Last week, I made a reference to having seen, during rush hour Friday morning, a young woman in a sensible black business suit skateboarding to work in downtown Baltimore, along Guilford Avenue. Skateboard was hot pink, too.

Turns out she's Christine Carey and she skateboards to work at Maryland Legal Aid on Lexington Street, where’s she’s a summer intern in the organization's Farmworker Program. Joe Surkiewicz, Legal Aid's communications director, says Christine skateboards to UB Law School the rest of the year. "She started skateboarding as an undergrad at Loyola Marymount in L.A., a city, she reports, with better sidewalks and nicer drivers than Baltimore. She won’t skateboard in the street here." Christine walks home, because she lives up a hill, and she walks to work when it’s raining. "Replacing those bearings is expensive," she tells Surkiewicz.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I haven't waited in line for gasoline since -- what? -- Jimmy Carter was president? But at this price it's understandable. Pretty good rush on the pumps at Costco yesterday. Also, all the chicken breast was gone by Thursday night. What's up with that?

I rented a Honda Civic last weekend for the zip trip to Foxboro for the NCAA lax semifinals and, while I didn't measure the gas mileage, the Civic only seemed to sip as we zipped. I put $68 worth in the tank for the round-trip. Can't wait to end my eight-year stint as Dan the Van Man, and get into something more efficient and, you know, less dorky.

By the way, Foxboro is crummy. Nice stadium, awful place, the Great Un-Near. Baltimore is so lucky to have downtown stadiums for both major franchises. When TV directors present shots of historic sites of Boston during national telecasts of sports events from Foxboro -- it's a total fraud. Foxboro is more than 30 miles from Phaneuil Hall. You can look it up. 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Anti-immigrant fever has not infested the federal judiciary -- at least not yet. Yesterday in Texas, a federal judge ruled a local ordinance prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants unconstitutional.

Strong piece today on the right-wing media, Obama and illegal immigrants by Ruben Navarrette of the San Diego Tribune. Click here to read it.

There's no question the right has created a new Red Scare with its obssession with our estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. It's probably the main reason Congress failed to make the comprehensive, sensible reforms proposed by President Bush last year. The other day on Midday, where most of our callers are informed and thinking people, one spoke with a kind of breathless concern about illegals moving to Maryland by the busload to take advantage of our "welfare" benefits.  (She must listen to some other radio station most of the time; hot talk about illegals is the rage there.) The people engaged in this debate claim to honor the distinction between "illegal aliens" and "legal immigrants," but the end result of all the angry rhetoric is a tragic blurring of the line in the minds of many. There's not much of a leap from the anti-illegals obssession to Pat Buchanan's clarion that white Christians have lost their dominance in America, dooming the country.

Discovered, in an old weather-beaten paperback titled, American Ballads: A little poem called "America Greets An Alien," by poet unknown. The poem probably dates from the 19th century. Imagine such a sentiment expressed on national televison or radio today:

          "Hail, guest! We ask not what thou art.
           If friend, we greet thee hand and heart;
           If stranger, such no longer be;
           If foe, our love shall conquer thee."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Thursday on the Midday show at 1:

Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort (Houghton Mifflin, May 2008)

In 1992, about 37 percent of American voters lived in landslide counties – that is, counties where one political party won elections by 20 percent or more. By the year 2000, the number of Americans in landslide counties had risen to 45 percent, and the polarization continues to grow. America has become a series of population clusters, with many of us having as neighbors people who live, think and vote as we do. More than ever in the history of the nation, the once-Great Melting Pot has become segregated into a series of homogeneous communities where Americans are surrounded by the like-minded. Bill Bishop, calls it The Big Sort, and he says the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Midday at noon Thursday (88.1 FM)

As gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon, more commuters in Maryland are leaving their cars and trucks at home and hopping a bus or train to work. As the Sun reported earlier this month, the Maryland Transit Administration wants to expand service on its long-distance bus lines from places as far-flung as Hagerstown, Kent Island and Ellicott City. Ridership on almost all forms of transit - including subway, city buses and light rail - is up in Maryland and across the nation. In the first hour of Midday, a talk about with Paul J. Wiedefeld, top man at the Maryland Transit Administration, about how the MTA is dealing with increased ridership and what’s ahead for public transportation in Maryland.

Comments and questions welcome at midday@wypr.org

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I'm sorry to say that my last conversation with Clem Florio, handicapper of race horses, gifted dancer, student of boccie and lover of the sporting life, took place too many years ago. It was just after Hasim "Rock" Rahman, heavyweight out of Baltimore, had lucky-punched Lennox Lewis to the world title, and that, my friends, was seven -- count 'em -- seven years ago.

We were at the Swallow at the Hollow, talking about the sweet science, and how all the world prefers a heavyweight. Clem had been a boxer himself, once upon a time, and he fought as a middleweight when he was growing up in New York. Clem had fought his way out of Ozone Park in Queens, and in those days, boxing was for the young Italian-Americans there -- as it has been for young African-Americans -- a way to make some money, a way out of poverty. Guys who fought for money dressed better; some even had cars. To Clem, a few rounds, a few punches landed and taken, followed by a payday - all that looked pretty good -- at least for a little while. I think he said he' been in 85 fights, and one marriage.

Back in the spring of 2001, within minutes after Rahman defeated Lewis, the Baltimore-trained heavyweight said something that struck a nerve with Clem. "After he beat Lewis," Clem noted, "he says, `Ma, you won't have to work no more.' . . . Oh my God! I mean, that's what I wanted to come of it for my mother - that she wouldn't have to work anymore. That's like something out of a movie."

So was Clem -- a Balitmore guy with New York roots, a dancer's charm, a pugilist's feisty attitude, a handicapper's savvy, and an Italian-American's passion for just about everything, particularly a good game of boccie. He had a romantic spirit, a sense of humor, a baritone's pipes and a flare for the dramatic. One thing about Clem -- he was always nice to me, always took an interest in what I was writing about, my stories. He believed in unions and was a proud member of the NAACP. He hated hypocrisy and phony pols. He called me once in a while with a story about some down-and-out palooka who needed a hand. He gave me -- and many others with a microphone or note pad -- great interviews during many a Preakness Week. He was always colorful and animated, and funny; he was a man in love with life.

I'd see Clem at the fights now and then, or in Little Italy, in the sun and sausage-scented smoke of the St. Anthony Festival. He always had a smile and a good word, and he wasn't above taking a little action on the outcome of a boccie game.

Rest in peace.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Like to dance? Want to take lessons in salsa and tango? Here's an opportunity to cut a rug for a good cause. Mindy Mintz Mordecai's husband, John “Monte” Mordecai, died from esophageal cancer in March, and she and her two daughters have taken up the cause of public awareness of this form of the deadly disease. They're putting together a dance event to raise funds.

"More Americans will die of esophageal cancer this year than from melanoma, yet the public knows little about this deadly cancer and how to prevent it," Mindy writes. "Esophageal cancer cases are increasing at a faster rate than any other cancer in the U.S.  Fewer than one in five patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer will survive five years.  Heartburn or reflux can lead to esophageal cancer."

Mindy's family created a non-profit organization to fight esophageal cancer. Her 12-year-old, Mara, wanted to host a fundraising event that would raise money for medical research and incorporate her love of dance. So, on June 1, Mara and many volunteers will host the first annual Dance for the Cure at Towson University’s Center for the Arts. 

