Paddle boat owner has earned his dock

I find it ironic that Ed Kane, who did so much to make the Inner Harbor an international attraction, will lose his paddle boat business to a nonprofit organization that probably would not exist if not for Kane's investment, time and effort in turning Baltimore's Inner Harbor into a viable, tourist-friendly attraction ("Inner Harbor paddle boats sit idle as owner fights city over dock," May 11).

The Inner Harbor has many fathers, mothers and other relatives now that it's a success. Few remember the situation in the early 1970s when even Mayor William Donald Schaefer's most ardent supporters scoffed at his idea that it could be a tourist attraction.

The Inner Harbor in those days was water and grass. Huge demolition projects had created an open space no one wanted to visit. Fear and total disinterest were all the harbor could generate.

City officials tried and tried to attract private investment. But none were so foolish or courageous, depending on your point of view.

Except Ed Kane.

He had a vision of sailboats and paddle boats and people flocking to the harbor. And he acted on it.

Even his best friends ques- tioned his judgment. He used his savings, borrowed money and built a sailing school and rental business. Within a few weeks of its opening, people were coming from downtown at lunchtime and renting a sailboat.

The area's economic development efforts benefited greatly. Mr. Kane's sailboats on the harbor attracted national and international press attention.

The harbor became a viable site for sailing events, including the 1976 Tall Ships' visit which secured the harbor's reputation as an attractive place to be.

A public-private partnership developed taking advantage of the harbors attractiveness and the rest is history.

As the harbor grew, Mr. Kane threw himself into promoting visits to the harbor from tour bus operators, conventions and area visitors. He invested in a water taxi to link harbor attractions and endured the economic loss until they became viable.

When the downtown trolley lost hundreds of thousands of city dollars, Mr. Kane took it over and successfully linked the Walters Art Gallery, the B&O; Railroad Museum and other attractions to the harbor and its visitors.

In justifying their takeover of a private business, a representative of Living Classrooms Foundation stressed its determination to improve tourism. They have a long way to go to match the leadership Ed Kane has demonstrated.

No one has been more creative or helpful than he in attracting out-of-town visitors.

Baltimore has an odd way of rewarding dedication, loyalty, private investment.

Christopher C. Hartman, Cockeysville

The writer served as press secretary in Mayor Schaefer's administration.

An agency to restore the city

It seems every time I open the editorial page, I find a reference to Baltimore losing 1,000 people a month, saying that someone has to do something to stop the hemorrhaging.

In March, it was under the heading "Rebuilding Baltimore beyond the Inner Harbor" (March 21); in April, it was "A wish list of options for the city's next mayor" (April 24).

Let us make some suggestions.

Marcus Pollock and I have written a book, "The Urban Transition Zone: A Place Worth a Fight," that sets out a plan for increased public investment in neighborhoods undergoing demographic transition.

It is from such neighborhoods that the city is losing population. Reclaiming those neighborhoods is most productive, least expensive and, in the long run, most helpful to the poor and disadvantaged. Homeownership is not the silver bullet that many claim it to be. Baltimore's housing stock seems supremely suitable for quality rental by young people who work in the city. Why not create quality rental communities from our small rowhouses?

Trying to reduce violent crime by targeting high-violence areas and the drug trade there accelerates population loss from transitional neighborhoods as it drives drug-related crime into those areas.

Large-scale demolition in blighted neighborhoods, without a corresponding effort to prevent vacant houses in weakening neighborhoods only guarantees that many more vacant houses will turn up in the weakening neighborhoods, as they turn from weakening to needy.

One of the most astounding aspects of current revitalization strategies is that no solid analysis supports any of the funding decisions.

So much money is spent with so little analysis. It's like building a rocket to send someone to the moon, believing the moon to be 100 miles from Earth because that's how far it looks to someone's naked eye.

What should we do? We recommend establishing an Office for Rebuilding Baltimore's Neighborhoods. Its mission would be to save as many of the hemorrhaging neighborhoods as funding will allow.

The office should have the ability to fund revitalization efforts in these neighborhoods on a competitive basis.

Half of the city's community development block grant funds should be directed to this office, perhaps $15 million. The state, given its Smart Growth commitment, should match those funds, perhaps 2-1.

