Contributor Opinion by Joseph Jordan: What's Going On?

The following contributor opinion is by Joseph Jordan:

I am not sure who received Piotr Gajewski's "press release", but I learned of his intended town hall meeting via the Rockville Central blog. What's going on here? We have John Britton sending letters on the court house, but no idea who they are being sent to. Mr. Gajewski is having his own meetings at City Hall. At the same time, meeting after meeting is canceled because there is not enough business to discuss. Yet Mr. Britton wants to have quarterly meetings to discuss ideas. Is this a body working together, for the citizens of Rockville, or is there another election going on we are not aware of?

Mayor and Council meetings scheduled for this Monday (19th) and the following (25th) have been canceled because of "insufficient business." It seems to me this affords the perfect opportunity to have a "Town Hall" kind of meeting involving all the mayor and council, maybe even some staff members. Wear stripes, jeans -- whatever -- roll up your sleeves, and have an open dialog with the people who elected you and whom you represent. What are our issues, our concerns?

Here are some suggestions on agenda items for future meetings:

1. Town Center - Financial information on the original plans and projections for revenue and expenditures and the trend lines on actual outcomes on both measures, including information on sales and rentals of the condos, parking garages, etc.;
2. Information on contingency plans that the City has (if any) for dealing with a major reduction in tax assessment revenue and reduced funding for current projects from the County and State, should the County and State make their expected cuts;
3. Information about how the funding requirements for any plans for new development will be met if the anticipated revenue is not forthcoming;
4. Pros and cons of hiring a Lead City Attorney versus retaining outside law firm;
5. Report on status of pavers debacle -- who did, or did not do, what and who pays;
6. What can the city do to reverse the perception that Rockville is not business friendly. What can be done to find balance between serving the tax paying residents and the tax paying businesses.

Joseph Jordan
New Mark Commons

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 join the growing list of contributors! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.

(Image from MOG.com)

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Metal Found In Candy From Rockville Importer

According to Associated Press and other reports, in Lakeland, Florida, consumers have found shards of what authorities say appear to be razor blades in lollipops imported from China by Rockville-based Sherwood Brands.

According to the story:

The two pieces of candy that had metal in them were purchased from two separate Dollar General stores near Lakeland, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Thursday evening.

The candy was packaged as part of a product called Pokemon Valentine Cards and Pops, which is imported from China, he said. The Food and Drug Administration is also investigating the candy.

No injuries have been reported and it was unclear whether the metal was intentionally placed in the candy. Judd said the lollipops did not appear to be tampered with and it appeared the metal was baked into the candy in China.

The authorities say that Sherwood is cooperating fully in this matter.

(Image from Associated Press.)

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Contributor Opinion From Christ Episcopal Church: Library Site For The New Court House Is Unfair

The following contributor opinion about the new District Court House is by Bob McCartin, speaking on behalf of Christ Church of Rockville as its Senior Warden:

As many citizens are aware, the State of Maryland has been considering building a new District Courthouse on the property that the old Rockville library currently occupies. The construction funds are in the recently proposed State budget and many assume that it is a done deal. But as with so many things in politics, it is not over until it is over. If enough citizens speak up, our elected officials will find another location.

The old Rockville library location is less than 100 feet from our church and school. If this project proceeds, it will impact our church and school adversely. We have huge concerns about traffic, parking, and safety.

1. Traffic along narrow South Washington Street, right in front of our church and school, will increase significantly. Not to mention traffic throughout the neighborhood.
2. Courthouse users will be trying to use our parking lot and will be hurrying in and out of our 3 entrances/exits. Our students need to cross these driveways frequently throughout the school day to get from class to class. To protect our 250 students and our property, we will need to fence in our property, establish a control system for using the parking lot, and add a security guard for school hours. Just the capital costs for this work are roughly $400,000.

It is our position that the State of Maryland should find another location.

• It is unfair for the State to compromise the mission and work of our church and school by putting the new courthouse in this location.
• It is unfair for the State to put us in a position where we must spend $400,000 and introduce a full time security guard into our staffing just to continue running our church and school with the same level of safety and security as we have for years.

We encourage all of those who care about Christ Church and Christ Episcopal School, as well as those who care about the character of the West End of Rockville, to let your elected officials, from the governor on down, know that they must find another location for the new courthouse.

