Today on the Midday show, we have the pleasure of Professor P.M. Forni's company again. He's been looking at and talking about civility for years and he's inspired Choose Civility campaigns around the country, including Howard County's. (We could use a "Be Civil" campaign in Baltimore.) Forni's new book is just out: The Civility Solution: What To Do When People Are Rude.

Last year, Forni collaborated with the Jacob France Institute at UB to survey people in the Baltimore area on the rude behavior they consider most offensive. Below is "The Terrible Ten," the survey's list of worst behaviors, according to the respondents, ranked by degree of offensiveness.

1. Discrimination in the workplace
2. Dangerously erratic or aggressive driving
3. Taking credit for someone else's work
4. Treating service providers as inferiors
5. Making jokes or remarks that mock someone's race, gender, age, disability, sexual preference, or religion
6. Aggressive or bullying children
7. Littering
8. Misuse of handicapped privileges
9. Smoking in non-smoking areas or near non-smokers without permission
10. Using cell phones in mid-conversation or during a meeting

Baltimore citizens: Based on reports in the Sun and from other news organizations, what are your impressions of Mayor Dixon? Does her reported behavior as City Council president, the subject of a state prosecutor's investigation, shape in any way your view of her mayoralty? Comments may be submitted for live reading on the Midday show at midday@wypr.org, or submitted to this blog for posting here.

Today's guests: Charles Robinson, State Circle reporter for Maryland Public Television, and Stephen Henderson, deputy editor of the Detroit Free Press editorial page, commenting on how that city's mayor is functioning while under indictment. Here's a recent Henderson column on Kwame Kilpatrick.  Midday on WYPR, 88.1 noon to 2 pm

If you know of a perenially superb roadside chicken or rib place -- a shack, a restaurant, a church group -- anywhere in Maryland, please let us know about it, and what makes it remarkable. We're comparing notes on Maryland barbecue during the 1 o'clock hour of the Midday show today. You can drop us an e-mail at midday@wypr.org, or call during the show at 410-662-8780

Thanks

Monday on Midday at 1 pm: Your questions about Wikipedia and the whole wide Wiki world answered by Dan Rosenthal, press volunteer for the Wikimedia Foundation. We'll try to get a better understanding of the community building that occurs through the Wiki, how it's effecting our culture and our politics. We'll also consider the connection between this and Barack Obama's decision to flip on public financing and continue to raise campaign funds through the Internet.

Questions in advance of the show at midday@wypr.org

 

Related to today's column, some relevant facts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

The United States produces 10% of the world’s oil and consumes 24% -- the latter about 21 million barrels per day.

Regarding projections of crude production should our lame president get his way and tap into the Arctic (Alaskan) National Wildlife Refuge, the EIA says this:

"With respect to the world oil price impact, projected ANWR oil production constitutes between 0.4 and 1.2 percent of total world oil consumption in 2030, based on the low and high resource cases, respectively.¹⁷ Consequently, ANWR oil production is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices.  . . .  Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could neutralize any potential price impact of ANWR oil production by reducing its oil exports by an equal amount."

Regarding how much oil can be obtained in the ANWR, the EIA says: "There is little direct knowledge regarding the petroleum geology of the ANWR region.  The USGS oil resource estimates are based largely on the oil productivity of geologic formations that exist in the neighboring State lands and which continue into ANWR.  Consequently, there is considerable uncertainty regarding both the size and quality of the oil resources that exist in ANWR.  Thus, the potential ultimate oil recovery and potential yearly production are highly uncertain. "

Proven U.S. reserves of crude oil are the estimated quantities which geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty can be recovered in future years from known reservoirs, assuming existing economic and operating conditions. Proved reserves make up the domestic production base and are the primary source of oil and gas used in the United States. Total proved reserves of crude oil in the United States, as of year-end 2006, are 20.97 billion barrels, a 3.6 percent decrease from those of 2005.

Thirty-one States have crude oil reserves. The top five are:

• Texas, with 4.9 billion barrels
• Alaska, with 3.9 billion barrels
• California, with 3.4 billion barrels
• Wyoming, with 706 million barrels
• New Mexico, with 696 million barrels.

Also, there are substantial crude oil reserves located in Federal Offshore fields: 3.7 billion barrels in the Gulf of Mexico and 441 million barrels in the Pacific. Offshore refers to that geographic area that lies seaward of the coastline. In general, the coastline is the line of ordinary low water along with that portion of the coast that is in direct contact with the open sea or the line making the seaward limit of inland water.

The estimate life of reserves in the United States is about 12 years.

 

It's summer, if you haven't noticed. I sent an e-mail Saturday, a work day for me, to the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, asking how many non-profits are chartered in Maryland. I sent e-mails to Peter Berns, the executive director; Henry Bogdan, director of public policy, and to Alison Dodge, associate director for marketing and membership. I didn't expect a reply until Monday, but received several in just a few short minutes.

First respone, at 10:13 am:
"I'm out of the office on vacation through Tuesday June 24.  For immediate assistance, contact Paul Rihani at prihani@mdnonprofit.org or 301-565-0505 x18.
I'll get back to you as soon as possible, Alison."

Second response, from Bogdan, moments later:
"I am out of the office and do not have access to email.  I will return on June 24.  If you have a legal problem that requires urgent attention, please contact Deb Jung, our General Counsel, at djung@mdnonprofit.org."

So I sent a copy of the e-mail to Jung, and got this response:

"I will be out of the office from June 19th through the 25th of June and back in the office on June 26th.  For immediate help, please contact Amy Coates Madsen (acmadsen@mdnonprofit.org) (ext.14) or Kenna Forsyth at ext.24 (kforsyth@mdnonprofit.org). I will not be monitoring this email account during my absence."

Ok, so then I sent a copy of the e-mail to Amy Coates Madsen and got this response:

"Thanks so much for your message. I will be out of the office without access to email through June 23, 2008.   I look forward to responding to your message when I return.
If you have a question about applying to earn the Seal of Excellence, please contact Angineeki Jones at 410-727-6367 ext 37 or ajones@mdnonprofit.org.
If you have questions about Standards for Excellence training or the the Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant Program, please contact Justin Pollock at 301-565-0505 ext 30 or jpollock@mdnonprofit.org
Have a great day!"

Before I could get off new e-mails to Jones and Pollock, I got my question answered. This e-mail arrived from Berns, the executive director and a man who obviously checks his mail on weekends:
"There were 21,811 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations on the IRS roles as
of early 2008.  Nearly two-thirds are small, all volunteer organizations
with no employees and little money."

Thank you. And I hope you're all having great vacations.

I get the Dixon Report every week, filled with all kinds of news from the mayor's office. This week's edition arrived just minutes ago and -- can you believe it? -- no mention of the raid.

