Maryland Notebook
Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend addressed the National Press Club last week, regaling a crowd of Washington journalists, publicists and assorted Press Club regulars eager to check out the political star rising out of the provinces beyond the Beltway.

As usual, Townsend (D) received star treatment. At the preluncheon reception, she inched through the room, hemmed in by a smiling circle of admirers. At the luncheon, the tables were packed. Townsend, several regulars noted, has "sizzle."

"Nobody ever thought about asking her before," gushed an elated Gayela Bynum, head of the Press Club speakers committee, who ranked Townsend up there with computer entrepreneur Michael Dell as the catch of the year, speaker-wise.

"She came so close to being chosen vice president, and nobody had even thought to ask her to speak," Bynum said.

The speech itself was a typically earnest Townsend affair. Dressed in a sober black suit with a large gold pin, Townsend spoke for 30 minutes about the importance of state government, her love of public service and the need for government to help people unleash their imagination.

"It was an act of imagination to found a government on the principle that all were created equal," Townsend said. "Actually, Thomas Jefferson said all men, which I don't like to quote, because he didn't even mean all men at that point. But he was on to something."

The crowd laughed and smiled, clearly pleased with this fresh new Kennedy. Then it was time for questions.

Townsend seemed flustered at first, offering terse replies to the initial queries about why Republican governors seem to be more innovative than their Democratic counterparts (they aren't, she said) and whether she supports the death penalty (she does).

But then she settled down, warming to a series of questions about the criminal justice system, her professional forte.

By the time the conversation turned to last year's scandal over the beating of juvenile offenders at a state boot camp, Townsend was lobbing them back with aplomb.

"Absolutely, I take responsibility" for the scandal, Townsend said. But "we saw a problem and moved quickly to correct it."

In response to other questions:

  • Townsend said she loves the idea of including District voters in Maryland elections, "but it would be wrong." Instead, she said she would support giving D.C. residents greater political power by making the District the 51st state.
  • Townsend dodged discussion of whether her political future might include Congress or higher office. "I am enjoying myself tremendously in the State of Maryland, and I intend to be in politics a long time," she said.
  • Townsend identified Golda Meir and Joan of Arc as personal heroes when forced to choose a role model outside the Kennedy clan. She also revealed that she likes to climb and hike for relaxation, noting that she and a girlfriend once climbed the Matterhorn.
    • In perhaps the toughest question of the afternoon, Townsend was asked whether the Democratic Party has a problem with voters on moral issues.

    "I think the Democrats have done a great job in the last eight years," Townsend replied, citing declining rates of crime, poverty and teen pregnancy.

    "These are the values people care about," she said. "You've got a choice, and on that choice, I choose Democratic values."

    Gun Lobby Shoots at Its Own

    Maryland gun groups have been doing a slow burn over the trouncing they took in Annapolis last session. But instead of targeting the liberal, anti-gun activists who helped pass Gov. Parris N. Glendening's new gun lock law, the gun groups are taking aim at conservative lawmakers who are usually their friends.

    Over the last few weeks, officials with the Maryland Rifle and Pistol Association have been calling hunters in House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr.'s western Maryland district, alerting them that Taylor helped pass the law, the first in the nation requiring built-in locks on new guns beginning in 2003.

    Taylor--hardly a card-carrying member of Handgun Control Inc.--has been invited to explain himself before a meeting of gun advocates later this fall.

    Meanwhile, Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson, a conservative Republican from Carroll County and defender of gun ownership, has been the focus of a blistering attack by Tripwire, a newsletter for Maryland "gun rights activists."

    Last month, the newsletter reported that gun owners were holding a "Ferguson Filibuster Flip-flop" advertising competition. The contest offers $50 for the best slogans attacking Ferguson for "cutting his own deal with leadership in secret" to preempt a long-planned filibuster on the gun lock bill.

    The gun owners are particularly incensed about a comment they say Ferguson made on the Senate floor: "In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as a gun."

