Enter Rockville Living’s First Photo Contest

>Rockville Living is having its first ever contest called “Stay Warm, Rockville!”. I’ve already entered. You should too!

At LA Boxing "I burn 1,000 per hour by kickboxing to stay absolutely hot" Photo by Francine Duley.

It’s simple. You need to send along a picture of you or a friend doing whatever it is you like to do to stay warm in Rockville during these frigid temperatures. Helen Triolo suggests “eating chili at Hard Times, drinking a steaming espresso at Lola Cafe, downing a bowl of delicious New Orleans’s Gumbo at Potomac Grill, working out at Gold’s Gym - wherever you like to go to stay warm and toasty when it’s snowing or gray outside.”

To enter you can either upload the photo to Rockville Living’s Facebook page or email it to [email protected].

You need to tell:

• Where the picture was taken
• By whom if it’s important, and
• What caption you’d like to go with the photo.

The picture will be posted on the Facebook page and at Rockville Living starting on February 1st. Specifically the photo will be placed on the listing page for the business. If the person in the photo also owns a business, it will appear on that listing page as well. Helen explains “For example, if Ruth Hanessian sends a photo of herself having lunch at El Mariachi, the photo will appear on both the El Mariachi page and the Animal Exchange page.”

What can you win?

For the business with the most entries as of 5 p.m. February 28, 2010, we’ll send a gift certificate for $25 to each of 5 people with entries for that business (or a check for $25 if gift certificates are not applicable). If there are more than 5 entries for one business, we’ll do a drawing. If there are fewer than 5, we’ll include people from the business with the next highest number.

You can submit for more than one business/organizations. Of course, they all must have a Rockville address.

Julius West Students Donate To Haiti Relief

Organizations and individuals all through Rockville are donating to relief efforts in the quake-stricken Haiti. (>For example, KidzCare.) Here’s a new effort that just crossed our desk.

Gail Fribush, the IB Middle Years Program director at Julius West Middle School recently wrote the following, which was shared with the JW community:

“Why I’m Proud to Work at Julius West”

From Gail Fribush

On January 15, three days after the earthquake in Haiti, we began an effort to collect money to aid with relief efforts. Students were encouraged to bring in spare change (or bills) to fill our large water bottle and BOSS, SGA and French students helped to coordinate and encourage contributions during lunch each day.

Here is what the water bottle looked like after 5 days.

Students had an opportunity to guess how much we collected before we counted the money, and I think we were all amazed at how much all of those pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and bills added up. In fact we collected $2,224.32!

The money was sent to the Save the Children Foundation Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. For me personally one of the best parts of the drive was seeing the number of students who brought in zip lock bags full of change, as well as those who gave a little each day that we were collecting. So while there may be a few more empty piggy banks in Rockville, there was much to be proud of here as our students proved once again that they are well on their way to becoming responsible global citizens.

Thanks to parents for raising such great kids and for your support as well.

POTD: No One Home

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Don’t know why, but this scene struck me. I like barren-looking images once in a while.

Rockville Film Buff Wins Lottery

Late last year, a Rockville man bought a $1 million winning lottery ticket at Bloom.

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David Combs, Image From Maryland Lottery

Maybe there’s something lucky about Our Fair City! Lottery officials report that Rockville man David Combs bought a $30,000 winning scratch off ticket last week. (From where? Apollo Restaurant, a favorite spot of mine.)

It gets better. Combs, it turns out, is a film buff. Big time. As you may know, the scratch-off lottery games are all themed. Combs’ winning ticket was a Cinema Cash game. Ah, sweet irony. Says the report:

He waited until after work to scratch and, when he did, brought family running to see why he was suddenly laughing so uncontrollably. “I just started laughing,” David told officials, “I think I was in shock.”

Combs says he plans a down payment on a new home with his winnings.

POTD: Secure Mail

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I have a thing for mailboxes (not unlike the thing I have for flags).

RideOn Eyes Cutting 'Round Rockville' Route 45 On Saturdays

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Drawing From The City

According to Rockville Central friend Max van Balgooy, one issue on citizens’ minds at the recent meeting of the Mayor and Council in Twinbrook is RideOn bus Route 45. Specifically, Montgomery County is considering canceling Saturday service on this route in order to plug the hole in its budget.

This seems a shame, and short-sighted given that just a few years ago it cost almost a million dollars to get the route up and running, and that it is envisioned as a key element in the business development plan for Rockville’s town center area.

