YOUR COUNTY NEWSPAPER! Arts ........................13 Legal Notices........L-1 Book Review..........14 Nightlife..................11 Calendar................15 Opinion ....................4 Tax Sale Classifieds .............17 Reflections...............2 Fun Page............L-24 Sports ....................22 Inside Learning Links....L-22 Travel.....................12 Celebrating our 152nd year www.thesentinel.com Vol. 152, No. 45 • 25¢ SINCE 1855 June 7 - June 13, 2007 TODAY’S GAS PRICE $3.15 per gallon Last Week $3.17 per gallon A month ago $3.02 per gallon A year ago $3.03 per gallon AVERAGE PRICE PER GALLON OF UNLEADED REGULAR GAS IN MARYLAND/D.C. METRO AREA ACCORDING TO AAA INSIDE Last of a breed? This year’s “Hometown Holidays” in Rockville was a success, but does construction mean next year’s spectacular. PHOTOS BY ZACH KAREM Five-year-old Alex Merrifield dances to the blues’ stylings of Janine Wilson, inset, during the lunch time open air market in downtown Rockville. won’t be spectacular? Page 3 Van Hollen won’t take “No” for an answer to USPS delivery problems Post office says it will send a “team” of inspectors to look at Garrett Park Elementary ceived mail, said W.C. Miner, acting idents could use the town post office small of an area for post office trucks By Drew Pierson district manager, customer service as a community-gathering place. to turn around. Staff Writer and sales, capi- ˚ But accord- But none of those conditions are What an U.S. Post Office employees say tal district of the ing to county a problem for the school buses, deliv- they will revisit Garrett Park Elemen- USPS. maps, Garrett ery trucks and other service vehicles opening! tary School to determine if, for the The town We don’t take ‘No’ Park Elementary MCPS routinely sends to Garrett Park Big Train and Rockville first time in the school’s history, mail of Garrett Park is just outside Elementary, said Wayne Harris, move can be delivered straight to the door, has never had ‘‘ the town’s bor- coordinator for the Department of Express celebrate. for an answer on Page 22 after repeated requests for action from mail delivery. ders. Materials Management for MCPS. Montgomery County Public Schools, And it has vot- something like this, Miner also Luvenia Hyson, a USPS spokes- the Montgomery County Sentinel and ed at least once Joan Kleinman said that roads woman, said the school had previously U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen. in its history to U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s’’ leading to Gar- been given the option of changing its “We don’t take ‘No’ for an an- keep it that district director rett Park Ele- mailing address to Kensington. How- swer on something like this,” said way, said Mary mentary did not ever, because of the code violations Joan Kleinman, Van Hollen’s district Moyer, an em- meet several near the school, which is a 10-minute director. ployee at Gar- USPS require- drive from downtown Bethesda, the There are two reasons why Gar- rett Park Elementary. Moyer said the ments since there were no sidewalks, rett Park Elementary has never re- reasoning behind the vote was so res- no overhead street lighting and too See Garrett Park, page 8 2THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY SENTINEL JUNE 7, 2007 EFLECTIONS The Montgomery County Sentinel, published weekly by Montgomery Sen- tinel Publishing, Inc., is a community R newspaper covering Montgomery County, Maryland. Our offices are locat- ed at 30 Courthouse Sq. Suite 405 Rockville, MD 20850. Founded in 1855 August 10, 1989 by Matthew Fields. All mail to: P.O. Box tration intervened, Merryman said. 1272, Rockville, MD 20849-1272. Sub- “The state saved the tree.” scription Rates for The Montgomery This is the first time a tree has County Sentinel – Weekly by mail: $22.05 per year & $15.75 for Senior Citi- Healthy tree may not last long been saved during the development zens. (USPS) 361-100. project due to the actions of a con- Each week, The Sentinel revis- Tree removal is part of the Konig maintains that the trees cerned citizen, Michael Snyder, Bernard Kapiloff its a memorable story from our most recent phase of a joint coun- were “healthy and surviving.” State Highway Administration PUBLISHER archives. ty and state government “street- The black locust trees will be District Engineer said. “We decid- Mark Kapiloff scaping” project, and involves the replaced by groupings of new trees ed there was no overwhelming rea- ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER A Bethesda woman, who was section of Wisconsin Avenue be- and plantings, Merryman said. son to remove the tree.” [email protected] the first to defeat the State High- tween Bradley Boulevard and Streetscapping was in the Although Konig said that she Lynn