Weather Update

Here in Abingdon at 11:15 it's 32 degrees with a clear road in front of my house. I'm saying this because the speeders on my road don't seem to be slowing down at all, not because I've actually been out.
Just wanted to check with readers to see if it's worse where you are. I saw there was an accident at the 77A exit of I-95 earlier, but really haven't seen too much since then.
I agree with the decision today to cancel school, but come on Harford County, take one of the spring break days away. You're cutting too far into our summer!
Also, is anyone getting the feeling that eSchoolnewsletter is really spam in disguise? Did I really need to get an e-mail before the school closing notification about titled "Emergency School Closing Information" with a link to an eSchoolnewsletter site page with the school closing information. (My newly updated Internet Explorer wouldn't even let me open the link because of certification problems.) I thought the idea of having an e-newsletter was not having to check a Web site. You can always just check the HCPS site for school closings. It's posted on the site almost immediately.

Election Results

The Maryland Board of Elections has a complete, although unofficial, tally of voting results for Harford County on its Web site. The county votes are tallied, and then it's broken out into congressional districts.
Interesting to see how many voted and for whom. People are still voting for Alan Keyes? Surprising.
To see the results -- no spin included -- click here.

Election Day

Just got back from voting at Abingdon Elementary. It was bustling, but no lines. The poll worker told me that they've seen a steady stream of voters all morning. He said, "It's an exciting election!"
There still was some confusion about the computer systems with some of the poll workers, so remember, speak clearly and doublecheck everything.

Vote on Tuesday (if you can!)

Registered Republicans & Democrats can vote from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Anyone in line at 8:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote. If for any reason your eligibility to vote is questioned, you have the right to vote with a provisional ballot. I know that this happened at the polls at Abingdon Elementary during the last election, when the voting machines started acting up. Not to be ageist, but make sure you speak clearly and loudly to the poll workers -- if they type in the wrong information, they can't change it. Your vote will have to be provisional. Just one reason electronic voting is far from fool-proof!
Registered 17-year-olds may vote in the primary if they will be 18 years old on or before November 4, 2008.
The state board of elections Web site has a FAQ if you've got any questions. There's also a link to find your polling place.
Click here for answers

Take it all, BGE

When I was a poor reporter in West Virginia, I joked about having a bake sale to raise money so I could take a vacation to the beach. While the tip jar I put on my desk did net a few dollars for a trip, I never did sell any baked goods. However, I now am considering a sale to pay the BGE bill. If only everyone else in the neighborhood wasn't in the same situation, I might get some sympathy and a few dollars.
We have a home office, where in the winter we sometimes wear fleece jackets because we keep the heat so low when the kids are at school. I drive everyone crazy unplugging computers, the microwave, TVs, to stop the energy drain from appliances that never really turn "off". So imagine my surprise when I saw the $425 BGE bill for one month. Not two. We didn't forget to pay the bill or anything. One month -- where we froze!
Now Constellation Energy is threatening to sue Maryland to pay for "lost revenue" and has warned about more increases to pay for the Calvert Cliffs energy plant expansion. What are they doing with the money they have now? What happened to the money they were already supposed to be putting back into energy plant expansion?
I think for February I'm going to try something new. I'm just going to burn my $425. If I use one dollar bills, I could at least be warm for a little while. And at least BGE wouldn't get it to create more TV ads to tell me how to save energy and how they're the only company that "tells you how to use less of what we sell."

Thanks for voting/New Poll

Thanks to everyone who voted in the latest poll. It was split almost evenly among voters who thought the effects of BRAC would be positive/negative, or weren't sure. I'd like to continue the line of BRAC thinking with this new poll question.
I'm surprised since this is a federal project how little help the area is getting from the federal government. I guess the reasoning is that the local areas will benefit the most -- after, of course, all the expensive infrastructure is put in place.
So what's your thinking? We can't vote on Super Tuesday, but you can vote in our poll!

Rt. 24/Plumtree Zoning Question

Got a new comment on my previous Plumtree Road/Rte. 24 zoning post. An anonymous poster reports that an Aldi is supposed to be built on the site. The poster is right, this chain could not be further on the grocery store sale from Wegman's! There are many in Philly/NJ area. It's the kind of place where you take your own bags, not to be green, but it's all part of the discount store atmosphere. Lots of generics -- in Philly you had to leave a quarter to get a grocery cart. The first (and only time) I shopped there, I kept trying to get the cart out until someone came up and said, they were chained together, and then gave me a quarter.
I'd be interested if anyone else has heard this, or if the anonymous poster could give some more info.