A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

The race is on and here comes Political Payback in the back stretch, with Hubris moving to the inside…

I rarely ever read The Business Monthly, but I happened to pick up this month’s copy and a picture on the front page may have answered a question that I always had about the proposed Maryland horse park. It was a picture of Ken Ulman’s father standing next to a race horse in the winner’s circle. Of course, the picture is not in the article that is online.

Ken Ulman appointed three horse industry hacks, including a “personal representative”, to the Horse Park Task Force that was charged with the task of deciding if Howard County should put a bid in to the State of Maryland to locate the park here. I have always been surprised that Ulman apparently supported the idea of this park. I hate to put people in buckets, but Ulman makes no bones about the fact that he is a liberal democrat, and a redistribution of wealth from all taxpayers to rich taxpayers in the form of a horse park is not something that I would expect a liberal democrat to support. However, the Business Monthly clued me in to the fact that Ulman’s father was a former chairperson for the completely useless Maryland Racing Commission, as well as a racehorse owner. I am sure that other influential democrats (and republicans) are waist deep in the horse industry and are pushing for this park to further their own interests at the expense of everyone else.

Papa Ulman had this to say about the horse industry:

Lou Ulman, a senior principal with the Offit Kurman law firm in Maple Lawn who is also a member of the MRC and a past chair, is among those who have suffered the negative consequences of declining purses in Maryland.

Only three years ago Ulman owned 20 thoroughbred race horses, either outright or in other partnerships. Today, that number has dwindled to nine that are all owned in partnership. Almost all of his horses are located in Maryland, but at least four run in races out of state, where purses are higher.

"It's becoming too expensive to keep them here," Ulman said, "and I believe we will be seeing more horsemen who will simply get out [of Maryland] if they can cut their losses."

That's not the route Ulman wants to take, but the choice might not be his to make.
"I wouldn't get out [of racing] totally," he said. "But there's always the chance that a trainer might move to another state and would take the horses with him."

And the winner is Crooked Politician with Taxpayers coming in last.

Update: the horse park has a website. From there, you can access a .pdf of the Maryland Feasibility Study that is not on the County's website but is referenced in the task force's report.

As I roll down to the corner store...

Columbia is getting some nice grocery stores. They already have a Trader Joe's, and now Harris Teeter in King's Contrivance is set to open Tuesday at 5:30. A two story Wegmans is also in the works.

The word on the street is that Rita's, the ice cream place, is set to open its King's Contrivance location on Wednesday, and will kick things off with free Italian Gelato. Wahoo!

You know you want it

It must be really easy to spend money that is not yours. Ken Ulman wants to spend $3 million on new recycling bins. Not everyone agrees:

[Greg] Fox said there were a “lot of other good uses” for that $3 million, such as investing in future employee benefits.

Here is another idea: don't spend it! I wish Ulman and the council weren't so "generous" with money that is not theirs to be generous with. If I want a recycling bin, I will go buy one myself. I sure as hell don't need anyone to buy one for me without asking if I want one, and then send me the bill.

Interesting video

This is one of the more interesting Youtube clips that I have seen in quite awhile. It discusses whether or not Ford did the right thing by not installing a part that would would have made the Pinto slightly safer, albeit slightly more expensive. Although the discussion in this video is about consumer safety on the surface, it applies much more broadly. It could just as easily apply to the environment, social welfare programs, or any number of important issues.

Never been there, but the brochure looks nice...

Get a load of this letter to the editor in the Baltimore Sun:

I find it curious that in The Sun's editorial concerning Columbia ("A new town center?" May 1) and in recent articles about the plans for the so-called town center ("Town aims to redraw its core," April 28), little mention was made of the plight of hundreds of young and old area residents who have made the Mall in Columbia their source for art, culture and socialization and of how absurd this is in a community that prides itself on its excellent resources.

With all due respect to James W. Rouse and his magnificent vision, Columbia is, and likely will always be, little more than a mall surrounded by suburban housing.

As is typical in such an environment, the mall has become the de facto center of area life.

Columbia and the region would be better served if Howard County and the state invested in comprehensive transportation plans that afforded area residents frequent and constant access to real urban centers in Baltimore and perhaps Washington.

It is especially important that young people get out of the mall and experience the larger world that awaits them.

Likewise, it is critical for residents in the urban core to have better access to all the service jobs that have moved to Columbia and other suburbs.

I have my own thoughts about this (and I am curious to know if this person has ever set foot in Columbia other than the mall), but I am wondering what other people think. So if you can pull yourself away from the "de facto center of area life" that is the mall long enough to leave a response, please do so.

Things you Expect to See at the Sheep and Wool Festival

"Market lambs", which means that people eat them. I would not wish the fate of these cute little guys on my worst enemy...

A big Jacob sheep with multiple horns...

And finally, a VW bus with a bunch of bumper stickers. And a tent on the roof. Groovy!

Explore Howard Launched

Explore Howard has rolled out its new format. This is a big improvement from before, which I have criticized in the past. The biggest change is that it is no longer a blog, but rather a news site that consolidates local news from various related publications (The Times, The Flier, The View from Ellicott City and the View from Western Ho Co). I am not totally clear, but I think the individual online sites for those local publications will be done away with and only Explore Howard will remain. Anyway, you can leave comments about articles, which is a nice blog-like element. They plan to juice it up with video content and make various other tweaks throughout the summer.

One improvement that I hope they make is the ability share articles with a permanent link, like you can with the New York Times. Often with local blogs, if you go back to read an old post, any article that was linked to in the Times or Flier has expired and it is no longer possible to see the article online using that same link. A permanent link would solve that problem.

My only complaint is that I can't find the letters to the editor for the Times or the Flier. Does anyone know where those are, or aren't there any this week?