POTD: Purple Weed

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This nice shot is by Rockville Central friend Temperance Blalock.

Of it, she says: “I saw this purple plant in the middle of a patch of weeds at the Woottons Mills Community Garden, and thought: where did that one come from?”

Me too!

POTD: Community Garden

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Another nice shot from Rockville Central friend and contributor Temperance Blalock. It’s “the community garden at Woottons Mill Park,” she says.

POTD: Fragrant

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Rockville Central friend and contributor Temperance Blalock took this. She says it is: “Some fragrant blossoms in the parking lot of Bealls Grant.” I can’t smell them so I will take her word for it! But I do think they are very pretty.

Contributor Opinion By Temperance Blalock: County Should Not Be In Liquor Business

>I’ve lived in Montgomery County since I was 18, so I always just assumed that this was the norm: that the sale of alcohol was tightly controlled, that hard liquor could only be purchased in a country-owned store, that beer and wine were not available in grocery stores, and that the corporation that controlled 7-11 was being “responsible” in prohibiting the sale of beer in most of their stores. Perhaps it was having lived previously in even dryer places like North Carolina and Kentucky, but it took me a long time to realize that this county is, in fact, an extreme aberration. It was only when I went to visit my sister in New Mexico, and saw that I could buy a bottle of vodka at a convenience store, that I was shocked.

But it was only last Fall, when I started making my own home-brew beer and did some research on the laws and statutes governing that activity, that I truly became aware of the draconian extent to which the county controls the sale of liquor. To say that we are being “protected” by this type of prohibition is as hypocritical as saying that red-light cameras have been installed merely for public safety, and not for the revenue that they generate. Montgomery County is legally skimming $20 million dollars a year off the sale of alcohol, above and beyond the taxes levied by the state, and they are not earmarking that money for alcohol rehabilitation or public health – it is going into the revenue pot along with everything else.

The recent refusal by the House of Delegates to allow a license for beer and wine at a single grocery store (SuperFresh at Town Center) is a clear demonstration that this county’s over regulation has gone way out of control. The only direct beneficiaries of this inaction are a handful of businesses in the Rockville area. It is when one realizes that those businesses are being used by the commercial alcohol industry as a pretext for maintaining their ironclad grip on the distribution of alcohol that it becomes apparent what the power dynamics are.

The owner of Tiger Deli was quoted in the Gazette paper as applauding the restriction, and he stated that this will allow him to stay in business. I myself shop at Tiger Deli, and to threaten a boycott against that business would be disingenuous on my part, since they are in fact one of the least-expensive places in Rockville to buy beer. But I do question the fact that it is necessary to maintain such oppressive control over the sale of a legal substance.

In the spirit of protest, then, I intend to brew the maximum legal amount of beer.

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!

Contributor Opinion By Temperance Blalock: Clean Up The Old Giant Parking Lot

>The following contributor opinion is by Temperance Blalock:

Saturday night I sprained my left ankle in the “Old Giant” parking lot on North Washington St. Despite the fact that I live across the street from that parking lot, work right next to it, and walk through it or past it every day, I didn’t realize how truly dangerous it can be until I stepped into a pothole in a spot with no overhead lighting. While the parking lot looks merely run down during the day, at night it becomes a treacherous derelict.

The “Old Giant” building has been empty for many years now, and once that store closed the parking lot passed into a vague status. The lot is very large, and presents an “empty” break in the line of sight in downtown Rockville. It has become a heavily trafficked route for automobiles, since drivers like to use it as a short-cut between Hungerford Drive and North Washington, bypassing Beall Ave. That isn’t too much of a problem during the day, but at night it becomes very dangerous because the traffic lanes are not clearly defined, and thus drivers casually careen through the lot, choosing their own route regardless of parked cars or pedestrians.

The businesses that operate out of the “parking lot building” next to Gateway Tower have become increasingly popular, particularly Bobs 66 Noodle restaurant, which has a great reputation throughout the large Asian community. The Beer/Wine/Deli is also always busy, though it doesn’t generate the same volume as Bobs 66. Last Saturday night there were scores of cars parked near those businesses, which is what forced me to park in the center of the lot. When I stepped out of my car, into the darkness, I stepped almost immediately into a pothole in the asphalt, and painfully twisted my ankle.