From 10 am until 3 pm, participants of all ages and levels of experience can take classes in a wide variety of fun dance disciplines like salsa, hip hop, ballroom, swing, tango, Irish, Afro Caribbean and belly dancing. Baltimore’s own Britt Shubow, who danced on Broadway in Mamma Mia, will teach some Broadway hoofin'.  Monte Mordecai’s surgeon, Dr. Stephen Yang of Johns Hopkins Hospital, is a ballroom dance aficionado and will teach a class, too.

During each of five hours, participants can choose from four different dance class offerings.  Proceeds from the fees paid for classes, as well as any donations, will go to fund medical research into esophageal cancer and raise public awareness about how to prevent or detect this deadly disease at an early stage.

www.BeACancerDancer.org

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Regarding Sunday's column, a reader in Charles Village says there's one other solution to the prospect of the $100 fill-up at the gas tank: "Suck it up. If you were all so obtuse as to buy those obnoxious, oversized, endanger-everyone-else-on-the-road gas-guzzling SUVs to begin with, then y'all are getting exactly what you deserve."  And Hummer drivers? Please! I can't wait to see them get their comeuppance!"

Regarding global warming and reducing our carbon footprints, I suggested that Congress just ban gas-powered lawn mowers. All our sprawling lawns, and massive highway median strips -- they'd be better with trees, wild native plants or ground-cover. But former Sun reporter Bob Erlandson contributed this solution -- a way to keep lawns without gasoline:

A couple of years ago, after my heart surgery made hauling the heavy lawn mower out of the basement a couple of times a week a problem, I found what has been the perfect solution.

I didn't want an electric mower with the long cord trailing behind and just waiting for me to run the mower across and cut it.

Then I found the perfect solution: A battery-powered mower designed for suburban lawns. They are made by the DR Equipment Company, of Vergennes, Vermont.

Here's a link to their newest model, which is slightly larger and higher-powered than mine, which is now in its third season.

http://www.neutonpower.com/?cm_re=Home%20Page%201-_-Neuton-_-Promo

I'm sure you've seen DR's commercials on TV for their heavy-duty brush-clearing machines, tillers, etc. But then they developed this lawn mower, which I can carry up the basement steps easily. The batteries live on the charger in the dining room.

The battery runs for about an hour on an eight-hour charge. They recommend that you have two, and that's worked out perfectly.

The longer I've had it, the more I appreciate it. So, if you're looking for a nice, heavy gas-powered mower, call me, I have one for you.

If you want to be GREEN and operate a nice, quiet mower that won't wake up your neighbors, go DR and Neuton.

 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

There are really two holidays today -- the one marked by flags and wreaths
and ceremony, and the one that takes place in people's hearts. And it's in
hearts that Memorial Day endures.

Memorial Day is the most personal of public holidays. It has
transformed into that over the years. Somewhere along the way, between the
time it was officially recognized as a day to honor the nation's war dead and
the time it became an obscenely commercialized and busy holiday weekend,
Memorial Day became a time to honor the memory of all who passed before us,
civilian and military, and who gave our lives meaning. It was an important day
not only for families who suffered losses in American wars, but for all
families. My first memories of this holiday go back to a small New England
town and two striking images -- men in uniform weeping at the sound of taps,
and men and women in "Sunday clothes" decorating graves of our immigrant
ancestors.
    In searching for reflections on this holiday, I recalled a poem by another
New Englander, Walter Hard of Vermont, and asked a friend to fetch it off his
bookshelf. 
    It is titled, "On Memorial Day," and I was surprised to discover
that, in it, Hard makes no mention of combat or valor. Instead, it is a
starkly personal meditation about a man visiting a graveyard by a brook.

And so it was with all the people there
    Whose names were carved on the stones:
    They were each one a part of the living present.
    To the living, who would come to that spot
    On this special day of remembrance,
    Had come something which lived on
    From generation to generation.
    Something passed on to be woven into the warp and woof
    Of new and ever-changing times.
    Things worthy and things unworthy;
    Things that helped and things that hindered;
    Talents hidden in a napkin of obscurity
    Which chance unfolded in another generation.
    There he stood in the midst of a world that had been
    But which was part of the living present
    As it would be of the days yet to come.
    Here indeed was life immortal.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I was saddened to learn of the death of Bob Blatchley, one-time Baltimore news reporter and a story teller so gifted he would make his Irish ancestors proud. Blatchley was one of our favorite people. Joe Curran had it right when he said, "He was a man who had nothing but friends." Blatchley brightened any fire, crime or election scene into which, cigarette at lip and notebook or microphone in hand, he strolled. He worked for The News-American and some of the radio stations here. He spoke in as strong a Bawlmer accent as you'd ever hear, and made not attempt to disguise it or even polish it for broadcast.

Blatch was a hard-working news reporter, trying to patch together enough income to support his family. I first encountered him when the governor or Maryland was on trial in federal court. For a time, in my experience, he was Forrest Gump, showing up at every major event in the Baltimore of the 1970s -- the Good Friday killing of a police officer, the crash of a plane into Memorial Stadium, the World Series, the Preakness, major elections and indictments. Blatch seemed to relish opportunities to teach me a thing or two about Baltimore -- and it didn't matter that I worked for the competition, The Evening Sun.

Blatch seemed to always be around, and then suddenly, he was gone from the news business. He'd been going to law school at night, and now the time had come for a career change. After that, almost every time I saw Blatch he was dressed in a jacket and tie, and he had a briefcase. But he still had funny stories.

He was employed for a time with the Maryland public defender. I saw him in District Court one day, holding a stack of files, searching in the gallery for men and women he'd been assigned to defend. There's a time, about 30 minutes before court convenes, when assistant public defenders might stand before the assemblage of defendants and their families and simply call out names. Blatch and another PD were doing this together one morning, taking turns calling out names, except the names Blatch uttered were all famous murderers:  "Richard Speck? Richard Speck here? . .  Elizabeth Borden? Is there an Elizabeth Borden here? Looks like a failure to appear . . . . " This went on for several minutes, with none of the real defendants recognizing the joke.

Blatch always had a joke, or an amusing anecdote. I think I first heard the phrase "listing to starboard from too much port" when it came off Blatch's lips in telling a story of a drunk, and the story probably came from Blatch's experiences growing up near Greenmount Avenue and Dolan's Bar and Grill in the old 9th Ward.

Dolan's had been opened by an immigrant Irish family in the 1920s and became a Baltimore institution over the decades. The Irish-Americans gathered there to plot politics and, beginning in the 1950s, Joe Dolan made the family-run tavern a theater where hospitality and pranks were raised to art forms. Blatch told me all these stories -- how Joe Dolan kept a casket in the bar's basement so he could play jokes on passed-out patrons by placing them in it, guaranteeing that they'd wake up terrified and full of promises never to a drop of grog again; how he rigged a bar stool with electricity, how he flew his airplane low over Greenmount Avenue and tossed dummies from the aircraft. All those tales came from Blatch. He had an endless supply. He loved his hometown and he was one its great story-tellers. Last time I saw him, at a lacrosse game, I suggested he write a book.  I don't know if he did. If not, then surely it's our loss, but surely heaven's gain.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Today on Midday at noon: Baltimore school administrators unveiled a plan to reduce violence and the dropout rate by overhauling alternative education. We’ll discuss this plan and other school issues with Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Schools CEO. Listeners can e-mail a question in advance of the show to midday@wypr.org

Midday airs on 88.1, WYPR-FM, noon to 2 pm, Mondays through Thursdays.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

What we have here is a letter a lawyer wrote to a Maryland District Court judge after appearing as a defendant in a traffic case. The lawyer decided to share it, three years after he wrote it, in response to last week's column about the action taken against the rude and sometimes profane Baltimore County judge, Bruce Lamdin. The lawyer who wrote this wimped out about mailing it; the judge never saw it. The attorney asked -- and this won't be hard to believe -- that I not publish his name.

