the Washington area, the only breakout Internet sensation the region ever produced was AOL.

Sometimes it seems we just don’t think ambitiously enough about our endeavors in this town. I like to goad audiences every now and then: Why not be the next AOL?

Of course, I know as well as anyone there’s a cautionary side to the AOL fable. Here was a company that appeared to defy the laws of economic gravity, until one day, it didn’t.

But it is not the business model that fascinates me so. It is the imprint that company left on the local scene. Plenty of AOL alums have gone on to parent new companies and, inspire other entrepreneurs, to take risks and think big.

That legacy was on display last week when Tim O’Shaughnessy, chief executive at e-commerce upstart LivingSocial, spoke at a breakfast sponsored by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. (Capital Business was a sponsor and O’Shaughnessy is the son-in-law of Washington Post Co. Chairman Donald E. Graham.)

Seated in the audience was former AOL chairman Steve Case, who once hired O’Shaughnessy to work at Revolution Health and who was an early investor in the deal-making Web operation.

O’Shaughnessy paid homage to Case, and talked about how he wanted to do his part to nuture a new generation of tech mavericks. He promised to be “hugely supportive” of staff who want to start their own companies, even if that means they will be short-timers at LivingSocial.

Better to have them for a brief spell than not have them at all, he reasoned.

For now, employees are probably happy to stay put. The company is acquiring customers at a dizzying rate, and last week it snagged a $400 million investment that values the company at $3 billion.

Lots of people are now paper millionaires. And many are no doubt dreaming about one day starting their own Internet game-changer.

beyersd@washpost.com

Banking on the community

2011-03-10T06:49:00.000-05:00

The column originally ran in Capital Business, WaPo's new local business weekly:

By Dan Beyers
Monday, March 7, 2011; 15

Among community banks in the region, one in particular has seemed to shrug off the economic turbulence of recent years: Eagle Bancorp.

Where others reined in their ambitions, the Bethesda bank has been busy making loans, building its portfolio and racking up one record-breaking quarter after another. That kind of performance defies the current narrative on the financial industry, where supposedly the world is adjusting to the new normal.

Chairman, chief executive and president Ronald D. Paul claims the bank was just in the right place at the right time, small enough to be nimble when the downturn set in and big enough to make the sort of loans that keep law firms, medical practices, restaurants and other local businesses up and running.

I tend to be skeptical of such Goldilocks analogies, but it is hard to argue with the bank's recent run of success. The loans are performing well and institutional investors have shown a healthy appetite for EagleBank's shares. The bank, with roots in Maryland and the District, recently opened its first branch in Northern Virginia and plans several more.

I heard all about EagleBank's progress last week when Paul and Vice Chairman Robert P. Pincus invited me to a meeting of the community bank's advisory board, a group of local business leaders who serve as ambassadors to the growing bank.

One member of the panel asked Paul and Pincus whether they were worried their success might prompt a response from the larger banks.

Indeed, Pincus said, the bigger banks tend to be "kind of paralyzed" after any recessionary cycle.
"But they are going to come back with a vengeance," likely by offering better rates, he said.

EagleBank's strategy is to take advantage of the lull to ply its customers with as many products as possible, whether insurance, investments, mortgage loans or what have you, "so it is harder to leave."

"We call it stickiness," Pincus said.

And who would help the bank sell those products? Around the table sat the owner of a limousine company, a printer, a commercial real estate broker, lawyers, the leader of a nonprofit, the owner of a concierge service -- all business people who come into contact with many more business people every day, and all incentivized to make referrals.

Then it dawned on me: To be a successful community bank, it's best to tap the resources of the community.

Dead dredge

2011-03-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

ExploreHoward reports the company dredging Lake Elkhorn is packing up and going home as a legal dispute continues:

Workers for Mobile Dredging and Pumping of Chester Pa. this week began vacating the work site at the 37-acre lake instead of resuming the work after a winter hiatus. Columbia Association board chairwoman Cynthia Coyle confirmed that CA did not extend an expired contract with Mobile.

"The main thing everybody needs to understand is the lake is not finished," she said, adding that CA is committed to completing the work. The firm, which got the $5.2 million contract in September 2009, had not finished when the contract expired in January.

Mobile Dredging filed a $1 million lawsuit against CA in November in Howard County Circuit Court for breach of contract, claiming the association had failed to pay for work performed The company argued that CA had not done surveys of the sediment before work began and could not therefore measure how much was removed. The CA board had authorized spending $1.2 million more on the job in August, claiming that heavy storms in recent years had left much more mud to be removed than estimated.

Signs of the times

2011-03-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

The HoCo Council has approved new rules for signs downtown, allowing, for instance, "digital displays."

Here's a summary from the Sun:

The council unanimously approved 18 amendments, plus numerous amendments to the amendments, including creation of the term "digital displays" rather than "video boards," which was the original name for electronic signs. The rules regulate the size, placement, illumination, timing and virtually every other aspect of every type of sign imaginable. The bill uses terms like "harmonic urban streetscape" to describe a plan that would make signs "an integral part of an overall development plan."

While many residents and visitors feel the lack of signs has made locating places in Columbia far too difficult, others feel the restrictions have preserved a more pleasant appearance.

Developer Howard Hughes Corp., Columbia's master developer, wants the freedom to be innovative with a rapidly changing electronic technology, while residents and some council members fear the visual clutter they've seen for years along U.S. 40 and U.S. 1 leaching into Columbia.

The Town Center Village Board, the homeowners' group that covers the downtown area, wrote to the council Friday that while the board opposed having video boards in downtown in testimony delivered December 20, the members now feel proposed amendments make the idea "more egregious."

"Ironically, new videos that are particularly attractive could be the worst distracters" for pedestrians as well as motorists, the board's letter said.

But council Chairman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, said the members spent "an inordinate amount of hours" on the bill. "It is in much, much better shape than when it came to us," he said.

The electronic signs drew the most comment and criticism from the public, and several members praised the five pages of specific amendments controlling digital displays as compared with the original bill, which merely said that video boards are allowed in downtown.

"This five pages of criteria is the result of all of us spending more hours than we would like admit," working on it, said Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat. She offered amendments banning inflated signs in downtown, especially the "flappy guy"-style signs such as the one waving at motorists Saturday in front of the Firestone Tire store on Little Patuxent Parkway.

Ulman picks new economic development chief

2011-03-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

From HoCo pr:

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced today that Laura Neuman has been selected as the County’s new Director and CEO of the Economic Development Authority.

“I am thrilled that Laura has accepted our offer and am extremely pleased that the EDA Board agreed that Laura’s track record and experience as a technology entrepreneur is just what this County and this region needs,” said Executive Ulman. “Laura’s involvement in so many levels of business development, from entry level positions at T. Rowe Price all the way to CEO of a company that was based in Howard County before it was sold for $230 million, offers a glimpse into the drive and passion that make her the ideal leader of the Economic Development Authority.”

EDA Board Chair Peter J. Rogers, Jr., said, “Ms. Neuman stood out from a field of more than 70 applicants, and fulfilled Executive Ulman’s chief criteria for a new director for the county’s economic development efforts. Laura is a visionary leader with deep roots in the private sector. She is someone who can speak the language of the entrepreneurial community that will help create Howard County’s future.”

Highlights of Ms. Neuman’s professional career include:

· Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Maryland
· Director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center
· CEO of Matrics Inc.
· Vice-President of Business Development and Sales, CAIS Internet

“This is an extremely exciting opportunity,” said Ms. Neuman. “Howard County has so many things going for it, and economic development is at the top of that list. With Fort Meade, DISA and Cyber-Command all in our backyard, the innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities are endless. When Executive Ulman and I spoke, it was clear we have a similar vision on how the Economic Development Authority can solidify Howard County’s position as the premier business location in Maryland.”

Ms. Neuman is a Maryland native who holds a Masters in Business Administration from Loyola University and she has completed the Executive Program at Stanford Business School. Laura has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being named “Most Influential Marylander” and being selected one of The Daily Record’s “Maryland’s Top 100 Women.”

As directed by the County Code, County Executive Ulman delivered his nomination of Ms. Neuman to the EDA Board, and then the Board interviewed the candidate and voted on the Executive’s selection. Ms. Neuman was chosen after an extensive, three-month nationwide search.

Schools approve $681 m. budget request

2011-02-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

From the school board's e-letter to parents:

The Board of Education approved its fiscal year 2012 Operating Budget Request this morning. The request, in the amount of $681,171,710, will now be forwarded to the County Executive.

In approving its request, the Board cut $1.6 million from the Superintendent's Proposed Budget. The reduction was made in response to the Governor's Budget Proposal, which provides $1.6 million less in state funding than school officials estimated when preparing the Superintendent's proposal.

The request represents a $5.8 million, or a less than one percent, increase over the current year's budget.

The Board's request
- Maintains current class sizes and all current instructional program offerings.
- Adds 46.2 positions for enrollment growth, 4.5 positions to continue ongoing programs, and 1.5 positions for program enhancement; decreases 9.0 positions to support mandatory increases.
- Adds an Allied Sports Program for students with disabilities.
- Provides planning money for an elementary World Language Program.
- Covers increases of $840,000 in fixed charges such as health insurance for new employees, retirement costs, and workers' compensation.
- Adds $250,000 to upgrade the school system's Integrated Financial System.

The request does not include costs that may result from negotiations with employee bargaining units, which are currently underway.

The mall is no home for the homeless

2011-02-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

This ran in WaPo recently:

By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 17, 2011; 10:21 PM

For years, the Mall in Columbia shopping center has been a popular early morning haunt. There are power walkers, caffeine-craving commuters and, often, some of Howard County's homeless, who buy coffee if they can afford it or sometimes just stake out a spot to pass a few hours.

Now, though, the premier mall in one of the nation's richest counties has started taking a harder line against the homeless.

In recent weeks, at least two homeless people have been banned from entering the mall, and about 20 more have been told that they should stay out during the early morning, according to some homeless people and their advocates.

"I understand that the mall is private property, but it's open to the public, and when you're trying to utilize the services of some of the vendors and you're thrown out, that's almost a violation of your civil rights," said a 62-year-old woman, who said she was banned this month for what security guards said was disturbing the peace.
The mall's ownership, General Growth Properties, declined to make anyone available for questions Thursday. A spokesman issued a statement on behalf of the mall's general manager, Katie Essing.

"If anyone does not adhere to our rules and regulations," the statement read in part, "they are first issued a warning; and secondly, if their behavior does not improve, they are banned from the center."

Residents of the county's emergency winter shelter are typically dropped off each morning and picked up each evening at the mall's bus stop, which is the transit hub in Columbia. While some venture elsewhere in the county for the day, others opt to enter the mall, which counts among its tenants Nordstrom, L.L. Bean, the Apple Store and AMC movie theaters.

Many stores do not open until 10 a.m. on weekdays, but Starbucks opens at 6:30, and McDonald's and Panera Bread open at 8.

About a month ago, the mall's management contacted Grassroots Crisis Intervention, said Douglas Carl, the nonprofit group's manager of emergency and outreach homeless services. Grassroots was told that residents of the emergency shelter should not enter the shopping center before 10 a.m., Carl said.

The mall management, he said, expressed concerns about incidents involving people believed to be residents of the emergency shelter.

"I'm certainly not going to say that there are never any problems with people that stay in our shelter," Carl said, "but I have no way of knowing whether the individuals that they were referring to were in our shelters."

State Del. Elizabeth Bobo (D-Howard) said she wants to know more about how the mall is handling homeless people. "I want to be convinced that they are not being singled out, and so I am going to be pursuing this for a while," Bobo said.

Grassroots, which receives county funding, operates a 33-bed shelter for families and single women and an 18-bed shelter for single men. From late November to late March, Grassroots coordinates the cold-weather emergency program, which provides shelter at houses of worship across the county.

In the weeks since the mall contacted Grassroots, security guards have been confronting people presumed to be homeless, one man said after arriving at the mall Thursday morning from the emergency shelter.
"I tell them, 'I'm an American, and there are a hundred other Americans walking around the mall,' " said the man, neatly dressed and freshly showered, who said he regularly buys coffee at the mall's McDonald's.

A few minutes later, two security guards appeared and ordered a Washington Post reporter to leave the mall grounds. One of the guards, J. Middleton, said interviewing people at the mall without permission constituted solicitation and warned that police would charge the reporter with criminal trespassing if they were summoned.

Deborah A. Jeon of the ACLU of Maryland said that although malls are private property, owners do not have an unfettered right to ban people.

"Anybody who's committing a crime could be removed from the property," said Jeon, who helped resolve a dispute over homeless persons' access to shopping centers in Baltimore and Cecil counties. "But people who have legitimate business there and aren't doing any harm, getting a cup of coffee or talking to a friend - there's no reason the mall should be interested in removing such people."

The targets of the mall's efforts say the crackdown is aimed at far more people than the few who have been disruptive.

"The head of security at the mall has a general grievance about the homeless hanging out at the mall," said a 59-year-old man who said he has been homeless for more than two years and regularly passes time there, sometimes purchasing food with gift cards given to him.The man, who lives outdoors, said he spends most of his days at the nearby central library and goes to the mall in the morning and evening.

"I'm basically a familiar fixture to them," he said. "I do not scare people away. I don't panhandle. I don't glare at anybody."

But he said he was confronted on Feb. 2 by a security guard who told him that he had entered the mall through a restricted tunnel, which the man denied. When he went back to the mall a week later, the security guard confronted him again and told him he was trespassing. "He said I had ignored the admonition not to come to the mall after hours," the man recalled.

The mall lists 9 p.m. as its closing time, but Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, J.C. Penney, Macy's and Starbucks are open until at least 9:30 most nights. The time noted on the banning order was 21:28, or 9:28 p.m.

Sales lessons from a place called Cozumel

2011-02-21T16:48:00.001-05:00

This ran in Capital Business, The Washington Post's local business weekly, on Monday.

By Dan Beyers
Monday, February 21, 2011; 15

Zig Ziglar, the motivational sales guru, likes to remind people that it's easy to miss 100 percent of the sales you never ask for.

I thought about that aphorism last week after dropping in on the offices of DLT Solutions in Herndon.
DLT is a value-added reseller, meaning the company sells other people's stuff. In this case, DLT sells products from Google, Oracle, Symantec and technology companies to big enterprises.

It's a lucrative business. The privately held company has annual revenue north of $600 million, and it is growing, even through the downturn. Which surprised me, given that the company doesn't really make anything.

It's just a middleman.

"We prefer 'intermediary,' " corrected Rick Marcotte, the chairman, president and chief executive
.
DLT's specialty is the Byzantine world of government procurement, having spent the past 20 years building a sales organization dedicated to identifying contract opportunities and matching up vendors.

"That's our secret sauce," Marcotte said.

Marcotte primes his machine, now 235 people strong, with incentives. Everyone, whether in sales or not, gets a free trip to somewhere warm if his or her team meets its targets. The company has even named its conference rooms after former warm-weather destinations, to keep those enticements front of mind.

We met in Cozumel.

Marcotte said there are lots of ways to build a sales team. You can invest in a few big rainmakers and hope to land a few big deals. Or you can hustle.

DLT hustles.

In 2010, Marcotte said the company counted 3.5 million times it "touched" a potential customer. Those contacts yielded 92,000 potential leads. Those leads allowed the company to make $2.3 billion worth of quotes for new business, which turned into 29,000 new orders, representing $89 million in incremental new revenue for DLT's vendor partners.

Business the vendors themselves might not have gotten, because they didn't ask.

And then it hit me.

DLT does make something after all.

It manufactures sales.

Howard Who-se?

2011-02-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

We're catching up a bit here, and one of the things we've been very curious about is what the Rouse Co., er, General Gro, er, Howard Hughes Corp. plan to do with its Columbia holdings.

So far the newly spun off company is as reclusive as its billionaire namesake in his later life. But the company did post this Reuters story on its web site, which offers some insight as to who is running the show and what their interests might be.

The Howard Hughes Corp may bear the name of a legendary U.S. industrialist of yesteryear, but it is the names of the people now leading the company -- primarily hedge fund manager William Ackman -- that are pushing the shares higher, said JMP Securities analyst Jim Wilson.

"I don't think it's any more than that," he said.

Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital Management, is the chairman of Howard Hughes Corp, which owns a collection of land, undeveloped malls, a master-planned community business, mixed-use projects, and even General Growth's headquarters.

Although some of its properties produce income, the bulk of the assets are land and development projects, which are risky and difficult to value.

"It would appear to me that you have a whole series of smart investors in here, and other investors are just following where the smart investors go," Wilson said.

Pershing's pre-bankruptcy investment in General Growth of less than $200 million is now worth more than $1 billion. Through its holdings of shares, warrants and stock, Ackman's hedge fund controls about 28 percent of Howard Hughes.

