ST. PATRICK'S DAY WEEKEND AT AMERICAN TAP ROOM IN ROCKVILLE

American Tap Room at Rockville Town Square has decided one day just isn't enough to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. So they're making a whole weekend out of it, with Irish food and adult beverages. Here is the schedule (click to enlarge):

NEW CHILDREN'S RESOURCE CENTER BUILDING AT BROOME SITE IN ROCKVILLE WITHDRAWN BY COUNTY

CRC WILL UTILIZE 

EXISITING BUILDING, 

LEGGETT SAYS

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has withdrawn the county's request for a 4-story office building on the Broome School site on Twinbrook Parkway. In a memo to County Council President Craig Rice, Leggett says he has determined that "the County can relocate the [Children's Resource Center] in the existing Broome School [building], and can therefore defer construction of a permanent building to house the CRC at this time."

Twinbrook Forest residents may find the final 3 words of that statement reason not to celebrate just yet. While a 4-story building won't be plunked down in their residential neighborhood "at this time," there is no assurance that such a project won't be reintroduced in the future. After the upcoming county elections, for example.

Clearly, the county has heard the expressions of opposition in the community. What's unclear, is the future of the Broome site.

A fantastic residential neighborhood, Twinbrook Forest has enough trees to live up to its name. It also boasts distinctive and historic architecture amongst its homes. And has convenient bus service along Twinbrook Parkway. Yet the neighborhood had dealt for years with public services jammed into the Broome site, some of which were clearly incompatible with a quiet, residential neighborhood for families (including a meth clinic[!]).

Just when those services had been moved out of the Broome site, suddenly the CRC project was dropped on the neighborhood. Such a location for non-school or park/recreation use is certainly inconsistent with county leaders' stated goal of "smart growth." A new office building construction more than half-a-mile from the nearest Metro station would hardly have been "smart growth."

There's also the question of how the withdrawn plan, as well as the CRC relocation that remains on the table, interface with the recreational facilities onsite. Will agreeing - to the extent that Rockville can impact decisions regarding Montgomery County Public Schools properties - to relocation of the CRC to Broome mean ensuring an expansion of that facility in the future on Twinbrook Parkway? And will the traffic impact be negligible, or of concern to pedestrians or children playing in the neighborhood (or attempting to reach the recreational facilities at Broome)? I've found that "trips generated" estimates accepted by the county planning board tend to be wildly low in the vehicle trip numbers they predict. Yet they are accepted as accurate.

While schools can be noisy during recess, or generate traffic twice a day, many people can probably - if not begrudgingly - accept having one in a residential neighborhood. Placing other services and facilities in such locations is more problematic, and their impacts should be carefully considered. Certainly, the services provided by the CRC are beneficial to many county residents. And more compatible with a school property such as Broome, compared to other potential uses.

But without more detail, one wonders how the CRC will use the existing Broome building, when the county's application explicitly said such a move was impossible. In Item 8 under the heading, "Community Outreach," the county responded to the community's query regarding the CRC using the existing building, rather than constructing a new one, as follows:

MCPS has informed the County that the Broome Middle School renovation project is “inevitable”. The County will continue to hold this facility until MCPS formally requests it back. In the meantime, the County is unable to use bond funds to renovate the existing Broome building for CRC use. This is due to the County’s requirement that bond funds can only be used on buildings with anticipated life of 20 years or more. Therefore, the funding would need to come from the County’s annual operating budget. Given the County’s current fiscal situation, and the inevitability of MCPS taking Broome back, CRC use of the existing building is not a feasible option.

Was this statement misleading the community? Or has the county found a workaround solution at the last minute?

These are just some of the issues confronting the Rockville Planning Commission, which is scheduled to take up the new CRC Broome proposal at Wednesday night's meeting at City Hall.

ROCKVILLE REPORTS NOW INTERACTIVE ONLINE

The print edition of Rockville Reports has proven to be the most popular form of communication between the city and its residents, despite technological advances and upgrades to Rockville 11 and the city website.

Now Rockville Reports is getting an upgrade of its own.

Check out the latest edition online, with hyperlinks, video and a web-only feature: Q&A with the Mayor and Council. A front page story suggests that the Team Rockville slate councilmembers, and non-slate Mayor Bridget Newton, have found common ground regarding 8 issues facing the city of Rockville.

NIGHTSWATCH: ROCKVILLE CRIME UPDATE - 2 DRUG ARRESTS IN TWINBROOK AREA

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Rockville on March 7, according to crime data:

Drug arrest. Meadow Hall Drive at Twinbrook Parkway.

Drug arrest. 300 block Nimitz Avenue (Twinbrook).

