Howard County

Overview of 2016 HoCo BOE Candidate Campaign Finance

All my data are from the website https://campaignfinancemd.us/Public/ViewReceipts?theme=vista.

Bedolla has three committees, and only the one under “Bedolla, (Marcelino) 4 BOE” has some data. Corey Andrew has two committees and I just list the latest committee’s filing. At first, I could not find Robert Miller’s filing. With his help, it is updated.  I am sorry for this mistake. The website is a little tricky.

It is a little difficult to get “self donation” right. I just briefly searched and browsed the data. So it may be not very accurate for Mrs. Janet Siddiqui’s result since her data is really long.

2016-hoco-boe-campgain-finance

Committee Total amount(decreasing order) Max single donation Max donor name Min amount total donations self donation
Janet Siddiqui 3525 (from 2015-2016) 500 Ashai  Shafqet A, Nartech Inc., Butt  Zahid 10 483
79,508.28(from 2006-2016) 1870.79 unknown 10
Christina and Vicky 20,480 1480 IP Data Systems 5 96 9350
Ann Delacy 14,341.77 500 Cunningham  Anthony 20 86 6814.77
Kirsten Coombs 14,242.91 2000 MSEA’S Fund for Children and Public Educ 7.26 75 5003.24
Vicky Cutroneo 11,650 1000 Sedlack  Mary Beth, Miller  Warren E. Friends of 25 31 5000
Pravin Pounuri 7,846 500 Narasimharao  Dontula, Pendse  Rupali 5 40 3000
Christina Demont-Small 7,563.12 1000 Yungmann  David, Miller  Warren E. Friends of 4 20 4000
Robert Miller 4259 100 Smith  Jr.  George A.,Lea  Douglas, etc 25 27 3004
Marvis Ellis 3,744.04 250 Anderson  Kimberly Anglin 14.04 25 2000
Marcelino Bedolla 3359.94 500 MSEA Fund for Children and Public Education 15 23 1304.44
Corey Andrew 1,358.38 1000 Jacobs  Cherry 15 7 33.38

Interview with Robert Miller

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Our interview with Robert Miller is online now. Due to the quality of the picture, we only have the black and white picture.

Howard County Chinese School Principal Dr. Jiabei Wang joined the interview.

http://www.capa-hc.org/single-post/2016/10/06/Interview-with-Robert-Miller

robert-miller-interview

I just met Robert Miller at his campaign event back of COSCO last Saturday. It was really a nice opportunity to talk to him. I even met two other BOE candidates Vicky and Chrsitina there too.

 

Meeting summary of River Hill Garden Center on October 6 2016

I attended tonight’s pre-submission meeting at Kahler Hall of Harper’s Choice. The room was packed ( probably 50 people). People from Real Estate Company were Bill O, Steve, Jim, Rob. People from the engineering firm were Chris, Mike. I could not write down all the last names.

Steve, the owner of Clarksville Square Shopping Center and other shopping centers addressed residents concerns. The communication tonight were candid and straightforward.

1.The development will be handled by River Hill Square LLC. The current Garden Center Owner is still part of the redevelopment. There will be a bank, a restaurant ( not fast food), a retail/ market( different from Clarksville Square Shopping Center), some office building and a new USPS. Everything is premature and under consideration only.

  1. They need submit environment plan and site development plan within one year after tonight’s meeting.

  2. They do not need to go before the Planning board since there will be no waiver, no variation etc for this plan as old development plans.

  3. People are really concerned about traffic. However, the proposed plan tried to reduce traffic by developing a three-lane solution (one left lane to the Sheppard Lane, one middle lane through, one right lane to the center) and expanding traffic light at Sheppard Lane. Please see the above figure at top right corner. There is also a new pathway planned.

  4. Updated: The parking has increased from 100 to 140 to today’s 244.

  5. Many attendants were complaining the county had not been taking care of our residents’ need by improving Clarksville Pike or Route 108.

  6. At the end,  I suggested they should change the name to “River Hill Triangle” and move the building a little closer to Route 108, which leaves wider buffer to the houses at the back.

 

 

2016 Election: two Howard County Charter Amendments on ballot

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Besides BOE election, there are two very important votes for HoCo residents on this year’s ballot. There are two charter amendments to vote. While Amendment 1 – the citizen election fund system has some noise in the media, amendment 2 seems to have very few publicity at all.

