Morning Notes
B-CC Takes First, Walter Johnson and Whitman Second and Third At Gymnastics Final — Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School senior Julia Konner won all four individual events, bars, beam, floor and vault, at the Montgomery County Gymanstics Championship on Tuesday. B-CC won its second straight county title and fifth in six years. Walter Johnson and Whitman finished second and third, respectively. [The Gazette]
Comptroller To Advocate For Internet Sales Tax At Union Hardware — Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot thinks Congress should pass the Marketplace Fairness Act and he’ll join small business owners at Union Hardware (7800 Wisconsin Ave.) this morning to talk about it. The bill, which the Senate passed, would require online and catalog retailers that make more than $1 million a year to collect sales tax, even if the purchase is made in another state. Small business owners, who must collect sales tax, have argued the lack of an online tax puts them at a disadvantage.
Political Training Program Targeting Women Has Bethesda Ties — Emerge Maryland, a class of 21 women recruited as potential candidates for political office, will graduate in June. Bethesda resident Susan Turnbull, a former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, helped create the program. The women will have had 70 hours of training over seven months when it’s all done. Wendy Cohen, a Bethesda resident and rumored candidate for District 16 state delegate, took part in the class. [Bethesda Magazine]
Politicians Jump On Union’s Boycott Bandwagon — A who’s who of politicians with aspirations for high-up positions in state government say they will join a union boycott of the upcoming Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee Spring Ball. Union officials are boycotting the fundraiser because the Committee, County Council and Montgomery voters agreed last fall to support Question B, which took away Police effects bargaining rights. [Maryland Juice]
Morning Notes
How Did White Flint Get Its Name? — The name came from the white quartz rock that was found throughout Montgomery County, not the White Flint Mall, which came along in the 70s. The first known use of the name in the area was in 1930 with the White Flint Country Club. Developers and residents are now debating what to call the rapidly developing section of Rockville Pike. [Friends of White Flint]
B-CC’s Beakes Establishes Herself As County’s Top Distance Runner — The Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School sophomore runner finished 10th in the 3,000 meters at last week’s Penn Relays, 11 seconds faster than her goal time. She has finished first in every other individual race of more than 400 meters this year. [The Gazette]
Walter Reed Pharmacy Investigates Potentially Deadly Prescription Mistake — The Bethesda military hospital, which provides prescriptions for branch clinics throughout the D.C. area, somehow provided a Virginia woman with a potentially deadly heart stimulant instead of the Vitamin B12 injection she had been prescribed. [Washington Post]
B-CC Names New Field Hockey Coach — The high school announced last week that JV Field Hockey coach Morgan Kauffman would take over as coach of the varsity squad. Kauffman, a Pennsylvania-native, played college field hockey at Bucknell, where she was an all-conference player. [Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Athletics]
Flickr photo by im_apatel
Big Train Gets Crowd Of 1,400 For Softball Charity Game
A big crowd turned out for Bethesda Big Train’s second Celebrity Softball Classic on April 20, a softball game between area athletes and members of the media that this year coincided with a FanFest event.
About 1,400 came out to Shirley Povich Field in Cabin John Regional Park to see a group of current and former Washington Redskins, former Maryland basketball player Byron Mouton and some others beat the media team, 10-3. Mouton was named MVP.
The Big Train, a summer team for college baseball players, starts its season on Saturday, June 1 at Povich Field.
Video via Bethesda Big Train
Morning Notes
Food, Wine & Co. Gets Makeover, New Menu — The downtown favorite (7272 Wisconsin Ave.) introduced a new color scheme and a new, more adventurous menu according to chef Michael Harr. [Bethesda Magazine]
New Farmers Market Coming To Twinbrook — In nearby Rockville, developer JBG Cos. is brining a mid-day farmers market geared at office workers to the area of Fishers Lane just east of the Twinbrook Metro Station. The market starts May 7 and will run every Tuesday through Novemeber from 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with vendors including Twin Springs Farm, Upper Crust Bakery and MeatCrafters.
B-CC Baseball Starts Hot With New Stars — The Barons are 10-2 and four wins away from last season’s win total despite losing their three top pitchers and middle-of-the-lineup stars. [The Gazette]
Flickr photo by Craig Thoburn
Tiger Coming Back To Congressional This Summer
Tiger Woods yesterday announced he will play in this year’s AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, unsurprising but important news for the event.
Woods hosts the tournament, which also benefits his Tiger Woods Foundation. But yesterday’s official announcement that Woods will be back in Bethesda in late June means to expect big crowds. Tiger draws big crowds.
“I’m really looking forward to defending my title at the AT&T National,” Woods said on the tournament website. “The Washington, D.C., community has been so supportive of the tournament, and I’m excited to play Congressional Country Club.”
Saturday third round action during last year’s tournament was closed off to spectators after the powerful derecho ripped through the area, leaving Congressional and the surrounding area littered with downed trees and power lines.
That led to the strange scene of Woods and the rest of the field playing with no spectators. They returned in force for Sunday’s final round, in which Woods secured his second AT&T National win.
This year’s tournament is set for June 27 to June 30, though practice rounds and other festivities will start on Monday, June 24.
Flickr photo by familymwr
Morning Notes
Maryland House Passes Gun Control Bill — The State Senate is expected to follow, giving Maryland perhaps the most sweeping gun control legislation in the wave of proposals being considered around the nation after the Newtown elementary school massacre. [Washington Post]
Choice Hotels Opening New Headquarters In Rockville — The international hotel chain is celebrating its move from Silver Spring to Rockville Town Center with tours of its new 190,000-square-foot headquarters. Choice says the move is helping to make the region the center of the hotel industry. Marriott is headquartered in Bethesda.
Walt Whitman Student Gets Spot On U.S. Maccabi Team — Josh Fried, a 17-year-old who plays center for the Vikings, was selected as part of the Junior U.S. Maccabi basketball team. He’ll play for the team when it travels to Israel in July for the Maccabiah games. [The Gazette]
Submit Your Photos On Flickr — Submit your photos of Bethesda, Chevy Chase and North Bethesda to our BethesdaNow.com Flickr pool. We regularly feature Flickr photos in the “Morning Notes” and other stories from around the area. [Flickr]
Flickr photo by thisisbossi
Bethesda Late-Night Shuttle Expanding To Nats Games
Lofty expectations for this year’s Washington Nationals mean more fans, and more fans mean a business opportunity for a pair of North Bethesda residents who started a late night shuttle service from Bethesda last year.
Brandon Yu and Alex Middel, founders of The DC Hopper, are partnering with Caddies On Cordell (4922 Cordell Ave.) to provide direct pregame and postgame transportation to Nationals Park for select weekend home games starting with the Nats’ first weekend home game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, April 13.
The cost to skip transferring lines and waiting for weekend service on the Metro is $24.
The shuttle will leave Caddies at 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. depending on first pitch and depart Nationals Park 30 minutes after the last out.
“Unlike our Nightlife Shuttle service, we are gearing this transportation for fans of all ages,” Yu said. “We want this to be a family friendly ride to Nats Park for the games.”
Check the website for more information and tickets.
High School Baseball Teams Raise Money For Cancer Research
Bethesda’s three public high school baseball teams got together off the field on Sunday to raise money for cancer research by shaving their heads.
The 1st Annual St. Baldrick’s Battle of Bethesda Tournament was set for today before an unusual spring snow storm dumped about three inches on Bethesda. But players, coaches, parents and others from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman High School communities still came out to Tommy Joe’s on Sunday for the kick-off event.
First-year Walter Johnson head baseball coach and Social Studies teacher Chris Murray came across the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which encourages people to have their heads shaved in support of cancer victims, while at a baseball conference in Chicago.