THE DIXON REPORT

June 20, 2008

Dear Citizens, 

I believe that our government should be focused, responsive and efficient.  The Fiscal 2009 budget passed this week by the City Council represents a measured and responsible plan in light of Baltimore’s current economic trends.  It maintains basic services and continues our momentum by directing resources toward my priorities for making Baltimore a cleaner, greener, healthier, and safer city.  I appreciate the hard work of City Council President Stephanie Rawlings Blake and members of the City Council for collaborating with me to pass a budget that moves the city forward in these difficult financial times.

Protecting our citizens from harm is my number one priority and responsibility as Mayor.  Reducing violence in Baltimore requires a citywide effort including local, state, and federal agencies, social service providers, community agencies, faith-based groups, the business community, neighborhood associations, community leaders, residents and youth.  My Administration is employing a multi-faceted approach to combat violence through outreach, community partnership, and service delivery.   

So far we are seeing real results from these efforts.  Year to date in 2008, Citywide homicides have been reduced by 34% and non-fatal shootings have been reduced by 30% compared to the same period in 2007.  For the first quarter of 2008, Baltimore City had the lowest number of homicides in 25 years.  Additionally, during Calendar 2007, the Police Department seized 3,462 guns, an 11% increase over 2006, and as of April 1, 2008, they seized 775 guns, another 10% increase over the same period in 2007. 

In support of our public safety efforts, the Fiscal 2009 General Fund budget has a $13.4 million increase for the Police Department and an $8.8 million increase for the Fire Department. This includes investments in salary increases as well as vehicles and equipment to ensure that our first responders operate safely and effectively throughout the city.  The 2009 Budget also includes funding to support a new joint Police and Fire training facility at the former Pimlico Middle School, additional funding to support the City’s 800 MHz communications system, and increased funding for police recruiting efforts. 

My Administration has also provided a historically high level of City funding for services such after school programs, home visiting, mentoring, community schools, school-based mental health, anti-violence youth intervention, and summer jobs work experience.  Some of these investments have already paid off.  By using the funding strategically to demonstrate successful service delivery models, the City has already leveraged up to $500,000 in funding from Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems to maintain the progress we began with school-based mental health services, and the Health Department is working with the Greater Baltimore Committee to raise $1 million in private funds to leverage the City funding for the Operation Safe Streets program.  

The Fiscal 2009 budget also includes a record high $2.4 million to support the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program administered by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development; this is enough to cover more than 2,100 summer job slots for Baltimore’s youth.  Because of additional funding of nearly $5 million by private donors, city agencies and the state of Maryland, we will employ over 6,800 young people this summer.  I am grateful for our partners in this important effort.  Their contributions will help prepare many young men and women in Baltimore for a productive adult life. 

In January 2008, my Administration released our 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.  The culmination of hundreds of participants, including leaders from the nonprofit, business and philanthropic communities, housing developers, service providers, advocates, and formerly homeless individuals, the plan has raised visibility and support for new homeless strategies designed to end homelessness by 2018.  The Fiscal Year 2009 budget includes capital funds and operating support for a 24-hour year-round emergency shelter, a key component of the 10-Year Plan.  The permanent shelter should open in November of 2009. 

In 2007, I challenged the Department of Transportation to find new ways of coordinating its resources to make road construction more efficient.  The result – known as Operation Orange Cone – has led to a record amount of road resurfacing throughout the city.  In 2007, the City paved an impressive 139 lane miles.  This year, the city has set a goal to complete 200 lane miles of repaving, representing the most significant capital improvement season in years and the most substantial increase of milling and paving projects ever.  The Fiscal 2009 capital budget includes $30 million in County Transportation Revenue Bond funds, a cost-effective means of financing road improvements in light of declining Highway User Revenues coming to the City from the State. 

The budget passed this week presents more than just dollars and cents; it is a call to action to all city agencies to find innovative ways to deliver services more efficiently.  We must be realistic and cautious about our resources, and this budget takes great care to prepare the City for the potential of difficult financial times ahead.  I am confident that despite the challenges we face, this budget will enable us to fulfill my responsibility to the citizens of Baltimore.  

For more information the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget, visit the Baltimore City Department of Finance.  

Sincerely,

Sheila Dixon

Mayor, Baltimore

 

Want to help some city kids have fun while learning how to keep violence out of their lives? Then eat beans for charity -- beans and franks. (They have the veggie kind, if that's your thing.) Tomorrow, June 21, marks the first day of summer and a $5 beans-and-franks fundraiser for the summer Peace Camp at St. Frances Academy. It's a camp for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, and teaches them non-violent ways to have fun.
The event will be held at the St. Frances Academy Community Center, 501 E. Chase Street, from 4 to 8 pm. The $5 donation includes ice cream. For further info, call 443-255-5600.

Do we really need a Congressional hearing and a study of this? Elijah Cummings seems to thinks so, and so does the NAACP --despite what they've been told about the type of sludge-based compost fertilizer used in that lead-abatement study by Hopkins researchers. Even the Associated Press, which ignited the controversey with a report in April raising questions about the study and the use of the compost fertilizer, issued a statement last week to acknowledge a flaw in its story.

Mike Silverman, the AP's senior managing editor, said the story suggested the compost could pose a threat to humans -- though the type used in the Hopkins study is generally considered safe and sold at the retail level across the country. "It is a subject of scientific debate," Silverman said. "Many researchers believe the compost is safe, but there are some who believe it may be dangerous and should be studied further. The original AP story leaned too heavily on the latter view. That was unbalanced, and it created a distorted impression about the level of risk in the Baltimore experiment."

According to AP and Sun reporting, the compost, sold under the brand name Orgro, also contains wood chips and sawdust. It has been applied on golf courses and was used on the grounds of the vice president's official residence and at Camden Yards.

Peter Lees, one of the Hopkins researchers involved in the experiment, said he wasn't aware of any question "from anybody anywhere" about using the compost at that time. "It was a product you could get at Home Depot (and) garden stores," he told AP. "It met federal and state standards, so I guess at that point, what's the question?"

For the record, there are two kinds of commercial compost: Type A, which is heat-cured, and Type B, which is less sanitary, restricted to farm use and has had some health and evironmental watchdogs howling.

The Hopkins researchers used Type A, approved for homeowners, to see if it would mitigate the lead in the soil around nine East Baltimore rowhouses. 

This distinction doesn't seem to matter to certain people. They reacted to the AP story -- too quickly, in the opinion of many -- and accused Hopkins of putting poor families at risk by experimenting on them with sludge. The NAACP called for a criminal investigation. Cummings weighed in. So did Barbara Mikulski. We even had a story in the Sun that dredged up old concerns and fears of the hospital's neighbors. "It's always been known as Johns Frankenstein to a lot of us, even though we are well aware that Johns Hopkins is one of the finest research institutions in the world," said Michael Eugene Johnson, state director of the Black United Fund, which joined with the NAACP to express outrage. "People would say, `Don't go past there at night, you might come up missing.'"

