This is a two-part series reflecting on the 2019 HCPSS redistricting process.
Many folks are aware that I supported the school redistricting that happened in 2019. Every now and then, someone will drop a comment on my social media that points to my position on the 2019 redistricting as being inconsistent with or contradictory to something I may have written or tweeted lately. It’s important to note that the 2019 redistricting was a complex topic, and my thoughts and feelings abou...
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Symbols, Symptoms, and Systems
On June 27, 2015, ten days after a white supremacist shot and killed nine Black citizens in a Charleston, S.C. church, Oakland Mills High School alumna Bree Newsome Bass climbed up the flagpole at the State Capitol in Columbia, S.C. and removed the Confederate flag flying at the top. It is obvious that such a symbol - one representing a failed nation whose existence was predicated on slavery and the oppression of Black citizens - has no place in the United States. That the flag was deemed wor...
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Not In My Backyard
Let me tell you about an uncle of mine. He is one of the most kind-hearted people you'll ever meet, and he has practiced family medicine for over 40 years. He is one of very few doctors in his area who accepts Medicare and Medicaid patients, and because such patients are not profitable like those with private insurance, he is also one of the poorest doctors you'll ever meet. He chooses to devote the majority of his practice to providing health care for low-income patients because it's the ri...
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Cartoon: The Libertarian in the Henhouse
Howard County, It’s Time to Ante Up
It’s probably a safe bet (see what I did there) that you know what ante is. That seed money in the pot is an important part of the poker game. It’s what gets that jackpot growing. And if you don’t ante up, you don’t play. The Howard County Public School System is facing the reality that county residents and elected officials want to win the jackpot without tossing a chip on the table.
In January, HCPSS Superintendent Michael Martirano requested a $964.1M FY21 operating budget for the scho...
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