District Court House: A Way To Act

I have had a few queries from Rockville Central readers asking what the upshot was, if any, from Frank Anastasi's piece announcing a trip to Annapolis with a few other Rockville citizens similarly opposed to siting the new district court house at the "old library" location and who want the building, instead, to be at the "old Giant" location. [UPDATE: To be clear, it was a visit by "Move the Courthouse," not just Frank.]

Even more than news, though, I hear from readers who want to know what they can do. Up to now, there hasn't been much -- it's been a dance between office holders at various levels of government and staff. But it appears there may be one or two things that Rockville citizens who wish to make their views known can do.

(In case there is any question, I myself am in the "move the court house" camp, but I do not think that makes the other side evil and am committed to keeping Rockville Central open to all views.)

First of all, you can show your support of moving the court house by attending the upcoming March 3 meeting of the Mayor and Council (it's at 7pm at City Hall).

In fact, you can go one better. The Mayor and Council have yet to take a definitive position, as a group, on this issue -- they have made statements individually, and been present at rallies, but not taken concrete decisions. You can respectfully request that they make a clear and official statement about where the City stands. This would back up the efforts of citizens.

Second, you can send an email to state budget negotiators. Make that six. According to Frank, the Senate and the House of Delegates are negotiating the state budget right now. Until now, the key budget players have not heard from citizens on the issue and do not know whether there really is a groundswell of opposition or not. [UPDATE: Removed a sentence giving budget negotiators more power than they really have!]

Frank suggests something like this:

Dear Maryland Senators and Delegates:

Please don't spend $70 million to build an inadequate courthouse with no parking on an inferior site in Rockville that will wreak havoc on an historic, residential neighborhood.

The Governor, Rockville's Mayor and Council, Christ Episcopal Church and Elementary School (located within 100 feet of the site), and local citizens want it built on a superior, alternative site that is vacant and available only three blocks away.

Please ask Senator Jennie Forehand and Judge Clyburn why they won't go along with that consensus.

Thank you.

These people are the ones who ought to receive such a note (just click on each for email address):

• Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.
• Sen. Ulysses Currie
• Sen. Edward Kasemeyer
• Del. Michael Busch
• Del. Norman Conway
• Del. James E. Proctor, Jr.

Frank says that a group of citizens plans to return to Annapolis on March 14 to give live testimony. The more emails ahead of time, the better.

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Calling All Rockville Writers

Have you ever had a pivotal moment in your life tied to a particular place?

Well, if that place is somewhere in D.C. now is the time to write about it because Hitotoki has come to D.C. The editors tell me the deadline for submissions has been extended. Hitotoki is "an online literary project collecting stories of singular experiences tied to locations in cities worldwide." In other words, a narrative map of the world that lets readers experience cities through peoples' stories. (Part of each submission is a Google Map place mark.)

Already in Tokyo, London, and New York, the D.C. launch is scheduled for March. Editors are looking for "short narratives (between 200-500 words) describing pivotal moments of elation, confusion, absurdity, love or grief — or anything in between — inseparably tied" to a specific place in D.C.

Hitotoki is a Japanese word that is often translated as "a moment." Hitotoki, the site, was launched in May 2007 in Tokyo. One of the things I especially like about it is that it's beautiful (writers love to be published -- beautifully published is a very nice bonus.)

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Contributor Review by Michael Berney: RM Debuts New Auditorium with Choral Performance

The following contributor review is by Michael Berney:

Those of us fortunate enough to squeeze into the new Richard Montgomery High School Auditorium last Thursday night received a special treat. Choruses from the RM Cluster elementary schools joined our combined choruses for an hour of wonderful music. Children and parents filled every seat and family members lined the walls.

When the lights dimmed, the first two groups to take the stage were a cappella (unaccompanied voices) singing groups. Five young men interpreted a contemporary song with multi-part harmonies. Then a girl dressed in red ran across the stage to introduce the second group, In Tune. The group did not exactly sing in tune, but they certainly provided enough slapstick entertainment to have the elementary school kids laughing and screaming with delight.

Speaking of screaming, Assistant School Administrator Nicole Sosik warmed up the elementary school contingent’s vocal chords by inviting each group, in turn, to demonstrate their enthusiasm for attending Richard Montgomery. “How excited are you about coming to Richard Montgomery and going to school in this new building?” The Beall Elementary kids together screamed for joy. “What do you think of this new auditorium?” The College Gardens kids screamed even louder. I forget the last question, but the Ritchie Park contingent chimed in with still louder screams. Then Ms. Sosik announced that Richard Montgomery was making a $500 donation to each school in recognition of their contribution to this evening’s program.

