Fast talk about fast food

“Truly astounding that the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics would endanger their credibility in such a way. If I was a dietician who paid to be a member I would demand a refund.”
– Scrapple66

“Many Registered Dietitians are embarrassed by these sorts of partnerships, and calling on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to end them. You can learn more about our advocacy efforts by visiting the Dietitians for Professional Integrity Facebook page.”
– Andy Bellati

“Fact of the matter, 50 million people eat out at fast food daily, almost 50% of Americans eat out once a week! Dietitians should give these companies the chance to improve their food choices & I think establishing open discussions is vital to this cause. There has to be some compromise in order to improve the foods that are fed to our millions of citizens. Drug companies have long been sponsoring national physician organizations and yet we still have an understanding that not all physicians are drug pushers. Just saying.”
– LillieZ

“This is the natural outcome of making healthcare a for-profit commodity.”
– Travis DuCote, via Facebook

“As a former member and president of the MDA, I would like to say that while I don’t approve of McDonald’s as a sponsor, I hope it was not as bad as it sounds. When a company sponsors a speaker, they pay for the travel and fees. However, the speaker is not promoting the sponsor. They speak on a topic of interest that the sponsor is willing to support. (It could even be about childhood obesity.) That said, when I was a member, the MDA had plenty of money to pay for their own speakers and should not have needed support from McDonald’s, which does give a bad impression. I hope future committees will take that into consideration.”
– Barbara Bailey

“80% of R.D.s said in a survey that sponsorship implies Academy endorsement. That says it all, and implied endorsement is all the companies are paying for. The A.N.D.’s claim that ‘we’re not endorsing them’ indicates that they totally miss the point, probably intentionally.”
– Joseph Adams

“While some people might think that McDonald’s is doing the right thing by informing Registered Dietitians how their food can fit into a healthy eating plan, as an RD, I can pretty much assure you that McDonald’s is not doing this to necessarily improve their food. They sponsor meetings such as these to pass out their propaganda, to make us feel like their care. They also hand out lunches (at least it;’s salad but not something that I would eat). They have been sponsoring for years. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics needs sponsors who promote eating ‘real’ whole, unprocessed foods but they are not the people who have the money to do this.”
– Jill N

“I really dislike all the McDonald’s and other fast food bashing. I should have a choice as to where and what I eat without the government interfering. There are so many healthy choices to be made on all their menus. Are we to go into grocery stores and start taking everything off their shelves that certain groups think are not healthy for us?”
– Gail Holcomb

“Thank you Dr. Adams for lending a sane, medical community voice to this discussion. At the same time the National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is allowing the likes of McDonald’s and Coca Cola to shape it’s dietary advice, they are also actively working to make sure that they are the only legal source of nutrition advice by promoting RD-only licensing laws in every state they can.”
– Judy Stone

“Big Food and Big Pharma sponsor dietitians as in Registered Dietitians, credentialed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently re-branded from the American Dietetic Association. RDs are the first to admit that ‘all dietitians are nutritionists but not all nutritionists are dietitians.’ Thank goodness there are educated and enlightened nutritionists not just indoctrinated RDs.”
– Ruth Ann Foster

“Why would any reasonably intelligent person expect anything but an inaccurate ‘healthy’ spin on fast food that we all know is not healthy and part of our HUGE epidemic of obesity, heart disease, cancer, and just about every typical illness in the US. Shame on the organizers and shame on the dieticians who aren’t marching right into the Maryland chapter of AND – and marching the ‘leaders’ out the door!”
– Dana S. Simpler MD
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City panel praises design of Red Line through Canton

“Am I missing something? I’m not really seeing anything particularly interesting or innovative about these designs. It all looks fairly generic.”
– Josh Hall

“It seems pretty clear to me that they’re praising it because it’s (in their opinion, I know people on Brew may dissent) perfectly serviceable and visually appealing. ‘Innovative’ isn’t necessarily a good word in engineering – it’s synonymous with ‘untested’.”
– Jonathan Edwards

“The Powers That Be wanted something that would skirt along our fancy waterfront, so this is what we ended up with. Fair enough. The Red Line is a step forward and its time to let this dog lie. Now, I think a much better use of our energy would be advocating for an extension of the subway up to Morgan State or maybe having a serious discussion on how we can connect Downtown Towson into the rail network. We need to start thinking beyond the Red Line. That train has already left the station.”
– richardchambers

“Boston Street from 4 lanes to 2? That definitely makes sense, since during rush hour it’s already backed up every day. I also love that I nor anyone I have spoken with even knew this meeting was happening today, so I’m glad the ‘small attending audience’ didn’t have any issues. And particularly love the ‘as a connection, not as an obstruction, to the community,’ said by someone who doesn’t have to live here. Brew, this isn’t an attack on you, just ridiculous officials and panels that don’t really seem to listen to their communities.”
– Erin Alexander

“Have you stopped to think some of the people in those cars might migrate to the red line?”
– Jed Weeks

“Baltimore and MD can’t afford to ‘try’ something and have it turn out to be a bad idea. Too much is at stake. Ripping up these neighborhoods that are trying so hard to get on their feet despite the crime of Baltimore that drives out value will bring them to their knees again. Only the developers will benefit.”
– Andrew
 
“You, Andrew, characterize Canton as an up and coming area that is ‘struggling’ against the tides of crime and grime in Baltimore. Baloney. Canton has been stable for a quarter century now. The Red Line will not devalue anyone’s home or crush anyone business.”
– richardchambers

“People like Right Rail, Ed Cohen and I are indeed trying to SAVE regional rail transit, by doing what the MTA has given up on doing: thinking beyond their Red Line, which is not regional rail at all, but just a obscenely expensive ‘connect the dots’ exercise.”
– Gerald Neily

