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Courtney Watson
House of Delegates
District 9B
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Hello Friends,
Fall has officially arrived, and the mid-term election is around the corner. I recently sent out a newsletter with election guidance - if you missed it and would like helpful links for early voting, drop box locations, mail-in ballot information and more, let me know using the email address at the bottom of this newsletter and I'll resend it to you.
Enjoy the fall leaves and the joys of the season, and as always, don't hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or issues you'd like to discuss.
Take care,
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In This Issue:
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AROUND TOWN: Office of Resilience Takes Effect, HoCo PRIDE Celebration, HorseSpirit Art Gallery 9th Birthday, 1st Anniversary of Korean Gates
- From the Office of the County Executive
- Early Care and Education Conference Champions of Change
- MDOT Updates
- HoCo Health Department Promotes Walktober
- New HoCo Office of Aging Digital Inclusion Specialist
- Announcing New Maryland Area Code
- Traffic Stop Practice for Passengers and Drives with Developmental Disabilities
- Sobar Founder at IGNITE Howard County
- Congratulations, Columbia!
- and more!
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The legislation that I was proud to sponsor in The House of Delegates to establish an Office of Resilience in the Maryland Department of Emergency Management- MDEM just went into effect on October 1. According to Senate Sponsor Katie Fry Hester, Maryland faces up to $19B of damage in upcoming years due to climate change. We must do more to harden our communities against flooding and extreme weather events.
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Let’s hear it for HorseSpirit Arts Gallery! I was happy to attend the ninth birthday party at the Savage Mill Gallery. Despite two devastating floods and a pandemic, the gallery is thriving. While it used to be in Ellicott City (and we miss it dearly), it now fills a gorgeous barn structure at Savage Mill. It’s a wonderful place full of local artists' works that are hard to resist!
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It’s the one year anniversary of the installation of the Korean Gates on Route 40 and a cultural celebration was held by the organization that installed them. There were beautiful performances with the First Lady, Yumi Hogan, in attendance. This initiative brings many tourists to Route 40 and helps insure a vibrant restaurant and retail district when so many others across the country are failing.
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Howard County Receives Outstanding National “Distinguished Budget Presentation” Award
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced that Howard County earned an outstanding Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. The Budget Office earned the honor for the FY 2023 budget document in recognition of its high standards, comprehensiveness and transparency.
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Howard County Housing Department Accepts Moderate Income Housing Unit Applications
Howard County’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is now accepting applications for its Moderate Income Housing Unit (MIHU) program - October open enrollment period. Applications are available online and completed applications can be either submitted online, mailed to 9820 Patuxent Woods Drive, Suite 224, Columbia, MD, 21046, or dropped off at DHCD’s Patuxent Woods Drive office by appointment only. Applications are being accepted now through Monday, October 31, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
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2022 Early Care and Education Champions of Change Speakers to Address
"Cultivating Change to Advance Equity for All"
The 2022 Champions of Change Conference, "Cultivating Change to Advance Equity for All” will be held Saturday November 19, 2022 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Turf Valley Conference Center, 2700 Turf Valley Road in Ellicott City. The conference features two engaging keynote speakers, 16 educational break-out sessions, and a vendor resource fair. Register now to take advantage of the early bird full day conference registration discounted price of $75.
Presented by the Howard County Department of Community Resources and Services, the Office of Children and Families and the Office of the Local Children's Board, the full day Champions of Change conference also offers attendees an opportunity to earn both CEUs and COKs. Conference topics include racial equity, mental health and trauma, social and emotional well-being, child/youth development and collective impact. View the full slate of speakers.
Champions of Change concentrates on the interconnectedness of racial equity, mental health and trauma, social and emotional well-being, child/youth development and collective impact. By increasing our knowledge and awareness of these topics, we can begin to create change within ourselves, our organizations and in our collective communities.
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Maryland Transportation Authority’s (MDTA) Customer Assistance Plan is set to end on November 30, 2022. Take advantage of this one-time, money-saving opportunity. Click on the button below for more information.
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ROAD PROJECTS - UPDATES
- Most of the drainage work on Centennial Lane is finished. The next phase will place new drainage structures under the shoulders of Centennial Lane.
- Crews are working on excavation, base course placement and underdrain installation in the MD 108/Centennial Lane intersection as part of the roadway widening. The underdrain is complete on eastbound MD 108.
- This project will improve capacity on MD 103 by widening the roadway to add a third lane in the westbound direction for dedicated access to northbound US 29. The project will also install new sidewalk and bicycle lanes.
