Some Halloween Cheer

All this >election business is getting quite tiresome, don’t you think? How about a change of pace?

You might have noticed that tonight was some sort of special night.

I don’t know what it’s like in your part of town, but here in my neck of the woods, Halloween is a Very Big Deal. There’s a block party, and neighborhood kids and families trick-or-treat en masse. For many parents, it is a yearly question: which gets to go to the party, and which stays home to give out candy? It’s like a giant street festival.

I got to go with the kids this year, and took just a few photos. Here’s a slideshow of the ones that turned out!

Do you have photos to share of your Halloween night? Send ‘em in!

UPDATE to Campaign Finance Reports

> Some candidates and other players took issue with the way certain pieces of data were characterized in this recent article recapping the candidates’ second-period finance reports. No, I won’t say who.

Not only that, but one candidate who had not filed by the deadline (Monday at 5pm) came through, so that data is now available too.

So, if you click the link, you’ll see it’s been updated, with the updates indicated.

(Image Ellison.)

Rockville Police Blotter 10/29/2007

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Click on a pushpin to learn more about each reported incident.

Each week’s police report is a separate map. Click here for a list of all of them.

Pakulniewicz-Chidiac Palm Card In-Hand

City Council candidate >Tracy Pakulniewicz-Chidiac has sent along her campaign literature to add to the collection of 2007 City election mailers I have been amassing. From me to you, gentle reader:

(Click on each image for a larger version.)

POTD: Climbing

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My eye is always drawn by this little decoration.

CORRECTION To Real Rockville Membership

>CORRECTION: In our recent item on candidates’ finances for October, a paragraph about the PAC Real Rockville implied that its chair, Lora Meisner, is also heading the campaigns of Drew Powell and Anne Robbins. The sentence in question was unclear and I did not catch the ambiguity. It should read:

Real Rockville, the City’s only registered PAC, headed by Lora Meisner, and which counts among its members Drew Powell’s and Anne Robbins’ campaign managers, reported raising nothing in October. Its previously reported total stands at $119, consisting of the initial in-kind services donated by Meisner for a website.

(The changed portion is in italics.)

Apologies to Rockville Central readers, and to the campaigns of Powell and Robbins, for the confusion.

Candidate Finances For October

>[Note: This post UPDATED throughout. Substance of each update is noted.]

The second election-season campaign-fund reports were filed by candidates yesterday. Rockville Central prepared this summary of highlights for each candidate for this period October 2 through 28, 2007.

[UPDATE: One candidate did not like the way the contribution numbers were reported. Specifically, our separating cash from in-kind contributions. So, below, we have added total contributions.]

PACs:

Real Rockville, the City’s only registered PAC, headed by Lora Meisner, reported raising nothing in October. Its previously reported total stands at $119, consisting of the initial in-kind services donated by Meisner for a website. [UPDATE: Drew Powell's and Anne Robbins campaign managers are former, but not current members. The previous version of this post had them as current members based on this Gazette article.]

Mayor’s Race:

• Susan Hoffmann leads the field reporting cash donations from 25 contributors of $5,000, and $100 in-kind contributions, for a total to date of $17,415 ($17,315 cash and $100 in-kind contributions). Her campaign also reported spending $12,817 this period and $15,433 total to date.

• Mark Pierzchala reported raising $635 in cash from 12 contributors in October, for total to date of $3,230 cash (no in-kind contributions). He reported spending $1,048 in October, for a total of $4,827 to date.
• Drew Powell reported raising $1,750 in cash from nine contributors (including $500 donated by himself and $500 by Ike Leggett) and $1,635 in-kind contributions (another $1,500 paid by him for ads and photography). Totals to date were $6,137 ($3,642 cash and $2,495 in-kind). Powell reported spending $1,643 in October, and $3,274 total to date.

For City Council candidates, the following October contributions, totals raised to date, and total expenditures to date were reported:

• John Britton - $1,739 cash, $251 in-kind; totals $4,401 ($4,125 cash, $276 in-kind); spent $1,538.