“You and Ed and the people associated with TRAC were making these arguments about cost and alignment and mode, etc. over a decade ago. Heck, TRAC used to be able to meet face to face with the MTA Administrator on a regular basis back in the day. I remember when Ed was on the cover of the Urbanite way back when. But guess what? It all fell on deaf ears. And yet the Red Line survived. Maybe its better than you think.”
– richardchambers

“Thirty eight comments so far and no one’s mentioned the trees that will be cut down as the pretty attractive existing median is replaced with concrete and rails. Where’d all the tree huggers go?”
– James Hunt
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No Hollywood ending as Hollywood Diner is set to close again

“That’s too bad.”
– baltomel

“Every business loses money initially. This business needs more time and good marketing.”
– Rhonda Wimbish
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Operator of Hollywood Diner says he doesn’t want to leave

“It’s no surprise really, this restaurant leaves a great deal to be desired. The food is mediocre at best, and completely unappetizing at worst. The service is noticeably disorganized. When I was there a few days ago, it took them a half hour just to tell me that they did not have the sandwich I ordered off of the menu. Then, I had to wait another 30 minutes for them to make my second choice. If this experience is indicative of the usual service then I can see why they’re not attracting customers.”
– Susannah Martin

“BOE HAS GONE TOO FAR!”
– @bmoreadvocate, via Twitter

“City Hall may be growing tired of this experiment.”
– roadsideonline via Twitter

“What is the difference between the way the Diner is run and the way City Hall is run? They both lose money and don’t give the people what they want.”
– Scott Nichols, via Facebook
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Hollywood Diner gets reprieve from Board of Estimates

“Wow, Mayor Failings-Blake. You seriously will criticize a starter company trying to improve and provide services to youth when YOUR office cut the very funds that would have kept youth engaged in activities elsewhere? And then on top of it, you’re going to say that it’s a waste of money (did we forget about Phonegate 2012)? This administration is a JOKE at best.”
– Very Concerned

“Its cause is noble, but is this the best use and location for this diner?”
– @roadsideonline, via Twitter
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Walking to D.C. to stand with the poor

“With 4 decades of entitlements to the poor why are there still poor? Were we not told that welfare would fix this in the 60’s. Were we not told every couple of years if we just pay some more taxes we could fix this? It’s time for the people to to fix the problem themselves and not just have politicians throw other people’s money at it.”
– Bob Brinkman, via Facebook

“The question should be: what are the structures that perpetuate poverty and inequality? We know that racism (along with domestic racial terrorism), sexism (e.g. paying men more than women for the same work, the glass ceiling), and social policies (e.g. American apartheid [segregation & serial forced displacement], redlining, covenant restrictions, convict leasing, sharecropping, outsourcing and the decline of manufacturing in America, gentrification, the Great Recession, et al) are all pivotal factors playing a role of why certain populations are disproportionately poor and why others are not.”
– Lawrence Django Du Bois, via Facebook

“‘The poor’ are not a single person; they are individuals. A person needs a temporary helping hand sometimes, a person who don’t have a well-off family to tide them over. Plus we still have the unsolved problem of single mothers of children too young for school. Do the math! It’s impossible to make enough to pay for even the most minimal living expenses *and* cover the cost of child care unless you have a very highly paid job. These children are worth saving! They have gone on to become doctors, engineers, and even president.”
– Innocent, via Facebook
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Inside City Hall: Bikeshare program inches forward

“It’s amazing (but then again it’s Baltimore so I am not amazed) than NONE of the proposed Bike Share stations are in majority black neighborhoods. These stations are either around Universities/Anchor Institutions (UM, JHU/JHH), at the Inner Harbor or swanky Harbor East. Black people ride bicycles too.”
– Garland Thomas

“This was discussed in detail in the past articles and comments sections. It’s just the beginning of the system. It makes sense to locate the bikes near major tourist and employment centers in the downtown core. That’s what’s worked in starting successful systems around the world. As the system continues to grow and mature. If it leaves out low-income neighborhoods, I’ll be the first to criticize.”
– Jed Weeks

“If equity isn’t one of the foremost considerations in the development of this publicly subsidized ‘bikeshare’ system, then I fail to see the point. I’m with Garland on this, the lack of proposed stations in Black communities is wrong, but perfectly in line with tradition.”
– ZacharyMurray

“If the rates are anything like those of Capital Bikeshare, I can’t see anyone other than tourists using the bikes. $75 for an annual membership just to access the bikeshare and then fees of up to $12/hour. For Baltimore residents It would make more sense to buy an inexpensive bike that will last you for years with no hourly fees.”
– Christopher Kinling
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 Alonso leaving city schools on June 30

“That’s got to be such a sweet job. More than a quarter of a million dollars every year to maintain the status quo. I’d like to believe that the City could get the same results from someone being paid $60,000 per year, but I guess they know best.”
– Tommy Koenig

“How many $1.3 billion dollar organizations are run successfully by someone making $60k a year?”
– Jed Weeks

“I am very sorry to see Dr. Alonso leaving Baltimore, but family does come first. Thanks, Dr. Alonso for your excellent work on our city school system.”
– Mike Bernard

“READING THE ABOVE LETTER IS LIKE LIVING IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!!! He is gone amidst audits, grade tampering allegations (with proof) in the District in Charters….and he has absolutely Zero accountability!!!”
– Einna Brighton-Akers

“His focus was on structure not performance. Which is why he is probably leaving now. With the school building funding passed he may have succeeded in handing public schools over to private hands newly built with taxpayer money.”
– cwals99