The Sun published the original AP story on a Monday in April under the headline: 

SLUDGE SPREAD AROUND CITY HOMES EFFORT TO CURB LEAD EXPOSURE USED HUMAN, INDUSTRIAL WASTE IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS

Here's the lead: "Scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and
industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it
might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. Families were assured
the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients.

So, given the alarmist and racially-charged nature of that -- and the Sun's decision to publish the story on a Monday, before having its own fine science reporters check the facts -- the reaction was understandable. Plus, it speaks to our times: We live in the most opinionated culture in history. We've grown so used to hearing opinions we forget what facts sound like.

Still, there has been a lot of explaining since April -- in the Sun, by Hopkins, by the folks at Kennedy-Krieger. There was a meeting with Hopkins officials and the NAACP. It has been reiterated that the compost was the retail brand, and that the nine families who participated in the study consented to having the fertilizer spread about their yards to see if it would pull the lead out of it.

Nonetheless, the NAACP still isn't satisfied and Cummings presses for a hearing on the matter before the House Oversight and Government Reform's subcommittee on domestic policy. Once you've cried outrage, you gotta go with it for a while, and it's hard to admit that you might have been wrong.

But, instead of barking up this tree, I'd like to see Cummings and the NAACP work with Hopkins on this:

We have the leading hospital and public health school in the world in the midst of a stretch of urban America still afflicted with violence and drug addiction. Let's see Hopkins and the Bloomberg faculty and staff launch the medical equivalent of the war on drugs, with treatment on demand, multiple therapies and holistic recovery. Let Bloomberg show the world that a medical war can work where the law enforcement one failed. Let Cummings and the NAACP partner-up on this. That's a much better use of everyone's time, and a great way to channel passionate outrage into something constructive.

Tim Russert's death at the age of 58 was a warning to countless Americans about the need to eat smartly, to exercise and to stayed informed about coronary health. Today on the show we'll answer questions you might have about the threat of sudden cardiac death and what can be done to prevent it. Our guest is Dr. Stephen Pollock, Chief of Cardiolology at St. Joseph Medical Center.

1 pm on Midday, 88.1 FM, WYPR, midday@wypr.org

 

Does Baltimore have an inferiority complex? Do we suffer from self-esteem issues? During the 1 pm hour of Midday today (WYPR-FM, 88.1), we’ll have a conversation with University of Baltimore Law School Dean Phil Closius. He’s been in Baltimore about a year, so he’s a relative newcomer, and he has some interesting observations to make about the city. For one thing, he thinks Baltimore undervalues itself, particularly as an emerging center for new commerce and professional services, from education to medicine to law. He thinks outsiders regard Baltimore as a progressive, hip town with a lot of talented people, and maybe it’s time Baltimore thought of itself the same way. That’s coming up . . .

TODAY: Noon-1:00 on WYPR

The US Navy sub Tang was one of the deadliest of World War II, having a long run of success against Japanese vessels in the Pacific. But when the sub sank in 180 feet of water off the coast of Taiwan in October 1944, half of its crew died instantly. The rest were trapped in an "iron coffin." A few, including a sailor from Baltimore, escaped and managed to swim to the surface -- the first and only time American submariners were able to self-rescue. One amazing story, as told by Escape From the Deep author Alex Kershaw. Listen for the interview after the news at noon.

One of the saddest stories of the last decade was the death of Chris Farley. This funny man, from SNL, died speedballing cocaine and morphine in 1997. He was 33 years old. Some say the brightest stars always burn out faster, but certainly the death of a star occurs sooner when the star self-medicates to relieve his pain. The story of Chris Farley -- his powerful personality, his ability to make people laugh and forgive him, his fatal addiction to drugs -- is told in a new book by his older brother, Tom Farley Jr. It's called "The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts," and Tom Farley will hook up for a live chat today at 1 pm on Midday, 88.1, WYPR-FM. As always, this show can be heard over the Internet.

Comments keep coming on the whole Hon thing, and the discussion seems to be getting warmer again. See comments thread below, and feel free to post yours.

I used to be down with Honfest -- for about a minute in 1995, back when I had a TV show here and a winner made an appearance. It was funny once, maybe twice. I have been in Baltimore long enough to have actually met genuine Hons, and some of them still send me birthday and Christmas cards -- and handwritten letters. To see them mocked, over and over again, year after year, is annoying. And the whole Hon thing opens up an ugly can of worms about class -- and the city-suburban schism -- that makes a lot of us uncomfortable.
But, you know what? I got over it. I figure, if thousands get their jollies from it, and they come to Hampden and spend some money and have a smile, who cares? Other cities have contrived, whacky festivals, too, and the travel writers love them, even if some of the natives don't.

Still, the Hon backlash might seem strange to people who think that making fun of a bygone piece of Baltimore -- celebrated internationally by John Waters -- ought to be all in fun.

But I will remind those scratching their heads today that the whole Hon thing really does bother a lot of people around here.

Remember Dolores?

In 1998, the Ravens, in their third season and operated by transplanted Clevelanders, thought it would be cute to have Dolores, a faux-Hon in beehive, go up on the big screen at the then-new stadium to remind fans before games of proper behavior. She spoke in "Bawlmerese." The fans hated it. They didn't hate being reminded of the rules. They hated the whole Hon thing, found it condescending, a stereotypical portrayal of working-class female Baltimore. Some of the guys buying tickets probably had mothers and grandmothers who qualified as genuine Hons.

The video segment, entitled "Dolores the Neighbor's rules for fan behavior," showed a woman speaking in the exaggerated accent of Baltimore.

"No smokin' in the stands or baffrooms," she said, as the rule was spelled out on the screen just the way she pronounced it. "No throwin' nuttin' in the seats . . . ain't gonna happen."
Toward the end of the 30-second segment, Dolores smashed a pile of crabs with a mallet, suggesting that was how fans would be disciplined.

The segments were met with boos all around the stadium. Dolores was despised. Dolores got dumped -- quickly -- and she hasn't been seen at the stadium since.

Midday's 1 pm guest is Jim O'Leary from the Maryland Science Center. We'll talk about the latest, via Phoenix explorer, from the Martian surface.  Midday on WYPR, 88.1 FM

 

Join us during the lunch hour for a conversation with John Sarbanes, the Third District Democrat in his first term as a congressman. We'll take calls and questions or comment by e-mail at midday@wypr.org

Midday airs Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 2 pm, on 88.1

Art Murphy and I did a lot of radio and TV together, along with Herb Smith of McDaniel College. Art was always eager to come to a radio or TV station where I was working (WBAL-AM, or WMAR-TV), and talk politics, and he was particularly strong during the Clinton years, when there was a lot to analyze -- from the Republican's Contract With America to Monica Lewinsky. He was provocative and entertaining. He was bright, informed, acerbic, an unconventional thinker with a brilliant political imagination and, always, a disarming wit. (I invited him to an ice hockey game once. "What?" he said. "You want me to be around a bunch of white guys with sticks?") Art was proud of his family, and there was a lot to be proud of. He was, of course, particularly proud of his daughter Claye. Art is the second talented guy I've known to have died from MS within the last year, and to have been pulled from Baltimore's creative loop way too early, the other having been the graphic artist David McElroy. Rest in peace. Rest in peace.

