• Frederick County is launching a new emergency notification system. The alerts will ” … contain only vital information such as flash flood warnings, Amber Alerts, the status of county government, road closures and other notices.”
• You can have birthday parties at the Catoctin Creek Park. Related, the still popular post, Where to Have a Kid’s Birthday Party.
• Food and Frederick, a new blog covering ” … delicious photos & commentary on the social and culinary scenes that exist in the great little corner of the world that is Frederick, MD.” Give them a follow.
• Top 5 Events, Attractions and Commemorations for Visitors to Frederick County in 2012, some upcoming Frederick fun to keep in mind courtesy of Frederick Tourism.
• This shot of Sweet Angela’s Cupcakery makes me a bit hungry, anyone try them yet?
• Frederick Works is an initiative to encourage businesses in Frederick County to be a part of the unemployment solution, by creating and/or filling at least one new job in 2012. You can also follow them on Twitter.
• “The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded a $191,596,000 contract for the Social Security Administration’s new national data facility in Urbana … ” according to the FNP.

Unemployment in Frederick County, 2009

A screen shot of an interactive map from the Washington Post site showing unemployment rates across the country by county. In case you can’t read the text in the image above it shows an unemployment rate of 6.1% in Frederick County for November 2009. Washington County has a 10% rate for November 2009 and Montgomery County has a 5.3% rate. The national average is 9.4%.

TransIT invites you to participate in this annual event and will offer free rides on TransIT Connector and Shuttle buses to cyclists who combine biking and riding public transportation on Bike to Work Day. Visit the Frederick pit stop at the Transit Center (East Street MARC train station) for a chance to win a bicycle donated by the Bicycle Escape. There will also be free snacks, beverages, and giveaway items.

Good to see FMO Sponsor, Bicycle Escape, is supporting the event. Register on the Washington Area Bicyclist Association site.

I saw on the State Highway web site that they have put out a bid for the replacement of Dual Single Span Bridges No. 10080 on I-270 over Dr. Perry Road. The replacement bridge will be built on the same roadway alignment. The single span steel girder bridge will be 80′ long and 127′ wide. The project also includes 0.24 miles of road work on Dr. Perry Road beneath the bridge. During construction a temporary roadway will be constructed within the median of I-270 to maintain all lanes of traffic on I-270. On Dr. Perry Road, two way traffic will be maintained in one lane through a flagging operation while roadwork is being done.

Now, they could change their minds and the plans (and though it bids on June 19th, it could get postponed, and who knows when the project would actually start), but I thought you might like to have the heads-up.

Glad to see improvements to 270, but that should add some time to my commute. They better add room for an extra lane while they are busting the bridge up. If not it’s pretty much a useless exercise. Here is the announcement from the Maryland SHA on the project in case you are interested.

~Guy~

We need to fill-up our comedy pig-pen!

The Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Comedy Pigs Improv & Sketch Comedy Troupe is looking for improvisors to add to our roster of comedy swine!

We will be holding open auditions for people interested in joining the area’s longest running improvisational & sketch comedy troupe! All those experienced in improvisation and people that are just plain hilarious are welcome!

Auditions:
Sunday, April 6th at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre
31 West Patrick Street in downtown Frederick, MD.
Plan to stay from 12:00 to 2:00pm

Callbacks:
The following Sunday, April 13th at the theatre.

For more information and to sign up, please call 301-606-6655 or email dgrizzjr@aol.com

See ya in the Pen! (And check out our latest shows, April 5th & 19th, at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre, at 10:30pm!)

Thanks for the tip Allison.

~Guy~

Especially with the price of gas going completely nuts, how friendly is Frederick to the pedestrian or bicycler?

Any thoughts? Answer in the forum.