With access to federal and foundation funds, the annual budget of the Office for Rebuilding Baltimore's Neighborhoods would be about $50 million.

This kind of plan would stop the hemorrhaging.

Ed Rutkowski, Baltimore

The writer is executive director of the Patterson Park Community Development Corp.

Remembering Bergman's magic

Glenn McNatt's brief story ("Robert Bergman, former director of Walters, dies," May 7) only touched on Mr. Bergman's effects on Baltimore and on those of us lucky enough to work with him at the Walters Art Gallery.

As the Walters' director of public relations and marketing from 1987 to 1995, I was one of the lucky few who worked with Mr. Bergman to help transform The Walters from a stuffy, blue-blooded museum into what it is today.

His relentless energy and drive pushed all of us -- administrators, educators, fund raisers, curators, conservators and the museum's board of directors -- to the limits of our abilities and beyond.

When I joined the staff, the museum was renovating its beloved 1904 galleries after a nearly $7 million fund-raising campaign. The opening was a triumph.

Some 50,000 people poured into the painstakingly restored and improved galleries during the opening weekend. Local, national and international press hailed the renovation and Mr. Bergman's inspired reinstallation as a model for museums worldwide.

But before the 1904 galleries reopened in May 1988, Bob had jumped at the chance to acquire a townhouse on Mount Vernon Place adjoining the Walters.

The townhouse, acquired by Baltimore businessman and philanthropist Willard Hackerman and donated to the city of Baltimore, was given to the Walters Art Gallery for use as its Museum of Asian Art.

Under Mr. Bergman's direction, we mounted a second major capital campaign; hired architects and contractors; gutted and restored a magnificent 19th-century townhouse, bringing it up to museum standards while maintaining its historic character and integrity.

Then in May 1991, we brought the bulk of the Walters' world-class collections of Asian art to the public for the first time in more than 60 years.

Again, it was a triumph.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Bergman was often the first one in to the museum in the morning, the last one out at night.

Mr. Bergman was relentless, driven, perfectionist, demanding -- and also visionary, charismatic and brilliant. Those of us lucky enough to work for him realized we were in the middle of something truly extraordinary.

When news of his death began to circulate among those of us now gone from the Walters, we all agreed on one thing -- that nothing we had done before or since professionally has been as exciting or satisfying as what we accomplished with Bob Bergman.

Howard White, Germantown

After races, most thoroughbreds thrive

The Sun's May 11 article "Greener pastures for retired horses" perpetuates the myth that thoroughbreds and other racehorses are just thrown away after their racing careers are over -- ending up at either slaughter houses or rescue homes.

The facts simply don't support this claim. Even if all the horses slaughtered were former racehorses, and they aren't, the USDA figure of 72,800 horses going to slaughter would represent only about 10 percent of the total U.S. racehorse population (which the American Horse Council estimates at 725,000).

As the total U.S. horse population is 6.9 million, it's really only about 1 percent of horses that end up at slaughter.

So, what really happens to all those former racehorses?

They go on to very productive second careers, as steeplechasers, show hunters, fox chasers, dressage horses, show jumpers, eventers, police horses, lesson horses, trail horses and pleasure horses.

Hundreds of thousands of former thoroughbred racehorses are enjoying good lives and productive careers.

The economic impact of Maryland's horse industry has been estimated at up to $1.6 billion a year. The race industry represents only half of this. The pleasure and sport industry make up the other half -- and the vast majority of these horses, in Maryland, are thoroughbreds.

In The Equiery (a free Maryland horse publication, likened to an "auto trader" for horses), we annually run classified advertisements for more than 2,500 horses, for purposes other than racing, and the majority of these horses are thoroughbreds.

As a matter of economics, any horse is more valuable as a riding horse than as meat. But it is more than economics for most owners -- it is a true appreciation of the horse.

Particularly during this time of celebration of the Preakness, do not perpetuate the myth that ex-racehorses are "thrown away."

Crystal R Brumme, Lisbon

The writer is the editor of The Equiery magazine.

