In the latest iteration of our end-of-the-year impromptu series, we wanted to take a look at what brands of liquor were the most popular among Montgomery County residents in 2010, so we turned to the county's Department of Liquor Control for some help. Diane Wurdeman, who works with the county retail stores, did a bit of digging for us and came up with this list. She thought the exercise was so interesting that she even gave us a few more than a top 10 list would have, so we have a top 14 list. In this case, "most popular" was determined by the volume (by case) that was sold of each brand in …

Once again this year, the Music Center at Strathmore brought international touring acts to North Bethesda and performances from the arts center's partner organizations. The year's top sellers in the 1,976-seat Concert Hall highlighted the center's diverse offerings, from singer-songwriter Roseanne Cash to South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the National Philharmonic's performance of Brahm's "Requiem." The following lists, compiled from reports from Strathmore and from two of its partner organizations, are for shows at the Music Center at Strathmore between Jan. 1 and Dec…

Times are tough. Traffic is bad. And teenage bullying is sometimes taking on violent new dimensions. Rockville Police Chief Terrance N. Treschuk talked about crime trends in and around the city and described developments in public safety during 2010 in an interview with Rockville Patch. Patch lists the top five trends here. 1) Crimes of opportunity. "In public safety, I think in the last year one of the trends that we've seen is certainly a much higher level of opportunistic thievery," said Treschuk, who has been Rockville's police chief since 1989. "And that's the theft from automobiles. The…

Were you ever surprised this year by the massive crowd riding Metro? Five of the top 10 Metrorail ridership days for 2010 rank in the top 20 ridership days of all time for the transit agency. The big drivers behind record high ridership range from Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg's major league debut to a performance of Stars on Ice. 1. April 2, 2010: 891,240 (Cherry Blossom Festival/Wizards basketball) 2. April 1, 2010: 877,890 (Cherry Blossom Festival/Capitals hockey) 3. April 7, 2010: 867,624 (Cherry Blossom Festival/Nationals baseball) 4. June 8, 2010: 856,578 (Nationals …