Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 2/26/11

This week we announced we would be moving Rockville Central 100% to Facebook. All the news outlets are always looking for the “story” while at Rockville Central we were always seeking to bring people into public life while fostering positive discussions concerning the issues. At least 74% of adults use Facebook so we decided to go where people are congregating. Even though the site is completely accessible without a Facebook account, we hope people will share news, photos, videos, and thoughts as we interact as a community. When I described this comic during an interview with Nieman Journalism Lab‘s Megan Garber, she quoted me as saying “There’s this big party. And we want to be in there.”

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 2/12/11

The 2010 Census results for Maryland were released this week. Rockville Central has been a Media Partner throughout the process so we’re excited to see the results.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 2/5/11

Hats are flying. In Gajewski Explores Run For Mayor, Councilmember Piotr Gajewski announced the formation of a committee to determine if he will run for mayor this year. He’s fundraising and gathering support but says the decision won’t be final until May. Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio has been quoted as saying she will run again.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 1-29-11

The consultants, ROI/CRC did not work to improve their lackluster, wordy, and unoriginal logo & tagline ideas for the City’s branding effort after the survey results were tabulated. As a matter of fact, as Brad Rourke pointed out in his opinion piece this week, when they first came up the their ideas, they “simply pointed out that there was little consensus among people and that they had seemingly false impressions of where they live.” We paid them $75,000 to ignore us. We don’t know where we live? Anyway, at the Mayor and Council meeting a majority voted for the least favorite choice from the survey results. The rest of the DC area is having a good time ridiculing the options and our choice.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Editorial Opinion By Brad Rourke: I Feel Branded

Now that a decision has been made on whether Our Fair City will move forward with a branding effort (it will) and what that brand and tagline will be (“Get Into It“), it is time to look forward and try to create a positive and compelling image for Rockville.

However, before doing so, I feel it is important to shine a light on an aspect of how the branding effort unfolded that is unfortunate.

Click for full size

Those who read my earlier discussion of the branding effort, and how underwhelmed I was with the offerings, may think I am simply miffed because I don’t like the result. It is true that I hate the wimpy and stilted “get into it” tagline and find the logo’s “R” too clip-arty and the squiggle under it too generic — and find the combination of all of these elements to be a potential embarrassment when we begin to implement it.

(To prove how little influence I have, in my earlier article I wrote, “If any decision makers are reading this, I beg of you, please do not go with [this] tagline.”)

However, now that I have made my unequivocal statement I’ll set it aside.

Instead, what I feel it is worthwhile to focus on at this juncture is the process, because I hope we can take steps not to repeat it.

An Opportunity Squandered

The development of a new brand for a community — indeed, for any institution or organization — is an opportunity to boost morale, re-establish loyalty, and enthuse people with hope for the future. It’s also an opportunity to build resentment, foster derision, and drive people away. The way this process unfolded tended to make the latter true.

I was proud and pleased to be a part of the small committee that made initial recommendations for a consultant on this project to the Mayor and Council. ROI knows what it is doing when it comes to developing branding messages. But I don’t think they have exhibited great knowledge of what it takes to engage a community, at least not in our case.

The process used is well-described in the agenda notice for the most recent Mayor and Council meeting. There were really two points where the effort reached out to the public — at a “Day One Meeting” with a handful of community leaders, and then during a “public outreach” phase after the three options were presented to the Mayor and Council.

While on paper this might look workable, in practice it seemed to become engagement in name only.

In the first place, it was clear from the presentation of the three options that the overriding factor in brand development was the demographic research that the consulting company had done. Such research is important — hugely — but it is not the only thing that matters. There was no sense that anything that was heard in the Day One meeting (or a subsequent meeting with REDI) was a strong part of the thinking going into the options presented. In presenting initial concepts to the Mayor and Council, the consultant simply pointed out that there was little consensus among people and that they had seemingly false impressions of where they live.

So far, I guess, OK. I would have liked to see a more authentic sense of inclusion, but I supposed the consulting company is comprised of experts and certainly we must rely on that expertise.

Where the process really fell down was in this most recent “public input” phase. One thing I have learned in my professional life is that, if you test something with the public, you had better be willing to listen to feedback and make changes or corrections. As I write this, I am on the plane returning from a public test of a discussion guide that is planned for wide release. We thought it was complete. Yet, based on what we heard in tests, we are going to alter it to improve it. This is standard practice. I have gone back to the drawing board many times, as a result of public input.