I had a phone interview with Chinese Newspaper A&C Business News discussing two Howard County charter amendments.  Thank reporter Joy Zhou for putting the interview into an article. https://chaowu.org/2016/10/23/my-interview-on-two-hoco-charter-amendments/

Charter Amendment

Citizens’ Election Fund System

Amending the Howard County Charter to require the County Council to pass a law establishing a Citizens’ Election Fund System that includes public funding for the campaigns of candidates for county executive or county council, or both. The express legislative purposes for the Amendment include that any System to be proposed for adoption by the Council would promote and encourage broader access to elective office in Howard County, enable County citizens to run for office on the strength of their ideas, and provide for small donations by citizens and matching public funds. The Council law must allow candidates to choose whether to participate in the System, and must establish a commission of County residents to determine annually the amount of County funding required to fully fund the System for the full election cycle for the ensuing fiscal year. The County Executive’s proposed annual budget must include the required amount, but if the Executive does not include that amount, the Council can add the required amount to the proposed budget. The Executive’s proposed annual budget does not have to include the required amount if funds are transferred from the “rainy day fund” to the current expense budget during the current fiscal year, or the Executive certifies that the County’s fiscal condition makes it imprudent to include the required amount, and the Council approves the certification by a two-thirds vote. Unspent money in the Citizens’ Election Fund at the end of the fiscal year would not lapse into the County treasury.

My take:

  1. Incumbent with big money at hand does not like this.
  2. People with smaller network, less big company friends like this.
  3. People who do not want public money into politics, or smaller government do not like this.
  4. People who want more political engagement like this.
  5. It seems in general Democrats love this and Republicans do not like this.
  6. There is a big problem with this. All candidates should join this and it should not be optional. By setting it optional, it will create a new loophole and does not save money in the longer term at all. Hopefully this will be addressed in the future. At least this is a good start.
  7. I support this.

QUESTION B, Charter Amendment

Changes to Budgetary and Fiscal Procedures

Amending the Howard County Charter to require that the County’s annual budget include a contingency reserve in the current expense budget and a contingency reserve capital project in the capital budget. Any appropriation for the contingency reserve in the current expense budget could not be greater than 3% of the amount of money in the general fund. The County Council’s budget authority would be expanded by allowing the Council to increase appropriations in the annual County budget for the contingency reserve and the contingency reserve capital project required by this proposed Charter amendment, and for the retiree obligations trust. The County Executive’s budget authority would be decreased by requiring, instead of allowing, the Executive to include a contingency reserve in the current expense budget and a contingency reserve capital project in the capital budget.

My take:

  1. It looks like a power grab. The county council want to grab more power from the county executive.
  2. In general the county council is diverse such that sometimes in order to appeal to a narrow special interest, it will spend unnecessary money.
  3. The strange part is that there is very few discussion on the second amendment either by the council, the county executive, the media or the citizen.
  4. I do not support this. 

Grab a picture from one of my favorite news website: http://marylandreporter.com/2016/10/05/public-funding-of-county-campaigns-on-the-howard-ballot/

Current County Council members Jen Terrasa and Jon Weinstein supported Amendment A

2016-hoco-charter-amendment-yes

African Americans in Howard County (AAIHC) 2016 Maryland General Election Community Political Forum

They don’t have a website. So I will use their facebook page here for further notice: https://www.facebook.com/AACRHoward/

More Final Details for this Saturday’s AAIHC Political Forum

– each candidate will be given 30 second for opening remarks;

– each candidate will be given 1:30 seconds for each response; rebuttal depending on available time

– Red Card will be held up indicating that candidate has 30 seconds remaining in response

(Note: Moderator, at certain “intervals” will allow questions from audience.)

(Note: AAIHC’s Questions will cover a broad range of questions including local, state, national and global issues.