• Bob Dorsey - $1,365 cash (including $200 from Ike Leggett); total cash $1,715 (no in-kind); spent $1,753.
• Piotr Gajewski - $2,325 cash, $500 in-kind; total $3,785 ($3,285 cash, $500 in-kind); spent $4,542.
• Rich Gottfried - $285 cash, $322 in-kind; total $1,067 ($720 cash, $322 in-kind, $25 other); $2,880 spent to date.
• Carl Henn - $310 cash; total cash to date $2,731 ($2,261 cash, $110 in-kind); total spent to date $4,146.
• Phyllis Marcuccio - $796 cash, $79 in-kind; total $5,705 ($5,626 cash, $79 in-kind); spent $3,372.
• Brigitta Mullican - $1,575 cash, $3,161 in-kind (that she paid for direct mail); total $11,774 ($7,125 cash and $3879 in-kind); spent $10,254.
• Tracy Pakulniewicz-Chidiac - $1,600 cash, $658 in-kind; total $3,758 ($3,100 cash, $658 in-kind); $1,728 spent to date.
• Anne Robbins - $1,355 cash; total $8,465 ($7,506 cash from individuals, $584 cash from campaign committees, $375 in-kind); $6,475 spent to date.
• Eric Kuohwa Wang – again did not report receiving any contributions nor spending any money.
• Theo Anderson – No receipts this period, $900 expenditure. To date contributions $85; to date expenditures $900. [This entry UPDATED. It was not available when this was first posted.]

Thanks to Rockville Central contributor Frank Anastasi for this timely research.

Update On The Yard Sign Mystery

At last night’s >farewell party for Mayor Giammo, I spoke with City Manager Scott Ullery and learned that, earlier that day, the state department of transportation had ‘fessed up to removing the campaign yard signs along West Montgomery Avenue (MD-28, a state road).

Ullery says he plans to write a strongly worded (actually, he said: “crabby”) letter asking, among other things, why they did not just notify the candidates that their signs were out of compliance rather than confiscating them.

Just to close out the case, I will post the letter when I receive it.

POTD: Wet Pumpkins

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These are wet from the recent rains. They are on my porch. Please do not smash them tomorrow night.

Mayor Giammo's Day. Really.

> This evening the City held a celebratory reception in the main meeting room of our brand new VisArts Center, overlooking the courtyard in Town Square, to honor and say farewell to Mayor Larry Giammo, who is ending six years as mayor of Our Fair City.

Former councilman John Hall presided over the ceremony which included a roster of area officials who spoke: County Executive Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, Board of Education member Stephen Abrams, Gaithersburg’s mayor Sidney A. Katz, and Mark Poletunow, executive director of Rockville Community Ministries. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin sent a message that Hall read from the podium, while Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who was at a town meeting in a neighboring county, sent a representative. The state legislative delegation of District 17 sent a message read from the podium by Councilwoman Susan Hoffmann.

Every current member of the Council attended. Councilmembers Dorsey, Marcuccio, and Hoffmann gave talks from the podium and Councilwoman Robbins, who had to leave early, sent a congratulatory message.

City Manager Scott Ullery thanked the mayor from the podium on behalf of all the City staff.

All in all, it was a fine evening for the mayor. The day, October 29, 2007, was proclaimed “Larry Giammo Day” not only in Montgomery County, but also in Gaithersburg (Mayor Katz said Giammo “would need somewhere to vacation,” which prompted the proclamation).

Mayor Giammo gave a heartfelt thank you to all, calling his family up to the stage as the evening drew to a close.

UPDATE: I forgot to add the most important part of the mayor’s speech. He said he gets asked two big questions these days. The first is, “What are you going to do?” His answer: Go back to the private sector. He says he has “four or five” ideas he is working on, and we will learn more as time progresses. But, he will remain active in civic affairs. Second, “Are you going to run for office again?” The mayor’s answer: “Maybe.”

But, it was not the good feelings that ruled the evenings — as is often the case, it was the jokes. Mayor Katz, of course, got a chuckle with his crack about vacations. Councilman Dorsey got a few laughs when he compared the Mayor to a NASCAR driver, who knows he is going to get in a few bumps along the way to the finish line.

Former councilman John Hall, however, stole the show with a lengthy roast that spared little and had the room in stitches. Some of the jokes just can’t be repeated, but suffice to say that Hall summed it all up as follows:

(If you can’t see it, go here.)