    "Ferguson claims to be a defender of liberty. But his walk doesn't match his talk," said Jim Norris, of Marylanders for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

    Among the winning entries: a button that reads, "Tim's My Friend . . . No Enemies Required," and a bumper sticker that says, simply, "Ferguson Is Toast."

    For his part, Ferguson said he retains the support of the National Rifle Association and many other gun activists because his work pared down Glendening's initial proposal, which would have required "smart guns" be sold in Maryland.

    "Bottom line: I have an impeccable voting record on the Second Amendment," he said. "If anybody says they have a better voting record on the Second Amendment than me, then they're an extremist."

     

    Show us the Money

    The Rocky Gap Music Festival is a dead horse, so, Rocky Gap Foundation members, stop beating it.

    Anyone out there this year? We were there on Friday and Saturday, along with about 900 other people. Of course, if you count the people in the parking lot having tailgate parties with their own beer, that number would be about 1,100.

    Lots of empty seats, very few ticket sales. The word "pathetic" comes to mind.

    Word on the street is the Foundation had to borrow money to pay the acts this year. And word on the street is they don't plan to refund ticket money from Sunday, a day of torrential rainfall and no performance by the headliners, Brooks & Dunn.

    They're probably not going to refund ticket money because they're broke. It's interesting how a festival that loses money every year somehow manages to keep going. We've heard they get loans and grants from the state - anyone else wondering why the state paid to fix Allegany College's fields? Is the Rocky Gap Foundation a state agency, or what? What is the deal there?

    If they're using state money, they need to open their books to the public. What are they doing with what money they have? We know they're not paying local vendors - we know of several that haven't been paid for the last three years. And this thing is touted as an "economic development tool" by Cas Taylor. Not paying local businesses is economic development? What, does he think we're stupid?

    Hey Cas - SHOW US THE MONEY! And refund our tickets while you're at it. If you can get a bank loan to pay Tanya Tucker, you can get one to pay us.

    And pay those local vendors while you're at it.

     

    Do we really need ANOTHER conversation about opening the mall to traffic? Duh.

    In the myriad of ideas that have been discussed by the merchants of downtown
    Cumberland - over and over and over again - we continue to hear the mantra we must
    open the mall to traffic. Driving down the street will afford greater business opportunities. It doesn't work in Hagerstown - seen their drive-through downtown lately? - but it will be the savior of Cumberland. Come to think of it, traffic hasn't done much for the merchants on the side streets along the Downtown Cumberland mall, either, but what do we know?

    Well, we have figured out that retail has changed a great deal since 1952. This seems to be big news in some circles, so we'll go slowly. The newest change in retail is called E-commerce, and it's just the latest in a long line of events that have battered downtowns everywhere.
    E-commerce followed on the heels of catalog commerce, the first opportunity Americans had to shop while sitting on the couch in their living rooms. And before that we had the great enclosed shopping mall revolution, which actually began in the 1970s. It didn't hit here until a decade or so later, but its impact was the same as it was everywhere else - the enclosed mall hastened the demise of the traditional downtown shopping district. Fast forward to 2000,
    and the final, fatal blow to downtown could well be shopping on the internet. What's a retailer to do?

    First and foremost, they must begin to listen to their customers - and to the customers that they hope to attract. They must begin to do business in this century, and not continue to lament the good old days. Retailers need to focus on developing their business in a niche that meets the needs of a specific market. Which market might that be? Don't go low-end - you'll never be able to compete with the Walmarts of the world. Try a higher end that isn't served anywhere else in the county. Now there's a thought.

    Downtown's merchants also need to become responsible for the business decisions they make. In downtown Cumberland, if a business isn't doing well it's always the fault of the-birds-the-trees-the-bricks-the-city-Bill-Clinton-Richard-Nixon - you get the drift. Please. If your business isn't doing well, it's your fault. Period. So stop demanding that someone fix it for you. Taxpayers have no interest in subsidizing your business, so if you want the bricks ripped up to allow traffic, pay for it yourself. Surveys have shown that most city residents like the downtown the way it is. So why should we pay to tear it up? Besides, it doesn't make much sense.