Our friend Jonathan Smith let us know that the County has scheduled a public forum on the Route 45 (and other routes) cancelation. It is:

Monday, February 1, 2010
6:30 pm until the last speaker is done (whew!)
Executive Office Building Cafeteria, Terrace Level
101 Monroe Street, Rockville, Maryland

If you use this bus, you might consider making yourself heard at this meeting.

Add Your Two Cents' To Just Up The Pike's Great Peruvian Taste Test

As many >Rockville Central readers know, Dan Reed’s Just Up The Pike was a key inspiration when I got it into my head that it might be fun to write a blog about my neighborhood. (Cindy Cotte Griffiths encouraged me to think bigger, as you can see from the comments on a recent POTD.)

Dan asked for our help with a little project of his, and we are happy to oblige. Asks Dan:

What is there to say about pollo a la brasa other than that it is amazingwhen done correctly, when the meat falls off the bone, when the skin is tender but not gummy? When it is properly supported by sides of rich, fluffy rice and plantanos charred but still golden inside?

Well, put it that way and it’s hard to imagine anything better. Here’s how you can help. Dan is trying to find the best Peruvian chicken place in the area. Head on over to his post at Just Up The Pike and leave your vote in the comments!

Or — I am sure Dan won’t mind — leave your ideas in the comments here and Dan can pull from them in his vote tabulation.

POTD: Awe.

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Quite the view, dontcha think?

Van Balgooy Recaps Mayor And Council Meeting In Twinbrook

>Our good Rockville Central friend Max van Balgooy has an active blog focused on Rockville (one of the few).

He attended last night’s meeting of the Mayor and Council which was held at the Twinbrook Community Center and posted a report to his blog. Here’s an excerpt:

It was a regular meeting, so no agenda items were Twinbrook-focused, but half of the people who spoke at Citizen’s Forum were from Twinbrook and raised the following concerns:

• Poor condition of the Twinbrook Shopping Center: “not inviting,” “shabby,” “unpleasant,” “loitering,” “crime” were among the adjectives used to describe the strip mall on Viers Mill Road.
• Lack of responsiveness by owners of neglected properties and apparent inability of City to intervene for years.
• Need for increased pedestrian safety: street lighting along Halpine by the Metro station, incomplete pedestrian sidewalks near the Safeway grocery store, snow plows dumping huge piles of snow on sidewalks making them impassable for weeks
• Better parks and recreation: more small “pocket” parks, installing trashcans, expanding the recreation center, providing more community meeting space for workshops.

His recap is thorough and includes helpful commentary — as well as suggestions for improvement for future meetings. Read it here.

Max, thank you for your helpful additions to our community.

Two Metro Employees Struck, Killed Near Rockville Station; No Red Line Service To Shady Grove Or Rockville [UPDATED: Reopened]

[UPDATE: Metro is reopened. >See here.]

From Metro:

Delays along the Red Line are expected throughout the morning rush hour after two Metro track workers were struck and killed by a piece of track equipment early Tuesday morning, January 26, near the Rockville Metrorail station.

Red Line trains currently are operating between the Glenmont and Twinbrook Metrorail stations while an investigation into the accident continues. There is no Red Line train service between the Shady Grove and Rockville Metrorail stations.

Metro will provide free shuttle bus service to help move customers between the Shady Grove, Rockville and Twinbrook Metrorail stations. However, customers should expect long waits for the shuttle bus service as a bus only can carry about 50 passengers while a six-car train can carry about 800 passengers.

Customers are encouraged to avoid the Shady Grove and Rockville Metrorail stations, if possible, and to use the nearby Twinbrook and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations to catch a train.

The Metro employees, both males, were struck by a high rail truck, a large truck that is equipped with special wheels that allow it to drive on the track when electricity that usually powers trains is taken down.

The employees were Automatic Train Control (ATC) Technicians who were installing new train control equipment in the track bed along an outbound section of track on the Red Line in the direction of Shady Grove when they were struck at about 1:45 a.m. near the Rockville Metrorail station.

One of the employees died at the scene and the other was taken to an area hospital where he later died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The identity of the employees will be released after next of kin have been notified.

Metro’s Safety Office notified the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Tri-State Oversight Committee about the accident Tuesday morning. NTSB officials are on the scene along with Metro Transit Police.

More as we learn more.

