GRANOLAPARK • BY GILBERT Dear Readers, So much for change! The Fresh Ones may be shaking up the Takoma Park city council, but there are only three of them and FOUR of the Old Guard. So, when Seth “Galloping” Grime’s …

“We shouldn’t be looking for heroes, we should be looking for good ideas,” says author and social critic Noam Chomsky. Arguably the most influential intellectual alive today, author and social critic Noam Chomsky will share his ideas about politics, one …

The 2012 Lumina season opens with Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, a raucous, bawdy whirl of action and music with a cast of 35. The production was adapted and is directed by local writer John O’Connor. It features the Lumina Theatre …

GARDENING GODDESS • BY KATHY JENTZ The 7th Annual Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges, hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine, takes place on January 28 at the Brookside Gardens visitor center in Wheaton, MD. The seed swap is a fundamental part of human history. …

Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM) returns to Dance Place during the celebration of their 20th Anniversary season. Lead by Guggenheim Fellow Rennie Harris, the company’s work encompasses the diverse and rich African-American traditions of the past, while simultaneously presenting the voice of …

EDUCATION • BY ROB BOCK, CNS Maryland schools were named first in the nation for the fourth consecutive year in a national survey, a feat Gov. Martin O’Malley credited to the state’s investment in education. O’Malley delivered the keynote speech …

EDUCATION • BY ROB BOCK, CNS Maryland education leaders mostly praised President Obama’s comments on education in his State of the Union speech, but they worried about his mandate to keep higher education costs affordable or face funding repercussions. “This …

CONGRESS • BY KELSEY MILLER, CNS Scroll to the bottom to see a timeline of Harriet Tubman’s life. After a failed attempt last year to put a Harriet Tubman statue in Congress’ Statuary Hall, the Maryland women’s caucus is trying …

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY ELLEN STODOL, CNS A number of legislators are concerned that Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to raise the flush tax from $2.50 to $5 a month to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay could be too …

EYE ON ANNAPOLIS • BY KELSEY MILLER, CNS A coalition that pushed an alcohol tax increase last year is calling the tax a success and turning its efforts toward assuring that the new revenue is spent the way it was …