    Let's use some logic: as we mentioned earlier, Hagerstown currently has traffic that runs straight through the downtown. Three lanes of traffic, with parking on both sides of the street. Hagerstown is experiencing tremendous growth in all areas of the city, except for the downtown, which continues to struggle with empty buildings, trouble attracting new retailers, retention of retail, etc. Hagerstown does seem to recognize that they should look for alternative uses for their large retail buildings, and they're about to place the University of Maryland Center downtown. It seems that someone has had the foresight to suggest a similar project in downtown Cumberland. Thank you, Sue Cerutti, for your vision in working to place the Allegany College culinary school in the Gateway Center. At least someone gets it.

    Maybe we should convert more of our buildings to professional office space, and look at developing high-end condos and apartments for people who like the convenience of living downtown. Do this, and you'll develop the mass of people needed to support the small, niche businesses that follow. It's an idea that is rooted in the reality of today - not 1950.

    If the merchants and the Mayor and Council decide to put traffic back on Baltimore Street, they can do that. But they need to fund the project with money that does not come from city taxpayers. The cost will be exorbitant, and city residents don't want it done to begin with. So why should our tax money be involved?

    The elected officials and downtown merchants should pay for it themselves. Or leave it alone.

     

    The Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force:
    come on, kids, let's reinvent the wheel.

    So does anyone know why the Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force exists?

    Let's see. We have a county Economic Development office, whose employees must account for their success in business recruitment and growth- or lack thereof - to the Allegany County Commissioners and taxpayers. We have an Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, whose staff must account to its paying members regarding its success in terms of supporting and encouraging business growth and development.

    And ultimately, we have our various elected officials, who account to us, the voters of Allegany County, on a myriad of issues.

    And then there's the Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force, whose members pretty much account to no one. Well, except Cas Taylor, of course.

    And therein lies the problem. It's not that the Task Force concept is fatally flawed. And not all of its members are responsible for the boondoggle the Task Force has become. Most Task Force members are highly respected members of our business community, and their intentions are honorable. But the powers at the top of this little pyramid are warping reality in order to gain more power for themselves, while perpetuating the "Where would we be without Cas Taylor" fairy tale.

    The recent announcement of their accomplishments to date - by those at the top - is a perfect example of what we're talking about. Mr. Taylor, with help from Lee Fiedler, claimed a few weeks ago that their group had succeeded in creating over 2,000 new jobs in the Western Maryland economy.

    Wow, we said. That's pretty amazing, especially since the Task Force has only been in existence since October 1998.

    According to the Task Force leaders, they've accomplished great things. In fact, the Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force is so on-the-ball they were creating jobs even before they existed.

    Plus, they're so big-hearted, they actually created jobs in West Virginia and counted them toward the total number of jobs created in Western Maryland.

    A chunk of the 400 jobs in the corrections industry Mr. Taylor and Mr. Fiedler counted toward their grand total occurred at the federal corrections facility in Preston County, West Virginia.

    Is that a little weird, or is it us?

    But let's get back to the concept that this little group of go-getters actually created jobs before the group existed. Yes, it's hard to believe, but if you look at the jobs they count in their grand jobs-created total (2,425 jobs, to be exact), you'll see they claim credit for all the jobs at the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort, which opened about five years ago.

    True, Rocky Gap was created almost single-handedly by Cas Taylor, and Cas Taylor is the Task Force (just ask him), but come on. Five years is five years. In a similar manner, Taylor and Fiedler claimed credit for jobs at CSX, Hobby House Press and the Key Call Center. Yep, none of those businesses were doing a thing, just sitting around waiting for someone from a task force that didn't yet exist to come in and tell them they needed another secretary in human resources. No business in Allegany County, if you believe the Task Force leaders, has ever had a business plan.

    So how do we know this Task Force isn't what its leaders claim? Because in our quest to discover the truth, we actually read the committee reports written by the numerous Western Maryland Economic Development Task Force committees. All of them. And they were very enlightening. Each outlined what was going on in a particular area of business - technology, agriculture, the arts - which proved pretty interesting. However, none mentioned anything the Task Force was actually doing to make any of it happen. Some made recommendations as to what could help, which was good. And most made lots of references to existing agencies in terms of things actually getting done.

