Around Town

Organizers say the farmers market would be held outside the Westover Library on either Saturday or Sunday mornings. They would like to launch the market in the spring.

Anyone interested in shopping at or helping to operate the market is asked to attend tonight’s meeting, which will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Westover Library (1644 McKinley Road).


News

Black Friday Is a Bust at Ballston Common Mall — While other suburban shopping malls were inundated with shoppers on Friday, traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for retailers in terms of foot traffic, Ballston Common Mall was about as crowded as it normally is on a Friday afternoon (not very). “The best thing here is Rock Bottom,” one shopper explained to Ballston Patch.

Farmers Market For Westover? — A community meeting will be held at the Westover library next month to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market this spring. More from the Sun Gazette.


Events

On Sunday, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., dozens of people will get their locks sheared off at Westover Library (1644 North McKinley Road) for a good cause. The proceeds will benefit the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National Medical Center.

The event is being held at the same time another sponsored by Montgomery County’s police and firefighters.


News

Soon, the store will submit plans to the county for building new handicap-accessible bathrooms. Completing code-compliant bathrooms would be the first step toward getting approval to operate the beer garden as an entertainment venue.

Hicks says that the store’s relationship with county regulators has changed significantly since collecting nearly 2,000 signatures from supportive residents and getting nominated for two ABBIE awards.


News

Westover Market Appeals Zoning Decision — In spite of efforts by the county’s zoning enforcement office to limit its occupancy and its entertainment options, Westover Market’s Beer Garden is still a place where neighbors can gather to watch football and baseball games on a crisp fall day. The market has bought itself some time by appealing the zoning decision. In the meantime, the market’s mom and pop owners are trying to round up the $25,000-50,000 that will be needed to install new, code-compliant bathrooms. More from TBD.

Conservative Writer Says Murray Has a Chance — Conservative writer Jim Geraghty is impressed that incumbent congressman Jim Moran is “only” up 13 percent against challenger Patrick Murray. Blogging for the National Review Online, Geraghty said that in light of the numbers from the internal Murray poll, he’s picking the retired Army colonel as his “special crazy insane upset pick” in the upcoming mid-term elections. More from NRO.


Around Town

The changes were mandated by the county’s zoning enforcement office, which acted upon noise complaints from two neighbors.

In terms of the music, Westover Market had neglected to apply for a live music permit before it started hosting performances. Such a permit requires county board approval. Market manager Devin Hicks says they have since applied for the permit, forking over most of the $1,200+ application fee in the process. The earliest the board could act on the application is November, at which point outdoor concerts are out of the question for all but the hardiest music fans.