~Guy~

I will be moving to Frederick in January to start a new job. I was there yesterday (Saturday, Dec 8th) looking at an apartment and was wondering if you could give me some insider info on the area. I really like the apartment but I have concerns about the area. They’re called Elmwood Terrace Apartments. It’s off route 40 right next to Frederick Towne Mall on Waverly Rd. I currently live in Philadelphia so I was surprised to see that the first floor patios had no railings and that the buildings don’t have controlled access. I want to think it’s because the area is just so safe that those things are not necessary. But then the leasing agent told me that they have hired security to patrol at night and that “crime has no address.” So I guess my main concerns are related to crime and safety. I will be working at Ft. Dietrick and found these apartments to be a good location and have the qualities I wanted. I’ve looked online for infomation but would really appreciate information from someone who knows the area. Thanks so much for any help!!!

Can you all provide any help in his apartment search?

~Guy~

Nearly 1,500 new jobs are forecast for Fort Detrick in the next few years and Frederick needs to prepare for them.

About 8,000 people pass through the base gates each day.

A panel of representatives from agencies were on hand Friday at the Frederick County Workforce Development board meeting to discuss growth the Federal Base Realignment and Closing, or BRAC, recommendations will bring to the military research base at the heart of Frederick.

Fort Detrick is the largest employment site in the county, made up of about 40 different government entities. It will become the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research, as well as continuing as a U.S. Army garrison.

“Most people don’t know who is on the fort and how to access jobs,” said Darlene Carver, chairwoman of the workforce board.

There are websites such as americajob.com that shows available job postings in the government. The meeting Friday was a step toward making those job opportunities listed through the local workforce office.

Bad credit? No job

One of the main factors in landing a government job, especially at Fort Detrick with the Department of Homeland Security and high technology laboratories, is security clearance.

Mike Hayes, director of military and federal affairs for the Maryland Department of Economic Development and a retired Marine brigadier general, said most people fail a security check because of bad credit.

Hayes and other panel members said young people need to realize early that handling their finances poorly or bad behavior can preclude them from a government job in the future.

Andy Moser, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said the Maryland Workforce Exchange is a key site for job searching.

Maryland received a $4 million grant to help with planning and implementation for the expected influx of people because of BRAC changes, which will move personnel into Fort Detrick, Aberdeen and Fort Meade.

Construction at the bases is the first step, Moser and Hayes said, to build the facilities for the agencies on the bases.

That will create a lot of construction jobs, they said, but security clearance is still paramount.

“Even construction workers have to be cleared to get in the gate,” Hayes said.

However, Moser, even with its boost in employment, the BRAC influx is only 15 percent of Maryland’s growth. The rest is because of the state’s expanding economy. Moser said employers are also looking at an impending drop in the workforce as more people retire.

Hayes and Darryl Rekemeyer, director of the Fort Detrick Business Development Office, said the two main areas for employment at Fort Detrick will be medical research and information technology. Rekemeyer’s office deals primarily with companies that want to do business with the government.

1,500 new jobs is a good thing, but I can’t imagine what that’s going to do to the Rosemont corridor. Maybe a few more places to eat will pop up, if you can fight the traffic. I just hope this culls a few more cars off 270 every morning!

~LizFrog~

A project to resurface parts of I-270 is starting this coming week.

Starting next week, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration will begin a $16 million project to resurface 4.5 miles along I-270. The work will take place between Muddy Branch Road near exit 10 and just north of Md. 189 (Falls Road), in Montgomery County.

If the weather holds up, the project is expected to be completed by spring 2008.

During construction, temporary single-lane closures may occur along northbound and southbound I-270, between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Double-lane closures may occur between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday.

Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes.

SHA spokesman Chuck Gischlar said motorists should expect construction delays and consider alternate routes. He suggests Md. 355, Md. 124 or Md. 115.

No lane closures will be allowed during the Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day holidays.

Sounds like fun.  Not!

Lizfrog 

Fortunately, I don’t have to commute on 270 anymore, so I was spared most of the traffic yesterday.

How about you ?  Any inside scoop on yesterday’s incident?  How about your favorite Road Rage story?

~LizFrog ~