Water Main Break at Prichard Road

No water this morning?  According to the WSSC, there's a water main break on Prichard Road that they're working to repair.  They estimate an outage of 5-6 hours, so water *should* be available around dinnertime tonite.

Still parking at Zombie Safeway?

Sorry for the lag in posting lately.  I've had another stretch of 12-14 hour days at my job, which leaves me with very little energy left to post.  But, with two deadlines out of the way this week, things are looking up for my schedule!

So, word on the street is that within the next day or two, the Zombie Safeway parking lot will be chained off and any cars parked there will be towed.  If you've been using that lot to park in, I recommend finding an alternate parking location.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, there have been a few Wheaton metro station mentions in the news lately.  The first comes from the announcement that WMATA is considering selling naming rights to its stations to raise income.  According to a blurb on WAMU, one of the funny naming opportunities people came up was 'Cream of Wheaton' station.  I like it!  Also, an amusing Washington Post article suggests that the strange whale-like groans and moans that metro's escalators make could actually be a modern jazz soundtrack to our daily commutes.  At the end of the article, the writer advises the true 'elevator jazz' connoiseur to check Wheaton's escalators, which give you a ride of '2 minutes and 44 seconds'.  The article also has a link to a contest they're holding for people to remix audio tracks of escalator noise into audio tracks.  I'm looking forward to checking them out.  It certainly gives me something to think about as I make my daily commute.

New Year's Resolution for WC - Yoga!

Happy new year, Wheaton!  Ohhmmmmmm....After a year-long hiatus, I've decided that starting this year, I'll get back into practicing yoga.  I've signed up for a class at Willow Street Yoga, located both in Silver Spring and Takoma Park (both metro accessible).  I'm a big fan of Willow Street, and I've taken classes there off and on since I moved to Silver Spring in 2005.

For any wanna-be yogis out there, Willow Street is offering free classes all this week at both of their locations.  I went to one free class last night and I'm hitting another today after work.  I also saw that Unity Woods is offering free classes this week.  For you Wheatonites who want to stay local, Wheaton Patch reported that a yoga class is being offered at Arcola elementary on Monday nights.

I'm catching up on some things after being out of town for the holidays, but look for an upcoming post on Costco's application for a special exemption that would allow them build an 8-pump gas station.  Yep, after the public outcry against the zoning text amendment (which ultimately was rejected by the county council), it's time for round 2 on this issue.  Wheaton Patch posted a short blurb on it this morning.  It's a good thing I'm heading back to the yoga studio, because I'm going to need those deep breathing exerecises with this issue!

Little Bits = Tasty Holiday Treats

Since it's that time of year for  baking holiday treats, I wanted to put in a plug for the Little Bits Shop on Triangle Lane.  Even if you're not a serious baker, this place is pretty impressive.  On my last visit, I was amazed by the huge spectrum of food colorings they have (any color you want!), the variety of cookie cutters, and lots of cute holiday treat accessories like cupcake wrappers and decorative candy toppers.

I'm having a cookie-making party this weekend, so I'm going to stop by there either today or tomorrow to pick up some supplies.

Check out the Little Bits website for their address and hours.  My only wish is that they would have extended hours around the holiday season, since it's a little tough for me to make it there after work before they close.

Washington City Paper article on Wheaton Redevelopment

I was surprised to see an article on Washington City Paper's website today about the Wheaton Redevelopment project being headed up by B.F. Saul.  I wouldn't say there was any earth-shattering revelations in it, but I was disappointed to read that there really aren't any provisions to support existing small businesses in our neighborhood once the redevelopment is under way.  While I understand that a private developer isn't obligated to provide assistance to existing small businesses affected by their project, I am disappointed that the county has not assumed more of a leadership role in this.

So, what's up, Montgomery County?  Where's your leadership in this project?  A major part of the feedback during the community meeting the other week was directly related to maintaining the small business community that makes Wheaton unique.  How are any of those concerns going to be addressed if B.F. Saul doesn't plan on doing anything about it?  The county needs to step up now and make sure a framework is in place for maintaining the uniqueness of our neighborhood amidst the redevelopment process.  Don't get me wrong, the development is Silver Spring is a success in many ways.  But other than the restoration of the AFI, the rest of the redeveloped area of Silver Spring along Ellsworth (edited 12-14-10) is a pretty generic place that could have been plopped down in just about any town in America.  I think Wheaton will be worse in the long run if we lose the unique businesses that define our community.

Oh, and I was offended about article writer's  jab about restaurants here needing to hire English speaking waiters to attempt to lure 'gringos' into their businesses.  I have eaten at many ethnic restaurants in Wheaton and have never had the slightest problem communicating with the waiters in English.  Also, while I know that Wheaton has its share of crime, I've never heard about the prostitution rings that the writer claims some restaurants are using to boost their income. Geez.

I will also put a plug in for Sergio's, which was featured pretty prominently in the article.  They're serving my favorite hispanic food in Wheaton right now, and I have been surprised at how empty it always seems to be.  Check it out sometime!

Safeway's New Year Resolution - Demolition!

The Gazette has reported that demolition of the existing Safeway building will start in January or February.  Hurray!  The same article also reports the anticipated opening of the new Safeway happening in mid-2012.  For a project of this size, a year and a half for demo and construction seems pretty quick, but if they can stick to that schedule, I'll be thrilled.

B.F. Saul posts summary of community feedback

B.F. Saul's website has posted a summary (PDF) of the feedback they heard from the community meeting held on November 17th.

It generally seems like a fairly detailed list, but I noticed they did gloss over a few points that people were trying to make.  Just from the groups I was in, I noticed that their summary doesn't list some of the requests to improve accessibility of sidewalks (i.e. avoid having light poles, parking meters, etc. become obstacles in the sidewalk).  They also don't really address the concerns that Chip Py (passionately!) spoke about regarding the rights of people in the town square to assemble, protest, take pictures, etc., without interference from security guards (i.e. the kind of issues that have been popping up in Silver Spring).

I was hoping that they would just scan in the sheets of paper used to write down everyone's suggestions rather than type up a summary.  Since they have decided to go with a summary, they should have a process in place for people to comment on B.F. Saul's version of the community feedback.  If you do feel that they have omitted or misrepresented something you heard at the meeting, I would recommend using their 'Contact Us' link on the website to voice your concerns.