The Silver Spring Penguin

Ah, yeah, people — I’m back from my long, relaxing vacation. Many thanks go to Brad Rourke and Cindy Cotte Griffiths of Rockville Central for minding the store while I was away. Their site streams an awesome weekly podcast (one I’d love to emulate, if I had anything to say), so check it out.

Of course, all the juicy news stories dropped while I was sunning my buns in southern California. (Those AIG execs got nothing on me.) But time away from Penguin corporate headquarters has given me new insight on how best to cover the downtown Silver Spring beat. When the topic turns serious, I’ll put serious attention to it. But when shit goes crazy, so will I. That’s how stuff will roll around here.

So take your best guess as to which of this week’s events will fan the flames of my madness:

Monday

9:30 a.m. The county council’s education committee mulls over the $1.5 million tab for a planned garage off Georgia and Burlington Avenues, behind Montgomery College’s new performing arts center. The yap hits the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville) and is open to the public.

2:00 p.m. The county council’s housing committee takes another whack at whether developers should be allowed to buy their way out of building moderately priced housing. The show rocks the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville) and is open to the public.

7:00 p.m. Silver Spring’s citizens advisory board does its monthly thang at the Gwendolyn Coffield Community Center (2450 Lyttonsville Rd). The meeting is free and open to the public.

Tuesday

1:30 p.m. The full county council hears smack from the public about Montgomery College’s planned garage and its $1.5 million price tag. The public hearing goes down at the council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville) and is open to the public.

7:00 p.m. Silver Spring’s entertainment-district committee works its monthly marketing mojo at the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center (8230 Georgia Ave). The self-promotional schlock is free and open to the public.

7:00 p.m. The planning department’s Purple Line advisory committee thinks long and hard about the state’s next steps with this mass-transit project. The deep thoughts drop on planning HQ (8787 Georgia Ave) and is open to the public.

7:30 p.m. Carolyn Biggins, the top banana for MoCo’s transit division, spells out the county’s strategic plan for Ride-On buses. The free shpeel hits the Silver Spring Center (8818 Georgia Ave) and is open to the public.

Wednesday

5:30 p.m. The Pyramid Atlantic community-arts store (821 Wayne Ave) hosts a mixer for local artists in search of, well, other artists. Network like a mofo until 7:00 p.m. Nosh will be served.

6:00 p.m. County council member Nancy Floreen (D-At large) gets everyone together to figure out how to finance the county’s big mass-transit projects, including the Purple Line. Her idea: charge a $250 employee-parking excise tax. Hit it at the county council’s office building (100 Maryland Ave, Rockville). It’s open to the public.

6:30 p.m. Silver Spring’s commercial and economic development committee holds a forum on how to develop the vacant tundra that is Fenton Village. The deep thoughts go down at the Nora School (955 Sligo Ave) and is open to the public.

9:00 p.m. Presidential candidates Sen John McCain (R) and Sen Barack Obama (D) duke it out in the last televised debate before Election Day. Head to Long Guyland for the live act at Hofstra University, or fire up the ole plasma screen.

Thursday

3:30 p.m. Silver Spring’s urban-district advisory committee chews the fat over the central business district. The gig drops at Discovery Communications (1 Discovery Pl) and is open to the public.

Saturday

10:00 a.m. Reps of the Silver Spring Regional Center lead a walking tour through the unchartered urban wilderness that is Fenton Village. This free 90-minute tour starts at the regional center (8435 Georgia Ave) and is open to the public. BYO water and survival gear.

= Live tweets of this event on The Penguin’s Twitter page.

Photo: Sensory overload and motion sickness await those visiting the Krustyland ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Updated Oct 14, 2008, to include new events on Wednesday.