Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Friday, October 05, 2007

20071003 Kathryn Leiter watch

20071003 Kathryn Leiter watch

Kathryn Leiter watch


October 3rd, 2007


Recently folks around town have taken notice of one of the several talented writers for the Carroll County Times - Kathryn Leiter.


I’d post her web site picture, but when I had a chance to talk with her at a community function some time ago, she told me she hates the picture…


I just checked the web site and the same photo she hates is still up on the site…


If I am not mistaken, I was told that she is a former copy editor. Which may explain why her pieces are written so tightly? As opposed to that of an old short story writer such as myself, who all too often goes rambling-on in this and that direction. (There’s a reason I write columns – and only a few articles…)


And – as an added bonus, she is from the area - Catonsville, so she knows the lay of the land and has some insight into our community traditions – and history…


I’m not quite sure when she first started writing articles, but recently many appreciated her articles on disaster preparedness, local governments’ web sites becoming more customer-friendly, the Monarch butterflies, or the non-profits – a subject near and dear to the hearts of many Carroll Countians.


And who can forget the great piece on the vaccination clinic at the Ag Center:


“It’s raining cats and dogs and ferrets. The Carroll County Agriculture Center’s riding barn was filled with hundreds of cats, dogs and ferrets, as owners took advantage of the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic Sunday….”


But her recent “Sunday package” published in the Sunday, September 30th, 2007 edition of the paper, on our youngest generation beginning to assume leadership roles in the community, really caught the attention of the community.


Ultimately, if one is not academically schooled in the matter of “community leadership succession”; even the most unsophisticated in our community understands that our youth are the folks who will need to take over the reins one day.

If not for any other reason than the fact that at some point, us older folks want to retire and let someone else take on the responsibilities (read: headaches and opportunities) of maintaining our community as a great place to live – and grow old.

Moreover, there are those of us, this writer in particular, who feel that the current 18 to 30 year-olds have a great deal of promise. See also: 20050713 Today’s Youth – They are Fantastic and 20070601 Out of the mouths of today’s future leaders

Personally I have had the pleasure of working with Manchester town councilmember Ryan Warner for several years and it is about time he got the attention that he deserves. Whether one agrees with him or disagrees with him – and I have done both over the years – he is a perfect gentleman and always has what is in the best interests of the community at heart.

And what else can be said about Dr. Herb Smith, he has now been selflessly tutoring future leaders for several decades and it was nice to see him get the attention he deserves.


So the next time you go to the Carroll County Times web site or pick up a copy of the newspaper at the newsstand, be sure to look for her byline, along with my other favorites these days, Ryan Marshall, Carrie Ann Knauer and Jordan Bartel – to mention a few.


Kathryn Leiter watch


Four under 40

Alexander Hamilton hadn’t even reached 20 when he first showed interest in politics. James Madison and Edmund Randolph joined the political arena in their early 20s. Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth held political office in their early 30s.... Sep. 30, 2007;


Starting young

Many Carroll County council members are retired from their careers, giving them the time to put in to the community. When Ryan Warner was 24, he decided he didn’t want to wait until he retired. Warner was first elected to the Manchester Town Co... Sep. 30, 2007;


Prof: Interest in activism steadily rising

Herb Smith has been a political science professor at McDaniel College in Westminster since 1971 and has been involved in politics since he was 14 years old. Q: What do you think attracts younger people to politics? A: Well, there’s always the a... Sep. 30, 2007;


Hampstead moves to online bill payments

Hampstead residents will be able to save their stamps the next time their water bills arrive as the town becomes the first in the county to allow residents to pay their water bills online. The addition to the town’s Web site launched Tuesday, a... Oct. 1, 2007;


Protection for pets: Owners bring animals to Ag Center for Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic

It’s raining cats and dogs and ferrets. The Carroll County Agriculture Center’s riding barn was filled with hundreds of cats, dogs and ferrets, as owners took advantage of the Anti-Rabies Vaccination Clinic Sunday. “It’s a g... Oct. 1, 2007;


