Category Archives: News
Cambridge Matters — Proposed County Charter Change
Judge Stephen Rideout (ret.)
swrideout@aol.com
Dear Readers:
I am not sending you a Cambridge Matters article today but rather some documents related to the effort by the Dorchester Citizens for Better Government to obtain enough signatures on the two petitions that are attached to allow these issues to be placed on the ballot in the November 2022 election. I am also attaching a one page explanation for why these proposals were created along with a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. The two petitions have the proposed language on the back of Proposed Section 606 and a Summary of what is being proposed on the back of Proposed Sections 405-406 along with the complete language of those sections including current and new proposed language as required by the law.
The Dorchester Citizens for Better Government is now in the process of collecting the over 4500 signatures for each petition that are required to permit the Local Election Board to approve their being on the November Ballot. This is a monumental job in this county given how spread out we are, so in addition to the above, I am asking for your help.
First please read the attached. If you agree with what we are trying to do, think about how you could help. In order to help, the people who need to sign these petitions are registered voters. It does not matter if they live in the county outside of a city or in a city. We are all citizens of the county. What kind of help could you provide?
Would it be collecting signatures of your neighbors who are registered voters? Collecting them at church or at some group that you are involved in? Volunteering as the weather is warmer by sitting at a table in Cambridge, Hurlock, or some public event where you live and talking with your neighbors about these matters? Holding an event at your church or group and inviting me or someone from our group to come and explain why we are seeking these changes to the county charter? There is no one answer.
If you have questions and want to talk about what we are trying to do, take a look at the zoom link below which is a training video that Gene Lauer and I did to help people understand the issues and also know how to collect signatures. If that does not answer your questions, email me or call me at 703-655-6149.
Passcode: B?^Dl7HC
We need to collect these signatures over the next 3-4 month in order to timely file them with the County Government and the Election Board. We also hope to be able to appear before the County Charter Commission and ask them to propose these to the County Board for placement on the November Ballot, but we are unsure if the County Board would agree to do that.
The proposed changes are not radical. They are common sense solutions to some of the challenges that we see are present in the way that county government is run.
For those of you that are already helping, thank you. For those of you who have already signed these petitions thank you. Please tell people you know why you signed them. Help us get the word out.
Thank you for considering this request.
Steve
Cambridge Waterfront Development Public Meeting – April 7, 2022
Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. is presenting a branding event and public information / comment opportunity to the residents of Cambridge on April 7, 2022, from 6:30pm until 8:30pm. The presentation will take place at the South Dorchester High School cafeteria. Doors will open 6:15. No reservations are needed. See attached for details.
CAN Notes on March 1 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting
CAN Newsletter – March 2022
CAN Notes on March 17 Board of Education Meeting
FLOOD RISK REDUCTION WORKSHOP – March 22, 2022
FLOOD RISK REDUCTION COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
March 22, 2022
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Dorchester Center for the Arts located at 321 High Street Cambridge, MD
Hosted by: The City of Cambridge and Dorchester County
Both the City of Cambridge and Dorchester County are looking forward to this event. This event is going to be a great opportunity to obtain valuable flood risk reduction information at a “one stop shop” event. Please share this information with your neighbors and friends. We are all looking forward to making this a successful and well attended community workshop!
CAN-ShoreRivers Cleanup at Long Wharf – April 2
CAN is organizing a group of volunteers to participate in the ShoreRivers Cleanup project on Saturday, April 2 (rain date April 9).
We’ll meet at 9 am in the parking lot at Long Wharf (adjacent to where the Nathan docks). We plan to remove trash and debris from the area, as well as trim some of the growth back in the bioswales.
We will have trash bags, as well as a limited supply of gloves and “grabbers.” If you have a pair of work gloves handy, I’d recommend you bring those in the event what we have does not fit. Any additional supplies are welcome too!
Please join us and register at the following link:
https://www.chesapeakenetwork.org/cleanup/long-wharf/
Contact Judd Vickers @ judd.vickers@gmail.com or CambridgeCAN@yahoo.com for additional questions
CAN March 2 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
Cambridge Matters – Creating A Community Response Team – March 30, 2022
Judge Stephen Rideout (ret.)
swrideout@aol.com
Dear Readers:
Below is an important email from Jenn Williams about an important need in Dorchester County for help from people in our community for people in our community. If you think that you or someone you know might be one of those people and are or might be willing and able to help in some way, please see the virtual meeting information below for March 30th and put it on your calendar.
Thanks.
Steve
***********
Hello Everyone,
I’m coordinating a virtual interest meeting about the creation of a “Community Response Team” in Dorchester. The concept is that there would be a group of people who can respond to the location of a traumatic event within 24 hours of occurrence to provide a variety of supports. Ideally, the composition of the team would be at least 50% community members who live in or are from the affected area.
Please share this invitation with anyone who may be interested – I’m especially hopeful we can include folks with the following backgrounds:
faith community leadership
musicians and artists
reiki and other healing practitioners
survivors of loss and traumatic events – house fires, loss to suicide, murder, and other events.
individuals who can provide guidance/expertise on making insurance claims, finding temporary housing, funeral planning/costs, area support groups, etc.
A draft of the concept is available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l8kkbuaD1Ux4DtHPicTTypX32QAv4dfme5kIdBtm5b4/edit?usp=sharing
Meeting information below.
In Community,
Jenn
Mid Shore Mediation is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Community Response Team Interest Meeting
Time: Mar 30, 2022 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8743489038
Meeting ID: 874 348 9038