Sincerely,

The Rev. John McDuffie, Rector, Christ Church
Bob McCartin, Senior Warden, Christ Church
Jane Pontius, Headmistress, Christ Episcopal School
Bill Goetzenberger, Chair, Board of Governors, Christ Episcopal School

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 join the growing list of contributors! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.

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Contributor Opinion by John Britton: Thoughts On The District Court House

The following contributor opinion about the new District Court House is by Rockville City Council member John Britton. The original is more lengthy and is posted in full here. The article below is an edited excerpt:

THOUGHTS ON THE DISTRICT COURT HOUSE

I thought it time to contribute to the extensive and growing public discourse concerning the proposed district courthouse to be located at the former library site. I come to this discussion late, focusing on the issues only recently. I have read with great interest the e-mail traffic on the matter, listened to discussions at public meetings, held private conversations on specific issues and reviewed documents related to the project. Others may have a greater familiarity with the history and politics of this proposal. With this in mind, I set out below some of the pertinent facts and my take on the controversy based on these facts at hand.

Pertinent Facts

There seems to be no dispute that the current district court is overcrowded and dilapidated and no longer adequately serves its intended purposes. Given this, the proponents of moving the courthouse to the former library site – I’ll refer to them as the judiciaries – seem to rely on two other factors to further their proposal: (i) the proposed location and its proximity to the circuit court serve the convenience of the judicial system and (ii) a significant amount of money (millions of dollars) has already been expended on design and other costs related to the proposed site. It appears that these factors are the basis for the fait accompli character of the library site proposal.

The pro-community group – those who oppose the use of the library site – raise certain public welfare and safety issues, including lack of adequate parking, pedestrian safety, proximity to a school and intrusiveness on a residential neighborhood and historic district. I think the judiciaries’ response is that such concerns have already been addressed although I have not heard any response couched in terms of the welfare and safety of the local community. Regardless, I have yet to see an analysis of traffic, pedestrian safety, impacts on neighborhoods and the school and environmental effects. Nor have I seen a document pertaining to mitigation of any adverse effects of building at the library site. If such analyses exist, they may be old and need to be updated. The judiciaries also state that the community did not raise these issues previously and are, in effect, johnnies-come-lately on these matters. The documentary evidence suggests, however, that community members have been consistent on these issues since the library site proposal was first put forth a number of years ago.

A more troubling comment confirmed recently at a meeting on this proposal is the fact that the proposed new courthouse will not satisfy the needs of the district court in the very near future. Is it possible that we are debating the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars on a building that is already obsolete? Furthermore, there may be a violation of state environmental law. Pursuant to the Maryland Environmental Policy Act and prior to any request for funding from the legislature, an environmental effects report may be required for certain state proposals.

Conclusions

Based on the information at hand, I find the arguments of judicial efficiency and monies expended in support of the library site not compelling. More important, the public welfare and safety factors must be balanced more thoroughly. Our community will be stuck with the consequences of bad decision-making in this case for 50 or more years. Although the state may not have a legal obligation to follow our zoning rules, it certainly has a moral obligation to its citizens to do the right thing. This should not be an exercise of gotcha simply because the city negligently missed a deadline. In light of the significant public interests at stake and other orderly land use principles, I have to agree at this time with the oft-used statement that putting the district courthouse on the former library site would be an act of urban malfeasance.

I am sure there is much more that can be added to this public discourse. For this reason, I would like to see a public forum with representatives of the main stakeholders in this project – state, legislative delegation, city, judges, community and civic associations, neighbors – to discuss candidly and fully these issues and the impacts on all. I will encourage the city and the civic groups to facilitate such a forum.

John Britton
Rockville City Council Member

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 join the growing list of contributors! To submit your piece for consideration, contact us.

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Gajewski To Host Town Hall

While this appears in the latest Weekend To Weekend, it is also worth a quick mention on its own:

First-term council member Piotr Gajewski has announced he will hold an open Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, February 21, 2008, 8:00-10:00 p.m. at the Rockville City Hall.

The purpose of the meeting, according to the press release, is to discuss the "major issues facing the City, including the proposed new courthouse, Town Center parking, the imminent roll out of the new trash system, and other issues of importance to Rockville Citizens." (Those are my links, not Gajewski's.)

Questions? Contact the council member directly.

For my own part, I encourage other members of the Mayor and Council to hold similar meetings. While it is important to be accessible as a group, it also seems useful to have forums like this in which to get to know individual members of Our Fair City's government.

(Image from Gajewski campaign website -- because it was a larger photo than the one on the City's site.)

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POTD: I Helping You

I promise to do this just this once . . . but, meet our new cat, Penny. She's very helpful around the office. If my productivity drops off, you will know why.

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Rockville Roundtable Off To A Great Start!

The little lunch experiment we proposed last week -- where Rockville Central readers just show up to lunch and we see what happens -- started off with a bang today. I want to thank everyone who came to the Austin Grill Rockville for good food and good conversation.

I honestly did not know how many people would show -- if anyone. But we had to add tables, and even then were squeezing in. Thank you to the Austin Grill for putting up with us.

We had a number of great conversations and the discussion topics ranged from election night to RORZOR to what it takes to be a candidate. In between all those serious subjects we also talked about birds, the Internet, and how much we all love libraries. It was all very informal and welcoming.

I won't go through the list of everyone who was there but I do want to single one person: Ruth Hanessian was kind enough to make a little table sign and bring it -- thereby naming our gathering. From now on we'll call it the Rockville Roundtable.

You can see her sign in the upper left corner of this photo:

There definitely seemed to be enough interest and enthusiasm for another such lunch meeting. So, let's schedule it right now, shall we?

The next Rockville Roundtable lunch meeting will be Wednesday, March 12, at 12:15 pm at the Appollo Restaurant (12 N. Washington Street). All are welcome, there is no agenda, no speeches, we split the bill. It will help if you let me know you are going, but no rsvp is required. Just show up!

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Montgomery County Turnout High But Not Record-Setting

For many, Tuesday's "Potomac Primary" was a very exciting day. Stories abound of new voters, intrepid voters, and diligent poll workers. The turnout was expected to be record-breaking.

Unofficial results are in, and I have been looking at them and comparing them with recent history. It looks like, at least in Montgomery County, Tuesday's voter turnout was very high for a primary election, but not quite record-breaking:

Montgomery County has 504,415 registered voters, and 205,305 cast votes, for a turnout of 40.7%.

As you can see, that's way higher than the last three primaries (whose turnout was in the low 20% range), but none of of those years had an interesting presidential race. The last presidential race of note, that in 2000 (remember that one?), had 184,814 primary votes cast out of 429,432 registered voters -- for a turnout of 43.0%.

Remember, these are all primary elections, not the general elections. Montgomery County's turnout in the general election of 2000 was just over 80%.

(A caveat: The numbers for this year may shift slightly as absentee ballots are counted, etc. It may be enough to bump 2008 above 2000 slightly. But the range will not change appreciably. Also, the number for 2002 is based on everyone who cast a gubernatorial ballot, while the other years are based on people casting any ballot, so the comparisons are not exact year to year. But again, the trends essentially hold.) ([UPDATE: Finally, when I say "interesting" presidential race above, I mean in the primary. In 2000, the Republican nominee had not yet become apparent. In 2004, the Democratic nominee was already likely to be Kerry. Yes, I do know that the 2004 presidential general election was "interesting" to many.])

Just wonkin' out over here.

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Weekend to Weekend 2/14/08

Events in Rockville

[This post has been UPDATED to include the Austin Grill shows including The West End - Brad Rourke's band. See below.]

Thursday, February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lunch with Rockville Central’s Brad Rourke, Austin Grill Rockville, 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM. Take advantage of the last day for discount lunch at Town Center. Austin Grill’s special is Mix and Match Combos: Your choice of any 2 (Soup, Salad, Chili, Quesadillas or Tacos).

Young Musicians, Twinbrook Library, 7 PM. Talented young artists will play solos, duets and trios on piano, violin and cello. Enjoyable for all ages!

Patty Reese, Austin Grill – Rockville, 8:30 PM. Never a cover charge. Celebrate Valentine’s Day and “Trust this Heart Again”, with Patty’s roots rock.

Friday, February 15

Nelly’s Echo, Austin Grill –Rockville, 8 PM. He just played acoustic and this is to be the full show. “Live Love N Laugh” Good advice from this very original musician.

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

Saturday, February 16

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

Sunday, February 17

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 2 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

Thursday, February 21

Town Meeting with Piotr Gajewski, Rockville City Hall, 7 PM. Council member Gajewski would like to speak with constituents about the issues which are important to them, such as the location of the District Courthouse, as well as explain his position on issues before the City.

