Hazardous Waste Drop-Off This Weekend

The city of Baltimore will hold its first Hazardous Waste Drop-Off event at the new containment facility at the Northwest Citizen Convenience Center this weekend. On Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, city residents can drop off hazardous materials from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new Center is located at 2840 Sisson Street:



Hazardous household materials that will be collected include:

• oil-based paints
• pesticides
• herbicides
• household batteries
• drain cleaners
• gasoline
• pool chemicals

 (They remind us that latex paint can be dried up and the cans put out for regular trash collection.)

The site will not be collecting: asbestos, ammunition, fire extinguishers, industrial and medical wastes and radioactive materials, including smoke alarms with a radioactive symbol. You'll need to show proof of city residency, such as a driver's license, telephone bill or tax bill, before you'll be allowed to drop off items.

Shouldn't they know ...

... who it is that keeps stealing their letters?

Fire Pit? Did someone say Fire Pit?

Yesterday morning I was sitting on the #19 bus, waiting at the light at Harford Road and Hamilton Avenue, when I noticed a sign in the window of the Hamilton Gallery that read "Putting the Charm in Charm City." That made me smile, because we really do have a nice little neighborhood here in Northeast.

And one of the really exciting things is that there's such a creative energy here, in all kinds of directions. From art, to food, to music, to crops. And everything in between. Next Friday, October 21, there will be an evening-long event which should have something for just about everyone. The "Art Crawl and Party" is part of Baltimore City's annual citywide event, going on for over 20 years. But this year, the Lauraville-Hamilton neighborhood has the honor of kicking off the whole dang thing. The Hamilton - Lauraville Main Street News has more info, including a schedule of events. Starting at 6 pm, there is a wine and cheese reception at Performance Workshop, followed by a gallery walk (please stop by the Chop Shop to see my friend Mary's artwork!), followed by an "Art Pit Party" at the Connection 4500 Harford Road.

See you there?

Sunny Day in Lauraville!

Hello voters. Are you ready?

I won't tell you how to vote, but you know I'm gonna tell you to vote! And fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how the robocalls go), we've got plenty of time to get to know the candidates for all the upcoming elections. There are several announced candidates for Mayor of Baltimore, all of them worth listening to. (Well, except for that goofball Baltimore City Circuit Court clerk Frank Conaway, "the perennial mayoral candidate," as the Baltimore Sun politely calls him.)

One serious candidate worth listening to is Otis Rolley. He's said some interesting things about promoting neighborhood revitalization and sustainability, and making city government more accountable.  BmoreLocal will be hosting a "meet & greet" with Rolley tomorrow, July 1 at Atomic Books in Hampden. I don't like to send people out of the neighborhood on First Friday, but maybe we can sneak to Hampden at 7 pm and make it back for a drink at Hamilton Tavern afterwards?

Now, if only there was a serious candidate running against Councilman Curran, maybe we would actually see those road improvements in Westfield that he always promises at the neighborhood meetings, instead of  living in the limboland that exists on Harford Road between the revitalized sidewalks and roadways of Hamilton and Parkville ...

Right turn on red -- after STOP

From Investigative Voice:

Right on red tickets net city millions

A word to the wise: I've seen workers doing something to the camera at Christopher and Harford. Not sure what they were up to, but it always pays to follow the law.

According to the story,

Thus one in every three drivers snagged with a $75 fine might be guilty of simply or slightly pausing or nosing out a foot too far, offenses that have netted the city roughly $3 million so far this year.

Yikes!

People! Please do not do this to your Census form!

I found this half of an envelope in the curb today while I was walking the dog, and it is distressing! The Census counts people. The numbers of people, the ages of people, the needs of people -- these things are decided based on the forms that are returned. Obviously someone in our neighborhood couldn't be bothered, so they simply ripped the envelope in half without even opening it up.

From today's Baltimore Sun:

State and census officials say they want to improve on [the overall state] percentage by focusing on Baltimore, which struggled to get its residents to return the forms. About 53 percent of city residents mailed back the questionnaire, the second-worst rate among similar-size cities in the country. Newark, N.J., had the worst participation rate, at 46 percent.

