Down But Not Out

Pardon the absence. A member of the Talk team decided he didn't want his appendix anymore so we'll going to feed him ice chips for a while. The blog will resume when we return, or can figure out how to get a decent connection at HoCo General.

IMAX Comes to Columbia

Now showing at AMC Columbia Mall 14: Not the super, big screen version but IMAX nonetheless, according to the ExploreHoward blog.


The first IMAX-formatted offering was the thriller “Eagle Eye,” followed by the animated feature “Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa.”

Unlike IMAX films of years past, today’s offerings do not have to be shot with special, large-format IMAX cameras. Film technicians can transform conventional motion pictures into a digital file that conforms to the higher IMAX standards.

....

Sound from the dispersed speakers seemed omni-directional and robust, and the picture — while not totally filling the IMAX screen from top to bottom — displayed optimum contrasts that ranged from the brightest searchlight glares to the deepest black cloaks of midnight. There were no digital artifacts or dropouts and little film grain to distract from the crisp clarity of the images.

Future bookings at the Columbia IMAX Theatre include “Under the Sea 3-D” in February and “Monsters vs. Aliens” in March.

Ulman To Hunters: Keep Your Distance

From HoCo PR:

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced today that in response to yesterday’s accidental shooting in which a hunter’s bullet shattered the front window of a daycare facility in Clarksville, he will be filing legislation to change the distance a gun can be discharged in proximity to a building designed for occupancy by human beings. Executive Ulman seeks to change the distance from 150 yards to a much safer distance. The Administration is presently researching the appropriate yardage to recommend for this legislation.

“I realize no one was injured in this incident, but that’s because luck was on our side--this time,” said Ulman. “It is clear to me that if these bullets can travel far more than 150 yards, then we must change the County Code to establish a safety zone which would exceed that distance. I know County Council members share my concerns, and I look forward to working with them to improve public safety in the County.”

In yesterday’s incident, six children and three adults were inside the facility at the time of the shooting. Howard County Police are not filing charges against the hunter whose bullet entered the daycare because the investigation indicates he did nothing illegal; police believe the shot was fired from 277 yards away.

At present Howard County Code Section 8.401 states:

“It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a gun from, onto, across or within one hundred (100) yards of the right-of-way of any public highway in the county and shall be unlawful at any time for any person other than the owner and/or occupant to shoot or discharge any gun within one hundred fifty (150) yards of any dwelling, house, residence or other building or camp designed for occupancy by human beings, the area within that distance being hereby defined as a safety zone, or to shoot on, from, onto or across any safety zone or any public or private land for any purpose, without the express prior written consent of the owner thereof.”

General Growth Refinances Loans

Finally, some good news for the owner of the mall and oher properties in Columbia.

Chicago, Illinois, December 12, 2008-General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE:GGP) announced today the completion of approximately $896 million of mortgage loans. The maturity dates of these mortgage loans range from five to seven years. The proceeds were fully used to retire a $58 million bond issued by The Rouse Company LP maturing December 11, 2008, as well as to refinance approximately $814 million of mortgage indebtedness scheduled to mature in 2009. These refinanced loans are separate from the Fashion Show and Palazzo mortgage loans currently scheduled to mature on December 12, 2008. The Company is continuing discussions with its syndicate of lenders for a further extension of these two mortgage loans. There can be no assurance that the Company will obtain these further extensions.

Stray Shot Hits Daycare Center

From HoCo PD:

Stray Bullet from Hunters Shatters Glass at Daycare Facility

The Howard County Police Department is investigating an incident where the front window of a daycare facility was accidentally shot out by hunters in Clarksville earlier today.

Police received the call from a worker at Kids Time Out daycare center in the 5800 block of Clarksville Square Drive at 1:30 p.m. Employees had heard gunshots and glass shattering and took the children into a bathroom inside the facility before calling police.

Police arrived on scene and did a search of the immediate area but were unable to locate anything suspicious. Patrol officers located a shattered window and a projectile on the window ledge.

A search by patrol of the area behind the facility revealed that two hunters had shot a deer several hundred yards away, and that a bullet shot at the deer traveled on and struck the window. The hunters were hunting with shotguns and were further away than the required 150 yards from an occupied dwelling.

There were six children, two workers and one parent in the facility at the time of the shooting. No one was injured. Parents were notified of the incident by the facility.

The incident is still under investigation.

For Rent: One Historic Basement

With projections of 4 million visitors and 10,000 charter buses descending on Washington for the Obama inauguration, we're thinking we might want to rent out the basement of Columbia Talk headquarters....

The folks at the Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge are already ahead of us, according to this circular spotted by a member of the Talk Team:

A Historic Inn For A Historic Occasion

Here's your package information.....

Rooms are still available for this historic inauguration event at Belmont Conference Center, located in Elkridge, Maryland, just 25 miles north of Washington, and just off I95. Located 8 miles from BWI Airport, Amtrak and MARC train stations.

Belmont has three buildings:

The Manor House - 15 Guest Rooms
The Cottage - 4 Guest Rooms
Dobbin House - 5 Guest Rooms

Continental Breakfast is included each morning. Dinners are available with advanced reservations.

Prices are as follows:

Manor House - prices vary depending on size of room - $230 - $280
Dobbin House - $255 ea.
Cottage - $280.00 ea.

All room prices are per night and have a 3 night minimum. Add 6% MD State tax.

Please visit our website



or call today at (410) 773-4300 for reservations!

Civility Wins!

Ho ho. The natterers of negativity have shut down the Embrace Hostility blog. Picking on the decent minded was just too easy. The harder work comes in building things up. But we'll let the author of the blog, Ryan Ballengee, explain:

I must admit, I've had fun poking at the Choose Civility in Howard County campaign. It was an easy target and I cracked some people up during their day. That's pretty rewarding. But, I think I have more to offer to the discourse of Columbia than just easy jokes that anyone can make. That's why I'll be moving this blog into archive status starting today.

Yeah, occasionally, I'll probably go ahead and make a post over here to observate on the ridiculous or the sublime. It's time, though, to start talking in detail about that higher standard to which I think Columbia and Howard County should be held. It's way bigger than civility.

That said, I hope that you'll join me over at my new blog called Columbia Now. We'll be talking Columbia news and issues. It'll have a political slant to it, but I hope to keep the conversation there - for lack of a better term - civil. I think that civic discourse is extremely important. Now that I have been here for a year, I find it high time that I get into it.

Welcome Columbia Now.