Learning lessons in lemon lore

When life handed them lemons, even the Victorians made lemonade. At the Carroll County Farm Museum’s final Learning Lunch for the year, food historian Pat Reber gave a group of 17 the history on the summertime drink. The British or European ver.. Oct. 2, 2007;


Fallfest-ivities: Part of food sales go toward selected groups

The carnival rides don’t open until Thursday, but Westminster Fall-fest starts today with a fundraising event. Festivities officially begin with Dine Out Westminster, an event where 10 percent of all food sales benefit four Fallfest groups: Car... Sep. 25, 2007;


Ready to take flight: Youths prepare butterflies for migration at Monarch Madness

Jennifer Jaco delicately handles a monarch butterfly, placing it on the tip of a child’s nose. As the butterfly flutters away, children cheer and parents take pictures. However, this isn’t your average butterfly. This butterfly has a smal...
Sep. 24, 2007;


Goodwill, Salvation Army preparing for busy season

As fall approaches, residents will delve into their wardrobes and don warmer clothes. With the switch from shorts to jeans, residents are cleaning out their closets and donating more to area charity organizations, according to Wayne Hatcher, director...Sep. 20, 2007;


Carroll News Briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007

Public input sought for emergency plans The public will soon get an opportunity to weigh in on county plans to prevent and manage disasters. A public hearing on a revised Emergency Operations Plan and new Hazard Mitigation Plan is expected to be sche... Sep. 26, 2007; scored 249.0

Labels: Kathryn Leiter watch; Art Writing Essays and articles, Carroll County Times

20071004 The upcoming Presidency and the Supreme Court conference info


The upcoming Presidency and the Supreme Court conference info

October 4, 2007

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/PSChome.html

AGENDA | FLYER

The Presidency and the Supreme Court conference brings together a wide range of speakers, including scholars, policymakers, and journalists to deliberate on the complex relationship between the Court and the Presidency and the impact of that interaction on American society. Panels focus not only on the political process of Supreme Court nominations and confirmations, but examines the Court's influence on social issues, civil rights and governmental power in times of crisis. The conference also includes a keynote address by former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

To register call (845) 486-1966.


This conference is sponsored by the nation's twelve Presidential Libraries, their foundations, the National Archives, the Foundation for the National Archives, and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute with generous support from:

Thomson West

Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP

Frederick P. Furth

Wiley Rein LLP

CONFERENCE HOME | AGENDA | FLYER

Thursday, October 04, 2007

20071003 This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

It all began with President Harry Truman

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Sixty years ago, on October 5, 1947, an American president delivered a speech live on television.

History reflects that the speech delivered by President Harry S Truman was hardly memorable. According to an article on the event in "American Heritage," by Christine Gibson, "the October 5 broadcast did have a large effect on the free world, just not in a way Truman, or anyone at the time, could have predicted."

Today, most people take for granted a world dominated by cell phones, instant messaging, computers, and cable TV. News and entertainment travels around the world in minutes, if not seconds; but in 1947 much of the news was disseminated by way of the radio or newspapers.

Ever since, television has played an integral role in politics, especially presidential politics. By around 1960, more people got their news from television broadcasts than newspapers - or the radio.

It has only been as recent as the 2000 presidential election that television's stranglehold on maintaining the dominant narrative which shapes much of public opinion on national politics has been slowly but surely replaced by the Internet.

In a parallel dynamic, television and the Internet - and newspapers - are slowly but surely merging. However it was President Truman's 1947 speech which set the political landscape on its head.

Read the rest: It all began with President Harry Truman


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Opposing Views, Good Policy

Farrell Keough

A funny thing happened on the way to the Editorial Store. I got replies to my inquiries and did not have to make a purchase. No really, there is an Editorial Store! But they are expensive and have terrible business hours.


Monday, October 1, 2007

Singapore

Tom McLaughlin

The place is like walking into a hospital. It is soooooooo clean. There is a hefty fine for depositing a piece of paper or cigarette remains. One cannot buy chewing gum. Drug runners receive the mandatory death sentence.