 

I can hear him now: "All that for that?" I can pretty much see him, too, in his khaki trousers and white T-shirt, over in the small clearing by the honeysuckle thicket on the little river I love. My father is watching me fish in the way I have chosen to fish in the years since his death: With a fly rod and tiny lures fashioned of feathers to look like the bugs that finicky trout eat. I can hear him now, as I stand knee-deep in the river and extend a small, delicate net for a trout that's all green, yellow and white with brown spots, about 10 inches of God's glory. I hold the trout in my hand for a moment so that my father might appreciate it. But he only laughs: "All that for that?" And when I ease the little fish back into the river, he laughs harder and disappears into the woods. . . .

What did you learn from your father? We asked that question of readers last June and received hundreds of replies. Here's a sampling of what we posted from readers last year. It's interesting to read how people describe their relationships with their dads; some are able to specifically list the life-lessons, large and small, passed along by their fathers. Others have specific reasons for admiration, and the admiration frequently speaks to the father as steady hand and quiet provider.

In today's column I mention that we only received two entries this year. One of them appears in the column and is as negative about a father's teaching as it could possibly be.

But here is the other:

"My dad was a typical middle-class ordinary man.  He made an average
salary, carpooled to work every day, took his lunch in a brown paper
bag, and came home every night looking forward to seeing his wife and
children, reading the Evening Sun, and falling asleep after dinner in
'his' chair.  He had 6 children, and managed to put us all through private
colleges in the 60's and 70's.  He did that by taking care of us,
putting our needs ahead of his, and never spent money on himself.
That's what he taught me, that a father takes care of his children by
sacrificing his needs for his children's needs.  He wore old clothes,
bought used cars, and made household repairs himself so his
family could have what he thought was most important, an education.

"I also will always remember our father-to-son conversation about sex.
I'll always remember him telling me never to forget that everyone woman, every girl, is somebody's daughter and/or sister. 
He taught me to treat any woman I was with like I would want my
sisters to be treated, with respect.
"My Dad died 26 years ago, but his values still live on in me and affect
how I've tried to raise my three sons. "
                                                                     --   Dave Mike

                                       

You got to see this -- a device for cooking a hamburger while driving your car, from treehugger.com

 

Here's a link to a list of interesting destinations for day trips, or part of summer journies, in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. These lists, compiled by WYPR intern Sarah Gilarsky and including suggestions from callers and e-mailers to the Midday show, will be updated over the next two days, so check back for additional listings, including the Race of the Saints in Jessup, Pa. and a rodeo in Carroll County, Maryland.

 

Here's what we're looking for -- suggestions to some cool, funky, off-beat places in Pennsylvania. We know what's on the tourist maps. What we're looking for are: Great ice cream shops or farm stands; little towns or crossroads with fun and funky stores and "local kultcha"; rodeos, unusual museums or collections on display, free concerts, neat places to take the kids, pick-your-own farms, festivals and summer theaters, haunted hotels, bizarre monuments, shrines, vintage bowling alleys, great factory tours. We'll consider almost anything, and the more off the beaten path the better. Please send suggestions to midday@wypr.org, or call in during the 1 o'clock hour of Midday, 88.1, WYPR.

Our guest is Chris O'Toole, co-author of Off The Beaten Path Pennsylvania

 

Simple, nosy question:  What are you doing with your economic stimulus payment? Buying stimulants? Spending it in a way that will stimulate the American economy? Putting it toward the mortgage or other not-so-stimulating bills?

Let us know. We're curious. We won't tell anybody.

 

Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Summer has come
And it’s hotter than usual
                        - Nipsy Russell 1971

Today on Midday: 1:00-2:00
We begin a special series on day trips in Maryland and the connecting states by focusing first on Maryland. Our tour begins with Judy Colbert, author of Maryland and Delaware Off the Beaten Path.

88.1 WYPR

The Frederick County sheriff has joined with federal authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants by checking on the immigration status of people they stop for minor offenses. This is going on throughout the country. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that local police departments have rounded up hundreds of immigrants for nonviolent, often minor, crimes, (including fishing without a license in Georgia) and the end result is deportation. The Time says some 95 departments from coast to coast are looking to join the 47 already in partnership with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate and detain people they suspect to be illegal immigrants.

This is the subject of the noon hour of Midday today (88.1, WYPR). The Frederick County sheriff turned down our invitation to participate in the discussion. We'll discuss this issue with Kerry O'Brien, manager of the legal program for Casa De Maryland.  You can send comment or questions in advance of the show to midday@wypr.org

 

For a list of suggested factory tours and interesting museums -- suggested by our staff and by listeners of the Midday show on WYPR-FM -- go to this link on the public radio station's home page. These places are all within a few hours' drive of Baltimore.

Followup on earlier post: Swimming pool contractor gives rebate check to 'Michael' . . .

"I spoke with 'Michael' today and we were able to get all the details handled. He actually had some good news, one of his 'roommates' started a new job today! I sent Michael off a check this morning and he seemed very grateful. I am glad it all has worked out. As for mentioning me by name in an article. . .  I really don't think that my donation is article worthy. I am sure there are other people who an article would better serve. Thanks again for you assistance."

For a list of suggested factory tours and interesting museums -- suggested by our staff and by listeners of the Midday show on WYPR-FM -- go to this link on the public radio station's home page. These places are all within a few hours' drive of Baltimore.

 

Coming up on the radio show today at 1 pm:  Lewis Black, of The Daily Show, visits Studio A and talks God and politics. If you want to submit some questions by e-mail in advance of the show, drop one at midday@wypr.org

We'll also be taking phone calls during the hour. Check out Black's new book, just released: Me Of Little Faith

88.1 FM, WYPR

Coming up on the radio show Monday at 1 pm:  Lewis Black, of The Daily Show, visits Studio A and talks God and politics. If you want to submit some questions by e-mail in advance of the show, drop one at midday@wypr.org

We'll also be taking phone calls during the hour. Check out Black's new book, just released: Me Of Little Faith

88.1 FM, WYPR

Today marks three years since the first column with this pitch appeared, and we have had more than 6,500 contacts with men and women seeking drug treatment or help in getting people with criminal records off the street and finding a job. (It might be close to 7,000 now, but I no longer keep count.) That doesn't include hundreds of letters from men in prison seeking information about re-entry services and jobs once they get out of prison.