Like Ackman, Howard Hughes' other top officers have stakes in the company -- 7-year warrants paid out of their own pockets. CEO David Weinreb put down $15 million and President Grant Herlitz, $2 million.

....T2 Partners, part of Tilson Funds, was among those receiving Howard Hughes shares when General Growth emerged from bankruptcy, Tilson managing partner Glenn Tongue said, declining to say whether the firm still owned the Howard Hughes shares because it hasn't filed its disclosure statement.

Tongue said the stock's value is still unknown because management has yet to present to investors its long range plans.

"There's lots and lots of assets, and lots of things to do with the assets. But you still need someone to articulate what that vision is before a firm like ours is going to try to estimate intrinsic value," Tongue said.

The company's leaders are working on that, said Weinreb, who grew up with Ackman in Chappaqua, New York. The two rekindled their friendship about 13 years ago.

"We have set our sights on getting our hands around the many opportunities that exist within our dynamic portfolio and evaluating and prioritizing those opportunities," he said.

In terms of compensation, the company appears to want its new leadership to stick around a while. Here's a press release from late last year when Weinreb was named chief executive:

The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) announced today that its Board of Directors has named David R. Weinreb to serve as the company's Chief Executive Officer. Concurrently, Grant Herlitz was named President of the company. Weinreb and Herlitz have been working for the company on a contract basis since August 2010.

William A. Ackman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Howard Hughes Corporation, stated "The Board of Directors unanimously elected David as CEO based on his proven track record and his performance over the past several months."

Mr. Ackman added, "David assembled an exceptional team of real estate professionals who quickly evaluated our assets and prepared the company to emerge as an independent entity. David and Grant form an entrepreneurial leadership team that is tailor made for our needs. Bringing them on board gives us the benefit of their knowledge of our portfolio and allows the company to focus on maximizing the value of its assets for the benefit of our shareholders."

Weinreb currently serves as Chairman and CEO of TPMC Realty Corporation, a real estate investment firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. During his 17-year career as CEO of TPMC, Weinreb specialized in acquiring and repositioning underperforming real estate assets.

Herlitz has served as Chief Financial Officer, and more recently as President of TPMC Realty Corporation, where he managed various aspects of the company's finance, investment, accounting, and leasing operations over his ten-year tenure with company.

Weinreb said, "In light of the company's world class collection of assets with extraordinary potential, I am honored to accept the leadership of The Howard Hughes Corporation. I am most excited about the birth of a new entrepreneurial organization with over 200 highly skilled and incredibly motivated employees who are committed to making The Howard Hughes Corporation ascend to its full potential. The Howard Hughes name is synonymous with a relentless pursuit of achievement. We are inspired by that legacy and are systematically assessing and strategically positioning our portfolio."

Prior to their election, Weinreb and Herlitz entered into agreements to purchase seven-year warrants for $17 million on approximately 2.7 million HHC common shares at $42.23 per share, the closing sales price for HHC common stock on November 19, 2010, the last full trading day prior to agreement on the terms of the warrants.

The warrants are designed to be illiquid and are not exercisable for six years except in the event of a change of control, termination of the executive without cause, or the separation of the executive from the company for good reason. In addition, for the first six years of the warrants' term, each executive is prohibited from selling, hedging, or otherwise reducing his net long exposure to the shares underlying the warrants.

"I have known both David and Grant for many years, and I share the confidence they have expressed in the future of the company as demonstrated by their substantial, long-term personal capital commitments," said Ackman.

Weinreb and Herlitz will assume their positions effective immediately.

Suits make this man

2011-02-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

This column originally appeared in Capital Business, the Washington Post's new local business weekly.

By Dan Beyers
Monday, January 31, 2011; 21

I bought a new suit the other day.

Actually, I bought several.

There's something about a new suit that makes a man, at least this one. That fine wool and those pinstripes make me stand up straighter, and mumble less.

It's been a while since I spent any serious time in a men's store. I blame the 1990s tech boom and the rise of business casual. To me, business casual is just an excuse for not spending a lot of money on clothes. All you need is a pressed shirt and an ironed pair of khakis, and sometimes not even that.

My fall off the clothes wagon coincided with the demise of Britches of Georgetowne. When Britches went out in 2003 so did my guy. My guy was a sharp-dressed salesman who used to call me periodically, always at just the right time, and suggest I come in to look at a "sweeeet" new suit or tie or shirt or pair of pants. He was chatty but not pushy and he was always honest in his appraisal of how I looked when I tried something on.

I never regretted a purchase.

We stayed in touch after he moved on, but it was never quite the same. His new gig was at a store far off my beaten path, in a mall, and I don't shop in malls.

Don't get me wrong, I've met perfectly agreeable salespeople in malls, but somehow I have never developed a satisfying relationship. I often get the feeling that the person helping me is looking over my shoulder for the next customer. I feel rushed.

Before Britches, I had my guy at Raleighs, another D.C. chain that faded into the sunset. My guy from Raleighs picked out my first tie. I used to buy one new tie a month, which always made the selection difficult. What color? Striped or paisley? I would study my options for what seemed like an eternity.

My guy was endlessly patient.

Sales help like that is almost as hard to find these days as a tie on a collar in the suburbs. I realized as I was getting fitted for my suits the other day that I can count on one hand the new neckwear I've bought over the past couple years.

I miss my sartorial expeditions. While I don't plan to go all Mad-Men-pocket-square on the world, I silently resolved to return soon to check out the merchandise.

Network, network, network

2011-02-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

This column originally appeared in Capital Business, the Washington Post's new local business weekly.

By Dan Beyers
Monday, February 7, 2011; 21

When building a business, it's good to get around.

If there's one thing I've learned in the nine months or so since we launched Capital Business, it is the value of networking.

There's something invigorating about mixing with other people who are trying to make a dollar. It's cathartic. I often come away with a sense we are all in this together.

Last week, I was invited to watch a Georgetown basketball game with a group of local business leaders over at the Verizon Center. Now, I happen to be a big fan of the college game, much more so than the pro version, and the contest was a promising one, against Big East rival Louisville. But I honestly didn't watch more than two minutes because I was having such a busy time gabbing in the back of our suite.

These were all successful business people, folks who didn't mind talking about a past failure or two and the lessons they learned. Many of them have been through the ups and downs of a business cycle once or twice before, and I was eager to get their take on the current economic climate.

In the main, I got the feeling people are more optimistic than they were just a few months ago. Business has stabilized.

They are exhaling a bit.

But only a bit.

More than one person told me they thought 2011 would turn out okay, but they were less sure about 2012, when the federal stimulus program would in all likelihood have run its course and potential cuts in government spending might begin to bite.

Perhaps the larger economy would pick up speed and make up for any pullback here in the nation's capital. But no one I spoke with is ready to count on that, quite yet.

Meanwhile, down on the court, a buzzer sounded as the players returned from a timeout.

The Hoyas held on to a thin lead in the game's waning moments, but could not celebrate until a final three-point try by Louisville clanged off the rim.

The margin between success and failure is often very small.

What we've been up to, starting with Wal-Mart

2011-02-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

At least one member of the Talk team has been a little preoccupied with the Washington Post's new local business weekly Capital Business. We plan to post Dan's weekly editor's note for giggles. We'll publish a few over the next few days to show what we've been up to. Here's the most recent one:

By Dan Beyers
Monday, February 14, 2011; 21

A group of Wal-Mart representatives stopped by The Washington Post last week to answer questions about the retailer's plans to open four stores in the District of Columbia.

They talked about bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the city's "grocery deserts," and about boosting neighborhood job rolls. They reminded us how D.C. residents already spend $41 million a year at Wal-Marts outside the nation's capital, so why not keep some of that money closer to home?

Why not indeed.

I have marveled for some time now at the retail phenomenon that is the Target store in Columbia Heights. My regular commute takes me by the neighborhood, and invariably someone will be walking along, lugging two or three bags of everyday whatnot. More than once, a bike has rolled by, its rider awkwardly schlepping a floor lamp or some other impossibly bulky household item.

Never underestimate the resourcefulness of the urban shopper, I think.

Except for a long time, that's precisely what a great number of retailers did.

Sentiment seems to be shifting, though. More people these days are moving into the city than out, and restaurateurs and shopkeepers are taking notice.

Wal-Mart's plans are clearly among the bolder attempted here, not just in the number of stores being proposed but in the forms they will take. The new downtown stores will be smaller than the sprawling supercenters folks are accustomed to in the hinterlands. One will be tucked into a multi-story mixed-use complex; another on top of a yet-to-be named big box.

Wal-Mart would like to begin construction on its initial store this fall. But first, it will have to overcome objections about its wage scale and address neighborhood development concerns.

The risks are not only political. There's also the question of whether it is reading the market right. If they build it, will the shoppers come? And if they do come, how long will Wal-Mart have the neighborhood to itself?
Rivals are almost certain to respond. One Wal-Mart executive noted that two grocery stores near his company's proposed sites have already announced plans to upgrade their establishments.

Coincidence?

It should be a fascinating business story to watch.

Ta-ta tot lot

2011-02-16T07:41:00.000-05:00

Who needs fresh air? We guess families are too busy with their "screens" these days. Saw this on an e-mail to the folks in River Hill:

The Columbia Association (CA) has notified us that they will remove the Mellow Wine Way Tot Lot (RH9) during the week of February 21, 2011. The work is expected to take two or three days, weather permitting. CA staff will be removing the equipment and seeding the area to prevent erosion. The area will not be mowed and will gradually revert to its original wooded state.

The elimination of this tot lot is part of CA’s efforts to control costs. CA has plans to reduce the number of totlots Columbia – wide from 171 to 136 over a period of 10 years. In 2010, the River Hill Community Association undertook efforts to notify and seek input from residents regarding the elimination of tot lots in our community. As a result of this process, the Mellow Wine Way Tot Lot was identified as the first tot lot in the village to be removed.

Name that school

2011-01-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

From HoCo schools PR:

The Cradlerock School in Columbia will return to its original configuration as an elementary school and a middle school on July 1, 2011. In accordance with Policy 6050, "Naming or Renaming of School Buildings," a committee has been formed to select names for both schools. Board of Education policy states that geographic terms will be used for school names and that duplication of geographic names for elementary, middle, high or special schools should be avoided.

Community members may suggest names for the committee's consideration. Suggestions should be submitted to Marion Miller at marion_miller@hcpss.org by Fri, Jan. 28.

HoCo Schools Chief Takes Medical Leave

2011-01-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

From ExploreHoward:

Sydney Cousin, superintendent of Howard County schools, is on indefinite medical leave, school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan said Wednesday night.

Faculty received an alert during the school day Wednesday that Cousin is on leave until his doctors approve his return to work, Caplan said.

The school system would not release details of Cousin’s condition at the request of his family, Caplan said.

During Cousin’s absence, Chief Academic Officer Linda Wise, Chief Financial Officer Raymond Brown and Chief Operating Officer Theresa Alban will carry out his day-to-day duties, reporting to Chief of Staff Mamie Perkins, Caplan said. The school system is currently without a deputy superintendent, who would normally assume Cousin’s responsibilities in such a situation.

Wise, Brown, Alban and Perkins will present Cousin’s proposed budget at the Board of Education meeting Thursday, which will go on as scheduled, starting at 8 p.m.

“We’re wishing Dr. Cousin a speedy recovery and we hope to see him back soon,” Caplan said.

More Muck For CA

2010-12-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

First the IT work bogged down, now this. The company CA hired to dredge Lake Elkhorn is now suing us for $1 million in a dispute over how much work has been done, ExploreHoward reports.

According to the suit, the homeowners' association failed to properly do the sediment surveys required before the work began and failed to determine how the mud has shifted during the work. Therefore, the company alleges that the association has no accurate way to measure how much mud has been removed. Further, the suit accused Columbia Association of refusing to discuss the issue or to respond beyond its refusal to pay for some of the work.

...Cynthia Coyle, chairwoman of the association's board, denied that the association has refused to discuss the dispute, saying that "discussion has been going on a regular basis."

The association board in August approved increasing the cost of the Elkhorn project by $1.3 million -- to $6.5 million -- after a consultant told the board that much more sediment than predicted had washed into the lake from heavy storms since an early survey taken in 2006.

The Hobbit's Glen Makeover

2010-12-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

CA is considering several options to fix up the Hobbit's Glen golf clubhouse, ranging from a basic renovation to a snazzy rebuild. The cost would range too, from $2.6 million to $7.5 million.

CA:

The Hobbit's Glen Golf Club clubhouse is more than 40 years old. It is not energy efficient and many of the major building systems (roof, HVAC, plumbing, electric, etc.) need to be replaced. In addition to these necessary renovations, the CA staff has proposed a number of enhancements.
You can find a discussion of proposals in a .pdf here.

You can tell CA what you think here.

Hooked on Nooks

2010-12-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

From the HoCo library:

On December 1, HCL began lending 60 Nook ebook readers to customers. Howard County Library President and CEO Valerie J. Gross notes, "As part of Howard County Library's educational mission, we are committed to providing both exceptional customer service and cutting-edge educational opportunities to our customers. While we have offered downloadable ebooks and audiobooks for a number of years, Nooks are simply the newest format for customers to experience books."

Howard County Library chose Barnes and Noble's Nook because it offered both local technical support and a local partnership. According to Julie Oakes, Community Relations Manager at Barnes and Noble in Ellicott City, the partnership was a welcome surprise. “When we were approached by Howard County Library, we thought, 'Why couldn't the Nook be for library use?' ” Oakes states that Howard County Library is the first and only library currently lending Nooks.

Library customers are thrilled. All 60 Nooks are currently on loan, and an additional 276 customers are waiting their turn. The Nooks come loaded with 34 titles from both popular book club selections and New York Times bestseller lists, including The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Additional titles will be continue to be added to the Nooks, which may be loaned to anyone with a Howard County Library card, and follow the same lending rules as other electronic collection materials.

Transparent Education

2010-12-09T12:43:00.003-05:00

We're doing a little housekeeping here. We told you a while ago that school board member Alan Dyer had sued over the system's policy for deleting e-mail. Well, his request for a preliminary injunction was denied, according to this Dec. 2 report in ExploreHoward.

A few days later (Dec. 6) we saw this in the school system e-letter:

School System Rated A+ for Transparency
The HCPSS has earned the highest rating for the openness and accessibility of its public records and other key data, based on a rating of its website by the Sunshine Review, a non-profit organization dedicated to state and local government transparency. The HCPSS earned the highest score of any Maryland school district.

"This rating reflects our ongoing commitment to provide needed information as quickly and easily as possible," noted Patti Caplan, Director of Public Relations for the HCPSS. "We encourage anyone who needs help finding information to contact the Public Information Office, and we’ll do our best to locate it for you."

Full details of the Sunshine Review's assessment can be found here.

Scaring Up Some Mini Golf

2010-12-09T12:23:00.002-05:00

It's not exactly Columbia, but how can we resist? We saw this on the press release wire...

Atlantic Realty Companies, Inc., one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD region, recently announced that Monster Mini Golf opened in Columbia, MD.

Monster Mini Golf is an indoor monster themed glow in the dark 18-hole miniature golf course that offers a host of family-oriented fun activities. Visitors feel the excitement and adventure of playing mini golf amidst cool monster décor with custom and animated props.

"It's a great place for the whole family," says Dan Russell, owner of the Monster Mini Golf in Columbia, MD. "Courses are challenging enough for adults to navigate, yet very playable for children. And our whacky in-house DJ entertains adults and children alike."

In addition to miniature golf, Monster Mini Golf has its own family arcade containing many of today’s most thrilling arcade games. At the end of play, game tickets can be redeemed for great prizes.
Monster Mini Golf also has two posh haunted mansion style private party rooms for Birthdays, Fundraisers, Group Field Trips, and Corporate events.

"We are thrilled to have the first Monster Mini Golf in the Washington metropolitan area," says David A. Ross, Partner, Atlantic Realty Companies, Inc., owner of the property. "We expect families from Virginia and DC as well as Maryland because it is so unique and is extremely accessible just off of I-95."

Broker for the Atlantic Realty Companies was Craig Cheney at KLNBretail Commercial Real Estate Services; Monster Mini Golf broker was Jeff Hoffman with CapStar Commercial Realty.

Atlantic Realty completed an eight million dollar renovation on the center last year, which was originally built in the 1980's. Monster Mini Golf joins Ollie's, My Organic Market, Starbucks, Maaco, Jerry's Subs & Pizza, Kids First Swim Schools, Panda Express and more. Columbia East Marketplace is located at the intersection of Rts. 1 and 175 in Columbia, MD, one-half mile from I-95.

