Archive for February, 2008
Hurry! Tell your delegate to support House Bill 1260
I like wine. You probably do, too. If I were to have some shipped from my favorite winery in Northern California, I would theoretically have to ship it to my wife’s work address in DC and have her drive it across the border into Maryland. But I, of course, would never do that. It might be illegal. Because Maryland has anachronistic laws that prevent direct to consumer shipping
Thirty-five states now allow licensed wineries to ship directly to consumers, representing 81% of US wine enjoyment, and the laws in these states are based on the same language now being proposed in Maryland. It’s time for Maryland’s wine lovers, not wholesaler middle men (or our stupid Montgomery County lawmakers), to decide what wines you can purchase and enjoy, and from whom.
Our very own Delegate Tom Hucker (tom.hucker@house.state.md.us) is one of the primary sponsors of House Bill 1260, and I urge you to contact the members of Maryland House Economic Matters Committee to ask them for their support as well. I’ve also written to Delegates Hixson (sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us) and Mizeur (heather.mizeur@house.state.md.us), but have not received a response, so I’m not sure what their opinions are.
Here is some sample email text and some contact info for you to support this measure. But HURRY – testimony will be heard starting Monday, February 18.
———-
Dear Delegate [INSERT NAME HERE],
As an adult voter of Maryland, I strongly urge you to SUPPORT direct-to-consumer wine shipping by passing House Bill 1260.
Thirty-five states now allow for legal, regulated winery-to-consumer shipments for personal enjoyment. But Maryland’s outmoded law prevents me from purchasing many of my favorite wines for personal enjoyment.
House Bill 1260 provides the solution. The bill includes regulations already working successfully in the majority of US states. The bill will improve choice in wine for me, create a new revenue source for the state, and satisfy regulatory concerns.
I believe that wine lovers like me, rather than the wine wholesaler middlemen, should decide which wines to purchase, and how we purchase them, from a winery, retailer, online, etc.
Please let me know how you will vote on this important consumer issue.
Sincerely,
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY], Maryland [ZIP]
———-
Members of the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee:
Chair: Davis, Dereck E. (D), District 25
e-mail: dereck.davis@house.state.md.us
Vice-Chair: Rudolph, David D. (D), District 35B
e-mail: david.rudolph@house.state.md.us
Delegates:
Braveboy, Aisha N.
email: aisha.braveboy@house.state.md.us
Burns, Emmett C., Jr. (D), District 10
e-mail: emmett.burns@house.state.md.us
Feldman, Brian J. (D), District 15
e-mail: brian.feldman@house.state.md.us
Haddaway, Jeannie (R), District 37B
e-mail: jeannie.haddaway@house.state.md.us
Harrison, Hattie N. (D), District 45
e-mail: hattie.harrison@house.state.md.us
Hecht, C. Sue (D), District 3A
e-mail: sue.hecht@house.state.md.us
Impallario, Richard K. (R), District 7
e-mail: rick.impallaria@house.state.md.us
Jameson, Sally Y. (D), District 28
e-mail: sally.jameson@house.state.md.us
King, James J. (R), District 33A
e-mail: james.king@house.state.md.us
Kirk, Ruth M. (D), District 44
e-mail: ruth.kirk@house.state.md.us
Krysiak, Carolyn J. (D), District 46
e-mail: carolyn.krysiak@house.state.md.us
Love, Mary Ann (D), District 32
e-mail: maryann.love@house.state.md.us
Manno, Roger (D), District 19
e-mail: roger.manno@house.state.md.us
Mathias, James N., Jr. (D), District 38B
e-mail: james.mathias@house.state.md.us
McHale, Brian K. (D), District 47A
e-mail: brian.mchale@house.state.md.us
Miller, Warren E. (R), District 9A
e-mail: warren.miller@house.state.md.us
Minnick, Joseph J. (D), District 7
e-mail: joseph.minnick@house.state.md.us
Stifler, Donna (R), District 35A
e-mail: donna.stifler@house.state.md.us
Taylor, Herman L., Jr. (D), District 14
e-mail: herman.taylor@house.state.md.us
Vaughn, Michael L. (D), District 24
e-mail: michael.vaughn@house.state.md.us
Walkup, Mary Roe (R), District 36
e-mail: mary.roe.walkup@house.state.md.us
Getting Dissed by Google
As if “Silver Springs” wasn’t enough, we’re now being incorrectly referred to by CrimeReports.com. If you search for our area to get a report, you’ll see an attribution for the information at the lower left side of the page:
I’m not personally familiar with the section of Montgomery County that’s part of the District of Columbia, but evidently we have a police force on patrol there. Somehow, there’s a MoCoWaDiCo joke in there, but I’m straining to find it.