Theft. 9600 block Watts Branch Drive.

Vehicle theft. 11700 block Parklawn Drive.

MCDONALD'S BACON CLUBHOUSE BURGER REVIEW (VIDEO)

Montgomery County is one of the first places in America to get a historic new sandwich from McDonald's: the new McDonald's Bacon Clubhouse. The Bacon Clubhouse can be ordered as a burger, or as a chicken sandwich (grilled or crispy).

What makes the Bacon Clubhouse historic? It is the first time McDonald's has used its famous Big Mac special sauce on a non-Big Mac product. In this case, you're getting the special sauce on a quarter-pound, all-beef patty, with premium leaf lettuce, tomato, grilled caramelized onions, Angus seasoning, and thick-cut smoked Applewood bacon.

One other big deal with this sandwich? The bun.

The Bacon Clubhouse features a special new bun, which McDonald's is calling a "soft and warm Artisan roll." A shiny egg wash effect tops off the premium bun, which is slightly sweet in flavor, and has the toasted exterior and soft interior of a high-quality dinner roll.

What's the verdict?

Watch my review to find out!

PLAY HOOKY AT HOOTERS OF ROCKVILLE DURING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

You can enjoy free food, and win a trip to Dallas for the NCAA Championship, by signing up at the Hooters Hooky website, and watching the games at Hooters of Rockville.

Using coupons on the website, purchase a drink, and get FREE Buffalo chicken dip on March 14 and 15, a FREE fried pickle appetizer on March 21 and 22, and 10 FREE wings when you buy 10 on March 28 and 29.

You'll automatically be entered into the sweepstakes when you register online. But each coupon you download, will score you another entry. Want to boost your chances even further? Post a photo of yourself with your favorite Hooters Girl at Hooters of Rockville on Instagram - with a #HootersHooky hashtag - and you'll get another entry into the contest.

What's in the prize package?

Airfare to Dallas, two-night hotel accommodations for the winner and a friend, $100 in Hooters bucks, a $250 cash card, Hooters merchandise and cash for championship game tickets.

You'll also be invited to the Hooters VIP party at Hooters of West End on Sunday, April 6. Besides you, other VIP guests will include Duke veteran Jay Williams, Miss Hooters International Marissa Raisor, and 2014 Hooters Girl of the Year, Tyler Suess.

WHICH CATCHING FIRE BLU-RAY SET HAS THE BEST BONUS ITEMS? (PHOTOS)

Friday is the big day for Hunger Games fans, as the second film installment hits stores across the country. Catching Fire doesn't have quite the elaborate special edition packages the first movie did, but offers more than the average Hollywood blockbuster release in these days of dwindling bonus gifts. For collectors, it's all about the bonus pack-ins, and exclusive content and artwork.

So, which store has the best Catching Fire Blu-ray/DVD package?

In my opinion, it's Target.

The Target Catching Fire set includes 45 minutes of exclusive bonus content:

Target Exclusive (45 minutes of content): 

• “ONE VISION” (A FAITHFUL ADAPTATION)--translating Suzanne Collins' source material to the big screen 

• “THE ALLIANCE” (RETURNING CAST)—an inside look at the close-knit relationships of the returning actors 

• “FRIEND OR FOE” (NEW CAST)--finding the perfect embodiments of the new characters 

And a booklet.

But, wait, there's more!

Pre-order your copy from Target, and you also get this Target-exclusive fabric poster:

Not to mention that the Target edition appears to have the best cover design. And you get all of this for $22.99, more than you pay for many recent Blu-ray releases that had no collectible bonus items.

Walmart

Walmart is second best, if you live near one that is opening at midnight tonight - the first 50 Catching Fire purchases will come with a Walmart-exclusive poster. Find a Walmart midnight opening event near you.  The poster isn't new; it is said to be the IMAX theater poster from last November's opening.

But that's it for bonus items, and Walmart has no exclusive bonus-disc content. The only other Walmart exclusive is a 2-movie set for the completist. Walmart has an online price of $19.96 for the Blu-ray/DVD.

Best Buy

Best Buy's primary exclusive, is offering Catching Fire in the steelbook format. This is best for those who collect steelbooks in general, or, again, for the completist. If you're not near a midnight opening Walmart, bump up Best Buy to #2 on the list. The other 2 Best Buy bonuses that can bump it up to #2 are A) you can pick up the first Hunger Games Blu-ray steelbook version for only $5 when you buy Catching Fire, and B) you also get $8 in Fandango Cash, payable towards Divergent when it hits theaters on March 21. Best Buy's price is the same as Target.

Amazon.com

Zip, zilch, nada. Just the movie, that's it.