==============================================================================
African Americans in Howard County (AAIHC)
2016 Maryland General Election Community Political Forum
in Partnership with the
Columbia (MD) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

St. John Baptist Church

9055 Tamar Drive

Columbia, MD 21045

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Agenda

9:15am Forum Opening Remarks – Rev. Robert A. F. Turner, President

African American Coalition of Howard County
African Americans in Howard County
“The Racial Wealth Divide and the Millennial Generation,” Dedrick Muhammad Dunbar, Williams College

9:20am Housekeeping Remarks/GET-OUT-THE –VOTE

Yvonne Howell, Co-Chairperson, Political Awareness and Involvement Committee
Columbia (MD) Alumnae Chapter
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

9:25am Questioning of Candidates for Howard County School Board

  • Coombs, Kirsten
  • Cutroneo, Vicky
  • Delmont-Small, Christina
  • Ellis, Mavis
  • Miller, Robert Wayne
  • Siddiqui, Janet

10:25am Questioning of Candidates for President of the United States

  • Clinton, Hillary (D)
  • Trump, Donald J. (R)
  • Johnson, Gary (Libertarian)
  • Stein, Jill (Green)

11:00am Questioning of Candidates for Maryland Senator United States Senate

  • Van Hollen, Chris (D)
  • Szeliga, Kathy (R)
  • Flowers, Margaret (Green)

12:00am Questioning of Candidates for United States House of Representatives

Maryland District 2

  • Ruppersberger, Dutch, C. A. (D)
  • McDonough, Pat (R)
  • Kasprzak, S. Kristin (Libertarian)

Maryland District 3

  • Sarbanes, John (D)
  • Plaster, Mark (R)
  • Eze, Nnabu (Green)

Maryland District 7

  • Cummings, Elijah (D)
  • Vaughn, Corrogan R. (R)
  • Hoenig, Myles, B (Green)

1:15pm Closing Remarks/Forum Ends Jennings, Ken, Operations
Vice President, AACHC, AAIHC

Join AACHC in GET-OUT-THE-VOTE activities of local organizations
Locations will be announced

Everyone, please remember to sign in. All Candidates, please use
Candidate’s Sign-in Sheet, so you may be introduced.

THANKS FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION

We are 25 Now (The Villager 2016-10)

 

We are 25 Now

This article will be published on October issue of  The Villager of River Hill community Association.

On September 17, 2016, we celebrated the Village of River Hill’s 25th birthday. This was a day for celebration. From a formerly rural area, we have become a vibrant community. We had our fourth annual Health fair at the same time and there was a great turnout. Jennifer Zhang, (Student Member on the Board of Directors), Henrietta Kan (Coalition Halting Obesity in Children Everywhere), and Jennifer Lynott (RHCA Events and Newsletter Coordinator) were instrumental in organizing this event. Our village manager, Susan Smith, contributed to making the day a great success. Howard County Council Chair Dr. Calvin Ball presented the Association with a certificate and Council Resolution to recognize this great moment. Michael Cornell, the Chair of the Association’s Board of Directors, made the opening remarks and shared his 20+ years’ experience in the village. Dennis Mattey, Director of Open Space and Facility Services, congratulated the community on behalf of the Columbia Association.   People of all ages, ethnicities, and faiths shared the joy of celebration.

Let’s Look Back

We are the last of Columbia’s villages to be developed, beginning in 1991. By local standards, we are far from Columbia’s town center, -bordering farms, the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, and homes on larger lots that are outside the County’s water and sewer districts. The composition of homes is quite different from all previous villages because almost 80 percent of homes are single family homes, while the remaining 20 percent consist of townhouses and condos. There are no rental communities in River Hill, though some homes are available for rent.

The name River Hill refers to an old plantation, dating back more than 100 years ago, which reportedly was one of the first in the state to free its slaves. The Village has two neighborhoods, Pheasant Ridge and Pointer’s Run.   Pheasant Ridge was named after a 1745 land grant. The poetic street names were selected from noted American writers Walt Whitman and James Whitcomb Riley. Claret Hall, the community center and home of the Association, was named for the 18th century land grant “White Wine and Claret”  that included much of the land that is now part of the village. See Ref 1.

Let’s Look Forward

Now the Village of River Hill includes 2,096 dwelling units and 6,520 people. Our village has one of the most successful shopping centers. We have one of the Columbia Association’s most utilized outdoor pools. The Columbia Gym is also loved by our community. Our children attend Clarksville Elementary, Pointers Run Elementary, Clarksville Middle School and Atholton and River Hill High Schools and they are among the best in the county.