Comments welcome. Personally, I like the idea of judges asking about courtesy in traffic cases.  I don't find the question offensive, and being biased in favor of civility is a good thing. I have no problem with it. I just think the defendants should be asked whether the cops who stop them are courteous, too.

Anyway, in the interest of starting an argument on today's blog, I publish the letter:

"During the time that I sat waiting for my case to be called," the attorney wrote the judge, "I had the opportunity to observe your management of the docket and conduct of the proceedings and was generally impressed.  But (sorry, there is always a but.)  there is one thing you did that gave me pause, and the more I thought about it, the more it troubles me.  Thus, this letter.

"For each defendant who plead 'guilty with an explanation,' you heard the explanation and then turned to the officer and asked, 'W he/she polite and courteous?'   The first couple of times you made this inquiry, I dismissed it as an offhand remark.  But it became clear from your repetition of this question in every case that you believed the officer’s subjective perception of the defendant’s 'politeness' and 'courteousness'  was somehow relevant to your decision on disposition.  Candidly, I was offended by the question.  It implies that I may not have been 'polite.'  Would you not be equally offended if I asked your bailiff if you are a polite and courteous person.  Defendants should be presumed to be honest, polite adults who should be treated as such notwithstanding their having plead guilty to a violation (often technical only and not unsafe) of the traffic laws.  I guess I am saying I think your question was impolite and discourteous.  Perhaps you, in turn, think my last sentence is impolite and discourteous.   I am getting dizzy and confused.   Do you see my point? 

"My experience leads to the conclusion that police officers are probably not the best judges of what constitutes 'politeness' and/or 'courteousness.'   I think it likely that any contrariness or assertiveness by a defendant runs a high probability of being characterized as 'impolite' or 'discourteous.'  This worries me because I am a lawyer. Lawyers are accustomed to be being assertive and sometimes contrary.  To wit, this letter.  Your 'politeness' question gives the perception that you are conferring on police officers even greater discretionary authority than they already enjoy by inviting their subjective input into the sentencing decision.  Is this good?

"The public is not naïve to the 'wink and nod' that sometimes takes place in courtrooms.  In times past, I have heard judges ask the officer in traffic case guilty pleas: 'Anything to add, officer?'  This was obviously a much more subtle way of asking, 'Officer, would you like me to hang this guy for any reason?' The officer could then say something like, 'The defendant was very impolite, discourteous and disrespectful, your Honor,' which the judge would then understand was code for 'hang him, please.' Your politeness question makes this 'wink and nod' even more obvious. 

"I understand that judges may develop a certain kinship with officers that appear repeatedly before them and want to help them out by punishing the 'discourteous and impolite public.'  But as a practicing attorney and as a private citizen, I have seen plenty of examples of police abuse of discretion.  I can’t forget the friend who upon becoming an assistant states’ attorney commented that the most interesting thing about the job was how frequently police officers fabricate facts, even when completely unnecessary to the conviction. 

"Perhaps you should more appropriately have asked me whether the officer was 'polite and courteous' when he stopped me and taken that into account in your disposition.

"I have not investigated whether other judges on the District Court ask a similar 'politeness' question of police officers, however, I am informed by attorney colleagues that some do.   Thus, it might be appropriate to pass this letter along to the administrative judge, for further consideration and action.  Obviously, I think you and any other District Court judges who ask 'politeness' questions should cease this practice.

"I hope that you accept this letter as friendly constructive criticism and do not consider it too impolite.  If you do conclude that it is impolite, I sure hope I never see you again in traffic court!"

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's a link to an Armed Forces Press story out of the Gardens Ice House in Laurel last weekend -- veterans disabled from the war in Iraq giving ice hockey a try. Two Baltimore fellas are mentioned, and John Coleman, quoted in the story, is the father of a Iraq veteran.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Mark Chalkley, who keeps an eye on such things, says some of Baltimore's cityscape murals have been painted over. These were at Wells and Hanover, in South Baltimore as you come past Port Covington and under the I-95 South overpass. I can't say that I ever noticed them. But Chalkley has photos -- and good thing, since the murals are now gone.

"In case you hadn't seen them," Chalkley says, "for about 4 years, the walls of a nondescript building at Wells and Hanover were decorated with a sort of mysterious but very beautifully painted large-scale mural about some immigrant story. There were scenes from the life of some Eastern  European immigrants, done in very bold strokes. Why there, I'm not sure, but they did something for that otherwise bleak corner of the city.

 "About May 6, coming back into the city from Anne Arundel County,  I noticed they were gone--painted over with a heavy brown paint. The building is now labelled 'Bumper Globes of Federal Hill,' whatever that means. I assume it's a business. I am sorry that the trade in bumper globes, whatever they are, required these people to paint over a unique artwork.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Nick, Jim and Matt Podhorniak, the triplets from Middle River featured in my Mother's Day column, become Eagle Scouts Friday night at St. Joseph's in Fullerton, 8400 block Belair Road. Triplets have reached Eagle status only one other time in the history of the Boy Scouts of America. The boys graduate from Calvert Hall next week. Here's a link to their troop's web site.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is next week, and today on the radio show, we'll talk with the woman who directs the competition, two Maryland children who have competed -- one a contestant this year -- and we'll quiz our listeners. Call in, spell our words correctly and win a prize. That's the 1 o'clock hour on 88.1 FM

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Today at noon:  A conversation with Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld. Questions and comments welcome at midday@wypr.org 

Midday, 88.1, WYPR-FM

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

One-hundred-and-twenty-six people were ejected, Baltimore police made six arrests and Pimlico staffers made 17 calls for emergency medical treatment to the infield, but Marty Kwedar of Virginia, who says he's survived four Preaknesses, thinks things were a lot worse than reported. He also thinks the owners of the track are asking for big trouble -- allowing a "time bomb" to tick toward disaster without more security on the infield. "I'm a young guy," he says, "and like to mix it up in the infield like anyone else, but Saturday was simply a dangerous atmosphere.  The worst part about it was that the security personnel did virtually nothing to stop the violence."

Here's a letter Kwedar wrote to Magna Entertainment:

           The Preakness Stakes according to your own official program offers "Marylanders and visitors alike an unrivaled experience."  As a person born and raised in Maryland, and currently living in Northern Virginia, I attended the Preakness Stakes this past Saturday as both a Marylander and a visitor.  To my extreme and utter dismay, the experience at the Preakness could only have been rivaled by a prison riot at Jessup.  As an attendee of multiple Preakness Saturdays, I understand that the infield at Pimlico is no place for haughty gentlemen or dainty ladies.  The complete and total anarchy and felonious violence I witnessed on Saturday, however, went beyond the pale.  The most disgusting things that happened on Saturday were not the actions of the denizens of the infield, rather it was the inaction, indifference, and willful negligence displayed by your staff.  It is your legal and moral duty to safeguard your patrons, but through your carelessness or willfulness you allowed numerous people to be injured.   Indeed, I was told by your own security supervisor in so many words that posse justice was in effect for the day in the infield.

