Gaudete! from the National Philharmonic Singers 12/5/09

>Christ Episcopal Church in Rockville will be the setting for the National Philharmonic Singers’ holiday program, presented on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 8 p.m. Join Conductor Stan Engebretson, Guest Vocal Artist Molly Donnelly, The Singers, and Theodore Guerrant on organ as they perform choral music from Renaissance to Contemporary periods.

Kate Gordon sent along this recommendation:

This concert, always my favorite of the year, promises to be a beautiful event with candlelight processionals and a chance for folks to hear their favorite carols and experience pieces they may not be as familiar with. Both of our Maestros, Piotr Gajewski and Stan Engebretson, have looked at the outreach work of the National Philharmonic Singers and our free concerts at Christ Episcopal as a gift we give back to the community that supports us with such enthusiasm. And, given the proximity of Christ Episcopal to the Town Center, it is a great chance to make an evening of it with shopping and dinner.

There will be an excerpt from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio sung by special guest, mezzo-soprano Molly Donnelly. In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn’s birth, the ensemble will perform Ave Maria for tenor solo and eight-part choir as well as the anthem There Shall a Star appear from Jacob. Also on the program will be Gaudete, a contemporary Swedish arrangement of old traditional carols by Anders Ohrwall. Spirituals and other traditional carols and works by Praetorius and Gabrieli will complete the evening. The finale will be a celebration of traditional carols for all to sing.

All free-will donations will benefit the Community Ministries of Rockville.

The National Philharmonic Singers is the chamber ensemble of the National Philharmonic Chorale, conducted by Maestro Engebretson, and is the resident choral group of the Music Center at Strathmore.

Christ Episcopal Church is located at 107 South Washington Street.

Two additional friends have emailed me about this performance so I know it is an evening we should not miss!

Tree Lighting In Town Square 12/3/09

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Head on over to the Holiday Open House on Thursday, December 3, 2009 from 6:30 PM till 9 PM.

The whole evening sounds festive:

• Tree lighting ceremony
• Complimentary photos with Santa
• Holiday music
• Horse and Carriage rides (Bring an unwrapped toy to benefit residents of Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission. Monetary donations to HOC will also be accepted for the rides.)
• Dinner specials are promised and you can register to win prizes including a “Dining Spree”.

You can make donations to the HOC toy drive until December 20th in th Fenestra Apartments leasing office at th corner of Beall and Maryland. (M-F 10-10, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5)

If you spend $150 at two or more Rockville Town Square shops or restaurants between December 1 - 13, you will receive a Fraiser Fir single poured candle. (Get the gift with your receipts at 10,000 Villages or Cottage Monet.)

Bring the festive feeling home.

POTD: Luftballon

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With apologies to Nena.Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Thankful For New Shoes

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Today several doctors and medical professionals from Georgetown Hospital led by Dr. Paul Cooper conducted foot exams for the men staying at Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless’ (MCCH’s) Home Builders Care Assessment Center. Through the Heart to Sole program, each of the men also received a brand new pair of shoes.

Approximately 100 very appreciative men lined up at 1:30 p.m. Some of the men didn’t have any shoes and were wearing sandals. Others had shoes which were worn and ragged.

All the men circulated around four stations for foot exams, medical advice, and proper shoe sizing. Each man was helped to find the perfect shoe for their needs. The donated footwear included quite an assortment. After receiving socks and shoes, volunteers were on hand to make sure they fit properly.

Since I work part-time for MCCH, I sorted the shoes and helped the men find the right pair. Some of the men wanted dressy shoes for job interviews while others needed work boots. Many were grateful to be given waterproof winter boots because the cold season is upon us. It’s always a good feeling to have a brand new pair of shoes.

Today these medical professionals and their families made a difference. The men were truly thankful.

May you all find much to be thankful for as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Reader Note by Brigitta Mullican: A Verifiable Voting System

>Will Rockville consider using the optical-scan voting machines in the 2011 election? The City of Takoma Park used the new voter verified technology for their November 3rd Election.