In the case of our Rockville brand, the public input phase — which should have included multiple public meetings where people could actually discuss the “brand” but which instead consisted almost entirely of an online survey and invitations for people to give written comments — resulted in an overwhelming “meh.” The winning option won out by only one vote in the online survey, ahead of None Of The Above.

Don’t Ask Me If You Don’t Care

And yet, when it came time to present the results of public input to the Mayor and Council, the same three options were presented, with no changes whatsoever. When Councilmember Bridget Donnell Newton pressed the consultant on this, he replied that the public input phase was for input, not for responding to that input. (What?)

So, in essence, the public input was ignored and the consultant simply restated the original three options.

In fact, the consultant mentioned that one thing that was suggested, turning “The” into “A” in the first option, might be workable, but that instead of even making that change he would go with the original.

In response to this, the Mayor and Council, after very brief discussion, chose the least favored option to move forward with, on a vote of 3-2.

In other words, in the very apt words of a Rockville Central commenter: “Let’s see if I have this right. After the citizen survey, the council 1) carefully evaluated the results of the survey, then 2) one councilmember moved we adopt the THIRD (last) choice, so 3) you have an up/down vote on adopting the third choice. As a citizen, next time don’t ask me if you don’t care.”

The result of this, is to create mistrust. The next time citizens are asked for their “input,” it would be reasonable for them to worry that it was just window dressing and would be perfunctorily invited and ultimately strongly ignored.

I am not arguing that the “will of the people” must be followed — just that it must be considered and not summarily rejected.

A Change For The Better

I hate to leave this on a negative note, so let me suggest a change for the way we handle such efforts in the future.

The next time a consultant is engaged on an issue where public input is seen as useful, I suggest we build these things into the process and the contract:

• Research phase:
  • The public input should involve at least three public meetings to which all are welcome and invited
  • The input should include at least two focus groups of 8-12 residents that are recruited randomly
  • The consultant should explain in initial concept presentation how this input relates to the product presented
• Development and testing phase:
  • Again, public input should include at least two public meetings (not just a survey)
  • The consultant should be directed to take public input into account and edit or alter the initial work, explaining the linkage between input and changes, or justifying why no changes are needed

This will add time and some cost to efforts such as the one we just completed. But it will save money in the longer run — and potentially save the public trust that is all too easily squandered when people are asked for their opinion and then ignored.

(Want an example? Take a look at the development process for the Rockville Pike Plan, that Cindy Cotte Griffiths has been following. This is a process that has had robust public involvement and has resulted in a plan that has energy behind.)

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 1/22/11

The Mayor and Council reversed themselves regarding their support of the Corridor City Transitway (CCT) route through King Farm, even though the right-of-way was established before King Farm was built and the Maryland Transit Authority offered solutions to the connectivity and noise concerns.

About ROCK’burb: Last year we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I decided to give it a try. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 1/15/10

This week’s comic is based on the National Golf Foundation presentation of their report on the Redgate Golf Course to the Mayor and Council on Monday.

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

What’s In And What’s Out In Rockville

It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect and remember. What’s better than a traditional In and Out list?

My family has been throwing around ideas for a few days and here’s ours for 2010-2011:

Thanks to my husband and sons for helping me and making it fun. We’re sure there are more!

Happy New Year!

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 12/23/10

Here’s hoping!

This week’s strip is based on “Possible New Grocery Store In Town Square“.

May you have an amusing New Year!

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Keep Warm By The Fire At These Rockville Restaurants

Lately, the cold really seems to be getting to me. January has hit a month early and we barely have temperatures above freezing. Where can we go to keep warm by the fire in Rockville? Here are the warm and friendly choices with open flames in the hearth.

Photo from Clydes website

#1 Clyde’s Tower Oak Lodge

My husband and I have enjoyed romantic dinners on winter evenings by the light of this fire. Tower Oaks is always crowded because of the atmosphere and fine food. Even though you are next to the 21-acre nature preserve on Wootton Parkway, you would swear you were in a wood lodge in the Adirondacks with massive stone fireplaces. Their classic American menu is centered around their purchases of meat, fish, and poultry direct from their native regions. From spring to autumn, Tower Oaks also buys produce from local farmers.

