Monday, May 20, 2013
A 'nighttime economy' task force is just a fancy way for county officials to say they want Silver Spring to be 'cooler' after dark.
Only in Montgomery County do elected officials study how to get people to have fun. But, in Montgomery County, an official task force has been assembled—of local business people, no less—to spot trends in the county's "nighttime economy." That's just a fancy way of saying "how people get out and go out (and spend money) at night." Now, the answer to the following question may very well be lodged in the former paragraph, but WUSA9 took to the streets on a recent weekend to ask young, trendy people where they'd rather hang out: Bethesda or Adams Morgan in DC? "It's a different kind of nightlife here [in Bethesda], it's more low-key, mellow," said Tiffany Moy, who lives in Silver Spring. "Adams Morgan is like crazy like college kids." That's…
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Roads closed for the investigation have reopened, according to Montgomery County police.
Update, 12:20 p.m. The suspicious package found in Silver Spring was investigated and "deemed non-hazardous by the Fire Marshall's Office," Officer Joy Patil said in an email. The roads have been reopened, she added. Original story, 11:27 a.m. A suspicious package has been found at a bus stop in downtown Silver Spring near the Discovery building, according to Montgomery County police. Wayne Avenue is closed to all traffic (including pedestrians) between Georgia Avenue and Ramsey Avenue. Nearby buildings are being evacuated as a precaution, Officer Joy Patil said in an email. Metro and Ride On services are continuing.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Opponents of a plan to redevelop a water treatment plant in DC say the plans look like a "hulking slice of Crystal City or Silver Spring."
What exactly does a "hulking slice of Crystal City or Silver Spring" look like? According to Washingtonians who oppose a plan to redevelop a former water treatment plant site, lots of tall commercial buildings. Curbed DC reports that the plans for developing Northwest Washington's McMillan Park were met with resistence from a community group. Curbed wrote (emphasis theirs): The blog, Friends of McMillan Park, has already posted complaints, including that "little green space that would be preserved," and that " commercial buildings tower over the development, bringing into our neighborhoods a hulking slice of Crystal City or Silver Spring." While some find the city versus suburb argument over-simplified, it seems to be alive and well in…
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The entire Colesville Road/Route 29 corridor, on just one website.
Come Thursday, April 18, you may notice something different. As of that day, we will have merged Silver Spring and Colesville Patch in an effort to strengthen our coverage of both communities. Based on the ways we’ve seen you, our faithful readers and advertisers, use the two sites, it was just good common sense to combine them. Now, instead of asking you to check two sites for the news and information you need from downtown Silver Spring and greater Silver Spring, you’ll have it all in one place: right here on Silver Spring Patch! We know...change can be scary. But we hope you’ll give us a chance to show you that we’ll still be offering the same robust coverage of everything happening along the Colesville Road/Columbia Pike/Route 29 …
Silver Spring residents have flocked to the new social media app, documenting what it's like to live here.
Do you have the Vine app? If not, and you have an iPhone, you definitely should. It's a social media project that allows users to create tiny, very-short videos composed of a never-ending loop. Silver Spring residents have flocked to the new app, documenting what it's like to live here: riding transit, skateboarding, going to the farmers' market, walking past Discovery Communications' iconic mural. We perused the app and picked a few loops that are pretty great, filmed either in Silver Spring or by people who live in Silver Spring or that kind of-sort of relate to Silver Spring. Have a great Vine loop of your own to share? Post the link in the comments.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
This Silver Spring cafe is a unique and homey place to hang out.
Anyone with a taste for specialty coffee drinks can find a corporate-owned java spot in most neighborhoods. Zed's Cafe attracts people who want something more than the repetitive look and feel of a chain operation. "The thing I like about Zed's is the intimate, cozy atmosphere that it brings. It has its own spice. It has its own feel to it," said Alfia Johnson, a College Park resident. Johnson does what many patrons do when they stop at Zed's Cafe in downtown Silver Spring. She brings her laptop, orders coffee or tea and buys something to eat. "I love mochas with almond milk. It's very rare to find cafes that have almond milk," Johnson explained. "The Jasmine green tea is another favorite of mine, and I love their smoked salmon sandwiches…
38.992445
-77.026599
8225 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD
Zed's Cafe
/articles/bites-nearby-a-zest-for-coffee-and-community-at-zed-s
/locations/9202690
Friday, April 5, 2013
The Silver Spring Citizen's Advisory Board is advocating for public parks as the neighborhood continues to develop.
Downtown Silver Spring's Central Business District is populous, dense and still growing, by most accounts. With all the new development, should lawmakers be more focused on creating parks? According to Evan Glass, head of the Silver Spring Citizen's Advisory Board, many concerned residents want more public, open green space. Glass sent a letter to Motngomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, Council President Nancy Navarro and Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, who represents downtown Silver Spring, asking for a different approach to parks in the neighborhood. "While many public and semi-public spaces exist in the area, there remains a concern about these spaces, especially with the anticipated amount of new construction to occur over the next …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Census data mapped by planning and ubanism blogger shows the neighborhood's people per square mile rate is on-par with Northwest DC.
Urban or suburban? The question of which modifier best describes downtown Silver Spring may be still unanswered (after much debate). Census data anaylzed by planning and urbanism blogger Michael Rodriguez points to the former, showing that the center of downtown Silver Spring's density—how many people are living within a certain area—rivals some of Washington, DC's densest places. The most dense location in Silver Spring is the census tract that surrounds the Metro station. (We've been talking a lot about census tract 7026.01 lately, here and here.) It encompasses the area west of East-West Highway, east of 16th Street. In this area, there are 34,816 people per square mile (ppsm), a rate of density that is higher than any other tract in …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Four pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed in the past two weeks. What does Silver Spring think is the answer?
Crosswalks, crossing guards, speed limits, vigilant police, horns, traffic lights, stop signs, turn signals; the list of precautions to ensure pedestrians and drivers coexist is endless. But in Silver Spring, this list may have to be updated, or at least reviewed and questioned. Since Jan. 22, four pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed in Silver Spring and Aspen Hill. Of the pedestrians, three died trying to cross the road, while the other stood on the sidewalk. The rash of fatalities in such a small window has residents and representatives wondering aloud what, if anything, should be done. Jazmine Jones maintained that drivers should take it upon themselves to be more considerate, as “90 percent of them (drive too fast).” “A lot of…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Data from the 2010 Census, analyzed by Greater Greater Washington, shows that some parts of Silver Spring have more people under-34 than the Montgomery County average.
With so much talk about downtown Silver Spring's walkability and "upside potential," it should be no surprise that the area is home to a higher-than-average percentage of young folks. Nearly half of the residents in some parts of the neighborhood are ages 20 to 34, according to data from the 2010 Census and analyzed by transit blog Greater Greater Washington. In Montgomery County, where fewer young people choose to live than other parts of the Washington region, according to The Washington Post, only about 19 percent of the population is 20 to 34. Three census tracts in downtown Silver Spring have populations of younger people far above the county average. The portion of downtown closest to the Silver Spring Metrorail station has a …
jag
8:23 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
You mean a GOOD sports bar. Babe's was a sports bar...but sucked. Galaxy kinda meets the specifications of a sports bar...but it sucks (and is slated to close w/City Place redevel). more ›