The organization has helped organize dozens of similar events with college and minor league baseball teams across the country over the past few years.
Parents pledged money for participants who had their heads shaved on Sunday and some pledged money per run, hit and strikeout during the round-robin tournament. The team that raises the most money will be announced in April.
Big Train Celebrity Softball Game Returning
The Bethesda Big Train summer collegiate baseball team is bringing back the Big Train Celebrity Softball Classic to raise money for its mission of improving baseball fields in the D.C. area.
The game, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, will match up local athletes including Washington Redskins Ryan Kerrigan and Chris Cooley against local media personalities who cover them. The athletes won last year’s inaugural game, 3-2.
The game will take place six weeks before the start of the Big Train’s season at Shirley Povich Field (10600 Westlake Dr.) in Cabin John Regional Park. The event also includes the Big Train FanFest at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets to the game are $10 and proceeds to the game will benefit the team’s foundation. Since its founding in 1998, the Big Train have donated more than $600,000 to building better baseball fields in Montgomery County and D.C. Last year, the Big Train merged with BCC Baseball.
For more information, team rosters and to buy tickets, visit the event page.
Flickr photo by Mark Briscoe
Bethesda Blues & Jazz Holding Special Event With Legendary Basketball Coach
UPDATE 12:40 p.m. Ahead of the NCAA Final Four, the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club (7719 Wisconsin Ave.) will host a conversation and lunch with Hall of Fame basketball coach Morgan Wootten on April 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Wootten, who coached local basketball powerhouse DeMatha High School to 1,274 wins over his 46 seasons, will sit down with basketball fans and anybody else interested in his thoughts on the state of college basketball today, his predictions for the NCAA Tournament and stories of fellow legendary coaches Red Auerbach and John Wooden.
Wooden, who won 10 national championships over a 12-year period at UCLA and who is widely considered one of the best coaches ever, once said he thought Wootten was the best coach at any level in the country.
Wootten, 81, coached scores of future college players and some NBA ones during his time at DeMatha. He retired from coaching in 2002, but still helps run the annual summer basketball camp he’s been putting on since 1961.
The discussion, one of many none-music events Bethesda Blues & Jazz owner Rick Brown hopes to incorporate into the new venue, will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and include a three-course meal. Tickets are $35. For more information and to buy tickets, visit the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Club website.
Photo via Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club
Bethesda High School Baseball Players To Shave Heads For Cancer Research
Players from Bethesda’s three public high school baseball teams will shave their heads in support of cancer research later this month.
It’s part of the 1st Annual St. Baldrick’s Battle of Bethesda Tournament, set for Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25, in which the baseball teams from Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman High Schools will take part.
St. Baldrick’s is a child cancer research foundation that raises money through pledges made for people who get their heads shaved, a show of solidarity with cancer victims.
Donations and pledges can be made using this form. Players will get their heads shaved at the Tournament Kick-Off event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 24 at Tommy Joe’s (4714 Montgomery Lane). The event will include a buffet for $20 and 20 percent of the proceeds will go to St. Baldrick’s.
Then, on March 25 at B-CC, the teams will play each other in a one-day spring break tournament with three games starting at 9 a.m.
Pledges can also be made per hits and runs in the tournament, as well as per strikeouts and the number of players on each team who sport shaved heads. The team that raises the most money will be crowned champion in April.
Bethesda Big Train Looking For Host Families
The Bethesda Big Train college summer baseball team is looking for host families to house its players this summer.
The Big Train, which plays its games at Shirley Povich Field in Cabin John Regional Park, is a team of college players from around the country who come to sharpen their skills and play in front of scouts in the wood-bat Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.