"We want everyone in Maryland to mail back the questionnaire," said Sylvia T. Ballinger, an officer with the Philadelphia Regional Census Center, which oversees Maryland. "For every 1 percent increase, we save about $85 million."

We can't really complain about lack of city services if we can't get an accurate picture of the city, can we? Data from the Census is used in planning for:

• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency services

So please, send in your form and encourage your neighbors to do so as well. It helps us all, Hon.

Baltimore? Or the Wild Wild West?

I've lived in Westfield for 6 years, and in and around Baltimore City for the past 11, and I have never been surrounded by so much violent crime as we've had in the past couple of weeks. And before moving here, I lived in Washington, DC, so yes, I know what gunshots sound like, and I know that when lots of people live in close proximity (i.e., in the city), there will be crime, and some of it will be violent.

A couple of weeks ago we arrived home at about 9:30 Sunday night to find our street blocked off while police searched for an armed suspect who had just shot someone at the corner of Old Harford & Harford. (He was caught in the alley behind Royston and Christopher, which is apparently where the confusion about the location of the shooting stems from.)

Well, we all move on with our lives. But the violence continues. Yesterday an off-duty police officer shot an armed robber who had entered his home. I heard Ed Norris this morning gleefully saying "He messed with the wrong guy! Ha ha!" And I understand the satisfaction of a criminal getting immediate repercussion for his crime.

But I find particularly disturbing in this story the report that as the robber was running down the street, from Glenarm to White Ave., the police officer was chasing him and firing his gun. (In fact, Jayne Miller's report had an eyewitness saying the robber had dropped his gun and had his hands raised, saying "I'm sorry, man!" Will this be investigated?) Of course I understand wanting to catch the guy, but at some point isn't the public's safety more important? The report says the suspect was shot "multiple times." Wasn't once or twice enough?

And this morning we have this story:

Hopkins student kills intruder with samurai sword, police say

Which again is being met with comments of "Good for him!" and "One less criminal!"

And again, I think to myself, "What kind of world do I live in?" Have we not evolved from the gunslingers of the old west? There was no law and order, no police force, in those days, and everyone armed themselves for safety. Is that what Baltimore City is gleefully becoming? Are you happy about citizens taking the law into their own hands?

RecycleMORE BaltiMORE

It would be nice if the City would publicize this kind of thing a little more, but eh, whatever. We'll do our civic duty and tell you about some good news for all of us. The acceptable items list for recycling has been expanded, making it even easier to send your trash to be recycled instead of taking up space in the landfill. Most notably:

To be included in your curbside single stream recycling bin—January 2009:

• Wide-mouth plastic containers used for margarine, yogurt, cottage cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.
• Empty prescription bottles (lids and caps do not need to be removed)
• Plastic drinking cups
• Aluminum foil and aluminum pie pans
• Clean milk and juice cartons

These can now be included with your usual recycling, which already includes:

Acceptable Recycling Material:

• Clean paper - all colors and types. - This includes catalogs, magazines, junk mail, newspapers and non-metallic wrapping paper Cardboard and paperboard boxes (including cereal boxes without liners and frozen food packaging)
• Books (including paperbacks, textbooks and hardbacks)
• Aerosol Cans (empty)
• Glass containers such as jars and bottles
• Metal food and beverage containers
• Narrow-neck plastic containers (other than for motor oil) which carry codes 1 through 7 on the bottom.

You can find out more at the Baltimore City DPW Recycling website.

Early voting? Maybe next time

You may have heard that there's a Presidential election coming up in a couple of weeks. We don't usually get too political here, so I'll just say it's basically a race between two guys. Again. Hmph.

Anyway, here in Maryland we actually have some other pretty important stuff on the ballot, as well. And you don't want to get caught trying to read the ballot initiatives for the first time -- on the ballot. Two biggies include an initiative to allow early voting in the state of Maryland, as well as to allow slots here.

The Maryland League of Women Voters has an awesome web site with explanations of the pros and cons of these initiatives, as well as information on all the candidates running for all the offices. Click here and then click on "Election 2008 Voters Guides. "

It's important that you get out and vote on these important changes being proposed for our State. No matter how you vote, just vote.

