As someone who was sifting through the audience questions posed by those attending last night’s Annapolis Forum featuring Speaker of the House Michael Busch and Senate President Michael Miller, I can confidently state that most of the people present were primarily concerned about the economy and business, particularly small business.
Limited to only one hour of Q & A, it was important to me to gauge how many questions written on those little white index cards were focusing in a single subject. Over and over again, the questions centered around tax increases and budget cuts. Voters in Maryland are concerned they are going to lose services and pay higher taxes at the same time. They worry that college tuition will start to rise along with health and property insurance premiums while fire and police protection will be reduced.
Senate President Miller stated that perhaps if cuts were to be made they might affect funding given to optional programs such as stem cell research and preservation tax credits but that core services would be retained. Repeatedly Speaker Busch assured the audience that our state has the best K through 12 education system in the country and that with our unemployment rate 3 points below the national average, we should be pleased we live in Maryland. Several times it was mentioned that Maryland has the highest average median income and that with all these advantageous statistics, there was no imminent need to put additional programs in place that would attract more businesses to our state or do more to help businesses survive.
Behind me, I heard whispering that we have so many jobs because of all the Federal agencies located in Maryland.
All I have to do is take a walk in downtown Annapolis to see all the businesses that have closed their doors. If I drive over to the Eastern Shore I see more of the same, shuttered and boarded up shopping malls which once were filled with eager shoppers. Yes there are many new malls and new developments, but there are many businesses that have been forced out-of-business.
Despite all the doom and gloom, both Miller and Busch consistently delivered a positive message that the legislature would handle the economic shortfalls and that relatively speaking, the state of Maryland was doing fine.
Sponsored by What’s Up? Annapolis magazine, the Annapolis Forum, offered free to the public, was the last forum for 2009. Check the What’s Up website to find out about upcoming events.

In very little time, it was all over the news…..The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force,sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under the Department of Health and Human Services, has released a new recommendation that women should not receive yearly mammograms under the age of 50, if they they have no family history of breast cancer or other specific indicators that make them high risk.
Just when all the middle-aged American women have been so well trained to feel it is our responsibility to ourselves and our families to be screened, we’re being told something different. That maybe all those screenings are creating too much anxiety and costing too much time and money compared to how many lives are saved. The study talks about all those false positives…. those times you get the written notice or the phone call that asks you to come back for a second look… hinting that maybe they missed something. Oh yes, those sleepless night and your pounding heart as you wait in the little cubicle while they look at those second films another time. (Not that the technician is going to tell you anything.)
I’m the queen of false negatives. For two years I was on a six month call back for screening. I’ve had numerous ultra sounds and ultimately the MRI. The good news is that although my mother had breast cancer and lived another 35 years beyond her cancer diagnosis, I have so far managed to dodge the bullet and I am thankful. So thankful that despite all the nail biting I don’t necessarily mind all the testing, when I have so many friends who are breast cancer survivors and another dear friend who never lived to celebrate her 4lst birthday.
So what does this all mean and how should it affect all women? We owe it to ourselves to ask more questions of our physicians and to remain ever vigilant. The study talks about using resources to develop new methods of detection. What is on the horizon? What do our local medical professionals think? Visit WhatsUpMag.com

It’s pretty frightening if you start thinking about what might happen if we had a bioterrorist attack and the entire population needed to be innoculated quickly.
It wouldn’t happen in a planned and orderly manner.
Those with power and connections would receive the immunization, and those without…well, it would depend on the county they live in.
We’re pretty lucky to live in Anne Arundel County with a Health Department that uses reasonable common sense.
Rather than making people stand in line, they advertise when innoculations are available and invite citizens to make appointments or limit the clinic to a specific target group. This week on Tuesday November 17th, the Health Department will be giving the shots to babies free of charge between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
In this instance it will be a walk-in clinic, a H1N1 flu shot clinic for babies and toddlers (6 months to 35 months old) in the Lower Level Conference Room of the Health Services Building, 3 Harry S. Truman Parkway in Annapolis. Appointments are not required for the Baby and Toddler H1N1 Flu Shot Clinic
No other age group will be vaccinated at the clinic. As the Department of Health receives more H1N1 flu vaccine, more clinics will be scheduled for targeted priority groups.
Last month I scheduled an appointment for my 16 year-old to receive the flu-mist innoculation which was available. I repeated dialed into the Health Department appointment phone line until I got through, while doing other work at my desk. I feel sad for all those people who stand in line for hours in other parts of the country, trying to get a a flu innoculation. It does, however, provide all of us who see those long lines waiting for shots as well as those waiting for free health check-ups that are being offered around the country with a sense of the turmoil our health provider system is currently experiencing. While many vocal individuals seem strongly opposed to some kind of national healthcare safety net for those of us under the age of 65, it is evident that our system is not working for many Americans.
What do you think? Comments….
Re: The H1N1 Flu Shot—
The priority groups, currently recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the H1N1 flu vaccine are: pregnant women; people who live with or provide care for infants less than 6 months old; health care and emergency medical services personnel; people 6 months through 24 years old; and people aged 25-64 who have chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.
Currently the H1N1 flu virus is considered to be widespread in Maryland, as well as in Anne Arundel County. More than 30 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed positive in Anne Arundel County. The actual number of reported cases does not reflect the extent of spread in the County because many people recover without needing medical care.

