East Rockville on Alert After Nighttime Arson Fires

Small fires set Wednesday near Croydon Park are not new for the neighborhood.

Newspapers and phone books left in front of homes appear to have provided the fuel for two small fires set in East Rockville late Wednesday night. “It seems the ‘fire bug’ that plagued our neighborhood last summer and fall is back again,” read a post on the East Rockville Civic Association blog on Thursday. “Last night (2/6) two small fires were set in the exact same area as before.” One was on the corner of Grandin Avenue and Reading Terrace, the post said. The other was in the 300 block of Highland Avenue leading into Croydon Park. “Both occurred late in the evening and again the fuel was weekly Gazette newspapers left out and recently distributed phone books also left out in yards and driveways,” the post said. Rockville city police Maj…

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PHOTOS: Fire Officials Provide New Details on Rockville Civic Center Playground Arson

The Department of Juvenile Services is handling the case involving four juveniles, fire officials said.

An arson fire that destroyed playground equipment at Rockville Civic Center Park on Thanksgiving eve caused an estimated $160,000 in damage, county fire investigators said Thursday. Fire officials for the first time provided details of the arrest of four teenagers whom law enforcement officials say are responsible for the fire. Rockville Patch first reported the incident Tuesday. Temporary fencing and the remains of police tape surrounded the melted and charred remains of the playground equipment Thursday afternoon. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel responded shortly after 8 p.m. Nov. 21 to the playgroud on the Civic Center grounds at 603 Edmonston Drive, the fire and rescue service said in a news release. The playground was …

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Four Juveniles Arrested for Fire That Destroyed Rockville Civic Center Playground

Police chief: The suspects ranged in age from 14 to 16.

  Fire officials are expected to release details Wednesday of an investigation into a fire that consumed the playground at Rockville Civic Center Park on Nov. 21.  “The entire playground was destroyed by fire/arson,” Rockville city police Chief Terrance N. Treschuk said in an email. The incident occurred in the evening hours of Thanksgiving eve. Four suspects—ages 14 through 16—were located by city police officers that same evening, Treschuk said. The juveniles admitted to starting the fire and were turned over to the Montgomery County fire marshal's office for the filing of charges, he said. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue will have more details on the incident Wednesday, said Assistant Chief Scott Graham, a fire and rescue service …

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Rockville's Antique and Classic Car Show Revs Up for its 50th Edition on Saturday

Civic Center Park hosts more than 500 cars for a Rockville tradition.

Get your motor running, car enthusiasts! If classic automobiles are what revs your engine, be sure to check out the 50th edition of City of Rockville’s Antique and Classic Car Show from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Rockville Civic Center. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “car guy (or gal)” the show offers a slice of Americana with something to thrill the whole family. The city and 25 local car clubs bring more than 500 antique and classic automobiles, music, food and drink, a flea market and children’s activities together for the Washington metropolitan area's premier non-judged car show. Ford Model Ts, Ferraris, Mustangs, Packards and Rolls Royce are among the makes and models whose owners are expected to participate. …

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Council Hears Testimony on Proposed Historic Designation for Glenview

Critics of the proposal say requiring Historic District Commission approval of changes to the mansion would be onerous.

VIDEO: City Camps Get a Move On

A day of games and nutrition is part of the First Lady's campaign against obesity.

More than 500 children from Rockville summer camps participated in the Let's Move! Celebration of Health on Thursday at Rockville Civic Center Park. Campers participated in games, races and a flash mob-style choreographed dance. Rockville is designated as an official "Let's Move!" city as part of First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce childhood obesity. Betsy Thompson, the city's superintendent of recreation, explained what it means to be a "Let's Move!" city and how the program gets kids moving.

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PHOTO GALLERY: Abstracts Shout 'Outloud' at Glenview Mansion

Alexey Zoob and Outloud Artists bring playful and imaginative colors to the mansion.

"The artist paints the life deeper, richer, more meaningful than we see it in our everyday reality,"Alexey Zoob writes in his artists statement. Showing his work alongside the Outloud Artists through Tuesday in the art gallery at Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park, Zoob paints whimsical landscapes and Modigliani-esque portraits with the colorful dashes and floating forms of Marc Chagall cast into verdant promenades and romantic balconies. Classically trained in his native Russia but with a contemporary perspective, Zoob conceptualizes artistic expression as a social imperative. "It is our language and we must speak it correctly and understandably," said the young artist, who is featured in depth in the "Portrait of the Artist…

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Police Investigating Vandalism at Fitzgerald Theatre

Chief Treschuk: A bulletin board was smashed and a sculpture was damaged.

Rockville City Police are investigating vandalism that occurred overnight in front of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre at Rockville Civic Center Park.  The vandals struck sometime between the late evening hours of Tuesday and Wednesday morning and used cigarette receptacles outside the theater to smash the glass on a bulletin board that lists upcoming shows, city police Chief Terrance N. Treschuk said. Receptacles were taken, he said. Damage is estimated at about $300. A sculpture in front of the theater was knocked over, damaging its base, Treschuk said. “We are actively pursuing an investigation and asking anyone who might have seen any activity in the park in the early morning hours to contact us,” he said. Anyone with information about …

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PHOTO GALLERY: Sculptures Inhabit the Civic Center

New exhibits on the grounds and in Glenview Mansion offer the city's 25th edition of art in 3D.

Six new sculptures have sprung up on the grounds of the Rockville Civic Center in the vicinity of Glenview Mansion and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. The 25th annual "Sculpture on the Grounds" exhibit is on view until mid-October in conjunction with the opening of a three-person one-month show featuring works by Roger Doyle, Theresa Martin and Anne Nicholson at the Glenview Mansion Art Gallery. "'Sculpture on the Grounds' is part of our Art in Public Places programs," said Betty Wisda, the city's arts programs supervisor, who led a walking tour of the sculptures on June 5. "The review board chose six pieces to be displayed out of 40 submitted." Several of the artists were present on the tour and each provided a brief description of their…

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