Editor's notebook

Published 10/24/09

DECIDE OR ELSE - Perhaps the state Video Lottery Facility Location Commission should hire an airplane and have it circle the Arundel Center, towing an advertising banner reading: "Decide, blast you, decide!"

Nearly everything else has been tried as the commission urges the County Council to agree to - or at least to definitely reject - zoning for the Cordish Cos. proposal to put a 4,750-slot machine entertainment complex next to Arundel Mills mall in Hanover.

Some County Council members, trying to justify months of stalling, have maintained that the state commission was supposed to make a decision on the Cordish proposal first, presumably by hiring a psychic to tell it what local zoning rules would be approved. And commission members have been telling the council for months that this is nonsense.

Meeting this week, the commission in essence said that it wants a decision on the Cordish plan by its Dec. 17 meeting. If there's no movement by then, the commission will consider the decision made - and the council's answer to be no.

The commission's stance restates a maxim most of us learned from parents and teachers: You can't stall forever. If you delay a decision long enough, then you've made a decision: to do nothing.

But perhaps - hope springs eternal - council members will want to at least grapple with their responsibilities. They should make a decision themselves, one way or the other.

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PRETTY CITY - Actually, "beautiful" is a better word for Annapolis than "pretty." The distinction was caught by Stephen Sondheim in lyrics from his show "Sunday in the Park With George": "Pretty isn't beautiful, Mother, / Pretty is what changes / What the eye arranges / Is what is beautiful."

But we're hardly going to gripe that the city, for the second year in a row, has been picked out as one of America's prettiest towns by Forbes Traveler Magazine. The designation is a recognition of the countless people who have contributed to the city's efforts at self-enhancement, making itself more attractive bit by bit, brick by brick, yard by yard, ordinance by ordinance, flower basket by flower basket.

When it comes to preservation and beautification, Annapolis is the state of the art.

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LAGGING LUNCHES - As the Associated Press pointed out recently, the federal government not only subsidizes breakfast and lunch for many schoolchildren, but, as part of this program, sets standards that constrain what schools can offer for lunch.

And those 14-year-old guidelines, according to an Institute of Medicine report released this week, are deficient. They don't line up with the government's own nutritional recommendations - the famous Food Pyramid - or restrict calories, even though overweight kids are now more of a problem than malnourished ones.

Upgrading lunch menus - which would also mean adding more fruits, vegetables and whole grains - would impose another expense on struggling schools. But surely, if we mean the things we say about raising healthy kids, we can find some way to do this.

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School Lunches - 2009-10-25 15:50:13

Food Services for AACPS is a self sustaining operation. It is funded by Federal Funds and revenue from the sale of lunches and other ala carte items. In regard to whole grains, pasta in the AACPS cafeterias is whole grain as well as most bread choices. Salads are served daily and programs to introduce fresh vegetable by "taste the rainbow" happens also. During the growing season, AACPS has a buy local produce program when the products are affordble.

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M. Donnell - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

How long until - 2009-10-24 18:57:25

you shockingly endorse Cohen Tom?

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Peter D. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

Delaying... - 2009-10-24 15:45:05

The decision to not make a decision is a perfectly acceptable decision. We have enshrined the ability for Presidents to not make decisions on legislation in the U.S. Constitution in fact. I also believe the County Executive also has the right to ignore legislation that has been passed by the council.

The County Council has been handed a raw deal. They have been forced to make a decision about something they had no control over whatsoever. I can't think of any other instance in Maryland where voters statewide have the ability to force counties in which those voters do not reside to pass specific zoning regulations.

Bottom line, the County Council has been doing the right thing so far and should continue to stall until the deadline. This was a bum deal from the start, so you can't blame them for wanting no part of it.

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R. Black - Churchton, MD - Karma: Neutral