1.07.2008

"Not in my Neighborhood" Democrats in Balitmore need to Grow Up

So Baltimore City has some illegal zoning laws on the books, created to keep drug treatment centers out of residential areas. City folk who support the zoning laws say that the state regulations for these centers are lax and unenforced. O'Malley had the same complaint when he was Mayor, but surprise, he has yet to make any changes as Governor. So here we are, stuck in the shit.

City Councilcritters like MP Clarke (and her terrified Charles Village constituents) and Jack Young (hey Jack, I thought we were on the same side in this drug legislation game) are against fixing the zoning laws, willing to let the Feds take the City to court. Very "leaderly" of them. Following O'M's lead to be sure.

The fact is, these centers need to be built and expanded, and regulation needs to come later. Too bad that option leaves the political gears with no lubrication. Baltimore needs addiction solutions, and we need them now.

But what wonderful irony that Baltimore City is, in effect, zoned to ignore addiction.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't be surprised, Jack Young, was, is, and always will be a little touched and not very bright. If you don't believe me, engage him in a 5 minute conversation. As a Baltimore resident, he is one that truly makes me cringe with embarrassment. As for Mary Pat Clarke, she's been pulling the biggest nice lady, for the people, scam, the city has ever seen for years. In the final analysis, she stands for herself and her billionaire husband, always supports the status quo, and got a little shock when she took on Schmoke and didn't win black support. Kind of like the Grifters, I mean, the Clinton's are experiencing now. Don't get me wrong, I, too, love Mary Pat Clarke. She's so approachable and likeable, I don't hold her fraud perpetration against her. The totally unlikeable Rikki Spector could seriously take a lesson from cutie pie, Mary Pat.