Talk TV: And Now For Sports....

There's a new sports team in town...say hello to DigitalSports Inc., a Columbia firm that is trying to provide an online home for coverage of high school and club sports. Think MySpace blended with local TV for the athletic set.

This is an increasingly competitive business around the Washington area, and the country, and no one has really won over the HoCo market yet. Even WaPo is trying to get in on the act. Here's an example of what the newspaper is doing in Loudoun.

The DigitalSports guys say they want to provide big-time coverage of local games while allowing users to post their own blogs and video clips and creating some revenue-sharing opportunities for teams.

Here's a link from DigitalSports to get a flavor.

Flu Shots on TV

We're trying something new here. WJZ-13 lets you embed its video in your site...Bear with the commercial at the start, its short..

Rest In Peace Doc

At WaPo, we've started a new feature in our Post Mortem blog called the Daily Goodbye, a roundup of notable obituaries around the country.

Here's our Columbia contribution for the day, courtesy of the Sun.

Leslie S. "Doc" Feldman, a pharmacist who once owned drugstores in Long Reach and Dorsey's Search, died of cancer Oct. 31 at his Columbia home, according to this obit. He was 63.

After graduating from Temple University, he "moved to Maryland, where he worked for several pharmacies before opening Long Reach Village Pharmacy in Columbia in 1974. He owned and operated Feldman's Medical Center Pharmacy and Feldman's Dorsey Hall Pharmacy, both in Columbia, and Feldman's Pharmacy in Ellicott City.

"Mr. Feldman stopped working last year because of illness; he had just completed the sale of his drugstores last week.

"That was what he was waiting for," said his wife of 41 years, the former Stefanie Dan."

The Grocery Game Of Chicken

We're on food overload here at Columbia Talk. We're newly minted Costco members, and made our first foray to Trader Joe's. We're trying to stay loyal to our neighborhood Food Lion and still have a hankering for the produce at Produce Galore and MOM's. Then there's David's Natural Market, a rebate check to cash from BJ's, dog treats to pick up at Target and Wal-Mart, and our monthly visit to Lets Dish.

And Wegmans is not even here yet!

Something has got to give. But it made us wonder: Why is a low-margin, fiercely competitive business like the grocery business suddenly so hot? Perhaps the chains are learning something from Perdues of the world. People will pay you more for the parts they want than they will for the whole chicken. Specialize in a segment of the market, say organics or bulk products, and you can steal part of a mainstream grocer's most profitable customers.

At least until we all get too tired of hitting five different stores for the food -- and prices -- we want.

Speeders On Camera

Former HoCo exec and police chief, Jim Robey, is now a state senator. His latest legislative initiative (pdf): He wants to give the county the right to install cameras to catch speeders. If your pic is snapped, you'll be mailed a $75 ticket. The proposed law doesn't spell out how fast is too fast, but the ticket will be treated like a parking ticket and drivers will not be assessed any points.

If you can prove you weren't driving, then you can get out of the ticket but you'll have to rat out who was behind the wheel.

Montgomery already has such cameras and assesses a $45 ticket.

Proceeds are earmarked exclusively for public safety programs.

"A similar, statewide speed-camera bill passed legislative muster in 2003, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.," according to this story in the Sun.

The proposal is just one of several the local delegation is going to take up as it prepares for next year's session of the General Assembly.

"The delegation has scheduled a hearing for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29 in the County Council's chambers in Ellicott City to hear from the public on the bills," the Sun says. They are available for viewing here.

Judging The Judges II

The Flier has come to the rescue. In our afternoon paper we found a story about who these candidates are for circuit court judge. There's a brief recitation of the four applicants' careers and short, short interviews with all but Ricardo Daniel Zwaig, who apparently could not be reached for comment....

Zwaig practices law in Ellicott City somewhere, anyone know him? Perhaps we could fill out the record some.

Also, we see the Sun had a story this morning to at least get the names on record. But really we see more coverage of Columbia council members and school board types than members of the judiciary. The four candidates are seeking to replace Dennis Sweeney, who is retiring.

Judging The Judges

Not just anyone can be a judge. You have to be screened by a nominating commission. Here's a link to a state site explaining the process, and a list of the contenders for a circuit court post being vacated by His Honor Dennis Sweeney, who is retiring after 16 years on the bench.

The judicial branch is one of the least covered branches of government -- the focus is usually on the accused or the prosecutors or the victims. A story in the Examiner is a good example. It focuses on the process but says precious little about the four applicants who are still in the running for what will be a 15-year appointment by the governor. They include two prosecutors (HoCo State's Attorney Timothy McCrone and senior assistant state's attorney Mary Murphy), a chancery judge in juvenile court (Marlys Elaine Patrick), and an attorney with a firm specializing in criminal defense work (Ricardo Zwaig).

An October story in the Flier spent more time on the background of the retiring judge than on the people who could soon be making life-changing rulings, but at least the paper is trying to stir some interest.