baltimorespokes

HGTV and its non-profit partners, Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, believe home is more than a house with four walls. Home is also our communities, our workplaces, our countries and our world. And family is not just our immediate family, however that family may be defined, but also our broader family with whom we share our workplaces, our communities, our countries and our world. So just as we do in our own homes, we all can play a vital role in helping this large and diverse family to prosper, to play, to thrive
Continue reading “Change the World. Start at (Baltimore) Home Communities”

By Steve Ziger, Baltimore Sun –
Imagine a Baltimore where everyone lived within a few blocks of a park. Where you could walk easily throughout the city in a safe "green network" connecting school playgrounds, tree-lined boulevards, community gardens, college campuses, public golf courses, recreational areas and parks.
As you walked, people would be commuting on bicycle trails or participating in marathons. Children would plant and care for trees as a part of their environmental curriculum. Neighbors would grow their own vegetables. Our extensive canopy of trees would provide shade, filter pollution and help filter rainwater and prevent flooding.
Baltimore would become known as a "city in a park," attracting businesses, residents and visitors. Tax revenues would increase along with property values. Communities would come together. The healthier environment would improve our public health, with cleaner air and water, and lots of great reasons to be outside.
This is the vision of "One Park," a concept of the Parks and People Foundation (www.parksandpeople.org) to unite our diverse neighborhoods in a network of enhanced and interconnected open spaces. The nature of these connections would vary in each location, with specific designs coming from local communities and stakeholders.
Continue reading “Envisioning a Baltimore united through one connected park”

A surprisingly large number of electrical products — from air conditioners to VCRs — cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw power 24 hours a day, often without the knowledge of the consumer. We call this power consumption “standby power.”

Continue reading “It does not turn off”