While Republicans may have succeeded in winning the states of New Jersey and Virginia in yesterday’s election, the Democratic party is alive and well in Annapolis. Despite citizen unrest with the large city budget and the series of difficulties that have ensued in the management of the downtown Market House (departing tenants, lawsuits, and a dysfunctional cooling system for the building) , the voters gave their support to the Democratic party contenders in the city of Annapolis. It appears that the liklihood that a certified City Manager form of government be considered by voters is soon to fade into a distant memory. And what about that proposed 4.5% tax cap? Well, that will become a distant memory as well, unless there is a grassroots successful petition drive that manages to put these questions on the ballot to enable voters to directly decide pro or con.
Josh Cohen will be getting right to work in the next week to select his transition team and choose some of the key managers to help run his new administration. It will be interesting to see if he selects any of the former candidates to help create diversity of viewpoints in the new administration. For a rundown on the election results go to WhatsUpMag.com

Three hundred people gathered last night to hear the three candidates for mayor of Annapolis present their views on why they should be elected in November. For two hours they sat and listened to Josh Cohen, David Cordle, and Chris Fox answer questions posed to them by moderator Chris Nelson, President of St. John’s College. The most interesting part of the evening was when the candidates asked questions of each other.
David Cordle, an Alderman since 2001 wanted to know why voters should believe Josh Cohen would stick to being Mayor of Annapolis when he has a track record of dropping out of one commitment to take on another. He cited Cohen’s dropping out of St. John’s College, running for County Council while still an alderperson, and now running for mayor while sitting on County Council.
Cohen answered with a joke about how easy it is to be accepted into St. John’s if you write a good essay and how difficult it is to drop out. Then he went on to explain that he felt compelled to run for mayor because he grew up in Annapolis and knows he can do a better job of running the city than anyone else.
Cohen wanted to know why Fox had chosen to run for the office of mayor when his platform was so similiar to Cordle’s. Fox responded he had begun his campaign in 2007, long before anyone else had announced their candidacy and that although he was fiscally conservative like Cordle and supported the city manager form of goverment, he was a social liberal and an independent.
Fox asked Cordle if he would be running for mayor if the mayor’s salary was the same as that of an alderperson. Cordle responded “no” and explained he has four children to support , two of which are in college and two more coming up who will be going to college, and that although his wife works, they would need the mayor’s salary.
Cordle asked Fox how he would have the time to devote to being mayor when he owns and runs a business (The Sly Fox pub and restaurant). Fox explained to Cordle that he has very good managers he can rely on and that arranged his schedule so he only works one day a week for six hours.
All candidates agreed that the City has too big a budget with too many overstaffed departments and too many consultants. They talked about how they were going to revitalize the downtown area by hiring marketing professionals who would focus on attracting new businesses into the downtown area, provide more parking opportunities by having all city employees park in lots located outside the city dock region, and set up a better transportation system of buses or trolleys that would be more reponsive to visitor’s needs.
A major difference is their stand on the City Manager form of government. Cordle and Fox would immediately put in an interim City Manager while they conducted a nationwide search for an individual with eight years govenment experience. Cohen believes the mayor should take responsibility for management of the city and be directly responsible to the voters. He would hire a city administrator. also with a strong record of city managerial experience.
(If the City Manager form of governement is adopted , as proposed in the legislation introduced to the council by Cordle, the mayor’s approval would be necessary to either hire or fire the City Manager along with the majority vote of alderpersons. )
In their closing statements Fox told the audience he would bring new blood to CIty Hall, Cohen focused on his expertise in buildling consensus and he knowledge of public land use,budget management, and transportation.
Cordle reminded voters of his record of service to his country in the military and his commitment to Annapolis as an alderperson and board member of the Boys and Girls Club. If you’d like to see and listen to this particular debate in its entirety it was videotaped courtesy of Whats Up? ANnapolis and it is going to be aired on Comcast, maybe Tuesday evening at 10:00 p.m. I will post more details as they become available.

