Dear Chanel,

I am dating someone – well actually I’m not. I consider this person my girlfriend and she considers me a friend who she cares for. I have had very strong feelings towards her for a long time. She has never shown it in return. She is dating someone else and she knows it hurts my feelings. I say mean things about the guy because I am jealous. She tells me to stop it or she can’t be around me anymore. I cant help how I feel. She says, “maybe in a year”, we can be together. She has gone through a lot of relationship problems and it seems hard for her to ignore them. I buy her nice things and her family loves me. She is a great girl and I want her to see how I feel about her. Instead, I think she just sees me as an annoyance lately. We fight a lot and she seems to sneak around. Our relationship is not physical at all but we have kissed. I consider her my best friend. What am I doing wrong?

- Friend Zone

Dear Friend Zone,

It seems that she is tossing up the red flags and you keep ignoring them. If she is dating someone else and isn’t committed to him – maybe that is just how she is. She could have a problem with committing or she really is not that into you.

She gets upset with you for giving her crap about dating another guy while you are “in the picture” and she threatens to kick you out of her life. She obviously does not hold you as high as this other guy. She does not want someone nagging and making her feel tied down. That is kind of the point of NOT committing. So, either she likes to play games or she is just not that into you.

You call her your best friend? There are tons of love stories of best friends falling in love years after they’ve met, after all their heartbreaking relationships, and then suddenly they realize they were meant to be. Your fairy tale seems more like a tragedy. Best friends are defined by the positive impact they have on your life and the great feeling they give you – not the feeling you imagine or would like to be present. If she was your best friend – she would clear up the mixed up signals she is giving you that has you convinced you’ll be together. She would not string you along knowing you care so deeply about her. She also wouldn’t threaten to give your friendship away because you are sharing your feelings. Seems to be she is not a best friend or a potential girlfriend.

This is going out to all guys about buying expensive gifts for a girl/woman/lady/significant other. I am really sorry – but unless it is a family heirloom – do not, I REPEAT, do not expect it back. In fact, it’s quite rude to even ask for it back. If the girl seriously does not want it because it does remind her of you or your love or whatever, let her make that decision. I still own every piece of jewelry [or any other gift] given to me by an ex or old flame. I never had them ask for it back; but if so, I would most likely say no. It is mine – it was a gift. So, when things do south – do not ask for it back. You’ll ignite a fire you might not have wanted to start. My other note to all men – if you buy someone something expensive – you had better make sure there is a good reason. Why regret spending your hard earned money? For example – the person I am with, wanted to buy me a necklace I had been eying up for a few months – we had only been together a few months as well – he was tempted to buy it for me as a holiday gift. As sweet as it was – it made me wonder why. When I asked him, he said because you wanted it. This particular necklace symbolized a strong love connection and the television commercials conveyed that;  yet, he had no emotional tie behind it. That’s lame; do not give me any type of jewelry or expensive item without there being some meaning behind it.

Either way, Friend Zone, I think you need to pack up your “baggage” and get on the next train to Single Lady Town. She has someone else. She considers you a doormat friend. You are wasting time and energy – when you could be with a girl who does care about you the same way and you’ll see how amazing that feels.

On another note – you could get over the fixation with dating and see that you really don’t need someone to be happy. You need to be happy with yourself in order to find real happiness and appreciate it for what it is worth.

All the best.

Regional News From WBAL-TV

Anne Arundel Uncovers Alleged Illegal Immigration Operation.  Anne Arundel County police and officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office said they have broken up an illegal immigrant operation.Officials said businesses in the county have been hiring illegal immigrants and providing a place for them to stay.

Arundel Slots To Be Decided Through Referendum. The question of whether or not to allow slot machine gambling at Arundel Mills Mall will be decided by the voters.The Anne Arundel County Board of Elections has certified more than 19,000 signatures on a petition, meaning in November, county voters will decide through referendum whether to allow zoning approval for slots at the mall.”On behalf of everyone who worked so tirelessly to gather the signatures, we are delighted at today’s news,” said Rob Annicelli, president of the citizens group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills. “The referendum was a daunting task, but the clear will of so many citizens in Anne Arundel County has been confirmed today.”

2 Glen Burnie Men Arrested On Child Porn Charges.  Two Anne Arundel County men were arrested in separate cases on Thursday and charged with the possession and distribution of child pornography.Police arrested James William Szczepanik, 19, of Glen Burnie, and charged him with five counts of distributing child pornography and 10 counts of possessing child pornography. If convicted, he could get up to 70 years in prison. Raymon Robert Coulter, 68, of Glen Burnie, turned himself in to State Police Thursday morning and was charged with two counts of distributing child porn and four counts of possessing child porn. If convicted, he could get up to 28 years in prison.

MD House Votes To Ban Reading Texts While Driving.  Maryland’s House of Delegates has voted to prohibit reading text messages while driving.Delegates voted 135-2 in support of the measure Thursday.Violators of the proposed ban would be guilty of a misdemeanor and could face fines of up to $500.Baltimore County Delegate James Malone is behind the measure that would close a loophole in Maryland’s ban on texting while driving.Last year, state lawmakers voted to prohibit writing and sending texts while driving, but the new law did not prevent residents from reading texts behind the wheel.

Timbuktu, a restaurant near BWI known for its crabcakes, was raided this mornign by Federal agents.

ICE Comments On Timbuktu Raid

The following statement was just received from William Winter, Special Agent in Charge of this morning’s US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raid at Timbuktu Restaurant in Hanover, MD.

Today’s enforcement action is part of a multi-phased approach utilized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure that employers are held accountable for maintaining a legal workforce. ICE is committed to investigating employers who engage in illegal employment schemes that utilize illegal labor to make an unlawful profit and give them an unfair advantage over businesses that operate lawfully.

During this action, ICE agents took 29 individuals suspected of being undocumented aliens into custody. Agents will interview these workers and those found to be unlawfully present in the Unites States will be administratively arrested.

All of the individuals taken into custody during the operation are being photographed, fingerprinted and processed by ICE.  They are also being interviewed by ICE agents and health care professionals currently assigned to ICE from the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Immigration.

Special Agent in Charge, William Winter

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Local Restaurant Raided

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has just completed a raid at Timbuktu Restaurant at 1726 Dorsey Road in Hanover. Anne Arundel police supplied 18 officers to assist federal authorities in executing warrants at the restaurant and at several other residential locations around the County.  From a source close to the investigation, the restaurant was hiring undocumented illegal aliens and providing them safe harbor.

Timbuktu Restaurant has been in business for over 25 years and has won numerous culinary awards and accolades from Zagat Survey, USA Today, AOL, Baltimore Magazine and more.

County Executive John R. Leopold today released the following statement regarding the multiple-location operation executed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this morning:

Our local law enforcement continues to provide assistance to federal authorities charged with upholding our immigration laws to the greatest extent possible. This morning our officers assisted a major operation to execute warrants at a business and residential locations in the County.  We will continue to work closely with ICE to forward information on possible violations as well as execute responses.

Anne Arundel County Executive, John R. Leopold

The Anne Arundel County Police Department has participated in numerous operations with ICE officials addressing illegal immigration, undocumented and fraudulently documented workers, as well as criminal and gang activity related to illegal immigrants.  “High-level officials at the Department of Homeland Security have informed me that they share my position that employers must be the focus of immigration enforcement activities,” County Executive Leopold said.

Policies have been developed for the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Detention Center, requiring officers and booking officers to perform an immigration check for all suspects arrested, detained or in custody at the Detention Center who are believed or suspected to be an illegal alien.  This policy establishes liaisons with ICE agents for suspected criminal illegal aliens to be turned over or referred to their custody.

In 2008, County Police assisted on a major operation resulting in several arrests and forfeitures resulting from activities at Annapolis Painting Services.

Police Will Not Confirm Threat

Last week, we reported (and opined) that the addition of an executive protection detail for Annapolis Mayor Joshua Cohen and Chief Administrative Officer Doug Smith was excessive.

We received reports that, in addition to the 24-7 police protection, a daily sweep of City Hall by a K-9 team trained in explosive detection was ordered. We went to the City’s Public Information Officer, Phill McGowan, for some insight.

We followed up with Police Department External Affairs Officer, Ray Weaver. After a day-long delay, we were merely told that the questions involved operational details and would not be released.

The Mayor’s office is unaware of any threat, yet the Police Department (who initiated the protection details) feels there is enough of a threat to sweep City Hall with bomb sniffing dogs.  To our knowledge, no other City owned properties were searched.

If there is indeed a threat, especially one that might include an explosive device, why has the police department been so quiet? City Hall is in a very vulnerable location with many businesses, churches, parking garages and schools nearby. Does Annapolis have a threat on its hands?

There have been many people speculating that this might be a union negotiating tactic. Others have suggested that the Mayor’s ego has gotten the best of him. And others still have suggested that Chief Administrative Office Doug Smith is the Karl Roveian architect behind it all.

The Mayor is the CEO of the City and the residents pay his salary. He campaigned, and was elected, on promises of transparency. To date, he has done an outstanding job on being transparent. However, bomb sweeps, absent a threat, are not routine. It is time that the Mayor pulls the transparency curtain back a little bit and explains the reasoning behind these moves.

Regional News From WBAL-TV

More Counties Electing School Board Members.  If you want to become a local school board member, your only way in may be through an election because that’s what more local school boards are leaning toward over appointments.Many school members said they are among the overworked and underpaid, but they’re often the ones who have the final say in changing school curriculum and policies.

Maryland Zoo Prepares To Re-Open This Weekend.  The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is squeezing out its final repairs before this weekend’s reopening.The zoo was supposed to open two weeks ago but had to delay because of the damage from last month’s blizzards.The gates open on Saturday. Admission this weekend is only $5.The first 250 children to enter get free animal crackers.

Bill Would Reward Medicaid Fraud Whistle-Blowers. The governor’s effort to curb medical fraud is meeting resistance in Annapolis from medical providers.Medical fraud, waste and abuse costs Maryland taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year.The O’Malley administration is going after that money through legislation that would give those who blow the whistle on fraudulent acts a cut of the proceeds gained from civil action against the accused.

Bill Sets Minimum Age For Tanning Bed Use.  People under 18 would no longer be allowed to use tanning beds in Maryland under legislation being considered by the state General Assembly. Representatives from the American Academy of Dermatology Association, the Maryland Coalition for the Prevention of Skin Cancer and the American Cancer Society are scheduled to testify for the legislation Wednesday.

Last Friday, for our school’s celebration of Black History Month (postponed into March because of the snow. That’s what’s called white oppression. Zing!), we saw a screening of the movie Pip and Zastrow: An American Friendship about former Mayor Roger “Pip” Moyer and former city council candidate Zastrow Simms, two friends who bonded in a time of racial prejudice and helped each other through hard lives.

Not only was this an inspiring and wonderful film, but it opened my eyes to something:

We have a truly rich and diverse culture here in Annapolis, something that the average teen, with unnecessary distractions such as Halo and girlfriends and sleeping, has little or no time to experience.

To rectify that, I came up with a solution: we drop out of school and immerse ourselves in the rich and unique culture of Annapolis.

Then, I realized that we probably needed jobs. Real, paying, full-time jobs.

Where, I wondered, could we find jobs that required pretty much no education, experience, talent or skill whatsoever?

And then it hit me–the Mayor’s office.

With all the criticism the Mayor and his staff have been taking lately–I’m not sure how much truth there is to it, we teenagers generally limit our knowledge of politics to what is parodied on Saturday Night Live, but still–it might be a good thing for him to have an overhaul of his staff, and, of course, replace them with teenagers.

Hiring from our generation would have significant benefits, which I will present below. People may recall me doing a comparison akin to this around Election Day, where I showed the good folk of Annapolis that the average freshman was better-suited for political office than current politicians. My advice was not taken and, as you can see, there are still problems with the budget, snow removal, and Billy Mays still being dead.

Still not convinced? Let’s see how teenagers stack up against city hall employees on a few major points:

Budget

Current Employees: Can’t balance the budget.

Current Annapolis Teenagers: Can’t balance a budget either, but at least you can take the credit card away from them.

Edge: Teenagers

Superfluous Mayoral Security

Current Employees: Wear sunglasses and frown intimidatingly so as to scare off wannabe assassins and provide seriously disgruntled employees with a mild challenge.

Current Teenagers: Will stand near the Mayor and dance in a suggestive manner, thereby frightening each and every would-be adult assassin from ever going within 500 feet of the Mayor.

Edge: Teenagers

Public Relations:

Current Employees: No one has confidence in them.

Current Teenagers: Their grandparents have confidence in them.

Edge: Teenagers

Speechwriting

Current Employees: Can write speeches.

Current Teenagers: Can write speeches, though Mayor Cohen may wonder why he is quoting Taylor Swift lyrics in the middle of a speech about the budget.

Edge: Current Employees, unless the Mayor is a Taylor Swift fan

Experience:

Current Employees: Have extensive political experience.

Current Teenagers: Have extensive BSing experience, as anyone who has read a high school English essay or asks a teenager about a party they went to can tell you.

Edge: Draw

Advising:

Current Employees: Can direct the Mayor towards the best solutions for our city’s problems.

Current Teenagers: Can direct the mayor towards the best Youtube videos.

Edge: Teenagers

Taking up space in the parking garage:

Current Employees: Will do this often.

Current Teenagers: Do not own cars. Those that do will probably end up parking them on City Dock while texting.

Edge: Teenager

Payment:

Current Employees: Are part of a staggering payroll that is crippling our city’s budget.

Current Teenagers: Will work in exchange for the city government completing their math homework and/or supplying them with lewd pictures of Megan Fox.

Edge: Teenagers

Snow Removal:

Current Employees: Are adept at designing PowerPoint presentations that outline Mayor Cohen’s plan for snow removal.

Current Teenagers: Cleared more snow that one wintry week than any lousy PowerPoint.

Edge: Teenagers

Potential for screwing up everything as we know it in Annapolis:

Current Employees: Enormous.

Current Teenagers: None. They’ll be texting.

Edge: Teenagers

So, Mayor Cohen, you have the facts. Now hire us, or we will be indentured forevermore to menial jobs.

You don’t have to promise a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage, Josh. That’s just asking to pay for a lot of new garages, unless you know how to successfully park two cars in a one-car garage. But wait, that involves building permits and..well we know how that goes. Instead, just hire the most innovative, energetic, and hip workforce available to you. We’ll never let you down. And if we do, it’s only because that text was really important.

Politically yours,

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Overtime Pay Cited

The union representing the Public Works employees has filed a grievance against the City for failure to pay overtime. Late last month, we were contacted by an irate Public Works employee.  He claimed that during the snow storms, the City failed to pay the department proper overtime based on a decision by Director of Human Resources Kimla Millburn. He stated that this was a new City policy implemented without notice.  The basis of the gripe was that during the days that the City was officially closed, the employees who reported for work were paid their base rate and not an overtime rate.

There are two sides to every story and we contacted the City’s Public Information Officer, Phill McGowan, to get his. The unions have filed a grievance against the City. However, it seems that the issue is a moot point. A different rate of pay is not addressed in any of the collective bargaining agreements. However, in the past, the prior administration authorized the overtime payments as a discretionary payment. As Mayor Cohen stated in his State of the City address, back then the City was able to afford the bonus, and now they are not.

McGowan was very clear, “the City will pay every penny owed to the letter of the law, but not a penny more.”

No one can deny the power of labor unions in any business. While it seems like Spring may have begun to melt the snow, the temperature is still very frigid at the bargaining table.  Undeniably the unions are upset with the layoffs and this perceived change in policy.  We wonder how earnestly they will participate at the bargaining table with a Mayor who is looking for nearly $2.5 million in concessions?

The City’s finances have been laid out for all to see. No one can deny there is a problem. Mayor Cohen, despite his seemingly liberal leanings, has taken the fiscal bull by the horns and is positioning himself to do what is best for the City of Annapolis.

When he campaigned and accepted contributions from the unions, many thought it to be a quid pro quo arrangement. Apparently not. When Mayor Cohen was appointed to replace Democratic primary winner Zina Pierre, many thought he was merely a puppet for the “Democratic Machine”. Apparently not. It seems our new Mayor is doing his best to steer this City out of choppy waters to the detriment (perhaps) of his own political career. These decisions are not easy. Mayor Cohen has almost four years to prove himself and this is certainly a trial by fire.

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Regional News From WBAL-TV

Senate Votes To Change Child Support Guidelines. Guidelines used to set child support payments would be changed for the first time in 21 years under legislation approved by the Maryland Senate. The Senate voted 43-2 on Tuesday to pass the measure. Supporters said the change is needed to update the guidelines to adjust for an increase in the cost of living, since the guidelines were last changed more than two decades ago. They also said it will direct more money to raising children.

Six School Systems Get Waivers Due To Snow. Students in six Maryland counties won’t go to school for 180 days this year, thanks to last month’s record-breaking snowstorms. Officials with the State Department of Education said Superintendent Dr. Nancy Grasmick has granted waivers to six counties: Anne Arundel, Charles, Frederick, Kent, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s. In Anne Arundel, Kent, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties, students will be in class for 175 days this school year. Charles and Frederick counties received three-day waivers, meaning they’ll have 177 instructional days.

New Reregulation Plan Could Bring Electric Costs Down. A Senate committee heard legislation on Tuesday designed to bring electric costs down, just as Baltimore Gas and Electric warned customers of sticker shock when March bills arrive after last month’s blizzards.Annapolis insiders refer to reregulation legislation as zombie bills because the issue never dies, 11 News reporter David Collins said. It comes up every session, but this year, supporters are trotting down a different path to passage — and with a message consumers will embrace.

USNS Comfort To Leave Haiti For Home Port In Baltimore.  he USNS Comfort, the Baltimore-based hospital ship that has been treating quake victims in Haiti, is coming home. The U.S. Southern Command said the ship is scheduled to leave Haiti on Wednesday and is expected to arrive in Baltimore on Sunday. The military said the need for the Comfort has dropped significantly as hospitals and other facilities in Haiti have taken on a greater role in treating earthquake victims.

Looking For Annapolis City Employees

If you were one of the people laid off from the City or are slated to have your job eliminated in June, we would like to talk to you. This is a serious issue in the City and we want to present both sides of the issue fairly.

If you, someone you know, or a union representative is interested in sharing your story, please contact us at info@eyeonannapolis.net