Where’s the Light Switch

The new auditorium boasts computer controlled lighting and sound systems. When choruses assembled on stage, the lights darkened in the theater. All eyes focused on the children, arrayed on risers. At the close of the program, when the audience needed to view programs for help singing along with America, the Beautiful’s verse 4 (“O beautiful for patriot dream . . .”), the house lights rose ever so slightly to accommodate the need.

Other features of the auditorium include its convenient location next to the music rehearsal rooms. The backstage area provides storage. And for those of us in attendance, the seating was above average. The seats may not be theater-style plush but they certainly felt comfortable.

Drums and Xylophones and A Concert Grand Piano

The program began with Beall Elementary Chorus performing. For the middle number, chorus members accompanied the singing with African drumming. College Gardens Elementary Chorus sang, and the Ritchie Park Elementary Chorus finished the vocal section.

In addition to the African drumming, children used xylophones and other instruments to embellish some of the numbers. Especially enjoyable was watching the Choral Conductors do their work. Each brought forth lovely melodies and harmonies from their respective choirs.

The Richard Montgomery combined choruses then took the stage, with the particularly complicated piano accompaniment performed by Kevin Hu, an RM freshman. Then the elementary school choirs joined with the RM choir for a traditional round, and the evening concluded with America, the Beautiful.

Gifted Leadership

Ron Frezzo, Richard Montgomery’s long-time choir director, arranged this evening so that it featured highlights. The program lasted only one hour but gave every choir, including RM’s, a chance to display a range of talents.

Mr. Frezzo represents one of Richard Montgomery’s treasures. This evening served so many purposes: it opened a new space with a celebration of talent, it welcomed in RM’s extended academic community -- the children who may one day attend RM, and it joined parents and children together in song.

A Final Thought on Music

By chance, the paper cup holding my morning bears a quotation about music. It seems apropos:

Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears—it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more—it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity. -- Oliver Sacks (Neurologist and author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.)

Would you like to write a contributor review of an arts event to Rockville Central? Excellent! Just send it in and we will consider it. Rules: Event is in Rockville; fairly recent; article is your work; you are not offering it for publication elsewhere. Try to keep it under 500 words; we will edit for length. Include a photo if you have one!

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POTD: Burning From The Inside

(Apologies to Bauhaus.) That sun looks like a conflagration in the distance, huh?

Oh: Happy Leap Day!

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Draft Zoning Ordinance Update

Rockville Central friend Rich Gottfried has passed along some timely and useful news to all who are following the development of the new Draft Zoning Ordinance:

On February 28, 2008, the City of Rockville Planning Commission has made some decisions with regards to their work sessions on the DZO. They decided to hold at a minimum six worksessions on the DZO (Draft Zoning Ordinance). The public record to submit comments will close on March 28, 2008 COB (5:00pm).

The first work session is going to be on March 5, 2008 7:00pm at City Hall (111 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD) in the Mayor and Council Chambers which is located on the second floor. The topics that they are discussing at this meeting will be home based businesses, mansionization, and other topics.

The second work session is going to be on March 12, 2008 7:00pm at City Hall and the topic that they are going to discuss is Stonestreet and zoning, as well as other topics.

Here are the City of Rockville's staff's recommendations to the Planning Commission.

If you have questions, Rich has been following this closely and if you contact him I am sure he can let you know what you need to know -- or at least how to find out what you need to know!

Rich says he will be at the meeting on March 5 and looks forward to seeing you there.

Thanks Rich!

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Weekend to Weekend 2/28/08

Events in Rockville

Thursday, February 28

Encouraging Your Teen Workshop for Parents, City of Rockville, Senior Center, 7 PM. $10/residents, $15 nonresidents. Call 240-314-8317 to register today. Do find strangers in your house? Betty Brach, LGPC, will help parents develop strategies for helping teens find their way. This is the second of a two part series but they will welcome newcomers this evening.

Nelly’s Echo Solo Acoustic, Austin Grill Rockville, 8:30 PM. (Never a cover charge.) Looks like he’s back wiith his smooth driving vocals every 4th Thursday.

Friday, February 29

The Wiz performed by THE FINEST! Youth Performance Troupe, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. $12/adults, $7/Seniors & students. An energetic good time from the children and teens in this City of Rockville Troupe as they perform in this classic directed and choreographed by Kashi Tara & Kelly Chauncey. Don’t miss this inspiring performance!

Tom Blood Late as Usual, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. (Never a cover charge.) Songs with a range of influences from this experienced musician and the locals who join him on stage.