Thanks to Bruce for the heads up.
2 commentsMaking Way for the Library?
As many of you may have noticed, the big red brick building next to the Thai Derm/Roger Miller complex has been pretty much leveled, and I’m assuming this is to make way for the new Silver Spring Library. Odd thing, though – I didn’t hear much uproar about leveling an ‘historic’ structure. Perhaps books trump it. I know my wife (the good Dr. J) would agree.
I’ve also heard there’s a bit of a spat rising up about the actual footprint of the library. Something about it being smaller than originally proposed? There was a meeting Tuesday night, and I’m not sure what the outcome was, so if anyone has any intel, please feel free to comment.
In the meantime, I would recommend that you not walk behind a building as it’s being demolished. Unbeknownst to me, the beige building next door was being crushed as I came up behind it to capture this photo:
That man in the yellow vest was at the fence to see if anyone was walking up the alley. I wondered why all the crashing noises stopped as I approached. The crane operator was none too happy, and it took me a moment to realize that the building could have collapsed in my direction. Oops.
Note to self…
24 commentsWelcome, Nora!
Thayer Avenue’s newest resident: Eleanor (Nora) was born Monday, January 28th at 8:15 a.m., at a healthy 7lb. 2oz and 20 inches long. Everyone is healthy and happy and very proud! Many congratulations to David & Rhona. Can’t wait to see the whole family out and about!
2 commentsShut Up About the Birchmere
As many are trying to prevent some sort of Scott Farcas Affair from erupting between Live Nation and IMP (9:30 Club), we now have a new group of idiots saying that, and I quote:
“…we are disappointed in County Executive Ike Leggett in NOT closing the deal with the owners of The Birchmere and instead, behind closed doors, signing a letter of intent with Live Nation before making it publicly known that he was considering proposals from other promotion companies.”
This is from a Web site that says they are “NOT ANTI ‘LIVE NATION’ AS A COMPANY” (with a big [sic] on the ALL CAPS stupidity), yet their domain name distinctly indicates otherwise. I will not do them the honor of repeating their domain name here, but as of this writing the only supporter listed on their site is IFI Music, and there are not yet any “Supporters [sic] Comments” in that eponymous section.
I did a WHO IS search to see who owns the domain name, and whoever it is made the domain registration private. So I assume they don’t want the public to know who’s behind it. All I can think of is the comment from the Silver Spring Penguin on the Silver Spring, Singular blog that says:
However, one middle-aged woman tore into council member Phil Andrews immediately after the gig [at the AFI], saying that the Birchmere would have been better suited to the neighborhood.
“What were you thinking?!?” she yelled at Andrews.
I know what he was thinking. He was thinking that the music venue should have a broader appeal to the community – particularly to those younger people who are coming into the city in droves with more disposable income than her. How you like them apples?
I’m going to guess that this site is run by some outdated hippy who plays guitar in a local folk band, and their specialty is somewhere between the Mamas and the Papas and The Carpenters. They’re too old to understand that you should pay for a proper Web site if you want any credibility (the site is a free, templated site from GoDaddy.com – meaning there are ads all over it and, aesthetically, it sucks), and they still haven’t learned that if Mama Cass had given Karen Carpenter that ham sandwich, they might both be alive today to play at The Birchmere (which will be built shortly in College Park). I expect someone to post this URL soon, and even if it’s as a comment on this site, that’s fine. I just can’t bring myself to do it.
Harsh, you say? Perhaps. But true. The Birchmere is gone. Those of you who know me know I just want live music here. When The Birchmere was coming, I thought it was grand. When Live Nation came into the mix, I thought it was even better. When Seth Hurwitz stuck his nose into the mix, I got angry because I assumed it would prolong the process of getting a good live music venue here. Now these people send out their site to the community bitching and moaning about how Ike hosed The Birchmere? 2006 called, and they want their development deal back. Get over it.
The last several shows I’ve been to included Neko Case, Martha Wainwright, The Reverend Horton Heat, and Rob Zombie/Ozzie Osbourne. My tastes run the gamut, so it’s not about genre (except new country). Just shut the hell up and build me a live music venue.
On a different and much happier note…
Thank God the Patriots didn’t win. I’m not Giants fan, but I’d have much rather seen Eli get the MVP trophy than that other guy. More power to ‘em all. And thanks to K & N for a kick ass party, even though I didn’t win any squares.