gdp's Comments

The Forge Flyer : Rodgers Forge board looking into solar panels, won\'t approve at this point

Sat, 21 Sep 2013 01:56:11 +0000

30% federal tax credit http://goo.gl/EzmwZL

The Forge Flyer : Mom enacts No Technology Policy in her home

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 18:30:28 +0000

If you say "no technology" Mon-Fri, are you indirectly saying it will be maximum or all-technology throughout the weekend?

The Forge Flyer : Rodgers Forge board looking into solar panels, won\'t approve at this point

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 04:14:18 +0000

Like to see some kind of compromise on this one >> how about rear of the house facing panels only? That would leave fewer objections. There's an excellent turn-key solar-hot-water sys requiring only 2-3 panels w/ payback 3.-7 yrs, 30% cost tax credit, lower start up cost than solar photovoltaic (PV) sys.

The Forge Flyer : Recap of last night's BCPS meeting about overcrowding and redistricting

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:02:12 +0000

Isn't the fire station parcel adjacent to the Imaculate / Towson Catholic playing fields? Maybe the idea would be to share for the state-required amount of open space and athletic fields? The Westies have to manage with a lot less space and that's a state of the art elem. school.

The Forge Flyer : BCPS suggests tearing down Rodgers Forge Elementary and building new school on fields

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:38:14 +0000

Its always about the land. A new school in a neighborhood without one makes the most sense. I'll be fine with a new RFES but that's not a strategic approach. Rodgers Forge is not where the need is. Why spend all that money to build a new 700 seat school if it only nets 300 new seats. Of course BCPS says: "land acquisition would not work with its goal of solving the problem by 2015" which keeps them boxed into the same spot they were in before WTES. I don't think they will "solve" this by replacing our school and i'll only be voting for the politicians willing to set aside, acquire, or swap for some land they can develop for schools. It turns my stomach every time I have to learn about the need to sell off "excess" County land so we can have more tax base... for another grocery store or apartment building.

The Forge Flyer : Kamenetz succeeds in killing hybrid school board

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:35:06 +0000

So this is why KK fought so hard against an elected school board and why we have a developer as the president.

The Forge Flyer : Rally to save Towson Manor Park

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:22:00 +0000

Absolutely agree! In his editorial KK sings grandly about how we can all get something for nothing. http://towson.patch.com/blog_posts/have-i-got-som... I think my dad would say it would be worth exactly what we paid for it. It worries me he identifies big inventory of aging schools, fire and police stations then comes up with this idea. Shouldn't the county have been budgeting for this. We know in greater Towson there isn't space for new schools so shouldn't we be looking to acquire that land? These guys are apparently big pals with development so why not horse trade for some good spots that are in private hands. Over in Perry Hall Mr. Marks is proud of 38ac of conservation land that makes it perpetually un-buildable. I'm glad he's doing that but shouldn't our valuable county parks have at least that kind of protection?

The Forge Flyer : Rally to save Towson Manor Park

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Who pays for a new maintenance building? Who's neighborhood is disrupted by that? Who pays for a new salt dome? Who's neighborhood is disrupted by that? It's not magic. Those facilities were built after they tore down the fire academy. They exist for a reason and when the property is sold they'll land somewhere.

The Forge Flyer : Rally to save Towson Manor Park

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 06:58:28 +0000

The end of an article in Patch lists three alternative sites and when you get into detail there are problems with them all. The gravel lot is on a 1-way next to the main courts, fuel station further down is another narrow place on a congested corner and what do you do with whats there.. http://towson.patch.com/articles/residents-stage-... Is not just a fire station which is a complicated enough thing to find a place for. There's also a maintenance facility and salt dome that need new homes if the parcel is sold. If they are expendable, why not find new places for those then build the new firehouse on the back of the lot. If they have to move them all, I could get behind putting another Towson school on that site, maybe try to share fields with Immaculate. Considering all the new housing they keep pumping into that area and heat they get over no good school sites county should be horse-trading to acquire suitable BCPS land.

The Forge Flyer : Destroy a park and in return DMS can get air conditioning?

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 04:26:12 +0000

Why not build the fire station at 301 Washington Ave? Oh wait, that old Parks and Rec bldg got auctioned off last year because the county had no use for it. http://towson.patch.com/d/articles/county-auction...