We still mail or e-mail our info packet to those who call (410-332-6166) or write asking for it. I am way behind in answering prison mail but hope to catch up this summer, with the help of a college intern.

I have not had time to track results so I don't know, precisely, how many guys have found work.

All I know is, some have -- the ones who've kept in touch. Some even call now, as Amin Fareed did the other day, to share info about job prospects for others. One man, a successful Towson accountant, started a new business to put ex-offenders to work, a truck wash off I-95.

It doesn't work out for everyone -- either because they haven't dealt with their drug problems, or because they get tangled up with old "friends" from the street, or because some companies knowingly hire ex-offenders for a few months then dump then when their background check comes through, showing convictions. (I haven't quite figured out why that happens except that, in some cases, official background checks take time and employers need help right away.) I know at least one man who contacted us ended up as a homicide victim. Another man who contacted us, in 2005, for help for his son has seen that son convicted in a city homicide. The mother of a drug addict who contacted us two years ago wrote me a letter recently, reporting his suicide.

I would like to hear, in particular, from Arto Dixon and Harry Calloway -- if you are still out there.

Still missing are the voices of state leaders, starting with the governor, in imploring businesses to consider hiring ex-offenders and not barring them from a second chance to make it in this society. With the economic down-swing we're in now -- month after month of job losses across the nation -- it's only going to get tougher again.

Here's a letter from an educator in Texas, regarding Ed Morman's experiences in the Baltimore schools:

I have been in some form of education since 1970, but I got out of public
education in 1989 when I returned to the university to get my doctorate in
English.  I was one of the fortunate ones.  I missed the years when
education in the form of true student accountability (not TAKS or other
standardized tests) and discipline failed to mean something.

Unfortunately, I have a friend, also a Ph.D. in English who returned to the
public school classroom and environment in a high school built for 2,000 and
holding 3,400.  And her description of what she has had to suffer at the
hands of the students is quite similar to Mr. Morman's.  However, a student
threw a book at her and missed her.  For that, the student was sent to the
Extension Center (in-school suspension) for 2 days.  That's it!  I thought
that was assault; silly me.

If Mr. Morman wants to be blamed for his "inability" to do more, more power
to him.  I, however, agree with my friend:  "Stop Blaming Teachers!"  How in
the world can a teacher teach a lesson or a class when administration
continues to retreat from disciplinary problems and expects the teachers to
handle the 34 gangs in their urban high school, or the groping male students
during pass time between classes, or the violent students who punch pregnant
students in the stomach and move into anonymity, or the students who have
been released from juvenile detention and put immediately back into the
classrooms even though they've been diagnosed with schizophrenia or other
psychological disorders, or on and on and on and not to mention the weapons
that are brought daily to campus.  Disrespect becomes a slight infraction
when a teacher is faced with these other problems.

And academics?  That's another hoot.  The administrators who proudly
proclaim that they have a 0-failure rate are only trying to fool the public
and themselves.  Ask the teachers who cannot give a grade lower than 50 even
if an assignment is not turned in.  Ask a teacher about students who will
look directly at them and say, "Go ahead, give me a 50 for the day.  I'm
going to take a nap."  And then ask them how they feel when they have to put
up with this kind of behavior and watch their salary cut because these very
students mark their standardized tests like a Christmas tree without even
reading the questions.

Society is getting exactly what it deserves when they allow this kind of
behavior from their school districts, their superintendents, and their
administrators.  I am a great promoter of education; I've been part of it
for 39 years, but I cannot participate in this kind of pseudo-educational
approach.  We are penalizing our good students, and yes, there still are
good students who go to Harvard (even though Harvard accepted a student who
failed her English class this year, missed many, many more than the allowed
number of days, and asked for deferred entrance so she can take a break
before going to college) and other ivy league schools because they succeed
in spite of the system.  How can we look at our students and tell them they
have to turn in their work and follow rules when they see their slovenly
do-nothing peers passing because they make one good grade on an exam that
brings up an average or when they see the do-nothings ask do-nothing
counselors to be transferred into a lower level class two weeks before the
end of the semester and pass because of the lower grade requirements?

I got out when I didn't get support from my department chair and from my
principal for plagiarism from a student.  I had to ignore the cheating and
look the other way.  I had to change the grade after the parent called me at
home and yelled at me (did I mention at home?) because I dared to say the
child was cheating.  I moved into administration, hoping that I could make a
difference there.  Finally, I returned to the university for my degree so
that I could teach those who actually attended classes because they wanted
an education and a future.

How sad that our educational system has turned into this!  How sad that
people continue to blame teachers--even the teachers themselves.  How sad
that our young people have learned to play the system and get away with
academic murder.

My heart and my hand go out to those brave, courageous, persistent, and
burning out teachers who continue to struggle daily with their students.
They are the ones to be commended.  They are the ones who are keeping the
schools together even though parents are providing excuses for the drugs the
administration finds in their children's purses and lockers, even though
parents lie for them, even though parents excuse the low-cut blouses and the
pants that are worn with the waists below the males' knees.

I am a sell-out.  I left the public school arena before I couldn't take it
any more.  I hope that our future teachers have more endurance than I did
and than the excellent, incredibly loved teacher who is leaving this year
does.

Elizabeth Rodriguez Kessler, Ph.D.
Lower Division Studies Administrator
Department of English
University of Houston

How does one say, "Yum" in Spanish? I uttered this after indulging the pollo a la brasa al estilo Peruano last evening, from Pollo Latino, 401 South Broadway, across from St. Patrick's Church in Upper Fells Point. (410-276-3660). It really was delicious, and served with red beans and some extraordinary small-grain rice. Full roasted chicken and two sides was $12.75. (That seems about two bucks more than I would have expected, but I guess we're all still getting used to inflation of food prices.) Still, delicioso. And yum in Spanish is yum.

I was invited to speak at the Mother Seton Academy graduation for 8th grade Friday evening.
It was a wonderful event, in St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Fells Point, one of the oldest parishes in Baltimore. Seventeen boys and girls graduated, in shiny blue caps and gowns, and several took part in a brief pageant on the altar to exclaim their faith. One wispy girl, Joyce Henry, danced barefoot, holding a ceramic jar of burning incense, to the popular Marvin Sapp gospel song ("Never would have made it") for the processional, and I imagined a ghostly congregation of bygone Irish-Catholic men, immigrants most of them, with handlebar moustaches and derby hats, looking down from the high ceiling above the altar and the statue of a dark-skinned Jesus, a bit befuddled, arms akimbo, trying to understand the scripture reading in Spanish. Of course, St. Patrick's now serves a predominantly Hispanic population, and such is life, and such is America. Faith, spoken or sung in any language, any accent, echoes through the ages.

In my column of Easter Sunday, I told the story of a young man who opened his home in southwest Baltimore to a homeless couple while they look for work. (I did not use the young man’s full name because he was concerned that allowing others to share his house violated the lease on the rowhouse. He didn’t want publicity, and maintains the position.)

On May 7, I interviewed the young man and one of his house partners on the Midday radio show a few weeks ago, and numerous listeners called to applaud the young man and share similar stories of charity.

The other day I received an e-mail from a swimming-pool contractor who wants to give his economic stimulus check to the young man and his housemates. I hooked them up. “You don't see that kind of dedication towards one’s fellow man very often these days,” the contractor wrote. “After much pondering about what to do with my tax rebate stimulus, I have decided I would like to pass it along to the individual in your column. . . . If Baltimore had more people like [him] it would be a much better place to call home.”

In his diary, H.L. Mencken wrote -- oh, so predictably -- a scathing assessment of the Oct. 30, 1947 debut of WMAR-TV -- which consisted of a broadcast of two races from Pimlico, with a fashion show in between. Jim McManus (later McKay) was the young host of the telecast, an Evening Sun reporter hired to perform on camera. “The Sun announcer, a young man in the sports department, was poor at the job, and there were intervals of complete silence," Mencken wrote. When reviewing the diary, writer and author Neil A. Grauer knew (as Charles Fescher, the editor of it, apparently did not) who that “young man in the sports department” had been.

"I’d written an article about early Baltimore TV," Grauer says. "Bob Cochrane, the former war correspondent who got WMAR launched, had told me about McKay’s TV debut.  Before I wrote the review of the diary -- and before my story about it hit The Evening Sun -- I sent Jim a copy of the diary page in which Mencken had skewered his debut.  Jim wrote back that he 'wasn’t surprised I failed to impress the great man.'  Of early television, Mencken also wrote: 'Altogether, I would not give ten cents for an hour of such entertainment, even if it showed a massacre.'

The Orioles have come from behind to win 15 times this season. Make that 16 -- they did it again last night in Toronto.

It happened 40 years ago -- we woke up on the East Coast to the news that Robert F. Kennedy had been shot in Los Angeles after winning the California primary. He clung to life for a day, and died at 1:44 am on June 6. I was in eighth grade. It was the day of my eighth grade class trip -- to Freedom Trail in Boston. I spent the day among weeping teachers and tourists, people visiting historic sites and trying to appreciate American history just as new history was being written and just as, it seemed, the nation was about to shatter into a million pieces, having already shattered into thousands of pieces with the assassination of Dr. King a month earlier. We visited Old North Church, and the Catholics among us went to St. Leonard's in the North End, where my grandparents had been married, and prayed for RFK. The school buses were quiet that day, almost silent.

From a reader/listener in Baltimore County:

One of the first real memories I have as a kid was of RFK's Funeral
Train. We lived in Gardenville/Overlea and my parents surprised us with a
picnic dinner. We loaded into our station wagon and drove down Edison
Highway to the ball fields near where the trains went by. There were a
lot of people there,  but no one was playing ball, and although we'd
brought a blanket and basket, we had yet to eat.
I remember how strange it was when ever one began to stand up and face
the tracks. A very slow train was going by. I was holding my mom's hand
and felt it shaking. I looked up at her and she was crying. When I
asked  her why she said "A great American is on that train."
The train passed. People left. We ate our picnic. And my parents told
us about Bobby Kennedy and how he'd died... And how he lived.
I'll never forget it.

Thanks,
Rita, in Parkton

Forty years since one of the worst events in American history, we talk about Bobby Kennedy's death and the promise that was dashed on June 5, 1968, with Thurston Clarke, author of The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America. Your memories and comment welcome by e-mail at midday@wypr.org

Midday, 88.1 FM, WYPR, noon to 2 p.m.

 

Judge John A. Howard yesterday sentenced Kenneth Megginson, 25, of the 4500 block of Lemans Court, to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder, 20 years for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and three years for transport of a handgun -- for a total of 53 years. Howard then suspended all but 35-years and ordered that Megginson be on supervised probation for four-years following his release. This for killing an addict over a $10 drug debt.

Story of an addict with soul of a poet

A few years ago, Gregory Welsh, one of thousands of drug addicts in Baltimore, took a trip to a residential treatment center in County Tipperary with the hopes of beating his addiction. He went to Ireland with an evangelical Christian group devoted to helping people reach recovery. Welsh, who had a poet's heart and had written a lot of verse during his long struggle with crack cocaine, experienced a spiritual awakening.

He learned he could live without drugs; he saw how a change in surroundings and friends could be a good thing in his life.

And he found God in the Irish soil.

The days at the treatment center were structured; part of each called for those in treatment to do chores. Welsh worked in the garden. One day, while digging there, he turned up an old crucifix.

You can imagine how powerful the moment was for a weary 32-year-old man with a poet's heart and a crack addiction.

Today being Sunday, and tomorrow being St. Patrick's Day, I would like to tell you how this epiphany saved Gregory Welsh. But that's not so.

His spiritual adviser told me that, soon after Gregory Welsh returned to Baltimore from Ireland in 2006, he went back to the streets to score crack.

By the time I came in on this story, he was dead.

In October 2006, Welsh was shot to death by a drug dealer over money, and a police detective told me the amount in dispute might have been as little as $10. This happened in front of Welsh's parents' home in Northeast Baltimore. He fell on his parents' porch.

It's a common story: Man goes into treatment. Man relapses. Man gets into a deal for drugs. Deal goes bad. Gun comes out. We have a lot of guns in Baltimore, and drugs, and people with criminal records.

Eighty percent of the city's 275 murders in 2006 involved people with criminal records, both the killers and their victims. Some people are comforted by this; it makes them feel safer. The heartless and cynical consider it a tolerable condition - a way of decreasing the surplus population of criminals and losers.

But, as bad as conditions are here, that's not how we do things. We still consider each human life valuable, far more than $10. We study and struggle with this mess in our midst not because of the harm it does to Baltimore's image but because human lives are wasted.

So we have in the sad story of Gregory Welsh the challenge of Yeats - to "hold in a single thought reality and justice."

Our police went after the one suspected of killing Gregory Welsh, and they arrested 25-year-old Kenneth Megginson. Thursday evening, about 6 o'clock, a Baltimore Circuit Court jury found Megginson guilty of second-degree murder and possession and use of a handgun. He'll be sentenced by Judge John A. Howard.

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

The city of Baltimore made sure the spirit of Dr. Sebastian Russo lives for another generation, so that how Russo practiced medicine -- with compassion, long office hours and frequent house
calls -- might not be remembered as something quaint and gone, but seen as
something present, real and possible. Last year, the city named an award after Russo, a selfless general practitioner who treated the poor and uninsured out of his storefront office in Northeast
Baltimore.

