This week in The Tentacle
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
How to Make Trash Go Away
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Tomorrow the Carroll County Board of Commissioners will deliberate in open session and – hopefully – make a decision regarding the offer from Frederick County to join forces to make 1,100 tons of trash a day go away.
In recent separate interviews with Carroll County Public Works Director Mike Evans, and Carroll County Commissioners Mike Zimmer and Dean Minnich, the conversation quickly turned away from the actual choice to the intellectual, critical criteria necessary in order to make such a legacy decision.
Both commissioners bristled over the political threats and emotional advocacy and pleaded for more scientific information.
Commissioner Minnich immediately identified science and long-term safety as a decision driver. Commissioner Zimmer also identified science; and both commissioners agreed that a thorough public education and discussion process was critical.
And what an education process it has been so far. In a series of recent conversations with a few old-timers, all agreed that we have never witnessed such an exhaustive and open public discussion and education process on any public policy decision or environmental issue.
Bear in mind, a review of my files indicates that this is my fourth go-round regarding what to do with trash in Carroll County in 41 years – going back to 1967. It was a few short years after the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, that trash really hit the fan in Carroll County.
Read the entire column here: How to Make Trash Go Away
Las Vegas Bound
Tom McLaughlin
Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas! The Elvis Presley tune has not left my brain since I decided to visit that city in the desert.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Havemus Papam!
Roy Meachum
After the cardinals' votes are counted, a white plume from the Sistine Chapel tells St. Peter's Square and the world "We have a pope!" "Havemus Papam," in Latin, once the customary language within the Vatican's walls.
A Change in Direction Needed
Nick Diaz
As your son or daughter and their friends were moving from elementary school to middle school, you may have noticed that a number of them did not want to be identified as “smart kids” – even though they had always done rather well during their elementary years. Some of them were afraid that they would be picked on by other students if it were known that they were bright. Others just wanted to fit in.
Monday, April 14, 2008
General Assembly Journal 2008 – Volume 9
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
It never ceases to amaze. The Maryland General Assembly Session is 90 days long, as defined in the state constitution. Legislators are summoned to Annapolis on the second Wednesday of January every year. At that moment, the 90-day session seems almost eternal, the thought of time away from home and family adds burden to those long winter nights.
Charlton Heston: A Commentary
Steven R. Berryman
I would never pretend to write a biography or obituary for Charlton Heston, and certainly have nothing first hand to offer as does The Tentacle’s Roy Meachum, but I have been affected by his life and his death. And his work.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Mother Egypt Cries – Again!
Roy Meachum
Lurking in newspapers' back pages, correspondents report there are riots along the Nile over the scarcity and cost of bread. For Egypt's millions of poor, it is not simply "the staff of life." Those flat loaves are life itself.
"Leatherheads" & "Smokey Joe"
Roy Meachum
Much to my surprise, "Smokey Joe's Cafe" enchanted and George Clooney's new flick did not.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sine Die Came Too Late
Chris Cavey
This week the General Assembly was dismissed from Annapolis to return home to the real world. And not a moment too soon. The annual legislative session is like a visit to the dentist; you know it has to happen and you’re glad when you are finished – especially if you had a political root canal.
An Open Letter to the Commissioners
Joan McIntyre
I want to thank you in advance of the adoption of next year’s budget. I do this primarily because I know this may well be the most difficult budget year in many of your careers. There will be very little thanks in this particular portion of your job.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Wendi Peters – Mount Airy’s Steel Magnolia
Kevin E. Dayhoff
People were delighted to see former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., last Friday when he came to Frederick County in support of Mount Airy Councilwoman Wendi Wagner Peter’s re-election bid.
Fallen from Grace
Tom McLaughlin
I have trouble equating human life with money. It’s like combining an apple and an orange to make a new fruit. Shakespeare and algebra simply will not go together in a publishable book.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bemoaning Rick Weldon's Farewell
Roy Meachum
The legislative process, state or federal, frequently invokes the image of grass growing; it is generally long and tedious, unmemorable. The real trick for a journalist comes from watching out for "moles," the bills that work slightly undercover, like the fuzzy critters.
How to Avoid Getting Run Over…
Farrell Keough
Sometimes you are the bug and sometimes you are the windshield. It seems that recently we taxpaying residents of Maryland have been the bug. Of course, this covers a multitude of sins.
Monday, April 7, 2008
“1984” Predicts 2008
Steven R. Berryman
Enabling legislation passed by our Maryland General Assembly will allow Frederick to use red light cameras for law enforcement. Frederick is now one small step closer to becoming Montgomery County. Your accuser may be “Big Brother” instead of a police officer. Beware the trend.
The Yin and the Yang of Annapolis
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
This place is really odd. There is just no more appropriate one-word definition. We begin our legislative session in middle of winter’s icy grip, and we end it in all of spring’s emerging glory.
Moses Without a Chariot
Roy Meachum
Charlton Heston and I met a couple of times in Washington. He went to testify before a congressional hearing, something about the American Film Institute.
