A Same-Sex Marriage Maneuver, a Drug Approval and a Bridge Removal

It's finally here! Welcome to the weekend, Rockville. (Well, welcome to you. I'll be right behind you as soon as I finish off this column.) It was a whirlwind (and wet) week. We leave you with some things to think about as we say goodbye to work and hello to weekend.

Here's the rundown:

• A same-sex marriage bill passed by the Maryland Senate was sent back to committee by the House of Delegates today. With just one month to go in the 2011 General Assembly it appears that the legislation could be dead for this year. Capital News Service blogs about that news and more, including preparations for a possible marathon Monday session as the Senate votes on whether to grant in-state tution to children of illegal immigrants.
• Rockville's Human Genome Sciences' lupus drug won approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday. We'll have a local perspective on the announcement in the days ahead.
• Free tax preparation is available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Twinbrook Community Recreation Center for any county resident who earned less than $49,000 in 2010. The service is offered by the Montgomery County Community Action Agency VITA Tax Clinic in partnership with the city's Community Services Division.
• The Stonestreet Avenue pedestrian bridge is no more. The city removed the final pieces of the bridge in the wee hours of Friday morning. Check out the video from Rockville 11. The city closed the bridge, which connected Stonestreet Avenue to Veirs Mill Road over the Metro and CSX tracks near , on Feb. 3 after an inspection "revealed issues with its structural integrity," according to a news release from the city. Construction of a new bridge must be approved by the City Council this spring.
• Together at last: The city councils of Rockville and Gaithersburg will join forces to talk Metro at 6 p.m. on Monday at . David Robertson, executive director for Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, will present "Moving Metro Forward." The report, by the Joint Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Governance Review Task Force (a committee with a name longer than a climb up the Wheaton Metro Station's escalator) recommends changes to the transit agency's governance.
• Last Monday's City Council meeting included a visit from Rockville's latest celebrity. ‎"Jeopardy!" Teen Tournament champion  announced that he would donate some of his $75,000 first prize to the city's recreation and parks fund to help kids go to camp. The Richard Montgomery High School senior also was given a proclamation by Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio. Check out our video from "press row" on our Facebook page.
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