The Clarksville/River Hill community is still growing. Though outside the boundaries of the Village of River Hill, Clarksville Commons, a mixed use development, is finishing construction. More housing units will be developed around the edges of the village, including the Simpson Oaks development currently going through the County’s approval process A new and larger United States Post Office will return to serve Clarksville. Stores will be built at the intersection of Route 108 and Ten Oaks Road. The River Hill Garden Center is expecting to be redeveloped.

At the same time, we need think about how the development in other areas will impact our village, for example, how will Columbia’s new downtown development impact our community? Recently, the Howard County Veterans Foundation expressed interested in building a memorial at the Lakefront fountain. This will modify the fountain either in context or in structure. What is the role of our village in the whole of Columbia and in Howard County?

Education, transportation, family and community are our priority and we strive to make them better. Civic engagement is a crucial part to build a better community. My vision is that through continuous and planned development, we will foresee a more diverse and prosperous community. I am looking forward to enjoying 25 more years of life here in the village until my kids graduate from college.

Ref 1: J.R. Mitchell, D.L. Stebenne, New City Upon A Hill, A History of Columbia, Maryland, P144-145

Chao Wu, Ph.D.

River Hill Representative to Columbia Council and Columbia Association Board of Directors

Email: chaowu2016@gmail.com  Website: http://chaowu.org

Disclaimer: This letter only represents Dr. Chao Wu’s personal opinion. It does not represent River Hill Board of Directors nor Columbia Association’s Board.

Deteriorating safety in my neighborhood

There have been several incidents about car theft and tire smashing in my street. Last week my tire was smashed and I got a flat tire on Route 200, I feel more urged to write this post. Then during last weekend, my next neighbor told me that somebody tried to break into her car at midnight.

I have a feeling the safety in our neighborhood is deteriorating. I have not heard so much of this after I moved into this neighborhood until this year.  I filed a police report online and got approved. The approval letter starts:

To receive a copy of a police report, please submit your written request to the Howard County Department of Police – Records Section, 3410 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043. There is a $6.00 reproduction charge for each report requested. Payment must be in the form of a check or money order (cash will not be accepted) made payable to HOWARD COUNTY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE.

It is just like when the neighborhood asked the state highway to set up a traffic light at the Route 108 and Linden Linthicum Lane, they told us there were not enough accidents to warrant a traffic light. Now there have been at least more than six property damages in just one neighborhood street , we still have not obtained any real help from the police.

I need set up a camera to catch those petty criminals.

protect-your-neighborhood

 

 

 

Meeting minutes on HCPSS Chinese/World Language Teaching

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Summary of meeting on HCPSS Chinese/World Language Teaching

Recorded by Chao Wu

This summary is solely my recollection of the meeting. If anybody finds any discrepancy, please let me know and I will correct them. We really appreciate this opportunity to meet both River Hill and HCPSS staff to discuss this issue. Thanks for their time.

Time: September 6, 2016, 7:30PM-9:10PM. Location: River Hill High School Media Room (Information Center)

  • Attendances: around 45 parents,
  • River Hill High School Principal Mrs. Kathryn McKinley. Assistant Principal Napoleon Saunders II
  • HCPSS central office Gina Massella, Administrative Director of High Schools, Robert Cole, Coordinator of Digital Education, Leslie Grahn, Coordinator of World Languages
  • Some teachers from River Hill High School
  • Other staff; Dr. Roger Sandrain,  (Teaching synchronized online course of Differential Equation), Jennifer xx, Office of Curriculum (?), Evelyn Crown Office of Curriculum(?)

Mrs. Leslie Grahn introduced herself as an experienced world language expert from the beginning.

  1. She talked about “Distance teaching” program, which has been carried out for 8 out of 12 high schools now.
  2. The synchronized online teaching has the same curriculum as face-to-face teaching.
  3. HCPSS is hiring a new instructive assistant in Chinese language teaching.
  4. All the courses are based in Canvas, recorded.

I will not write down who raised the questions. All the questions answered by either Principal McKinley or staff from HCPSS central office.

Q1: any staff change due to budget cut

A1: Class size is set 33 as limit. Any class size below 15 has the following options:

  • Drop the class
  • Other options-convert it to other format such as synchronized online teaching: US history AP class (one student), differential equation class (from eight school)
  • Before Chinese AP was moved to synchronized online teaching, 11 registered Chinese AP. After that, eight dropped from the class. River Hill principal did not agree with the numbers, but she did not present her numbers either.

Q2 : combining Chinese class 3 + class 4. Why last day to announce cut teachers and change of class?

A2: Still less than 15.   It is a very difficult decision.

Q3: Why River Hill? Before the policy, 11 students registered, after the policy change, 8 dropped the class. What did not you think?

A3: More students registered at Marriott Ridge High School than River Hill. So we moved the teacher to Marriott Ridge, cut the teacher at River Hill.

Students dropped the class for various reasons, not just because of this class policy change.

Q4: Any research on the effectiveness of online teaching? If not, why make such change before any research was done?

A4:  this is a great invention from our county HCPSS. We are still improving it.

A mother spoke out that his son dropped off Chinese due to the synchronized online teaching after the first class, because it is very challenging to learn a foreign language in such environment.

Q5: 1) Hope the school could improve transparency when making the decision on the last days of school.  That will improve mutual understanding between schools and parents.

2) If some classes have to be changed to online teaching, can the school  try to keep relative low-level class as face-to-face?

3) Teacher-student relationship is very important for language class instruction.

4) Zoe Jordan’s mom shared her powerful testimony. She is studying in New York University-Shanghai Campus.

A5: no comments from staff.

Q6: when will the decision be revisited? How is the decision to cut staff be made?

A6: There is no plan to revisit this decision for this year. The classes will be reviewed year by year.

Q7: How about Vision 2018 Initiative? Is class enrollment  the only factor to cut staff?

A7: We value Vision 2018 initiative, world language is a priority. Enrollment is not the only factor for the school to make decisions.

Q8/A8: River Hill High School math teacher discussed many benefits of the online “differential equation” class. There is no any negative effect mentioned at all.

Bob Coale talked about Synchronized classroom. The class size limit is 24. They tried to improve the student experience using this system at the first class. He thinks students will love this online format.

Q9: (Audience commented) on the previous great benefits of “Synchronized’ online class. There will be no first class for the language class since when they hear the language class is instructed online, they just do not register the class at all.

A9: there is no class period change for the online instruction.

Q10: Will the decision to change class format be revisited?

A10: maybe not, but the classes are evaluated on yearly basis.

Q11: Are there any world languages taught in this way in HCPSS?

A11: We lost Italian, Latin program because of low enrollment number. They belong to “less taught languages”: could not find teacher and could not hold/retain the students.

Q12: The low enrollment number partially is because we started the language too late. Can we start some Chinese from elementary schools?

A12: No plan to start Chinese language from elementary school. Currently two middle schools have it. There are not enough certified teachers.

Some parents in the audience mentioned that there are several Chinese Schools in Howard County which can serve as resources for certified Chinese language teachers in HCPSS.

Q13/A13: Bob discussed the benefits of digital medium classroom. Parents said for the first class, especially language class, face-to-face teaching is very important to attract students’ attention and consequently retain the students in the class.

Q14/A14:  for Coleman. The first week was complicated with many technology issues. But that is not an issue at all for the teaching since teachers may have different class content.

Q15: (parent) We have scheduling issue between Atholton High School and River Hill High School.

A15: back-to-school night schedules were different at 2 schools. The schedule between different schools should be synchronized.

Q16: Will river Hill student meet Atholton teacher?

A16: Yes. Will plan for one-to-one support from teacher online for River Hill High School students.

Q17: Will Athlon teacher be available for River Hill ?

A17 Yes. Wednesday, after second period.

Q18:  Voice was distorted for online teaching. Students in Athlon may not use the devise as the teacher is in their classroom.

A18: Voice distortion was solved. Future technology improvement will make it better. Students in Athlon are required to use the device in classroom.

Q19: How about field trip for the language student?

A19: Open to all students from all schools.

Q20: One parent suggested we should have routine meetings in the future to keep the communication channel open.  It was asked if there are any blueprint (document) for this digital teaching.

A20: yes. possibly during the Nov. 2016 “American education week”.  There are no blue print, no research to back up benefits of  online teaching.