G. Kapiloff way Administration to save a tree, East-West highway. Streetscaping planning stages for five to seven feels the tree will die despite his ef- CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER now thinks her victory and the tree involves “widening and landscap- years before its recent implementa- forts, Snyder said State Highway [email protected] will not last long. ing the median, and providing left tion, according to Merryman. Administration landscapers have Elizabeth Konig, who can turn lanes across the median,” planters, and trashcans as they looked at the tree, and feel that it EDITORIAL watch the black locust tree from said Robert Merryman chief of redeveloped ten major projects in will survive. Brian J. Karem her office window, stopped admin- the county Division of Trans- Bethesda, Merryman said. Current plans are to build the MANAGING EDITOR istration employees from destroy- portation engineering. Funding for care of the new- median around the container, [email protected] ing the tree on July 15, 1989. The cement containers the planted areas will come from a tax adding more soil and plantings. Josh Bowman Since that date, however, trees were planted in have been on businesses in Bethesda’s urban Mark Keshishian, a business [email protected] workers have cut the main roots to restricting the trees root systems, district, he added. owner whose oriental rug store at Drew Pierson the tree, as construction continues and about one-half of the trees The tree Konig saved was 6930 Wisconsin Ave. is directly STAFF WRITERS on Wisconsin Avenue. “The tree were diseased, Merryman said. scheduled for removal by the coun- across from the disputed tree, does Brandy L. Simms will probably die a worse death “The trees did not have that great ty Division of Transportation Engi- not understand the concern about SPORTS WRITER than if they had chopped it down,” of a survivability rate in concrete neering until an official from the the tree, “The tree is ugly and prob- Konig said. containers.” Maryland State Highway Adminis- ably will die anyway,” he said. Marketa Ebert STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Brian Schott COPY EDITOR Michelle L. Ponder HUMOR CALENDAR EDITOR [email protected] Patrick Redding YOUTH SERVICES Life’s leaving a bad taste [email protected] CALL 301-838-0788 constantly preaching to us all of this hired because Starbucks was ex- FAX 301- 838 - 3458 by Roger Mursick emotional gibberish about taking panding quicker than Rosie O’Don- NEWSROOM AND LEGAL ADVERTISING I wish care of the planet and each other and nels underpants and couldn’t wait Starbucks to leave a small “footprint” all the to hire quality help. So we get some Write us ADVERTISING would get over while their clumsy corporate boots kid that management threw behind Martin Friedman themselves al- are stomping on life’s most precious the register for a few days and then The Montgomery County ADVERTISING DIRECTOR ready. thing ...us! They’re selling absolutely over to the espresso maker with the Sentinel welcomes letters. CALL 202-285-5200 / FAX 301- 306-0134 I’ve writ- some of the least nutritious products barest of training. All letters must be original, signed DISPLAY ADVERTISING EMAIL ten on this for humans to consume. Almost none of them are work- by the author and must include the [email protected] waste of pre- Who begins the day eating a ing in an environment that they re- author’s daytime telephone Sherry Sanderson cious shopping Bear claw (sugar, sugar, sugar) or motely even understand or know LEGAL ADVERTISING MANAGER center space in low fat (means more sugar) orange how to function in. They’re too shy number for verification. CALL 301-838-0788 the past and pound cake? All of this junk tastes to even call out the beverage to their Send letters to: FAX 301-838-3458 [email protected] I’m sure this won’t be the last time. good but it’s killing us. It’s your re- co-worker and most don’t even The Montgomery County sponsibility to make the right speak the other’s language. Two or- Let me say that I go to Starbucks be- Sentinel cause it’s like voting for the lesser of choices in life, but I’m saying to ders and they’ve got to take a break PRODUCTION two evils at election time. The other stop talking out of both sides of so they can up their medication. I 30 Courthouse Sq. Louise Janus choice is Dunkin Donuts. One is crap your mouth and start making quali- ordered a drink last night three Suite 405 PRODUCTION MANAGER [email protected] and the other is crappier. ty beverages again. I don’t need times and it was still wrong. The Rockville, MD 20850 Starbucks sells crap espresso some schmucks “thoughts” on my clerk was looking right at me and Peter Lui Fax: 301-838-3458 and it comes with some touchy f%$*ing morning cup of joe.