    The individual reports weren't claiming credit for any of the things the leaders claimed credit for.

    The conclusion: a lot is going on here, and the Task Force has nothing to do with any of it in the way its leaders claim it does. According to Taylor and Fiedler, however, without the Task Force the entire county would be unemployed.

    Need a for-instance? Take a look:

    * The Martins food market and other shops on the site of the old Rolling Mill property in Cumberland. This project had been in the works long before we had a Task Force.

    * The design and development project on the Downtown Cumberland Mall. Again, this project was instituted long before the Task Force was a glint in Cas Taylor's eye, and - like the aforementioned Queen City Center - the Task Force has never had any involvement with it whatsoever.

    * CSX. We're not sure, but we think CSX made Cumberland a rail hub several years ago. Maybe Mr. Taylor just found out.

    * And, of course, the federal prison facility in Preston County, West Virginia. Are they lost, or just happy to take credit for anything that occurs in a 100-mile radius? Next we'll be hearing about all the jobs they've created in Washington County.

    So do they have a point, really?

    No. Though Cas Taylor has given it a motto: Have a good idea? Great! I'll take the credit.

     

    Yada, Yada, Yada

    Speaker of the House Cas Taylor recently granted an interview to Dave Norman of WCBC in which he went on and on about the future of Western Maryland.

    We're on the brink of something big, he intimated. Then, for those who know the code, he spelled out the word "C-H-A-N-G-E." That's "change," in case you're not part of the inner circle.

    So what are we changing into? We're not sure. We did find out that currently we're spending about $800,000 on consultants from outside the area to make decisions that our elected officials are supposed to be making. We have a consultant studying just where we should put our major north/south artery (hey! ever heard of Rt. 220?); we have a consultant telling us how to staff our new jail (since David Goad ran our old jail quite well, we think he probably could have figured this one out - someone tell the County Commissioners that, please); and we have a consultant telling us how to run our school system.

    Cas thinks all these consultants are really swell. He was very proud of his consultant portfolio. He even announced that he wanted Cumberland's new mayor, his man Lee Fiedler, to hire a consultant to explore the idea of building a new district court building on Virginia Avenue. The court would act as an anchor of sorts for the neighborhood, supposedly spurring additional development, he claimed.

    We're not sure what would develop around a district court building - bail bondsmen? Pawn shops? But the consultant Fiedler is searching frantically for at this very moment will tell us. Let's see - if our experience with other consultants is any indication, it will take several months to get the project going. Another two months or so to write it up. All toll it should only cost taxpayers about $423,000 to get this guy to tell us what Cas wants us to hear - without Cas actually saying it, that is.

    That is so cool, isn't it?

    Cas's ability to hire consultants aside, however, we really didn't hear a lot about JOB DEVELOPMENT in his WCBC interview. Or in any other interview he's done. We mean good jobs. Jobs that allow people to do more than scrape by. Cas likes to wax poetic about touristy kinds of stuff - a new hotel in town, that goofy amphitheatre of his, expansions at Canal Place. But none of that pays well.

    How come Cas doesn't use his muscle as Speaker of the House to get his foot in the door of the numerous corporate entities in and around the Baltimore/Washington corridor? How come all we get are crumbs that don't do us much good? Ok, the $10 million amphitheatre is big crumb - but what the heck is a $10 million ampitheatre supposed to do for us, anyway? It's great if you want your kid to be an usher. But beyond that - WHAT IS THE POINT?

    AND WHY SHOULD TAXPAYERS FOOT THE BILL? We're using way too much of our county taxes to pay off that monstrosity he built at Rocky Gap that's losing $2 million a year (that would be the Rocky Gap Lodge, in case you missed that one). And just like that lodge, this amphitheatre will use state money - and county money. We're getting the shaft TWICE.

    BOY, ARE WE LUCKY OR WHAT?