The Minority Majority

2010-12-06T13:45:00.001-05:00

From the public schools newsletter:

The HCPSS hit a milestone this fall when for the first time the percentage of white students fell below 50 percent, meaning that the combined minority population is now in the majority. At 48.6 percent, white students still outnumber other racial/ethnic groups, but enrollment in other groups, such as Asian and Hispanic, have increased dramatically in the past decade. The percentage of Asian students has increased from 9.9 percent to 16.0 percent and Hispanic enrollment has increased from 2.0 percent to 8.3 percent since 2000.

This year, due to new federal regulations for collecting racial and ethnic data of students, the school system has information on the number of multiracial students. Students of two or more races make up 6.2 percent of the HCPSS enrollment. African American students make up 20.0 percent of the student population, while other groups, such American Indian/Alaskan and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, are well under one percent.

Cultural commentary

2010-12-02T14:33:00.003-05:00

Have any thoughts on the Columbia cultural scene? Some folks want to hear from you. Read on...

Dear Oakland Mills Community,

In September 2010, an Advisory Committee was established to develop a Cultural Master Plan for Downtown Columbia. The Committee is currently looking to hear from our Howard County residents to gain insight into Columbia’s current cultural scene and gather ideas to be included in the Cultural Master Plan for Downtown Columbia. To this end, a survey has been developed and it has been requested that our residents complete this by Friday, December 10th. To access this survey, visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/downtowncolumbiamd . Also, please feel free to share this information with our neighbors in the hopes to reach as many residents as possible.

Thank you in advance for helping spread the word so that we may create a Downtown Columbia that is reflective of our community desires.

All the best,

Dr. Calvin Ball

Council Member, District 2

http://www.co.ho.md.us/CountyCouncil/Dist2_Bio.htm

410-313-2001

Skimming from the ATM

2010-11-30T10:31:00.001-05:00

From HoCo police:

Howard County police are asking the public’s help in identifying two men who installed an illegal device on an Ellicott City ATM and then fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from victims’ accounts.

Through investigation, police believe the suspects installed and removed a skimming device on multiple dates in October at a drive-through ATM at Columbia Bank in the 4400 block of Long Gate Parkway in Ellicott City.

Skimming devices fit over existing ATM card openings and record account information without the knowledge of the user. Thieves then download the account information and fabricate fraudulent ATM cards that are then used to illegally withdraw funds from victims’ accounts.

Victims began to report unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts in mid-November. To date, police believe the suspects have successfully withdrawn more than $90,000 from victims’ accounts. Investigators believe attempts were made to access more than 100 accounts in hundreds of transactions. The fraudulent transactions have occurred throughout the Baltimore-D.C. region at various ATMs.

Police ask anyone who may recognize the suspects to call 410-313-3200. Callers may remain anonymous. If you notice anyone acting suspicious at or around an ATM, call 911.

Residents are advised to carefully inspect ATMs before using them. Customers should look for unusual equipment, wires or other devices attached to the ATM. Check the device for loose attachments that are temporarily affixed. If a machine appears as though it has been tampered with, do not scan your card, and alert your bank immediately.

If you have been a victim of fraudulent ATM activity, report it immediately to your bank. If the illegal charges were made in Howard County or if you believe your card was compromised as part of this series, please call Howard County police to file a report.

Here's a link to the pictures.

Economic Development Chief To Step Down

2010-11-15T14:33:00.000-05:00

From HoCo PR:

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced today that Richard “Dick” Story, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority for the past 17 years will retire effective March 1, 2011. Since 1993, Story has served as the CEO for the not-for-profit, quasi-private economic development corporation. He was responsible for implementing programs for business retention and expansion, new business attraction, public policy and other economic development initiatives in this strategically located County.

.....

Prior to working for Howard County, Story was the Executive Director for the Baltimore County Economic Development Commission from 1989 to 1991. He obtained his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from Towson University using G.I. Bill benefits following a tour of duty in the U.S. Army; he served as Commanding Officer of the 84th Engineering Company in Nuremberg, Germany from 1968 to1969.

Over the next few weeks, County Executive Ulman will work with the Economic Development Authority Board in searching for a new CEO. Per the Howard County code, the Executive nominates a candidate for Board approval.

General Growth's Shrinking Empire

2010-11-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

The owner of Columbia mall is steadily casting a smaller shadow over these parts. From the Sun:

General Growth Properties is selling the Gateway Overlook Shopping Center in Columbia for $90 million. The shopping center, which opened in 2007, includes tenants such as Trader Joe's, Loehmann's, Costco, Best Buy and On the Border.

The sale is part of a strategy by General Growth, which emerged from bankruptcy this week, to sell non-core assets to boost its balance sheet. The sale of the shopping center located at Routes 175 and 108 will help the company reduce about $55 million in debt and generate $35 million in proceeds.

Turning Methane to Energy

2010-11-11T09:54:00.002-05:00

From a Pepco release:

Pepco Energy Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM) and a leader in renewable energy projects, has been chosen by Howard County, Maryland, to implement a design/build construction contract at the Alpha Ridge Landfill, located near Baltimore.

The $3.9 million contract calls on Pepco Energy to design and build a new 1 MW landfill gas to energy generating plant at the Alpha Ridge Landfill on Marriottsville Road in Howard County, Maryland.

"Howard County continues to look for all possible options to save energy, money and the environment," said Evelyn Tomlin, Chief, Bureau of Environmental Services. "This Alpha Ridge Landfill gas to energy project is one of the most important green projects for Howard County."

Methane gas, which is currently burned in a flare at the landfill, will now be used as fuel for a reciprocating engine and generator to produce 1 MW of electric power. The completed project will export electric power to the local utility grid and provide power for electric vehicles used at the landfill.

"Pepco Energy is pleased to have been chosen to implement a comprehensive design/build construction contract for the Howard County Alpha Ridge Landfill," said John Huffman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pepco Energy. "The project demonstrates the county's commitment to optimizing its existing assets and to having a positive impact on the environment."

The plant will generate revenue for Howard County to help offset their landfill costs through the sale of the electricity produced. Additionally, as the plant runs full-time at full load, it will displace approximately 5,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year that would otherwise be produced from traditional fossil fuel power plants. Design and permitting are currently underway, and the plant is estimated to go into commercial operation by early 2012.

Blandair Work About To Start

2010-11-01T15:06:00.000-04:00

A contract for phase one has been awarded!

From HoCo gov:

Phase I is located on the west side of Oakland Mills Road and it will contain the following amenities: three lighted, synthetic turf multi-purpose fields; one playground; a parking lot for 270 cars; and pathways for pedestrians and cyclists that will connect into the County’s existing pathway system. A second contract will be let in November 2010 for the construction of a picnic shelter and comfort station. Phase I completion is targeted for December 2011.

...

When the entire park is completed, it will preserve the majority of existing forest, wetlands, meadows and a historic farm complex, while providing active and passive recreation experiences. This unique site will afford visitors the opportunity to learn more about the County’s agrarian roots and enjoy nature -- right in Columbia’s backyard.

The Phase I Contract Agreement was awarded to Urban N. Zink, Contractor, Inc. of Chase, Maryland.

School Board Member Sues His Board

2010-10-27T08:25:00.000-04:00

Board of Ed member Allen Dyer has filed a lawsuit against the school board over a disagreement about how the system handles e-mails, according to ExploreHoward.

Dyer said his action is in the interest of preserving public records and documents.

“I cannot accept the unauthorized destruction of public records and, therefore, I am preparing to ask the Circuit Court of Howard County to order the end of the destruction of public records by the Howard County Board of Education and its employees,” Dyer wrote in an Oct. 21 letter to school system lawyer Mark Blom informing him of his plan to take the matter to court.

No word on what if anything Dyer thinks is in those e-mails.

ExploreHoward said Dyer has gone to the courts before.

Dyer, who was elected to the school board on his fourth attempt in 2008, has sued the school board in the past on matters dealing with open meetings. After six years of litigation and appeals, that lawsuit was thrown out in 2006 when the state’s highest court denied a review of the case, in which lower courts had ruled that Dyer lacked standing. Dyer, a lawyer, also has represented other parties in lawsuits against the school board.

Since becoming a member of the board, he also has twice challenged board decisions by appealing them to the state Board of Education.

Golf Outing Gone Bad

2010-10-26T10:33:00.000-04:00

We know. We know. We haven't posted in a while, but we couldn't pass up a chance to repost this story on ExploreHoward.

Howard County Police Officers’ Association President Gregory Der criticized fellow officers for “inappropriate behavior by a few that left a lasting impression” during a fundraising event at Turf Valley on Oct. 15.

A handful of police officers and other golf tournament attendees were criticized for unruly behavior, such as excessive drinking, jumping in a golf course lake and driving a golf cart into the Turf Valley pro shop. In an e-mail sent to police officers and County Executive Kenneth Ulman, Der said civilian attendees and tournament sponsors called him and said they were “embarrassed to be associated with the police department.”

"I apologize for the lack of judgment that some of our members and golfers utilized,” he wrote.

Hands Off

2010-09-30T09:33:00.002-04:00

On Friday, a new Maryland law goes into effect requiring hands-free gear when using the phone in the car.

We saw this in a Verizon Wireless press release today.

Maryland will join the District of Columbia and seven other states (Calif., Conn., Del., Wash., N.J., N.Y., and Oregon) that require drivers to use a hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle. The new law will be a secondary offense, meaning that a driver must first commit a primary offense, such as speeding or reckless driving before they can be ticketed. The fine for a first offense is $40 and subsequent offenses will cost a driver $100.

The Stink Over Bugs

2010-09-29T10:13:00.002-04:00

The infestation of marmorated stink bugs has been a big topic at Talk Headquarters. There's been all sorts of debate over whether they should be killed or sent back outside. (Personally, we show no mercy).

Here's ExploreHoward's take.

The best line of defense, experts say, is to try to prevent the bugs from entering one’s house by sealing and caulking windows, foundation cracks and other points of entry and to be sure that window screens are in good condition. The bugs typically are more attracted to light-colored houses and the south side of buildings, she added.

“These are nuisance pests, but they’re not going to bite you,” McComas said.

WaPo's dos and don'ts.

Whole Lotta Lockdowns

2010-09-24T15:28:00.004-04:00

It must be the lingering effects of the recent full moon. Here's a few notices sent by school officials to parents today:

From Oakland Mills High:

1:40 p.m. Today at approximately 8:25 Mr. Eastham was notified by the Howard County Police that they were arriving at the school to implement a drug scan on cars in the parking lot. This action was being taken as part of a partnership agreement between the Howard County Public School and the Police Department in an effort to maintain a drug-free school environment.

Mr. Eastham immediately took the emergency action of placing the school into Lock Down. This action was taken to ensure all students remained in their assigned classroom. Approximately 50 minutes later the police concluded their drug scan and students and staff were released from classrooms and resumed their regular schedule.

I am please to inform you that no students were found to be in violation of Howard Public School System Policy. I would like to remind parents that all belongings in a student’s car are considered to be in the possession of that student. Please make sure you inspect your child’s car regularly to ensure no items that would violate school policy are stored in the vehicle.

If you have any questions regarding this action, do not hesitate to call me.

Mr. Eastham

From Long Reach High:

2:35 p.m. There was a police matter in the area and we were instructed by the Police Department to get all of the students in the building and go on a lockdown. This happened at approximately 2:05 pm., and lasted 13 minutes. All suspects were apprehended

If you have any issues or concerns, please feel free to contact the school.

Mr. David Burton
Principal

From Jeffer's Hill:

2:14 p.m. Dear parents,
Currently JHES is on lock down per the direction of the Howard County Police Department. This is due to an outside circumstance. Please remember that students may not be picked up until we are given the notice that the lock down has been lifted. Please continue to monitor your email for updates.

2:20 p.m. Thankfully we were alerted that the lock down has been lifted. This was due to a home invasion in the area. We are back to normal activity.

From Oakland Mills High, again:

3:15 p.m. Parents,

This is to inform you that this afternoon we needed to implement the emergency procedure of Lock Down under the direction of the Howard County Police Department. This was the second Lock Down that we had today. Please see a previous email regarding the first Lock Down.

At approximately 2:00 pm we were directed by the Howard County Police Department to put the school in Lock Down. This action was taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff members. A situation was occurring in the neighborhood that may have put our students at risk if we had dismissed on time.

If you have any questions regarding this action, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Frank Eastham

And Oakland Mills Middle:

3:25pOMMS Families,

This is to inform you that this afternoon we needed to implement the emergency procedure of Lock Down under the direction of the Howard County Police Department.

At approximately 2:00 pm, the school implemented the Lock Down procedure. This action was taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff members. A situation was occurring in the neighborhood that may have put our students and staff at risk.

Our students and staff promptly responded to this situation. Student behavior during the Lock Down was commendable.

If you have any questions regarding this action, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Shiney Ann John
Principal

TrafficFest

2010-09-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

A word of warning from HoCo PD:

On Saturday, Sept. 25, motorists are advised to expect traffic congestion and delays in the area of Merriweather Post Pavilion and The Mall in Columbia due to the Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which is expected to draw more than 30,000 concertgoers.

Starting at 10 a.m., police will be directing traffic on Little Patuxent Parkway, Brokenland Parkway, South Entrance Road and Hickory Ridge Road. Delays are also expected on U.S. 29. Police will be using message boards and additional signage to assist motorists.

Little Patuxent Parkway from Brokenland Parkway to South Entrance Road may be closed temporarily at times as a traffic control measure.

Full access to Town Center businesses, including The Mall in Columbia and
Toby’s Dinner Theatre, will be available.

Motorists should plan ahead and allow extra travel time.

A "Patch" For Us

2010-09-22T10:11:00.000-04:00

AOL is finally bringing one of its Patch local news sites to our neighborhood. We learned this from a Twitter follower by the name of David Greisman.

Columbia Patch will go live on October 15! In the meantime, if you've got story ideas for before then or after then, please drop me a line.

Bringing The Broadband

2010-09-21T09:24:00.000-04:00

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

HoCo won a piece of a federal stimulus grant to bring more broadband to the state, after an earlier application was rejected. We're a little late with this news, but we enjoyed Frank Hecker's analysis (essentially, the money is nice but the county's share is probably no more than $10 million plus a required $2 million match).

Here's the county's Sept. 17 release:

Today Howard County, in partnership with the State of Maryland and the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, received a $115.3 million broadband stimulus award (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program) from the Department of Commerce under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This award will be used to directly connect over 1,000 community anchor institutions across the state including 458 K-12 schools, 21 community colleges and institutions of higher learning, 262 public safety agencies, 44 libraries and 221 other government facilities. In addition, it is anticipated that the award will save or create over 1,700 jobs.

“Not only will this investment interconnect 715 community anchor institutions throughout Central Maryland and create jobs, it will also open up countless economic development opportunities including public and private partnerships and reach areas that are currently unserved or underserved by broadband,” said County Executive Ulman. “This grant is going to provide us with the critical infrastructure we will need for the future.”

Of the $115.3 million received by the state, $72 million will be directed to Howard County (a grant sub-recipient) who will be chairing and managing the creation of the first ever Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN), on behalf of 10 government jurisdictions across Central Maryland. ICBN member jurisdictions are: Anne Arundel County, City of Annapolis, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Carroll County, Frederick County, Harford County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. The ICBN will directly connect the community anchor institutions, interconnect government networks, provide enhanced public safety interoperability, allow for limitless educational opportunities, high-speed internet, and data and resource sharing capabilities. It is also estimated that once complete, the ICBN will provide local governments more than $28 million in annual cost savings.

President of Columbia Telecommunications Corporation Joanne Hovis commented on this significant award saying, “this grant would not have been possible without the leadership of County Executive Ulman and the hard work of his staff over the last 18 months. This was a highly competitive grant, and they deserve the credit for making this possible.”

Free Trees

2010-09-20T09:01:00.000-04:00

We received this from Oakland Mills High:

Howard County is offering free trees as part of its "Plant (It) Green" program by launching "2010 MORE Trees in 2010." Each County residence can sign up for one free native tree. Registration will remain open until all trees have been reserved.

Each County residence that did not receive a free tree in the spring giveaway is entitled to choose one free native tree: a Red Maple (Acer rubrum), a Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), an Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), or a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). Trees will be provided in two- to five-gallon containers and may measure five feet in height. Tree selections are subject to availability.

Details and order forms are available online at livegreenhoward.com and must be completed and submitted by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 22.

Trees will be available for pickup only by residents on Friday, October 1, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or Saturday, October 2, 7:00 a.m. to noon. There are two pickup sites (in West Friendship and Columbia) from which a resident may select when he/she completes an order form. The County may redirect residents to a new pickup site should traffic flow concerns arise.

Residents should consult with their homeowners' or neighborhood associations to determine any planting restrictions. The County is unable to guarantee the survivability of the free trees.

