A Great Day at the Homes and Hospitality Tour
City Council Now Accepts Comments Online
Long overdue but much appreciated is the City of Rockville’s recent introduction of eComment, an online comment system in which the public can support, question, or object to items on the Mayor and Council agenda prior to a meeting.
According to the City, “the pilot program began with the Monday, April 12, Mayor and Council meeting. Agendas are typically published on the Thursday prior to the Monday meeting. The comment page can be found on the City’s Web site, www.rockvillemd.gov, and will close at 4 p.m. each Monday that there is a Mayor and Council meeting. Comments will be delivered directly to the Mayor and Council through the City Clerk’s Office. All comments are considered public information.”
The City launched eComment as “an opportunity for citizens to make their voices heard; help focus citizen comments to items already on the agenda; let citizens give input when they are unable to attend meetings; and provide the Mayor and Council with an organized report of comments prior to meetings.” I applaud their efforts to increase the ways that citizens can speak to the City (usually it’s the other way round), especially in Continue reading →
Pitcher Plants in Bloom in Rock Creek
Truck crashes into bridge at Rockville Metro
A freight truck hit the underside of the pedestrian bridge that connects Rockville Metro station with downtown. Bridge currently closed and police and fire are on the scene. Injuries unknown.
Max van Balgooy joins Rockville Living
Rockville Living, the online magazine that celebrates the good life in Rockville, has asked me to join them as an editor. I happily agreed because it’s a great team with a worthy mission. You’ll find me regularly posting stories about things to see and do, and of course I love food, so dining as well. I won’t be talking about style and fashion, technology, fitness and health, or house and garden–those will be covered by other editors, some of whom you may recognize.
My first story comes out this month and features St. Michel Bakery, an authentic French bakery hidden in the fringes of Rockville. I’ll show you where it is and explain why the quality is so high.
Don’t worry, you’ll still find my personal perspective and examinations of other issues surrounding Rockville here in this blog.
Election Board Meeting Reveals Work Behind the Scenes
Last night, the City of Rockville Board of Supervisors of Elections held a rare meeting with the candidates and treasurers of the election of November 2009 at City Hall. About a dozen people attended, including Phyllis Marcuccio, Bridget Newton, Virginia Onley, and briefly, Waleed Ovase (who was also attending a Communications Taskforce meeting). The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the last election to determined what worked and what didn’t. The scope of the Board’s responsibilities is fairly narrow yet extremely important because they fix many of the election rules and establish the standards for campaign finance reporting. The discussion focused on four items: polling places, signage, election logistics and information, and campaign finance reporting. I was only able to attend the first hour, but the discussions I found most interesting were:
History of Rockville Traces 150 Years
Tonight the City of Rockville continued its celebration of its 150th anniversary with an illustrated lecture by Eileen McGuckian at the Fitzgerald Theater. Following an introduction by Mayor Marcuccio, Eileen took the one hundred people in attendance not only back to the 1860, but nearly a century earlier to trace the remarkable history of Rockville through historic photos, maps, and documents. Today there are more than 60,000 residents in Rockville; in 1860, less than 600. What was even more amazing is that nearly a dozen people in the audience lived in Rockville when it celebrated its centennial in 1960. Her talked was followed by a dozen questions from the audience ranging from the Civil War to Congressional Airport to the location of the drive-in movie theater. Afterwards a reception in the foyer included a book signing of Eileen’s latest history, an exhibit of historic artifacts and documents, and refreshments (but no cake!). Her lecture will be broadcast on Rockville’s Channel 11 but in the meantime, here are some pix in case you didn’t make it:
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- Eileen McGuckian’s presentation on the history of Rockville.
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- Book signing in foyer.
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- Eileen McGuckian signing books in the lobby.
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- The line for the booksigning stretched long.
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- Enjoying the historical exhibit.
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- Enjoying refreshments (hooray, no cake!)
Rockville Celebrates 150th Anniversary
Last night, the City of Rockville celebrated its 150th anniversary of its incorporation in the Town Square. Even though the community existed in the 18th century, it wasn’t until March 10, 1860, that it took the big step to pull together and distinguish itself legally from the county. That move towards independence would continue, most significantly in the 1950s when the State granted “home rule.”
About 100 people gathered in the Town Square last night in the swirl of people passing to the library, heading into stores, or choosing a restaurant for dinner. The event opened with an invocation and the singing of the National Anthem (thankfully by someone with talent), then about a dozen speeches and presentations came one after the other by various political leaders from the county, state, and federal governments, with a finale performance by The Finest! and the serving of cake and hot chocolate. It’s hard to make an anniversary exciting except with a concert, parade, or fireworks, but in this tight economy, we’re left with speeches and cake as public spectacles. Thank goodness the weather cooperated and it wasn’t too cold and it didn’t rain as predicted. It’ll be broadcast on Rockville’s Channel 11 but in the meantime, here are some pics in case you missed it:
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- 150th celebration in Town Square
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- City officials on stage.
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- Mayor and Council cutting the cake.
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- Serving the cake.
This Sunday night is the next 150th event, with an illustrated lecture on the history of Rockville by Eileen McGuckian at the Fitzgerald Theater (Glenview Park) at 7 pm.
Baltimore Road improvements planned
Baltimore Road project map on exhibit.
With about thirty other residents, I attended the public meeting on the “Baltimore Road Intermodal Access Project” at Glenview Mansion on Wednesday night, February 3. The City of Rockville is studying the entire length of Baltimore Road from the Town Center through East Rockville and Twinbrook to the city limits at Rock Creek.
A bit of background
Emad Elshafei, chief of traffic and transportation, opened the meeting by stating that Baltimore Road was studied nearly ten years ago but wasn’t implemented due to lack of funds. In 2006, the City received a federal appropriation of $4 million spread over a series of years for planning and implementation (and the City needs to provide a 20% match). The City also expanded the scope of the project to consider the needs to pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as connect to the new Town Square. Earlier this year, the City hired Rummel, Klepper and Kahl (RKK) to lead the study, documentation, and planning with the assistance of several city staff members. RKK is based in Baltimore and their previous projects include the Wilson Bridge and the Downtown Charlottesville Pedestrian Mall.
First of three public meetings
This public meeting is one of three planned prior to construction in summer 2011–if funding supports the project costs. RKK is conducting a survey of the entire route and this meeting was merely to Continue reading →
Sunny Sunday a great day for pix
Welcome to (snowy) Twinbrook
It was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday so I climbed over the wall of snow surrounding my house and walked out along Meadow Hall Road from Twinbrook Parkway to Viers Mill Road to snap some photos to remember the “snowmaggedon.” I love taking panoramas so I’ve included several that are composed of up to a dozen individual photos, so they’re very wide. These are taken using the “panorama” feature on my Canon S5 and then stitched together in MGI Photovista but I’ve done no other editing, hence the ragged edge on the top and bottom which reveals the original images. You may need to click twice to get to the largest image (first click on the thumbnail to open a size that fits on screen, then second click on that image to open a 1600 pixel wide image). At least I think that’s how it works. You’re welcome to download and share with friends and family. If you want an original image (just warning you, they can be as wide as 6000 pixels), send me an email at max.vanbalgooy@gmail.com. Enjoy!
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- Viers Mill Road looking north at Meadow Hall Road in Rockville (February 7, 2010)
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- Twinbrook Shopping Center (February 7, 2010)
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- Tomatillo Mexican Grill (February 7, 2010)
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- Meadow Hall Road (February 7, 2010)
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- Carl Sandburg School in Rockville (February 7, 2010)
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- Welcome to [snowy] Twinbrook