The City on FIOS

Last week’s >item on the travails of waiting for Verizon’s super-high-speed fiber-optic network (FIOS) to come on line has generated a number of comments and some emails (that have yet to result in comments). It seems those who care . . . care deeply.

City Manager Scott Ullery has sent me a statement about the situation as it relates to negotiations with Verizon. Some have characterized the City as holding an unreasonable position in the negotiations with the ol’ VZ. But, as with any negotiation, there are (at least) two sides. Here’s the City Manager’s articulation of Rockville’s:

The City of Rockville is eager for competitive cable and Internet services to be available to its residents. We continue to negotiate with Verizon on an agreement that would allow the company to install and keep its new fiber optic cables in City streets, sidewalks and other rights-of-way. Among other things, this agreement simply requires the company to obtain necessary and routine permits to undertake construction and conduct its business using City streets, sidewalks and other rights-of-way. The permit process is essential to ensuring the public’s property and all community interests are protected. Without the City’s oversight, construction projects in the City’s rights of way would present a very high risk of seriously damaging City assets, other utility infrastructure, and even private property.

The Mayor and Council have directed that the fees associated with these permits cover the city’s costs, so that taxpayers are not, in effect, subsidizing a for-profit commercial enterprise. The normal fees that the City charges for work in the rights-of-way are based on a cost study done by an outside financial firm. For a project of the size proposed by Verizon, there is a great demand placed on City government services among them, permit application review, engineering review, traffic plan review, traffic control, review and oversight of plans for repair and restoration of streets, sidewalks, and any utilities that may be damaged; and inspection of the work as it progresses and upon completion. Verizon has declined to pay these fees and has requested substantial reductions in them. The City has offered a number of alternatives that, we believe, would meet both Verizon’s and the City’s needs. We are continuing to work with Verizon on these alternatives and hope to make progress soon on these negotiations.

The City also wants Verizon to commit to a faster and more reasonable timetable for rolling out the FIOS service to all residents in the City. Based on Verizon’s current schedule, it may take five years or more for service to be provided to King Farm, which is not acceptable.

Thank you to the City Manager’s office for passing this along.

Costume Night At Austin Grill

> Town Square’s fabulous Austin Grill (one of just a handful of Rockville’s live music venues) has announced a spooky special for Halloween. Not only does anyone in costume get ten percent of their food, but . . .

[A] costume contest takes place at 8:30, with prizes awarded based on audience applause. Get there early and give all the voters a chance to check out your costume. Bring friends and make them clap.

• 1st Prize: $125 Austin Grill Gift Card
• 2nd Prize: Dinner for two and two Caps hockey tickets
• 3rd Prize: $25 Austin Grill Gift Card

It gets better. At 9, the live music starts — it’s open mic night. (Sign-up at 8:30. No amps or full drum kits but light percussion is welcome. No karaoke, stand-up comedy, poetry, etc.)

Come on down, have fun, and support one of Town Square’s excellent businesses on Wednesday night.

(Image from Austin Grill Rockville’s MySpace page.)

Special Session On Budget Begins

>Tonight, with a speech at 8pm, Governor O’Malley kicks off the week-long special session on the state budget. There are many controversial proposals on the table, including slot machines (“video lottery terminals”), and a hike in sales tax. So far, though, there has been little in the way of detail.

For those who like to follow the inner workings of government and watch sausage being made, here is a schedule.

• Gas tax: Wednesday morning
• Tobacco tax hike: Thursday morning
• Sales tax increase (“expansion”): Thursday afternoon
• Slots: Friday morning

(Image Richard L. Duquette)

POTD: Blink And You'll Miss It

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The rising tide of falling homes continues. These POTD’s were taken less than a fortnight apart.

Hoffmann, Robbins Mailers

More election mailers have arrived >Chez Nous, delivered not by the candidates but by the Postal Service this time. Nice to know I am on some mailing lists. (Click on each thumbnail to make it bigger. Or go here to see an album of all the flyers and mailers I’ve received. You know you want to.)

Susan Hoffmann (the third I’ve gotten so far):

Anne Robbins:

I also got a repeat of Brigitta Mullican’s: