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Things have piled up since the election and the Zombie Walk, and I finally have some downtime to address some all-important community news…

Hook & Ladder
I had a fantastic opportunity to meet with the staff of Hook & Ladder Brewery at their Fenton Street offices. The one big takeaway: I *need* kegerators at my office. Things are moving along with permits and such for the buildout of the brewery, so expect some action at the old firehouse early next year. Had the chance to taste some fantastic new beers, including Pipe & Drum Irish Ale and the Ember Amber. Fantastic stuff.

Look for these new variety packs at a store near you. They include the aforementioned beers, plus the classic Golden Ale and the oh-so-tasty Backdraft Brown. I would bet they all go great with turkey. In an effort to support local business, please reach for these guys first. Not only will you support the local economy, but you’ll also be supporting the Hook & Ladder Firefighter Burn Foundation.

And speaking of buying local…

Buy Local Silver Spring Guide
The Buy Local First initiative has set its sights on Silver Spring’s CBD. Early next month, a brochure will be distributed highlighting reasons for buying local and a comprehensive listing of local businesses in the area. Hats off to Emily Adelman of LEDC for her outstanding work.

“A Cracker Barrel with Good Food”
That’s how they described it. Everyone’s favorite food writer, Tom Sietsema, gave a nod to an upcoming Silver Spring restaurant in this week’s “Dish” column on washingtonpost.com. Chef and owner of the District’s late Colorado Kitchen, Gillian Clark, expects to open the General Store this month near the Seminary on Post Office Road. The menu “will feature ‘American road food’ and include chicken and dumplings, casseroles and chili.” Can’t wait.

In the meantime…
A Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I don’t know if I missed this a while back or what, but our ‘hood’s finally made it to Google Street View. I feel like Steve Martin when the new phone books came in. My old hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, achieved that hurdle last year, and I was starting to get despondent that we weren’t there yet.

When did this happen, I wonder? Looks like footage was taken in July-ish of 2007.

Question: When was the last time you looked at a map of Maryland’s 4th Congressional District? After some recent posts where I lamented the downfall of bipartisanship that cost Al Wynn his seat (not that I was a huge fan of his), I realized that I didn’t know what the district boundaries looked like. All I knew was that I liked Chris Van Hollen in my old district.

This was a surprise. I knew the district extended down into Prince George’s County, but I had no idea it had been gerrymandered so badly. That’s an awful lot of ground to cover when you could really use more federal funds for crime prevention and gang control.

Anyway, that’s my election day fodder for all you taking the time to read. Now get out there and vote. And don’t forget - Democrats vote today, Republicans vote tomorrow.

Here’s to cautious optimism…

There had been some early discussion about whether the Zombie Walk would be a lame bust or get out of control. Thankfully, we moved toward the latter. Imagine my surprise when we showed up at the Quarry House at about 8:30 and the place was full of the bloodied undead. Just awesome. We counted close to 70 people there, and added even more between Quarry House and AFI. I’d put the number somewhere just over the century mark. Outstanding.

This could not have had the success it did without lots of people - the participants, in particular, as well as Silver Spring, Singular and Silver Spring Pengiun. Special thanks to Chip Py, who has already posted some great photos. When I got up this morning, I was relegated to cleaning up latex, coffee grounds and fake blood from every surface in the bathroom (and most of the doorknobs in the house), but it was all worth it.

Some great links for the event:

Flickr Photo Pool

SS Penguin YouTube Videos

Facebook Event Page (with photos)

Already looking forward to doing it again next year. Guuhhhrrrrrrhhhh!