A system that puts its faith in a test

In the past three years, it has become a tradition at our school during MSPAP week to make sure the kids taking the test are fed breakfast, anything that might help make a difference. Last weekend, teachers purchased bananas and oranges, granola bars, juice, cups and napkins.

To set up the food, teachers showed up at school 30 minutes early. If the fifth-graders made it into the cafeteria 15 minutes before the bell, they got a raffle ticket for a prize. Without a body to match up with a test, the school loses points.

The goals of MSPAP testing are familiar to all Maryland educators: to teach children higher-level thinking skills, which will be evaluated at year's end by a unique performance assessment test.

Test results are made public and schools are ranked on the basis of how their pupils scored. The lowest-ranking schools are threatened with state takeover.

The end result is predictable. Kids who are struggling academically feel worse about themselves.

Within a half an hour of the start of the test this week, one boy on our floor was in tears. He simply couldn't understand the questions but still had wanted to do well. A girl in another classroom left before the first break, complaining of feeling sick. Considering the complexity of the test questions, I wanted to join her.

Every year, I see the same frustration on 10-year-old faces.

The kids sense that there is something powerful about MSPAP. Baltimore City school teachers are forced to feel constant tension about their school's scores. All year, kids suffer the brunt of their teachers' anxiety.

MSPAP results ranks schools. That's one of the test's functions. And there are never any real surprises. Count on it: The wealthier the school district, the higher the scores. Those at bottom-ranked schools are then taken to task for "not doing their job."

Year after year, it's Baltimore teachers, including me, who are thought most remiss.

The state's response to repeated MSPAP failure is "reconstitution," which has occurred in 83 schools in Baltimore. State and city staff members maintain a daily presence in the classrooms.

And the results, after several years of careful recommendations and strict implementation?

According to those same MSPAP rankings, schools reconstituted by city and state experts have not significantly improved their MSPAP scores.

Like those who refused to acknowledge that the emperor was indeed naked, city and state educational leaders are unwilling to admit that it will take more than administering a test to improve kids' educational experience.

We should stop pretending the playing field is level. Not many would challenge the need for high standards, but not every child in Maryland comes to MSPAP with the life experiences that you need to do well on the test, such as fully equipped schools with small class sizes and homes and neighborhoods that are nurturing and safe.

Instead of trying to give each Maryland child an equal chance at succeeding, our leaders search for scapegoats.

Instead of examining issues of poverty, violence, dilapidated schools and drug use, they put their faith in a test booklet.

Peter French, Baltimore

The writer is a fifth-grade teacher in Baltimore.

Inner city's property woes

Our law firm has recently worked with numerous clients seeking advice concerning vacant properties that they own in Baltimore City.

These property owners are law-abiding citizens who inherited property from relatives or purchased the properties believing in the charm and growth potential of Baltimore's neighborhoods.

However, the investment frequently turns out to be a liability after factoring in the cost of taxes, insurance and board-up fees and, in some cases, potential litigation.

The cost of rehabilitating property in most neighborhoods far exceeds the current and foreseeable value of the property.

These property owners have usually contacted local real estate offices, which refuse to list Baltimore inner-city housing.

Local auctioneers are reluctant to accept listings because they are unsure whether anyone will actually attend an auction sale of property in Baltimore's inner city.

The property owners are left feeling frustrated and confused. A few disgruntled investors transfer these vacant properties to corporate entities with no intention of ever paying taxes or insurance. This results in more decay and no change or improvement.

Sometimes letters are sent to nonprofit organizations that might accept the properties if the property owners pay settlement costs to transfer the properties. Unfortunately, many of the properties are rejected because they are not in areas in which the charity operates.

Letters to local churches offering to donate the houses are usually ignored.

Baltimore's next mayor should consider creating a quasi-public agency that would accept such properties if the owner transfers them to the new agency with current and back taxes paid in full. This agency could maintain a housing bank that allows developers and individuals to purchase and rehabilitate the houses.

Obviously, this idea raises some concerns. No city agency, for instance, is anxious to accept title to houses that could result in a lead paint suit.

However, immediate and dramatic action is needed to address an out-of-control situation. Now is the time to build a public-private partnership for the future to replace the adversarial relationship that now exists.

John H. Denick, Baltimore

Pub Date: 5/15/99