Planning process needs total overhaul
In the editorial "Controlling growth" (March 13), The Sun states that "the current planning process is clearly broken." I strongly agree with that position.
Here in Howard County, we have a beautifully written general plan, as is required by the state.
The county executive and the County Council are responsible for implementing the plan through the comprehensive zoning amendment process, in which the status of all properties and regulations is up for revision.
But does the general plan mean anything during this process? The answer is emphatically "no."
And even after the comprehensive zoning process is completed, we are subject to individual zoning cases that do not conform to the general plan.
The Howard County Office of Law would say that the plan is only a guideline for growth. And I guess that is true. But should it be discounted altogether?
General plans are developed with the recommendations of an appointed citizens' committee. But why even bother?
There is no question that the entire system needs an overhaul. However, doing so is up to the elected officials who make the final decisions.
Nothing will change unless, those in authority believe it must change and work to do so.
Angela Beltram
Ellicott City
The writer is a former member of the Howard County Council and the Howard County Planning Board.
Selling out history for cell phone tower?
I salute The Sun for reporting on efforts in Western Maryland to fight "a proposed cell phone tower that would rise 30 feet above the treeline - marring, critics say, views from nearly all of the [Antietam] battlefield's famous vantage points" ("Fight for 'hallowed ground,'" March 13).
By preserving Antietam battlefield, we are preserving our very sense of ourselves as Americans.
Far more eloquent and learned folks than me have often written about how the very soul of our nation was ratified in blood during the Civil War at places such as Bloody Lane at Antietam during the war's single bloodiest day.
And now along comes a limited liability corporation to scar the landscape and our memories.
The war dead buried beneath the surface, from North and South, must be laughing in derision at how cell phone transmissions may be more important to us than our heritage.
Stan Heuisler
Baltimore
Fleecing top earners is unfair, unwise
More and more of my law firm's business clients are talking about relocating their businesses to a state that is pro-business and will not have its hand in their pockets for taxes to the extent that Maryland does ("New tax on top earners backed," March 13).
High-wage-earners should not be viewed as targets or fat cats.
For the most part, they are people who sacrificed and took considerable risks to achieve.
They often employ people and already contribute to society in other ways.
They are not sheep to be fleeced every time the state finds itself in need of income.
And they can and will leave the state. Where would that leave Maryland's economy?
Jim Astrachan
Baltimore
Finally standing up for the rule of law
Congress is finally waking up from its long coma and beginning to resist the depredations of the Bush administration.
Refusing to offer immunity to telecom companies for their allegedly illegal wiretapping activities may seem like a small step toward returning this country to the rule of law.
But it is not a small step; it is a large step.
This is one of the few times in seven-plus years that Congress has stopped the Bush administration from running roughshod over it and over the Constitution.
It will take our country a long time to recover from the damage done by the Bush administration.
But Congress needs to let the White House know it will not be bullied or cowed.
Blocking immunity for the phone companies is a start.
Daniel Greenfeld
Owings Mills
Effective principals invest in the arts
The plan by Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso to heighten the decision-making authority of principals recognizes that schools succeed as a result of the leadership of principals ("North Ave. facing cuts," March 11).
And delving into research on education, one finds that many of the most successful principals across the country are those who build strong programs that include high-quality arts instruction that enables students to learn in and through the arts in many powerful ways.
These principals' schools are lively, joyous places that prepare students for the creative thinking required in the global economy.
The public understands the importance of the arts.
A 2008 poll by Lake Research Partners revealed the existence of an "Imagine Nation," a voter constituency that supports a renewed emphasis on the arts.
According to this poll:
91 percent of respondents believe imaginative learning should be considered part of a basic education.
88 percent of voters believe that an education in and through the arts is essential to cultivating the imagination.
83 percent of voters believe that a greater focus on the arts - alongside programs in science, technology and math - would help students better address the demands they will face in the 21st century.
Mary Ann Mears
Baltimore
The writer is a trustee of Arts Education in Maryland Schools and for Baltimore Partners for Enhanced Learning.
Cuts on North Ave. can aid classrooms
I was glad to read "North Ave. facing cuts" (March 11).
When schools CEO Andres Alonso appeared on The Marc Steiner Show (remember that stimulating talk show?), I called in and suggested that the first thing he needed to do as school chief was to shake up North Avenue, clear some desks and send some of their occupants back to schools as teachers or principals.
Even though this plan comes a little late, it is a good step to make the school system more efficient and lean.
The funds saved at North Avenue can be used in the classrooms.
Dr. A. Montazer
Reisterstown
Let malefactors face the cameras alone
I am all for empathy and forgiveness toward those who transgress, since we all fall short of perfection. But I am sick of public transgressors expecting instantaneous forgiveness - especially from their wives ("Why do they stand?" March 12).
It's about time that public figures show a little empathy and compassion of their own - to the very people they have shocked and hurt so deeply - by choosing to stand alone in front of the cameras and press corps while they pronounce their mea culpas to the world.
When I see a public figure do that, I just might be inclined to believe his apology.
Myra Welsh
Cockeysville