Police Say Cop Accidentally Shot Two Kids

From the Sun. Click on this link for full story:

Howard County police today named the two teens who were shot and wounded by a police officer yesterday. The teens were injured by a shot apparently fired accidentally by a Howard County police officer during an investigation of suspected drug activity in a Jessup neighborhood, police said.

Dwain Usery, 14, of Jessup, was shot in the abdomen and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Children's Center where he is in fair condition. Garcia Wilson, 15, also of Jessup, was shot in the arm and was treated at Howard County General Hospital, police said. He was released last night. Both teens are freshmen at Hammond High School, according to the county school system.

Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for Howard County police, said the shooting occurred at 5:19 p.m. at Pleasant Chase Road and Summit Hill Way as undercover officers were conducting surveillance of the area because of suspected drug activity. The undercover officers thought they saw a drug deal taking place in a car, Llewellyn said. She said she didn't know how many officers were involved.

Green Exceptions

The Sun has a story about politicians who talk green and then use gas-guzzling SUVs to get around. One of the few exceptions, the paper says, is our own HoCo exec.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett use hybrid vehicles.

"I just wanted to set a good example," said Bartlett, a conservative Republican from Western Maryland. Seeing elected leaders espouse environmentalism but practice something else "just makes people very cynical," he said.

Bartlett says his Toyota Prius has plenty of room and is safer than a rollover-prone SUV.

"It's a silly justification for conspicuous consumption," the congressman said.

The big SUVs typically get 12 to 16 mpg, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest ratings, though the E-85 Suburbans, which use a mixture of 85 percent corn-based fuel and 15 percent gasoline, burn the equivalent of 6.7 barrels of oil per year compared with 21.4 barrels for the gasoline-only model. The E-85 releases 9.2 tons of global warming gases per year - 2.2 tons less than the gas-powered model - based on 15,000 miles of annual driving.

By contrast, Bartlett's Prius - his second - gets 46 mpg, uses 7.4 barrels of oil annually and releases 4 tons of carbon dioxide.

While corn-based ethanol reduces oil use, production methods can wipe out the benefit to global warming, several experts said.

"There's no scientific evidence that flex-fuel is helping the environment," because there's no certification for how it is made, DeCicco said.

A gallon of ethanol produces less energy than an equal amount of oil, so more must be burned, said David Friedman, research director for the vehicles program of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Ulman's Ford Escape hybrid gets 30 mpg, uses 11.4 barrels of oil a year and puts 6.1 tons of carbon dioxide into the air. The Howard County executive, however, is often chauffeured around the county by a police officer driving an unmarked patrol car.

WSJ Discovers Civility

There's a very nice write up of the civility campaign in Saturday's WSJ (subscription required), with a cameo from blogger Jesse Newburn at Hometown Columbia. We often wonder why you don't see well-told pieces like this in the local media.

Here's how it kicks off:

COLUMBIA, Md. -- Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, 15 miles northeast of here, has a professor of civility. He is P.M. Forni, a 56-year-old Italian of elegant comportment and genteel speech who, a few years ago, set out to imbue America with "gracious goodness."

Who in the Sam Hill does he think he is?

That's what Heather Kirk-Davidoff thought when she noticed a proliferation of bumper stickers on cars around her neighborhood here in Columbia, a city of about 100,000. "Choose Civility in Howard County," the stickers said.

The best comes at the end:

Then came a rap on the door: It was the guest he had agreed to invite for an hour-long cordial exchange on the question of civility. Dr. Forni seated Ms. Kirk-Davidoff at his glass-topped table, offered her a fruit tart, which she declined, and cut the small talk.

"I have a sense you have an objection to my work," he said.

"You know, I live in Columbia," said Ms. Kirk-Davidoff. "It's a community built to foster civility."

"A utopian enterprise," Dr. Forni said, going on to talk of longitudinal behavioral studies and the function of mirror neurons. "You don't like the fact that people should be told explicitly what is good and what is bad?" he asked.

"It's the rules," said Ms. Kirk-Davidoff. "When we learn rules without learning compassion, the rules can do the opposite. Jesus didn't say, 'I am the rule,' right?"

Dr. Forni was quiet for a moment. "Yes," he said. "Jesus said, 'I am the way.' If I had met you before, probably I would have used 'way.' The 25 ways of being considerate and kind."

He managed a smile. The pastor smiled back and stuck out her hand. The professor of civility shook it.