Q21/A21: HCPSS is on the cutting edge of 21st century education by moving it online.

Q22: What is the performance of expectation of online teaching? One parent shared his son’s experience with face-to-face teaching elevated the relationship between teacher and student because of teacher’s present. Mrs. Hui Liang’s class helped his son to register/enjoy/improve in the language.

A21: priority is the student.

Q23: Any update on the initiatives listed in HCPSS World Language Program Update dated March 2015?

A23: Chinese placement test has been implemented. Considering dual enrollment at HCC and other pathways to improve the Chinese language teaching.

Q24: Thanks for your interactions with us. Different teaching methods should be explored. Chinese schools would love to help HCPSS on the Chinese language education.

Audiences recommended the Columbia Association’s World Language Cafes for language learners. It is held on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 7 – 9 pm at the East Columbia Library’s 50+ Center (6600 Cradlerock Rd, Columbia).

Furthermore, River Hill High School Principal would love to meet us again in Nov. 2016 during American Education Week.

We need ask ourselves: Are we on the right track? The following is a slide from HCPSS presentation.

world-language-teaching-goal

http://slideplayer.com/slide/7055253/

CA Board meeting Summary 9-22-2016

My computer battery ran out during the meeting such that I did not post this timely.

There are around 50 audiences. It is a huge turn out.

Resident speakout:

  1. Ken with around 10 pickle ball supporter with bats in hand among seniors. Howard County Pickle Ball Association (have 150 members). Look for CA’s support to expand, possibly build an indoor facility. That is also recommended CA’s Senior Advisory Committee, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget testimony.
  2. The rest speakers are Howard County Veteran Monument Supporters. There is Golden Start mom too. Very moving.

One lady talked about her navy/marine boyfriend encountering hostility in a bar because he was wearing a uniform. Her boyfriend said: My service to the country is to defend their freedom to say anything they want to say. 

The board asked CA staff to prepare an exact easement term between CA and Howard County Veteran Foundation. Some board members had concerns that the memorial was proposed exactly at the location of the fountain.

 

 

Interview with Kirsten Coombs, HoCo BOE Candidate

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We represent Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County, Howard County Chinese School at Columbia, Howard County Chinese School at Catonsville, Columbia Chinese Language School and Peiying Chinese School.

We have solicited the questions from our community, even from our kids. These questions cover variety of topics that Chinese families would like to hear your opinions. This interview will help our community to make an informed decision in November’s election.

Chaozhong Zou, Chao Wu and Tony Du joined the interview at Corner Bakery at Downtown Columbia. So there will be background music.

http://www.capa-hc.org/single-post/2016/09/19/Interview-with-BOE-Candidate-Kirsten-Coombs

Kirsten Interview.jpg

CA new sister city Cap-Haitien Haiti

Columbia, Maryland’s newest sister city is Cap-Haitien, Haiti
The community of Columbia, Maryland now has a fourth sister city — Cap-Haitien, Haiti, a community on the northern coast of the Caribbean island of Haiti with a population of about 190,000 people. It is home to the Palace of Sans Souci and the buildings at Ramiers and the Citadel, which together have been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cap-Haitien Mayor Jean Claude Mondesir signed the sister city agreement in July while joined by a delegation from Howard County, which is home to a large Haitian and Caribbean diaspora. That added Cap-Haitien to an expanding family that also includes Columbia’s sister cities in Cergy-Pontoise, France (since 1977); Tres Cantos, Spain (since 1990); and Tema, Ghana (since 2014).

A sister city relationship is a long-term partnership, approved by Sister Cities International, that allows both communities to get involved in citizen diplomacy, projects of mutual interest and international relations. It can lead to cultural enrichment, educational exchanges, business relationships and humanitarian contributions.

Columbia Association is seeking additional volunteer members for its Cap-Haitien Sister City Committee. Members should be residents of Columbia or Howard County who are interested in developing future exchanges and activities for the residents of Columbia and Cap-Haitien in the areas of culture, dance, visual arts, music, education, sports, environment and business. For additional information, please contact Laura Smit, program manager for CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs, by calling 410-715-3162 or sending an email toInternational@ColumbiaAssociation.org.

CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs foster international understanding and celebrate the diverse cultures of Columbia. The goals of the International Exchange Program include developing new exchanges with Columbia’s four sister cities and creating new sister city relationships in other cities and nations. CA also develops multicultural programs for the community such as the World Languages Café, Culture Fests and the International Book Club. For more information, go to ColumbiaAssociation.org/multicultural.

About Columbia Association

Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.

Columbia Association seeking China sister city planning committee members

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/columbia-association-seeking-china-sister-city-planning-committee-members/

Post Date: 02/16/2016 4:00 PM

Columbia Association’s International & Multicultural Programs Advisory Committee is seeking volunteers to join the China Sister City Planning Committee, which is exploring the possibility of a sister city relationship between Columbia, Maryland, and Liyang, China — a city of more than 780,000 people located in Jiangsu province between Nanjing and Shanghai.

The China Sister City Planning Committee consists of Columbia and Howard County residents who are working on developing a proposal that will be presented to CA’s Board of Directors. Committee members should have a genuine interest in China, be able to participate actively as a member of the committee and attend monthly evening meetings. The committee will include residents who are of Chinese heritage as well as community members with an interest in Chinese language and culture. The next committee meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at CA Headquarters, 6310 Hillside Court, located off Stevens Forest Road near the county vehicle emissions inspection station

If the CA Board approves the request to establish a sister city relationship, then committee members will assist with the development of international exchange programs for youth and adults in areas such as art, music, dance, education, sports, architecture and cuisine.
For more information, please contact Laura Smit, program manager for CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs, by calling 410-715-3162 or sending an email to International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.

CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs foster international understanding and celebrate the diverse cultures of Columbia. The goals of the International Exchange Program include developing new exchanges with Columbia’s three sister cities and creating new Sister City relationships in other cities and nations. CA also develops multicultural programs for the community such as the World Languages Café, Culture Fests and the International Book Club. For more information, go to ColumbiaAssociation.org/Multicultural.

About Columbia Association

Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.

Powerful statement of Chinese language experience at RHHS

During tonight’s meeting with River Hill High School and HCPSS on the Chinese language teaching,  our former River Hill High School student  Zoe Jordan’s mom shared her daughter’s email.

It is very powerful and moving. I asked her mom’s permission to share it here for your reference.

Hi, My name is Zoe Jordan and I am a 2014 graduate of River Hill High School. Currently I am a junior studying at New York University Shanghai with a major in Global China Studies and a  double minor in Mandarin and Interactive Media Arts.

I was a student of Ms. Liang’s at River Hill for three years, taking Chinese my sophomore through senior year. Taking Mandarin in high school, especially with Ms. Liang (I can’t emphasize enough her influence on me as a student), is probably the largest reason that I am able to live and study in China today. So, when I heard earlier this summer that River Hill was discontinuing most of its Chinese program and limiting existing classes to online, I was extremely disheartened and disappointed. I’m hoping to take this opportunity to express a few words about my disappointment with the school board’s decision.

I’ll start with why Chinese is so important to me. Currently, Mandarin is at the core of my studies. At NYU Shanghai, I study Chinese history, culture, and China’s present interactions with the rest of the world. Without a familiarity with the language, my understanding of Chinese culture and history would be vastly less nuanced. Not only that, but now some of my closest friends, teachers, and roommates are Chinese. In high school, Chinese represented something much more complicated. I was one of a few Caucasian students in a classroom of high schooler’s who either had some prior understanding of Mandarin or who spoke Mandarin at home. Admittedly, I was terrible at the language. I didn’t understand tones, I had an awful accent, memorizing characters was terrifying to me, and I was shy in class. At times, I felt completely hopeless about progressing when speaking Chinese seemed effortless to other students. But it taught me persistence. In retrospect, Chinese was one of the only subjects that I studied with the same rigor that I would in a college class. There were tangible rewards for my progress, I made new friends, I learned how to reach out for help when needed, and I learned that high school doesn’t need to be a typical conglomeration of English-Math-History-Science-Spanish. Chinese allowed me to individualize my high school experience even at a public school, and for that I now am studying at my dream school and making friends from all over the world.