Photo from Spice Xing website

#2 Spice Xing

As Tom Sietsema said in his review in The Washington Post, “A diner can point pretty much anywhere on this menu and hit a winner …” In addition to the popular Indian fare, SpiceXing offers an assortment of dishes which have been influenced by other cultures and nationalities such as British, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish and French. There really isn’t a bad choice on the menu and every single bite deliciously fills the senses.

Photo from Timpano website

#3 Timpano Chophouse and Martini Bar

Timpano Chophouse revives the big city dining experience with steaks & chops. The rich decor includes velvet draperies, large chandeliers, and white tablecloths. The Starlight Lounge provide comfortable sofa seating, a baby grand piano and the fireplace to go along with the cocktails.

Photo from Rolls 'n Rice website

Rolls ‘n Rice

This modern restaurant has a comfortable sleek feel while offering traditional Japanese and sushi dishes such as rolls and bento boxes, along with some Korean favorites. Here’s a review from Lunching In the DMV.

Photo from La Madeleine website

La Madeleine

La Madeleine is a country French café for light and casual meals in the cafeteria style. The cozy atmosphere is French-cottage inspired with fireplaces situated around the restaurant with lots of wood and beams.

Can you think of any more? Where else can I keep hot by the fire?

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 12-18-10

We’re not getting an ice rink in Rockville Town Square this winter.

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Editorial Opinion By Cindy Cotte Griffiths: Questions Arise About The APFO Committee

APFO Committee Members present during the Planning Commission Appointments On Wednesday.

If you want to find out who was appointed to the Rockville Planning Commissions Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) Advisory Committee, you need to listen to the video from the Wednesday, December 15, 2010 meeting. The list of who will be appointed was not on the Agenda for the meeting nor has it been posted anywhere on the City’s website.

Surprisingly, before the nine members were appointed on Wednesday night, an article was published in Wednesday’s edition of The Gazette and it appeared online with the lede:

The Rockville Planning Commission had tasked nine people with reviewing one of its most controversial zoning ordinances.

The members of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Committee will officially be announced at the Planning Commission’s meeting today. The list includes business, non-profit and neighborhood representatives.

(The grammatical error is The Gazette’s, not mine.) The article includes the names of who will be appointed later in the day.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Planning Commission David Hill admitted to providing the information about the appointments to The Gazette on Monday so that they could publish in their paper version on Wednesday. He also emailed the information to the Mayor and Council on Monday.

So my first question is, why does The Gazette get such privilege over all the other news providers?

My second question is, why can’t I find the names of who was appointed anywhere except for this news article? The names are still not on the Planning Commission section of the City’s website. Why weren’t they included on the Agenda for Wednesday’s meeting if they were sent to a news outlet on Monday? Shouldn’t the citizens have the information first – before a newspaper?

After repeated attempts throughout the years, The Gazette still does not deliver to my house. Many of my neighbors in apartments don’t get it either. This obviously is not the way to communicate with residents.

I hope The Gazette spelled their names correctly because I have no way of officially knowing:

Jason Anthony
Temperance Blalock
Denis Cain
Julie Carr
Sean Hart
Soo Lee-Cho
Charles Littlefield
Roald Schrack
Eric Segal

During Citizen’s Forum at Monday night’s Mayor and Council meeting, Beryl Feinberg spoke about her application for the APFO Committee. She said that no one who applied was ever contacted or interviewed about their application. She was only contacted to be told she was not selected. She knew that there would be seven (7) male and three (3) female members chosen, including one reserve. Since Rockville’s population is roughly 50-50 male-female, she didn’t think the Committee was inclusive or reflective of our population.

Councilmember John Britton responded by asking for copies of the resumes and applications of all the applicants knowing that it is privileged information. Due to Ms. Feinberg’s remarks, he was curious about the ethnic, gender and geographic breakdown.

Councilmember Piotr Gajewski used his response to Citizen’s Forum to explain his position on the Committee:

I’m sure you’re not going to be the last to complain about the composition of this Committee which is the problem I have with the forming of this Committee to begin with. APFO is arguably one of the most inflammatory issues that our City will be facing. I think it should be faced by elected officials at the very least it should be faced by officials appointed by elected officials.

