A number of local officials accepted a challenge from the Action Committee for Transit to spend the week of June 10-17 using only public transit, or active modes of transportation such as biking, walking or scooters, to travel around the county. The Source asked one of those participants, Councilmember Hans Riemer (D-At Large), who lives in Takoma Park, what he thought of the experience, and here is his report.
Urban Butcher is back this week to its regular operating hours with a new look and a new menu. The restaurant has added new starter dishes and seafood entrées while retaining many of the familiar beef offerings. The restaurant opens at 5 p.m. daily except Monday, with happy hour for 5-7:30 p.m.
The Silver Spring Jazz Festival will go on this summer after all, thanks largely to community feedback in reaction to a Source story about its apparent demise in favor of a series of smaller events. The festival will be held Saturday, Aug. 24 and the list of performers will be released in a few weeks. In the meantime, the Thursday Summer Concert Series is back next week.
This week’s events feature the Silver Spring Blues Festival on Saturday, the return of the Silver Spring Summer Concert Series, a Pepco community meeting, two opportunities for community sings, and baseball with the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts.
The grand opening of District Taco in the Blair Park Shopping Center on East-West Highway will be held at noon Monday, July 1. A portion of the day’s profits will go to Level the Playing Field, a Silver Spring-based nonprofit that provides sports equipment to underprivileged youth in the area. The first 100 customers in line will receive a goodie bag and a free meal.
It will be dejá vu for Silver Spring commuters headed for the Paul Sarbanes Transit Center as fencing is installed, cutting off some sidewalk access in preparation for Purple Line construction. Metro and bus riders will need to go around the perimeter, or access upper levels from Ramsey Avenue or Bonifant Street as construction will start this summer.
Applications are now being accepted to fill five vacancies on the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, according to an announcement from County Executive Marc Elrich. The 18-member board serves as a liaison between the community and the executive’s office. Applicants must live within the boundaries of the Silver Spring Regional Center and can apply online.
The bi-county Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission voted last week to “not concur” with the alternatives proposed for study in an attempt to relieve traffic congestion on I-994 and I-270. The 9-1 vote was taken as part of the public comment process required to complete and environmental impact statement for the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration’s Managed Lanes Study for the two highways. The effects on M-NCPPC parkland aren’t yet known; any decisions will be later in the process.
Scammers posing as law enforcement officers are using a phone scheme to swindle consumers in several counties, according Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. Potential victims are being accused of missing jury duty or appearing as a witness, and immediate payment is demanded to settle the issue.