Saturday, March 1

Ty Braddock, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. (Never a cover charge.) Honkytonk music with lots of energy.

Sunday, March 2

Glass Bead Making Demonstration by Eileen Martin, Ten Thousand Villages Rockville, 1 PM – 4 PM. Ms. Martin is a resident artist at VisArts. Customers can see the demonstration and also purchase her handmade glass jewelry.

Rockiville Student Art Show Opening Reception, Glenview Mansion Art Gallery, 1:30 PM-3:30 PM. At 2:15 PM Discovery Kidz, Rockville’s own energetic youth ensemble, will dance to a medley of Gospel songs.

A Children’s Concert performed by the Rockville Concert Band, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 3 PM. Free, no tickets required. Kid friendly with instrument demonstrations.

Monday, March 3

Mental Health Association of Montgomery County Fundraiser, Austin Grill Rockville, 5 PM – 10 PM. 33% of ALL restaurant sales (minus tax and discounts) will be donated to MHA, which works to support mental wellness for kids, teens, families, and seniors, as well as those will mental illness, through 11 direct service programs with over 1,000 volunteers.

MHA has a Hotline if you are just feeling down and need to talk. It’s completely confidential. There’s someone there 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. 301-738-CALL. Youth Hotline is 301-738-9697.

Tuesday, March 4

“From Main Street to Miracle Mile: Rockville, Religion, and the Recent Past”, Peerless Rockville, Red Brick Courthouse (enter through rear double doors), 7:30 PM. An illustrated talk on religious architecture by Teresa B. Lachin, PhD.

Friday, March 7

Art After Hours, VisArts, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM. If you haven’t visited VisArts, this is an excellent way to be introduced. The Galleries are open (featuring the current exhibit, Photography: Face of the World). The artists are in their studios (stained & fused glass, furniture & fabric design, ceramics, Chinese brush painting, jewelry & metal design, quilting/fabric art.) HearArts is presented (from 7:30-9:30). This month HearArts will feature Elisavietta Ritchie, a fiction author who teaches creative writing, premiering her newest chapbook, Real Toads. Charles Mokotoff, a talented classical guitarist who has been hearing impaired for a good deal of his life, will entertain for the musical half of this very special program.

March Madness, Twinbrook Recreation Center, 7 PM – 9 PM. Rockville City Police Officers will play 3 on 3 with students in grades 5 through 8. Parents can watch.

White Wines from Around the World, 16 Winter Spring Wine Tasting Social by the Rockville Sister City Corporation, Glenview Mansion, 7:30 PM. $30 per person/$25 for RSCC members. Riesling, Mosel & Chardonnay selections from around the world will help you find some new favorites. A delicious array of foods and cheeses will compliment the wines. Early registration is recommended.

Virtuosi Violinists Concert by the Rondo Music Society, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 8 PM. Tickets $33, $38 & $43. Violinists from the famous Russian School of Violin will perform pieces from well-know composers.

The Joint Cheifs, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. There are nine bands in the US with this name but I can’t find one in our area. Give me a link!

Saturday, March 8

Green Homes Lecture, Croydon Creek Nature Center, 2 PM. $3/residents, $4/nonresidents. Register by 3/1. Great opportunity to discover the ways to improve the environmental sustainability of your home. Find out about energy efficiency, water conservation and pollution prevention.

The Digits, Austin Grill Rockville, 9:30 PM. They cover songs from the last few decades. If you belong to Woodley Gardens Pool, you know they play there each summer.

Sunday, March 9

Daylight Savings Time Begins! Set those clocks ahead 1 hour at 2 AM.


OUT ON THE TOWN

Sunday, March 2

Austin Grill will celebrate Texas Independence Day! If you can prove that you are from Texas with a driver’s license, ID, college ID, or birth certificate, you will get a free 12-inch Big Tex Burrito (before 3 PM it will be the brunch version). Cannot be combined with any other offer. Dine-in only. One per Texan. “Tell every Texan you know and ask for half of their burrito as a finder’s fee.”

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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What's Good and Bad about Rockville Pike

Tuesday’s Stakeholders Meeting for Rockville’s Pike: Envision a Great Place felt productive because it involved officially griping about Rockville Pike with the hope that it can be improved. Each table was given a topic and a large map of the study area. We were asked to put red stickers by three “bad” things about Rockville Pike and green stickers by three “good” things about Rockville Pike and then discuss why we chose each location. I happened to be at the table to discuss “driving and parking”, favorite subjects.

We liked north-south arterial streets, such as East Jefferson which is street-scaped with on-street parking. We also liked Wooten Parkway as it travels well. The two shopping centers with plenty of easy parking were Congressional and Wintergreen, but no one wanted to park at Federal Plaza. Our greatest problem with Rockville Pike was all the convoluted intersections, particularly the ones where you cannot turn left which creates choke points. A few of us admitted to going straight then turning around or cutting through other shopping centers in order to go north on the Pike. “You can get in Congressional Plaza, but you can’t get out.”

Our ideas to improve driving and parking were:

• More left turns to go north on the Pike


• Designated lanes on the Pike for through traffic, perhaps even charging a toll (!)


• Alternative streets with trees (but not too many trees) with short term on-street parking


• Better display of address numbers so that cars don’t need to drive slowly to find them


• Extending Jefferson Street through the Woodmont Country Club
  

Another table also dealt with the “parking” issue. Its recommendation was to get rid of the parking in front of shopping centers and build it underground or above ground. The problem with the large parking lots, especially those with buildings blocking the storefronts such as at Ritchie Center, is that you don’t even know about the “mom and pop” businesses hidden behind.

A group tasked to discuss “walking” did not want to award any green stickers but then reluctantly stuck a few on their board. They provided an apt description of the Twinbrook Metro Station. You arrive by train, must walk across a large parking lot, then cross Rockville Pike at one of the most dangerous intersections in order to get to the stores or residences. No wonder we don’t walk! A “buffer” between the people driving and the people walking was suggested.

One table spokesperson said that the Ritchie and Wintergreen centers were just the worst. Someone else at the table quickly interjected “They are the locations where mixed-use development would be most promising.” Everyone chuckled at the more positive description.

One group stated that there was no point in developing public transportation as the Pike is currently designed. If people are going to continue to use the Pike for shopping, is it realistic to think they will use a bus or trolley service to lug all their purchases around? Personally, I don’t want the Pike to lose its variety of shopping options because I don’t want to have to drive to Gaithersburg or Germantown to do my shopping, and I usually fill the trunk with what I buy.

To provide an idea of who is participating in this process, at my table there were two developers, a lawyer for one of the developers, a neighborhood association leader, a recent candidate for city council, and a former mayor. By show of hands at the end of the meeting, it appeared that more than one third of the room did not live in Rockville. I’d like to encourage everyone to pay attention to these zoning issues, both for ROZOR and Rockville Pike. You will have to live with these decisions for a long time to come. As they said in the literature for this meeting, “You are a Stakeholder.”

Also I’d like to echo the question at the last ROZOR public hearing as to whether we should even be having this process for Rockville Pike while the zoning ordinances for the entire City are being decided. Does it make any sense? How will the two fit together?

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POTD: What Time Is It?

(With apologies to Morris Day.) This photo, taken by Rockville Central friend Eric Jensen (and cropped by me -- don't get mad, Eric), is a puzzler: "Why are all the outdoor clocks in downtown Rockville wrong?" Eric writes. "Maybe someone needs to change the batteries or plug them in or something. It's never made any sense to me. (I don't have a shot of the clock in front of the Regal, but it's almost always wrong, too). In this shot, it really is 12:35 p.m., so the yellow clock is correct, but the white clock has been 1:05 since it was installed."

Want to submit a photo for consideration to be the Picture Of The Day? Wonderful! Just email it to me. Rules: a) Must be taken in Rockville; b) Must be your own work; c) Must not be published or offered for publication elsewhere; d) Should be generally contemporary (try to keep them less than a month or two old).

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Robbins Appointed to Human Service Policy Committee

Council Member Anne Robbins has been appointed Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Human Services Policy Committee (HSPC).

"Serving on this committee provides the City of Rockville with another opportunity to stay in touch with regional communities and to share information about the important issues that affect the quality of life of our citizens," said Anne.

According to the Council:

The HSPC, made up of elected officials and social services professionals, oversees the [Council of Governments'] public health and human service programs and provides policy direction to the group's various public health committees such as the health officials committee and the Human Relations committee.

Robbins acted as a citizen representative on Rosalynn Carter's Mental Health Commission in 1978. In addition, Robbins has consistently attended national conferences dealing with health and substance abuse issues, and served on the National League of Cities Human Development Policy committee for 7 years.

Congratulations, Anne!

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Contributor Opinion by Carl Henn:Big Stone Heads

The following contributor opinion is by Carl Henn:

Perhaps you’ve heard the cautionary tale of Easter Island. Easter Island is the windswept, grassy island over 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile with the enormous stone heads. For years it was a mystery how they could have been carved, transported and erected on an island that had no trees for rollers or cranes and no decent plant material for strong ropes. People even hypothesized that aliens had built them, since it seemed impossible for the small, Stone Age human population there to have built so many fabulous monuments.