Body Discovered At Long Reach High

2010-09-15T12:59:00.000-04:00

Police say there's no evidence of foul play, according to ExploreHoward blog.

From principal's note to school community:

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We have some sad news to share with you relating to a tragic incident which was discovered at Long Reach High School on the morning of September 15, 2010. As many of you have probably heard, a deceased person was found on school property by a community member. The police are continuing to investigate this incident; no other information has been made available to us at this time.

Throughout the day, school administrators, Student Services staff (school counselors, school psychologist, and health assistant/nurse), and members of the school system’s Crisis Team were in the building and available to provide guidance and support for students. Many students were already aware that something had occurred at Long Reach this morning and had questions about what happened, so we wanted to make sure that we addressed their concerns as soon as possible. The Long Reach High School Student Services staff members will be available to provide ongoing support throughout the rest of this week for students.

The loss of life of a person is certainly a shock and we are never quite prepared for a situation such as this. When we hear news like this, many of us feel different emotions. Some of the emotions a parent or student may have are fear, sadness, anger, confusion and guilt, which are all normal. Young people often react differently from an adult to news such as this. It is important that you deal honestly and directly with your child’s questions and give him or her the opportunity to express his/her feelings. Please feel free to contact an Administrator or your child’s school counselor if you have questions or need additional information.

Sincerely,

David P Burton

Principal

Council Race In Brief

2010-09-15T10:14:00.000-04:00

Howard County Council member Mary Kay Sigaty bested Democrat Alan Klein in the only contested council primary Tuesday.

ExploreHoward has the full rundown.

Weekend Bargains

2010-09-10T15:08:00.000-04:00

From the River Hill village association:

Come out and find your treasures at the River Hill Community Yard sale tomorrow [Sept. 11]from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Red balloons will mark the following participating streets: River Run, Autumn Wind Circle, Whistling Winds Walk, Flowering Water Trail, Folded Leaf Square, Enchanted Key Gate, Distant Thunder Trail, Morning Light Trail, Grateful Heart Gate, Mellow Twilight Court, Wild Orange Gate, Lilac Bush Lane, Western Sea Run, Blue Point Court, Tender Mist Mews, Gentle Call, Garden Walk, Trumpet Sound Court, Guliford Road, Indian Summer Drive, Bright Flow Muse, Rippling Water Walk, Jeweled Hand Circle, Laurel Leaves Lane, Countless Star Run, Gleaming Sand Chase, Nodding Night Court, Floating Clouds Path and Linden Lithicum.

Police Charge Man in Jeffers Hill Fire, Death

2010-09-08T10:01:00.005-04:00

(Update: Police charge man with killing his ex-wife.)

From HoCo PD:

Howard County police have charged a Columbia man with killing his ex-wife and setting her apartment on fire. Damon Willie White, 34, of 6007 Majors Lane, has been charged in an arrest warrant with murder and arson. He was injured in the incident and is currently being guarded by police at Shock Trauma. He remains in critical but stable condition and will be taken into police custody when doctors clear him for release from the hospital.

Investigators believe the victim, 35-year-old Thelma Wynn, was stabbed to death by White in a domestic assault. Detectives learned White has been temporarily staying in the residence. Police and fire investigators also believe White intentionally set fire to the apartment after stabbing Wynn. Investigators found a knife in the apartment that they are analyzing as the possible murder weapon.

Wynn had four children who lived in the residence. The two girls, ages 17 and 15, and two boys, ages 11 and 6, are in the custody of family members. They were not home at the time of the incident.

Fire and rescue personnel responded to Majors Lane at 2:42 p.m. Sept. 7 for a 911 call from a neighbor reporting a fire. Investigators found White injured and Wynn deceased inside the apartment.

The fire was contained within the apartment where Wynn and White resided. No one else was injured in the incident.

(Original post)

HoCo police suspect something else killed a mother of four in an apartment fire in the 6000 block of Majors Lane shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to this WBAL report. A second person, a man, was found inside critically injured.

Police said they don't believe the fire caused the woman's death. Officials said both victims appeared to have injuries that were unrelated to the fire, but it's too early to tell if it was a domestic incident or if a third party injured the couple.

"We don't think that their injuries or the death of this woman were caused by the fire. It looks like there was another cause which we're still working to determine," said said Sherry Llewellyn of the Howard County Police Department.

The man was taken to Shock Trauma in critical condition.

Both victims appeared to be in their 30s and lived at the apartment, police said. Neither has been identified.

Friends told 11 News that the woman was the mother of two girls and two boys. The children range in age from 6 and 17.

"All of them are very good kids -- well-mannered, well-behaved. I wish I had the space, and I'd take them in myself, because she was an exceptional mom to those kids. To know those kids, their mom is gone now, it's heart-wrenching," said neighbor Maureen Burris.

Wilde Lake Lockdown

2010-09-07T11:51:00.000-04:00

From an e-mail notice to the Wilde Lake High community:

Good morning Wilde Lake Nation,

In an effort to keep the Wilde Lake community updated, I want to share that today we received a call from the area Police Department, informing us of two men who had been involved in disruptive actives in the community. As a precaution,we went on a modified lockdown for approximately 1 hour. At no time during this hour were students or staff in any danger. After receiving updated information from the police, the modified lockdown was lifted with nothing out of the ordinary occurring. As always thank you for your support.

Restia Whitaker

Dedging Up A Detour

2010-09-07T11:48:00.002-04:00

The Oakland Mills Village folks sent out this piece of advice:

Due to the dredging of Lake Kittamaqundi there is currently a temporary mulch path on the Lake Kittamaqundi side of the Route 29 footbridge. Ample signage is in place to direct people to the mulch path (which is a detour).

Iron Girl Gridlock

2010-08-20T07:22:00.000-04:00

The Iron Girl triathlon is coming to town this Sunday at Centennial Park.

From HoCo PD:

Major traffic delays are expected on Sunday on Md. 108 and surrounding roads for the Aflac Iron Girl Triathlon. Motorists are advised to use caution when sharing the roads with an anticipated 2,000 participants.

From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Md. 108 will be closed to westbound traffic between Ten Mills Road and Centennial Lane. Southbound Centennial Lane from the park entrance to Md. 108 will also be closed.

Police officers will be posted at various locations throughout residential roads on the bicycle course to direct motorists or to temporary close roads to ensure the safety of the bicyclists.

Delays are anticipated along the following roadways, where participants will be given the right of way:

• Homewood Road
• Folly Quarter Road
• Carroll Mill Road
• Mt. Albert Road
• Cantor Lane
• Jumpers Hill Road
• Triadelphia Road

Motorists are advised to allow extra time or plan alternate routes and are reminded to slow down and use caution when sharing the road with bicyclists.

Mall-aise?

2010-08-19T13:28:00.001-04:00

We periodically check the listings of who's coming to the Mall in Columbia, and found this notice posted back in July:

* Vera Bradley: Now Open!
* CJ Watch & Jewelry Repair: Now Open!
* Best Buy Mobile: Now Open!
* Coldwater Creek: Opening October 2010 on the lower level, Nordstrom Wing

From our new perch at Capital Business we get touts for all kinds of retail openings around the region, leaving us to wonder what effect if any General Growth's trip through the bankruptcy courts is having on its ability to attract fresh concepts.

Here's lists of new store openings at Montgomery Mall and Tysons Corner. And the Tysons list doesn't include the recent announcement that an American Girl store is headed Fairfax way in 2011.

Policing the Pathways

2010-08-18T07:36:00.000-04:00

From HoCo police:

Howard County police have charged a Columbia teen for inappropriately touching a woman on an Oakland Mills pathway and are asking anyone who may have been a victim to come forward.

The teen was charged on Aug. 13 as a juvenile with fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault for an incident that occurred on June 30 in Oakland Mills.

Police are investigating three additional cases in which women were inappropriately touched while walking on pathways in that vicinity in April and July. Detectives are working to determine if the same suspect may have been involved.

In the April case, the suspect approached a woman on a Sunday afternoon. In the other cases, the suspect approached the women on weekday mornings. The suspect engaged the women in conversation, then began to make lewd comments and touched the women inappropriately. In all of the cases reported to police, the women fled on foot to safety.

In an attempt to identify the suspect, on Aug. 4, an undercover female officer was stationed on a pathway in the area where the crimes occurred. The teen approached the plainclothes officer and solicited her for prostitution. He was subsequently charged. Through investigation, police then linked the suspect to the June 30 incident.

The teen is described as a black male; 6 feet, 2 inches tall; 160 pounds; with brown hair, brown eyes, a medium complexion and short hair. Anyone who may have been a victim or who has information is asked to call police at 410-313-STOP. Callers may remain anonymous.

Police have recently increased patrols in this area of Columbia. As a result, patrol officers also made a quick arrest in an armed street robbery Saturday.

Police responded to a footbridge over U.S. 29 on Saturday for a reported armed street robbery. Two victims were sitting on a pathway near Lake Kittamaqundi when two unknown suspects approached them, displayed a gun and stole a backpack and mp3 player. The suspects fled on the footbridge over U.S. 29 toward Stevens Forest. The victims called police and provided a description of the suspects. Patrol officers in the area responded quickly and located two suspects matching the description provided by the victims. The suspects led police on a foot pursuit and were apprehended in the 5600 block of Stevens Forest Road. The suspects were in possession of the backpack and mp3 player that were reported stolen moments earlier.

Gehiji S. Thomas, 19, of 3005 Belmont Avenue in Baltimore, and Christian G. Graham, 16, of 9426 Farewell Road in Columbia (charged as an adult), are facing two counts of armed robbery, two counts of robbery, using a handgun in the commission of a felony, two counts of first- and second-degree assault, three counts of theft, two counts of reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm by a person under age 21.

Thomas and Graham are being held at Howard County Detention Center. Thomas is being held without bond, and Graham is being held on $50,000 bond.

Six Arrested For Car Thefts

2010-08-18T07:31:00.001-04:00

UPDATE...The police department corrected some of the dates and other details from an earlier release, and we have updated.

From HoCo police:

Howard County police have charged six people for a series of five motor vehicle thefts in Columbia over the summer.

The following cases have been closed:

• A June 16 theft of a 2004 Ford F150 from the 8400 block of Greystone Lane in Columbia
• A June 21 theft of a 1997 Dodge Caravan from the 8700 block of Cloudleap Court in Columbia
• A June 24 theft of a 2000 Dodge Caravan from the 6000 block of Majors Lane in Columbia
• A June 26 theft of a 2008 Infiniti M35 from the 6300 block of Gray Sea Way in Columbia
• An Aug. 1 theft of a 1998 Buick Regal from the 5700 block of Stevens Forest Road in Columbia

In all of the cases, police recovered the stolen vehicles. Police tied the suspects to the cases using evidence found in the recovered stolen vehicles. Police also linked the suspects to the thefts after they located property that had been stolen from the cars and then pawned.

In the June 21 case, shortly after the 1997 Dodge Caravan was stolen, a patrol officer spotted the vehicle in Columbia and initiated a traffic stop. The driver failed to stop and led police on a pursuit that ended when the driver of the stolen vehicle collided with a tree on a ramp from U.S. 29 onto Md. 175 and both the driver and passenger fled on foot. They were later apprehended by police.

Joseph Brandon Davis, 21, of 649 Charraway Road in Baltimore
• June 16 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, unauthorized removal of property, presence in a vehicle with the intent to commit theft and theft
• June 21 theft: charged with two counts of motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft, two counts of unauthorized removal of property, two counts of presence in a vehicle with the intent to commit theft, four counts of malicious destruction of property, fleeing and eluding police in a vehicle, fleeing and eluding police on foot and driving without a license
• June 26 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft
• Arrested Aug. 17 and being held at Howard County Detention Center on no bond

Stephen Charles Diggs, 19, of 5971 Mill Race Court in Columbia
• June 21 and June 24 thefts: charged with two counts of motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft, two counts of unauthorized removal of property, two counts of presence in a vehicle with the intent to commit theft, four counts of malicious destruction of property, fleeing and eluding police in a vehicle, fleeing and eluding police on foot and driving without a license
• June 26 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, three counts of theft, three counts of conspiracy to commit theft, unauthorized removal of property and conspiracy to commit unauthorized removal of property)
• Arrested Aug. 10 and being held at Howard County Detention Center on $33,500 bond

Ashley Nicole Collins, 18, of 6516 Overheart Lane in Columbia
• June 16 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, unauthorized removal of property, presence in a vehicle with the intent to commit theft and theft
• Arrested June 24 and released the same day after posting $3,000 bond

Andy Lymonne Connely, 18, of 5792 Stevens Forest Road in Columbia
• Aug. 1 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft.
• Arrested Aug. 13 and being held at Howard County Detention Center on $6,000 bond

Heather Gwen Ladd, 31, of 311 South Smallwood Street in Baltimore
• Wanted for June 26 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft
• Police are attempting to locate Ladd. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call 410-313-STOP. Callers may remain anonymous.

Diangelo Wayne Smith, 19, of 6318 Red Haven Road in Columbia
• June 26 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft
• Aug. 1 theft: charged with motor vehicle theft, conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, two counts of theft and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft
• Arrested Aug. 12 and released the same day after posting $30,000 bond.

School Supplying

2010-08-16T04:30:00.002-04:00

We're happy to pass on from the nonprofit group twentyfivefortyfive (twentyfivefortyfive is an initiative of The Columbia Foundation, which serves as a catalyst for building a more caring, creative and effective community in Howard County by encouraging philanthropy among those between the ages of 25 - 45.):

twentyfivefortyfive is hosting a "drive-by" giving event on Sunday, August 22 with Prepare for Success, a local organization that provides backpacks and school supplies to thousands of Howard County school children in need each year. Your donation of school supplies will go directly to local students and help them get off on the right foot this school year.

It's easy: while you're out shopping for school supplies for your children or even during your weekly grocery run, please consider picking up a few extra items from the list below. And, it's a great opportunity to get your kids involved in giving as well by helping to pick out school supplies for others while shopping for their own!

Then all you have to do is swing by the Columbia Foundation headquarters (10227 Wincopin Circle in Columbia) on Sunday, August 22 between Noon and 3 p.m. to drop them off -- we'll take care of the rest.

Thanks for your interest in twentyfivefortyfive and we hope to see you on the 22nd!

CDR/JF

Supplies needed:

· Backpacks
· 3-hole lined paper
· Highlighters
· Subject dividers
· Pink erasers
· Colored pencils
· Marble composition books
· Sticky notes - 3 x 3
· Pocket folders
· Blunt scissors
· Zippered pencil pouches
· Magic markers
· 2" 3-ring binders
· Glue sticks
· 12" rulers
· #2 pencils
· 1-subject spiral notebooks
· crayons

Dredging Up The Numbers

2010-08-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

How much is a lake worth?

The Sun has a thorough story on what's up with all the dredging, and why it seems to be taking so looooong. Seems folks miscalculated the amount of sediment flowing into our manmade lakes. And guess what? Even when it is done we will still be stuck with the algae!

Measurements this year revealed higher-than-expected sediment flows into Elkhorn and Kittamaqundi over the past four years that would raise the cost at least $3.4 million above the $11.4 million estimate for dredging both lakes, CA officials were to report to the association board Thursday night. Estimates on a smaller dredge project at Wilde Lake are running $700,000 under the $2.2 million budgeted. Preparations for dredging at Kittamaqundi and Wilde Lake are to begin next month, officials said.

"I appreciate they're going to be troubled by the additional money," said Dennis Mattey, the Columbia Association's director of construction.

The board can shift funding from the Wilde Lake project to the two larger lakes; other possible options are to reduce the amount of sediment removed or find more money. Since the biggest single expense for dredging is setting up the equipment staging area, Mattey said it might make sense to go ahead despite the costs. Removal of each added inch of sediment will cost about $100,000, according to a consultant, who said the muck is deepening at a rate of nearly 3.5 inches per year in Lake Elkhorn and 4.5 inches a year in Lake Kittamaqundi.

"I also don't believe it's going to be cheaper in five or 10 years to remove the sediment," Mattey said.

The Columbia Association had earlier sought to limit costs by dredging about 80 percent of the sediment that has accumulated in Lake Elkhorn since it was built in 1974. In some areas, water once 7 feet deep had filled to less than 2 feet, according to the consultant's reports.

Even after dredging, the water will be no more than 5 feet deep. No dredging is to occur in the lake's broad center section, behind the Swan Point townhouse development. Most of the work is taking place at the narrower eastern end of the lake, though the dock cove, the pond below the dam and the nearly fully silted pond behind the lake's source stream still must be dredged.