            I arrived at 9:00 a.m., the crowd was boisterous as expected and everyone was enjoying themselves.  Along with my friends, I set up camp in between emergency exits 6 and 7.  As could easily be predicted, around noontime the crowd (largely made up of what appeared to be intoxicated minors) began to feel their oats.  Their idea of a good time was to throw beer cans, often full, into the huddled masses on your infield.  The initial bursts ended relatively quickly, but another onslaught was clearly imminent.  At this point, your security personnel made a series of unforgivable mistakes that, only by the grace of God, resulted in countless serious, but non-fatal injuries.

            Had your staff acted quickly and made their presence known in the areas where the unmitigated hurling of dangerous missiles was occurring, perhaps the activity would have died down.  Instead, your security staff did nothing.  At any one time dozens of dangerous projectiles were flying through the air.  Some cans contained little alcohol, others were unopened and full.  Even a partially opened can could cause serious injury, a full beer can thrown with great force, however, is unquestionably a deadly weapon.  As I stood in the infield in shock at the overwhelming deficiency of a security presence, I saw several of my own friends hit by these cans.  The blunt force resulted in serious bruises, cuts, and other trauma.  

            At this point, at roughly 12:15, with the onset of unchecked deadly assault and battery in public, I felt that it was my duty as a citizen and an officer of the Maryland State Bar to try to stop the throwing because it was obvious that your personnel had no intentions of curtailing the potentially deadly acts passing before their eyes.  To this end, my friends and I tried to tell the people around us to stop throwing cans because someone was going to get seriously injured.  Our neighbors took our pleas for peace as some sort of battle cry and were intent on using force to silence our pleas for calm.  After a half an hour of apparently hopeless negotiation with our fellow patrons, one of our neighbors charged at my party.  Another neighboring group attempted to break up the physical fight that had begun.  With no security to be seen, there was an open window for these animals next to us to maim anyone who got in their way.

            As could be expected, within seconds of the start of the fight there was a serious injury.  A man was knocked out cold with a metal crutch.  After witnessing this umpteenth act of assault with a deadly weapon that day, I ran to find security personnel.  I spoke with a young African American male roughly 5'8" tall with two gold capped teeth and a baseball cap (I identify him as such because I did not have the opportunity to get his name) working on your security staff.  He was polite, but did not appreciate the urgency of the situation.  I went back to the scene of the fight and saw that there was still violent unrest.  I then ran back to the area where security personnel were located.  I informed the security worker referenced above along with another security worker that someone had been seriously injured, and that there were individuals continuing violent acts.  It was an extremely dangerous situation.  I asked to speak to someone who could help us.

            A supervisor was called over.  His yellow staff shirt said "supervisor" on it.  He was a large African American male, about 6'5" with a shaved head and a goatee.  I told him that someone was knocked unconscious and that there was an imminently dangerous situation between emergency gates 6 and 7.  The supervisor responded by telling me that the problem of the beer can throwing was my own fault because, he said 'You all are throwing these cans.'  I explained that I was trying to stop people from throwing cans by trying to verbally reason with them.  (Of course I was forced to do so because there was no security presence whatsoever).  I further explained that we needed help or multiple people would be seriously injured. 

The supervisor's response completely floored me.  He told me that my friends and I should "knock out" the troublemakers, and only then security would come and take away the unconscious men, but would not arrest us.  He said that he was not there to "baby sit us."  

            Fortunately, when I returned some of my friends had managed to quell the threat from our violent neighbors.  Beer cans, however, continued to be thrown.  I was hit twice, once in the right knee with a full beer can, aggravating a previous injury.  It has left me limping around to this minute, and the full effects of the assault have not yet entirely been manifested.  With no end in site, my friends and I tried to gather our things and leave before one of us was seriously harmed.  As we were leaving, the can throwing began to die down.  Only then did security personnel arrive at our area.  It was too little too late.  I had witnessed a score of people injured by the cans.  Undoubtedly, hundreds more were injured.  The overwhelming majority of these injuries could have been prevented if your security personnel made any attempt to stop the violence.
 

Saturday was truly a sad day for all of Maryland.  It would be wise for your organization to address my concerns.  I noticed that your dangerous failures were not reported in the media, and I feel it is important that local and national media outlets hear my story of your intolerable disregard for your own customers' safety and well-being.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Should we just close down crabbing in the Chesapeake for a year? We’ll discuss what's being done -- and whether it's enough - to protect the crab population of the Chesapeake Bay with Bill Goldsborough, Senior Scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Yonathan Zohar, Professor and Director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI).  From noon until 2, today on Midday, WYPR-FM, 88.1

To have your comments read on the air, keep them brief and e-mail them to midday@wypr.org

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Tuesday on Midday at 1: Millions know Mike Farrell from his performances on the successful television series M*A*S*H, and, later, the NBC show Providence. However, his greatest role may be that of human rights activist. We’ll talk with Mike Farrell about his memoir Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist, now out in paperback.

Midday:  88.1-FM, WYPR

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

One of our favorite correspondents, a long-distance walker from Bolton Hill, reports:

This morning, I came across a little herd of eight (1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 8!!!) deer in a little meadow near the tennis courts, the Reservoir and I-83. They looked up and stared at me and I stared at them. This tableau lasted a minute, long enough for me to count them, see that they were smallish and very curious. It was 6:45 a.m. No other hikers were around. Then one by one, the deer turned and disappeared into the nearby woods. Two turned around, poked their heads out and looked back at me. 

I've been strolling in the park since 1963 and never saw that many deer at once and deer only in recent years. Another walker said he had seen even more than that sometimes in winter. I went home and read about the State Trooper hurt when he swerved to avoid two deer on I-70 near Frederick and his car hit a tree. 

All this was still more evidence that too many deer and too many people are a problem for people and for deer. The animals have no natural predators, go hungry, eat valuable undergrowth, damage yards and gardens, strip bark from trees, cause highway accidents, spread disease and so on. But for one moment today, those issues were in the background as eight deer grazed in the early morning sunlight. This was not far from where sheep once roamed with a shepherd in the same park. There was no herdsman with these fellows today, just a stroller out to see what's new in the park.    

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Monday at 1 on Midday: We’ll meet Walter Lomax -- essayist, poet and prisoner of the state of Maryland. He spent nearly 40 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. He’s been free for a year and will speak about his experiences before, during and after prison.

Midday:  noon - 2 pm weekdays on 88.1, WYPR

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The O’Governor and Maryland’s Colonel Governor have spent more than $172,000 since taking office only last year on trips around the country, and to Ireland and China. That's a lot for a couple of guys who took office barely 16 months ago -- and at a time when the rest of us, including the business class, are tightening belts on travel.

It wouldn’t be so bad, if maybe Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown (the lieutenant governor achieved the rank of colonel in the Army Reserve last fall) could show something for it.

I mean, they didn’t even pick the right candidate for president. Some of O’Governor’s expenses include the cost of Maryland state troopers as bodyguards when he campaigned for Hillary in New Hampshire, and when he attended a Tennessee conference of the Democratic Leadership Council, the centrist, let's-be-more-Republican think tank that produced the Clintons -- and is so yesterday . . . . Brown reported the most expensive trip, a weeklong trade mission to China that cost more than $96,000. And what’s that getting us? Are the Chinese about to buy some of the fine T-shirts and sneakers we make here?

