6:40 AM is awful darned early to be doing phoners with public radio stations. This morning I was interviewed about Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Celeste Headlee, host of WNYC’s The Takeaway.

Yesterday’s Washington Post article on the site formerly known as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” spread globally at Twitter speed. Montgomery County’s 2006 purchase of the property is being painted by bloggers and reporters as incompetent at best and corrupt at worst. It is disappointing to see Montgomery County and historic preservation portrayed this way.

Montgomery County government officials should seize this opportunity to revisit Councilmember Mike Knapp’s 2009 proposal to amend Chapter 24A of the Montgomery County Code, the county’s historic preservation law. A higher bar for research standards must be set. Montgomery County cannot afford the reputational and financial costs of another “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

Click here for The Takeaway’s segment page or listen to the interview here:

Interview Audio:

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