(But seriously, you should vote "no" on the slots thing.)

It's back to school time, hon!

The Baltimore City Schools System is seeking volunteers to support both schools and students. If you have some spare time, they will match volunteers with schools to help out in ways that fit both your schedule and the school’s needs. They're looking for everything from being a positive presence around the school at dismissal, to helping out within the school, or to tutor or mentor students.

If you're interested, click here for more information.

Could this be the end of bags in trees?

A proposal to ban plastic bags in Baltimore made its way through a critical City Council committee vote yesterday. Banning the use of plastic bags could mean the end of bags in waterways or caught on tree branches. The proposal would require only larger stores to offer paper or reusable bags (those with gross annual sales of less than $500,000 would be exempt).

Seems like a great idea to me, even though it costs more to produce paper bags than plastic. But the long-term effects cannot be denied. Those bags in the trees never go away -- they just blow over to your neighbor's tree.

The proposal was approved by a vote on 3-1, with our Councilman Robert Curran as the sole "no" vote. Curran, whom the Baltimore Sun notes "took a job bagging groceries after high school," (see -- he's just common folk like us!) said that he is standing with grocery worker unions who oppose the bill.

I am a fervent supporter of unions, so I understand Curran wanting to do the right thing here. However, I would have much preferred he be more forward-looking and take the approach of Councilwoman Agnes Welch. From the Sun:

City Councilwoman Agnes Welch, meanwhile, voted for the bill in committee so it could be vetted by the full council, she said. But she said she may not support the measure when it comes before the full council.

Your thoughts?

Image from "It's our L.A.!"

On a bicycle built for ... you?

Earth Day is just a month away, on April 22, 2008. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in any way you can. If you don't want to volunteer, you can always plant a tree, or at the very least, ride a bike!

A cool blog I just discovered is Baltimore Spokes, which -- as the name implies -- is focused on bicycling in Baltimore. I must admit, I don't do much riding up and down Harford Road, but I have seen some brave souls attempting to maneuver the traffic. And really, there's no reason why our neighborhood shouldn't be more bike-friendly.

As gas prices continue to rise, it might be time to get the 'ol Hello Kitty bike out of the basement and take her for a spin again.

New retail district emerging to the south

While not technically Westfield, just to our south an exciting little community of shops are springing up. Just next to the Safeway you can now find everything from fine dining to knitting supplies. 

The newly opened Spinster Yarns (knitting supplies), Rock Candy (a candy store with attitude), and Bediboo (children's boutique) join  such neighborhood staples as The Chameleon Cafe and The Red Canoe. And the best part of shopping at the new "Lauraville strip"? The almost constant smell of Zeke's coffee being roasted right behind these shops. 

Hey you — Yeah I'm talkin' to you

I need your help. I'm still looking for contributors to this blog — you can post regularly, occasionally, whenever your muse visits. All you need to do is send me an email at pookyshoehorn@gmail.com, and I'll get you set up to post whenever the mood strikes. As you can see from my posts, you don't have to write much, and you don't have to be particularly profound, either. Photos are good, and very easy to post.

And if you're still feeling shy, please email me your ideas for posting or photos that you'd like me to post. I'm happy to keep this blog going, but I need your ideas!

Meanwhile, I've added some new links to the right under "Blogs with a Taste of Baltimore," and I encourage you to check them out and let me know what you think. I highly recommend a visit to the Open Society Institutes's Baltimore blog at OSI-Baltimore. There are a lot of good people doing good things in Baltimore, and this is inspiring reading.

1/1/2008 UPDATE: Westfield Falls: The New Neighborhood Water Feature!

Update? Are you kidding? Of course there's no update! We keep calling, they keep telling us it's "in the system." We keep reporting it at 311 online, the request keeps getting posted as "closed." Hey -- where can I get one of those "I love city life" bumper stickers? Not.

Tomorrow (Saturday) will mark one full week of the newest feature of our neighborhood: The Westfield Falls, located at the intersection of Christopher and Richard Avenues. Refusing to be swayed by mere citizen complaint, the City of Baltimore has done nothing to fix the flow of water through our streets, despite daily calls by the residents.

We're thinking about selling tickets ....