A Bridge Too Far For Now

I went to City College, as many of you know.

Poly, our arch rival, is in my district.

Hundreds of students use public transportation, buses and the light rail, to get to the Poly-Western complex.

They cross Cold Spring Lane, a heavily trafficked street, on foot.

I’ve been looking for a funding source for a pedestrian bridge.

I’ve written you before about House Bill 512, which would have authorized the use of revenue from the speed cameras on the Jones Falls Expressway to enhance pedestrian safety on streets that cross the JFX.

It’s not likely that my bill will get voted out of committee and sent to the House floor.

This becomes a bill for next year’s session.

I’ll also be looking for other funding sources.

My goal is to have the bridge completed in time for the reopening of the rebuilt Poly-Western complex in September 2028.

A few weeks later, I’ll be rooting for City to beat Poly at our 139th annual football game.

Bipartisanship 

The Baltimore Country Club property is precious open space in Roland Park.
I sledded down this hill with my brother Stewart.
I drove past the site on my way to City College.  To this day, we call Hillside Avenue “Snake Lane.”
In 2008, I joined the community in opposing the construction of a retirement facility on the property.
Two years ago, I got a phone call from the chair of the Roland Park Community Foundation, Mary Page Michel, “Can the State help us buy the property?”
We quickly agreed that state funding was doable if part of the property was dedicated to use by the students at Poly-Western across the street.
I spoke with Delegate Maggie McIntosh, chair of the Appropriations Committee, and she agreed to allocating $250,000 in Program Open Space funds.
Yesterday, an agreement was announced for the Foundation to purchase the 20-acre property to create a new public park.
It’s not often that a City graduate does something that benefits Poly, our arch rival.
In Baltimore, we call this bipartisanship.

A Unique Program and Astounding Legislation

Saturday morning, I heard about the torch carrying white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched around a church, shouting a Nazi slogan.

I thought of Nazi Germany and the American South during the civil rights protests.

That afternoon, not yet aware of the loss of life in Charlottesville, I was campaigning and knocked on the door of an acquaintance in Mt. Washington.

I knew that he was one of the students who sued in 1952 to integrate Poly.  I knew one of his local attorneys, Marshall Levin.  I also knew that Thurgood Marshall had argued the case before the Baltimore City School Board.

As a loyal City alumnus, I had to ask why Poly, instead of City.

“The engineering program there was unique,” he replied.

“Did you meet with Marshall beforehand?” I asked.

“Yes, he met with the 14 plaintiffs one weekend.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Behave.  Everyone is watching you.”

Last night, while watching MSNBC, I learned about legislation providing that “a person driving an automobile while exercising due care is immune for civil liability for any injury to another if the injured person was participating in a demonstration or protest and blocking traffic.”

By a vote of 67-48, it passed the House of the North Carolina legislature this past May.      It awaits Senate action.

That such legislation would even be introduced is astounding.

I read Maryland’s hate crimes law.  A death resulting from a criminal act, in this instance vehicular homicide, could be a hate crime.

I emailed committee counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis: “If there had not been a death when a car was driven into the crowd in Charlottesville this weekend, would that have constituted a violation of Maryland’s hate crimes law?”

She responded this morning: “Driving a car into a crowd under these circumstances, not involving a death, would be a separate felony” and punishable as a hate crime.

 

 

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning