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Today…
Annapolis has unrestricted some of the prior restricted Bird neighborhoods. Maryland digital licenses and IDs are now available for Apple devices! No one will do anything on the impending gas tax increase, so plan for a 7-cent increase per gallon on July 1st. Annapolis is having a Memorial Day parade on Monday. Starbucks gave a grant to the Light House. And of course some pod news!
It’s Thursday, which means that Trevor from Annapolis Makerspace is here with your Maker Minutes with great ideas to work out your mind and hone your skills.
And as usual, George from DCMDVA Weather is here with your local weather forecast! Please download their APP so you can keep on top of the local weather scene!
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TRANSCRIPT:
Good morning, it is Thursday, May 26th, 2022, and THIS is your Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief.
The Blue Angels never disappoint! Great weather and a great show! Up today is the Color Parade–a really formal parade that is really cool to see. It’s at 11 am on Worden Field, and the best way is to walk in Gate 3 (Maryland Avenue) and hang a left at the Chapel. And remember– patience and kindness. OK, we have some news to get to. So, let’s get into it, shall we?
Before we get into it, I received a few emails yesterday asking why we did not discuss the latest massacre in Texas. And yes, it has me beyond upset. Eye On Annapolis–whether it is the site, our Facebook pages, our Twitter account, or our podcasts are very tightly focused on Anne Arundel County and maybe some stuff happening just outside the borders. I do not want to bring in the world or national news unless it has a tie to the area. So that is why there was no mention. And for the record, I agree with Senator Chris Murphy… what are we doing?
OK, an update on the Birds. Last week we told you how they had geofenced off public housing and other lower-income communities. HACA said they wanted access to the scooters but not to allow them on the property. We called around to the management of the other subsidized properties, and all of them were unaware of the restrictions, and none of them had requested them. We also called larger non-subsidized apartment complexes like Nautilus Point, Westwinds, and Bayshore Landing, and none of them called us back. Looking at the maps today, it seems that the City has instructed Bird to unlock the College Creek Obery Court apartments, the homes in the area of Clay Street, Woodside Gardens, Annapolis Gardens, Bay Ridge Gardens, and Admiral Oaks apartments. So there is progress there. Our research also found two programs that are not promoted too obviously… if you are a recipient of a government stipend–SNAP, etc—you are entitled to get a $5 monthly subscription to the bikes and scooters that will allow up to five 30-minute rides per day. And another program to offer a 50% discount to lower-income people, teachers, students, veterans, senior citizens, and select community groups. And if you don’t have a credit card, you can use cash—just go to Walgreens, CVS, 7-Eleven, Royal Farms, or the Dollar Store and give them money, and they will give you a code to put in the app to pay for your rides. And while we did not find it, The Capital is reporting that anyone can get a 25% discount if they pick up a scooter in what Bird is calling an “equity area.” So there you are–the program is now a bit fairer to more of Annapolis. Now the wisdom of the entire program remains to be seen!
I love tech, and this is cool. Yesterday, Maryland became the second jurisdiction to allow a digital version of your driver’s license or ID card to be put in your Apple wallet–sorry Android users. When fully implemented when asked for ID, it will only transmit the need-to-know info. Carded at a bar–photo and date of birth. Getting on a plane–name, address, photo. Stopped by a cop–name, address, photo, and license number. And if a venue does not have a reader, you can select the information to display. Pretty cool. For flying, both National and BWI will accept them but only in the TSA Pre-Check lines for now. To add it, tap the plus sign in the wallet app and scroll down to ID and follow the prompts. It scans your real license and face and sends them to the MVA. Then you sign in (or register) on MVA’s site and acknowledge you want it..and they mail you a code to complete it. It will only work with the iPhone 8 or newer, the Apple Watch 4 and newer, and the latest update to the software! Pretty cool!
Well, folks, it looks like the gas tax increase is coming. No one has the political will to suspend it for any duration of time. The Governor will not. The Comptroller will not. And yesterday, the legislature weighed in and said they will not. So, come July 1st, expect to see a 7 cent per gallon jump in the price of gas. Interesting to note that House Speaker Jones and Senate President Ferguson said that the state “cannot afford to miss out on $200 million” that the increase will realize, which will go into the Transportation Trust Fund to care for our roads. There is a multi-billion dollar surplus, so I don’t get it. And lest we forget, from 2003 to 2011, the legislature raided that same Trust Fund to balance the budget to the tune of more than a billion dollars–none of which was repaid. Granted, due to a ballot question in 2014, raiding it is more difficult now, requiring an emergency declaration and a supermajority vote of both houses.
On Monday, we’re taking a holiday to commemorate Memorial Day. And the City of Annapolis has some events planned as well. A parade will step off at Westgate Circle at 10 am and conclude at City Dock with a small remembrance ceremony for those who gave all. City offices will be closed. Trash for Monday moves to Tuesday. Tuesday moves to Wednesday. And transit will be on a Sunday schedule.
And as we begin to wrap, a thank you to the Starbucks Foundation for supporting our own Light House. They awarded a $5,000 grant to help with the homelessness situation in the area. The cool part is that a local employee–Starbucks calls them partners, recognized the good work of the Light House, and nominated them. And $5000 will go a long way. According to the newly named permanent Executive Director Heather Cassity, operating costs have increased 30%.
And that’s all I got! Podcast stuff– Up this weekend on the Local Business Spotlight- Royal Jewelers, followed up by the Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Blood Donor Center next Saturday! And make sure you keep telling your friends, family, and colleagues about us!
And that’s a wrap for today. As always, a thank you to the sponsors for today’s Daily News Brief- Solar Energy Services, and the Kristi Neidhardt Team of Northrop Realty, a Long and Foster Company, and Alpha Engineering!
It is Thursday so we have Trevor from Annapolis Makerspace with your Maker Minutes. And, George from DCMDVA Weather is here with your locally forecast weather-all of that gets underway in a bit…so hang tight!