We’re in a recessionary cycle, and O’Malley has increased taxes, and his administration is spending taxpayer dollars on political trips – and a dubious one to Ireland. The O’Governor’s ratings have already taken a beating in polls, and this isn’t going to bring them back any time soon. Plus, did I mention he picked the wrong candidate for president?

 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Monday on Midday, we get to talk with one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People In The World -- Hopkins medical researcher Peter Pronovost. Here's the Time report about him.

Midday, noon-2 pm, Mondays through Thursdays, 88.1

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's more information about Sunday's column -- specifically, on the Maryland law regarding the keeping of Eastern Box Turtles. The law does not allow the keeping of more than one EBT taken from the wild, and that appears to have been Mr. Evans' violation -- he did not have a permit to keep an EBT nor could he prove to DNR that his turtles did not come from the wild.

"You must have proof that all but one of your EBTs did not come from the wild," writes Katrina Smith, of Mid-Atlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society. "If you have four EBTs -- three that you purchased from a breeder out-of-state and have proof that you acquired them from out-of-state, and one that you picked up off the road in Maryland -- you would be legal if you had a permit.  To have 52 EBTs removed from the roads or woods is illegal no matter what captive reptile permit you have.  A licensed wildlife rehabber likely wouldn't have that many, because injured wild turtles are released back to the wild once they have healed.
"The regulations first went into affect in 1993. Perhaps if Mr. Evans had proof that he acquired some of those turtles before 1993, or proof that he was given the turtles by other people, and he applied for a permit, those turtles might be legal.  But, the burden of proof is on the keeper.  No proof equals wild-caught in Maryland."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I picked Icabad Crane to finish second for the 7-3 exacta in the big race today, and he just missed, finishing third by a half-length. . . But Big Brown -- one helluva horse, and it's nice to see a Maryland-trained jockey, Kent Desormeaux, up on the winner. KD gave tribute to his home state on national television, too. Nobody got hurt. Nice ride. Lovely day. (But I wish I had that damn exacta!)

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Here's the Random Rodricks Morning Line (influenced by John Eisenberg, former Sun scribbler and collaborator with Edgar Prado on My Guy Barbaro): Big Brown-Icabad Crane exacta; that is, play the 7-3. (That was my high school football number, 73, by the way.) This means we're betting against Prado, aboard the 10 horse, Riley Tucker. But we like the fact that Icabad is the only horse in the Preakness to have actually run at Pimlico; he won the Tesio on April 19. His rider today is Jeremy Rose -- and I think you'll find that fella's name connected to a certain Preakness and Belmont winner from just a few years ago. I'm in for $10, maybe $20, maybe even $40 if I'm feelin' it at five. Take Big Brown and Icabad Crane just behind him, 7-3 exacta straight.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

RANDOM RANTER RANTS:

President Shrub appeared before Israel's parliament, the Knesset, and likened
the proposals of (an unnamed) Barack Obama to open discussions with Iran, etc.,
to appeasement of the Nazis.  He offered the following historical comparison and
said:

"As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American Senator declared: 'Lord,
if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We
have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement,
which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Just for background: The unnamed "American Senator" he quotes was William Borah
-- a REPUBLICAN isolationist who opposed the Treaty of Versailles and U.S.
participation in the League of Nations.  Borah also was the long-time lover of
Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, who was married
to Nicholas Longworth, the Speaker of the House, while Borah was bedding her.
Historians now believe that Alice Longworth's only child, a daughter, actually
was fathered by Borah, not Longworth.  Just another fine example of Republican
moral hypocrisy -- even then...!

CNN reports that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee (a post once held by Borah) didn't mince words when
responding to Bush. Biden said, "This is bullshit. This is malarky. This is
outrageous."  CNN says that Biden added that "if the president disagrees so
strongly with the idea of talking to Iran then he needs to fire his secretaries
of State and Defense, both of whom Biden said have pushed to sit down with the
Iranians."

But we know how well Bush takes the high ground.  After all, he revealed that he
GAVE UP GOLF to support our troops in harm's way.  I'm sure parents of those
who've come home in a box -- or missing arms or legs or eyes or half their
brains -- really appreciate the President's immense sacrifice in abstaining from
double bogies for the duration.  Is the man even more stupid than we imagined? 
Apparently so....

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

President Bush says he gave up golfing in 2003 "in solidarity" with the families of soldiers who were dying in Iraq. "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," Bush said in a White House interview with the Politico. "I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."
And here I was, thinking the man was callous and clueless because he had not asked the vast majority of (non-military) Americans to sacrifice anything for the war. The nation is divided between those who have something personal at stake - such as a brother, father or sister in uniform in Iraq -- and those who don't. George Bush hasn't imposed on us -- no new taxes to pay for the war, no call to volunteer, no plea for sacrifice on the home front -- so most of us have taken a walk on the war.
Turns out, the man was making a sacrifice for all of us.
He is not as obtuse as we thought.
He gave up golf.
Why didn't he tell Jim Lehrer this when he had the chance?
Asked in 2006 by the PBS newsman why he hadn't demanded more of Americans during
the last four years, Bush gave a stunning answer: "I think a lot of
people are in this fight. They sacrifice peace of mind when they see the
terrible images of violence on TV each night."
   Of course, that's assuming they were watching.
   American Idol had much better ratings (some 30 million viewers at a time).

This is one of the most challenging and uncomfortable subjects in American
society - the lack of shared responsibility, across all social and economic
classes, in the nation's defense .
   That is what co-authors Frank Schaeffer and Kathy Roth-Douquet, military
next-of-kin both of them, argued in their important 2006 book, AWOL: The Unexcused
Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service and How It Hurts Our
Country.
   Only certain segments of our society are being targeted by recruiters, or
stepping forward to serve - and it is not, by and large, the elite, educated
and wealthy classes of either left or right political leaning. The elites are
mostly sitting out.
   "What we have now is ridiculous," Schaeffer told me in an interview. "What we need
is a level playing field on which all people, from all levels of the society,
are asked to serve. But I think what's happening in the military is symbolic
of a wider social trend, as seen by the declining numbers of people who take
part in elections, for instance. We can't continue this way; it jeopardizes
the democracy. People have to participate. We all have a social
responsibility; it's not all about personal preferences."
   For Schaeffer, this is a profound moral issue, put best in his book:
   "When those who benefit most from living in a country contribute the least
to its defense and those who benefit least are asked to pay the ultimate
price, something happens to the soul of that country."
George Bush lost his soul long ago, and he's imperiled the nation's. The November election can't come soon enough.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

We're getting lots of interesting feedback on this one.

This Just In: A letter from a Baltimore limo driver who asked that I not use his name on account of his being a little self-conscious about having to bring up this business of tipping the driver:

Dear Mr. Rodricks,

I am a limousine driver. As prom and wedding season approaches and people who don’t normally travel by limousine will be booking them, there is something I feel that they may not be aware of.

When someone books a car for an event, included in the contract are the cost of the car, fuel and/or administrative fees and (my reason for writing) a driver’s gratuity. Any reasonable person would assume this to mean a payment to the driver over and above what he or she is paid for his services. Such is not the case. The gratuity that is included in every contract is part of, and sometime the majority of what we are paid. By adding the gratuity to the contact, the burden of paying the driver lands squarely on the consumer.