Friday, September 28, 2007

Thoreau & Winchester Hall

Norman M. Covert

One of the perquisites of being hors de combat for many months is preoccupation with what ails you. Henry David Thoreau would have penned his musings in solitude - not an option here. Somehow the recovery room's Zenith found the Frederick County Board of Commissioners on COMCAST.

Wait Until Next Year

George Wenschhof

The end of September brings a lot of excitement to major league baseball fans for the long (162 game) schedule is coming to an end. Wishful hopes abound that their team will win the division or capture the wild card slot. Their team would then make the play-offs with a chance to win the Fall Classic in Sports, the World Series.


Thursday, September 27, 2007

No Apology Needed

Chris Cavey

This evening is the "All-American Presidential Forum" at Morgan State University, hosted by Tavis Smiley and broadcast on PBS. Outside of those of us directly involved with this production, and the students at Morgan, the anticipation of the event is like waiting in line for a viewing at a funeral home.

Rearing Its Ugly Head Again

Derek Shackelford

Here we go again with the issue of race surfacing over the last couple of weeks. It is not enough that much attention was given to shock jock Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. The outrage that those comments garnered caused Mr. Imus to lose his national morning radio program.


Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Priceless Right to Free Speech

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It has certainly been an interesting week for the exercise of our sacred right to freedom of speech in the United States. Various recent developments in this most cherished of rights provided a rich target environment for the news media, constitutional scholars, and pundits alike.


Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Peace Be Unto You

Roy Meachum

Our blue-eyed, blonde-hair culture becomes more antagonistic as our numbers decrease as a proportion of the population. There are those among us who hate all those darker-hair, brown-eyes who are popping up everywhere.

Both Sides Now

Farrell Keough

Global Warming, Global Cooling, Climate Change, et al are the headlines of the crisis de jour. Most people do not involve themselves in this debate as it seems too complicated and all the scientists agree, so it must be true.


Monday, September 24, 2007

Striking the Deal

Richard B. Weldon Jr.

I really wanted to write about the Great Frederick Fair, but Patricia Kelly did such a great job on last Thursday's Tentacle, I wouldn't pretend to try.

####

20071003 Living and loving in the age of asparagus

Living and loving in the age of asparagus

or

Mary Katherine Ham to Alicia Silverstone: Go Hunting

October 3rd, 2007

Although I have spent a large portion of my life as a vegetarian; as I grew older and life got particularly hectic, I gave it up – for now anyway. Who knows, tomorrow, I may go back. Whatever.

A number of years ago, as I was attempting to reason with an unreasonable person and losing miserably, a colleague said to me:

“You know what your problem is?”

“Ugh.” I really did not need advice at that particular moment; however, I prized his friendship and sheepishly asked: “What?”

“It's a dog eat dog world out there, and you're a vegetarian!"

We solved that by going out to a sub shop where I gave up the anorexic bliss of salads and voraciously scarfed down a cheese-steak sandwich.

It was a road to Damascus experience

I still lose miserably with folks who accept narcissistic fiction as fact, however, I am bigger now and I figure that if I am to be eaten alive, I might as well give folks a flavorful super-sized meal.

Then again, to be candid, I was never good at being a vegetarian. I never stopped eating animal crackers and every once and awhile at Moms, I’d dive into a steak – and I can rarely remember missing turkey at Thanksgiving.

I have a number of colleagues and some family members who are, at the moment, practicing vegetarians - and I respect that choice. Besides, I really like vegetables. Then there are folks who don’t like vegetables or are otherwise broccoli intolerant. To them I say, ya really ought to “give peas a chance.”

A member of my family, who is an avid vegetarian, recently gave some seafood a try.

Bold.

Writing for the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach says:

“Certain kinds of seafood, such as lobster, clams and crabs, are honorary forms of meat, but a small filet of a low-fat white fish should be viewed as essentially a vegetable. Raw oysters are manfood, as is any fish served with the head on and the mouth gaping in horror.

Me, I could live off of Dr. Pepper, coffee and grits. Hey, don’t knock the cooking with Dr. Pepper book. There are some great recipes in there.

