Over the last few months I have been in contact with many members of the local media. Most of them want to ignore what I have to say. The more they ignore, the more frustrated people like me--young, educated citizens of the Baltimore area--become. They read stories about Baltimore's decay but see nothing about anything useful being discussed to keep young people in Baltimore. Why do we focus our time on creating talent in Baltimore when we are home to some of the best private schools on earth that turn out talent every year that goes away?

Baltimore is already a tremendous EXPORTER of educated talent that feels totally alienated by the current policies in the city. We have universities that bring in and turn out talent, but we are unable to keep the talent living here. We complain about how the population is decreasing in every neighborhood in Baltimore, and how housing vacancies increase every day, yet no attempt is made to attract what this city desperately needs, YOUNG post-college kids willing to take chances. People my age are fed up with what's going on. The people who worked hard go unnoticed and unappreciated in Baltimore, while our city and state spend MILLIONS on initiatives to reward the people who couldn't care less about learning. And then everybody wonders why this city keeps emptying out at an alarming rate every day.

Baltimore is slowly wasting away. Don't worry though: the kids who cared about their education are not. Eventually they will find their way, use their energies toward other endeavors NOT involved with Baltimore--enjoying lives in Owings Mills, Manhattan, and Silicon Valley while Baltimore rots. What will the media have to write about when this city becomes Harborplace surrounded by a million empty houses? The incredible architecture, culture, and history of Owings Mills New Town?

I came back to the city not because I was invited back by our politicians. I came back because I want to change Baltimore. I want to raise the morale of this city and empty the suburbs back into the city. People are tired of hearing the same-old, same-old. People are getting tired of the same-old names in the paper who talk the talk while IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE CITY the number of abandoned houses increases. It's time for some old leaders to step aside and let new young ones emerge.

Instead of complaining about the problems, I have a plan of action to do something to fix them. This can be viewed at www.techbalt.com

This is a time Baltimore should be thriving and rebuilding. This is my dream. It should be the dream of all of us. Would you rather have Baltimore known for evictions or entrepreneurs? Start-ups or abandoned blocks? I think if the people of this region knew of the kinder, better alternative, they would gladly support it.


Readers can communicate with the writer at adam-AT-techbalt.com, or see www.techbalt.com or members.aol.com/belmont111/neighbor.html