It is disheartening to watch a client tip the porter who brings his luggage to my car, but smile and thank me when I have driven them to Dulles airport. Or, to drive clients to a business or dinner meeting, wait in the car for hours, return them to their destination with hardly a glance upon leaving. You wouldn’t dream of having dinner at a nice restaurant, getting good service for your waiter without some sort of tip. We are people performing a service. If that service is bad, no acknowledgment should be expected or extended.

As a group, we work long hours getting someone to the airport at 6 a.m. and someone else from the airport at 9 p.m. We don’t make a lot of money per run and have to make numerous trips at all hours to make ends meet.

Please know that I am not begging. But if your driver picks you up and delivers you on time, is courteous and professional, if he is charged with the safe keeping of your children on one of the biggest nights of their lives, please remember to express your appreciation with a small token.   Thank you!!

 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 6:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

I was just at the District Court building in Towson for the morning docket. I saw Judge Alexander, Judge Purpura, Judge Stone and Judge Steinberg. No Judge Lamdin. I was told he'd be there, but could not find him.

His suspension isn't supposed to start until Monday. If you spot him today, call 410-332-6166.

Here's an earlier post (with comments), from December:

Hey, if the judge thing doesn't work out, maybe Bruce Lamdin could get a radio talk show.

From Saturday's Sun: According to court transcripts, he joked that one defendant couldn't seem to keep from stepping in piles of excrement -- but not in those terms. The transcripts also show that he used a slang term for oral sex while sentencing a woman on prostitution charges. And he told one defendant that the Baltimore City courts system would likely "give [her] a key to the city and then send [her] on her way" rather than punish her for her criminal behavior.

Here's how Lamdin was quoted in the April 18 edition of the City Paper, addressing the mother of a defendant who had asked that her son be placed in a drug treatment program.
   "You got the wrong judge today," Lamdin was quoted as saying. `I am not one
of those touchy-feely judges that goes for programs where everyone holds hands
and sings Kum Bay Yah, and they hand out lollipops to each other and gift
certificates. I don't believe in that drug court and all that other
foolishness." Later, he added, "I don't feel like it's the responsibility of
the taxpayers to take care of every damn drug addict on the street," and "I
think jail has a telling effect on some people, especially if they are young
and dumb like your son is."

Former Gov. Parris Glendening appointed Lambin, a defense attorney, to the
bench in 2002. At the time, The Sun reported that Lamdin had been "active in
county groups that work to fight substance abuse," and Judge Robert M. Bell,
chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, referred to Lamdin and another
judicial nominee as "hard-working, experienced practitioners with the
temperament to become outstanding jurists."

Nice call.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Time again for Dear Dan, in which readers of baltimoresun.com write to their favorite blogumnist to pose questions and ask advice -- and risk subjecting themselves to ridiculing comments from readers. Today's is from J.G.

Dear Dan: I'm graduating and I hate the idea of mailing announcements out.  However, I recognize if I don't send out announcements, I won't be getting any money.  What should I do?  I'm leaning toward not sending and risking getting very little in the way of graduation money.  Your advice?

Mr. Advice Himself replies:  Go to Staples, buy what you need. Sit down tonight and write out some announcements. Spend the money on stationery and stamps. A good investment of T&M, my friend.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Regarding yesterday's column, a friend reminds us of this Cole Porter song: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," from High Society (1956), sung by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm....

Who wants to be a millionaire? I don't.
Have flashy flunkeys everywhere? I don't.
Who wants the bother of a country estate? 
A country estate is something I'd hate!
Who wants to wallow in champagne? I don't.
Who wants a supersonic plane? I don't.
Who wants a marble swimming pool too? I don't.
And I don't `cause all I want is you.

Who wants to be a millionaire? I don't.
Who wants uranium to spare?  I don't.
Who wants to journey on a gigantic yacht?
Do I want a yacht? Oh, how I do not!
Who wants a fancy foreign car? I don't.
Who wants to tire of caviar? I don't.
Who wants a private landing field too? I don't.
And I don't `cause all I want is you.

Who wants to be a millionaire? I don't.
And go to every swell affair? I don't.
Who wants to ride behind a liveried chauffeur?
A liveried chauffeur, do I want? No sir.
Who wants an opera box I'll bet? I don't.
And sleep through Wagner at the Met? I don't.
Who wants to corner Cartier's too? I don't.
And I don't 'cause all I want is you.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Increasingly, pushers of illegal drugs are appearing in the Johnston Square area in central-east Baltimore, and the folks at Saint Frances Academy are organizing to send a message that they're not wanted. You might want to consider going there a week from today and joining them in the walk that's set for that day. Here are the details from Ralph E. Moore, Jr., director of the Community Center at SFA:

We will have the entire St. Frances Academy community and its supporters walk the periphery of the Johnston Square neighborhood on Thursday, May 15th starting at 1:30 PM from the front of the school building at 501 E. Chase Street.

The Outside Walk Against Renegade Drugs will be done to send the message that we are asserting ourselves against the increasingly bold drug activity in the neighborhood, including on the campus of St. Frances Academy. We welcome any advice, assistance or resources you can offer to make the march a success: we will invite our neighbors to join us, as we are inviting you.

We don't have much time even for planning meetings as our school year is rapidly drawing to a close. But we can send the message that we're getting organized and we're resisting the ugly drug dealing being done in our faces.

A simple walk... a witness for what's right... a united front!   I can be reached at 443-255-5600.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Germano Fabiani, the Germano in Germano's of Little Italy, says his first cabaret was a success and he's planning them weekly. The next is this Thursday evening.

"The Cabaret at GERMANO'S primary purpose is to promote and support the arts in Baltimore by offering local, regional and emerging artists a casual and intimate venue in which they can interact with their audiences. We also welcome to Baltimore performers from outside our area who desire to contribute to our thriving arts community. 
"GERMANO’S upstairs dining room is arranged with tables and chairs facing an open performance space.  Guests enjoy informal, engaging interaction with singers, actors and musicians either over drinks or along with GERMANO’S well-known Tuscan food specialties.
"The Cabaret Room opens on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. for pre-show dining.  The full menu and specials are available in the Cabaret Room.  There is a $10 cover for Cabaret performances and a $15 food or drink minimum.  Shows begin each Thursday at 7:30 pm.   Seating is limited and early reservations are encouraged.
"On May 8, 2008, performing artist Dana Nichole Scott will be featured.  Also appearing is Branda Lock.  For reservations and information about the upcoming line-up of performers, please visit our website at www.germanostrattoria.com or call GERMANO’S at (410) 752-4515 or e-mail us at cabaret@germanostrattoria.com.  Join us!"

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

"Michael" and "Lydia" are going to be on the Midday show today, 1-2 pm, 88.1 WYPR-FM

My column of Easter Sunday -- about the young man I called Michael and the homeless couple he took into his rented rowhouse -- generated a lot of interest among readers, and questions. Tell us more, people said. Give us updates. I asked Michael to think about sending me, by e-mail, progress reports -- how he's getting along with Lydia and Paul, whether they've found a job. Remember now: I didn't use real names in the column because Michael didn't want to be seen as bragging about his generosity and he really didn't want his landlord and new neigbors to know what he's doing. I changed his name, and those of his new house mates.

Today, the first installment in Michael's reports.

April 7, 2008

People have been asking a lot of questions lately. I think its only
fair that I answer those people.

But, first some context: I work at a large financial institution in
downtown Baltimore. Its a stimulating, exciting job and I enjoy
working there. Everyday after work I walk down to the last floor of a nearaby parking
garage. At the bottom of the stairwell I put "street clothes" over my
suit. I have gotten my changing time to under 30 seconds. Then I trek
all the way to one of the blue-light sections of Baltimore, where I
live.

