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Never forget those who sacrificed everything so we could enjoy the lives we live today.

I know it’s not the plural of moose, but just work with me on this one. And I’m not referring to the Great White Water Buffalo of old. More on that in a moment.

Sietsema Does “First Bite” at Pacci’s
The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema put up a fair review of Pacci’s today. Highlights include salads (minus the chewy octopus) and the pizza (which he says could benefit from a little salt). All in all I would say a two-star review on his scale. I might give it 2-1/2 stars on that scale, but it gets bumped up a little considering the other pizza options we have around here. I suppose it’s all about context.

So Close: Fire Station #1
The Gazette has a good writeup of the almost-open Fire Station #1. Soft opening is this week sometime (which would imply around-the-clock work considering how things looked last week), and the Grand Opening will be June 6. Another good scoop writeup from our friends over at Silver Spring, Singular.

In Other News…
We bitch and moan about beer and wine sales here, but I’m glad I don’t live in Kensington. I never knew they were such teetotalers.

The Moose is Loose
Jerry McCoy’s new blog highlights the discovery of a time capsule at the now-defunct Silver Spring Moose Lodge. Unveiling will take place on Saturday, June 26 as part of the 13th Annual Montgomery County Heritage Festival. Any guesses as to what’s inside? My money’s on an actual moose.

A little jaunt through downtown yesterday netted some interesting finds…

It’s Done Blowed Up

Torn down, actually. Two auto repair shops, a hair salon, and the venerable Moose Lodge. All taken out within the span of a day to make way for the new library. I do feel a bit of nostalgia, but mostly I’m excited for a new library. Without the footbridge.

The Brits Call it a Cashpoint

I actually call this one a gateway to hell. That seems to be what it looks like. But if any of you have seen or stood in the line for the Bank of America ATM at Georgia and Wayne, you’ll recognize the need for this. It just went in below the stairs in The Promenade, just outside of Eggspectation.

I have a secret ATM that I go to where there is NEVER a line. And I’m not gonna tell where it is. The fee is lower than any other around – which actually doesn’t matter, since my bank reimburses me for any ATM fees. Oh – and they also let me take photos of my checks with my iPhone to deposit them. I haven’t set foot in a bank in years. Bank of America can suck it.

Chicken and Chicken
I still feel shocked by the sheer number of chicken places going up everywhere. Case in point: there are now two going up within 2 blocks of each other. We all knew about the imminent arrival of Nando’s Peri-Peri. The construction signs and barriers finally went up between Ann Taylor Loft and Maryland Youth Ballet. There’s a joke in there somewhere, but I’d rather not reach.

Now someone actually got the space between Piratz Tavern (Rubin & Rubin Lawyers, specifically, but grog is much more important than those jokers) and our favorite caramel shop, Velatis.

I can’t find any reliable online references to a Mr. Chicken franchise, but I am disappointed that our Mr. Chicken won’t have the fabulous signs that some others do. Better yet, Lost’s sad demise on Sunday makes me yearn for a Mr. Cluck’s Chicken in the neighborhood. Alas, it’s only fiction.

Fenton Street Market and the Future of Silver Spring
Imagine it and they can build it. Or at least sketch it. Here’s the announcement:

The public is invited to a free, fun brainstorming session with local architects on the future of downtown Silver Spring on Saturday, May 22. Stop by this informal workshop anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to share your vision of what Silver Spring should look like in 5, 10, and 20 years.

This is just asking for a library bridge with moving sidewalks or something. The Silver Spring Historical Society, along with many others, will be there. I plan on causing havoc. Mainly with the historical society.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

As another example of how these people don’t really represent the people they attempt to serve, last night my beloved East Silver Spring Civic Association voted to support the pedestrian bridge for the library (after the Citizens’ Advisory Board and the County Council both voted against it). ESSCA has done a lot of stupid shit over the years, and while this is far from the worst of that, it’s the most annoying right now. I had to walk out right after the vote to attend to some personal matters (and because people wouldn’t shut up and take the damn vote), but I’d put it at about a 2-1 margin. Ben Kenobi said it best: “The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.”

For the uninitiated: This is an $800,000 bridge that would serve a small percentage of the library-going population from the Wayne Avenue garage, over Wayne Avenue, to the 3rd floor of the library building itself. The second floor of the library is supposed to have a disability resource center, which I suppose some think would be hypocritical without the bridge. Then there’s the Purple Line, which would come through the south side of the library on the first floor. All these variables do NOT necessitate a walkway that costs over three quarters of a million dollars.

Before you call me anti-people-with-disabilities, hear me out. I am a web designer and developer, and I spend a lot of time making sure my sites – many of which are for the federal government – are accessible by people with disabilities. The crux of that task is this: Any content that is available to the general public should be available to persons with disabilities. If that means the content is accessible through a screen reader, fine. If there needs to be a text equivalent of the content on another page, great. I can do that.

Here’s the catch: The library would be available to ALL – even in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act – without the pedestrian bridge. People would just have to cross Wayne avenue and take an elevator. Oh, and that’s assuming they could even find a parking space in the Wayne Avenue garage once the library is open. I dare you to defend that one when levels 5 and 6 have the only few available places on the weekends as it is now. People going to other places in the downtown area will fill that up fast enough.

I say (as many others do) take the money and put it into improvements into the intersection of Fenton and Wayne. And you can hear the people start to whine: (1) “It’s not safe to take kids across that intersection! It’s already too dangerous!” (2) “You have to take an elevator down and then go across and then go back up for the library!” (3) “Some of our patrons really need this access!” (4) “Parking in the neighborhood will get so bad!”

My answer? STFU.

(1) I take my 3-year-old daughter across that intersection all the time. Just don’t be an idiot about crossing the street. Use the money to make improvements to the intersection and we’ll be fine; (2) Elevators are made for disabled access; (3) Is there content (books) that isn’t available to persons with disabilities by other means? (see #2) Umm, no.; (4) I live three blocks away from the new library site. Bring it on.

Photo courtesy of Lukmire and Associates

I figured the business there would go down in flames because of the much better restaurants around it. Never thought it would *really* go down in flames.

These photos are from 2:30 Saturday afternoon, after the flames had been extinguished and people were allowed to actually walk by. The shot you see of Olazzo’s front door (8235 Georgia Avenue) shows where the fire crews had to poke holes in their ceiling, through the creepy wig shop next door. Lots of smoke and fire damage to the neighboring businesses as well. I don’t believe anyone was hurt, but the reports I heard could be mistaken.

Being one who frequents Olazzo, I am none too pleased, and I know the owners at Nicaro aren’t either.