UPDATE:

Here are some workaround public transit routes:

• From Hungerford Drive to Veirs Mill Road: Metrobus route Q6. Operates from the Shady Grove station to the Rockville, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring stations every 30 minutes.
• Ride-On route 46 serves the Rockville, Twinbrook, White Flint, Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations every 15 minutes.
• MARC Brunswick Line to Washington Union Station. MARC trains depart from the Rockville station at 8:13 a.m., and 8:34 a.m.

POTD: Hidden

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I am finding I miss the snow. I guess that’s because I know the unseasonably warm weather can’t last . . . I’d rather it be real winter or real spring, none of this in-between business. So I was glad Rockville Center friend Janet Brown sent along this snow-covered mound from about a month ago!

Flood Warning From National Weather Service For Potomac River

While the Potomac River is not exactly in the Rockville Central coverage area, we thought this might be a useful bit of information to have:>

Flood Warning for areas bordering the Potomac River. The river will be at or above Flood Stage by Wed morning. Safety precautions should be taken until the water recedes.

That’s from the Montgomery County alert system. Here it is a little more raw, direct form the National Weather Service:

* FORECAST…RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE TO RISE TO NEAR 10.9 FEET BY WEDNESDAY EARLY AFTERNOON. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY WEDNESDAY BEFORE MIDNIGHT. AT 10.0 FEET, THE RIVER WILL BEGIN TO OVERFLOW INTO LOW LYING AREAS ON THE MARYLAND SIDE OF THE RIVER WITH SEVERAL BOAT HOUSES DOWNSTREAM BEGINNING TO FLOOD.

If you have reason to go near the Potomac, please be safe.

Great Hometown Crowd for Keegan Corbey

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During last Friday’s show at Austin Grill Rockville, I asked Keegan Corbey if he had a day job. He replied “Funny you should ask, I quit today.” With this daring move, he’s giving music his full-time attention.

His first CD, Navigators, will be released on February 13, 2010, the same night he opens for The Association (Never My Love) at the Birchmere. This well-deserved break will launch the next phase of this local performer’s career.

Born at Holy Cross Hospital, he laid down his first dollars for a guitar at age 13 while listening to garage bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Sound Garden. After Good Counsel High School he headed to Middle Tennessee State University. He’s back in Rockville and has decided if he’s going to make it musically, now is the time.

If Friday night’s show is any indication, he’s made the right decision. His intense presence and crowd-pleasing voice kept everyone out much later than expected. Keegan’s versions of popular songs made the audience forget the orginals then his own songs caught everyone’s attention. He and Dave Speake are a well-polished acoustic guitar duo, a unified pleasure to hear. Keegan even steps up the sound with a bass drum.

Dave played the harmonica for No Cover Charge, apparently the one and only song he’s allowed to pull it out for:

Keegan’s laying it all on the line to live his dream of being a songwriter performing his original “Neo-Celtic Americana folk rock”. There’s no doubt his obvious talent will win fans with every chord.

Tickets are still available for his Birchmere show with The Association on Saturday 2/13/10 at 7:30 p.m. $35. Fans eagerly anticipate his 8 song CD next month.

POTD: Marilyn

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Here’s another one from back when we had snow on the ground. It is from Cheryl Kagan. Of it, she says, “Love our sculpture ‘Marilyn’ caught up in the snow.” I think it’s pretty cool, too!

District 17 Primary Features Big Fundraising

As >Rockville Central readers know, Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch, the most important political blog in Maryland, declared Rockville to be “ground zero” for state-level politics in the 2010 election cycle, as former delegate Cheryl Kagan announced a challenge to sitting state senator Jennie Forehand in District 17. Senator Forehand also has announced her intention to run for re-election. Later, Adam and his partner in crime Marc Korman have declared this race as therace to watch for 2010, in a comprehensive roundup of all the key primary races. “Expect this to be an expensive, noisy, and exciting race,” says Korman.

Speaking of “expensive,” the state elections commission has posted the most recent fundraising numbers for Kagan and Forehand. MPW has a comprehensive review here. Kagan outpaced Forehand in terms of money raised and has slightly more cash on hand. But, of more interest to me is the amount of money already at play in this race. The two candidates have a total cash on hand balance of $183,596.82.

That’s a lot of dough for a state level race in January!

I am not someone who thinks that money is evil and has no place in politics. On the contrary, I think fundraising results can be a good proxy for understanding where public sentiment is (not always, but sometimes), and certainly where the energy is. I see the money issue as a reflection that Adam and Marc are right: This is the race to watch.