Kathy Smith Wins With The Most Votes In Ridgely History

You "Can't Buy Me Love(or elections)" in this piece of small town America. Kathy Smith has WON. The vote was 132 to 124 and her total is the highest in town history. The Progressive tradition which puts the people of our town first has triumphed! Jare Wallace must be smiling down on Ridgley tonight.

Can't Buy Me Love (Or Elections)

This Commissioner election has witnessed unprecedented spending by candidate Portia Dunst. So far, there have been three Portia Dunst mailings. Besides the cost of printing, one was a letter at 41 cents postage per voter and the other two postcards at 26 cents per voter postage. With 432 registered voters that comes to $401.76.

Two of the mailings were promoting a campaign rally at the Medifast office in Ridgely. Despite all the expensive publicity, few showed.

Their type of lawn sign/posters are printed on both sides and cost (with their stands) more than $6.00 each. Dunst posters are everywhere in the town's public spaces and a few at homes. And, of course, there is the pick-up truck with the huge and expensive sign trolling about town. Total spending could easily top $1000.00. While this is astronomical for the average Ridgelyite, it's nothing when you have a corporation to lean on as Dunst, a manager of Medifast, does. Most of her signs are at a handful of employee houses and according to my observations, her main and nearly only campaign "volunteer" is an employee of Medifast.

In the past, I know that elections cost very little. Commissioner Gearhart spent about $40.00 for photocopies and signs -- volunteers on the "shoe leather express" did the rest. Today, I know Kathy Smith won't be spending anywhere near the amount of her opponent. She doesn't have a large corporation behind her. She does , however, have concerned Ridgely citizens and her supporters are helping out buying some single sided signs or making and painting larger signs, printing brochures on their PCs and going door to door.

In another unprecedented move, the Dunst campaign has been distributing a Town Manager "press release" that he rushed out Thursday. His statement is a budget proposal which the Commissioners of Ridgely have NEVER SEEN! Our town budget is $162.716.00 off because of money borrowed from the water/sewer fund. I don't think that the money to solve this problem magically showed up in Ridgely. What I do think, is that the Town Manager is playing politics in our Commissioner race, painting a rosy and UNREAL picture of the town's situation. The Town Manager's rush to get the "press release" out, and the Dunst campaign's massive (this was a huge and expensive color print job) use of it, shows that this episode is really about electing a cheerleader for the Town Manager to our Commission.

In terms of campaign spending, our town is witnessing a David and Goliath like struggle for what has been a progressive Commission seat. We the people still have a chance. We are still a small town, and the TRADITIONAL means of getting elected Commissioner will prevail over big money. Kathy Smith is our "David" and she's going to win the campaign battle for Ridgely!

Kathy Smith For Commissioner

Often our elections are a sad choice between a lesser of two evils. This year is different. This year we have a choice with Kathy Smith. She is clearly committed to the residents and taxpayers of our town. She will be a strong commissioner dedicated to our best interests. Below is her letter to the citizens of Ridgely. Click on it to view it and click on "Ctrl. +" to enlarge it more.



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Thank You Nancy Gearhart!

This press release is just in from my favorite commissioner:

RIDGELY TOWN COMMISSIONER NANCY GEARHART STEPS DOWN


“It’s time to take a break” says Nancy Gearhart. I have worked very hard serving Ridgely and its Citizens for six years and it’s time to take a break to be a mother and wife. As I look back, the accomplishments have been many through these challenging and changing times for Ridgely. It has not been easy as I have participated in countless workshops, seminars, and meetings and spent many long nights at the computer to prepare myself for the difficult decisions and to create alternative methods to address particular issues. Through all this I have always kept in mind that I am a Commissioner for the people. It is the citizens’ town and I represent them at the table!

I plan to stay involved in the town. There is much unfinished business that I need to follow through with. I will continue to participate in meetings of the various boards and commissions with the ever helpful town, county, and state staff. I would like to return to the Ridgely Planning & Zoning Commission when the opportunity arises.

I have not made it through these past 6 years alone. I thank all my loyal supporters for sticking by me through thick and thin and for voicing their opinions on issues to give me guidance. I’ll never be able to repay my babysitters and friends who have been there at the drop of a hat. And most of all, I thank my 11 year old daughter, Abigail, and my husband, Toby, for all the dinners they have prepared, homework they have struggled through, and keeping our household together in my absence.

As always, my door continues to be open to anyone who has concerns, questions, or issues they would like to discuss regarding our wonderful town.

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True "Blue" Obama

There have been hints as to what Obama is really about by the company he keeps. The "G-d America" "Rev." Wright and even his "proud of America the first time" wife, Michelle Obama, set off alarms. Obama himself, however, has projected a carefully crafted image that is neither "blue" nor "red". On the strength of an excellent PR job, he has avoided having to account for the fallout that usually would come with the most liberal voting record in the Senate.

His recent "bitter cling to" speech changes all of that. In the world of "us" vs. "them", Obama clearly isn't one of us. Those of us who believe in the 2nd amendment, or are religious or think that our borders should be protected or that "free trade" is a farce, are from his perspective, simply bitter simpletons. Our unhappiness about our government's apparent deafness to our very legitimate concerns about America, are in his "Davos-land" world view, the product of angry irrational animosity.

"Change, change and more change" turns out to be only a mantra to fool us into voting for more of the same.

Meanwhile, closer to home in Ridgely, the Commissioner election race is..... stay tuned...

Commissioners Vote For Loan Two To One

Only Commissioner Gearhart voted against the resolution for "intent to borrow" for a loan to upgrade our town spray irrigation system. She opposes using taxpayer money for development regardless of how good a development is planned. Although there is still a chance that the actual approval could be turned down, it's unlikely. The road paved by our taxpayers will soon be open for the Ridgely Park development.

All along, I have maintained that this choice was between a lesser of two evils. Not taking out a loan and pursuing a more prudent path with grants (from sources other than MDE) would have taken longer and made it difficult for the Ridgely Park developers to hang on. I didn't want to lose Ridgely Park but some things simply cost too much. The danger to our citizens is a risk that seemed too high.

The route taken last night leaves many questions unanswered and could cloud Ridgely's fiscal future. It's like we are heading out on a trip without a road map. If Ridgely Park doesn't happen, the costs to our citizens will be high. The vote does, however, mean that the town has done all it can do as quickly as possible to ensure Ridgely Park's survival.

I always try to find good in every situation. In this case, the "good" is in the fact that it's a well planned traditional neighborhood development that is more likely to become reality. Ridgely has certainly rolled out a (risky and costly) red carpet.

Life And Death In The Blogosphere

Blogging is taking on a life of its own. Below is a fascinating article about stressed out bloggers by Matt Ritchel that appears in the April 6th New York Times.

Of course, blogs are contributing mightily to the decline of the NYT and other newspapers. The NYT and most of the mainstream media (MSM) are probably more than happy to highlight any downside to blogging.

As for the stress here.....nah. Stress on my part, isn't from blogging. This blog is hardly 24/7 or that $$ oriented. Stress or lack of sleep bothers me only in so much that I worry about the issues that I blog about. Issues such as the upcoming vote for a loan of $1.5 million have me and others more than a little worried about our future. We are about to become a cautionary tale for small town America. We are about to become a fully made member of the development dependency complex. Anyhow, back to the blogoshere.....

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop
By MATT RICHTEL
SAN FRANCISCO — They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.

The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves — and are being well-compensated for it.

“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

It is unclear how many people blog for pay, but there are surely several thousand and maybe even tens of thousands.

The emergence of this class of information worker has paralleled the development of the online economy. Publishing has expanded to the Internet, and advertising has followed.

Even at established companies, the Internet has changed the nature of work, allowing people to set up virtual offices and work from anywhere at any time. That flexibility has a downside, in that workers are always a click away from the burdens of the office. For obsessive information workers, that can mean never leaving the house.

Blogging has been lucrative for some, but those on the lower rungs of the business can earn as little as $10 a post, and in some cases are paid on a sliding bonus scale that rewards success with a demand for even more work.

There are growing legions of online chroniclers, reporting on and reflecting about sports, politics, business, celebrities and every other conceivable niche. Some write for fun, but thousands write for Web publishers — as employees or as contractors — or have started their own online media outlets with profit in mind.

One of the most competitive categories is blogs about technology developments and news. They are in a vicious 24-hour competition to break company news, reveal new products and expose corporate gaffes.

To the victor go the ego points, and, potentially, the advertising. Bloggers for such sites are often paid for each post, though some are paid based on how many people read their material. They build that audience through scoops or volume or both.

Some sites, like those owned by Gawker Media, give bloggers retainers and then bonuses for hitting benchmarks, like if the pages they write are viewed 100,000 times a month. Then the goal is raised, like a sales commission: write more, earn more.

Bloggers at some of the bigger sites say most writers earn about $30,000 a year starting out, and some can make as much as $70,000. A tireless few bloggers reach six figures, and some entrepreneurs in the field have built mini-empires on the Web that are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. Others who are trying to turn blogging into a career say they can end up with just $1,000 a month.

Speed can be of the essence. If a blogger is beaten by a millisecond, someone else’s post on the subject will bring in the audience, the links and the bigger share of the ad revenue.

“There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story,” Mr. Arrington said.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we said no blogger or journalist could write a story between 8 p.m. Pacific time and dawn? Then we could all take a break,” he added. “But that’s never going to happen.”