Engineers and consultants said that since a storm in June 2006 dropped 10 inches of rain, sediment has flowed into Lake Elkhorn at a rate 47 percent higher than expected. Estimates were based on calmer weather from 2001 to 2006. During the past four years, sediment flow into Lake Kittamaqundi was 97 percent higher than CA estimates. Wilde Lake, the smallest of the three, was 23 percent higher. Wilde Lake has been dredged several times, which has reduced sediment buildup.

For Elkhorn, that translates into an added 22,000 cubic yards of mud, and 37,000 cubic yards more accumulated in Lake Kittamaqundi.

Meanwhile, Elkhorn dredging has proceeded fitfully, with the dredge stopped and silent almost as often as it is operating. McHugh said the dredge scoops up sediment and pumps it to a receiving tank faster than it can be pressed dry and disposed of, which forces periodic shutdowns.

Charles Grey, the Columbia Association's project manager for dredging, expressed frustration that work has not proceeded more quickly, but the dredge must stop each time the green tank fills with sludge. Once dried and expelled, a large front-end loader lifts it into trucks. Then the barge, which uses a hydraulic device to chew and loosen the sediment before pumping it through long plastic pipes to the dredge site, can resume work. Work stopped on much of Aug. 6, for example, because of an electrical problem on the dredge, Grey said, and a hydraulic breakdown Monday delayed work again.

A Road Paved With Stimulus $$$

2010-08-10T07:00:00.005-04:00

From HoCoGov:

A Howard County construction project to mill and resurface a section of Little Patuxent Parkway between Maryland Route 175 and Columbia Road in Columbia is scheduled to begin on or about Sunday,August 15. Weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed by Tuesday, August 31.

This section of Little Patuxent Parkway is eligible and approved for repaving under the federally funded American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed by President Obama in February 2009. A portion of ARRA funds received by the Maryland Department of Transportation is reserved for distribution to county governments for Federal Aid eligible projects on county-maintained roads.

Construction will take place from 7 p.m. through 5 a.m. from Sunday, August 15, through Tuesday, August 31. Flagging operations will be in place to direct traffic as needed and variable message signs will be in place to advise motorists of the construction.
For questions or concerns about Capital Project H-2008, contact Lisa Brightwell, Public Works Customer Service, at 410-313-3440, or by e-mail to publicworks@howardcountymd.gov.

WL's $1 million home

2010-08-09T15:19:00.000-04:00

OK, not quite $1 million but in this market, close enough.

The Sun said the renovated manse near the WL boathouse sold for $928,000.

10026 Hyla Brook Road sits on .565 acres and has 7,112 sq ft of living space. The French country-style home has 5 bedrooms and 5 ½ bathrooms. The 2-story home was originally built in 1800 and was fully gutted and remodeled in 2004.

The expanded home now features 4 fireplaces, hardwood floors, a solarium, full, finished basement and an attached, 3-car garage.

Marketing director leaves CA

2010-08-09T15:12:00.000-04:00

Steven Sattler is stepping down as CA's director of communications and marketing, according to the ExploreHoward blog.

Sattler had been employed by the association, the nonprofit that owns and operates Columbia’s recreational facilities, since January 2007. His resignation was effective July 16, according to CA staff.

One of the major projects that fell under Sattler’s purview was the development and launch of a Customer Service System, information management software under development since 2006 and intended to be launched earlier this summer after multiple delays.

The $2.7 million system, which was supposed to be launched in late June, was delayed indefinitely after a testing period uncovered major deficiencies in the software, mainly in financial accounting, according to Sattler and CA President Phillip Nelson.

My Secret America

2010-07-29T11:29:00.000-04:00

Here's my ed note in Capital Business this week:

I read with special interest last week The Washington Post's three-part series on "Top Secret America" because what the paper described as "the capital of an alternative geography of the United States" is my home.

I reside in Columbia, near Fort Meade and the National Security Agency north of Washington. My father was one of those people who never talked about what he did, and he was hardly alone. It didn't really register with me until I went off to college that I seemed to know a lot of mathematicians and engineers and people who wore badges on chains around their necks.

I think I began to get a sense of our alternative geography when I spent a couple summers delivering flowers for a local shop. My trips would invariably take me to many of Columbia's nondescript buildings, some without posted addresses. The local maps were not reliable, so I learned to cast about for delis, bars and barber shops to ask for directions. Sometimes I guessed where I needed to go by spotting a security guard -- who in those pre-Sept. 11 days always seemed out of place in the sleepy suburbs.

True story: As a reporter, I also once spent a day at the site of what would become the National Business Park across the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from the NSA. I was there to do a story on a fellow who was hellbent on saving frogs from the bulldozer. He would spend hours collecting the amphibians so he could move them to safer wetlands elsewhere. His efforts didn't seem nearly as creepy as the van idling nearby, watching us.

It wasn't until March 9, 1991, that the NSA, after 37 years, erected a sign formally acknowledging its presence in our parts. I know: I wrote the story.

Friends often complain to me that Columbia seems so bland, and reflecting on it, perhaps that's how Top Secret America likes it. But to live there is to know better. It's hard to hide one's private passions, as many merchants will tell you. Just hang around the wine racks or the Nordstrom shoe department. I once did a story on a local landmark, an outdoor biker bar called Daniels that sits just yards off Route 1. It was late afternoon and many of the stools were filled with guys and gals in leather, their gleaming Harleys parked nearby. Several, it turned out, worked for one of the contractors in the area or the "Defense Department."

It's a special club, the national security industrial complex. During the telecom boom, I knew acquaintances who jumped from government service to funny-named start-ups specializing in fiber optic gadgetry. Many of them made out handsomely, like they saw the future before the rest of us.

Wilde Lake's Village

2010-07-28T12:11:00.000-04:00

Kimco's plan is out. What say CA, the Interfaith Center and the Howard County school system? Aren't they key partners in whatever happens?

Will there be a village in the new town center?

Sounds like a mission for a community planner, and lo and behold CA apparently has hired one, a professional planner by the name of Jane Dembner, according to this story in the Flier.

As the first village to have its shopping center slated for a major overhaul, Wilde Lake leaders were quick to welcome Dembner’s attention.

“As soon as she came on board we asked her to come out and listen,” Wilde Lake village manager Bernice Kish said.

Although parts of the redevelopment process at the Wilde Lake center, owned by Kimco Realty Corp., already are underway, village board members have expressed a desire to craft a more widespread master plan for the entire community, addressing traffic and roadways, connections within the area and other factors, Kish said.

“She’s going to be invaluable to us when we look at doing that kind of encompassing plan,” Kish said of Dembner. “It will be a true master plan for the entire area, not just the village center.”

One thing that’s clear to Dembner about Columbia is the “great pride” she sees residents take in their community.

“I do think it’s special here. We all have a stake in it. I know this as a resident.”

Where's the Wow?

2010-07-27T12:31:00.000-04:00

The owner of the Wilde Lake shopping center has offered its vision for remaking the village square, according to the ExploreHoward blog.

Two-hundred apartments, an open courtyard, a 27,000-square-foot food store and a 14,000-square-foot stand-alone drug store are among the elements planned for the future of the Wilde Lake Village Center, according to plans outlined for residents Thursday night.

The proposal, on which planners hope to break ground in summer 2012, was described to residents by Geoff Glazer, Kimco Realty Corp.'s vice president of development for the mid-Atlantic region, as a "balancing act of what we can do, feasibly, what the market will let us do and what we've heard from you about what you think is important as a community."

The redevelopment of Wilde Lake — Columbia's first village shopping center, built in 1967 — has been in the works for several years by Kimco, the company that owns the majority of commercial space at the center.

Reaction seemed to be mixed. And then there was this comment:

Though pleased with the plans, resident Michael Davis asked Kimco to incorporate a "wow factor" to distinguish the center as "the birthplace of Columbia."

Obstacle Course

2010-07-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

We've seen a lot of schemes in HoCo to slow down traffic -- circles, speed bumps, speed humps, re-striping roads, rumble strips, increased patrols, stop lights -- that never seem to quite do the trick. But this little experiment in our neighborhood appears to actually be having an effect, and gradually drivers are getting the idea that they are SUPPOSED TO STOP when pedestrians are in the crosswalk.

In our tests, motorists stop about 65 percent of the time. But if we catch the driver's eye, the percentage goes higher. Regardless, the combination of narrower lanes and that little sign in the middle of the road does force many drivers to slow down.

Shortly after the obstacle course went up, we witnessed one driver who tried to fly through the intersection only to clip the curb, bash her rim and pop her tire.

Oops.

Weekend Beats

2010-07-23T07:30:00.000-04:00

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? We promised to pass this on:

Border Busting World Music Highlights International Day Festival on July 24^th with the Guy Mendilow Band

The Guy Mendilow Band delivers its dynamic blend of Israeli and Sephardi tempered with Brazilian street beats and blues at Columbia’s International Day Festival at the Town Center Lakefront in Columbia, MD. The free festival runs from 12pm-10pm on July 24^th and features live music, international food, crafts and children's activities. More information can be found at www.guymendilow.com and www.columbiaassociation.com.

Blurring boundaries and connecting sounds, stories, rhythms and roots is central to the mission inspiring the Guy Mendilow Band. Israeli peace songs and ancient Sephardi canticas meet Bahian street beats and blues. Drawing from a life lived in Israel, South Africa and Brazil, where musical collaboration cuts through ancient conflict, Israeli born musician Guy Mendilow is sowing the seeds of peace with music.

“The buoyant, life-affirming, sweetly acoustic music of Israeli-born Mendilow incorporates influences from across the Middle East, South America and beyond. It's a folk music of hope and affirmation, sophisticated in its delivery but easily accessible to listeners anywhere. ” — Chicago Tribune

It’s no surprise, then, that the Guy Mendilow Band includes world class musicians from Israel, Argentina, Japan and the United States. Or to find the group partnering with international peacemaking organizations, such as Seeds of Peace, whose work with Palestinian and Israeli youth and adult educators helps forge the personal relationships so critical to communication and reconciliation.

The Guy Mendilow Band challenges your concept of borders as you listen to Sala’am, an Israeli anthem used during the peace marches, that subtly introduces Brazilian elements in its arrangement and whose warm harmonies nod to Crosby, Stills & Nash. Or take the tastefully modern setting of the ancient Sephardi song Durme Durme, sung in that melting pot language of Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew, created from the wanderings of the ancient Jews from Spain to the Mediterranean and Middle East. Mendilow pushes the sonic envelope by taking ancient instruments in new directions, though the band does this whimsically, with an almost adamant refusal to take itself too seriously. For instance, in Whistler’s Brother, Mendilow’s award-winning overtone singing playfully duels with a flute. Or Blues for Dino, a tongue-in-cheek slide berimbau (musical bow and arrow) blues number — a tip of the hat to Brazilian berimbau hero Dino Nascimento. The band’s fusion stems from a life-long cultural mix infusing most aspects of Mendilow’s life.

“This isn’t for quirky ears, it’s for jaded ears that need to be shaken awake with something substantially different that keeps the interest on the beam throughout. Delightfully different, even when it seems like it might be familiar. ” —Midwest Record

On a personal level, Guy’s musical mission is to explore the connection between places he’s called home. Out in the world, he has oriented his band around the premise that music, and music making, can play a unique role in the effort to transform “the other” into a fellow human being to whom one can at least listen, if not necessarily agree.

“It was the height of Apartheid and my family, though secular and Israeli, was invited to participate in one of the only integrated church services in Johannesburg,” Mendilow recalls about the sparks of this passion. “We were sitting in my elementary school gym after-hours, a large gathering. The service was almost entirely singing: blacks and whites together, in beautiful harmonies. It lit something strong in me.” Throughout his childhood, Mendilow and his family played continental hop-scotch, with community singing in the living room as an important way of connecting with others.

To Guy Mendilow the music cannot be separated from the message, whether you are part of the audience at the Chicago World Music Festival, New York’s Tribeca Performing Arts Center, in a master workshop with government education ministers from Palestine, Israel, Jordan or Lebanon, or swapping songs between Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the 26 diverse young people in the American Boychoir — Mendilow’s first touring experience. The Guy Mendilow Band continues to blur musical boundaries and offers its modest contributions to today’s larger peace puzzle: by creating person to person connections, one song at a time.

CA Opposes New Tennis Center

2010-07-22T13:23:00.000-04:00

The Columbia Association is fighting plans by a nonprofit group called Howard County Tennis Patrons to build an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, 12 indoor courts, 18 lighted outdoor courts, a clubhouse and offices, according to the Sun. The HoCo Council held a public hearing this week and has scheduled a vote July 29. The patrons are seeking approval of a 40-year lease on 14 acres of county land near Troy Hill in Elkridge.

Every group represented at the hearing supported the plan except for the Columbia Association, which operates 24 outdoor and 9 indoor tennis courts throughout the planned town. Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldman said tennis earns CA $1.7 million in revenue annually in fees and he fears the loss of $500,000 a year after the new complex opens.

"I don't feel there's enough demand to fill all these courts," he said, adding that the county would subsidize the nonprofit by covering any deficit, taking only a percentage of revenues as rent and plowing half that back into the facility. That's unfair competition, he said.

State: Two More Schools Miss Mark

2010-07-22T11:10:00.000-04:00

From the Flier:

Six of the 58 Howard County public elementary and middle schools failed to meet the state’s standards for annual improvement based on their Maryland State Assessment scores, according to data released Tuesday.

Last year, four county schools did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress, a standard set by the state that is raised each year.

Despite the slight increase in schools missing the mark, Jose Stevenson, the school system’s director of Student Assessment and Program Evaluation, said the numbers are encouraging.

“When you get to a higher level of performance, the increments of progress get smaller, and it’s not unusual for the numbers to dip slightly,” he said.

Noteworthy in the assessment data is the fact that in the past few years, elementary schools have increasingly had groups of students receive a 100 percent pass rate. This year, 10 schools had at least one instance in which an entire grade level of students passed an assessment in reading or math. There were nine schools in 2009 and six schools in 2008 that had perfect pass rates.

The schools that did not meet the 2010 progress standard are Jeffers Hill and Veterans elementary schools, and Mayfield Woods, Murray Hill, Oakland Mills and Wilde Lake middle schools.

County school officials are planning to dedicate extra support to those schools, according to Terry Alban, the school system’s chief operating officer.

Those six schools all reached the 2009 state standard, but Oakland Mills Middle missed the mark in 2007 and 2008. Because it did not reach the standard for two consecutive years, Oakland Mills was placed on a list of schools the Maryland State Department of Education deems in need of improvement. It will remain on the list until it meets the standard in consecutive years.

The Secret Life

2010-07-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

WaPo has been shining a light on our quiet little hamlet of late, and today zeroed in on Fort Meade. The paper calls us a parellel universe, an "alternative geography of the United States." Maybe that should be our new handle. No more are we the Next America.

Henceforth, we are the Alternate America. But shhh!, don't tell anyone.

See the coverage in its full glory here.

A Short Stay And The Power of Staying The Course

2010-07-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

Friends have been telling us that our weekly note to readers in Capital Business reads like a blog, so we permit us to re-post here:

This time a year I'm often asked if I have any plans for the summer.

Mostly my vacations revolve around shuttling my son hither and yon to soccer tournaments. But I did take my one and only true break last week.

It involved a single overnight, a birthday present to my wife.

We made our pilgrimage to the Inn at Little Washington.

Like a lot of folks, we've often wondered if the place was really as good as its reputation.

Well, we got our answer. The food, the service is simply to ... die ... for.

This column is much too short to do our stay justice. We found pleasures in the simplest of gestures, the tiniest of tastes. We ordered the inn's tasting menu and before the first of our seven courses arrived came a variety of treats. One was a small cube of barbecue pork belly. I'm the kind of guy who prides myself on working a grill. I like to measure my cooking times in hours, not minutes. My meat in pounds, not ounces. But after that one bite, I'm ready to throw away my recipes.

Throughout the visit, I couldn't help thinking how our whole stay had been shaped by years of trial and error. Chef Patrick O'Connell started the restaurant in a garage (shades of the dot-com boom!) and opened the inn in 1978. The guest house is now part of a little village of cottages, gardens, a gift shop and more. There's talk of adding a spa one day.

That lesson in longevity was one reinforced before we arrived at the central Virginia inn. We started the day with a stop at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson near Charlottesville. We've made many trips to the historic site and its gardens over the years, and as I grow older I have come to appreciate just what a labor of love creating that place on the top of a little mountain was to the nation's third president. Jefferson spent 40 years designing, building and remodeling the estate.

These days so many businesspeople are in such a hurry to establish something new and exciting and then look for a hasty exit -- as if they don't really trust their creation. My vacation this year let me reflect on the power of building a business bit by bit by bit, until it becomes part of the DNA of a place.

Our stay at the inn might have been brief, but it left a lasting and happy memory.

