Forget Flowers, April Showers Bring Soggy Ballfields

Gray skies and gloom today. Perfect for a Tuesday.

The spring high school sports schedule is a wash today—unless you're a gymnast or play volleyball. Teams are trying to squeeze in a couple more contests before spring break begins on Monday.

On the plus side, there are a few more leaves on the trees today, despite the lack of sunshine, and I'm sure that in July we'll be sweltering and wishing for a 60-degree day.

Still, I'm sure hoping that the saying about what April showers bring is true. I'm not so worried about this, but the May flowers would be nice.

I'm not a meteorologist. I'm not a scientist (but many of the folks who presented at Sunday's  are). I am a journalist. (But I do not have Bob Pollard's dance skills. Check out 0:27. Anything for a little more GBV action.) And I'm a busy journalist.

So let's get to it with today's "brings May flowers" edition of "The Rundown":

• The Rockville City Council talked budget on Monday night. The first of three budget work sessions examined the proposals for the offices of the council, city manager and city attorney and the departments of human relations, finance, information technology and police. There was little discussion on many of the items and not much controversy. (The council somehow couldn't find a way to steer the conversation back to .) It was very dry. The lengthiest part of the presentation was an overview of the city's draft plan for information technology, which included questions from the council about the security of the city's IT system, data backup and "the cloud." For you hardcore budget hawks who want to see what you missed or (if you're a real glutton for punishment) watch it again, Rockville 11 offers video of the City Council meetings here. Expect more excitement at the next budget work session on April 25 (no meeting next week due to Passover) when the Department of Recreation and Parks budget is up for review. (You guessed it—RedGate!)
• The City Council recognized 17 students who completed the 2011 School of Rock(ville) program. The three-day program teaches students about municipal government and civic engagement. It features sessions on the city's history, government structure, services, public safety and on opportunities to engage in city government and the community, as well as discussions and problem solving activities about the city budget and a tour of the new Rockville 11 television studio. It concluded with a drop-in session with Councilman Mark Pierzchala before Monday's council meeting. The students in this year's class are from Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Montgomery Blair and Thomas S. Wootton high schools.
• Meetings, we've got meetings, including the latest meeting on the feasibility of expanding Julius West Middle School to relieve overcrowding in the Richard Montgomery cluster, from 7:30-9:30 tonight at , and a , also from 7:30-9:30 tonight (pick your poison). The city's Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. tomorrow and will discuss a proposal to rename a street in Town Center for a hotel chain.
•  of its new store at North Bethesda Market all day today. The grocery store , which will soon become home to Fresh Market.
• Captivated by Einstein after seeing the man and hearing about his wild theories at ? Then check out  and an ensemble, who will put the words of Alan Lightman's best-sellling novel "Einstein's Dreams" to music. For those of us who aren't regular, er ... geniuses, Lightman's book is a revelation of relativity. Williams' performance, presented by Focus at 8 tonight at , promises to be as well.
• Interested in cheap(er) gas? Our friend (at least on Twitter and those times when we've encounter her while working the Rockville beat) Julie Parker at ABC7/TBD.com reports that Free State gas station was selling regular unleaded at $3.69 yesterday morning, 7 cents below the national average. That's news, though not unusual for the cash-only station. The ensuing traffic backup is not necessarily news (as evident in last photo included with the story).
• @ABC7Julie has 835 followers on Twitter. We aspire to such social media heights. Help us realize our dreams by following us @RockvillePatch on Twitter and "like"-ing us at Rockville Patch on Facebook.