Early Graduation

There was a time in our lives when the idea of early graduation would have been greeted with wild exuberation. Actually, we still think that way. We're just having fun imaging teenagers at an 8 am commencement. That'll get'm ready for the workaday world!

Check out this story in the Flier:

Traditionally, Howard County graduations are held at Merriweather Post Pavilion, in Columbia, during the week after Memorial Day, which this year falls on May 26.

But due to the concert schedule at Merriweather, graduations are being held both before Memorial Day -- May 22 and 23 -- and after, May 29 and 30.

To fit in all 12 area high schools' graduations and accommodate the scheduling needs of Merriweather, two schools -- Howard and Reservoir -- will hold their ceremonies at 8 a.m.

Musical acts Duran Duran and Sheryl Crow are playing at Merriweather May 27 and May 28, respectively.

Free Hugs

This just made us smile:

A Columbia Nature Center

HoCo Exec Ken Ulman's capital budget (that's the one used to build stuff) includes $9.5 million for a nature center in the Middle Patuxent preserve in the western part of Columbia. This would be the first county-owned nature center. When we were growing up, before computer games and TiVo, there was no better day out than a picnic at the Rock Creek nature center in Washington. When we moved to Columbia, we made periodic trips to Patapsco State Park. And does anyone remember the petting zoo at Symphony Woods?

Here's an excerpt from the project description:

In February of 2005, the County purchased 18.4 acres from the Middle Patuxent Nature Center Foundation (now the Robinson Nature Center Foundation). This parcel was deeded to the Foundation as a gift from Anne S. Robinson under the conditions that the Foundation sell the property to the County and that a nature center be constructed on the property. Mrs. Robinson also required the Foundation to donate $1 million to the County for the purposes of design and construction of the County’s first Nature Center. Other funds held by the Foundation can be used for the same purpose, or other purposes related to the nature center such as programming and staffing.

The main objective of the Robinson Nature Center is to bring people together with nature, to learn, to experience nature and the environment around them, and to promote an ethic of stewardship of the land.

To that end the Robinson Nature Center will provide Howard County residents with interesting and exciting educational programs that are based on sound scientific information. The focus will be on experience-based learning for the expressed purpose of teaching the importance of our natural and historic resources. Through these programs we will bridge the gap between people and nature and foster responsible stewardship of all our natural resources.

The center will be comprised of a modern nature center with customary indoor exhibits and displays along with outdoor interpretive trails. The trails will be used for outdoor education, and interpretation of the historic Simpsonville Mill and its surrounds. The indoor exhibits and displays will be both interactive and static in nature. In addition to the main exhibit room, the Center will have a large Discovery Room specifically designed for children’s activities with many “hands-on” exhibits and activities. The Discovery Room will capture the attention of children and educate them about their natural environment. The exhibits and activities will be based on sound environmental science while at the same time, offering an exciting and enjoyable learning experience. The programs and exhibits will address environmental issues on a local, regional and global level. The Center will also provide space for meetings, conferences and special events again bringing people together to learn more about our natural environment.

The Robinson Nature Center will be in harmony with the site. Beyond preserving the integrity of the site, we must create a building that “fits" the site. It will be designed and constructed using “Green Building” technologies emphasizing the importance of conserving energy and natural resources.

Ruff!

Our wonder lab is marking her calendar. From CA:

The Columbia Association (CA) will host its second annual Dog Day Afternoon on Saturday, April 12, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Lake Elkhorn in Columbia. CA invites dog lovers and their four-legged friends to an afternoon stroll around Lake Elkhorn, where they will find doggy treats, activities and lots of tail-wagging fun.

Entertainment includes a DJ, face painting, a caricature artist and a craft area for kids. This free event will feature local businesses and organizations that focus on the health, happiness and well-being of our beloved furry friends. Some activities will include a pet costume contest and fashion show, raffles and contests.

Confirmed vendors for this year’s event include bark!, Barkbusters, Camp Bow Wow, Canine Companions for Independence, Club Pooch, Dogs & Company, Dogtopia, Invisible Fence of Maryland and the Coventry School.

Dog Day Afternoon is part of the Columbia Association’s Welcome Initiative to help new and current residents learn more about Columbia’s history and vision and encourage them to become involved in their community. For more information, please call 410-715-3104 or log onto www.ColumbiaCalendar.org for updates.