Bike Lanes To Where?

2010-07-19T08:43:00.002-04:00

The county has been repaving streets in our Oakland Mills neighborhood, and we were pleasantly surprised to see some new bike lanes appear....

...only to see them disappear just as quickly. Now, granted, the road narrows in certain places, but you wonder if these lanes lead to a false sense of security. One moment after we took this photo a school bus roared by, and believe us, there wouldn't be room for the two.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the lanes to steer a rider to the sidewalk in such tight quarters?

As we pondered that question we wondered who designed these lanes... a highway person or a bike person? Then we saw this story.

In some places, the bike lanes disappear because there isn't enough room to create turning lanes for cars. Stevens Forest Road is not exactly a highway. Do we really need turn lanes? What would happen if cars had to slow down a little?

We commute daily to DC, and we can testify to the fact that there is nothing that makes us want to hop on a bike faster than to see two-wheelers coast on past us as we crawl in city traffic.

The Stevens Forest lanes also take a rider to Broken Land, except only the bravest riders would venture there.

So we assume these lanes are part of a work in progress, a step -- or turn of the pedal -- in the right direction. But only a step.

A Ticket Reserved For Them

2010-06-24T07:20:00.000-04:00

HoCo PD, working with state officials, issued a dozen tickets this week to people who parked improperly in spaces reserved for the disabled, according to the Flier.

During the crackdown, an MVA representative approached drivers pulling into or leaving a handicapped space and checked to see if their placard was registered to someone in the car. If not, a police officer would issue a citation.

The citation fee for parking in a handicapped space without a placard is $350. Citations for using someone else’s placard carry a $130 fine, police said.

Placards are confiscated after a ticket is issued, police said.

“What’s most disappointing in these details ... the violators that we’ve been encountering are those who are improperly using a family member’s handicapped placard,” said police Maj. Gary Gardner, who oversees enforcement efforts.

“Of all people, those individuals should have a better understanding of the frustration disabled people have in locating parking close to a shopping center. If their conscience doesn’t stop them then we hope to by using our enforcement and issuing citations, so hopefully the pocketbook will have an impact.”

Glitches

2010-06-23T20:45:00.000-04:00

CA is delaying its new $2.7 million customer service system -- after working on it since 2006, and sending folks to Bangalore to consult -- because, well, it just doesn't work yet. (Remember this odd release about hand-crafted computing?)

From CA:

The Columbia Association (CA) is delaying the implementation of the new Customer Service System.

During the User Acceptance Testing phase major deficiencies in the software were discovered, primarily in financial accounting. To expedite resolution, the CA Board of Directors has approved staff’s recommendation to bring in an outside firm to assist staff with evaluating the software with regards to architecture, security and compliance with industry standards. The CA Board of Directors also approved staff’s recommendation to bring in an outside Project Manager to assist CA’s CSS development team with the final phase of the project. A new launch date is not being announced at this time.

CA will continue its efforts to encourage residents to come into CA’s Membership Service Center or our Sport and Fitness Facilities to have their pictures taken for new membership cards. CSS requires all members and residents to have new photos taken for their new cards. Those who have previously had their photos taken for CSS will not be required to have them retaken.

Here's what the Flier reported:

The new information management system, which cost CA $2.7 million and was developed by Bangalore, India-based ITC Inc., is designed to store member data and allow customers to sign up and pay for activities online.

Nelson said his decision to hire an outside firm to evaluate the software came after multiple attempts by ITC to correct the software.

“We tried to give them every opportunity to make this work. I just don’t think they have the accounting acumen.” he said. “This is a huge software project. It’s over 140,000 lines of code and they all have to fit together.”

According to Steven Sattler, CA’s director of communications and marketing, several of the software’s functions did not meet Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The outside firm’s review will serve as “reassurance” that the system is working properly.

Here's what CA says on its Web site about its due diligence of ITC:

2005-2008:

* CA performs extensive reviews and conducts site visits and reference checks.
* ITC Infotech, a Bangalore India company, with US headquarters in New Jersey, is selected to custom-write CSS, and a contract is finalized in December with the company.
* ITC Infotech is a global IT services company that is a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Limited, a $5 billion diversified conglomerate. ITC Limited is rated among the “World’s Most Reputable Companies” by Forbes, and among “India’s Most Valuable Companies” by Business Today. It is featured in the Leader Category for the “2008 Global Outsourcing 100” by the International Association Outsourcing Professionals, and it is “acknowledged as an excellent alternative for companies that are looking for flexibility and attention – almost like an extension of their internal IT organizations” by Forrester.

2009:
# Today, CSS has a motivated, dedicated, unyielding team behind it, and they are looking forward to successfully launching the new software system during CA's Fiscal Year 2011.

Here's a 2006 blurb in the Flier discussing the role of CA staff on the project:

CA board member Philip Marcus, of Kings Contrivance, proposed the ban on overseas contracting after two senior officials spent four months in Bangalore, India, helping a firm install the new Resident Service System customer service program.

Several CA board members became alarmed when they learned Donna Dupree, director of Communications and Marketing, and Rafia Siddiqui, vice president of Administrative Services, were in Bangalore for four months to work on the project.

CA hired New Jersey-based ITC Inc. to install the program that allows customers to pay their annual charges online and to sign up for memberships. ITC has conducted much of the work on the project at its Bangalore office.

Marcus believes a local company could have handled the contract. While many private companies are working with overseas companies, outsourcing is a more controversial issue for public and semi-public companies such as CA, he said.

Marcus is considering withdrawing his motion before the vote, he said.

REI Coming to Town

2010-06-22T18:03:00.002-04:00

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a retail co-op providing quality outdoor gear and clothing, today announced plans to open a new store at Columbia Crossing in Columbia, Md. this fall.

“A new store in Columbia will allow us to better outfit cycling, paddling, camping and general outdoor enthusiasts in the area, and hopefully inspire others to adopt an outdoor lifestyle.”

The 24,000 square-foot store will equip customers and members with gear and apparel from the top brands for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, paddling, snow sports and travel, including the award-winning REI brand and Novara bike products. The new store will feature a bike shop for quick assemblies or repairs, a gear rental department to explore new activities, and a community space for the co-op and its non-profit partners to host outdoor-related classes, events and presentations.

“REI is committed to increasing the number of people recreating in the outdoors, and we are excited to expand our resources in the Baltimore and DC areas,” said Anne Maleady, REI retail director for the Northeast district. “A new store in Columbia will allow us to better outfit cycling, paddling, camping and general outdoor enthusiasts in the area, and hopefully inspire others to adopt an outdoor lifestyle.”

The company supports local organizations dedicated to conserving natural resources or increasing outdoor access through education, volunteerism, gear donations and financial contributions. In the past year, REI has granted more than $90,000 to 11 outdoor and conservation non-profits in the Baltimore and DC areas, including the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts. The new store will expand upon these efforts by partnering with local organizations to coordinate outdoor classes and events, and volunteer opportunities.

REI currently operates 112 retail stores nationwide, including three other locations in Maryland in College Park, Rockville and Timonium. In addition to the Columbia store opening, the company will open a store in Norwalk, Conn. this fall.

Hiring for Columbia will occur approximately three months prior to the store’s opening, when REI will recruit 40 to 50 employees who share a passion for the outdoors and quality customer service. Once hired, each new team member will take part in REI’s comprehensive sales and product training program, deepening their ability to be a knowledgeable outdoor resource for customers and the community. More information about employment opportunities will be available at www.rei.com/jobs.

While anyone may shop at REI, members pay a one-time $20 fee and receive a share in REI’s profits through an annual member refund based on their purchases. Earlier this year, more than $80 million was distributed to more than 3.9 million active members based on the co-op’s 2009 sales. Members also receive discounts on gear rentals, trips offered through REI Adventures and local REI Outdoor School classes, in addition to free standard shipping on their purchases of $75 or more through REI.com, REI-OUTLET.com and phone direct sales orders.

Never Mind

2010-06-22T15:29:00.000-04:00

Two announcements, 15 minutes apart:

Dear River Hill Community,

It is with a great deal of appreciation and sadness that I write this letter. Today I informed the staff that I will be moving on to a new challenge as a principal on special assignment at the Board of Education. I feel very fortunate that for the past six years I have been given the privilege to work at the best high school in the Nation – River Hill. It is the best, not because of the awards, test scores or list of accomplishments, but because of the wonderful students who walk the halls, the incredible teachers who care so much about each student and the parents who have gone above and beyond to support their students and the school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have made my time on the Hill such a positive experience. Thank you, students, for being the best of the best in everything you have done. I set high expectations for you and time and time again you lived up to and exceeded those expectations. Your efforts each day in the classroom, on the stage or field, or in whatever way you represented River Hill made me proud. Thank you, staff, for always making learning personal. You have been the wind beneath the wings of our students. Your passion for teaching and love for our students was evident each day. You truly have epitomized the term “team” in your actions in providing the best instructions for our students. Words cannot express the appreciation I have for how hard you have worked. It was rare for me to leave at the end of the day and not see many of your cars still in the parking lot – thank you for your incredible work ethic. Thank you, parents, for all of the ways you have supported River Hill. Whether it was volunteering in guidance or staying up all night at P3, you have given your time and energy to make our jobs easier and provide a great environment for our students. Your students have been exceptional and I know it is because of the expectations you have set and role models you have been for your child.

The River Hill community has been my family for the past six years and I feel fortunate to have been your principal. I will cherish the wonderful relationships I have made during my time on the Hill. I wish each one of you much success and know that with such a strong community family supporting River Hill it will continue to be preeminent.

I am proud to announce that the new River Hill High principal is Mr. Nick Novak who is currently at Glenelg High. Nick will be a wonderful principal and is excited about coming to such a supportive community. I am sure you will give him a great deal of support and welcome him to the community.

William Ryan

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Recently an email was sent out with information on personnel changes at River Hill. Unfortunately we were premature in making this announcement. All changes need to be approved by the HCPSS Board of Education before announcements can be made. We will let you know when changes to River Hill leadership are approved.

William Ryan

Cradlerock Splits In 2011

2010-06-14T17:33:00.000-04:00

From HoCo schools:

Cradlerock School, Howard County's only prekindergarten to Grade 8 school, will be returned to an elementary and middle school configuration effective July 1, 2011, according to a report presented by Chief Academic Officer Linda Wise and approved by the Board of Education last Thursday. Phase 1 of the transition year begins immediately with the appointment of separate administrative teams to serve the lower and upper school grades.

Principal Jason McCoy will serve as administrator of the lower school and Jennifer Peduzzi, currently Principal of Patapsco Middle School, has been appointed as administrator of the upper school. Each administrative team will work with staff, students, and parents to plan for a smooth transition to two schools next summer.

This first phase also includes the establishment of transition teams, the development of a transition plan, the development of two school improvement plans, and the implementation of appropriate transition activities. During the transition year, official Maryland State Department of Education and Howard County Public School System documents will continue to list Cradlerock as one Prekindergarten - Grade 8 school.

Phase 2 begins July 1, 2011 with the separation of the lower and upper school components into two schools. The transition team will make decisions such as the names for the two schools, school mascots, and school colors. From July 1, 2011 forward, official state and HCPSS documents will identify what was formerly one school as two schools - an elementary and a middle school.

The school's current configuration presents several barriers to success, according to the report. The transition to two schools will remove those barriers and support efforts to improve student achievement and behavior.

Should Route 29 Be Widened?

2010-06-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

Should the state get rid of the only remaining traffic signal on Route 29 in Howard County?

Let 'em know:

The State Highway Administration will offer an Informational Public Meeting and has invited community members to attend which will take place Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 6:30pm, Hammond High School, 8800 Guilford Road, Columbia, MD 21046.

Plan experts will be on hand to answer any questions that residents may have. We encourage all residents to attend and learn more about the project. There will be an opportunity to share your thoughts and suggestions with SHA through interaction with SHA staff or by completing a comment card.

For details on this proposed plan, please contact MarieFrance Guiteau, Project Engineer, Highway Design Office, at 410-545-8885.

Pathway Police

2010-05-31T20:46:00.000-04:00

Little did we know that taking the puppy out for her early morning constitutional made us a lawbreaker!

HoCo PD and the CA are co-sponsoring a new site on safety and May's tip no. 1 surprised us:

Pathways are closed from dusk until dawn. Do not use pathways after dark – it is against the law.

...soooo, no more moonlight strolls after a quiet dinner at Clyde's, we guess. Or how about all those kids who use the paths to get to high school before dawn? And it'll be interesting to see how this is enforced July 4th.

Of course, pathway safety is a concern. But is the answer to make sure no one uses them?

Who Say WL Needs A Grocery?

2010-05-28T07:56:00.000-04:00

One of the more provocative bloggers around these parts, Frank Hecker, serves up some food for thought on Wilde Lake's lack of a traditional grocery:

I’m just a naïve outsider from Ellicott City, but this is something I’ve never understood. I go to Wilde Lake Village Center all the time, and it doesn’t exactly strike me as a "food desert". In particular, I regularly go to shop at David’s Natural Market, which certainly has food for the table, has milk for the kids, and may even have diapers for all I know (I’ve never checked).

So why exactly doesn’t David’s qualify as a grocery store according to [county council candidate Alan Klein] and others? Is it because it isn’t a real grocery store (doesn’t have national brands, has a limited selection)? Because it’s not the right kind of grocery store (patronized primarily by "outsiders", too "crunchy" for the people of Wilde Lake)? Because it’s not a basic grocery store (which I presume is a code word for "cheap")? I don’t mean to be snarky here, I’m genuinely interested in what’s going on here (beyond just nostalgia for the Giant that was and is no more).

I’m not an expert on the economics of retail development, but I presume that if the economics were favorable for a traditional supermarket at Wilde Lake then the Giant would still be there.

Hecker goes on to do some rough math on how much it would cost to subsidize David's prices to make them more affordable to people who cannot easily travel to cheaper options -- and calculates it would be less than Howard's Healthy Howard initiative.

Now, I’ll fess up: I’m writing here partly with tongue in cheek. ("What, you’re going to tax us more so that people in Wilde Lake can buy tofurkey at David’s! The very idea!") But I’m also trying to make a serious point: If the county can’t simply wave a magic wand and make a grocery appear in Wilde Lake (as I and others believe), and if there’s really a serious question of social justice here (as Alan Klein claims), then Klein and other who agree with him owe it to the taxpayers of Howard County to actually put a price tag on solving the problem that they claim exists, and make the case to the voters that paying that price is worth it in order to make Columbia and Howard County the sort of place we all want it to be.

Yield To Triathletes

2010-05-21T05:12:00.001-04:00

From HoCo PD:

Major traffic delays are expected on Sunday, May 23, on Md. 108 from Columbia Road to Harper’s Farm Road due to the Columbia Triathlon. Motorists are advised to use caution when sharing the roads with an anticipated 2,000 participants.

From 6:45 a.m. to noon, Md. 108 will be closed to eastbound traffic from Harper’s Farm Road to Ten Mills Road.

Delays are anticipated along the following roadways, where participants will be given the right of way:

Running route (6.2 miles)
• Old Annapolis Road
• Carillon Drive
• Cross Country Drive
• Century Drive
• Colonial Drive
Cycling route (25.2 miles)
• Homewood Road
• Folly Quarter Road
• Triadelphia Road
• Triadelphia Mill Road
• Green Bridge Road
• Howard Road
• Linthicum Road
Howard County police officers will direct traffic at all major intersections.

Motorists are advised that race participants have the right of way.

Budget Bits

2010-05-20T07:47:00.000-04:00

The County Council passed $824 million operating budget on a 4-1 vote, with Republican Greg Fox the lone nay, according to the ExploreHoward blog.

Amid talk of a weak economy and the need for fiscal responsibility, the Howard County Council passed an $824 million operating budget Wednesday, guaranteeing unpaid furlough days for county employees and cuts to local bus routes while boosting a community services emergency fund.

Council member Calvin Ball sent in his District 2 highlights, which include money to move forward with Blandair Park:

US Route 1 Corridor Revitalization (C0285) $2,000,000

A project to plan, design and implement a series of streetscape, pedestrian, bicycle and public green space improvements on public property. Revitalization of the US1 Corridor is a priority under the General Plan 2000. The purpose is to invest public funds in community enhancement projects that will spur revitalization by the private sector, promote economic development, improve public safety and enhance the quality of life in existing older neighborhoods.

Storm Drainage Project, Lincoln Drive at Cedar Village Park (D1155) $340,000

A project to eliminate the freezing of runoff on Lincoln Drive and Cedar Avenue. There is an inadequate drainage system to carry the runoff from the park side of the road to the outfall side of the road. I have advocated for this funding as a means to address this issue.

