Thursday, May 16, 2013
Three companies submitted their bids Friday.
The Prince George's County commission tasked to determine which location would be best for a new casino will have to weigh three options after three companies placed bids for three different locations. County Executive Rushern L. Baker III recently told a Washington Business Journal reporter that he preferred MGM's plan at The National Harbor located in Oxon Hill on the Potomac. However, two other bidders—Greenwood Racing, Inc. and Penn National—have also pitched two other locations. Penn National would want their casino as the Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, while Greenwood Racing, Inc. picked an abandoned lot in Fort Washington. So what do you think? Take our poll below and tell us in the comments why you prefer one location over …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Often we don't appreciate the phase we are in, when we are in it. A lesson learned from a stranger, hits home.
When the boys were babies, old men and women would "ooh" and "ahh" over the handlebar of the stroller at my angelic sleeping child and say “they grow up so fast” a million times. I’d kindly nod my head and smile, exhausted from lack of sleep and counting down the days to the monthly Moms Night Out when I could drink way too much and pretend I was 25 again—of course paying for that decision for hours the next day. At the doctor’s office, I was having small talk with a nurse and inevitably the conversation comes to children—"Do you have any? How many? What are their ages?" I shared my sons’ ages and she immediately gets a nostalgia look in her eye, “Oh that’s such a wonderful age. Legos, Star Wars…Oh, I just love that age.” I nodded my head…
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Here are some family activities you can do to foster environmentalism. Sponsored by Sony.
Very few events are celebrated around the globe, but Earth Day is. This year, it’s come and gone. But we’re here to ask: What can we do to show our love of the earth on that day, and every day? On May 31, Sony will release After Earth, an action-packed movie that takes place 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave. It’s the kind of scenario that makes you want to donate to Greenpeace, recycle everything, and start biking every where, immediately. So, in honor of Earth Day, Patch has teamed up with Sony to present these ideas for making every day Earth Day. How can we make every day Earth Day? Begin with little things. Easy things. Obvious things. Things we take for granted each day, and use and/or abuse because of …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Kids on the Autism Spectrum each have unique gifts—I think I found one of my son's.
When you have a child of the Autism Spectrum it’s hard to avoid becoming consumed by comparing your child with typically developing children. IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings don’t help, you sit around a table with professionals working with your child on a daily basis at school and discuss the ways in which your child is developing and meeting goals for his age, almost all of his goals are goals that come naturally for other children. For example one of the goals on my son’s IEP is to have a back and forth conversation with a peer without prompting. That doesn’t seem like much, I know, but recently when my son, L, had a friend over and I heard them playing in his room I stood out of eyesight to count how many times they had a…
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The NFL would like the Ravens to open their season at home on Sept. 5, but the O’s already have a game scheduled.
Traditionally the Super Bowl champions get to play at home on the opening night of the season, but a scheduling conflict with the Orioles may make that impossible for the Ravens. The NFL would like to schedule the Ravens to open at home on Sept. 5, but the Orioles already have a home game with the Chicago White Sox. Moving the Ravens game back a day is not an option because of Rosh Hashanah. Vote in our poll and tell us how you'd handle it. Have a better idea? Share it with Patch in a comment below.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Greater Greater Washington contributor Matt Wilson thinks so.
Would you go to more public hearings or meetings if Prince George's County government were centrally located? One Greater Greater Washington contributor believes that "access to government is an essential part of a functioning democracy." Matt Wilson writes: Wilson notes that of Maryland 23 county seats, Upper Marlboro is the 9th most distant from its county's geographic center. Upper Marlboro is almost 10 miles away from its most populated area—which is near Landover, according to Wilson's map. Read Wilson's full post on Greater Greater Washington. Tell Us: Does Prince George's County government's location in Upper Marlboro deter people from becoming involved in the process?
Monday, March 4, 2013
Here are this week's top posts in Howard County.
Here are some highligths of this week's Local Voices from Patch sites in Howard County. If you have something on your mind and want to contribute to Patch, just go to the front page of this Patch site and click "Start a Blog" under the top stories. Have a question about blogging on Patch? Email Associate Regional Editor Lisa Rossi at lisa.rossi@patch.com Starting School Later does not have to cost more: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Support HB 1462 - A Maryland Task Force for Later School Start Times: Another reader, a cofounder of a national initiative on the subject, pushes statewide legislation to allow later school start times. HCGH Celebrates its 40th Anniversary This Year…
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Here are the best of this week's Local Voices posts from Maryland Patch sites.
Here are some of the best Local Voices posts in the past week from around Maryland's Patch sites. Remember, if you have something on your mind, it's quick and easy to join the conversation. Just click "Start a Blog" under the top story on our front page. Sequestration: We Have a Choice: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin talks about the impact budget cuts mandated by sequestration will have on Maryland. Gratia Benedictus XVI: In Montgomery County, a reader wonders what the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI will be. Benedict stepped down from the papacy on Thursday. Starting School Later Does Not Have to Cost More: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Marks Changes Position On County Cars for …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A letter to the editor about raising the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector and other state highways.
The following is a letter from Fred Flaharty, a Montgomery County school bus driver, in regards to a late January story about the Intercounty Connector potentially having a 70 mph speed limit: The bill that would raise the maximum speed limit on interstates and expressways statewide from 65 to 70 miles per hour is an incredibly BAD IDEA!....no...INSANE idea. As a regular daily driver of the ICC both in my personal car (twice per day) and as the driver of a Montgomery County school bus (4 trips per day) I protest in the strongest possible terms this proposed raising of the speed limit on the ICC. There are several important reasons for this the first of which is the road was never designed for faster speeds as are interstate highways. As is…
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The issue of school start times is getting national attention. What do you think?
A movement to push back high school start times so that teens can get more sleep has been brewing across the country and right here in Maryland. In board of education hearings and council meetings from Florida to Minnesota to Washington, parents and students are pleading their cases and governments are taking note. Here in Howard County, the school system has begun a feasibility study and imact anaylsis to tackle the issue of school start times. In December, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Schools established a work group to study the issue and residents of Anne Arundel County have also asked their local officials to consider starting high school later. Take a look at some of those links, sort through the pros, cons, research and …
R-Section
3:21 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
And those self same politicians stood arm-in-arm with the PG County Mega Preachers vowing not to cave on this issue. No sooner than O'Malley took office, they stopped returning those preacher's phone calls and put table games on the ballot. more ›