I never tried the “vegan” approach. I often wondered how the term came about. When I was quite young I had a great deal of confusion over the term “vegetarian.” If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Mr. Achenbach calls to our attention a savior for vegans, who every once in awhile, go Jonesing for a milkshake – “soy cows.”

In the column he was initially singing the praises of his new “Fabulator 5000.”

What is a “Fabulator 5000?” I am so glad you asked. I was fascinated about this development since I am still using the Fabulator model No. 1953.

I’ll let Mr. Achenbach ‘splain:

“I love my new food printer, the Fabulator 5000, which makes the previous food printers look not just clunky but positively medieval. There's no more click-and-point nonsense on the screen, no more waiting five or six interminable minutes for the food to print. You just tell the Fab 5 what you want. The food comes out in about three or four seconds, complete with garnish and a complementary wine.”

Oh, the “soy cows?” Apparently Mr. Achenbach recently “took the kids … to Homewood Farm to see a good old-fashioned agricultural enterprise…”

“I got a look at the new soy cows, grazing in the large field just north of the orchard. The USDA apparently felt that soy milk could be produced much more efficiently if it came from cows made of soy. These cows are so green they nearly blend into the landscape. They say the soy milk is a lot better tasting (not as beany, somehow) than the stuff derived from plants, and the soy burgers are more tender. But you've probably read about how the soy cows dry up badly in drought conditions -- they literally wilt -- and even catch fire. Bored teenagers have been blamed for setting some of the cow fires.”

There is much to be appreciated by the vegetarian lifestyle; nevertheless my goal was to not be evangelical about it all.

But – and ya know there was going to be a “but” in here soon – I’ve never been fond of PETA’s Strindbergian gloom and bleakness approach to advocacy.

When I was a practicing vegetarian, invariably, some folks would suggest some linkage to me, a vegetarian, with PETA’s in-your-face humorless lactose intolerant militancy. An approach which often seems more oriented to being obnoxious and annoying instead of being compelling and persuasive to what is otherwise, a perfectly fine lifestyle, vegetarianism, for which PETA routinely does an injustice....

At a local government - social event, a local elected official’s wife was horrified that I was a vegetarian. “How can a big strapping former Marine be a vegetarian,” she gasped.

I solved that in quick order. She was a dog lover and the owner of a huge dog. I mean huge – about the size of a water buffalo.

I asked her if she had ever eaten dog. When I was in the Marines, a South Vietnamese ranger once cooked-up a mess of dog.

It tasted like chicken.

I suggested to my scowling friend that her St. Bernard could feed an entire village… And one wonders why I lost my last election?

Recently Alicia Silverstone did an ad for PETA that has garnered a great deal of attention. I can’t believe that it is winning over any converts to vegetarianism, but it has attracted attention to PETA.

Whether it is really the sort of attention that an advocacy organization wants is a bigger issue for which there is not right or wrong, it just isn’t my cup of tea.

Nevertheless, in age of so much strife and discord, I yearn for a time when peas will rule the planets, and love won’t be such a fuss. I long for the dawn of the age of asparagus.

Enter stage right, Mary Katherine Ham. Ms. Ham has done a spoof on the Ms. Silverstone ad that is a real crack-up.

Please enjoy it:

####

No animals were hurt in the writing of this column.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com and Winchester Report.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

20070921 Five Key Myths About President Bush’s Support for SCHIP Reauthorization

Five Key Myths About President Bush's Support for SCHIP Reauthorization

State Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization

President Bush believes that S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) should return to it’s original focus, which is helping those children in need.

The President’s 2008 budget proposed to increase S-CHIP funding by $5 billion over five years, which is a 20 percent increase over current levels of funding.

This important program helps children whose families cannot afford private health insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid to get coverage they need. President Bush calls on Congress to pass a responsible S-CHIP bill.