Bellows Spring Elementary Addition (E1018) $4,850,000

A plan to provide additional classroom space and additional core infrastructure space. Additional space is likely to include space for 100 students (4 classrooms) above existing capacity (Grade 1-5), an art room, a music room, a gym activity room and a cafetorium expansion. I was driven to have this funding included because it is expected that by 2011, the number of students in Grades 1-5 will exceed capacity by 275.

Snowden River Parkway Widening (J4222) $985,000

A project to design and construct a widening of Snowden River Parkway by adding a third lane and sidewalks on the eastbound roadway from Broken Land Parkway to Oakland Mills Road. This project will develop the third lane and increase the capacity of the roadway and provide an improved level of service. It was important for me to have this project funded as I have received numerous concerns from my constituents to install sidewalks in this area to create a more walkable environment along Snowden River Parkway.

US1 Projects (J4233) $500,000

A project to design and construct transportation improvements along the US1 corridor. The US1 revitalization program intends that the entire length of the road be changed over time to reflect the approved streetscape design. Each year, I vigorously advocate for funding towards Route 1 revitalization projects as these are necessary enhancements for those who live, work or travel along this area.

Oakland Mills Road/ MD175 Interchange (J4237) $1,500,000

A project to design and construct a new MD175/Oakland Mills Road interchange and the re-alignment of Oakland Mills through the proposed Blandair Park. The project will provide access to the proposed Blandair Park as shown on the approved master plan for the park. The improvements will also provide vicinity roadway network connectivity and capacity for the area bordering the southside of the park.

Route 1, Route 175 to Port Capital Drive (J4241) $750,000

A project to design and reconstruct approximately 2300 feet of US Rte 1 from MD Rte 175 and Port Capital. These improvements will be the first County capital project to implement the Route 1 Corridor Improvement Strategy which includes a new roadway typical section.

Troy Park & Historic Rehabilitation (N3957) $1,944,000

A project to acquire an additional 5 acres, rehabilitate an 1820 historic house, and design and construct a 106-acre Regional Park at MD100 and US 1. This project conforms to the goals and objectives of the 1999 Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Plan, and the 2005 Land Preservation, Recreation and Parks Plan. It was necessary to fight for funding towards this project as this park will provide needed recreation facilities for our Elkridge residents and those in surrounding areas. This project is a key component to the US1 Corridor Revitalization effort.

US29/ Broken Land Parkway 30” Water Main (W8265) $410,000

Project for replacement of 1,000 LF of 30” diameter water main in the vicinity of US29 and Broken Land Parkway(Phase 2) and construction of 2,400 LF of 36” water main to parallel the existing main (Phase 1). The 30 inch diameter transmission main is the major water supply serving this area of Howard County. An acoustic monitoring of the transmission main revealed premature failures of the prestressing wires in the reinforced concrete cylinder pipe. The failures are attributed to stray electrical currents in the area. This capital project will replace the affected portions of the pipeline and provide protective measures against future failures. The parallel main is needed to meet the increased demands as outlined in the Master Plan and I was pleased to advocate for funding towards this maintenance project.

Blandair Regional Park (N3102) $1,461,000

A project to master plan, design and construct a 298 acre regional park, and restore the 19th century Blandair Mansion and out buildings located off MD 175 in Columbia. This project has been identified in the 2005 Land Preservation, Recreation and Parks Plan and is endorsed by the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, and the Blandair Planning Committee.

Parkland Acquisition Program (Blandair, N3103) $1,766,000

This project establishes a fund for County-wide park land acquisition and related expenses. This project allows the County to move quickly to acquire land which becomes available, and satisfies one or more of the following objectives: addresses State and County Greenway objectives, protects sensitive natural resources threatened by development, acquire additions to existing parks, and/or satisfies park and open space needs as identified in the 2005 Land Preservation, Recreation and Parks Plan.

Curious Contribution

2010-05-19T11:00:00.001-04:00

Call us nosy.

We're all for getting something for nothing, and all for remaking Symphony Woods. But it strikes us as odd that an anonymous nonprofit that does not hail from Howard County wants to donate $250,000 to CA to remake the downtown park (to be matched by public funds that a great number of politicians are taking credit for). Is anyone else just a little curious about what might motivate a group to do that?

From the Sun:

Columbia Association President Phil Nelson said the nonprofit is headquartered outside Howard County and insisted on anonymity or would rescind the gift. The CA has budgeted $1.2 million for planning and to begin construction in the year that began May 1 and $1.4 million more next fiscal year. Work should begin next spring, officials said.

Silly Ban

2010-05-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

Oh those crazy kids. For the uninitiated, Silly Bandz are these rubber band thingys that take the shape of animals and other objects when they are not stretched.

Apparently they are becoming a nuisance.

From a Clarksville Elementary note to parents:

Silly bands have been a huge distraction to instruction. These are multi-colored rubber bands that students have been wearing around their wrists. With that in mind we are imposing a ban on Silly Bands at school. We have announced to students that Silly Bands should not be worn to school or kept in or on their backpacks. The feedback we have been getting from teachers is that these bands have been a serious distraction to the instructional program. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact Mr. Herling.

We would greatly appreciate your support with this.

Former Home Expo Site Has New Owner

2010-05-18T16:58:00.000-04:00

We're told the former Home Expo site is going to be a new home for Toys R Us/Babies R Us combo store.

MADISON MARQUETTE ACQUIRES FORMER HOME EXPO DESIGN CENTER PROPERTY IN COLUMBIA MARYLAND
Acquired in Conjunction with MCB Real Estate to Execute Remerchandising Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2010) – Madison Marquette announced today that it has acquired a land parcel that includes a 90,000 square foot former Home Expo Design Center in Columbia, Maryland. The acquisition was made in conjunction with MCB Real Estate.

“There is tremendous opportunity to enhance the value of this real estate by bringing in great retail concepts that are needed in the community,” said Jay Lask, Managing Director of Investments of Madison Marquette.

The parcel spans 10 acres and is part of Columbia Center II, a retail center located at the Northwest corner of Snowden River Parkway and Dobbin Road, and approximately two miles west of I-95. The center is part of a retail corridor that includes Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Costco, Panera Bread and other marquee national retail concepts.

“Columbia, Maryland has been a strong market since its inception and there is pent up demand from national retailers to serve this area,” said David Bramble, Managing Partner of MCB Real Estate.

In conjunction with the acquisition, a new lease has been executed for a 63,000 square foot national retail concept. The build-out of the new space has already begun and is expected to open later this year in time for the holiday season. It will occupy a portion of the former Expo Design Center and leave additional retail space available.

“We are very pleased to have this deal in place already and are actively working with a number of other retail concepts to occupy the remaining space,” said Mr. Lask.

The acquisition was made as part of the Madison Marquette Retail Enhancement Fund.

ABOUT MADISON MARQUETTE
Madison Marquette is a Washington, D.C.-based investor, developer and operator of retail and retail mixed-use real estate throughout the United States. The company specializes in creating unique retail destinations that respond best to consumer preferences. With regional offices in Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, New York, Charlotte, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego, Madison Marquette seeks investment opportunities in growing markets. The company maintains a sophisticated in-house operating capability and oversees 18 million square feet of retail real estate. This diverse national portfolio includes many properties that Madison Marquette manages and leases on behalf of third-party owners. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.madisonmarquette.com.

ABOUT MCB REAL ESTATE, LLC
MCB Real Estate, LLC is a Baltimore based real estate investment company specializing in retail, industrial and office acquisitions in East Coast markets. More information on MCB is available on line at www.mcbrealestate.com.

Police Warn Of Man Touching Female Joggers

2010-05-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

From HoCo PD:

Howard County police are investigating two incidents in Columbia where a man followed women and touched them inappropriately.

In the first incident, which occurred March 29 around 6 p.m., a 28-year-old Columbia woman reported she was jogging on Vollmerhausen Drive near Dragon Claw when an unknown male suspect approached her from behind and began to follow her.

The victim reported suspect bent down to tie his shoe and touched her inappropriately as she jogged past him. The suspect continued to follow the woman, and when she approached a resident on Polished Stone and called for help, the suspect fled eastbound on Vollmerhausen.

In the second incident, which occurred on May 10 at approximately 5:45 p.m., a 22-year-old Columbia woman reported she was running on Vollmerhausen Drive near Early Spring Way when a man of a similar description bent down to tie his shoe and then began to follow her. She said the man touched her inappropriately before she was able to run away.

In both incidents, police searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect. He is described as a black male; 18 to 30 years old; 5 feet, 6 inches tall; 180 pounds; dark complexion; short hair; round cheeks with acne or razor bumps; and an oval face.

In the first case, he was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, baggy navy blue jeans with the bottoms rolled up and white tennis shoes with blue symbols on them. In the second case, he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, baggy navy blue jeans and black high-top sneakers.

Police offer the following safety tips for residents walking or jogging on sidewalks or pathways:

• Familiarize yourself with the area, and know your route before you travel. • Stay on the designated sidewalks and pathways, and do not venture off into isolated areas.
• When possible, bring a buddy.
• If traveling alone, tell family or friends where you are going and when you expect to return.
• Stay alert, and carry a cell phone.
• Do not wear headphones because they may distract you from your surroundings.
• If a stranger approaches, follows you or makes you feel uncomfortable, turn around, call police and head toward a group of people or a home.

Police have increased patrols in the area on bike, on foot and in cars. Anyone with information is urged to call 410-313-STOP. Callers may remain anonymous. If you notice a suspicious person in the area, call 911.

Giving Up On Cradlerock?

2010-05-13T08:13:00.002-04:00

From the ExploreHoward blog:

Howard County school system officials said Tuesday night they are leaning toward returning Cradlerock School, the county’s only kindergarten through eighth-grade program, to two separate schools in the face of complaints from parents and teachers.

“We’re an elementary and middle school organization,” said Linda Wise, the school system’s chief academic officer, at the meeting with parents and teachers at the Columbia school. “We know how to do elementary and middle very well.”

However, Wise said keeping the current configuration or restructuring the administrative team are also still on the table as options.

Prom Scare

2010-05-12T05:00:00.001-04:00

Talk about being scared straight. Wilde Lake High School prepared parents for its "Every 15 Minutes" program today and tomorrow, as the school gets ready for prom and graduation season.

During the first day, the "Grim Reaper" calls students who have been selected from a cross-section of the entire student body from class. One senior and one junior will be removed from class every 15 minutes. A designated staff member will immediately enter the classroom to read an obituary which written explaining the circumstances of their classmate's demise and the contributions the student made to the school and the community. A few minutes later, the student will place a tombstone in a mock cemetery and return to class as the "living dead," wearing a black Every 15 Minutes t-shirt. From that point on, "victims" will not speak or interact with other students or staff for the remainder of the school day.

On the second day, the student body will view a video about the dangers of drug and alcohol use and have an opportunity to sign the prom promise. It is our goal that this will be a well-received educational experience for our entire student body and that it will lead to a safe and enjoyable end of the school year for all of our students.

A Lesson In Oral Hygiene

2010-05-11T05:00:00.002-04:00

This arrangement at Swansfield Elementary caught our eye when we saw it in an e-mail to parents.

Swansfield Elementary school is again working with the Chase Brexton Dental Clinic to provide health education and free oral screenings, fluoride treatments, and sealants to students in grades Kindergarten through Second.

The dates for these services will be Monday, May 10th which will be the educational segment that all students in these grades will receive. The actual screening, fluoride and sealant (if needed) segment will be on Monday, May 17th. A consent form will be sent home with students in these grades soon. You must sign the consent form and return it to the school health room in order for your child to receive the services.

All consent forms need to be returned to school by Wednesday, May 5th. If oral health concerns are identified, Chase Brexton may be able to help in providing follow up dental services as needed. Please call the school health room if you have any questions about this program.

Charity Case

2010-05-10T05:00:00.002-04:00

The ExploreHoward blog says Columbia Association leaders want to turn something called Friends of Columbia into a charitable, non-profit organization that can accept grants and donations for CA projects.

At its April 29 meeting, board members asked CA staff to provide them with explicit instructions for moving forward with the Friends of Columbia, which is designed to support CA projects open to the public, such as Symphony Woods Park, pathways, and upgrades and maintenance at the community's three lakes and related watersheds.

CA President Phillip Nelson said moving ahead with the Friends organization is "critical."

"Without a 501(c)(3) status, we can't apply for grants, we can't compete for grants. It all has to come out of our capital budget," he said. "Without it, we're at a disadvantage."

According to Rafia Siddiqui, CA's vice president of administrative services, CA's first attempt to become a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) was denied by the IRS in 1983, as the association itself does not qualify for such status. CA is a 501(c)(4) -- a nonprofit organization that is not eligible to accept donations that are tax-deductible for the donor.

Board member Alex Hekimian, of Oakland Mills, questioned why previous momentum to create the Friends organization seemed to go "off a cliff."

In 2005, CA officially created Friends of Columbia as a separate legal entity by submitting articles of incorporation to the state Department of Assessments and Taxation. The process stalled there, however, as the CA board could not agree on the composition of the "Friends" board.

Sniff, Sniff

2010-05-09T11:22:00.000-04:00

We just catching up on our e-mail and saw this notice from Oakland Mills:

In a Memorandum of Understanding Between the Howard County Department of Police and the Howard County Public School System Regarding Canine Drug Scans of High School Facilities:

This is to notify you that periodic drug scans will be conducted on school premises by K-9 teams from the Howard County Department of Police.

Today (5-6-10) a HCPD Canine Drug Scan Unit conducted a scan of the OMHS parking lot. This action is being taken to protect you and to work towards a drug-free school environment.

We thank everyone for their cooperation during the scan.

No word on whether the canines detected anything.

Oh, Canada

2010-05-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

Lots of coverage late last week on a bankruptcy court ruling that leaves Canadian real estate investor Brookfield Asset Management first in line to buy General Growth Properties.

Under the latest reorganization plan GGP would be split in two with its extensive collection of malls in one bucket (including own own) and other real estate, like, er, um, its downtown Columbia holdings in another. Brookfield would control the first, and may wind up with the second pending the outcome of a stock sale.

Rival mall owner Simon Group made a lot of noise after the decision suggesting it was done bidding for GGP, but there's some chatter on Wall Street that it might try one more time. The GGP board so far has spurned Simon's offer, citing among other things concerns a deal would be blocked on antitrust grounds because Simon would end up controlling half the malls in America.

Simon has dismissed that argument, saying there's plenty of competition to malls from other forms of retail.

Campaigning in Columbia

2010-05-02T11:11:00.000-04:00

One of the themes emerging in the state's gubernatorial candidate is the economy. We saw this on WaPo's Maryland Politics blog:

As Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) continued to tout job gains in Maryland last month, former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) on Thursday put a spotlight on a Howard County company that has shed nearly two-thirds of its employees in recent years.

Ehrlich took his comeback campaign to E&G Classics of Columbia, a manufacturer of automotive restyling products, including grilles, vents and trim products.

In 2004 and 2005, when Ehrlich was governor, the company had about 250 employees. Today, that number is down to 86, company officials said.

"That's not progress," Ehrlich said at a brief news conference following a tour of the business. "That's not how we measure progress in the state of Maryland."

In an interview, Lynn Eash, a part owner and general manager of E&G Classics, said state policies -- including a spike in unemployment insurance rates -- have made it more difficult to balance the books. But Eash blamed the loss of employees largely on the national recession, which he said hit his industry before many others.

"I think it's just the general economic problems," he said.

In campaign stops in recent days, O'Malley has cited as evidence of progress under his leadership a report that shows Maryland added 35,800 jobs last month. Economists have said such gains were largely offset by an influx of unemployed people who resumed their job search after having left the labor force.

Ehrlich also used his stop in Columbia to continue chiding O'Malley for Northrop Grumman's decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to Virginia rather than Maryland.

"Maryland was never even in the game," Ehrlich said. "I don't want Maryland to be treated like junior varsity."

O'Malley has said the relocation of the defense giant's headquarters is a victory for the entire region and congratulated Virginia officials.

By John Wagner | April 29, 2010; 11:59 AM ET

Bye-Bye Bell

2010-05-02T11:06:00.002-04:00

We saw this on the Town Center listserv:

The Town Center Bell Tower structure at Lake Kittamaqundi has been deemed a safety liability and will be removed in late May or early June depending on permit process. Once demolition has begun, the project will take an estimated one week to complete. Replacement or restructuring of the Bell Tower will be postponed until it can be completed within the context of the new downtown redevelopment master plan.

The Columbia Association (CA) recently commissioned Century Engineering to perform a structural survey to assess the structural integrity of the tower. Major deficiencies in the structure were found. Their recommendation to CA staff was to replace the tower. CA’s Chief Operations Officer Rob Goldman states, “Residents’ safety is our main concern, and the current condition of the Bell Tower creates safety and liability concerns. By removing the structure now and delaying replacement until downtown redevelopment plans have been finalized, we can ensure that we will have a safe lakefront area that enhances the Columbia community.”