The contractor recently installed advanced warning signs. Crews are currently installing erosion and sediment controls along with inlet protections. Utility relocations are ongoing.
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Howard County Encourages Community to Get Moving for Walktober
Howard County is participating in the Maryland Walktober celebration by encouraging Howard County to “Walk, Roll, Ride and Move!” The Howard County Local Health Improvement Coalition (HCLHIC), part of the Howard County Health Department, spearheaded a collaborative initiative to bring together partners to create a calendar of accessible walking/moving events to be held across the County. The Howard County 2022 Walktober website can be found by visiting howardcountymd.gov/walktober22.
Community members can participate in Walktober every day using the one-mile maps developed by the Health Department and Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks. Walking/moving maps are available for 11 Recreation & Parks facilities across the County on the Howard County LHIC website. Maps of Columbia Association Pathways are also available.
Walktober is observed statewide and a complete list of activities planned during October can be found on the Maryland Department of Transportation website. The Maryland Department of Transportation is holding a series of free Walkinars and registration information can be found on their website.
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OAI's New Digital Inclusion Specialist
OAI's new Digital Inclusion Specialist, Malarie Burgess, is paving the way for a more connected Howard County. In her new role, Malarie will advocate for increased access to technology and build out the skills to use it. These efforts are part of the Transform Howard Initiative, and align with Howard County’s move toward being an Age-Friendly community, addressing challenges noted in the Age-Friendly Howard County Action Plan. "You can expect programming to boost everyone's digital literacy, special events to provide tools to get people plugged in and opportunities to hear from the community along the way," Malarie explains. One new program is a partnership with OATS (Older Adult Technology Services) Senior Planet. This respected AARP organization offers classes to build and strengthen older adults' technology skills, and enhance online safety. For more information, or to sign up for the Senior Planet program below, contact Malarie at mburgess@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-6542 (voice/relay).
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Pay close attention to your natural gas bill and your usage this winter
This winter, expect to see much higher natural gas prices in Maryland and across the nation, relative to prior recent winter periods. The current rates for the “commodity” portion of the bill—the price of the gas itself, excluding the utility’s cost for delivery—are almost twice as high as they were last winter and almost three times what they were the winter before that. These rates change from month to month, but they will probably stay high, and you should be prepared for very high heating bills this winter.
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227 to Be Assigned When Remaining 240/301 Telephone Numbers are Exhausted
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) announced the assignment of 227 as a new area code which will eventually serve the same geographic area in Maryland currently served by the 240 and 301 area codes. The Commission voted on August 3, 2022 to approve a petition filed by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), which is the neutral third-party entity that allocates telephone numbering resources.
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TRAFFIC STOP PRACTICE (FREE)
October 24 from 11:00AM-3:00PM
9755 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD
Drivers and passengers with developmental disabilities can practice what to do when pulled over by a police officer.
Visit the registration page for more details/resources and to reserve a time slot.
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IGNITE Howard County —
October 24, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Come see Sobar Founder Beth Harbinson at IGNITE - a high-energy evening where the community comes together to share their passions at the Jailbreak Brewing Company! Sobar provides healthy, creative beverages as an alternative to alcohol.
Presenting on a subject of their choice, 10+ speakers have exactly 5 minutes to teach us something, enlighten us, or simply inspire. The goal is to create collisions of conversations & collaboration between people in our artistic, entrepreneurial, creative, technical and innovative communities.
Jailbreak, 9445 Washington Boulevard North Suite F Laurel, MD 20723
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CONGRATS, COLUMBIA!
Money Magazine has recognized Columbia as the best place to live in Maryland, and the 6th most desirable community in the nation, according to the most recent release of the magazine's “Best Places to Live” in 2022.
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With fall just a week away, now’s the time for everyone 12 or older who’s had their primary COVID vaccinations to get an updated COVID vaccine to help protect against Omicron. It doesn’t matter which COVID vaccine you got for your primary vaccination series or how many boosters you’ve received. You can get your updated vaccine if it’s been at least 2 months since your last dose; or, if you’ve recently had COVID, you should get your shot 3 months after testing negative. |
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HOW TO CONTACT MY OFFICE
Your thoughts are always welcome. Please contact me by email (see below). When requesting help for constituent matters, please include "constituent" in the subject line.
Delegate Courtney Watson
Howard County District 9B
Member, Economic Matters Committee
Member, Property and Casualty Insurance Subcommittee
Chair, Workers' Compensation Subcommittee
Vice Chair, Democratic Caucus
Maryland House of Delegates
6 Bladen Street, Room 350
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-841-3077 / 301-858-3077
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