Twitter: News or Not?

I apologize for only sending a tweet last night during the police search activity in OldTown Laurel.  My smartphone lets me forward tweets to the email lists but the formatting gets corrupted.  This caused a lot of confusion for people on the email lists. 

Kudos to Joshua Garner at laurel.patch.com for getting some information out to the community last night 30 minutes after the helicopters were in the air. 

I've come to really like Twitter for breaking news stories.  I wish more people, reporters and even PIOs would use it instead of email, or waiting for a reporter to ask them questions.   Twitter using the hashtag #laurelmd for breaking local stories would help get information moving quickly. 

Remember it's lector caveo! It's breaking news and we all need to be a savvy internet news consumers.  I call it "online literacy".  This means you gotta know your tweeter.  I'll listen to any random guy in a bar spout off investment advice, but I go to a pro when I want to invest for she-who-must-be-obeyed's retirement survivor's benefits. 

Breaking news also means that a story will surely evolve.  If we want verified news of record, we will need to let the professional news organizations have the time to do their thing, i.e.,  report, edit, check and then publish.

Like I always tell my boss.  "Good, fast, cheap, pick any two. It's impossible to do all three."   If you want your news fast and cheap and maybe wrong but evolving, read Twitter.  If you are willing to wait for verified facts, then avoid Twitter and wait for a reputable news organization.

Unfortunately, as local news organizations struggle to survive, Twitter may soon be all we have when the sirens wail and the chopper's spotlight circles overhead.

I find Twitter fascinating.  It's almost like being there, but without the need to get in the way.

rick

Speed Cameras Blinded

It looks like someone was upset over a $40 speed camera ticket in Oldtown Laurel.  A vandal recently painted the lens cover on both speed cameras installed on 7th Street between Main and Montgomery.

I hope the vandal is caught.  I believe that these cameras are always taking pictures on a loop.  Maybe we will get lucky and the vandal's picture was taken holding the spray can.

7th and Main
click to enlarge

Painting over the lens cover is not the answer.  Slowing down is the answer!  I strongly supported the law to permit speed cameras.  Speeding cars on neighborhood streets was the the top constituent complaint when I served on the Laurel City Council.  The camera is a much better solution than chewing up the time of an officer with a radar gun.  I'd much rather have our cops free to solve more serious crimes.

There are at least three speed camera locations in Laurel.  Here on 7th, Cherry Lane near Laurel High and on Dorset Road near Scotchtown Hills Elementary School.

By the way, even police officers are not exempted from the speed laws and must pay the fine. So let's all be careful out there.

(Hat tip to Mike McLaughlin for the tip.)

Reader Suggests Oldtown Neglected

An anonymous commenter responded to my previous article about the TIF Tiff and suggested that our Oldtown Laurel neighborhood is being neglected by the city.

Anonymous wrote: "A million bucks for a pool, 20 million for the mall, and not a cent for old town! The police station moves, the Leader moves, it's like the city doesn't care about us."

This comment got some attention at Laurel City Hall and Mayor Moe asked his staff to compile a list of the recent investment projects in Oldtown. I hesitate to post the list because it's an embarrassment of riches and I really don't want to start a squabble with other neighborhoods.

But since you asked here is the Mayor's list of appox. $8.9 million dollars worth of Oldtown projects:

Parks and Recreation Projects

Pool Renovations, 2003-2006, $613,000.
Armory Renovations, 2004-2006, $200,000.
McCullough Field Renovations and enhancements, 2005-2008, $592,000.
Riverfront Park Playground, 2006, $40,000.
Riverfront Park Pavilions, 2005, $20,000.
Riverfront Park Bathroom, 2008, $12,000.
Emancipation Park Playground, 2007, $50,000.

Scheduled Parks and Rec Projects

Riverfront Park Extension, 2009, $100,000.
McCullough Field Pavilion, 2009, $20,000.
Mill Dam Ruins Renovation, 2009-2010, $325,000.
Riverfront Park Interpretive Signs , 2009, $22,000.
Armory Renovations, 2009-2010, $375,000.

Public Works Projects (Total approx. $5.5M from 2003-2008)

Repaved all of Main Street from the MARC Station to 7th Street

New brick pavers for the sidewalks from the MARC Station to 7th Street.
Route 1 SB & NB completely reconstructed and new sidewalks from the County line to Rt 198.

Various additional street improvements and repaving on Montgomery and 8th Streets

Installed 229 traditional lampposts on Main Street and Rt 1. ($750K!)

You gotta love living in a town where a blog comment is made on Tuesday night and the Mayor provides a detailed response on Thursday.