Here's the city's official description:

"The Dr. Sebastian Russo Memorial Award was created in 2007 by the Baltimore City Health Department to recognize a healthcare provider who has provided dedicated and compassionate service to low-income individuals and families.  The award honors Dr. Sebastian Russo, a Baltimore City family physician known for his tireless and devoted service to his patients.  Before his tragic death in 1980, Dr. Russo was embraced by his community, who recognized the value of a physician who made house calls, learned multiple languages to communicate more effectively with patients, and charged only when patients were able to pay."

This year's recipient: Michelle Sheldon-Rubio, a nurse with more than 28 years of experience, and education coordinator of the Joslin Diabetes Center at University of Maryland Medicine."

In her job, Sheldon-Rubio "facilitates the Joslin Circle Diabetes Group; develops and implements diabetes education programs; and coordinates clinical research projects.  In addition to her work at Joslin, Michelle volunteers every Wednesday at Our Daily Bread where she plans and cooks the meals.

"Ms. Sheldon-Rubio’s commitment to serving her community has been recognized by her patients and colleagues. As Dr. Tom Donner, Medical Director of the University of Maryland Joslin Center wrote in his nomination letter, 'Michelle is someone who has been a longstanding and remarkably effective patient advocate, well deserving of the Dr. Sebastian Russo Memorial Award.'

“'Last year, the Health Department created this award to honor local health care providers who go above and beyond to serve their patients and the citizens of Baltimore,' said Dr. Sharfstein. 'From visiting patients when they are hospitalized, providing cards, gifts and emotional support when they’re most in need, Ms. Sheldon-Rubio is an amazing example of a true public servant.'”

The Dr. Sebastian Russo Memorial Award selection process is overseen by a committee at the Baltimore City Health Department.

 

What's your favorite small or obscure museum? This is the subject of the second hour of Wednesday's Midday show, along with "favorite factory tours." We're trying to suggest some unusual roadside attractions for people as they hit the road for vacations relatively close to home this summer. Send us the name, location and description of your small museum --  it can be anywhere, but must be still in operation, and within about four hours of Baltimore -- and, if we use your e-mail on the air during Wednesday's show, we'll mail you a faux-leather WYPR CD/DVD carrying case. (It's a semi-glamorous prize and our way of saying thanks, hon.)

E-mail for Midday is midday@wypr.org

What's your favorite factory tour? This is the subject of the second hour of Wednesday's Midday show. Send us the name, location and description of your favorite factory tour --  it can be anywhere, but must be still in operation -- and, if we use your e-mail on the air during Wednesday's show, we'll mail you a faux-leather WYPR CD/DVD carrying case. (It's a semi-glamorous prize and our way of saying thank-you, darn it.)

E-mail for Midday is midday@wypr.org

 

 

Here, motorheads, check it out -- a music video featuring my nephew Eddie Flavin's Florida alt rock/metal band, Skidmark. In name and in music, they were the perfect choice for a highlight vid of motorcycle stunts from 'Board Up Miami, an extreme sports/wakeboard competition and music festival held in April. This vid aired locally, nephew says. Skidmark has quite a following in South Florida, particularly around Lauderdale. One of their tracks has also been used as warmup music for an ice hockey team. I need to get them booked in Baltimore.

 

Niki Lee, singer-songwriter-blogger from Catonsville, has a never-released recording of the late Eva Cassidy and she's listed it for sale on eBay. Click here to see the listing and Lee's description of the recording. For some background on Cassidy -- and her relationship to Lee -- here's something I wrote in 2001:

THE THING TO remember, as the story of Bowie, Maryland native Eva Cassidy goes global
and becomes part of musical lore, is that the voice -- and not the tragedy --
is what first grips people. It's an absolutely arresting voice with the rare
power to make old songs seem like new releases.
   When Cassidy reshapes "Over The Rainbow," the impossible happens: I forget
about Judy Garland. When she sweetens Sting's "Fields of Gold," it's as if I
never heard the original, and I easily imagine Cassidy walking through the
barley and letting her hair down. Same with "Songbird." Fleetwood Who?
    I believe that I would feel this way, even if Cassidy had not died in 1996
-- even if we still could have the pleasure of hearing her perform at a club
in Washington or Annapolis or, say, at the Columbia Festival for the Arts,
where she appeared a few months before doctors at Johns Hopkins told her she
had cancer.
   I can't say for sure, of course, because one of her old friends, the gifted
singer-songwriter Niki Lee, told me the whole sad story before slipping
Cassidy's best-selling-in-Britain "Songbird" album into a CD player and
punching up a track called "I Know You By Heart."
   Knowing that the singer had died -- at 33 -- does affect the listener in a
profound way. But it's not tragedy that hits you in the heart; it's the
purity, uniqueness and gentle power of the voice.
   "I Know You By Heart" reminds us of a lover distant but vivid in memory, or
of a long- absent friend; there's a mysterious feeling of loss and longing
in Cassidy's singing of it. I find the song as transfixing to the ear as a
fire to the eye on a cool autumn night.
   Others must have these feelings about this singer. I don't think sympathy,
guilt or fascination with tragedy is what made "Songbird" a No. 1 selling
album in the United Kingdom and put her other albums at the top of
Amazon.com's charts. It's the talent, the sound of hope and love in that
voice.
    I've listened to the cuts many times, often while driving through some of
the saddest neighborhoods in Baltimore and sometimes while contemplating
life's simmering problems and lingering regrets, and felt lifted by Cassidy's
spirit.
   Still, it's hard not to think of the unfairness of the Eva Cassidy story.
She never got a record contract while she was alive. She was painfully shy, a
backup vocalist reluctant to come out front, dismissed or ignored as a "local
singer." In life, she never got an ounce of the recognition she's getting now.
It breaks your heart.
   For Niki Lee, it's even harder because she is one of many from the
Washington musical world who knew Cassidy. Lee was raised in Potomac, Cassidy
in Bowie, and their musical lives intersected frequently in Maryland and D.C.
   Lee, who has performed around Baltimore for a decade and lives in
Catonsville, wrote an elegiac song called "November" several years ago and
recorded it with Cassidy and two other women. It's an a cappella recording,
with Lee in the lead and Cassidy coming through, like the pentimento of an old
oil painting, at a place where the song soars into the spiritual.
   Few people know of the existence of "November," and Lee, who speaks of
Cassidy with reverence, awe and sadness, is trying to decide what to do with
it. Though Cassidy's voice is for the most part blended with the others, it's
likely there would be interest in Lee's recording because Cassidy's music has
been nothing short of a phenomenon during the last year, with big sales of her
CDs and, more recently, national publicity on television and major magazines.
The posthumous appreciation started, oddly enough, in England last spring,
after the BBC broadcast Cassidy's "Over The Rainbow," and it has spread to
Canada and to the United States.
   There's a lesson in the legacy of Eva Cassidy -- that we make the effort to
appreciate what's right in front of us instead of what's distant, what's
instinctually attractive but not widely acclaimed. Sometimes the greatest
talent and the most enduring beauty lives where we do. Sometimes the best
things in life exist just down the road, and not in lofty places. Sometimes,
when you're not looking at what's right in front of you, you miss out.