I don't live in that neighborhood by accident. I chose it with
specific intent to bring the homeless to live with me. I had
planned every detail for months prior to moving. I spent the months
before I moved searching for "roommates." I hung out with drug
addicts, alcoholics, convicts, felons, etc. When I was making my plans
and arrangements for bringing them into my house I planned for
everything, except this  -- roommates who could actually apply
themselves, seek work, and coexist in a house with me. I didn't plan
for people who have dreams and are willing to work to achieve them.
It's now getting to a point where we are just people living together in
a house. We eat together, play games, talk about life, and strategize
on how to get jobs.

Anyways, more than a month has passed and I can say that I am still
alive, still employed, and still in my parent's good graces. I have
yet to be discovered, so far. (My employer and parents don't know this
is happening)

Things at the house have been surprisingly peaceful. I think we are
all getting very comfortable with each other. However, we have still
not secured steady work.

Lydia passed a drug test and got her old waitressing job back, but she tells me that they over hired and so she has to wait a bit before she can get regular shifts. She has a really
bad toothache, but is working on getting it pulled. Paul is skilled at
home improvements and carpentry. Paul claims that he is going to start
work on a deck for someone who will pay him as well as provide tools.
We'll see if that works out. He also recently got mugged in the
neighborhood. That was a really bad night. His whole days earnings
were taken.

I consider this time period to be search-and-destroy mode. I am
finding that Paul and Lydia have walls blocking them from physically
and mentally achieving what they want. I am focused on identifying the
walls one by one. Once I can see them, then I can break them. We have
broken several walls so far, but we still have a ways to go.

Basically, I know I can't do this alone, so I'm trying to reach out
to anyone who wants to help.

I checked out a group called National Student Partnerships. They read
Dan's article and were really excited when I came to visit them. They
really want to help us out. So now it's just a matter of getting Paul
and Lydia to the meeting. They both seemed interested and willing to
go. That will probably happen next week.

Also, I met a guy who does construction work for a living; he works on
the Virginia shore. I invited myself down for a few days to see what
he does and better understand the construction world. That
understanding will help me get Paul a job. I spent this weekend at
a different construction site in Maryland. Paul doesn't have a
GED so it makes calling in for a job a bit difficult. I think the
answer lies in actually getting into the "construction" network and
then using connections to find him work.

There are so many challenges to finding work, so many obstacles to
overcome. But the way I see it, we only have one option: victory.

I am often told, "You should start a charity." My response: no thanks,
we have plenty of charities, soup kitchens, and shelters. They are all
doing necessay and good work. I am not starting a charity. I am not
criticizing the city or the system. I am not raising awareness about
the homeless cause. I am not an "example." I am simply living in my
house with some homeless people, who have become housemates, who have become
friends.

I am also asked, "Is it safe?" My response: No, it's not safe at
all,  but it is good. And I think good gets better, much better.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I would like to invite Maryland businesses to this event: "Beyond The Bars, A Symposium on Reentry in Maryland” at the University of Maryland School of Law on May 20, 2008. If your company has been considering getting in the game of hiring ex-offenders -- with the idea that, hey, it might help slow the revolving doors on our costly Maryland prisons -- then you might want to get more information about the whole re-entry scene. Owners of businesses, human resources executives -- you, more than anyone, need to know about this.

Otherwise, these forums become just more preaching to the choir.

Each year, the Maryland State Bar Association's Leadership Academy creates a public service project. This year, it's “Beyond the Bars." They want to bring together and educate people, including employers, about reentry services for inmates returning to communities across the state.  I'll be there, as will several government and community representatives. Seating is limited, so you need to RSVP. 

The Leadership Academy Fellows are partnering with the University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research for a database of public and private statewide resources and programs available for ex-offenders. The information will be available on their website at www.mdcsl.org, which will be highlighted at the Symposium as well.

"Our research shows that Maryland's recidivism rate remains at more than 50 percent," says Tracy L. Steedman, organizer of the event. "By raising awareness of the resources currently available to re-entering individuals regarding opportunities for vocational training, employment and substance abuse treatment, the Leadership Academy Fellows hope that their efforts will aid in decreasing the rates of recidivism."

For more information, go to www.beyhondthebarsmd.org

Or contact organizers at info@beyondthebarsmd.org.  If you plan to attend, RSVP today.   

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I received lots of mail about last Thursday's column on the controversy over the Hopkins experiment with an organic fertilizer to arrest lead in the soil around nine East Baltimore homes. One of the most important points was made in a letter from Michael T. Martin, a research analyst with the Arizona School Boards Association in Phoenix. Those who condemn the Hopkins effort to help protect poor, black children from lead poisoning need to consider Martin's points, missed in all the recent noise:

Even at blood lead levels below the federal standard (10
micrograms/deciliter) it is well established that lead poisoning results
in a loss of over seven I.Q. points, reduces stature by up to an inch,
causes learning disabilities, irritability, distractibility,
impulsiveness and aggression.

Irritability makes kids misbehave in angry and disruptive ways.
Impulsiveness makes kids act out behaviors instead of restraining them.
Aggression makes kids seem mean or hot-headed. Distractibility means
kids have difficulty concentrating or remaining on task. Schools that
serve lead-poisoned kids cannot make those symptoms go away and they
seriously interfere with attempts to educate even the nonpoisoned kids
in those schools. Doctors first found out about the
brain damage caused by lead poisoning when a follow-up study in 1943 of
twenty lead-poisoned children reported that all but one were school
failures.

Think for a minute about those typical symptoms of low-level lead
poisoning: irritability, impulsiveness and aggression. Doesn't it seem
likely that two adults with those symptoms would find it difficult to
live together? That adults with those symptoms might find it difficult
to hold a job? What if adults with those symptoms have a child with
those symptoms? One study found that abused children
were "twenty-fold" more likely to have high levels of lead poisoning.

You talk about East Baltimore being the location of lead poisoning and
"one of the most violent stretches of city territory" but did you know a
study in Philadelphia in 1990 determined that the best predictor of
violent crime at age 22 was blood lead levels at age seven? Rick Nevins published research showing a high correlation between lead exposure and violent crime in ten countries, including the U.S. (Another) study found that incarcerated juvenile delinquents have higher blood lead levels than a matched sample of non-adjudicated peers.

Lead poisoning is implicated in causing ADHD and the National Institute on Drug Abuse has concluded that the majority of drug abusers are ADHD sufferers self-medicating their symptoms because illegal drugs like cocaine act much like their pharmaceutical relatives
used to treat ADHD.

In other words, the "lack of jobs" and the "crime" and the "limited
academic achievements" and the "dysfunction of families" and the
"incarceration" and the drug abuse can all be exacerbated by lead
poisoning. The brain chemistry involved in lead poisoning is similar to
that in schizophrenia. The Kennedy Krieger Institute has even done some
of the crucial research on the brain damage caused by lead poisoning.

I have an online report posted in 2002 about how lead poisoning causes
failing schools at:
http://www.azsba.org/lead.htm

In my field, education, I constantly read about the 'failure' of
inner-city schools that are in these same lead poisoned neighborhoods.
People want high schools to make kids graduate in four years, but as you
noted, some of these kids get incarcerated or drug addicted or become
violent. People look at their own quiet suburban schools and wonder why
these inner-city schools can't be like them, but suburban schools don't
have any lead-poisoned kids. So they think it must be because "those"
people go to inner-city schools, "so what do you expect?". I think lead
poisoning contributes to racial tensions because people see minorities
as violent, aggressive, and ill-mannered, not knowing that these are
symptoms of lead poisoning.