Optical-scan voting machines offer a relatively high degree of verification support. These machines save a record of the votes and allow auditors to go back and verify results if necessary. Maryland should adopt optical-scan systems which cost less than the touch-screen voting systems.

More information about the 2009 City of Takoma Park election is available at their website.

More information about the Scantegrity application is available at www.scantegrity.org.

Brigitta Mullican

If you would like to contribute a Reader Note or other piece of writing, please send submissions to [email protected]. The more community voices, the better Rockville Central will be. Please remember that the views of contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors.

Editorial Opinion By Brad Rourke: Suggestions For Charter Review

In her inaugural talk at this weekend’s ceremony, Mayor >Phyllis Marcuccio outlined a number of planned initiatives, including three commissions: one to review budget and finance, one to improve communications, and one to review and make recommendations for the governance of the city.

I wanted to make a suggestion about city governance. People can take or leave it, dismiss it entirely, or perhaps build on it if they so choose.

Move to a Hybrid District and At-large Council Structure

I suggest that Rockville be divided into four (or some other number) representative districts, with roughly similar populations, and that each district would be represented by one member of the City Council. Candidates would run in each district separately. This would ensure that each area of Rockville would have someone on council focused on their interests and seeking to give them a voice. These would be two-year terms.

However, criticisms I have head that a district-only system might result in division do carry weight. And so, I suggest that, in addition to the district council representatives, two other candidates run at-large for four-year terms. These terms would be staggered, so that every two years citizens would vote for one district representative and one at-large representative. (If the number of districts is odd, then the number of at-large members would have to be odd too.)

This would result in a six-member Council with two at-large members and four district members. Including the Mayor, this would result in a seven-member governing body. With a seven member body, three could gather without triggering open meeting laws.

It would also ensure that each area of the City has someone speaking up on its behalf. I believe that Our Fair City is simply too big and diverse for one person to truly keep their eye on everything. This was driven home to me during the Twinbrook candidate forum in the last election. There was one question that asked the candidates to say how they would respond to specifically Twinbrook issues. A dismaying number of candidates appeared to be winging it on that question, hypothesizing what issues might face Twinbrook. Too few candidates seemed to just know the answer.

Various parts of town have, over time, gotten the feeling that they are shut out of conversations at City Hall, in part because candidates from other areas are over-represented. With district representation, we would no longer have to be content with having many candidates saying to each area, “I can represent you too.” Instead of a field with one candidate from Twinbrook, we might instead have three people competing for the chance to bring Twinbrook’s voice to City Hall — no matter what, each area will get a voice.

And, at the same time, with some at-large, longer term council members, we would also make sure we maintain some continuity and institutional memory from term to term, as well as have folks who are focused across the City and not in specific areas.

I am sure this is not a perfect plan. I have not tried to think it all the way through yet, as I am more interested in hearing discussion of its pros and cons — and perhaps some competing ideas.

So: What do you think?

(Please note: I don’t mean to pick on Twinbrook here, nor to pick on any individual candidates. I am just using it as an example.)

POTD: Hanging By A Thread

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For many, the long weekend is beginning today, and it’s a fine time to think about giving thanks . . . and about virtue. Seminal American philosopher Jonathan Edwards wrote a tract entitled The Nature of True Virtue, in which he likened being virtuous in a world filled with temptation as hanging by a thread above a flame. I thought of that when I saw this bundle of cables suspended above a leafpile. Don’t ask me why. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Lunching in the DMV: Bob's Noodle 66

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Photo by Dskco

I’m constantly driving up and down North Washington Street and have never tried Bob’s Noodle 66. Thanks to Dskco for reviewing this very local restaurant on her Lunching in the DMV blog.

My cousin has been craving “Stinky Tofu” so a bunch of us went to Bob’s Noodle 66 in Rockville. It’s a very popular Taiwanese style restaurant. You won’t find General Tso’s chicken on this menu. Located in downtown Rockville behind Orange Ball Billiads, there is plenty of free parking. The closest metro stop is Rockville on the red line.

Sounds like this is an exotic restaurant with just about ANYTHING on the menu! Thanks to Dskco’s usual photography, everything looks delicious. Payment and language make Bob’s Noodle 66 a unique little find.

Lunching in the DMV is a local Rockville blog reviewing restaurants throughout the metro DC area. Whenever, she writes about a restaurant in Rockville, we post a link to her article. She stops by all those places you wonder about to let you know whether you should. We’re happy to share her experiences with our readers.

Stop Hunger Now by Frank Anastasi

On Saturday my son and I took part in a most amazing effort. About 80 people packed 27,500 meals, which will feed starving school children in places like Haiti, in about two hours. How could this be? >Stop Hunger Now has a system that rivals the most efficient assembly line in any auto plant, that’s how. The organization gets volunteers to pack millions of meals it sends all over the world to feed starving school-age children.

Here’s how it happened. One young man arrived at Christ Episcopal Church in a large truck filled with 50 pound bags of rice, granulated soy protein, and dried vegetables this morning. He also had a dozen or so five-gallon pails of chicken flavored multi-vitamins about half the size of a golf ball. And 4,584 small, plastic bags.

Teams of five people used a standing wire rack, a funnel, and various sized plastic cups to fill each bag with the prescribed amounts of the dried food. Runners (and did we run!) shuttled small pails of filled bags from each team to weigh stations, and returned empty pails to the filling teams. Weighers weighed each bag and added or subtracted some rice so each bag met the target weight. Sealers then sealed each bag with a heating press. Packers then packed the sealed bags in boxes ready for shipment. Sustainers replenished each team’s supplies of dried food as they emptied their supply bins filling the bags.

It was the best kind of organized chaos you’ve ever seen! People yelling “Runner!” “Rice!” “Bins! We need more bins!” “Got Soy?” Slip-sliding on spilled rice underfoot. And the best – the SHN guy banging a gong when we’d hit our first thousand meals, then at five thousand, and again and again, on up to the finale. It was crazy, and so much fun.

We started getting organized and receiving instruction on what to do around 10:00 am. By 12:30, the last bags were packed. A little clean up and a lot of shaking of hands, and we were done.

So, think about it. When water is added to the food that goes into each bag and it’s boiled, you have six servings of a pretty tasty chicken-flavored rice and vegetable casserole. So you see, six times 4,584 equals about 27,500 meals! Considering that things like mud cookies (lard mixed with, yes, mud) are a staple of many starving children, it’s easy to see the huge impact that 80 people working feverishly for two hours — and having a blast every minute — will have combating starvation around the world.

You can get in on this action, too. We were told that Christ Episcopal was the first church in Maryland to do this. Want to go next? Look up Stop Hunger Now, or contact me and I will help you find them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Frank Anastasi

Rockville Central encourages readers to submit pieces for consideration on all sorts of things — volunteering, shopping, restaurants, performances, art, cultural events, and more. Rules: it should be in Rockville and it should be a recommendation. Get in touch with us if you would like to submit something! The more voices the better!

POTD: Wood

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When I lived in Maine, a man’s woodpile was a true matter of pride. Now that I live where it is much more temperate, laying in the kindling is not so important. But we had some tree work done this summer and I am delighted to have a decent woodpile as winter begins.

Inauguration of Our New Mayor and Council

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Yesterday the 62nd Mayor and Council were inaugurated in a packed F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre during a ceremony hosted by Eileen McGuckian, author and founder of Peerless Rockville, who sprinkled historical facts throughout her remarks. She wondered what the men who incorporated Rockville were thinking in 1860. What could they do separate from Montgomery County? But they had begun to identify as a village and embarked on the journey to establish our City.