The Forge Flyer : Destroy a park and in return DMS can get air conditioning?

Wed, 5 Dec 2012 05:56:32 +0000

I agree w/ you about the tremendous need for green space. Think the elephant in the room is what's planned for the fire station site? Developer grab next to Immaculate Conception and former Catholic High...Nice! .. and BCPS overcrowding bubbling up again.. Meanwhile stone Dulaney Valley Apts are to be razed for more ugly EIFS "luxury" units. Way to think about the neighborhood. Hmm... and the pitch about Dumbarton seems a pretty obvious wedge. "Done deal" really? what smoke filled room was that done in. Those county gov folks should know better: building and fixing schools is where the votes are.

The Forge Flyer : Do you have power?

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 02:28:44 +0000

There are houses in Southland Hills with no power and no (land line) phone signal.

The Forge Flyer : Obituary: Thomas Joseph Lopresti

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:20:32 +0000

Thank you for posting. Tom was a wonderful person.

The Forge Flyer : Upcoming meetings to discuss overcrowding at West Towson Elementary

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 02:58:17 +0000

I think you get more bang-per-$$ when wholly new facilities are constructed for users with more specific needs than the general population found in an Elem School. I'm thinking about Ridge Ruxton and Bykota. Planning-wise these facilities serve a greater region than the neighborhood surrounding them so their position, while still critical, is somewhat more flexible. For facilities with less specific needs I think the $$s should go into rehabilitating, retrofitting and upgrading existing county buildings. Other $$s and a joint county-planning / BCPS-planning task force should be dedicated to limiting residential development and acquisition of property for new schools.

The Forge Flyer : Upcoming meetings to discuss overcrowding at West Towson Elementary

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 23:54:36 +0000

I don't know the specifics on the Cromwell magnet curriculum so I don't know how different it is than technology taught at RFES or WTES. There used to be VoTech schools when I was in the system and I don't know how those have evolved.... except for Carver which became a focused high school.

The Forge Flyer : Upcoming meetings to discuss overcrowding at West Towson Elementary

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 22:48:03 +0000

(As I said) - Schools that are neighborhood centered that respond to those populations directly though there is an upper limit to what is practical without over sizing cafeterias, gym and auditorium facilities. Regular sized does not equal universal. Any layout needs to at least respond to the site so that would of course rule out one size fits all. I agree the Ridge Ruxton population could have been more easily accommodated in a new school but not that Mays Chapel would be suitable due to its distance from public transportation. Understanding is greater support staff aids etc than in conventional school ..depend on for commute - so bus line or less remote location criteria. See 'Why Johnny Can't Walk to School' by the NTHP and the comments (by a different Ted than the one above) that I agree with - below. http://towson.patch.com/d/blog_posts/a-perry-neig...

The Forge Flyer : Upcoming meetings to discuss overcrowding at West Towson Elementary

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 17:32:35 +0000

The solution to this isnt bigger schools or additions on existing schools - its: regular sized schools that are neighborhood centered that respond to those populations directly - it's constraints on housing and commercial development - its planning for the future with BaltCo, BCPS, and state $$s. How is locating new in Mays Chapel part of the York Rd corridor?

The Forge Flyer : Towson Y plans opposed by Forge architect

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 02:21:33 +0000

This sounds something like the Carver/Stoneleigh situation. Tearing down buildings is such a waste. At least we know they're "not building condos or anything of the sort on the property" thanks to the supposed blogger "mud" and that's what my member friends at the Towson Y and in West Towson want to know. When was it that members heard about "moving forward" from the Y? I'm a member and I saw something general about it in the local paper but I never got anything from the Y. Didn't Hoey have the big meeting to tell us all they were going to sell and move if they couldn't find a partner a couple years ago? I got a letter about that. A lot of us were hopeful it could be the site of a new school. I sure don't remember any kumbayah moment of "universal support" with the members or the neighbors anywhere along the way.

The Forge Flyer : \"Stop Times Square in Towson!\"

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:04:00 +0000

Correct. Take a look at development downtown since the '80s - too many regulations -really!?

The Forge Flyer : Wow, BGE, that is some major pruning

Mon, 3 Oct 2011 23:01:43 +0000

Wow! Well I guess cutting them up like that makes them suitable for Halloween.