Modern investigations have solved the mystery. Easter Island was once as heavily wooded as Hawaii, as shown by pollen spores found in core samples of the island’s crater lake. The trees could provide rollers, skid roads and cranes, and other trees provided fine fiber for strong ropes. A count of the many ancient foundations of homes long since rotted away show that the island once supported thousands of people rather than the straggly few hundred that were there when they were "discovered" on Easter Sunday, 1722.

How did the island wind up with lots of heads and no trees?

They had cut down all the trees to make big heads. The trees that once allowed them to make big heads also provided shelter and fuel. Without them, they had to move into caves for shelter. The trees had provided seagoing canoes that allowed fishing to bring in protein from the sea. Trees had provided edible seeds as well that were lost to them when they cut the last nut tree. Trees also captured rainfall and charged the aquifers that provided fresh water. Without trees, the people went hungry. Easter Island went through a period of warfare, cannibalism and starvation as the once large population collapsed.

Not too bright, these Easter Islanders, eh? Well, they were every bit as bright as we are. We too are building big stone heads while undermining the resources that support us.

Our big stone heads are highways. We are burning the one time inheritance of fossil fuels in one big fiesta, supporting an ever larger population using oil to plow, plant, fertilize, harvest and process our food. We are building roads, parking lots, houses and shopping malls on some of the nation’s richest farm land. Like the Easter Islanders, a day will come when we realize that big stone heads can’t feed us.

Oil is finite and runs out as we use it. Oil experts believe we are now at or near the peak of global oil production. It will soon enter its inevitable decline. We will need to reduce our demand greatly. We should use the last of our oil to build a sustainable energy infrastructure, not to support one more round of sprawl. (Come to one of my energy talks to hear more about how we can get from where we are to where we need to be.)

The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. We are spending our limited transportation dollars on highways rather than more efficient transit, our own way of building big heads – infrastructure that will soon be worse than worthless. At least the big heads are interesting to look at. Highways are uglier than what they replace. Destroying forests, farms and wetlands with borrowed billions makes no sense.

Here is our biggest proposed stone head – The Intercounty Connector:


The ICC was estimated to cost $2.4 billion dollars in 2004. Since then the cost of oil, steel, concrete and asphalt have all increased markedly, yet the official estimate remains $2.4 billion. We are being lied to about its cost.

Underestimated at $2.4 billion, it costs too much. While this road literally bulldozes forward, the Purple Line limps forward with barely enough funds for planning, and the Corridor Cities Transitway is nothing but a dream. The ICC stole its lunch money.

Even if we magically found an answer to our energy problems tomorrow, the ICC wouldn’t make sense. It is projected to trigger another 5 to 20 thousand acres of additional sprawl and to increase traffic on segments of the Beltway, I-95 and I-270. It would undercut existing businesses in Silver Spring and Wheaton by funneling customers to the new regional Konterra Mall to be built where the ICC would meet I-95.

But we have no magic energy answer. Our cars run on gasoline and cause global warming, smog and acid rain. We can’t reduce our global warming impact by spending billions to move in the wrong direction.

The ICC was planned for a world with no energy problems. The ICC study assumed that oil would cost the same in 2025 as it cost in 2004. That has already proven wrong. Oil cost $40 a barrel in 2004 and $100 a barrel today. The ICC was intended to support ever growing traffic. But in response to rising oil prices, vehicle miles traveled have been in decline for two years.

The ICC can still be stopped. The General Assembly will soon vote on three bills regarding the ICC. HB 1471, with 40 co-sponsors, would repeal the ICC’s funding package, freeing $2 billion dollars for other projects. HB 1416 would block further expenditures until the highway’s impact on global warming is assessed. This was never done in the Environmental Impact Statement process. And a third bill would require the state to assess the public health impacts of the ICC on air pollution before spending more money.

Our District 17 Delegates and Senator aren’t cosponsors of these bills. In fact they are all ICC supporters. It’s time for them to wake up and smell the coffee. If they understood peak oil, they wouldn’t support this road. All our District 17 representatives have cosponsored the Global Warming Solutions Act. If they truly care about global warming, they would vote against the ICC.

Please let them know where you stand. Here is their contact information.

The biggest supporter of the ICC today is Governor O’Malley, who claims to care deeply about the environment and global warming. Ask him to connect the dots and drop the ICC. You can e-mail him through the form here.

The stakes really couldn’t be much higher. Please contact your Maryland representatives and urge them to vote for the bills to stop the ICC. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Carl Henn
Hungerford

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.

(Images from Bugbob and Freestate Politics.)

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