I'm not saying that if you eliminate lead poisoning there will be no
crime, or no mental illness, or no family problems. What I have said in
the past is that these will become like lions and tigers and bears:
problems that are serious but manageable. But lead poisoning makes them
tyrannosaurs, problems beyond our ability to handle them simply because
they become so large and ferocious because of the brain damage that is
irreversible. Schizophrenia, for example, is not normally a violent
disorder, but lead poisoning causes schizophrenia-like symptoms as well
as violence and aggression.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This letter, one of many in response to Thursday's column, is from Thomas D. McKewen, former Director of the Maryland Environmental Service:

"As the recent undeserved criticism of the Hopkins scientists demonstrates, the
very word 'sludge' and its lowly origin tend to generate reflexive opposition. I became painfully familiar with this problem in the 1970's when I was Director of the Maryland Environmental Service. At that time, the Service and the USDA Beltsville Research Center developed improved sludge composting technology that led to many beneficial uses for an otherwise
friendless waste. Its application to reduce the toxic effects of lead in
soil is one of the more creative uses.
"Over the past forty years, sludge and other waste based composts
have received widespread acceptance. Your column and the Sun news articles
should help ease remaining public concerns and increase the opportunities to
employ these materials to achieve public health, environmental and economic
benefits."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Lots of mail on my recent column on an Obama-Clinton ticket. Here's one from a former Marylander living in Florida:

I'm a lifelong Democrat and Obama supporter.  Though I was only in grade
school during the JFK years, I recall much of the feeling.  Almost from the
beginning, even before the pundits drew the comparison, I felt he was like
JFK.  And, despite being a Boomer, I think it's time to put some fresh
thinking to work.

Particularly in light of Billary's divisive 20th century slash-and-burn
campaigning, I honestly believe she'll say or do anything - even to the
point of turning the DNC into a train wreck - just so no other Dem gets in
the way of her "entitlement"...even if she has to wait another four years.

Two otherwise intelligent candidates tearing each other up over minutia?
Well, there's a waste.  Patriotic?  No.  These two candidates willl gladly
sacrifice this country's future - for that matter the future of the planet -
for the sake of their own egos, instead of taking the courageous (and
outrageous) step coming together and doing what's right.  Frankly, I'm so
disgusted why shouldn't I say "to hell with it" and vote for McCain?  Same
result.  No wonder the Democrat's mascot is a jackass.

I never thought I'd sound like an old fart, but the country, indeed, is
going to hell...with the rest of the planet.  At this point, the Dems are a
considerable part of that.

Frankly, if the Dems lose the White House in November, they'll have earned
the loss with their stupidity and they'll have no sympathy from me.

Regards,
Dave Mills
Wilton Manors, FL

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I had to check this out twice: The Rotary Club of Baltimore City gives a dictionary to every -- as in EVERY -- third grader in Baltimore City Schools. That's 5,969 public school students, and another 281 Catholic third graders. This is the Baltimore City Rotary Club's 4th year giving out the paperback Webster's dictionaries. The Dictionary Project in South Carolina assists.

"I'll be delivering books to a school in South Baltimore on Tuesday May 6 at 10:30 am with Carla Nelson, from the mayor's office," says the Rotary's Mary Anne Rishebarger. "I'll be at New Song Academy on Wednesdaym at 9:30 am. There are many Rotarians making the deliveries over the next few weeks. It only takes about 20 minutes to present the dictionaries and teach the children how to look up words. Then I ask them to pay forward the gift by doing something nice for someone else that day. The children are thrilled to receive their very own dictionary!

"Many other Rotary clubs have donated dictionaries to third graders in other areas of Maryland. If we could find out which schools in Maryland have not received dictionaries for their third graders, we will provide a dictionary to every third grader in Maryland."

"Reading is the most important skill of all," says Rishebarger. "It is the starting point for all the economic and social opportunities this world has to offer to an individual." This is a great thing to do, and tempts me to make a contribution toward the Rotary's costs.

Even with dictionary.com and all else on-line, a personal dictionary has meaning to kids -- particularly if it's delivered with a message from adults about the power of words. I think a personal dictionary will still become part of the small pack of reference books they will keep with them for years.

On my desk is a Webster's thesaurus given to me as a high school gift, a Roget's from a second-hand store 30 years ago in Baltimore, a copy of Elements of Style given to me by the copy desk chief at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass in 1975, and a taped-together paperback Webster's dictionary from college. What's on yours?

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I feel bad. Paul Devine, the good guy who runs the Crab Pot at Lexington Market, calls me to alert me to a rare menu item -- fried soft-shell clams, New England style. Next to the long, cold wet winters, they are the thing about boyhood in Massachusetts (South Sho-ah) I miss the most. Paul gets them now and then, usually harvested out of the Chesapeake, and puts them on the menu -- bellies and all. Baltimoreans don't seem to appreciate them. So he calls me.

He called me the other day to say he was serving them on Friday, and I never got there, and I have no one to blame but myself and a pre-existing lunch commitment. But, Paul, please -- don't give up on me, babe. And there are other members of the New England diaspora in the Baltimore region who would make the special trip for a "quaht of clams" with "tahdah sauce." You can reach Paul weekdays at 410-752-7686.

Tell you what, someone organize a trip on an upcoming Friday, and I'm there with you.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Today's column is on this subject

 Of course, Chesapeake watermen are going to belly-ache about restrictions on the crab harvest. That's what they do. They might even go to court over the latest effort to save the blue crab.

Spare us, please, fellas. The Bay needs a one- or two-year moratorium on the crab harvest. Let's give the crab population some time to recover. Meanwhile, the states and private foundations should pay watermen to plant trees around the bay. Create a conservation corps, just for crabbers on hiatus. With action, they'll be able to work to protect the watershed while, with inaction (a year or two off from harvesting), they'll be sacrificing to help restore the fishery that provides them with a livelihood.

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

If you happen to visit the BMA today, check out the exhibit featuring works of art by city students. "I'm sure no one knows about it because its not on the BMA or the BCPSS website and I'm pretty sure no one sent out a press release,m" a teacher tells me. "There is a reception today from 1-4 pm. Featured is a life-size paper mache skeleton in a cardboard coffin made by my students!"

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

One of my readers, Pasadena Roy, agrees with the idea of a crab moratorium and putting watermen to work for a year or two in a conservation corps. He makes a point here about recreational crabbing:

"Politically you and I are on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum. However, on the crabbing issue we scarily agree. DNR didn’t go nearly far enough with their new crabbing restrictions. I’ve been a recreational crabber for over 40 years; I’ve watched the politicians and the DNR cow tow to the commercial interests for over 25 years (the time which I’ve been paying attention). Joe Sixpack, the recreational crabber, gets screwed every time; politicians don’t pay any attention to the number of jobs created by and dependent on the recreational industry and when it comes to tax revenue generated by the commercial vs the recreational industry it’s not even close. They only pay attention to the campaign donations made by the commercial industry. Maryland has some of the best politicians that money can buy! Under the new regulations I have to turn loose every female crab that I catch so that the commercial crabber next to me can catch it and sell it to a packing house. That’s only considered fair and equitable in Maryland."

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)