The bored of directors -- bored because apparently they can't think of anything else to do -- accepted suggestions for a new name from students, alumni and the
faculty. The list of possible new names for the college was narrowed to Greenspring,
Stevenson, Tufton, Billiart or Rockland University.
    I think Tufton is the best. Then they could shorten it to Tufts.

It was one of the best musical thingies to ever come out of Baltimore, and I'm not talking about Cisqo's Thong Song. I'm talkin' Bedrock meets Springsteen meets Baseball. I'm talkin' Take Me Out To The Ballgame, the Bruce Springstone version. Craig Hankin, one of the band members who recorded the novelty song in 1982, says the Springstone version has been listed in Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson and Tim Wiles (Hal Leonard Books) and the song is included in a CD accompanying the book. The B-side of Bruce Springstone: Live at Bedrock was named one of 16 "rare and classic" renditions of the 100-year-old Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

Bruce Springstone was created in the spring of 1982 by Hankin, director of Hopkins' Homewood Art Workshops, and writer/cartoonist/activist Tom Chalkley. Springstone's single, Bruce Springstone: Live at Bedrock, was released in September '82 by Clean Cuts Records. The A-side features "Bedrock Rap/Meet the Flintstones," a parody of Bruce Springsteen singing the Flintstones theme; the B-side is the Springsteenesque arrangement of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Chalkley does the amazing lead vocals, Hankin plays rhythm guitar. Other musicians: John Ebersberger (drums), Ron Holloway (saxophone), Tommy Keene (lead guitar), Suzy Shaw (keyboards) and Gabor Lutor (bass). Hankin and Chalkley wrote the arrangements. Jack Heyrman produced the record which was engineered by Steve Carr at Hit & Run Studios in Rockville. Chalkley and Ebersberger did the cover art.

Live at Bedrock has been played on hundreds of radio stations in the U.S. and 14 foreign countries. The two tracks have aired on network, cable and syndicated television programs. Both tracks are still in print on Rhino Records: "Bedrock Rap/Flintstones" on Dr. Demento's Greatest Novelty Records of All Time and Ball Game on Baseball's Greatest Hits (audio & video formats). In addition to being aired at nearly every major and minor league stadium in America, Ball Game was included in the 1995-96 Guinness Book of Sports Records for Longest Continuous Airplay of a Sports-Related Song (57,161 plays).

 

Thanks to WYPR program director Andy Bienstock for pointing the way to this remembrance of RFK by Pete Hamill in New York. Hamill's original piece on the assassination of RFK appears in a collection of his columns called Irrational Ravings, the title taken from Spiro Agnew's description of Hamill's pieces on the Kent State massacre in the New York Post -- the good, old, bygone New York Post. The Post of Max Weschler and Murray Kempton, and Pete Hamill.

RFK is the subject of this Thursday's Midday show on WYPR-FM

 

God be praised for last night's Orioles win. Had the Sox swept the series, it would have been ugly around here. Sunday was a beautiful day and I don't think I've been that depressed since my dog died. The Red Sox Nation thing, the invasion of Camden Yards, has really gotten old. I have long suspected that more than half who come to Baltimore for the Red Sox aren't New Englanders and have no New England roots; they are baseball interlopers, running with a team having a winning reign. That's all. What's the big trick in that? Everyone loves a winner. These people won't be around if the Sox ever go into a multi-year slide again. The Orioles have promise, and what they need are their season-ticket holders to stop selling out and start showing up. They need to at least sell their tickets to people with Maryland zip codes. It's not right to hold a Nasty grudge against the Orioles for all these losing seasons under Peter Angelos and keep selling tickets to the highest bidder on eBay. The O's are obviously making efforts to create a winner again. The team ain't hittin' much right now, but if that comes around again, and the pitching stays sound, we could be in this hunt. Dave Trembley is the manager. How can you be mad at that guy? (He can't bat for Brian Roberts.) It's time to take back the Yard, folks.

The Wall Street Journal's review of Daniel Mark Epstein's new work called it "the best Lincoln book in a generation," and the reviewer was a Lincoln author himself, Andrew Ferguson. What I like most about Epstein's book, The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage, is that it deals in the main with the couple's early life in Illinois, courtship and marriage, before the move to the White House. The crazy Mary Todd, rife with depression from her husband's death, does not haunt the pages. In fact, the book smartly stops at the president's last breath -- "until death do us part" -- and it's as if Epstein managed to block the post-assassination Mary Todd out completely. Epstein is our 1 pm guest on Midday today, 88.1, WYPR-FM.

 

The June invasive species of the month the gypsy moth, introduced to the United States during the Civil War and still with us today, defoliating thousands of acres of trees. In 2007, according to the Maryland Invasive Species Council, our state, along with New Jersey and Pennsylvania suffered the worst defoliation in many years. Each of these states mounted large spray programs to protect weakened and threatened trees – more than has been needed in 17 years. These programs were to conclude by June 1, before the period of heaviest gypsy moth caterpillar feeding, with the hope of much reduced forest damage in 2008. The gypsy moth is well known to many of us in Maryland, but there is a whole assortment of other invasive species in our midst, effecting ecosystems from the Chesapeake to western Maryland. Joining us on Midday today at noon to talk about it are two people who track invaders -- Kerrie Kyle is an invasive plant ecologist for the Maryland DNR, and Jonathan McKnight is a biologist and associate wildlife director for DNR.

Lots of comment by e-mail on today's column. A teaching blog lists it as a "sad, achingly familiar tale." Here's one of several letters from readers, a teacher:

I was in Ed Morman’s Baltimore City Teaching Residency cohort and . . . I am yet a teacher in the city, in Cherry Hill, and I understand what Ed is saying.  Understand it completely . . . because here’s the really scary thing: Ed was good at his job.  Damned good at it.
How does it bode when someone who is very good at something gets chewed up like so much cud and left for unemployed?  Ed is a brilliant man.  Period.  He is no milquetoast.  Period.  He knew classroom management.  Period.  He knew his subject area so well that any fellow math teacher would be envious of his knowledge.  Period.
I liked him.  He was a professional.  But what now?  He was good, and now the city is one good man down.
Was he a quitter?  Absolutely, unequivocally, no!  The problem lies elsewhere, and until that problem is resolved, teachers like Ed are yet going to get chewed up and spit out.
Thank you for saying what you did about him and us.
Sincerely,
John C. Young