Friday, February 22

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

Hand Painted Swingers, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. (Never a cover charge.) Solid pop rock and a song called “White Castle Girl” if you know, you know what I mean.

Saturday, February 23

Raices de Borinquen, Rockville Library, Meeting Room #1, 2 PM. This Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance group will share their culture and music with you.

Songs with Devonna Rowe, Twinbrook Library, 2 PM. Free. For Black History Month, Miss Rowe, who is a faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, will sing songs from the heritage of African American music. All ages welcome.

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

The West End, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. (It's free to get in! Never a cover charge.) Hey everybody! This is our Rockville hometown band! You don't want to miss Rockville Central's Brad Rourke and Monique DeFrees with Mike Shawn & Randall Rose because they will rock the Grill.

Sunday, February 24

“The Elixir of Love” by the Victorian Opera Company, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 2 PM. $20/adults, $15/seniors & students. Donizetti’s comic opera sung in English. Come find out if the poor, shy young man gets the beautiful, rich woman. Is it possible? Will the elixir from the con artist work?

Out on the Town

You can find store discounts for Town Center under their Events listing.

Email the information for any fun, educational or community events to be included in Weekend to Weekend.

Also, send along any specials or discounts. Include links!We will publish event listings occurring in & around our coverage area (map) on Thursdays. The inclusion of events and specials is at our discretion.

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POTD: Ice Ice Baby

(With apologies to Rob Van Winkle.) The ice storm may have made late voting tough (Rockville Central friend Brigitta Mullican told me that only one more person voted at Twinbrook Library during the extended hours) but it sure made for a pretty morning.

P.S. Come on out to lunch today! Today is the last day of the $10 lunch special in Town Square. Meet me at Austin Grill in Town Square at 12:15 -- bring a friend.

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Tribute to Marg Collins

Tonight the Elwood Smith Community Center was dedicated in memory of Marjorie Collins, who served as president of the Elwood Smith Park Council from 1977 until her death last year in 2007. Although I had not known Marg for as long as many of the others at the dedication, she had an immense impact on me by taking me to my first public meetings and encouraging me to speak up. Her long-time neighborhood friends spoke of this same influence on their lives and how much she is missed.

Back in 1976 the park was not safe because of vandals. The community came together and created the Park Council. Marg was very inclusive as she worked to make sure that everyone in the community was represented. They attended a City Council meeting to explain what the community wanted for the park. At the time, the City was considering tearing down the “Teen Center”. These citizens convinced the City Council that they could make the park a place that could be enjoyed by everyone and the building was saved.

Burt Hall, Director of Recreation and Parks, spoke at the dedication. He told everyone that nothing can solve a community problem better than the actual community coming together and being involved, as in this situation.

He had nothing but the highest praise for Marg. He said she was someone you always wanted to work with. “Marg was always the nicest person, but she was tough. She was not going to put up with the problem not being solved, but always it was in a positive, gentle, kind way.”

Betsy Thompson, Superintendent of Recreation, joined Burt Hall to show the plaque to Marg’s daughter, Kathy Miller, and her granddaughter, Erin, who came up from Virginia for the gathering. The plaque will be added under the picture of the ribbon cutting for the current Elwood Smith Center which was renovated and rededicated in 2001.

For those of you who don’t know, in 1956 Elwood Smith was the first firefighter to die in the line of duty in Rockville. He was with other firefighters trying to save people in the flooding waters of Rock Creek when he died, a hero.

Thanks to Marilyn Hemmig, Secretary and Treasurer of the Elwood Smith Park Council, for her recent history of their activities.

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Join Me For Lunch Tomorrow!

I know it is difficult to imagine going out, but surely this weather will not last.

So, if you are free, please do consider coming to our first-ever "Rockville Central Lunch." It'll be tomorrow, February 14, from 12:15 until 1:30 at Austin Grill Rockville. That's the one in Town Square.

All the details are here.

I will be there. So you know who to look for, I look like the picture to the right.

The event is "dutch" (so bring your money) and there is no agenda or speeches -- just some folks having a meal together. Who knows who will show up, or what we will talk about! Ask me anything! Bring new ideas!

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Rockville "Potomac Primary" Results

With all precincts reporting, here are the results from yesterday's "Potomac Primary" voting. These are the races within the Rockville Central coverage area; the numbers are based