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LOCAL EVENTS |
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Monday - May 5

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Tuesday - May 6

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Farmers Market (Risteau parking lot, Bel Air, 9 am) Harford Poetry & Lit. Society (Rockfield Manor, Bel Air, 1 pm) Harford County Council legis. meeting (Bel Air, 7:30 pm) |
Wednesday - May 7

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Thursday - May 8

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Farmers Market (MARC train station, Edgewood, 3 pm) Historical Lecture Series: "The Susquehanna Baseball League (City Hall, Aberdeen, 7 pm) |
Friday - May 9

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Lunchtime Concert (Office Street, Bel Air, 12 pm)
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Saturday - May 10

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Farmers Market (Risteau parking lot, Bel Air, 7 am) Farmers Market (Pennington Avenue between Washington Street and Union Ave, Havre de Grace , 9 am) Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra and Harford Youth Orchestra present 'Sounds of Spring' (John Carroll School, 7:30 pm) |
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Upcoming ...

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HCC Board Of Trustees meeting (board room, HCC, 6 pm) - May 13
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Ripken Stadium Management Board meeting (City Hall, Aberdeen, 4 pm) - May 14
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Havre de Grace High School Music Boosters presents 4th Annual 5K Run/Walk (700 Congress Ave., 7:30 am) - May 17
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9th Annual Harford Hospice Regatta (Concord Point Lighthouse, Havre de Grace, 6:30 pm) - May 30
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The McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola (Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace) - June 2-8
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Summer Concert: ZZ Top band (Aberdeen Proving Ground, 6 pm) - June 22
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Event information may be dated. Please check with source or host of event regarding time and requirements for participation. We cannot be responsible for errors or omissions. No endorsements implied. Email event updates to the editor. |
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| aberdeen |

REFRESH PAGE TO UPDATE LIVE WEATHER DATA ... CLICK FOR FORECAST |
Can technology resurrect this town?
We Get Email
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Aberdeen's Fate Tied to APG Editor:As for the view that Aberdeen needs an infusion of capital, I couldn't agree
more. The question remains what is the incentive for those with capital to risk it on our community. In my assessment, one of Aberdeen's most dominant strengths is the technology base that was developed due to an association with Aberdeen Proving Ground.
I absolutely agree that we should build on our strength. However, I believe that strength is tied to a symbiotic relationship with APG. A strong partnership benefits the local citizens and economic base, it nurtures a highly educated, technically oriented workforce, and (in my opinion) serves to protect and defend our nation.
My hat is off to Ripken Baseball for making a significant investment in the community. This adds a much needed dimension. Without that kind of commitment to Aberdeen and to APG, I fear we might devolve into the warehouse capitol of the Rt. 95 corridor. I'd hate to think of that as our dominant contribution to the regional quality of life.
William P. Yeakel August 5, 2002
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The town fathers want to use the resources of APG to make Aberdeen a technology center for the region. The problem, as we see it, is two-fold.
One is money. Sure, there are some modest "cooperative" relationships between APG and a few groups in the county. But this is the U.S. Army we are talking about. They are trying to do more with less these days. Witness the outsourcing commotion going on. To our way of thinking, this is a transition to less of an Army presence. We think there will be fewer technology resources at APG, not more, in the long run. The war on terrorism may delay this, especially if the post gets the hoped for $50 million chemical and biological warfare upgrade. But the clock is still ticking.
Then there is the HEAT Center, a schizophrenic concept designed to wed education, technology startups, a business incubator, and who knows what else. The planned research facility to be built by Battelle Memorial Institute is the best thing to happen to this vision so far. One thing we would do is shift oversight from Harford Community College to an independent board of directors. Just because "higher education" is part of the acronym doesn't mean this is a core competency of HCC. It isn't.
What is needed, though, is real money with staying power. That is, venture capital and lots of it. And that takes social and cultural changes that we don't see happening here. What we do see is divisions of large organizations - Battelle, SAIC, California Microwave, etc. - moving here and sucking out the defense dollars as long as they are available. The war on terrorism makes these dollars available a few more years. But what happens after the war when APG and the Edgewood Arsenal grow smaller, to be replaced by local growth in housing? No APG, no technology initiative.
Another problem is that technology is just a small part of the total economy. Sure, it's in everything. But so are steel, rubber, plastics, glass, and so on. Renowned management guru Peter Drucker recently said that 90 percent of new business development in the 21st century would be in non-technology areas.
We would use the extended timeline given by the war on terrorism to reassess our priorities. Take a hint from the soon-to-be Ripken Stadium, Bulle Rock and the other area golf courses, and all those sailboats and powerboats on the Chesapeake Bay. This is "the land of pleasant living," remember? As Cal would say, play to your strength.
DM
Archives
Pull over and park - June 2001
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