Photo by Brigitta Mullican

As in most of our public ceremonies, musical entertainment enlivened the event. The Richard Montgomery High School Madrigals stole the show – with meaning. Director Ronald Frezzo explained their first piece was about Queen Elizabeth and “how together with the people, the rulers create a better society for us all.” Their singing of the National Anthem combined with the formality of the City Police Color Guard created a respectful introduction.

Photo by Brigitta Mullican

After Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio was sworn in, her first act was to swear in the councilmembers. After they all took the oath, she needed to have them all come back up and sign the Oath of Office. She called John Britton up and he noticed, “This is Bridget’s.” After being given another, he joked “They all say Bridget. What’s going on here?”

This, of course, set off a string of jokes about the situation.

Piotr Gajewski pretended to overly scrutinize his Oath and remarked “Name, check, date of birth, okay” then signed.

Bridget Newton signed.

Then Mayor Marcuccio said “Now I can’t possibly confuse this last one” as she called Mark Pierzchala and he responded, “Now we know why John is a lawyer.”

All the quips received laughter and I personally thought it was good to see the councilmembers interact in good spirits.

Photo by Brigitta Mullican

In her formal remarks Mayor Marcuccio said she would be putting forth a number of proposals for a citizen-driven future and she hoped they would be supported.

During her speech she outlined three groups to be formed and she invited anyone who was interested in serving to let her know.

The first is a Task Force on Finance and Budget which would spend time thoroughly reviewing the City’s finances and complete a report by the end of March 2010.

Another proposal was an Ad Hoc Committee on Communications to review how the City disseminates news by staff, Channel 11, the web, and newsletter. With all these avenues she noted that less than 17% of the voters cast a ballot, which she thought could not be explained by apathy alone.

She would like to hold council meetings beyond the official chambers in such places as Thomas Farm and Twinbrook to engage people and find out what’s on their mind.

Perhaps the biggest announcement was for a Charter Review Committee to consider the size and terms of the council. She said the council needs to expand to meet demands and the City Manager form of government needs to be clarified.

During the forums, the candidates were asked if changes to the council were merited in light of our increased population. Various opinions on expansion have been proposed. Rockville voters have repeatedly rejected longer terms.

The new Mayor saluted former Mayor Susan Hoffmann for all her contributions to the City. She emphasized that her green initiatives were forward thinking and added she was committed to follow-up on her efforts.

Eileen McGuckian commented that Mayor Marcuccio’s speech was a nice way of “looking to the past and looking to the future.”

For the final performance of American the Beautiful by the Madrigals, Maestro Piotr Gajewski, was welcomed as guest conductor. His son, a former member, joined the Madrigals to sing too. Of course the entire audience sung the first and last verses ending on a musical note together.

The first Mayor and Council meeting for this newly-inaugurated body is tonight at 7 PM in City Hall.

Contributor Opinion by R.A. Schrack: The 2009 Rockville Election Finances

UPDATE SINCE ORGINAL POSTING: An updated Contributions Table has been included below.>There were 12 candidates that filed financial reports during the 2009 election cycle. This report is based on the first 2 reports that were submitted to the city before the election. There is one more report due, but it would be very unusual for this last report to alter the conclusions of this report.

The table below compares the results of the last four elections.

The low participation rate of .17 probably is due to the large number of new voters registered for the 2008 presidential campaign. The values for individual candidates are given on the next page. Mailings usually went out to about 8000 voters who had been active in previous elections. Candidates made different levels of effort in soliciting funds. One candidate sent out stamped-self addressed- envelopes that seemed to be very effective in getting a large number of donors. Many candidates had large fractions of their donors live outside of Rockville. This can result from support from co-workers and/or relatives, and no negative intent is implied.

The data in this report can be found on the city website: /www.rockvillemd.gov/election09/ To see a financial report, click on the candidate. Then on the candidate page click on the report date desired.