Myth/Fact: Five Key Myths About President Bush's Support for SCHIP Reauthorization

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 21, 2007

Myth/Fact: Five Key Myths About President Bush's Support for SCHIP Reauthorization

In Focus: Healthcare

MYTH #1: President Bush's proposal would not help poor children.

FACT: The President strongly supports SCHIP reauthorization and his 2008 budget proposed to increase SCHIP funding by $5 billion over five years. This is a 20 percent increase over current levels of funding.

FACT: The President's proposal maintains SCHIP's original purpose of targeting dollars to poor children who need them most.

MYTH #2: Cost is the only reason for President Bush's veto threat.

FACT: There are numerous problems with Congress's SCHIP bill. In addition to raising spending by $35 to $50 billion, the legislation:

1. Turns a program meant to help poor children into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year.

2. Would move millions of American children who now have private health insurance into government-run health care.

3. Is an incremental step toward the Democrats' goal of a government-run health care system.

4. Raises taxes on working Americans.

5. Relies on a budget gimmick that drops SCHIP funding by almost 80 percent in year six, masking future deficits and ultimately resulting in a choice between higher taxes or forcing millions of children to lose health insurance.

6. Creates new funding schemes inviting states to overspend their budgets and shift health care costs to the Federal government by using SCHIP funding to offset state Medicaid spending.

7. Provides incentives to states to relax protections against enrolling ineligible individuals, including illegal immigrants.

MYTH #3: President Bush is wrong in claiming the Senate SCHIP bill would cover children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 per year (400 percent of the Federal poverty level).

FACT: The Senate bill grandfathers in New York at a higher SCHIP match rate than the rest of the country – allowing SCHIP to cover children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 per year.

Background Information:

Sens. Clinton and Schumer: "New York State's planned CHIP expansion would have covered children up to 400 percent of the national poverty level." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Press Release, "Clinton, Schumer Blast Federal Rejection Of New York's Attempts To Increase Health Coverage For Children," 9/7/07)

The Federal Poverty Level for a family of four is $20,650. Four hundred percent of $20,650 is $82,600. ("The 2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines," Accessed 9/20/07, Available At: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml)

The Senate bill states: "(B) - Exception - Subparagraph (A) [the limitation of the matching rate to the Medicaid rate for children whose effective income exceeds 300 percent of the Federal poverty level] shall not apply to any State that, on the date of enactment of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, has an approved State Plan Amendment or waiver to provide, or has enacted a State law to submit a State plan amendment to provide, expenditures described in such subparagraph under the State child health plan."

New York enacted a state law to submit a "State plan amendment." While that amendment was disapproved, the language of the Senate bill would still allow New York to claim the enhanced match if approved by a different Administration in the future.

FACT: The Senate SCHIP bill also grandfathers in New Jersey's program at 350 percent of the Federal poverty level, which includes children in families with incomes of $72,000 a year.

Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ): "Corzine added that the state, which covers about 122,000 kids in its program, known as FamilyCare, 'will continue to provide health care to children in families with income up to 350 percent' of the federal poverty level – or $72,275 for a family of four. He also wrote that he is prepared to file a lawsuit challenging the new rules." (Christopher Lee, "N.J.'s Corzine to Defy New Health-Care Rules," The Washington Post, 9/14/07)

MYTH #4: Democrats are not seeking a political victory by passing a bill they know will be vetoed.

FACT: House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL): "If he vetoes the bill, it's a political victory for us." (Robert Pear, "Veto Risk Seen In Compromise On Child Health," The New York Times, 9/17/07)

FACT: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD): "With a bill on its way to the president's desk by the end of next week, Democrats will be safe in blaming the White House for allowing the program to expire, according to House Majority Leader Hoyer." (Fawn Johnson, "Negotiators Strike SCHIP Deal, Agree To Slightly Modified Senate Measure," National Journal's CongressDaily, 9/19/07)

FACT: House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA): "The Medicare and Medicaid portions of CHAMP have been abandoned for rhetorical and/or political reasons that are unclear to me." (Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Dear Democratic Colleague Letter, 9/20/07)

MYTH #5: President Bush will be responsible if SCHIP is not reauthorized by September 30.