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio reminded everyone that it was within the privilege of the Planning Commission to appoint a subcommittee. The Mayor and Council had absolutely no input. The Planning Commission will eventually make recommendations to the Mayor and Council for a decision. She added:

I think it’s a process that maybe is flawed in some ways. I don’t think that anyone had the intention of slighting a soul. I think they were just looking for more help and this was one way to do it. Sometimes when you mean to do well, you do poorly. Let’s hope it results in something we can positively use.

I’ve been told that originally only 11 people applied for the 9 positions which is why the deadline was extended and about 21 applications were eventually received.

Regardless of these concerns, the Planning Commission seems pleased with their selections.

During Wednesday night’s meeting the Planning Commission decided the Advisory Committee’s start date will be January 2, 2011 and they must report to the Planning Commission by their first meeting in July.

Commissioner John Tyner reminded the representatives that their first chore is to elect a Chair to keep the meetings moving on schedule.

Offering all the Commissioners as a resource, Tracy Pakulniewicz advised the Task Force that they can contact them with questions in addition to asking City staff because “it is a pretty hefty task that you’re being charged with and we want to make sure you have all the information, all of the insight you need to effectively and efficiently do your job.”

Mr. Tyner added “You won’t be left hanging out in the breeze. That’s for sure.”

Editorial Opinion By Brad Rourke: Engagement, Please, Not ‘Input’

MCPS

As many Rockville Central readers know, Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent Jerry Weast is stepping down after more than ten years. On Tuesday, the Board of Education formally selected the executive recruiting firm to conduct the search for his replacement: Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, based in Illinois. This is the same firm that led the search to find Dr. Weast. (They have also done most of the searches in the surrounding area, including Prince George’s County, Fairfax County, and Baltimore County).

Choosing a leader for one of the largest and best school districts in the nation is no easy task. The job is part CEO, part cabinet secretary, part community leader. You can’t just look for the “best qualified” candidate because there may not be a good fit with the community. In fact, some would argue that community fit is at least as important than qualifications.

A Public Role

Superintendent is an inherently public role. In large districts like ours, it is even more properly seen as a public position. Such searches are tricky, because when there are many legitimate public claims to have a say in the selection, it becomes a political question.

By “political,” I don’t mean “partisan.” I mean it in the highest and best sense. Politics, after all, is how we make decisions together in our community and our nation. In my view (of course I am a civic nerd so take it with a grain of salt), it is among the most important inventions of humankind.

Even if you aren’t a civic nerd like me, all would agree, I believe, that the search for the leader of a school district with more than 100,000 students ought to have a very strong public engagement component. The public voice is certainly not the only voice that must be heard, but it is critical.

Engagement vs. ‘Input’

With that in mind, I am concerned about how the process may unfold. I am worried that we will get engagement in name only.

This is an endemic problem throughout public life. Too often, public officials say they want to engage the public in this or that decision – and then go ahead and convene a hearing where everyone has three minutes to speak, or announce a “town hall” by sticking a notice up on a website, or by announcing an online survey where people can “be heard.” These are all decent methods of “gathering input” but they do nothing to make citizens feel heard. When was the last time, for instance, that you felt as if you had adequately made an important point in three minutes?

I got to thinking about this when I read an interesting article by the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County. The Coalition is a strong critic of the school district, and I often disagree with their assessments. But, sometimes I agree.

In this particular article, the Coalition pointed out that the search firm would likely be using an off-the-shelf online survey to “gather input” from the public about what kinds of qualities they would like to see in a superintendent. The article implied that using a standard online survey form was less desirable than something that would be created on a custom basis, and that this was emblematic of how the district seemed to be overpaying for the search contract.

For my part, I have no problem with using a standard web survey as a piece of the engagement strategy, and I don’t necessarily think the $35,000 search price tag is too high.

However, I have a problem with the online survey. The Coalition found other instances where it had evidently been used (for instance, Mill Valley, California) so I was able to take a look at the survey itself.

It is a series of more than 40 dense, jargon-filled qualities that respondents are supposed to assign 1-6 “important/not important” rankings to. My eyes glazed over after the first set. None of the questions are bad, mind you – it’s just that the whole thing is stamped “bureaucrat.”

Is This What We Can Look Forward To?

My worry is that this is a harbinger of what “community engagement” will look like: expert-driven, bureaucratic, and perfunctory.

I hope that more care and attention will be paid to engaging the community in this critical decision. Many factors come into play and expertise and qualifications are certainly key. But the district will have squandered an important opportunity if it does not authentically reach out to the community as a partner and not just as a source of “input.”

The full survey is copied below. (This is the version intended for “community members.”) Mind you, this has not been released as an official survey to be used in the Montgomery County search. However, this survey appears to be used frequently by the search firm.

The Survey:

Vision and Values

1. Articulate a clear vision of what is required to be an exemplary school district.

2. Act in accordance with the district’s mission, vision, and core beliefs.

3. Strive for continuous improvement in all areas of the district.

4. Have concrete plans to be actively involved in developing, monitoring, and evaluating the progress of school and district initiatives and implementation plans.

5. Promote high expectations for all students and personnel.

6. Lead in an encouraging, participatory, and team-focused manner.

7. Delegate leadership responsibilities effectively.

8. Demonstrate integrity, honesty, and fairness.

Instructional Leadership

9. Serve as the district’s instructional leader.

10. Hold a deep understanding of the teaching and learning process.

11. Increase academic accountability at all levels of the district’s schools and for all its students.

12. Provide meaningful guidance on the district’s curricular and instructional programming.

13. Provide meaningful guidance on the implementation and management of a systematic district-wide assessment program.

14. Utilize student achievement data to drive the district’s instructional and assessment programming.

Community and Relationships

15. Be visible throughout the district and the community.

16. Understand the conditions, cultures, dynamics, and values of the school community.

17. Listen to and effectively represent the interests and concerns of students, personnel, and community.

18. Foster a positive professional climate of mutual trust and respect among faculty, staff, and administrators.

19. Seek a high level of engagement with principals and other school-site leaders.

20. Maintain positive and collaborative working relationships with the school board and its members.

21. Develop strong relationships with constituent groups, local government, area business, and external partnerships.

Communication and collaboration

22. Communicate effectively the plans, goals, and progress of the district to the Board, staff, parents, students, and the community.

23. Communicate clearly to the school community about student achievement in the district’s schools.

24. Facilitate the sharing of ideas, plans, and methods among various district stakeholders.

25. Provide constructive, meaningful feedback to personnel he/she supervises.

26. Involve appropriate stakeholders in the decision making process.

27. Encourage a sense of shared responsibility among all stakeholders regarding success in student learning.

Core Knowledge and Competencies

28. Possess strong understanding of organizational and educational leadership.

29. Possess strong understanding of emerging issues and trends that affect the school community and the mission of the school.

30. Possess strong understanding of current legal, regulatory, and ethical issues affecting education.

31. Possess strong understanding of personnel needs and requirements.

32. Possess strong understanding of the system of public school governance and finances in the state and nation.

Management

33. Be an effective manager of the school district’s day-to-day operations.

34. Align operational plans and procedures with the school district’s vision, mission, and goals.

35. Identify, confront, and resolve district issues in a timely manner.

36. Effectively plan and manage the financial operations.

37. Align financial resources with student learning needs and the district’s vision, mission, and goals.

38. Recruit, employ, and retain effective personnel management teams throughout the district and its schools.

39. Apply policies and procedures fairly, wisely, and consistently.

40. Guide the usage and maintenance of school facilities to ensure secure, safe, and clean school environments that support learning.

41. Facilitate efficient delivery of supplemental school services (e.g., security, food service).

Additional Comments

42. Please add any additional comments you wish to make regarding what you believe are necessary characteristics for a superintendent.

43. If you know of someone that you think would be a good candidate for this position, please share their name and contact information in this space.

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 12-4-10

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville. As usual, this week’s comic is taken from the headlines, New Courthouse Creates “Death Ray”.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].

Comic Strip: ROCK’burb 11-20-10

This week’s comic is about Rockville Pike: Envision A Great Place.

About ROCK’burb: A few months ago we were tossing around ideas for new features on Rockville Central. We thought Saturday morning comics would be fun. Since I’ve always wanted to draw a comic strip, I’ve been imagining them in my head each week. Sometimes an idea pops up in my head and sometimes my whole family thinks up a panel about our lives here in Rockville.

Do you like to draw? We’re hoping we have other cartoonists who would be interested in submitting comic strips. If you have one about life in Rockville, please send it along! We’d love to see it and may even publish it. Remember, be nice! Email us: [email protected].