Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

Today the Spy commentators to discuss the 2020 presidential election and the swing state of Florida, President Trump’s gentle response to Governor Larry Hogan’s criticism of the president’s handling of the COVID crisis, and the politicalization of school openings or closings this fall.

This video is approximately fourteen minutes in length. To listen to From and Fuller via podcast, please go here:

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

 

The highly anticipated August 3rd Town Council meeting scheduled to address the Black Lives Matter mural proposal experienced technical issues: the live feed was not functioning.

The issue has been rescheduled for the Monday, August 10th meeting at 7:30 pm. 

UPDATE: The issue has been fixed and the live feed will be available for next Monday’s meeting.

 

Facing a grant application deadline, Chestertown Town Council voted to approve a request for a $200,000 grant from Maryland Community Parks and Playgrounds to create a playground at Wilmer Park.

The Parks and Playground provides funding for restoration and creation of parks in Maryland cities and towns. Chestertown has benefitted from them previously with grants for creating Gateway Park, the Bailey Dog Park, and others.

Placement of the playground at Wilmer Park would leave the Ajax basketball half-court on Cross St. intact and open for ideas to renovate it.

Ward 1 Councilman David Foster administered the meeting during Mayor Cerino’s vacation.

Citing a groundswell of public support both for the retention of Ajax court and the playground at Wilmer Park, Foster opened a discussion to any address concerns.

Charles Lerner, a resident living next to the park, conveyed his concern that the playground concept as submitted would overpopulate the park during the pandemic period and contradict the natural serenity of the area. He agreed with the need for the playground to boost activities for young families but felt the current model from Berliner Company was unattractive and suggested that the council and Recreation Committee look at models more fitting to park aesthetics and that rather having one large playground to consider modular playground equipment spread over a wider area.

Jen Baker, co-owner of Chester River Wine and Cheese Company suggested the Recreation Committee talk to local designers to evaluate the Berliner playground options that would address possible noise issues.

Rebecca Murphy, owner of RCM Strategic Consulting, supported having Ajax court revitalized and the playground located at Wilmer Park.

Local businessman Frank Rhodes offered an overview of Ajax’s court’s generational history and that its creation to offer youth wider access to activities was a good example of how the Town has valued works that enhance the community. With local fundraising and some help from the Town, Rhodes felt that the area could once again be a healthy activity center.

The Council agreed that applying for the grant would still allow time to make different design choices for the playground and looked forward to dialogue with the public.

Here are a few minutes from the discussion, featuring Charles Lerner, Jennifer Baker, Frank Rhodes and Ward 2 Councilman Tom Herz.

The Monday Aug 3 council meeting will hear the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice’s presentation about the proposed Black Lives Matter street mural.

This video is approximately six minutes in length

 

A newly formed Public Art Committee will present seven Board nominees to the Chestertown Town Council during the July 20^th meeting.

The Committee, mandated by the 2014 Public Arts Master Plan, was created to promote and implement the installation of artwork in public places owned by the Town. The Committee will serve the Town in an effort to fulfill the mission of the Public Art Master Plan.

 

The Public Art Master Plan was adopted as part of the Chestertown Comprehensive Plan in 2014. “Funded by a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant and the Town of Chestertown, in partnership with RiverArts, the Master Plan creates a vision for public arts, primarily in the waterfront and downtown area, guided by three themes: art, history, and environment.”

The master plan’s inaugural project was Artist David Hess’s Broad Reach, the contemporary children’s playscape installed in Wilmer Park to honor the artist and architect Alejandro “Alex” Castro for his many contributions to the Chestertown art scene.

At the same time, an impassioned drive to create a Black Lives Matter art mural on High Street, promoted by the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice, is underway. The SACRJ has requested to be on the August 3 Town Council meeting agenda to make their formal request for the street mural.

According to the co-chair of the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice Arlene Lee, art designs for the Black Lives Matter street mural are in the works.

Both the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice and Kent Cultural Alliance endorse the project the Black Lives Matter street mural project.

The idea of a street mural has been met with both support and disapproval. The idea was first officially introduced as a ”heads-up” by SACRJ member Maria Wood during the July 6 Chestertown Town Council.

Mayor Cerino, who said he supports Black Lives Matter, felt that placing a street mural in the historic district would be out of place and suggested that banners could be an alternative solution. He added that he was also concerned with the legal precedent, the mural might set, and if it would open the door for art contrary to the community’s values.

Both Councilwoman Meghan Efland and Councilman Tolliver favored the permit request. Councilman Herz also felt the project was essential but held reservations. Councilman Foster said that while he had concerns, he wanted more time to think about it.

City Manager Bill Ingersoll was in favor of the Town’s participation in the project.

The following Tuesday, local attorney Phil Hoon delivered a letter to Town Hall advising that he had been hired by “citizens and taxpayers” from the downtown community to articulate their concerns and oppose a permit for the mural project. He wrote that he was only concerned with the “letter of the law” and was not making an anti-BLM statement.

However, according to members of the SACRJ, there has been an outpouring of support from community members and businesses, including volunteers and financial contributions.

Now it is us up to the town government to engage in the process of just how to evaluate and manage public art and determine what serves the greater good of the community during these unprecedented times without losing the core message that the current project is an invitation to unify the racial apartheid that for centuries has left Black Kent Countians shunned, unwelcomed, and disenfranchised.

John Schratwieser wrote in a Letter to the Editor: ”Public art should not infringe on someone else’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; it should especially assert those rights for people who have historically and societally been hindered from achieving them.”

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

Today the Spy commentators to discuss the commutation of Roger Stone, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions losses bid to recapture his Alabama Senate seat, and the curious success of the GOP-led Lincoln Project to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

This video is approximately seventeen minutes in length.

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

Like almost every town these days, local leaders have been scratching their heads to come up with ways to help downtown merchants, and mainly, restaurants get back in business as the region enters the second phase of opening back up. And in the case of dining venues, that means trying to maximize their outdoor seating capacity, which right now for many is just a narrow sidewalk.

The Town of Easton council decided they could help some of those businesses by closing down a block of a downtown street (Washington Street) which would provide an extra 25 feet of room for outdoor seating but also a safe place for the community to gather with plenty of social distancing to enjoy other retail stores, live music or other family fun programming.

For a few hours on select days, the Washington Street block in front of the Talbot Courthouse will almost instantly transform itself into a pedestrian mall. The town will be calling it the Washington Street Promenade.

We sat down with Ross Benincasa, director of Discover Easton, to get the details on how this might work for Easton and other towns.

This video is approximately three minutes in length.

 

Update (July 8, 2020) The Easton town council voted Wednesday afternoon to nix the Promenade project.