My experience with Chinese may not be as typical as most high-school-language learners get through their language classes, but I hope it can emphasize how important Chinese is to the River Hill community and even more so to an ever-shrinking world. Although we are a large public school, we are comprised of a tight-knit community including many Chinese students and parents. I was able to participate in two programs: StarTalk (a government funded language learning program) and a teaching program in which I was an assistant teacher, due to Ms. Liang and her connections within the Howard County Chinese community. Even more importantly, River Hill prides itself on being a blue-ribbon, distinguished school with (and I’m quoting this from our school’s official profile)  “rigorous instruction and engagement at the center of continuous improvement.” I strongly believe that discontinuing Chinese is completely counterintuitive to a dynamic and evolving school curriculum.

If our school wants to continue its prestigious legacy, it’s crucial to prepare students for a world that is more globalized, more connected, and frankly — more Chinese. As I’m sure it will be mentioned sometime else this evening, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world and China is the fastest-growing economy in the world. While these facts might seem distant to us in Howard County, to a high school senior contemplating entering the business, political, or legal world, knowing what opportunities await in China for foreigners or how invaluable of a skill speaking Mandarin can be is priceless. Being able to communicate with a population of one billion largely influential Mandarin speakers is again, absolutely invaluable in the 21st century. From an economic, cultural, educational, and a person-to-person perspective —  emphasizing Chinese in modern schools makes sense considering the trajectory of the future. I hope that my experiences learning Chinese can underscore how important Mandarin is to River Hill, and how big of an asset it could be to our community.

 

Thank you,

 

Zoe Jordan

 

Uber Chronics by Jessie NewBurn

Uber Chronicles cover

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive for Uber? Have you ever been curious as to what kind of people use Uber? Where they are going? What do they talk about during the ride? How do they behave, or misbehave?

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Uber-Chronicles-Field-Notes-Front-ebook/dp/B01IAGXBCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468293296&sr=8-1&keywords=uber+chronicles

This is the introduction for this book. The author is Jessie Newburn. Her unique perspective of life experience as an Uber driver provided me some understanding of other people’s life, especially not an engineer or a researcher.

It is like sitting in bar, drinking your favorite bear, chatting with different people and just enjoying the time being alone, being at ease.

 

 

Our Planned Community (The Villager 2016-9)

 Our Planned Community

This article will be published on the September 2016 “The Villager” of River Hill Community Association.

Recently our county was hit hard by natural disasters. A hurricane hit western Howard County. Then, there was the flash flood that hit old Ellicott City. The flash flood caused tremendous damage to the old, historical city which is located in a basin surrounded by hills. Some people blame the flood on too many developments uphill from old Ellicott City and the watershed management is not functioning as expected.  One Saturday I went to help clean-up the aftermath and saw the damage first hand. Some buildings’ basements were washed away and they are now supported by temporary structures to ensure safety. This experience made me think about Columbia’s future.

There is a heated community debate on the two different proposals for the Downtown Development Plan. See my August newsletter article “Columbia’s Downtown and Affordable Housing” (https://chaowu.org/2016/07/27/columbias-downtown-and-affordable-housing/) for more information. Some people are complaining we are losing control to developers. There are concerns that too large a concentration of affordable housing will be placed in the downtown area. Some people believe that the assumption that millennials will want smaller homes with less driving is unfounded.

Recently, I read a book by Joseph Mitchell and David Stebenne “New City Upon A Hill, A History of Columbia, Maryland”. The book gave me a complete and big picture view of how our city was formed and arrived at today’s unique situation. The diversity of villages, the village centers merging with the communities, the green space, the pathways and the parks, the less congested roads are the reasons I loved Columbia and moved here. If a planned community begins to grow unplanned, it will become a disaster eventually.

We should always be forward-looking when considering Columbia’s future. This community has been a planned community since the start. The community will grow. More people will move in. We would like more businesses to move in such that people living here can work here. Our population is growing older.

We have to properly plan to accommodate these changes. With proper planning, we will be better able to cope with new issues. We need all the community efforts to plan early, better and ahead.

 

Chao Wu, Ph.D.

River Hill Representative to Columbia Council

Columbia Association Board of Directors

Email: chaowu2016@gmail.com  Website: http://chaowu.org

Disclaimer: This letter only represents Dr. Chao Wu’s personal opinion. It does not represent River Hill Board of Directors nor Columbia Association’s Board.