After receiving the report from the structural engineer, the immediate removal of the four flag poles mounted near the top of the Bell Tower was ordered and completed. The request for bids to demolish the Bell Tower has been issued and the permit process has begun. The flag poles, the carillon and other reusable parts will be safely stored until further notice.

The Town Center Bell Tower structure has been a concern for some time. Replacement was first proposed by CA staff in 2006. At that time replacement was delayed so that shared funding with The Rouse Company (now General Growth Properties) could be pursued and so that any downtown redevelopment planning could be considered. An initial review of the structure was undertaken in 2007 by KCI Technologies, with subsequent inspections by Century Engineering in 2008, 2009 and most recently in April 2010. Since 2007, approximately $37,000 has been spent to reinforce the Bell Tower. These expenditures have extended the life of the Bell Tower by three years.

For more information, please contact Rob Goldman at 410-715-3121.

WL's Kirsch Keeps His Seat

2010-04-25T09:04:00.001-04:00

From the ExploreHoward blog:

Philip Kirsch of Wilde Lake won a new one-year term on the Columbia Association's 10-member board of directors in the planned town's only contested CA board election this year. Facing Linda Odum, a real estate agent he beat by very narrow margins in each of the last two years, Kirsch widened the gap in a 415-268 vote election, village officials said. The election was seen as important because Kirsch has represented a community-oriented outlook more common among older residents of the village, while Odum took a more developer/business-friendly approach. "It feels good," Kirsch said about the result.

Just The Good News, Please

2010-04-25T08:26:00.000-04:00

This popped up in our Google-catcher this week, a new site called the Village Connector that said it will devote itself only to the good news of Howard.

Our goal with the Village Connector is to collaborate with community members to write the news ourselves instead of allowing the source of news to be consolidated into any single entity.

We also focus on the positive edifying things that are going on in our communities and limit exposure to contentious, controversial topics that divide communities. To the extent that we deal with difficult issues we do so in a way that is solution oriented without judgment or being opinionated, but rather presenting issues in a way that serves the community.

The mission may have something to do with the folks behind the site:

Charter Members are local business owners who hold a special status here at Village Connector because their investment in this project is what allowed us to bring the newspaper to your community.

It's a laudable goal, uniting communities, but hard to see how that happens if one avoids the contentious. But, whoa, we need to purge the negative. In the spirit of its launch, we think it is only good news when more coverage joins the Interwebs.

Expect Traffic Delays Sunday

2010-04-22T12:43:00.000-04:00

From HoCo police;

Pedestrians and cyclists will be racing on Howard County roads on Sunday, April 25, during the Tri-Columbia Blossoms of Hope Howard Life Festival. Motorists are advised to use caution when sharing the roads in Columbia during the various races, including a half marathon, 5K foot race and various bike races.

From 7 to 11:30 a.m., Little Patuxent Parkway will be closed between Sterrett Place and South Entrance Road.

Heavy pedestrian traffic is expected on the following roadways:
• Little Patuxent Parkway from South Entrance Road to Hickory Ridge Road
• Hickory Ridge Road from Little Patuxent Parkway to Cedar Lane
• Cedar Lane from Hickory Ridge Road to Grace Drive

Howard County police officers will be staffing traffic posts at all major intersections. Traffic delays are anticipated, so citizens are advised to allow for additional travel time. Motorists are advised that race participants have the right of way.

Send Your Student To School Day

2010-04-20T14:49:00.002-04:00

From a school system e-mail to parents:

The fourth Thursday in April has traditionally been designated as national Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day by the Ms. Foundation for Women. This year the Howard County Public School System had scheduled April 22 as a Professional Development Day for teachers. As you know, we now will use that day to make up one of the school days students missed due to the snow.

We recognize that visiting places of employment can have educational benefits for students; however, I am asking HCPSS parents to send their children to school on April 22. This year in particular, we are attempting to avoid any further disruptions to instruction and encourage you to support this effort by having your child in school this Thursday.

If you do choose to take your child to work, your child will not be marked absent for the day.

Sydney L. Cousin, Superintendent

CA's New Prez

2010-04-19T09:04:00.001-04:00

The Sun offers up an assessment of Phil Nelson's start as CA president. We have to echo some of the observations; it seems to the outsider he is sorta anonymous compared to his predecessors. But we've always said HoCo seems to like low-key, don't-rock-the-boat leaders. Woe to anyone who would want to actually shake up suburbia.

The big, quiet, 60-year-old Midwesterner with the soft voice....

"He is no social butterfly,"

"He's the definition of an introvert"

Here's how Nelson explains his style:

"It's part of my nature. I like to listen a lot more than I like to talk," he said, joking about his personality as part of his Norwegian heritage. He keeps a notepad handy, and writes down things people say and do that give clues to where they want to go. When the time is right, he offers a suggestion. His goal was to learn the organization from the ground up, he said, not try to impose some preconceived new structure. "That backfires," he said he's learned over the years.

The Day Job

2010-04-19T08:24:00.000-04:00

I've been missing in action a bit lately as I have focused my energies on launching a new weekly business publication for WaPo: Capital Business. You can see the result here.

As you can see in my first editor's note, I finally truly appreciate the life of a start-up entrepreneur!

By Dan Beyers
Monday, April 19, 2010; 24

It was the first day after we had gotten the green light to create a new weekly local business publication and my mind was racing. There was a mission statement to craft, staff to hire and people to see. The IT department wanted to meet pronto. Our meetings team wanted to talk about a launch event. We still had not settled on a proper name. And then . . .

Wham!

I smashed into the back end of a car on Interstate 95.

No one was hurt, thank goodness. The driver of the other car, an Internal Revenue Service manager, could not have been nicer as we exchanged insurance information. Perhaps that was because, while his car had a small dent, my front end was a shambles.

"Are you sure it's safe to drive?" he asked.

It had to be, I thought. I have a day full of meetings.

And that's when I realized that there really is nothing so consuming as getting a business off the ground. As I related my experience to others around town, I got only knowing smiles.

Dean Violagis, vice president of research at the real estate data firm CoStar Group in Bethesda, told me about how he helped the company build its first database, literally driving around Washington in 1989, writing down information about the office buildings he encountered.

"It was all basically done by hand," he said.

There was no satellite global positioning systems in those days, no geocoding. "I literally took out a map and put a dot on it," he said.

Violagis thought the company a little crazy when it asked him to take a photo of each building he documented. What would it do with the boxes and boxes of slides he accumulated?

To realize that work would one day form the basis of the computerized repository of real estate information that CoStar has become famous for is inspiring.

So is hearing Violagis talk about CoStar's efforts to extend its brand into new markets. The entrepreneurship never ends, even if the techniques of gathering data are now more advanced. "Every city, we have to start over again," he said.

Launching a business can be so daunting, the challenges so numerous, that friends and colleagues can be pardoned if they seem a little skeptical.

Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington, remembers a time back in the mid-1980s when he and the late Ron Brown, who would later become commerce secretary, were sitting on a bus in Tokyo listening to David Rubenstein talk about his vision for a merchant banking firm that would one day become private equity giant Carlyle Group. At the time, the three men were all lawyers, fighting to protect the legality of the videotape recorder.

"Ron and I laughed at David, thinking he was just being fanciful," Shapiro said. "But then he did it."

Capital Business plans to tell many more stories like that in the weeks and months to come, for it strikes me that one of the things uniting our diverse business community is the entrepreneurial spirit stirring in companies big and small. The upheaval brought on by the recent economic downturn has a way of focusing the mind and encouraging people to consider new possibilities.

I pulled my wounded car into my downtown parking garage and smiled at the look on the attendants' faces.

"What happened?" one asked. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

Never felt better.

Tune in: HoCo Housing Fair

2010-04-10T10:40:00.001-04:00

A correspondent wrote in, alerting us to today's (4/10) housing fair:

In case you can’t make it to the Housing Fair today, here’s a link to the live stream.

We’ll be streaming the opening, when we’ll be giving away a $500 Amex gift card, as well as several of educations sessions. And at 1:30 pm, we’ll be live streaming the Housing Lottery, when we’ll be giving two lucky winners the opportunity to buy houses in Howard County at significantly reduced prices.

We hope you’ll take the time to share this link with the readers of the blog.

Lastly, all of our live streams will be archived and available for embedding and viewing on HowardCountyHousing.com website.

Is The Problem The Phone Or The Yapping?

2010-04-09T07:20:00.001-04:00

The Maryland General Assembly is once again considering whether to ban the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, according to this WaPo story.

The House is scheduled to vote Friday on a bill that has already passed the Senate.

WaPo reported that the research is mixed on whether such a ban would reduce accidents.

The National Safety Council has estimated that cellphone use is responsible for 1.6 million crashes a year, about 28 percent of the national total. The NSC has joined with the group FocusDriven to promote cellphone-free driving.

The NSC also cites studies that show that requiring use of hands-free cellphones -- the step that Maryland might take Friday -- does not reduce crashes.

"Cellphone driving has become a serious public threat," the NSC said in a report issued last month. "A few states have passed legislation making it illegal to use a handheld cellphone while driving. These laws give the false impression that using a hands-free phone is safe."

The NSC pointed to volumes of research that found that regardless of whether a phone is hand-held or hands-free, a cellphone conversation distracts a driver and delays reaction time when a traffic incident occurs.

"Estimates indicate drivers using cellphones look at but fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment," the NSC said.

.....The recent NSC report addressed a question often asked about cellphone use: Why is talking on a cellphone more distracting than a conversation with a passenger? Drawing on more than 30 studies, the NSC concluded:

"Passengers tend to suppress conversation when driving conditions are demanding. Talking on cellphones has a different social expectation because not responding on a cellphone can be considered rude. In addition, callers cannot see when a driving environment is challenging and cannot suppress conversation in response. Passengers can see the roadway and may moderate the conversation."

The report found that some passenger conversations can be distracting, as can listening to loud music.

"But when the same drivers talk on cellphones, they do have a slower response time," the NSC said.

Two Arrested In Shootings

2010-04-09T07:09:00.000-04:00

The Sun reports that police arrested two people involved in two separate shootings that occurred overnight Tuesday in which three people were injured.

Daniel John Palombo, Jr., 24, of 3500 block of Reynard Drive in Ellicott City, was charged in the shooting of Brandon Michael Boswell.

Boswell, 25, had gone with four friends to the 5400 block of Broadwater Lane in Clarksville to meet a man, police said, saying the meeting was possibly drug-related.

Police said Palombo arranged a meeting with Boswell, and planned for two others to rob Boswell. During the meeting, a masked, armed man and woman pulled up in a car, got out, and shot Boswell in the leg.

Palombo was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree assault. The masked man and woman have not been identified.

Police also made an arrest in another shooting that occurred the same night in a trailer park in the 100 block of Alma Ave.

Jessica Matovich, 32, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged as an accessory in the shooting incident, where Arthur Thomas, 27, and Michael Fitchett, 36, were shot in the leg after a confrontation with two people with police believed to be guests at Econo Lodge next door.

When police arrived at the scene, Matovich told police her car was stolen by people involved in the shooting. Police issued an alert for a silver 2003 Chevy Impala. The car was found in Laurel with Matovich inside. Police charged her as an accessory after the fact to attempted first- and second-degree murder and accessory after the fact to first-degree assault. The shooter is still unidentified.

A third shooting on the same night injured two teenage boys in Laurel. No arrests have been made in that incident in the 9100 block of Hitching Post Lane.

Five Wounded In Three Shootings

2010-04-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

From HoCo PD:

Howard County police are investigating three unrelated, non-fatal shooting incidents that occurred overnight Tuesday. Five victims are being treated for injuries.

Four are serious, one is in critical condition. Police are offering a reward of up to $1,500 for information in any of the cases.

The first incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. April 6 in the 5400 block of Broadwater Lane in Clarksville.

Detectives believe the suspects and victims may have known one another. They are looking into whether drugs may have been involved in the case. The victim, an adult male, and four friends agreed to meet a man on Broadwater Lane. During the meeting, an additional car pulled up and two masked suspects, one male and one female, both armed with guns, exited the car and demanded money from the victim and his friends. They took cash and shot the victim in the leg. He was transported to Shock Trauma in serious condition.

The victim is Brandon Michael Boswell, 25, of the 900 block of Swan Creek Road in Ft. Washington. The suspect vehicle description is not being released due to the ongoing investigation.

The second incident occurred at 12:51 a.m. in the 9100 block of Hitching Post Lane in Laurel. Three male teens were walking along the roadway and were approached by an unknown suspect wearing a mask who fired shots, striking two of the teens. One teen was struck in the face and is in serious condition; the other was struck in the back and is critical. Both are at Shock Trauma. The third teen was not injured. The victims are 15- and 16-year-old males and are not being publicly identified.

The third incident occurred at 12:53 a.m. in the 100 block of Alma Avenue in Laurel and is unrelated to the shooting in Laurel minutes earlier. Two groups of people were shouting at each other between a motel and a mobile home park. A fight broke out and two people were shot in the legs. Both are in serious condition at Shock Trauma.

The victims are Arthur Thomas, 27, of the unit block of Alma Avenue, and Michael Fitchett, 36, of unknown address. Police are looking for a silver 2003 Chevy Impala with MD tags JGA226 that was seen leaving the scene and is reportedly stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to call 410-313-STOP.

Somebody's Feeling Optimistic

2010-04-08T08:30:00.001-04:00

From Drop Box

A member of the Talk Team sent us this picture of new housing construction off Route 108 across from the school administration complex. There once was a time when a scene like this might have passed unnoticed.

Plans for the development, called Cedar Grove, call for about a dozen homes with a starting price of $500k.

Our correspondent wonders if a traffic light is included in the plans -- as we can attest it can be hairy getting out on Route 108 from Cedar Lane or the school buildings across the way.

Blandair Nearing Reality?

2010-04-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

HoCo exec Ulman recently released his capital budget proposal for building stuff around the county. The budget includes money to begin creating playgrounds and athletic fields at the old Smith Farm, otherwise known as Blandair.

Here's an excerpt from a letter sent by Candace Dodson Reed, a community liaison in the HoCo government, and distributed by Oakland Mills village folks.

As you may know, in last year’s budget we included funding for Phase I construction at Blandair Regional Park. This year’s budget includes $2.4 million for Blandair, funding that will be used to complete Phase I construction of the three multi-purpose artificial turf fields, a playground, trails, and restrooms included in Phase I, as well as design funding for Phase II. Planning for Blandair has been ongoing for many years, and I know that many are excited to see construction work getting underway.

HoCo Exec Has Surgery After Nosebleed

2010-04-04T10:50:00.000-04:00

From the Sun:

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman had successful surgery early Friday to cauterize what was termed "an arterial bleed in his septum," according to a statement from his spokesman, Kevin Enright. Dr. Domenick Coletti performed the surgery, and Enright said Ulman was "alert and talking." The executive was expected to be released today from Howard County General Hospital. "The Ulmans truly appreciate the numerous calls, e-mails and well-wishes that have come their way during this time," Enright said. Ulman was taken to the hospital Thursday morning after he suffered a massive nosebleed in his office.

Backing Baltimore

2010-03-29T19:25:00.000-04:00

The Tales of Two Cities blog argues that the time has come for HoCo to get behind Baltimore's bid for Google's super-fast broadband service.

After all, for all our talk about being technologically hip, we just can't seem to generate much excitement around here. Which seems weird given that we live right next door to an employer (Fort Meade) that already probably knows a thing or two about the benefits of super-fast broadband.

Two Cities writes:

According to this article by Miguel Helft in The New York Times, “that offer has become catnip for city leaders, civic boosters and economic development types across the nation.”

“The mayor of Duluth, Minn., threw himself into the ice-ringed waters of Lake Superior. The mayor of Sarasota, Fla., immersed himself in a tank filled with bonnethead sharks, simply to one-up him. The mayor of Wilmington, N.C., said that he would even jump out of an airplane — with a parachute, of course.”

I have to admit that the Google Howard County effort looks pretty lame in comparison. On the other hand, the city of Baltimore has made a much more compelling argument for why Charm City should be the choice.

Ulman On Kojo

2010-03-14T13:52:00.000-04:00

The HoCo exec goes on the Kojo Nnamdi's WAMU show "The Politics Hour" and expresses his frustration at the county's failure to snag a piece of stimulus funds intended to help spread access to broadband.

"Frankly, we were shocked. It was a window into the stimulus and how frustrating it is to push money out the door. I understand the due diligence, but at some point we need to get money out the door and create jobs." (Hat tip to the folks at WAMU)