Day: June 2, 2014

Pig and a Jig 2014 in pictures and text

Okay, let’s face it. I like ribs, and when they come with live music so much the better. So just a few weeks after Pork in the Park blew out of town we went on Saturday to its Snow Hill-based little sibling called Pig and a Jig, This year’s event was the second annual, and a change in the calendar date from one end of May to the other provided for simply awesome weather.

One of the big differences between the inaugural event last year and this year’s rendition was KCBS certification, so there were over 30 teams vying for the prize money and hardware.

They were set up where we parked last year, with parking now across the road and a shuttle service provided. Unfortunately, the access over there wasn’t as easy and the competition was just wrapping up anyway so I didn’t wander over there to scope things out. While it was nice to have a shuttle bus, I would suggest securing the same trailers they use for the county fair and several tractors – it would make for less waiting.

The other addition was rides for the kids.

Between that and the space for cornhole, it left a modest midway section.

There were still a small number of food vendors, with a couple traveling some distance to be here.

This was at one stand called Kloby’s. Not sure what it would taste like, but it looked interesting.

I suppose, though, it had most of what I ended up having within the Mason jar.

Aside from the beans, which I found a touch too spicy – Kim liked them, though – the meal was pretty good, although I think I would have liked the other half of the rack better. The North Carolina-style sauce was tasty, though.

Meanwhile, we were listening to our friends from Something Grey.

Since I only saw the one band, I won’t do a Weekend of Local Rock feature. But they had a number of bands come back from last year, so they must be treating them right.

I’m not sure just how much property Preston owns, but they probably need more space to make this event bigger and better in 2015. Certainly the local Snow Hill schools would like it to be an ongoing success, and if they can keep KCBS certification they may end up with a big hit on their hands.

And by the way, the reason the photos turned out the way they did was that there was something on my lens. I have no idea how it happened, but it messed up several of these photos and may have scratched the camera lens. For that I’m an unhappy camper, although the camera is an old model which has basically been supplanted by my cell phone. I just like it because it fits easily in my pocket.

Ending with a whimper

It really wasn’t noticed because not many people made a big enough deal of it, but for the third time in two years a referendum petition drive failed to meet the initial hurdle of gathering about 18,500 signatures by May 31. MDPetitions.com could not get enough interest in repealing the “bathroom bill,” formally known as the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2014. Thus it will take effect October 1, and the first abuse of the new law and resulting confrontation will probably take place by the 3rd of that month.

MDPetitions.com has now struck out on both the transgender bill and an effort to overturn a bill terminating the death penalty which passed in 2013. A separate group, Free State Petitions, attempted to petition an onerous gun control measure to referendum last year, but also fell short.

In this year’s version, there was a late push to gather enough signatures – netting about 6,000 – but it fell short with 17,575, according to Delegate Neil Parrott, who heads MDPetitions.com.

So many people did so much and we are very grateful for your enthusiastic support. It is difficult to come this close and then fall short, and yet we know that it was only through this effort that people became aware of the effects of this bill. The press certainly was not spreading the word. YOU did that.

Our goal at Mdpetitions.com is to listen to you and to give you a voice in your government.  People overwhelmingly asked us to petition the “Bathroom Bill”, and we did. Most people did not even know about the bill, let alone how it will impact our safety and privacy. However, when people heard about this issue, the most common response was, “Seriously?” … and they were very willing to sign. Our biggest disappointment is that word spread too slowly to make this first deadline.

In looking at county-by-county totals, it’s apparent the Eastern Shore didn’t do all that well in gathering signatures, as the nine counties only accounted for 1,079 signatures between them – Dorchester and Somerset were lowest with 40 apiece. Leading the way was Parrott’s home county of Washington with 3,688. In a nutshell, that seems to signify the problem as word indeed spread slowly.

With that failure, it appears we will only have one statewide issue on the November ballot. In 2013 the General Assembly passed a “lockbox” requirement for the Transportation Trust Fund – unfortunately, the lock is simply a 3/5 majority of both houses. It would make more of a difference if Republicans got up to the 57 in the House and 19 in the Senate which would make them more than a 2/5 minority in those respective bodies, but otherwise the lock is pretty weak.