Big Train players, who work at the team’s youth camp during the day and typically play at night, need housing from late May through late July or early August:
If you love to watch baseball, have kids who play baseball, or get a kick out of lazy summer nights at the ballpark, you can host a Bethesda Big Train player this summer, and get ready for the summer of your life! Let your family scream themselves silly when your very own player comes up to bat or pitches a game. With your own player, a recruit from a local or long-distance college, staying with you, your family will have a personal interest in the team that you’ve never felt before.
For more information, visit the Big Train’s website.
Flickr photo by Curveball Photography
Whitman Girls Basketball Team Heading To State Semis
Walt Whitman High School girls basketball coach Pete Kenah said he knew in mid-December he had a team capable of reaching the state championships.
The Vikings held visiting Paint Branch and its potent backcourt to 31 points in a Dec. 17 win and Kenah knew the team could match up defensively with any team. After a February loss at the buzzer to two-time defending 4A State Champion Gaithersburg, he said his players knew they likely would have to shut Gaithersburg down in a playoff rematch.
“The girls to a player said that they wanted to be the ones to knock them out,” Kenah said. “I was so impressed by that.”
On Friday in the 4A West Region Final, the Vikings did, holding Gaithersburg to one point in the first quarter on the way to a 46-31 win that clinched a spot in Thursday’s 4A State Semifinal game against Baltimore Polytechnic at UMBC. Gaithersburg had knocked Whitman out of the playoffs in each of the last three years.
“Finally is the right word,” Kenah said. “They went on a run that I don’t know if the county will see again.”
The Vikings rely on defense and balanced scoring. No player averages more than nine points per game.
Seniors Dani Okon, Kim Durante, Brittany Fleck, juniors Maddie Cannon, Avery Witt, sophomore Nicole Fleck and freshman Marie Hatch all contribute.
“This team is so special because we don’t have a star,” Kenah said. “It’s literally a different player every night. In an era of me, me, me they are entirely selfless.”
The semifinal is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday at UMBC’S RAC Arena. The finals are set for 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Photo via WhitmanAthletics.org
Morning Notes
O’Malley Meets With General Assembly Leaders On Transportation Funding — Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) was scheduled to meet with the leaders of the Maryland House and Senate yesterday to discuss a way to raise transportation funds. [Washington Post]
Mi Cocina Targets Late March Opening — The upscale Tex-Mex restaurant set for 5471-5481 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase is looking at opening later this month. [Chevy Chase Patch]
Ahead of His Attorney General Run, Frosh Having Another Busy Session — Bethesda-Chevy Chase State Sen. Brian Frosh (D) has been busy the past few weeks in Annapolis as he prepares to run for Attorney General in 2014. [The Gazette]
Whitman Girls Basketball Looking For Revenge, Region Title — The Whitman High School girls basketball team will face two-time defending state champ Gaithersburg today at 8 p.m. at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville. Gaithersburg (17-4) has eliminated Whitman (17-4) from the playoffs in each of the last three years. [MPSSAA]
Flickr photo by dbking
All 3 Bethesda Girls Basketball Teams Still In Hunt For Region Title
Two of Bethesda’s three public high school girls basketball squads will get a chance to end two-time defending state champion Gaithersburg’s reign this week, as Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Walter Johnson and Whitman open up 4A West Region Semifinal games on Wednesday.
B-CC (11-13) will get the first crack at the defending champs when they travel to Gaithersburg for a 7 p.m. tip tomorrow.
If the Barons can pull off the upset of the No. 1-seeded Trojans, an all-Bethesda Region Final awaits. In the other Semifinal set for tomorrow, No. 3 seed Walter Johnson (18-5) will travel to No. 2 seed Whitman (19-4).
Whitman beat Walter Johnson twice in the regular season by a combined seven points, but Walter Johnson has won eight straight, even after losing its star center Kristen Larrick to a knee injury.
Both B-CC and Whitman fell to Gaithersburg in the regular season (Whitman lost at the buzzer). Walter Johnson, though, was able to pull out a 53-49 win against the champions back in December.
Photo via WhitmanAthletics.org
