For those of you following the application that the MGM National Harbor has made for an exemption from the Maryland Clean Indoor Air Act, here are a link to the full site plan – that is, to the interior location of the proposed MGM Retail Tobacco Store (the “Cigar Lounge”) – with two closeup screenshots…
Author Archives: MissingthePoint.us
Topgolf? Really?
Depending upon the source, approximately two-thirds of Baltimore’s families are struggling financially – in neighborhoods that need all the help they can get.
The last thing Baltimore needs is a high-end, expensive, glitzy combination of high-tech driving range and bar, most of whose customers and many of its employees will come from outside the city, just to save the Horseshoe Casino and make more money for a handful of developers – with the help of the Baltimore Development Corporation. (“Baltimore Development Corporation.” Now there’s an oxymoron if ever there was one.)
Unfortunately, …
…the next time you go to the MGM National Harbor 
casino, your money won’t be the only thing you’ll be risking.
Sure, we all appreciate the taxes the MGM National Harbor casino is paying to help fund improvements to public education in Prince George’s County. Why wouldn’t we? But that money doesn’t give them the right or permission to do whatever they please, with reckless disregard for public safety.
Why shouldn’t we exempt MGM from the Clean Indoor Air Act?
At 9:30 AM on Wednesday, January 23, the Prince George’s County Zoning Hearing Examiner is having a hearing to determine whether or not the Zoning Examiner will recommend to the County Council that the MGM National Harbor should be allowed an exemption from state law that forbids smoking in casinos. Why should they be given an exemption?
Speaking of Casinos
Speaking of casinos – referring to the previous post – we’ve been hearing from people in Prince George’s County for more than a year now about the MGM National Harbor. And they aren’t contacting us to complain about the gambling. Even people we’ve talked to who are opposed to legalized gambling in general are willing to consider it a necessary evil to help fund badly needed improvements to county schools.
Pigtown’s Russell St. Homeless Shelter
A couple of months ago – before it occurred to us that we should have a website – one of us heard from a friend of his who knew somebody who lives in Baltimore in the neighborhood called “Pigtown” near the stadiums. We’ll call her “Mary,” because that’s actually her name.
Mary had heard about Local Initiatives and asked if we could do anything about the homeless people living under the Russell St. ramp.
Owings Mills, Jr.?
Hi. This article was first published in the Carroll County Times on November 30, 2017…
According to Google Maps, the distance from Eldersburg to 10300 Mill Run Circle in Owings Mills is 10.5 miles. More or a less a straight shot east, down Liberty Road.
Every dollar counts.
Thanksgiving, November 23, 2017
To make sure local government is paying attention to the concerns of the people it serves, EvenBetterPlaces.org conducts online surveys – like the one we’re now running about high density residential and large store commercial development in Carroll County, Maryland.
Approving a pig in a poke.
Maybe, just maybe the current version of the “Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan” isn’t quite ready for prime time.
The Board of Commissioners is considering whether or not to approve the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan developed by the County’s Planning Department and endorsed by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Two too many degrees of freedom.
The property runs along Liberty Road, between Georgetown Blvd. on the left and Homeland Drive on the right. (Most of it looks like a giant right foot.) Those are the Homeland Condominium buildings running along the left edge of Homeland Drive.
“Degrees of freedom” is a mathematical term for the number of factors that affect a given outcome.
“Oh geez. Is there going to be quiz at the end of this article?”
No. Don’t worry. This is a pass-fail post and you’ve already passed just by showing up and reading it.
What’s wrong with Carroll County’s government?
Carroll County’s Director of Planning, Phil Hager
No form of government or implementation of that form is perfect. Of course not, but Carroll County has a particular combination of problems, three of them to be precise, that are conspiring to adversely affect its development and growth.
To be clear, the problem isn’t personnel. The career staff in the government and the elected and appointed officials are good, hardworking, dedicated public servants. Some of them more effective, better at what they do than others, but individuals are not the problem. No. The problem is structural and the good news is that it can be fixed in relatively short order.
To Incorporate or Not to Incorporate?
Are you feeling threatened by a Comprehensive Plan that would increase residential density and encourage large, “Big Box Store” commercialization in Eldersburg?
Does it seem like the County’s planners are going to do what they want to the community where you live – whether you like it or not?