FACT: Congress is irresponsibly waiting until just before SCHIP expires on September 30 to pass a final bill they know will be vetoed. Democrats have known for months that President Bush would veto a bill like the one they intend to send him.

FACT: One of the Democrats' leaders has even said such a veto would be a "political victory." Members of Congress are putting health coverage for poor children at risk just so they can score political points in Washington.

FACT: President Bush has called on Congress to pass a clean, temporary extension of the current SCHIP program that he can sign by September 30. The President does not believe health coverage for poor children should be held hostage while political ads are being made and new polls are being taken.

FACT: The President has instructed HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt to work with states to mitigate the resulting damage if Congress allows SCHIP to lapse.

# # #


Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070921-6.html

Related: 20071002 SCHIP Congressman Bartlett casts the correct vote

20070907 Fiscal Year 2008 Howard County Arts Council Grant Awards Announced

Fiscal Year 2008 Howard County Arts Council Grant Awards Announced

It is with all due respect that I venture to row in Howard County’s pond. We certainly have great bloggers in Howard County who cover the territory quite well. Nevertheless, it appears that the arts are alive and well in Howard County.

I have written about the enormous positive economic impact of the arts. The social, cultural, and economic return for every dollar a community spends on the arts is unexpectedly high – and it is a critical economic indicator of a thriving community…

Many years ago I participated in a group show in Howard County under the auspices of the Howard County Arts Council and was quite impressed with the organization…

_____

PRESS RELEASE --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2007 – Received Tuesday, October 2, 2007 1:27 PM

Contact: Coleen West

Phone: (410) 313-2787

E-mail: coleen@hocoarts.org

FISCAL YEAR 2008 HOWARD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL GRANT AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Ellicott City, MD - On Friday, September 7, 2007, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced that 38 arts and cultural organizations will receive $361,017.31 in matching grants from the Howard County Arts Council for Fiscal Year 2008. Senator James N. Robey, Joyce Leviton representing Senator Ben Cardin, Howard County Council member ' s Calvin Ball, Jennifer Terrasa, Greg Fox, and Jay Dick of Americans for the Arts supported Mr. Ulman in presenting the awards to grantees.

The awards were announced at the Arts Council's annual meeting and reception on September 7, at the Howard County Center for the Arts. These matching grants will be used by 19 Howard County organizations; 11 Howard County public schools; and 8 key Baltimore City organizations to support general operations, artist residencies, and special projects in the arts. Over 300 HCAC members and friends joined state and local politicians at the grant award ceremony.

Community Arts Development Grants fund day-to-day activities for Howard County arts organizations as well as special projects in the arts; $205,605.65 was awarded to the following 19 organizations for FY2008:

Blossoms of Hope ... The Howard County Cherry Tree Project Project

$339.65

Candlelight Concert Society

Operating

$30,000.00

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Project

$3,000.00

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts

Operating

$23,618.00

Columbia Community Players

Project

$1,800.00

Columbia Concert Band and Jazz Band

Project

$3,000.00

Columbia Festival of the Arts

Operating

$50,465.00

Columbia Orchestra

Operating

$18,800.00

Columbia Pro Cantare

Operating

$24,154.00

Harmony of the Sol

Project

$3,000.00

Howard County Ballet

Project

$340.00

Howard County Poetry and Literature Society Operating $11,515.00 Hua

Sha Chinese Dance Center Project $3,000.00 Kinetics Dance Theatre

Operating $8,775.00 Little Patuxent Review Project $1,800.00 Misako

Ballet Company Project $1,500.00 Rep Stage/HCC Educational Foundation

Operating $14,999.00 Showtime Singers Project $3,000.00 Sundays at

Three Project $2,500.00

The Jim Rouse Theatre (JRT) Subsidy Program assists community arts groups by partially underwriting theatre rental fees; $14,370 was awarded to the following 6 organizations for FY2008:

Columbia Orchestra

$5,478.75

Columbia Pro Cantare

$3,641.25

Howard County Ballet

$1,355.00

Howard County Poetry and Literature Society $827.50 Hua Sha Chinese

Dance Center $750.00 Kinetics Dance Theatre $2,317.50

Artist-in-Education Project Grants are a partnership between the Arts Council and local Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to place professional artists in residence at Howard County Schools to help students foster creative expression; $17,841.66 in funding was awarded to the following 11 schools for FY2008:

Bollman Bridge Elementary School PTA

$1,133.00

Elkridge Landing Middle School PTA

$2,000.00

Folly Quarter Middle School PTA

$674.00

Guilford Elementary School PTA

$2,025.00

Hammond Elementary School PTA

$1,333.00

Harper ' s Choice Middle School PTA

$1,773.33

Jeffers Hill Elementary School PTA

$1,831.67

Longfellow Elementary School PTA

$725.00

Patapsco Middle School PTA

$1,333.33

Running Brook Elementary School PTA

$2,513.33

Swansfield Elementary School PTA

$2,500.00

Baltimore City Arts and Cultural Grants provide funding to key Baltimore City organizations that provide significant services to Howard County residents; $123,200 was awarded to the following 8 organizations for FY2008:

Baltimore Museum of Art

$27,300.00

Baltimore Museum of Industry

$6,625.00

Center Stage

$16,750.00

Maryland Historical Society

$5,000.00

Maryland Science Center

$10,500.00

Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

$9,250.00

National Aquarium

$25,125.00

The Walters Art Museum

$22,650.00

Howard County Arts Council grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit, ability of the applicant to carry out the project, and level of service to the community. Grantees are selected through a competitive process in which applications are reviewed by an advisory panel made up of academics and artists representing a variety of disciplines. Grant award recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the Howard County Arts Council Board of Directors.

The Arts Council ' s grant program is supported through grants from the Howard County government and the Maryland State Arts Council as well as through the Howard County Arts Council ' s own foundation, corporate, and individual giving initiatives.

# # #

The Howard County Arts Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the citizens of Howard County by fostering the arts, artists and arts organizations. The Howard County Arts Council receives major grants from the Howard County Government and the Maryland State Arts Council and sustaining annual support from corporate, foundation and individual sponsors. Howard County Arts Council offices are located at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043. The Howard County Center for the Arts is a handicapped accessible facility and full participation of individuals with disabilities is encouraged. For information, call 410.313.ARTS (2787), fax 410.313.2790, or email info@hocoarts.org.

Labels:

Howard County Current Events

Art - Economic Benefits of Art

20071002 SCHIP Congressman Bartlett casts the correct vote

SCHIP Congressman Bartlett casts the correct vote

SCHIP - Senate Majority Leader Reid singles out Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's vote

October 2nd, 2007

I can understand that it was not an easy vote – but it was the correct vote. Thank you Congressman Bartlett...


From: Wright, Lisa

Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 5:35 PM

Subject: SCHIP - Senate Majority Leader Reid singles out Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's vote

“I want to thank Majority Leader Henry Reid for recognizing that I cast the only correct vote about SCHIP in the state of Maryland,” said Congressman Roscoe Bartlett upon learning that the Senate Majority Leader mentioned today there was only one vote in Maryland to sustain the President’s veto of the SCHIP expansion.

Congressman Bartlett added, “I’m proud that I voted to create the SCHIP program in 1997. I want to help the working poor, but Democrats are demanding that SCHIP be expanded to have government-controlled, taxpayer-paid health care for millions of children who already have private health coverage.”

Lisa Lyons Wright

Press Secretary/Energy and Stem Cell Legislative Assistant

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett

2412 Rayburn

####

20070924 Teen Finds Her Flickr Image On Bus Stop Ad


File under “Oops.”

Teen Finds Her Flickr Image On Bus Stop Ad

Dallas Family Sues Virgin Mobile Over Unauthorized Use Of Girl's Image In Australian Ads

(CBS/AP) DALLAS, Tex., Sept. 25, 2007

Photo credit: Through the magic of the Internet, a photo of Texas teenager Alison Chang ended up on a bus stop advertising mobile phone service in Adelaide, Australia (inset). Virgin Mobile said that it was within their rights to use the original photo posted on Flickr without authorization. (CBS/Justin Wong, Brenton Cleeland)

DALLAS, Tex., Sept. 25, 2007


(CBS/AP) An American family has sued Australia's Virgin Mobile phone company, claiming it caused their teenage daughter grief and humiliation by plastering her photo on billboards and Web site advertisements without consent.

The family of Alison Chang, who lives in Texas, says Virgin Mobile grabbed the picture from Flickr, Yahoo Inc.'s popular photo-sharing Web site, and failed to credit by name the photographer who took the photo.

Chang's photo was part of a Virgin Mobile Australia campaign called "Are You With Us Or What?" It features pictures downloaded from Flickr superimposed with the company's ad slogans.

The picture of 16-year-old Chang flashing a peace sign was taken at an April church car wash by Alison's youth counselor, Justin Ho-Wee Wong, who posted it that day on his Flickr page, according to Alison's brother, Damon.

The commercial use was discovered when Brenton Cleeland, a photographer in Australia, noticed a bus stop ad in Adelaide featuring Chang, with a line on the bottom of the ad saying the image had been taken from www.flickr.com/photos/chewywong.

[…]

Associated Press Writer David Koenig contributed to this report.

Read the entire article here: Teen Finds Her Flickr Image On Bus Stop Ad

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/24/tech/main3290986.shtml

Related: Flickr On The Fly

Internet Fraud: Figures from the FBI on various forms of Web deceit.

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20071002 Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified


We owe a debt to their sacrifice and service. May we never forget… Bring them all home…

Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 16:07:00 -0500


IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1180-07 October 02, 2007


Servicemen Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Capt. Warren R. Orr Jr., U.S. Army, of Kewanee, Ill.; and Airman 1st Class George W. Long, U.S. Air Force, of Medicine, Kan. Long was buried Sept. 30 in Medicine and Orr's burial is being set by his family.

On May 12, 1968, these men were part of a crew on a C-130 Hercules evacuating Vietnamese citizens from the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp near Da Nang, South Vietnam. While taking off, the crew reported taking heavy enemy ground fire. A forward air controller flying in the area reported seeing the plane explode in mid-air soon after leaving the runway.

In 1985 and 1991, U.S. officials received remains and identification tags from sources claiming they belonged to men in this crew. Scientific analysis revealed they were not American remains, but it was believed the Vietnamese sources knew where the crash site was located.

In 1993, a joint/U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Kham Duc and interviewed four local citizens concerning the incident. They led the team to the crash site, and turned over remains and identification tags they had recovered in 1983 while looking for scrap metal. During this visit, the team recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage at the site.

In 1994, another joint team excavated the crash site and recovered remains, pieces of life-support equipment, crew-related gear and personal effects.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.


U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/

Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132

Public Contact: http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

20070930 Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

Former Speaker of the House Criticizes Campaign Finance Laws

By MARY BRUCE, Sept. 30, 2007 —

Former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich reiterated this morning that his recent pass on a 2008 White House bid was a legal necessity.

Gingrich rejected the notion that it was for lack of resources or potential. He announced this weekend that he would not be a Republican candidate because it would prohibit him from continuing to work with his American Solutions organization.

"To give up and kill an organization we spent a year on, and that had 2,000 sites around the country where people had now invested their time and effort, just to look at whether or not you could run, I thought would be irresponsible," Gingrich said in an exclusive interview on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

He went on to rail against campaign finance laws.

"The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics ... We were informed yesterday morning that if I had any communication with American Solutions after I became a candidate, it was a criminal offense."

Gingrich, who was poised to launch a $30 million fundraising Web site, asserted that he could have been a serious contender.

"I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win," he said.

On what it will take for the Republicans to win, Gingrich said, "The Republicans have got to get out from under Washington. And, if we nominate somebody who is a continuation of where we are right now, we're going to lose."

He went on to offer up his predictions for the Republican candidates….

Read the entire article here: Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

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