what's up the pike: do people even rollerblade anymore?

- Rita's Italian Ice is celebrating the start of their 2010 season by giving away free italian ice on Saturday from 12 to 10pm. The Burtonsville Rita's is onRoute 198, but they also have locations in College Park, Olney, and Aspen Hill.

- You've probably already heard that there'll be a meeting to discuss the new Silver Spring Civic Building, which after years of anticipation will finally open this July. The meeting will be next Tuesday, March 23 from 7 to 9pm at the Discovery Building.

- Costco's still thinking about opening up in Wheaton . . . Wheaton, Illinois, also known as Bizarro Wheaton or the Other, White Wheaton. Of course, the arguments for and against the big-box store coming to Wheaton, IL are the same as they are here.

For: "the Costco representative said a store would create about 300 jobs and, after three or four years, generate as much as $3 million annually in sales tax revenue for the city. 'The Costco thing has a lot of potential once you start to think about it,' [Bizarro Wheaton Official] said.

Against: "We've got a residential neighborhood right next door," [Other Bizarro Wheaton Official] said. "So it is a fairly incompatible use. I really respect the neighborhoods, and I don't want to do anything to damage them."

- It looks like Greg Sanders, son of recently-departed transit activist Harry Sanders, is following in his dad's footsteps with a blog post dismantling the libertarian argument that we have so much "suburban sprawl" because duh, everyone wants to live there. Greg's response (for those uninterested in planner-geekery): Downtown Silver Spring.

- Maryland state legislators are mulling a bill that would provide loans to people seeking to improve the energy efficiency of their home or business. Lisa Piccinini from UMD for Clean Energy - whose Matt Dernoga we interviewed last fall - writes a guest post about the program, and its implications for our environment, on Rethink College Park.

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silver spring civic building: the movie

Friend of JUTP Kathy Jentz sent us this documentary shot by her friend and Takoma Park resident Susan Harris about the new Silver Spring Civic Building, which is set to open at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street this July. The video features none other than Reemberto Rodriguez, director of the Silver Spring Regional Services Center (colloquially called the "Mayor of Silver Spring") and some lovely renderings of the Civic Building, which are already starting to come to life.

Harris co-produced the clip with Mario Starks at Docs in Progress, a non-profit group that teaches documentary filmmaking. Docs in Progress hosts a variety of workshops and screenings, including a free one this Saturday of American Feud, exploring the tensions between liberals and conservatives in the United States. That screening starts at 7pm at Docs in Progress' offices, located at 8700 First Avenue near Fenwick Lane.

Attendance is limited to just twenty people ("to allow for an intimate discussion"), so if you can't squeeze in, check out the video above.

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cruisin' in burtonsville

These days, the only reason I come to Burtonsville is because I, like a lot of East County residents, am on my way to shop in Howard County. I have, though, really gotten into the little "restaurant row" that's forming on Route 198, eating empanadas at Cuba de Ayer and sipping Ethiopian coffee at Soretti's. But between the highway bypass and the increasingly awesome [ethnic] food is the small town Burtonsville used to be and a few residents desperately hold on to.

And in that small town, one thing rules: awesome cars. After all, one of the biggest attractions at the yearly Burtonsville Day celebration is the classic car show. This weekend, the time-honored tradition of cruising once again returns to Burtonsville, as I found on this message board (remember those?) for Chrysler Crossfire enthusiasts:

Its that time of year - this is a year round cruise in but usually doesn't really get going until this time of year. This event draws a lot of hot rods, race cars, exotics, customs, antiques, you name it, its there. So bring your Crossfire and join us every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. til around 10:30 a.m. In the Giant Food parking lot at the intersection of Rt's 198 and old Rt 29 in Burtonsville Maryland. We congregate in the lot by the KFC which is open for breakfast, there's also a Starbucks. Bring your camera, its the best free car show you will ever see! Hope to see you this Sunday morning!

I would be curious to check this out. But 8:30 on a Sunday morning? At that time you should either be in church (or whatever house of worship you choose to attend) or in bed. And I, sir, am not a church-goer. Of course, the Just Up The Pike-mobile (also known as the 2003 Honda Civic) isn't exactly the kind of car you would bring to a cruise-in, either.

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