Monday Potpourri
It’s been non-August-like weather outside, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to sit in front of the computer any longer than is necessary. But news continues its end-of-summer trickle.
The Rah-Rah Safeway
This my new name for the Thayer Avenue Safeway. I will also accept “The Nice People Safeway” or “The No-Quimby’s-For-You Safeway.” But the rah-rah comes from the rousing chorus of emotional support recently on the listserv. To which I respond: Blah blah.
After repeated tries, they couldn’t annex Quimby’s for an expansion project (which, as a loyal Volvo owner, I’m happy about), so they’re redoing the interior. For the time being, half the inventory is on wire shelves and it’s good to see things getting cleaned up. Yes, the people are nice. Yes, it’s convenient. And of course it’s less expensive than Whole Paycheck. But all this doesn’t belie the fact that it’s a bit grungy, the produce seems to goes bad inordinately fast once I get it home, and the lines all too often remind me of the Soviet Safeway in the city. Yes, I’ll still shop there, but only in between trips to see part of Falkland Chase get razed for my beloved Harris Teeter.
Best of Silver Spring – Extended Edition
No, this is not the better, subversive version seen here. Silver Spring Center has extended the voting on their site through the end of August. I wonder if it was because of lack of response or because of the great answers I know they’ve been getting (and are perhaps hoping for some more reasonable responses to balance those out).
Speed Cameras on Wayne
Silver Spring, Singular touched on revenue generation from speed cameras in Chevy Chase, and I, too, would like to know how much the MoCoPoPo are pulling in from the one on Wayne Avenue. More importantly, I was struck by a story in the Washington Post about a couple got clocked doing 100mph in their Toyota Echo during rush hour going uphill 1/4 mile after the stoplight at Sligo Creek Parkway. Luckly, traffic enforcement admitted the mistake, chalked it up to human error for not checking things properly, and the $40 the couple paid will be refunded. Don’t take anything for granted, folks. MoCo *really* wants your money.
In Less-Stellar Police News…
The cops in Prince George’s County still won’t really admit fault or offer an apology directly to the family they violated during a recent drug raid in Prince George’s County. I know it’s not in our neighborhood, but I encourage you to read the press coverage and try not to be pissed off. They busted down the door (with what could have been an improper warrant to do so) and then shot the two black labs. Unbelievable. The Department of Justice has been called in to investigate, and my prediction is that this is far from over.
7 Comments so far
Couldn’t we get the speed camera info from the MoCoPoPo with a FOIA request?
I don’t see why not. I wonder what level of granularity they would provide. Names and addresses of those ticketed? Speed over posted limit? Total revenue from one particular camera?
On that Silver Spring Center survey, Chesapeake Bagel Bakery is one of the selections. Didn’t that close?
Um, Outback is also one of the options… WTF?
“Level of granularity?” I can’t believe you actually said that.
Doesn’t Official Government-ese have an acronym for that? “I wonder what LOG we could get with a FOIA request from the DOT (or would we submit it to the BTS?), and what the ETA would be? Do we need a separate PO for that, or can we get it under a BPA?” I love living in Washington!
I heard that private companies can install speed cameras for revenue and give the government a cut of the profit. Is this true? The speed cameras all look different…In which case, I’d like to install one myself on my block.
-adele
That’s how they all work. The government just gets part of what you pay for getting a ticket. The rest goes to the speed camera company.