All that competition puts a premium on staying awake. Matt Buchanan, 22, is the right man for the job. He works for clicks for Gizmodo, a popular Gawker Media site that publishes news about gadgets. Mr. Buchanan lives in a small apartment in Brooklyn, where his bedroom doubles as his office.

He says he sleeps about five hours a night and often does not have time to eat proper meals. But he does stay fueled — by regularly consuming a protein supplement mixed into coffee.

But make no mistake: Mr. Buchanan, a recent graduate of New York University, loves his job. He said he gets paid to write (he will not say how much) while interacting with readers in a global conversation about the latest and greatest products.

“The fact I have a few thousand people a day reading what I write — that’s kind of cool,” he said. And, yes, it is exhausting. Sometimes, he said, “I just want to lie down.”

Sometimes he does rest, inadvertently, falling asleep at the computer.

“If I don’t hear from him, I’ll think: Matt’s passed out again,” said Brian Lam, the editor of Gizmodo. “It’s happened four or five times.”

Mr. Lam, who as a manager has a substantially larger income, works even harder. He is known to pull all-nighters at his own home office in San Francisco — hours spent trying to keep his site organized and competitive. He said he was well equipped for the torture; he used to be a Thai-style boxer.

“I’ve got a background getting punched in the face,” he said. “That’s why I’m good at this job.”

Mr. Lam said he has worried his blogging staff might be burning out, and he urges them to take breaks, even vacations. But he said they face tremendous pressure — external, internal and financial. He said the evolution of the “pay-per-click” economy has put the emphasis on reader traffic and financial return, not journalism.

In the case of Mr. Shaw, it is not clear what role stress played in his death. Ellen Green, who had been dating him for 13 months, said the pressure, though self-imposed, was severe. She said she and Mr. Shaw had been talking a lot about how he could create a healthier lifestyle, particularly after the death of his friend, Mr. Orchant.

“The blogger community is looking at this and saying: ‘Oh no, it happened so fast to two really vital people in the field,’ ” she said. They are wondering, “What does that have to do with me?”

For his part, Mr. Shaw did not die at his desk. He died in a hotel in San Jose, Calif., where he had flown to cover a technology conference. He had written a last e-mail dispatch to his editor at ZDNet: “Have come down with something. Resting now posts to resume later today or tomorrow.”

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Meetings On The $1.5 Million Question

There are two more meetings on the question of the loan request for the town's spray irrigation upgrade. Thursday, March 27, 2008, there will be a meeting at 7:00 PM in the Ridgely House devoted entirely to this question. And, Monday, April 7, 2008, there will be final discussion and a vote at the Commissioner's monthly 7:00 PM meeting at the Ridgely House.

Last night, the Planning and Zoning Commission met and the question dominated our meeting like a 900 pound gorilla sitting in the middle of the room. We all wanted to know how we got into this position and had voted for a Developers Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) that doesn't cover all the costs of development. No matter how good a development might be, our citizens SHOULD NEVER PAY FOR DEVELOPMENT. The question of the spray irrigation upgrade could have been addressed in the DRRA in a way that would have required the developer to make the upgrade first.

Commission member Martin Sokolich brought up the fact that the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) has recently been more strictly enforcing its regulations. Municipalities are no longer being allowed to do what was once considered standard.

For my part, I APOLIGIZE FOR MY VOTE ON THE DRRA. We shouldn't be in the position that we are now in. Although not standard procedure, I should have gone to MDE myself. (In this case, only the Town Manager contacted MDE.) They should have been at our meetings. In the future, we will not consider contracts with developers without MDE.

The question now, however, is whether or not we should complicate a bad situation with a risky loan. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! The only prudent course is to apply for grants to make the upgrade. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a program that could help. This, of course, might put Ridgely Park at risk because of the time involved. We have a classic choice here between the lesser of two evils.

No Higher Water Sewer Bills For Development!

Monday night the Ridgley Park developer did not come forward with the funding in advance for the spray irrigation system. They are, however, contractually obligated to pay for it if and when their project is well under way. This leaves the town with the choice of whether or not to borrow $1.5 million to build it ourselves for Ridgely Park.

We are being told that we've always had this "need" and we need to get the funding ASAP. Yet, we are still being told by the administration that our current system will hold an additional 247 homes. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS! IT'S EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER.

IF I HAD ANY IDEA THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I WOULD NEVER HAVE VOTED FOR THE DEVELOPERS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AGREEMENT UNLESS IT CLEARLY STIPULATED THAT THEY WOULD UPGRADE OUR SPRAY IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN ADVANCE! I FEEL I'VE BEEN MISLED, NOT BY THE DEVELOPERS BUT BY OUR OWN ADMINISTRATION! WE SHOULD NOT BE IN THIS POSITION OF EVEN CONSIDERING A LOAN FOR DEVELOPMENT WHICH COULD RAISE WATER SEWER BILLS.

THERE IS STILL TIME TO STOP THIS TRAVESTY. NO VOTE ON THE LOAN HAS BEEN TAKEN. THE LOAN IS DANGEROUS TO OUR FISCAL FUTURE AND WOULD BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF OUR CITIZENS IF THEY REALIZED WHAT WAS GOING ON.

NO TAXPAYER MONEY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND NO INCREASE IN OUR WATER SEWER BILLS FOR DEVELOPMENT!!

No Ridgely Roulette!

The residents of Ridgely should NEVER have to PAY FOR DEVELOPMENT. Yet, there is now a proposal before the Commissioners to borrow $1.5 million to improve our spray irrigation system because the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) won't approve plans for our Ridgely Park project until improvements are made. Paying back the loan could COST RESIDENTS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WATER SEWER BILLS.

Improving the spray irrigation system is an idea that has been around a few years. However, it was NEVER CONSIDERED AN EMERGENCY. Money to pay for these improvements was included in the Developer's Rights and Responsibilities agreement (DRRA)negotiated between the developers of the 403 home Ridgely Park development and the town. Ridgely Park was to pay for phase I of the spray irrigation upgrade prior to the issuance of their 185th building permit, followed by the funding for phase II of the new spray irrigation system.

ONLY A FEW MONTHS AGO, OUR TOWN MANAGER WAS MAKING THE CASE TO MDE THAT OUR SYSTEM WAS FINE AND COULD ACCOMMODATE THE FIRST PORTION OF RIDGELY PARK AND SOME SMALLER DEVELOPMENTS TOTALING 247 UNITS.

NOW, WE ARE BEING TOLD THERE IS AN EMERGENCY AND THE TOWN NEEDS TO BORROW MONEY ASAP. What has happened? How in only a VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME ARE WE FACED WITH AN EMERGENCY WATER SEWER PROBLEM? A letter to the town received from MDE dated February 15th stating that "any additional allocations should await the installation and successful operation of the newly configured spray irrigation system" highlights our problem. Some small developments totalling 27 homes are permitted but NO OTHER DEVELOPMENT WILL BE APPROVED UNTIL SPRAY IRRIGATION IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE. This is the "EMERGENCY" and it means that it is obvious that the upgrade is to accommodate new development. This means that MDE grant funding is out of the question since there are no MDE grants made for development.

The Town Manager's solution is the quick fix or a loan for $1.5 million. Such a course of action is potentially catastrophic. Our budget is already way off target and the loan will be added to what we already owe for our existing system. This, of course, is going to be done with in the context of a record housing market slump.

Ridgely Park as noted above is contractually obligated to pay for the system upgrade. But, the agreement allows them 184 building permits for 184 houses on our current system BEFORE this obligation must be meant. Since MDE won't allow this, do we want to carry a $1.5 million loan hoping Ridgely Park stays through this point? If they walk, the debt is all ours.

This piece of ground will eventually be developed. If Ridgely Park leaves town it would be a shame for the town. Ridgely Park is an excellent concept put forth by people who have pioneered smart growth and traditional neighborhood development in Maryland. These people and their plans respect our community. However, RIDGELY PARK NEEDS TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE and to make the improvements to our spray irrigation system FIRST, and not AFTER the 184th home.

GOING INTO DEBT IS A HUGE GAMBLE FOR THOSE OF US WHO LIVE HERE. THE TOWN MANAGER WHO PROPOSES THIS COURSE OF ACTION ONLY STAYS HERE A FEW NIGHTS A WEEK IN A RENTAL AND HASN'T BECOME THE STAKEHOLDER IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE HAD HOPED. He certainly won't feel our pain if he is wrong. In fact, the Town Manager can pick up and leave for another job anytime.

The Commissioners and Ridgely Staff will be meeting with the Ridgely Park developers Monday, March 17th at the Ridgely House at 6:00 PM. Commissioner Gearhart is opposed to taking out the $1.5 million loan. The best solution would be for the developers to include all the payments for the spray irrigation upgrade FIRST and not after the 184th home. Then, of course, the town would not need a loan. This, in fact, is the only solution to our problem that puts the residents of Ridgely first.

There are times in life when we all must take a stand. Let the Commissioners know that WE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE WANT THEM TO PUT RIDGELY FIRST. DON'T MAKE A $1.5 MILLION GAMBLE WITH OUR FUTURE. WE THE RIDGELY RESIDENTS DO NOT SUPPORT ANY LOANS FOR DEVELOPMENT!!