This debate was sponsored by the Ward One Resident’s Association and What’s Up? Publishing.

I’m seeing plenty of signs, as I walk around Annapolis. Signs for David Cordle, Chris Fox, and Josh Cohen. The majority of downtown is Fox territory. In my neighborhood of Murray Hill, the signage is mixed.
It has been pointed out to me that some of the downtown merchants posting signs are not city residents and will not have the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election. Too bad. The outcome will directly affect their livlihood.
In my position as editor at What’s Up? I’m hearing a lot of folks telling me they are tired of politics as usual and they feel it is time for a change. Does that mean they are going to vote for Cordle, a Republican? Or are they considering the independent, Chris Fox? Other longtime Democrats are confident that voters want an experienced politician and that with the majority of Democrats registered two to one in the City of Annapolis, Josh Cohen will be the victor.
I think there are many voters who have not definitely made their choice of who to vote for and that I would urge everyone who is registered to vote in the City of Annapolis to go to a debate and hear what the candidates have to say about the issues. What are their plans on how to manage The Market House? How do they plan to revitalize the economic health of the downtown area so that people are coming into the city to shop and businesses are thriving and expanding rather than shutting down? How are they going to see that the crimes rates go down rather than up?
Next week on October 22nd, What’s Up? Annapolis will be partnering with the Ward One Residents Association to sponsor a debate at 7:00 at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts auditorium. The moderator will be Chris Nelson, president of St. John’s College and the questions will be screened by Howard Ernst a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and Dan Nataf, professor at Anne Arundel Community College. If you have a question you’d like to pose to the candidates, you can send it to me through this blog prior to October 2lst and I will see that it gets to the panel for consideration.
I hope to see you there!

Folks keep asking me for the inside scoop on who I think will win the election, now that Zina Pierre pulled out of the race and the Democratic nominee is literally being selected by committee.
Talking to the business community, there seems to be a lot of support and interest in the candidacy of Chris Fox. Others seem to speculate that with all the criticism of the current administration, city residents are ready to elect a more fiscally conservative Republican–enter David Cordle.
What’s in store for Annapolis? We’ll know more this weekend.

For the second time, Zina Pierre is withdrawing her candidacy for Mayor of Annapolis. This time she personally announced the news in a Wednesday afternoon press conference. The stress of the campaign on herself, her business, and her family as questions continue to be raised as to her residency and her past debts, all were cited as contributing factors. So who will the Democratic committee select to run in her place? According to one source on the committee, the number of votes for each of the remaining candidates in the recent primary will be just one of several factors in the selection process taking place this Friday evening. After all, if Pierre had not been on the ballot, the distribution of votes may have come out quite differently. On the other hand, party regulars seem to think that if he still wants the nomination– the annointed candidate will ultimately be first runner-up and current county councilperson for the Greater Annapolis district, Josh Cohen. Whatever happens, this will be an interesting election. As Charles Green commented in a previous blog entry, "Even in small- town Annapolis, it seems, politics is not for the faint hearted!".

Chris Fox, independent candidate for Annapolis Mayor with Murray Hill residents, Peter and Judy Larson and Ward One Alderperson Dick Israel.

“I’ve always been in favor of a city manager form of government and my platform has not changed,” Chris Fox told me, “I refuse to get involved in any type of personal attacks on the other candidates. I’m interested in running a clean straightforward campaign.” While the hundred plus attendees from the neighborhood filled their plates with food, Fox made the most of the opportunity to talk one on one with voters residing in the Ward one neighborhood of Murray Hill. Residents posed questions on taxes, economic growth, and accountability , while others questioned how no one has bothered to thoroughly investigate the financial past of all the candidates until after the primary had taken place.

The usual array of delicious food overwhelmed the table and sideboard inside the home of Lynne and Brad Davidson, who generously opened their home once again for the annual picnic event. Fresh salads, barbecue pork sandwiches, stuffed shells, chicken, meatballs, spaghetti plus homemade pies and brownies were enjoyed by all, accompanied by wine, beer, soft drinks, and chilled water.
For more information about the Murray Hill Resident’s Association, visit their website at: http://murrayhill.annapolis.com/

The news was not readily available in the newspaper this morning. The race was too close. Who would have thought that despite all the money invested in colorful glossy flyers, multiple mailings, and email blasts coupled with the rallies and visits by multitudes of campaign supporters standing on street corners waving signs that one of the candidates who seemed to have less money and seasoned organizers would come out the winner. It just goes to show that in a small town like Annapolis, every vote counts and personal contact and personal perception is very important. Now we are on to the big race. If you have the time to attend a forum and can hear the three speak on the issues, it should prove helpful in deciding for whom to cast your vote in November.