The graph above shows the relationship of votes obtained to number of donors. The dashed line shows the average of 48 votes for every donor. Candidates to the left of the line did better than average. Below it is a graph of votes per dollar spent. Again the dashed line shows the average of 44 cents spent for every vote received. Note that John Britton only had to spend 11 cents for each vote If he were a truly independent first-time candidate like the candidates beneath him on the graph he probably would not have done this well. He probably profited by a combination of incumbency, slating and some bullet balloting.

Marcuccio spent the greatest amount, $16,286 for a cost of $4.92 per vote. It is interesting to note that in 2007 Marcuccio had 88 donors. Only 44 of those donors also contributed in 2009. In addition she got 12 new donors from Anne Robbins 2007 donor list and 8 new donors from Bridget Newton’s list. Most donor lists were composed of names unique to the candidate. For example, Marcuccio had over a hundred new unique donors in 2009. Of the 608 donors listed for all candidates, only about a dozen appeared on several donor lists.

Contributions

Originally Posted Table:

Cash Cont.- Total cash contribution to candidate
# Donors - Total contributions list. There may be duplications
# N-R Donors - number of contributors with non-Rockville addresses
% N-R Donors - % of Donors with non-Rockville addresses
In-Kind Cont. - Value of listed in-kind contributions.
Total Cont. - sum of cash and in-kind contributions
Loans - Value of loan, usually made by a candidate to their campaign. None of these has been repaid.

Updated Table: Drew Powell used GIS to analyze the addresses of donors resulting in the following:

Expenditures

Expenditures - total expenditures
Balance - Amount left in campaign account. Loans have not been repaid.
Ave. Cont. - Average contribution, Cash Contributions divided by number of donors.
$/vote - Expenditures divided by number of votes.
Votes/donor - Votes divided by number of donors.

This report was based on the financial reports submitted October 1, 2009 and October 29,2009.
There is a report due on December 3, if it makes any major changes a supplemental report will be made.

Roald Schrack

This is a contributor opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration — the more voices the better. We especially welcome people who disagree with us. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

POTD: Standing O

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At her inauguration on Sunday, Mayor Phyllis M. Marcuccio received a rousing standing ovation.

Contributor Opinion By Susan Hoffmann: Thank You For The Honor Of Serving

>Dear Residents of Rockville:

I wish to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for giving me the high honor to serve you as Mayor and previously as a Councilmember. I wish I could be in direct touch with you, but this open letter to all will have to suffice.

As I said in my 2009 campaign kickoff speech . . . “my love affair with Rockville continues.” And that is and will always be the case. To serve a City . . . a community that one loves, is a great honor indeed, but also an enormous privilege that befalls only the most fortunate among us. I do, however, recommend it highly. Public service is extremely rewarding and provides an opportunity to give back that is without equal.

My family and I have been blessed with much love and support from our fellow residents. I have received an avalanche of good wishes and good thoughts. Your kindness is most appreciated.

Local grassroots politics is the best, most gratifying politics and Rockville does it as well as anywhere. Going door-to-door to learn what’s on the minds of our neighbors cannot be duplicated by any other activity. Rain or shine, voters are grateful that we are interested in seeking out their problems and opinions. I highly recommend it…whether as a candidate or an advocate for a candidate.

My congratulations to Mayor Marcuccio and the newly-elected City Council. May wisdom and good judgment continue to serve you well. Kudos to everyone who was a candidate this year. I believe that the caliber of candidates in the 2009 campaign has raised the bar for all future elections and I salute you. I shall continue to be a proud resident of Rockville and look forward to seeing you out and about throughout the City.

Best,
Susan Hoffmann

This is a contributor opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration — the more voices the better. We especially welcome people who disagree with us. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

POTD: Reflecting

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This cool shot of the sky . . . seen reflected in this bank window . . . is by Julia Defino Leiby.