Aunt Agatha on Politics: City Hall chuckles after councilman's verbal slip Auntie
Oh dear, Mayor Pro Tem Todd "TT" Turner made a big boo-boo at the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce's recent 25th anniversary celebration when, filling in for Mayor Gee Fred, who was visiting his kiddies on the West Coast, TT introduced city staff members who were in attendance by announcing he would "begin at the bottom" and then proceeded to recognize the city's ever-efficient director of community relations, Una Cooper, followed by the assistant to the city manager, Denise Mahoney.
The ladies, of course, were gracious and just smiled. Next, TT went to the top of the heap and introduced City Manager David "Grouch" Deutsch.
Auntie hears there was much chuckling at City Hall the next day.
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Spotted at Bowie's legendary The Cakery, the emporium of sinful pastries and multilayered cakes, was presidential hopeful Barack Obama's point woman in Bowie, former Delegate Joan "The Lobbyist" Pitkin, Long Ridge's second best-known resident. Miz P was on her way to Pennsylvania to show voters in the Keystone State that not all women of a certain age support Hillary. Good for her!
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Auntie spotted His Honor Gee Fred last Friday behind the wheel of a nice, new and environmentally friendly Toyota Prius with Cathie "Bowie's Banker" Woods of PNC Bank. Was GF arranging for financing of a new set of wheels to replace his gas-guzzling SUV? Nope. It seems PNC is sponsoring a banking promotion with the nifty vehicle as the prize, and His Honor was just getting a sneak peak. Auntie hates to burst GF's bubble, but she's going to win the car, despite assertions by City Clerk Pam "It's in the Minutes" Fleming that it's destined for her. Time will tell, Pam.
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Auntie understands that the always charming city personnel director, John "The Overseer" Clinton, spends a lot of time on his computer looking at photos of his new granddaughter. Auntie can confirm that the newest Clinton, whose dad is the famous musician Mark Clinton, is adorable. And grandpa is proud. Auntie notes that The Overseer smiles a lot more than usual these days, though he hasn't totally lost his acerbic wit.
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Auntie was amused by the recent comments penned by County Executive Jolly Jack Johnson's head flack, one Jim Keary, and printed in these pages in which he claimed the former editor of this paper doesn't like Prince George's County. No, the former editor, like Auntie, has been a big fan of Pee Gee for decades; it's the power structure in Upper Marlboro which seems to screw things up on a daily basis that Auntie, the ex-editor and countless other Bowie residents find irksome. The recent coverage in the Big Downtown Daily that documented the unsavory political antics that are plaguing the big Pee Gee National Harbor development is a good illustration of the cheesy, greedy political and financial involvement of our supposed county overseers that contributes greatly to this perception of ineptitude and sleaze in Upper Marlboro.
Auntie suspects that Jolly Jack's flack has deluded himself into believing his own press releases.
One reader commented: "If (Keary) hungers for being 'factual and fair,' then maybe his efforts would be better spent reporting 'factual' crime statistics about Bowie which have been absent for decades or factual and accurate statistics about delayed 911 responses in Bowie or a fair and true accounting for violence-related incidents in Bowie schools.
"Maybe he could be 'fair' and say that the county has had more carjackings and thefts than the other 22 counties combined for years; and the highest rate of robberies and assaults as well. Maybe he could be factual in reporting that countless noncertified teachers have been teaching our children, while our taxes were being raised through inflated assessments. Maybe he could be 'factual' in reporting that (barring Baltimore) the county has come in dead last for all Maryland counties in graduation rates and test score averages and that it sadly sags below national levels.
"Maybe Keary could be 'fair' in his reporting these failings occurred while the 'dollars spent per pupil' paid by county residents are some of the highest of any Maryland county. Maybe he could be both 'factual and fair' in reporting that four prior superintendents of schools (sorry, CEOs) were abject failures. Maybe he could be fair in reporting that paying a school system CEO $30,000 for not hitting her previously agreed to contractual goals or paying out to complete a contract of another CEO accused of multiple felonies might not truly be, by definition, 'for the children' and/or in the best interest of the taxpayer."
Auntie thinks that sums it up well.
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A reader writes: "The Washington Post really screwed up this time. In last Thursday's Extra section on Page 9 the paper omitted the Bowie Police Department from its list of local law enforcement agencies. Even the paper's online guide does not mention the Bowie Police Department."
Oh, my. Well, that's why you have the Blade-News. Auntie doubts that our local police chief, Katherine "The General" Perez, would have been amused.
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During the last City Council meeting Baltimore Gas and Electric functionaries presented the company's "Communication Update" on the status of improvements for dealing with irate customers in Bowie. Several of the council members had a good chuckle and a hard time keeping a straight face when the BGE gang referred to our local electricity monopoly as a small company from Baltimore.
The revenues generated from the astronomical rate increases combined with BGE's relationship with the conglomerate Constellation Energy make it hard for anyone to take pity on it as a small company.
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Auntie notes that a good number of Bowie High's talented students took part in the Bowie Chamber of Commerce's 25th anniversary gala last week at the Bowie performing arts center. In addition to the phenomenally talented Owen Adams, these marvelous performers also entertained the large and jolly audience with their musical and dance skills: soloists Trevor Finney and Kelly Garvis; trio Carl Wilson, Alicia Osborn and David Dickey; and chorus members Lynda Kuan, Lisa Blanks, Kim Hopkins, Katie Studghill, Caitlin Jennings, Rebecca Aclin, Shayna Kramer, Sarah Bordash, Jasmine Johnson and Kiah Victoria.
Auntie salutes them all. Bowie High certainly has a goodly number of highly skilled kids.
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Auntie hears that the hosts of the Bowie Business Journal on BCMC's cable access channel (77 on Comcast, 11 on Verizon) unmercifully grill Bowie's at-large city councilwoman, Geraldine Valentino-Smith, on a show that airs tonight at 7. It will continue through next week. Well, perhaps Auntie exaggerates just a tad, but the show is reportedly quite interesting and newsworthy.
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Auntie is so pleased to hear the Pee Gee Department of Corrections (the jail) kicked off a vegetable garden project this month, with the planting of radishes, onions, potatoes and spinach on the jail house grounds in Upper Marlboro. Wow.
As weather permits, says a press release, the garden plots will grow to include beans, okra, squash, peppers, tomatoes and more (any hash?).
The veggie patch, which will be tended by inmates under the direction of staff, the release adds, is designed to provide food for the homeless and needy senior citizens. That's better than the jail staff illicitly handing out cell phones to inmates, or inmates stashing away handcuff keys in their underwear, Auntie supposes. As a senior, Auntie wonders if she can put in a bid for some produce? Probably not.
