MONTGOMERY COUNTY TRANSPORTATION FORUM TONIGHT IN DOWNTOWN SILVER SPRING

A transportation forum featuring candidates for the Montgomery County Council will be held tonight (May 29), at 7:00 PM, at the Silver Spring Civic Building (there is public garage parking directly across Ellsworth Drive from the building).

The topics covered are inspected to include transit, the Purple Line, the county's proposed Bus Rapid Transit system, and the M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended. Obviously, the BRT system proposal directly affects Rockville, and the Rockville Pike Plan outcome.

Martin Di Caro of WAMU FM will be the moderator. The debate is sponsored by the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Purple Line Now, Action Committee for Transit, Montgomery County Sierra Club, Montgomery Countryside Alliance, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and the TAME Coalition.

Silver Spring Civic Building

1 Veterans Place

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE CANDIDATE FORUM TONIGHT

All candidates for the Montgomery County Council At-Large will participate in a candidate forum, sponsored by the Aspen Hill Civic Association, at the Aspen Hill Library tonight (May 28) at 7:30 PM. The event is convenient to the Wheaton, Glenmont, Rockville and Olney areas, for those wanting to learn more about the candidates for the 4 countywide seats on the council.

Aspen Hill Library

4407 Aspen Hill Road

NIGHTSWATCH: ROCKVILLE CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Rockville on May 23-25, according to crime data:

May 23

Assault. 400 block Elmcroft Boulevard.

Theft. 1 block Gude Drive.

Assault. 500 block Pinewood Road.

Assault. 1 block Maryland Avenue.

Stolen car. 1000 block Copperstone Court.

Theft. 5700 block Crawford Drive.

May 24

Stolen car. 100 block Moore Drive.

Assault. 100 block Gibbs Street.

May 25

Assault. 1400 block Rockville Pike.

FREE WINGS FOR MILITARY AND SPOUSES TODAY AT HOOTERS OF ROCKVILLE (PHOTO)

Active duty members/veterans of the U.S. military - and their spouses - can get 10 of Hooters' famous wings FREE today, with any drink purchase. The offer is good only for dine-in customers, and you may have to show your military I.D. for this Memorial Day special.

Hooters of Rockville

1584 Rockville Pike

NIGHTSWATCH: ROCKVILLE CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported between May 20-21 across Rockville, according to crime data:

May 20

Assault. 800 block Hungerford Drive.

Theft. 500 block King Farm Boulevard.

Vehicle theft. 2000 block Gaither Road.

Vehicle theft. 200 block Poplar Spring Road (King Farm area).

Sexual assault. 7300 block Calhoun Place.

Vehicle theft. 300 block Frederick Avenue.

Vehicle theft. 400 block Hungerford Drive.

Theft. 200 block N. Stonestreet Avenue.

Theft. 1500 block Rockville Pike.

May 21

Assault. 1 block Maryland Avenue.

FIRST IMAGES OF BUILDING TO REPLACE PINK BANK AT 255 N. WASHINGTON ST. IN ROCKVILLE (PHOTOS)

The Kettler mixed-use project that will be constructed on the former site of the demolished Suburban Trust Building (a.k.a. the Pink Bank) will be about 7-stories tall, with ground floor retail and restaurants. These renderings show what it will look like from different vantage points around the property. The architecture appears to reference some design elements of the adjacent Rockville Town Square development, but is hardly as unique as the New Formalist building it replaces.

Images courtesy Kettler/City of Rockville
All rights reserved

ROCKVILLE MAYOR AND COUNCIL BRIEFED ON UPPER ROCK PLAN CHANGES

JBG's attorney, Bob Harris, and Senior Development Analyst Devon Lauer returned to City Hall Monday night, to brief the Rockville Mayor and Council on changes the developer seeks for its 5 Choke Cherry Road project in the Upper Rock District.

There are no real points of contention with the project at this point, although Harris again indicated that JBG will return with greater detail at future meetings. Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr asked about the bicycle plan and stormwater management for the site. Neither Harris nor Lauer were familiar enough with the bike issues at the site to comment, but said they would have that information at the next meeting. City staff said that the project, while having been approved long ago, would be built under current Rockville stormwater requirements.

Councilmember Tom Moore asked if the green space once designated as an office building could be developed as residential in the future, "[i]f the residential market picked up at some point?" Harris said he did not foresee any changes to the current proposal in the future. In a previous presentation before the Rockville Planning Commission, Harris said residential development was not sustainable, given the proximity of Crown Farm and other projects under construction.