Editor's Blog

To kick off this blog, I thought that I'd reprint the editorial from our first issue. I wasn't involved with the Voice back then (I started writing for the Voice in 1990 as a diversion from grad school, and became the editor and publisher in August 1993). A lot has changed since the Voice was founded. We added a Silver Spring edition; computer technology has eliminated "cut and paste" as our production method; and the Internet has revolutionized our relationship to information.

So, here at the Voice, we continue to explore and expand our idea of community journalism. I invite you to join the discussion. Send us a private e-mail. Or reply here on the Editor's Blog.

--Eric Bond, Editor

Welcome to the Takoma Voice. We’ve taken on the challenge to provide Takoma Park with an independent free press. We have a vision of what that means. First, we will cover the news in the city, whether it is about azalea planting or traffic plans. The Voice will take an active approach to news gathering. We will make the phone calls, set up the interviews, recruit the writers, sift through the details. Whatever it takes to produce a vibrant readable newspaper with interesting articles and useful information worth saving all month.

The focus of the paper is the Takoma Park community. It is not limited by the city’s boundaries. What is Takoma DC? A severed limb? A separate community? The Voice will cross the line. The cultural bonds of the Latino and Asian communities extend far beyond Takoma Park’s borders. Their perspectives and achievements are valuable components of our local identity.

The Voice will strengthen our community by giving each of our various members an opportunity to share information and points of view. Seventh-day Adventists once comprised the majority of the city’s government. What is their role in the community now? Have the current baby boomers affected local lifestyles, the local economy, the city budget? What do they want and need from their city? According to the 1980 census, Takoma Park has a 42 percent minority population. This is a major increase from the small but stable group of black freemen whose ties to Takoma Park predate B. F. Gilbert’s Victorian suburb by several decades.

We will add to the commercial surge which must come to Takoma Park in order for revitalization to make sense. We are a tool of local businesses to reach their clientele. Individuals will be able to buy and sell services, merchandise or real estate. Even lost dogs, free refrigerators and teenaged babysitters will have a rosier future.

Like other businesses in Takoma Park, we will depend on you to keep us going. This is where we differ from the Takoma Park Newsletter, the monthly published by the city. The Newsletter is funded by all of us through our taxes and is both a public forum and a vehicle for news from City Hall. We think that there is a need to keep the press and state separate.

We like to think that small business has a special role in society. The process of starting and growing a business is enriching for everyone involved. We know that this business will grow to the extent that it is supported by you, the community.

It’s easy to lose track of what community means. How do you get it? Can you buy it? Does the government give it to you? Can you tune it in on a TV or radio channel?

Perhaps a community is that group of people closest to us beyond our family and circle of friends.

One reason that it is easy to lose track of the meaning of community is that long-distance communication has become so accessible. The Voice represents something different. When you pick up this paper every month, remember that you could have visited anyone mentioned in the pages without the use of a car, phone, television, radio, computer or VCR. That’s what makes the difference. We are the Takoma Voice.

Posted by EB at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like many readers, I recently accompanied my family to the Silver Theatre to see An Inconvenient Truth, the new documentary that is more or less a film of Al Gore’s slide show on Global Warming. Any one of those elements—documentary, slide show, global warming, Al Gore—is probably enough to send most movie-goers to escapist fare like Superman Returns instead. But the reality that Gore presents was engaging enough to maintain the interest of my 12 year old daughter and her 17 year old cousin. We would do well to see that this film is shown in science classes across the country in the next school year.

For those of you who have been following climate change in newspapers, science magazines, and other media over the past couple of decades, there’s nothing new here. While scientists cannot predict the exact trajectory of climate change, we are already experiencing it, and the main cause is the amount of carbon that we pumped into our atmosphere during the 20th century. Even by conservative estimates, we will face rising oceans, droughts, powerful hurricanes, and a host of other global changes. Worst case scenarios are even more dire. Director Davis Guggenheim succeed in putting this familiar data together in a package that is designed to motivate. The main point of the film is that we must act now.

Unfortunately, the potential effect of the film is diminished by the fact that it will tend to preach to the choir, people who have already reviewed the science on climate change and respect it. When asked if he’ll see An Inconvenient Truth, our President quipped, “Doubt it.” The attitude that this issue is not worth exploring is, perhaps, the greatest obstacle that we face.

For now, we can reasonably expect—like the residents of New Orleans last September—that we are on our own when it comes to help from the federal government. Still there are things that we can and must do in the meantime. We all need to start with ourselves by examining our lifestyles and looking for ways to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Over the years, the Voice has published many articles on such efforts, most notably the work of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. We will continue to do our best to explore real solutions.

We also need to organize through local politics. For this year’s elections, the issue that I am most concerned about is climate change. Of course, I am interested in where candidates stand on a variety of issues (education, policing, housing). But I will be especially tuned to hear how they intend to make our community, our county, our state, our country energy sustainable. I would like to hear some urgency in their plans. In other words, I would like to hear that they “get it”.

Montgomery County is on track to getting 20 percent of its energy from wind within the next five years, thanks in large part to County Councilmember George Leventhal. That’s a good start. Let's see the Montgomery County continue to lead the way in even more dramatic fashion, rethinking our approach to transportation, electricity, heating, and agriculture.

Then, on to Maryland. We need leaders in the General Assembly who will do likewise. By so doing, the economy and unity of Maryland will benefit.

We tend to look back on World War II with nostalgia, perhaps because it was a time that Americans came together to defeat a global evil. In recent years, the people who united against fascism have been called “The Greatest Generation.”

Why can't we be a “greatest generation”? We need to be. The challenge is clear. And what could be more exciting than taking part in a clean energy revolution? Once we've suceeded, we'll look back on the petroleum and coal age of today much as we do now at the era when we hunted whales for lamp oil. How crude!

The prospect of global warming can be overwhelming. And scientists polled about Gore's movie say that he may be overly optimistic about reversing the trend. But, for the sake of our children, we cannot throw in the towel. We need to establish rings of sustainability. We make our households sustainable. We make our community sustainable. We make Montgomery County sustainable. We make Maryland sustainable. We make the U.S. sustainable. We make the world sustainable.

We don't give up. And we vote for candidates who get it.

This month, the Voice willl inaugurate a weblog on which we can (civilly) share ideas about sustainability: takoma.com/sustainability. Please check in and contribute to the conversation.

— Eric Bond
Voice Editor-in-chief

Posted by EB at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Mr. Gainous:

Because you are widely regarded as the finest principal at our finest high school, I feel compelled to write about the recent dust-up over the Silver Chips editorial.

The editorial was well reasoned, well documented and very well written. This old English teacher would rate it A+++.

Silver Chips has endorsed many candidates in the past. I live in Potomac, have no students at Blair, but because of my political activities, I often hear about these editorials. I certainly do not agree with all of them, but I have a deep respect for the students who labor on the endorsements. They will become active, informed citizens. And isn’t that the primary goal of our democracy?

I do not understand your lack of accolades for the students. If the quotations attributed to you in the Post are correct, Senator Ruben forced you to apologize: “It may be inappropriate.” Trust me, if they had endorsed her, it would never be inappropriate in her eyes. And no previous endorsement has been declared inappropriate.

You should know that the senator’s method of operation has always been to create a huge fuss to get her way. The Gazette recently pointed that out, listing her as one of the state’s worst senators.
At a recent event, Senator Ruben accosted our esteemed U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes, berating him because his son went to a Raskin party. Senator Sarbanes tried to explain that his son is over 40, has been a close friend of Raskin since college, and that he does not tell his son with whom to associate. Senator Ruben demanded that he control his family members.

At the same event, the guest speaker, the noted civil rights leader, Professor Charles J. Ogletree of Harvard Law School, recognized a few members of the audience. He was delighted to see “my brilliant student and great civil rights activist, Jamie Raskin.”

Hearing those words, Ruben caused such a ruckus that several tables of attendees had to insist she quiet down. During the last session, Ruben submitted legislation under a misleading sponsor—the Montgomery County Delegation—who had never seen the bill. The purpose was to take control of the Central Committee, which was not following her dictates. The bill was unanimously defeated.
Perhaps editorial writer Isaac Arndorf will join the long list of persons to whom Ruben does not speak: Congressman Chris Van Hollen, State’s Attorney Doug Gansler, and until recently County Executive Doug Duncan. Dozens of political activists are on the list—anyone who does not blindly follow her demands.

— Esther P. Gelman
Potomac, Md

Ms. Gelman was a Montgomery County Councilwoman from 1974 to 1986.

Posted by blogpop at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am writing to express my deep appreciation for your strong support of my candidacy for higher office. Thank you for everything you have done for me over the past year. My campaign has been about electing an effective, progressive leader to represent District 5 on the Montgomery County Council. You may have heard that Valerie Ervin, who represents us on the Board of Education, has joined the District 5 race. Here is what I would like for you to know:

Valerie and I met in January of this year and discussed running for the District 5 seat if Tom Perez ran for higher office. Because Valerie was required to leave full-time employment as chief of staff for County Councilmember Leventhal in order to run, she could not do so at that time. I began campaigning in District 5 with the support of a great campaign team, knocking on doors and organizing multiple events to reach out to voters. When Valerie decided at the end of May to leave her job in order to run for office, I decided to step aside and support her candidacy. I did not want to risk an election battle that could potentially keep both qualified women out of office. In addition, I considered it a benefit to the residents of Takoma Park for me to use what I had learned on the campaign trail to benefit the City. 

Valerie Ervin is a courageous,  innovative leader who will bring about positive change for our district.  She has lived in Silver Spring for almost 20 years and raised her sons in the Montgomery County Public School system.  For the last two years, she has held elective office on the Montgomery County Board of Education. Her commitment to our community is clear. I am proud to commit my energy to her campaign. Please think about ways that you can help her succeed on September 12, 2006 and feel free to contact me. Thanks again for your support.

— Joy Austin Lane
Takoma Park, MD

Posted by blogpop at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I read Michael Tabor’s article, Progressively Speaking, in the June issue and was amazed that he neglected to even mention that my wife, Diane Nixon, is a candidate for the House of Delegates in District 20.

Diane ran four years ago and came close to winning. She has not made it a secret that she plans to run again this year, and she has attended various candidate’s debates including the one recently in Takoma Park.

If being progressive means, as Michael infers, being a labor union supporter then Diane should certainly have been included. As far as I know, Diane is the only person running who is a union member.

She worked successfully to have union representation instituted at her workplace, and she served as a delegate, member of their executive board, was on the contract negotiating committee, and even took a leave of absence from her job to work on legislation in Annapolis, which passed the year it was introduced (a practically unheard of event), to have hospitals set up a fund to train workers for better jobs.

For the past twenty years Diane has worked on legislation to protect animals and the environment. Diane is proud of her work to protect animals and to make animal cruelty a felony in Maryland (another bill which passed overwhelmingly).

She has also worked on issues to protect the environment; including legislation to open areas of the state to new wildlands (not to mention her consistent opposition to the Inter-County Connector).
She hasn’t been paid a salary for her years of working for animals and the environment. She feels that animals are the truly voiceless in our society. They don’t vote and they don’t make political contributions, yet they deserve our protection.

She has worked for the environment because she sees how it is being destroyed and how lands are being lost to development.

To me, being progressive is about issues, not about how many labor unions you can get to endorse you.

Diane has always supported the rights of gay and lesbian men and women to marry and will work for the passage of that legislation.

She believes that medical marijuana should be legally available for those who need it.

She feels that Montgomery County hospitals and nursing homes need to provide better care for patients, and she would introduce legislation for unannounced inspections.

She knows the importance of all children getting a good education.

She wants tougher laws to deal with repeat criminals so that people will feel safe in their homes and not be afraid to walk on the street after dark.

She thinks that raising taxes should be done only as a last resort, and wouldn’t be necessary if large corporations paid their fair share.

The voters in District 20 couldn’t elect a better representative than my wife, Diane Nixon.

— Clyde Lassell
Silver Spring, MD

Posted by blogpop at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

State Senator Ida Ruben (D-20) is apparently counting on collective amnesia among her constituents as she sheds crocodile tears over the looming electricity rate hikes for PEPCO and BG&E customers. But many of us can recall the year 1999, when Senator Ruben voted seven times in favor of the energy deregulation bill that the big power companies were pushing and that set the stage for the massive rate increases we now face. And what has she done in the interim to generate the competitive market that was promised by deregulation advocates and never delivered?

At the eleventh hour, and in an election year, Senator Ruben (and even Governor Ehrlich) joined the chorus of those calling for a special session of the Maryland legislature to address the steep jump in rates. But the big question for those who held office in 1999 is this: How did they vote when energy deregulation was on the table? Senator Ruben broke ranks with most of Montgomery’s Democratic senators in siding with the energy companies. In 2006 the legislature has been forced to scramble for damage control, but the damage was done seven years earlier.

This election year, Senator Ruben is confronting a formidable challenger. Jamie Raskin, American University law professor and community activist, would bring a fresh breath of integrity to the Maryland Senate. I could cite numerous reasons, but here’s one that stands out: By refusing to take a dime in corporate campaign contributions, Jamie Raskin is immunized against pressures from special interests like real estate developers, and like the energy giants and their associates.

— Mary Reardon
Silver Spring, MD

I was surprised to receive an email from Maryland State Senator Ida Ruben (District 20) expressing her “deep concern” about rising electricity rates for PEPCO and BG&E customers and “welcoming” a special legislative session to deal with utility rate hikes. In July, we will see a 38 percent increase in our electric bills in Silver Spring and Takoma Park while Baltimore residents will experience a 72 percent increase.

It was Senator Ruben who voted, not once but seven separate times, to approve the energy deregulation bill that was pushed through the State Senate back in 1999. While a handful of courageous progressive senators from Montgomery and Prince George’s County—including Chris Van Hollen, Brian Frosh, Paul Pinsky, and Len Teitelbaum—opposed energy deregulation, Senator Ruben voted with the Senate leadership to pass an ill-conceived and ultimately disastrous idea.

Now that the consequences of that deregulation proposal have been made clear, Senator Ruben wants the voters of District 20 and all of Maryland to forget her role in enacting this boondoggle for the benefit of the energy industry. Virtually every Democratic Montgomery Senator in 1999 could see the problem and voted against energy deregulation—what was Senator Ruben thinking?

The energy deregulation issue demonstrates all too clearly, that when the interests of the voters conflict with corporate interests, far too many politicians do the bidding of the corporate interests and reap the benefits of big campaign contributions in return. Senator Ruben is attempting to gloss over her own failure to stand up when the voters of District 20 and Maryland needed her. The residents of District 20 deserve an explanation.

—Ingrid Hassen
Takoma Park

Posted by blogpop at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently when it was noted by many of my neighbors in Hillwood Manor that we don’t receive the Takoma Voice anymore, I advised them that the reason was simple: We aren’t part of Takoma Park except according to some legal documents. The city just wants extra tax dollars, that’s it. The newspaper, we have been told, will be regularly delivered again. Thank God.

But as for the city government of Takoma Park, delivery is suspect. As many times as I have called the so called government about mundane issues relating to city services; they never, ever, show up unless you act like a complete idiot and harass them. The cops don’t monitor the area; there is crime elsewhere, I guess. The recreation park is not even the city’s responsibility. They wouldn’t do anything if it was their park.

What are we getting for our money anyway? Free mulch? Trash pick up? Trash pick-up is available from PG or Montgomery County if we weren’t in Takoma Park. Oh, I forgot, snow removal during the winter, that’s it. One councilmember, in confidence, admitted to my face that the government doesn’t care at all about this neglected part of the city. They have left it to its own devices. I wonder if it has anything to do with the surging new immigrant population or the hundreds of day workers the city has no answer for right now who live in some of the other surronding neighborhoods? I would hate to believe progressive Takoma Park is simply like America in attitude these days.

Yet, this part of Takoma Park, Hillwood Manor, is thriving despite the city government’s unwillingness to claim it as their own. The new immigrant population here has created a healthy cultural mix in the stores and churches that are all over this community. The residents here look out for one another in all respects and the community is strong, vibrant, and diverse. More than anything, Hillwood Manor, is the best of what this city can offer despite the fact that the city does not deserve our loyalty.

— Brian Gilmore
Takoma Park, Maryland

Editor’s note: Thanks for informing us of a hole in our delivery system. The Takoma Voice is an independent publication with no connection to the municipal government. We do not coordinate our delivery with the city of Takoma Park. You should receive this and future issues of the Voice. Our apologies for the lapse.

Posted by blogpop at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I find it hard to accept that the Takoma Park City Council would support the ban on candidates who are challenging incumbents at the 4th of July parade. It seems unAmerican (and certainly not consistent with the Peoples Republic of Takoma Park!) to allow incumbents—who are often corrupted by corporate money—in the parade while excluding ethical, progressive challengers like Jamin Raskin.

Not only are incumbents allowed to march in the parade but they are even given cars! While challengers must be second class citizens not even allowed to pass out literature from the street. It feels very much like a clear case of political prejudice to me.The argument that this is not a political forum is a poor one especially since incumbents running for office participate. These days more and more public space is taken over by private corporate interests thereby making it harder and harder for people running for office to speak to potential voters. There are not that many candidates running for office—there are not even that many offices—that allowing candidates would change the flavor of the event.

Running for office is a difficult thing to do in the United States and blocking candidates from participating in patriotic events where citizens are gathered only makes it more difficult.
Here we are on Independence Day—celebrating our nation, which is based on free speech and democracy, and Takoma Park is closing down public space to people running for office, denying free speech to political candidates. This is a wrong headed policy. I’m participating in several parades, Dundalk (the largest in the state), Annapolis, and Hereford, where candidates are allowed. So, while this may not be a unique situation it is certainly a minority approach. I would hope Takoma Park would lean toward freedom of speech rather than denial of freedom of speech.

Is the city putting money into this parade? This is a policy that should be reversed!

— Kevin Zeese
Takoma Park, MD

Kevin Zeese is the Maryland Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Posted by blogpop at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)