To honor the Emerald Isle, this review is presented in limerick form: (more…)
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 25, 2007
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 25, 2007
The third district’s top cop may be moving up the ranks of the county’s police force.
Commander Betsy Davis has been recommended to replace the county’s retiring assistant police chief, according to a police department press statement. The long-time Silver Spring resident has been on the force for 22 years.
The recommendation came from the department’s top brass, Chief J. Thomas Manger. MoCo exec Ike Leggett (D) now must formally submit Davis’s name to the county council for confirmation.
If confirmed, Davis would replace Assistant Police Chief John A. King, whose retirement takes effect June 1, 2007. King has already accepted a position as chief of Gaithersburg’s police department, the press statement read.
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 25, 2007
In a sweltering school gymnasium, US Rep Albert Wynn (D-Md 4) told constituents Tuesday night he was hopeful that the Purple Line would get financial help from the feds.
“Once we agree on a route, we can apply for federal funding,” Wynn told 30 area residents at a town-hall meeting inside Sligo Creek Elementary School. “I’m very optimistic that we can get it.”
The proposed Purple Line light-rail project would take riders from Bethesda, through Silver Spring, to New Carrollton. Possible alignments through downtown and East Silver Spring were discussed recently with the state transit administration.
The eight-term Congressman also emphasized improvements to area bus service, which he said was an important complement to the area’s mass-transit system.
“If we want to get people off the road, we need to have good bus service,” Wynn said.
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Video: R. Pace/SSP.
In addition to local mass-transit projects, Wynn said he would pitch for renovations to the old Blair auditorium. However, he admitted it would be a tough sell.
“I don’t want to tell you it looks good. It’s a tough year,” Wynn said.
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Video: R. Pace/SSP.
The Wayne Avenue auditorium was part of the original Montgomery Blair High School (now Silver Spring International Middle School). However, the performing-arts venue has been shuttered since 1998, according to a group that wants to restore the building.
“I think it’s a good project,” Wynn added. “I’m going to fight for it.”
Video photography by Ronald Pace for The Silver Spring Penguin.
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 24, 2007
The Purple Line won’t roll down Sligo Avenue, but it could chug along Bonifant Street on its way to Long Branch, according to reps for the state transit administration.
At Monday night’s focus-group meeting in downtown Silver Spring, project manager Mike Madden said a route along Sligo Avenue was no longer under consideration. That alignment would have carried the light-rail line at street level between Long Branch and the Silver Spring Transit Center.
Impacts on the community, as well as the cost of tunneling beneath East Silver Spring to avoid those impacts, dictated the alignment’s elimination, Madden told The Penguin.
Instead, a street-level alignment could snake south from the transit center, then eastward on Bonifant Street. The alignment would turn north on Fenton Street, then eastward on Wayne Avenue. (See map above.)
However, tunneling beneath Bonifant Street won’t be possible, Madden said. From its elevated station at the transit center, the Purple Line would not have enough distance to transition into a tunnel, he explained.
Tunneling would be likely if a proposed east-west route between Thayer and Silver Spring avenues is selected, said Joe Romanowski, a consulting engineer for the state.
However, that alignment would not burrow beneath the proposed Studio Plaza development off Georgia Avenue, Madden said. Instead, it would run beneath Silver Spring Avenue, then turn north near Fenton Street. (See map above.)
Tunneling is also likely if a route is selected from Silver Spring Avenue near Georgia Avenue, directly to Wayne Avenue near Cedar Street. The tunnel would be deep enough so as not to disturb homes or trees on the street surface, Madden said.
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 23, 2007
Dear Penguin: Any word on how this Studio Plaza development deals with the Purple Line? Three proposed routes run through Fenton Village, and one runs directly through (or under) the Studio Plaza site. What’s the deal? — Wiley
Wiley
Dude, that’s a loaded question with a loaded answer. I checked into earlier comments from the project’s developer, Robert Paul Hillerson, for the scoop.
Hillerson believes that if he builds the Fenton Village project, the Purple Line will not come — through his property, anyway. On two different occassions last week, Hillerson admitted that he wanted to begin construction immediately to cut off any decision on the Purple Line route.
Once completed, the two residential buildings proposed for Silver Spring Avenue would drastically increase the land’s value, so much that Hillerson bets the county couldn’t afford to buy it under an eminent-domain claim.
The accompanying underground parking also could prevent the county from burrowing a Purple Line tunnel beneath the site, Hillerson says.
If Hillerson is correct, and assuming a Silver Spring Avenue route is selected, the county might pass on route A through Studio Plaza. Instead, it might choose route B, which turns off Silver Spring Avenue closer to Fenton Street. (See the map below.)
Some members of Silver Spring’s commercial and economic development committee, as well as members of the urban district advisory committee, worry that the Purple Line will be “the tail that wags the dog,” hindering further development until an alignment is settled.
However, the commercial and economic development committee was not eager to endorse Studio Plaza Thursday night, objecting to recent design changes.
Congrats to you, Wiley, for getting the first “Stump the Penguin” response requiring a labelled diagram! I hope this answers your question.
The Penguin
Update: The state transit administration has eliminated the alignment running beneath Studio Plaza. Click here for more information. (Apr 24, 2006)
By Jennifer Deseo | Apr 23, 2007
About 150 people crammed into Heliport gallery (8001 Kennett St) on Friday night for the opening of “20901, 20902, 20903,20904, 20906, 20910.” The exhibit features works by 26 Silver Spring artists and shows off their eclectic styles and techniques.
The show continues through June 22, 2007, with other related events scheduled. Contact the gallery at (301) 562-1400 for more information.
Click here to view The Penguin slideshow.
Credits (in order of appearance): Kanchan Balse, “Intersection,” acrylic on canvas; Michael Winger, “Vertical Alter 3,” bamboo and bark; Stephen T. Hanks, “Venus,” watercolor; Susan W. Holland, “Roadmap to Spring Composition – I” (detail), acrylic and mixed media; John Morris, “Freight Train,” photographic print; Julie Miller, “Bus With Reflection,” enhanced Epson print; Dana Jeri Maier, “The Ballerina,” pen, ink and digital; Dana Jeri Maier, “Not Cool Man,” pen, ink and digital; Bernie Van Leer, “Rudder,” Ilfochrome print; Laurie Breen, “City Block #1,” acrylic collage on paper; Steven Robinson, “Solar Blossoms and Company,” paper and glass; Alfreda Gourdine-Southerland, “Integrated,” mixed fabric; Andrew Cronan, “Prehistoric Bird,” aluminum, steel and paint.
Photos by J. Deseo/SSP.
The Purple Line
Read The Penguin's coverage of a mass-transit project that might roll through downtown Silver Spring.
Hard hat area
What the hell are they building now? Learn more from The Penguin's development coverage.
The Potable Penguin
Boxed wines and rosés are back in vogue. Just ask The Penguin's sommeliers.
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