The asphalt surface of the parking lot is in terrible shape, full of potholes. The parking lot is not lit at night, meaning that drivers and pedestrians are in danger of collision with each other. The entire place looks trashy and run-down, diminishing the attraction of nearby Town Center.

I started working at Gateway Tower in the summer of 2001, and the old Giant store was closed about a year later. Since then, the status of that piece of land has doubtless been the subject of great controversy and negotiation, of which I know very little. All that I do know for sure is that seven years is an excessively long time to allow such a large piece of real estate to crumble and deteriorate. There is no sign that it will be developed in the near future, but in the meantime there is the potential for physical danger to the people who walk and drive in that lot, and the customers who patronize those businesses. It’s time that the owners or managers of that lot be held accountable for its appearance and physical condition.

Rockville Central runs occasional, edited opinion pieces by contributors as well as other guest columns. Their views are not necessarily those of Rockville Central. We encourage you to contribute too! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.

Contributor Opinion By Temperance Blalock: Beall's Grant II Opposition Based On Fears And Assumptions

>The following contributor opinion is by Temperance Blalock:

As a resident of Bealls Grant I, it is distressing to see the proliferation of signs opposing Bealls Grant II, and it is impossible not to take it personally. That is especially so when one has watched the notorious Planning Commission videocast, as I have, and saw the anger of the opponents.

For the opponents to say that their campaign against Bealls Grant II is not based largely on fears of and assumptions about “those type of people” who live at Bealls Grant I is disingenuous.

I moved to Montgomery County in 1973, and have lived/worked within a 10-mile radius of downtown Rockville ever since. I’ve worked at the same job for 19 years, and lived at my last rental for 14 years before moving to BG-I. I am the antithesis of the “erratic, unstable” type that the opponents claim is the norm at BG-I, but I feel that I actually am characteristic of the residents there, who are average, hard-working people who just want a decent place to live.

The most inflammatory fear is of crime, and I have seen no evidence of it as a resident of BG-I. I recall that, when my job first moved to Gateway Tower in the summer of 2001, we were apprehensive about walking to our cars in the parking garage during late night hours, but that fear has since diminished due to the nearby development of Town Center and the Fitz apartments. The management of BG-I has done an excellent job of maintaining the building as a controlled-entry environment. As a resident, I have walked around downtown Rockville in the evenings and even late at night. The new Town Center is certainly safe, since the large number of people patronizing the restaurants and movies is conducive to deterring a criminal presence. I have also strolled through the West End residential areas at night, but feel less safe there due to the lack of a pedestrian presence. Finally, police statistics verify that BG-I does not now, nor has it in the past,
been regarded in any way as a place that generates or condones criminal activity.

The residents of BG-I, and renters in general, are labeled by the opponents as “transient” and “unstable”. Again, though, the actual facts belie this, as BG-I has a very low turnover rate. The previous resident of my unit was there for ten years, and several of the other residents whom I’ve met have also been there a long time. In all of 2008 I have observed only a handful of moving vans in the parking lot, whereas I would see them constantly at my previous apartment unit in Gaithersburg. I fully intend to stay at BG-I as long as my circumstances remain the same.

The opponents claim that the presence of BG-II would somehow “violate” the nature of the neighborhood. However, the proposed location of BG-II is at the corner of an intersection where the three other corners all house four-story or higher buildings that are largely businesses.

As for traffic, that is already a tremendous problem in downtown Rockville that would be much more affected by the addition of a gourmet supermarket than by an apartment building. Who is opposing the supermarket, or the possible relocated courthouse? Many residents of BG-I either don’t own cars, or, like me, don’t drive theirs. I moved to BG-I because it is within walking distance of my job at Gateway Tower, and the parking lot of BG-I is evidence that the residents are not frequent drivers. The opponents should instead be more concerned about other sources of traffic.

Rockville Central runs occasional, edited opinion pieces by contributors as well as other guest columns. Their views are not necessarily those of Rockville Central. We encourage you to contribute too! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.